Brad & Will Made a Tech Pod.

As is tradition (?) around here, over the holidays we're doing another extended ranking, and this year it's a two-part tier list of... every startup sound we could find across video game consoles, handhelds, and computer operating systems. Where does a startup sound end and menu music begin? Is it possible for a sound to sound the way that khakis look? Just how dank is the Dreamcast sound, anyway? We explore those and other questions in this part one of two!The tier list as of the end of this episode: https://tinyurl.com/tp319-sound-tiers-684jfsdi Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

As the end of the year rolls up on us, we attempt a little personalized year-in-review, looking back at 2025 without dwelling on the various tech crises we've already talked about ad nauseam. Instead we focus on things we thought were cool or uplifting this year, including Will's ongoing Linux desktop adventures, the inevitability of electric cars (and bicycles), when it's worth it to buy the good earbuds, convenience improvements in screen protectors, rediscovering the joy of CRTs and nerdy community, plus some listener nominations and a couple of Andy Rooney-esque rants for good measure.Linux Unplugged podcast on bcachefs: https://linuxunplugged.com/644Switch 2 grips Will mentioned: https://amzn.to/48IpFXE Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

It's briskly, unusually cold here in the Bay Area this year, so what better time to crack open another tray of cold opens for your bite-size listening pleasure. This time we discuss such micro-topics as what happens when the building fire alarm gets too old, the joy of a temperature-controlled bed, remotes that nag too much, yet another way Windows 11 is worsening, when good naps go bad, the mystery that is NixOS, and more.The possible future Windows 11 GUI we mentioned: https://mastodon.online/@grumpy_website/115673036992705122 Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

Things are getting so dire in the PC-building space that we had to revisit the subject again this week, primarily to discuss the sudden and shocking end of longtime RAM and SSD maker Crucial, with a deeper dive into the way the memory supply chain works and a glimpse into a very dark future where building your own PC might be out of reach for many. We also dig into some new reporting about the Steam Machine's HDMI output, and why open gaming platforms are going to be in conflict with proprietary HDMI standards going forward. Plus, the latest AI nonsense (and how to work around it) in Firefox and Google News.NOTE: We're working on freeing ourselves from the need for Adobe products, so bear with us if the podcast sounds a little different this week. Feedback welcome!Crucial press release: https://investors.micron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/micron-announces-exit-crucial-consumer-businessGamersNexus video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A-eeJP0J7cSteam Machine and HDMI 2.1: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/why-wont-steam-machine-support-hdmi-2-1-digging-in-on-the-display-standard-drama/Disable Firefox AI features: https://flamedfury.com/posts/disable-ai-in-firefox/The Verge on Google News AI headlines: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/838354/googles-ai-news-bot-is-still-confused-but-no-longer-replacing-our-headlines Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

The end of November brings a fresh crop of your questions, this month addressing subjects like getting lost in a corporation's Kafka-esque support infrastructure, video game voice chatting with Internet celebrities, how often to change your CPU paste, consumer tech that we think has plateaued, trenching Ethernet cable for an intra-yard network, the very cool concept of all-sky cameras, the glory of text expansion, and a bunch of other topics! Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod