Tech News Weekly (Video)

Bookshop.org is now offering a Kindle alternative. How hackers are hijacking WordPress sets to put out malware. And how people are freaking out about DeepSeek since it made a huge splash this past week.

• Dan Moren is joining Mikah Sargent this week! Dan talks about how Bookshop.org is now selling e-books, but Dan has concerns about how this could present technological challenges with DRM and app store fees.


• Mikah shares how hackers are hijacking WordPress sites and using them to push out malware for both Windows and Mac machines.


• Mikah also talks about how DeepSeek has made a huge splash in the technology world since this past Sunday and what has happened with the technology community and AI as a whole.


• And Eric Migicovsky, founder of the smartwatch company Pebble, joins Mikah to talk about exciting news with Pebble.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guest: Eric Migicovsky

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A massive data breach affected millions of students, parents, and teachers. Someone discovered security flaws within Subaru vehicles. And everything that was announced at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025.

• Emily Forlini is joining Mikah Sargent this week! Emily talks about a massive security incident with software company PowerSchool, in which 62 million students' personal data was stolen, along with parents and teachers.


• Mikah talks about how a security researcher discovered a security flaw within a Subaru vehicle that gave them access to its location data through web vulnerabilities.


• And Patrick Holland from CNET joins the show to discuss everything unveiled at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, including the S25 phones.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Emily Forlini

Guest: Patrick Holland

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A whole slew of smart products were unveiled at CES 2025 this year. Could this year be the year of smart home devices? TikTok is inching closer to being shut off in the US in a few days. And following Microsoft's announcement of end of support for Windows 10, the company announced it will no longer offer support for the Office 365 apps on Windows 10 after October 14th, 2025.

• Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has returned from CES 2025! She spent her time at the convention checking out all things smart home devices on the show floor and shares with Mikah Sargent some of her favorite devices she covered for The Verge.


• Kaya Yurieff of The Information joins Mikah to talk about the latest on the imminent shutdown of TikTok in the US that is scheduled to happen on Sunday, January 19th.


• And Ben Wilson from Windows Central stops by to talk about Microsoft's announcement that the Office 365 apps on Windows 10 will no longer be offered support after October 14th, 2025, coinciding with the end of support for the operating system.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guests: Kaya Yurieff and Ben Wilson

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This week on Tech News Weekly, host Mikah Sargent is joined by guest co-host Dan Moren to discuss Siri privacy concerns and how Apple could leverage AI to improve the user experience. Jason Hiner of ZDNET.com reports on CES 2025 on the latest TV displays, NVIDIA's AI innovations, and more. Then Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, weighs in on Meta's controversial decision to end fact-checking on its platforms.

• Dan's latest column explores how Apple could use AI to benefit users by improving spam filtering, search capabilities, and automation. Implementing these features would align with Apple's focus on simplifying technology.


• Apple released a statement clarifying that Siri recordings are not being used to build ad profiles, despite an ongoing conspiracy theory that devices are always listening. In reality, ad targeting is based on online behavior.


• At CES 2025, new TV display technologies were announced including brighter OLED panels likely using "tandem OLED" and a new mini-LED backlight system from Hisense for improved color depth.


• Lenovo showcased an expensive laptop prototype with a screen that rolls up to double in size, though it may have limited practical appeal for now.


• NVIDIA unveiled COSMOS, an AI framework to generate synthetic training data for robots and self-driving systems, which could accelerate future autonomous innovations.


• Offbeat CES products included an electric spoon that makes low-sodium foods taste saltier to promote healthier eating, and aggressively priced TVs from TCL.


• Meta announced it will end fact-checking and rely on community moderation, which CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed argues will amplify the spread of misinformation and cause real-world harms.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guests: Jason Hiner and Imran Ahmed

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In the first episode of 2025, Mikah and Abrar discuss Meta's plans to add AI bots to their social media platforms, the rise of AI-generated phishing scams, the trend of parents giving their kids retro tech devices to reduce screen time, and the current state and future potential of passkeys for secure logins.

• Meta plans to populate Facebook and Instagram with AI-generated bot accounts that can create content, share posts, and interact with users, in an effort to drive engagement as user growth stagnates. Abrar and Mikah debate the pros and cons of AI bots on social media.


• Cybersecurity experts have seen a significant increase in sophisticated phishing scams using AI to generate hyper-personalized messages mimicking people's communication styles, with over 90% of successful cyberattacks now beginning with phishing emails. Abrar and Mikah discuss cybersecurity training and email filtering used by companies to combat this.


• There's a growing trend of parents gifting their kids retro tech like Walkmans, portable CD players, and MP3 players in an effort to reduce screen time. Mikah and Abrar reflect on the appeal of single-purpose devices and bonding over music.


• Passkeys, a new login technology aiming to replace passwords, have seen increasing adoption but face usability challenges and inconsistent implementation across sites and devices. Mikah explains how passkeys work and recommends using password managers for now, as both hosts agree passkeys aren't quite ready for mainstream adoption yet.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

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