Tech Talk Thursdays Episode #168 (05/14/2026)

Tech ICE Agents Have List of 20 Million People on Their iPhones Thanks to Palantir Twin brothers wipe 96 gov’t databases minutes after being fired - Ars Technica DOJ extracts $30m settlement from PayPal over minority-owned business program - Engadget Amazon employees are “tokenmaxxing” due to pressure to use AI tools Meta employees are protesting the company’s mouse tracking program - Engadget Tech companies lobbied away stricter rules on gas-powered data centers - Engadget A massive AI data center transforms rural Utah into a national flashpoint : Peoples Dispatch Americans really don’t want AI data centers close to their homes - Engadget University Claims Withholding Water From Nuclear Weapons Data Center Is ‘Unlawfully Discriminatory’ to Data Centers Energy supplier abandons Lake Tahoe residents to serve data centers - Ars Technica Microsoft’s massive Kenya AI data center would require switching off ‘half the country’ to meet power requirements, government says — $1 billion project stalls over capacity disagreements and lack of infrastructure Amidst Xbox boycotts and media pressure, Microsoft reportedly restructures Israeli office after internal investigation into ethical violations | Eurogamer.net Gaming eBay rejects GameStop’s offer, calling it ‘neither credible nor attractive’ - Engadget Nintendo announces Switch 2 price increase, consoles will soon be $500 in the US Ahead of Switch 2 price increase, Nintendo’s switching up the game bundles Developers of Party Animals announce an AI video contest - game gets a review bomb | GamingOnLinux Double Fine Is Unionizing Cosplaying Gamers Will Raid EA HQ To Protest Saudi Arabia’s $55 Billion Buyout - GameSpot Slay The Spire 2 Gets More Bad Reviews Than First Game Hardware/Software Updates iOS, macOS, and iPadOS 26.5 updates arrive with encrypted RCS messaging and more - Ars Technica Please consider supporting the channel and the MajorsHouse network at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/majorlinux ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If there are any topics you’d like to see covered, reach out to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ttt@majorshouse.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join the Discord at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ma