Apple Will Never Be The Same

This week's tech news roundup covers significant leadership changes at Apple, a new competitor in the console market, and updates from Brave, Micro Center, and various AI and robotics developments. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, is stepping down after over a decade, transitioning to the role of executive chairman of the board. This move was reportedly approved unanimously due to fears of Cook's "bullying." John Turnis, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will replace Cook as CEO. The announcement is described as slanderous to Craig Federigi, who is presented as CEO material with an impressive ability for voice impressions, exemplified by his iOS 18 announcement. Turnis, on the other hand, is humorously compared to a boring character from "Parks and Wreck." Despite Cook's positive letter about Turnis, the narrative suggests skepticism. On a more positive note, Johnny Shrewi has finally been named Apple's chief hardware officer. In the gaming hardware space, a Spanish company called Plleix has launched a Steam Machine competitor months ahead of Valve's official release. The console-shaped mini PC, developed by the Emu Deck team, features a Ryzen 5 5500, Radeon RX960 XT with 16GB of VRAM, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM. It runs on Planix OS, a custom Arch Linux build designed for controller-first navigation, and is housed in a 3D-printed shell resembling a hybrid of an Xbox Series S and a record player. Priced at €1,140, it's considered steep for a device pre-emptively targeting an unreleased product, especially since Valve has not yet confirmed full specs or pricing for their Steam Machine. Brave has introduced Brave Origin, a stripped-down version of its browser focusing solely on ad blocking and anti-tracking features. This minimalist approach addresses user complaints about bloat from features like the crypto wallet, VPN, and Leo AI. While Brave states these features fund development, they also conflict with the browser's privacy-first ethos. Brave is offering two options: the free browser with additional features, or a $60 paid version for the Origin build. Linux users receive Origin for free, as Brave believes they are technically inclined to compile their own versions. The segment also includes a promotional break for Micro Center's April desktop deals, highlighting discounted rigs and upcoming store openings in Austin, Texas, and North Jersey, with free flash drive giveaways for attendees. In quick bits, SKH Heinik employees are reportedly set to receive substantial bonuses due to a new profit-sharing structure, while Samsung's labor union is threatening a strike over bonus demands. The NSA is reportedly using Anthropic's Mythos AI model, despite the Pentagon labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk due to its refusal of mass domestic surveillance. Steam has been successfully run on an original Nintendo Switch through the latest Proton beta, which added ARM 64 support. However, games themselves do not yet run on the Switch due to performance limitations of the older Nvidia chip. A humanoid robot named Lightning has set a new half marathon world record, outpacing human runners significantly. Finally, pasta sauce brand Prago has released "The Connection Keeper," a conversation recording device designed for optional archiving with Story Core, a partnership that allows uploads to the Library of Congress archives.