Corsair’s New Memory Supplier, HP’s Broken BIOS Updates, California Age Verification Law Backlash + more!

Duration: 06:22

Timestamps:

0:00 Corsair’s New Memory Supplier

1:14 HP’s Broken BIOS Updates

2:09 California Age Verification Law Backlash

3:17 QUICK BITS INTRO

3:30 China’s Underwater Data Center

4:05 TSMC Employee Bonuses

4:37 Rippable GameCube, Wii, and Xbox Games

5:05 Drone Speed Record

5:37 The Pope Weighs in on AI

NEWS SOURCES:

MAINS

RAM IT THROUGH CUSTOMS

CXMT DDR5 DRAM Die Appears in Corsair Memory, could be the answer to ram crisis

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ddr5/chinese-memory-maker-cxmt-enters-the-mainstream-consumer-memory-with-corsair-vengeance-ddr5-kit-chinese-made-dram-emerges-as-an-antidote-for-crushing-shortages

https://www.techspot.com/news/112502-memory-prices-tipped-fall-china-starts-flooding-market.html

https://videocardz.com/newz/corsair-vengeance-ddr5-module-spotted-with-chinese-cxmt-memory

Twitter posts: https://x.com/wxnod/status/2057647089581277632

https://x.com/wxnod/status/2057666013253300570

https://wccftech.com/major-pc-manufacturers-are-surprisingly-exploring-integrating-chinese-memory-into-their-products/

Images: https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HI47HWubsAAE6Sv.jpg

https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HI46D5IaQAAQPWX.jpg

https://www.kitguru.net/components/memory/joao-silva/corsair-vengeance-ddr5-modules-spotted-using-chinese-cxmt-dram-chips/

Nikkei article: https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/supply-chain/hp-dell-acer-and-asus-mull-using-chinese-memory-chips-amid-supply-crunch

BIOS HAZARD

Certain HP laptop owners have been living a technical nightmare for the past few months thanks to an automatic "critical" BIOS update pushed via Windows Update. It's always fun when a "critical fix" turns out to be the thing that actually does the breaking.

https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/05/24/hp-investigating-bios-updates-that-leave-premium-laptop-users-in-boot-loop-limbo/5244769

Owners of the AMD-based ZBook Ultra G1a and EliteBook X G1a posted on various threads and forums about their experiences with unbootable devices, Blue Screens of Death, and fans spinning so loud they could clear a runway. Which I think was to create enough wind resistance to stop the crashes from happening. Because the update was flagged as critical, Windows installed it silently, leaving owners with no warning before things went sideways. https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-Notebooks/URGENT-ZBook-Ultra-G1a-BIOS-01-04-05-causing-boot-freeze/td-p/9635253

https://www.reddit.com/r/Hewlett_Packard/comments/1qh9vde/zbook_ultra_g1a_firstattempboot_freeze/

HP’s official response is that they're looking into it.

https://videocardz.com/newz/hp-investigates-bios-update-issues-on-amd-based-zbook-ultra-g1a-and-elitebook-x-g1a-laptops

If you're stuck, check out GitHub gist user Jeff Nash’ post for affected versions and workarounds. EliteBook users have a patch now, but ZBook owners are still waiting.

https://gist.github.com/jeffnash/65073bcf920db181d4ca763a814f2fe5

GIT YOUR ACT TOGETHER

California Lawmakers may be backing away from the age-verification requirement bill after backlash. https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/california-moves-to-exempt-linux-from-its-upcoming-age-verification-law-after-backlash-over-forcing-operating-systems-to-collect-users-ages-amendment-proposed-by-the-same-lawmaker-who-wrote-the-original-law

The new bill is an amendment that exempts the mainstream linux distros and attempts to account for open source software - https://lmg.gg/iy4xM

Original SOurce with the full 1856 Bill - https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1856/id/3400190

This is an amendment to the Digital Age Assurance Act introduced last year requiring system level age verification which had the open source community in a huff - https://www.tomshardware.com/software/operating-systems/california-introduces-age-verification-law

Original Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1043

Open source advocates were upset about the laws wording being so broad that it could hurt open source projects - https://ca.pcmag.com/security/15828/age-verification-laws-are-coming-for-your-os-heres-what-you-need-to-know

With the EFF’s Aaron mackey saying the laws are well intentioned but kind of miss the point - https://lmg.gg/rtemp

To their credit California Assembly Member Buffy Wicks who introduced the original bill also drafted the amendment and as of May 19, 2026, the bill was read a second time and ordered to third reading. https://lmg.gg/iR2pX

QUICK BITS

THE AI-BYSS

China says 'world's first' offshore wind-powered underwater data center has entered full operation

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-says-worlds-first-offshore-wind-powered-underwater-data-center-has-entered-full-operation-houses-2-000-servers-24-megawatt-subsea-ai-facility-uses-ocean-water-for-passive-cooling-and-offshore-wind-for-power

https://www.techradar.com/pro/china-unveils-worlds-first-underwater-data-center-2-000-server-facility-is-powered-by-offshore-wind-and-cooled-by-the-sea-making-it-one-of-the-most-efficient-around

https://www.offshorewind.biz/2026/05/18/china-puts-worlds-first-offshore-wind-powered-underwater-data-centre-into-operation/

Microsoft shelved their underwater data centers in 2024

https://www.techradar.com/pro/goodbye-natick-microsoft-has-given-up-on-one-of-its-coolest-projects-ever-underwater-data-center-pilot-got-canned-after-just-two-years-despite-successful-outcomes-and-wont-come-back

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/microsoft-waves-goodbye-to-underwater-data-centers

CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER

TSMC is reportedly desperately trying to walk back its CEO's comments about slashing employee bonuses by 30%, after Taiwanese staff threatened a Samsung-style revolt.

https://wccftech.com/tsmc-scrambles-to-calm-furious-employees-with-promises-of-bigger-bonuses-after-ceos-30-bonus-cut-comments-triggered-samsung-style-revolt-fears/

https://x.com/semivision_tw/status/2058525420614795641

The company has now reportedly issued a two-part statement promising, and, paraphrasing here "HAHA JK, actually bonuses will be higher than last year, the CEO was just kidding around."

https://x.com/semivision_tw/status/2058817582178898018?

OMNIDRIVER: YOU ARE THE WHEELMAN

Woah! Your Blu-ray drive can now rip GameCube, Wii, and Xbox games

https://www.techspot.com/news/112505-blu-ray-drive-can-now-rip-gamecube-wii.html

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/05/you-can-now-legally-rip-your-wii-gamecube-wii-and-xbox-discs-using-a-blu-ray-drive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuioEfLtVyo

Omnidrive details

http://wiki.redump.org/index.php?title=OmniDrive

Brick risk text:

https://lmg.gg/m5IPx

DRONE THRONE

A garage-built drone hit roughly 454 mph, unofficially smashing the battery-powered speed record - https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/drone-breaks-world-speed-record-with-453-mph-in-test-run-exotic-sawtooth-carbon-fiber-propeller-blades-one-of-the-key-advances-in-the-blackbird-design

https://dronexl.co/2026/05/22/blackbird-biggs-730-kmh-drone-speed-record/

https://gagadget.com/en/712128-garage-built-drone-hits-730-kmh-unofficially-faster-than-most-fighter-jets-cruise/

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9n1h0rn9No

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DET-AI-LS

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical is entirely about AI, https://www.engadget.com/2180436/pope-leo-calls-for-ai-to-serve-humanity-and-not-concentrate-power/

Also in attendance was Anthropic Co-founder Christopher Ola - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/pope-leo-xiv-to-launch-his-first-encylical-a-document-on-artificial-intelligence-with-anthropics-co-founder

The main thrust of the address is warning against concentrating its power in a few hands - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/25/pope-leo-encyclical-ai-artificial-intelligence-slavery

Saying it must be disarmed https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedppn6002jo

And compares it to the tower of babel - https://lmg.gg/VyjCb

It was a subtle nod to this encyclical from 115 years ago where the pope was shouting out workers rights during the industrial revolution https://www.papalencyclicals.net/leo13/l13rerum.htm