It's the holidays! This week, we are joined by producer Anthony and our old pal Ant Pruitt to celebrate and discuss a wide variety of topics, from first space memories to our favorite space toys to what spaceflight means to each of us. It's a warm "family reunion" you won't want to miss! Join us for some holiday cheer, and Tariq's "Tiny Tim" moment...

Headlines:
• NASA's Parker Solar Probe to make its closest approach to the sun on Christmas Eve 2024, flying within 3.8 million miles and withstanding temperatures up to 2,500°F to study the sun's behavior and dynamics
• Christmas and Hanukkah to be celebrated on the same day in 2024, with astronauts on the ISS enjoying the holidays and connecting with their families on Earth, continuing a 50-plus year tradition
• A potential partial shutdown is looming for the U.S. government, which could impact NASA and limit public outreach during the Parker Solar Probe's close approach to the sun

Main Topic - Space Memories and Space Toys:
First Space Memories:
• Tariq recalls building paper rockets with his mother and launching them on a friend's farm
• Ant shares his first space memories from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the Challenger disaster
• Anthony mentions playing with Lego space sets sent by his aunt from Denmark
• Rod remembers listening to a Gemini mission on the radio at the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra lounge where his father worked and being captivated by Apollo 8's mission to orbit the moon and reading of Genesis on December 24, 1968

Favorite Space Toys:
• Rod shares memories of his ca. 1965 Big Loo Moon Robot and Major Matt Mason action figures, discussing the evolution of space toys in the 1960s
• Tariq reminisces about his Transformers Omega Supreme toy and a paper tab and slot space shuttle and carrier aircraft model
• Ant recalls his Transformers Skywarp toy and the appeal of its counterpart, Thundercracker
• Anthony talks about playing the video game Escape Velocity on his family's iMac computer
• The group discusses the joys and challenges of building model rockets, with Rod and Tariq sharing stories of their experiences
• Tariq shows off his new pre-built Estes space shuttle model rocket, comparing it to the more challenging build-it-yourself kits

The Importance of Space Exploration:
• Ant questions the allocation of resources for space exploration while critical issues on Earth remain unaddressed
• Rod counters by highlighting the technological, educational, and inspirational benefits of space programs, as well as the economic returns on investment, and the cultural importance of exploration
• The group discusses the potential impact of SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation on global connectivity and the debate surrounding its sustainability and alternatives
• Rod emphasizes the distinction between Elon Musk's ambitious Mars colonization plans and NASA's more measured approach to exploration
• The TWiS crew wishes everyone a happy holiday and Merry Christmas

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guests: Ant Pruitt and Anthony Nielsen

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Nvidia announces a tiny $249 AI supercomputer for AI hobbyists. The company Flipboard has a new social media system that allows you to create your own curated feeds. A look back at this past year's home theater tech with a friend of the network. And a look into sleepwear tech that will help you take a nap - on demand. Emily Forlini of PCMag talks about Nvidia's unveiling of a $249 palm-sized supercomputer that can help a variety of people with the power of AI to power their passion projects and hobbies. Mikah Sargent talks about Surf Social, a new social media network from Flipboard that allows you to create curated feeds and share them with others Scott Wilkinson of Home Theater Geeks stops by to discuss 2024's home theater tech, what excited Scott the most, and what he looks forward to in the coming year. And Nasha Addarich Martínez of CNET joins the show to talk about new sleepwear tech that can help you take a nap on demand. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Emily Forlini Guests: Scott Wilkinson and Nasha Addarich Martínez Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/twit uscloud.com cachefly.com/twit

The Audiophile Society recently released an album of digital audio files designed to let you evaluate any headphone's ability to render pinpoint imaging in an immersive soundfield. It also includes several full-length music tracks encoded in various immersive spatial-audio formats. Co-creator Brent Butterworth joins Scott to talk about the album.

Host: Scott Wilkinson

Guest: Brent Butterworth

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To be clear, we recommend that most people do not sign in to Windows 11 with a local account as you will have a better–and safer–overall experience using a Microsoft account. But more sophisticated users who know what they're doing can use a local account securely. And doing so can eliminate some of the bad behaviors we see in Windows 11, in particular the silent, forced usage of OneDrive Folder backup.

If you prefer using a local account, this episode can help you do so using the more secure possible configuration.

Host: Paul Thurrott

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Apple's Voice Memos app just got a serious upgrade for iPhone 16 Pro users, and Mikah Sargent is here to show you why it's a game-changer for musicians, podcasters, and creatives. The new layered audio recording feature lets you stack tracks effortlessly, capturing vocals over a backing track or layering spoken word with precision. Whether you're humming song ideas, laying down a podcast draft, or creating something unique, Mikah walks you through how this update transforms Voice Memos into an indispensable creative companion.

Voice Memos update brings Layered Recording to iPhone 16 Pro lineup - Apple - https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/12/voice-memos-update-brings-layered-recording-to-iphone-16-pro-lineup/

Host: Mikah Sargent

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As another year winds down, Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard reflect on the most impressive and useful apps that defined their digital experiences in 2024. In this special episode, the hosts dive deep into their personal favorites across various categories.

• Balatro: A unique card game that even non-card players will love
• Flighty: The ultimate flight-tracking companion
• Carrot Weather: Bringing personality & precision to weather forecasting
• Fastmail: An email app packed with powerful features
• Croissant: Simplifying cross-platform social media posting
• Call Sheet: The ultimate companion for TV and movie enthusiasts
• Plus, a few more!

Beyond their top picks, Mikah and Rosemary share insights into how these apps have improved their daily digital lives, offering listeners practical advice on finding and using the best iOS apps of the year.

Feedback

• Chris wrote in asking about a method to easily format email replies with different colors for each response.

Shortcuts Corner

• Jack asked about a CarPlay notification issue with a shortcut automation. His home arrival notification would activate on the screen but had no audio!

Whether you're looking to optimize your iOS experience or just curious about the year's best apps, this episode of iOS Today is a must-listen!

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard

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Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

You can also contribute to iOS Today by sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv.

Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes Personal Data of Rhode Island Residents Breached in Large Cyberattack YouTube TV increases price by $10 a month starting in January YouTube's year of the livingroom WordPress CEO Rage Quits Community Slack After Court Injunction Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 NotebookLM gets a new look, audio interactivity and a premium version 1-800-ChatGPT Roose celebritizes Claude The weirdest job in AI Nvidia's $249 Jetson Nano supercomputer The Trouble With Searching Google for 'the Best' Joanna Stern book all about her Feeling at home? New app lets US homebuyers see neighbors' politics Masnick: Katie Couric Is Wrong: Repealing Section 230 Won't Stop Online Misinformation LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced) Seat patterns from public transports all around the world A compendium of transit tickets. Top uses of Claude (by country) Always Go To The Funeral Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Download or subscribe to This Week in Google at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: cachefly.com/twit

Real-time translation, AI steak video, The Great Circle Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/912 Sponsors: uscloud.com cachefly.com/twit

Is AI the Wizard of Oz? Or is it more? Microsoft's long standing effective MFA login bypass. Is TPM 2.0 not required after all for Windows 11? Meet 14 North Korean IT workers who made $88 million from the West. Android updates its Bluetooth tracking with anti-tracking. The NPM package manager repository has had 540,000 malicious packages discovered hiding in plain sight. The AskWoody site remains alive, well, and terrific. My iPhone is linked to Windows and it's wonderful. Yay. How has email been finding logos before BIMI? If we use Him and Her for people, how about Hal for AI? Another very disturbing conversation with ChatGPT. What's going on with the new ChatGPT o1 model? It wants to escape? What?? Let's Encrypt plans to reduce its certificate lifetime from 90 to just 6 days. Why in the world? And all the best holiday wishes. See you in January Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1005-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Sponsors: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT 1password.com/securitynow bigid.com/securitynow canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

Blackmagic debuts a new 3D camera to capture video for the Vision Pro, which gets Alex Lindsay very giddy. King Charles III visits Apple's headquarters in the U.K. What does the panel think of iOS 18.2? And is Apple working on a new, folding iPad? Blackmagic debuts $30K 3D camera for capturing video for Vision Pro. His Majesty King Charles III visits Apple's U.K. headquarters. Tim Cook dines with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Tim Cook impressed King Charles with this specific iOS 18.2 feature. iOS 18.2/macOS 15.2 Review: Picture not so perfect? BBC complains to Apple over misleading shooting headline. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers get Apple Intelligence features. Apple's new vision for computing is a giant foldable iPad. Picks of the Week: Jason's Pick: Mic Drop Alex's Pick: Shokz OpenSwim Andy's Pick: 'Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas" Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, and Jason Snell Download or subscribe to MacBreak Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: zocdoc.com/macbreak

So You Want to Solve the NJ Drone Mystery? Our Expert Has Some Ideas Infowars Sale to The Onion Rejected by Federal Bankruptcy Judge Federal appeals court declines to temporarily block ban on TikTok, teeing up showdown at SCOTUS over controversial law WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules Crypto's Legacy Is Finally Clear Tech Industry and CEOs Curry Favor With Trump Ahead of His Inauguration AI Is Detecting More Breast Cancer Cases, Study Suggests Huge randomized trial of AI boosts discovery — at least for good scientists GM Calls It Quits on Mary Barra's $50 Billion Robotaxi Dream You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Cathy Gellis, Mike Elgan, and Emily Forlini Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: mintmobile.com/twit shopify.com/twit

It's the Jeff and Jonathan Show, with the guys talking about the new Intel Arc Battlemage graphics cards, the new hardware attack known as BadRam, and the new proposed Fedora COSMIC spin. There's a new Proton release, CentOS Stream 10 is out, and KDE ships 6.3. For tips we have Cargo for all your rust packaging needs, and switcherooctl for video card management. See the show notes at https://bit.ly/4iDntUk and enjoy!

Host: Jonathan Bennett

Co-Host: Jeff Massie

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