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AMD has introduced a brand new GPU, the RX9050, which comes in an 8 GB variant. And in the year of our lore 2026, a 4 GB version, too. It's just like the Terminator, except we're here sending GPUs from 2016 into the future. I'm James Drive. This is TechLink, and the 8 GB 9050 is receiving a staggered release in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American markets for a reported $279. While AMD's official listing for the card only mentions the 8 gigabyte variant, ASRock posted its 4 GB Challenger model before seemingly removing the listing. But don't worry, there are screenshots. Ladies and gentlemen, we got it. With so many folks debating whether 8 GB of VRAM is enough for gaming in 2026, ASRock probably
figured that calling it Challenger was smart because simply running games with it will be a challenge. According to WCCCF tech Hassan Mushaba, AMD confirmed that the 4 GBTE version exists, but only for OEMs, so you'll exclusively get them in pre-builts. These cheaper cards with reduced VRAMm arrived just as GPU prices are set to increase again after Nvidia reportedly raised the price of memory kits it sells to their board partners, likely because of the ongoing RAM apocalypse. You love AI. Regardless, looks like 4 GB GPUs are back on the menu, boys. Maybe game developers will finally better optimize their games. Hopefully. Maybe. Please.
The United States is banning imports of new foreignade robots and power inverters. Those two things, you know, the kinds you get at Tshi Station. They're like peas and carrots. So, humanoids, robot dogs, and the gear that connect solar power and batteries to the grid. The FCC added both categories to its covered list, meaning new models can't be authorized for import or sale, while previously authorized models won't be affected. It's worth noting that their definition of robot is broad enough to also include robot vacuums, mops, and lawnmowers. Damn, those things are already expensive enough. While the
rule applies to all devices made in any foreign country, China holds about 85% of the humanoid robot market. The other 15% is actually people in suits on the Tesla stage. So, you can make a pretty good guess whose robots this is about. The US government says this is about protecting the AI buildout. So, why target inverters? Well, inverters help power data centers and security agencies worry about disruption, data theft, and cyber attacks from the enemy. Although, when rogue devices were reportedly found in Chinese inverters last year, the federal probe that followed turned up no evidence of spyware. But the ban happened anyway.
We're tough on China. Manufacturers can still seek conditional approval through the Department of War. So, if the machines ever do rise up, at least they'll already have the address on file. Watch out. It's the third mounted inverter division. Elon Musk has finally launched X Money, an in-app payment platform that lets US users send instant transfers, manage digital wallets, and earn 3% cash back on eligible purchases. Currently, only US-based subscribers can entrust their life savings to a platform overrun by anonymous anime avatars and crypto pedaling trogodites. As for peer-to-peer payments, those are the only people you'll be able to pay since
you can only send payments to other XMoney users. Naturally, it includes an exclusive silver medal Visa card engraved with your username in Silian Rail. That should work everywhere, unless you're a resident of New York or Massachusetts, in which case you won't be able to sign up in the first place. You just can't. It seems that Elon wants X to be your all-in-one financial hub. After all, why bother pumping dog themed cryptocurrencies or pulling off a historic stock market valuation rugpull when you can just skip straight to the good part, the part where people hand you their money directly? And speaking of handing over money, our sponsor, Meter. All right, listen up team. We're going to go out there and win the state
championship. But you know who I brought as backup? Meter. They're going to be our hero here THAT'S GOING TO HELP US COMPLETE THIS GAME. WE'RE DONE JUGGLING five different vendors and duct tape and network solutions together. This is the full stack, the whole thing. Wired, wireless, cellular, internet, all in one platform. Legacy Network just wasn't built for what we deal with today. And the hidden cost is all the time we lose just keeping things running instead of improving them. And honestly, you're the heroes of these offices, the ones quietly keeping everything working while everyone else is out there and just expects it to work. And with Meter by our side, it strengthens us so we can
actually operate, not chase outages. No risky rip and replace, just a managed migration, predictable subscription, and 247 support. This just gives us the platform that actually keeps up. So go to meter.com/techlink to book a demo now. That's me.com/techlink to book a demo. GET OUT THERE FELLAS. LET'S GO. QUICKBITS are in the gerbal family. Same genus even. You can tell because both run at full speed on a wheel going absolutely nowhere. And it's adorable. Valve has made the CAD files for the Steam Machine's external shell publicly available allowing the DIY community to design cases, mounts, and face plates that actually fit. But just not Dbrand. That includes anyone building, say, an unofficial Portal themed case. Man, that
Jiren guy could have just waited. The same update adds FSR 4.1 support through Proton Experimental, letting supported games run in AMD's newest upscaler on the Gamecub's RDNA3 chip. Upscaled graphics, downloadable body. The Steam Machine is one firmware update away from being fully open source. Right. And then Dbrand can do Wait, we can all do Yeah. Wait, do it. It hugging face, essentially GitHub but for AI models, is letting harmful image tools slip through its moderation. According to nonprofit AI forensics, the group deployed a decoy tool that logged over a thousand
prompts, finding 73% were sexual. Out of those, 83% attempted non-consensual explicit edits or deep fakes. While Hugging Faces toos bans this content, moderation tends to be offloaded to the models themselves. and AI forensics found only 3% had safeguards against generating this material. Remember when perverts had to use their imagination? Those were better days. Reddit seems to be rolling out forced mandatory login to just use their desktop site. As reported by Neowin, Windows Report, and Reddit users themselves, the new login prompt appears to be unskippable with your only options being get started or I already have an account. Reddit is planning to require a login to access the old Reddit
website as a way to curb scraping and bot traffic. But it appears they're taking things even further. A guy scraped the site and the site is scraping my desire to visit it. Let's visit the other one. Wait, which Quora? Yeah, right. Windows 11 is quietly installing One Drive Photos, a second photo app that would also like to scan your pictures for faces. It arrives through a One Drive or Windows update, and the only way to remove it is removing One Drive entirely. The face grouping is optin and Microsoft promises the biometric data stays on your account and gets deleted if you disable it. We swear. So the app does ask permission before scanning your
face. It just doesn't ask to install itself on your PC. We've all had that friend. It's you, James. Yeah. And monkeys in Costa Rica, God bless them, are using AI to earn bananas. An exchange as old as time. Researchers from Emory University built an AI powered touchcreen that identifies wild capacin monkeys and presents them with a simple challenge. Touch the screen to get some dried banana. In turn, the researchers discover how capacins think, learn, and solve problems. As for what I learned, apparently the AI apparatus can't be busted open. And they named the alpha monkey Papy, which I like cuz that's what they call me around here.
Papy James. Vamos. Your puppy James will miss you if you're not back on Friday for more tech news. Could you bring some lettuce though? The quick bits love that. They ate part of the desk on Monday.
