Summary
Overview
Linus and Luke cover Microsoft's AI rollback plans, Intel's GPU developments, and autonomous car prompt injection vulnerabilities. They discuss noteworthy tech news including Spain's social media ban for under-16s, LMG salary growth data, and updates on various products. The show includes their usual banter about industry practices, personal tech setups, and responding to audience checkout messages about everything from photo organization apps to orthodontic updates.
Microsoft Dialing Back Unwanted AI Features
Microsoft acknowledges Windows 11 has a trust problem and is finally working to improve the OS in meaningful ways. After years of cramming AI features, ads, and dark patterns into Windows, leadership admits they need to fix performance and reliability issues. The January 2026 updates have been particularly disastrous with shutdown bugs, crashes, and boot failures, while Linux continues to improve as a viable alternative.
- Windows president admits company needs to improve Windows in ways meaningful for people
- Engineers are now swarming to fix performance and reliability issues after years of neglect
- January 2026 updates caused shutdown bugs requiring emergency patches
- Tom Warren says in 20 years of covering Windows, he's never seen fans disappear like recently
- Microsoft's gaming revenue down 9%, Xbox hardware down 32%
" Why it took this long, we don't know, but it finally seems to have broken through that Windows 11 has a trust problem. "
Notepad++ Security Breach by State Actors
The popular text editor Notepad++ had its update system hijacked for six months by Chinese state-sponsored hackers called Lotus Blossom. The attackers selectively targeted specific government and infrastructure users in Southeast Asia and Central America. The breach revealed the software had zero verification or signature validation before patches were implemented.
- Chinese hackers compromised shared hosting provider for six months
- Attackers selectively redirected targeted users to malicious servers
- Over 350 reports found of similar issues though not all verified
- Notepad++ updater had no certificate checks or signature validation before patch
- Hackers briefly lost access in September but regained it using stolen credentials
" Notepad++, the popular text editor with tens of millions of users, had its update system hijacked for about six months by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. "
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