YouTube is rolling out a feature allowing users to limit or potentially hide YouTube Shorts. While some users report being able to set a zero-minute limit and not see Shorts, others, including the hosts, found inconsistencies or the ability to easily bypass the limit. This change is speculated to be a response to a recent ruling against Google regarding app design harmful to minors, pushing them to make their platforms less attention-sucking. The effectiveness varies, with some claiming complete removal and others noting easy bypasses.

Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve 21 now includes a dedicated photo page with RAW editing, tethering, and masking, directly competing with Adobe Lightroom. Most features are free, with advanced AI tools requiring a one-time $295 Studio upgrade, a stark contrast to Lightroom's monthly subscription. This move is seen as a significant challenge to Adobe's market dominance, particularly for hybrid photo and video professionals who can now use matching color tools across images and footage within a single application.

California's 'Protect Our Games Act' (AB1921) proposes requiring digital game operators to provide 60 days' notice before shutting down necessary game services. They must also explain how users can continue playing, warn of security issues, and offer an offline version, a patched version, or a full refund. This bill, expected to be debated soon, applies to games released after December 1, 2026. Exemptions include subscription-based and free games, though the latter's definition regarding in-game purchases is still being clarified. The EU Parliament is also considering similar initiatives.

Apple is making a new push into the education sector with 'Apple Education,' a redesigned landing page promoting its hardware and software for lifelong learning. This initiative aims to reclaim ground lost to Chromebooks, with devices like low-cost iPads and MacBooks for K-12, extending to higher education. The hosts discuss whether this strategic shift will involve more aggressively priced products, similar to the new MacBook Air, and the implications for Apple's long-term market strategy.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has seen significant price increases, reaching $30 a month, prompting Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma to acknowledge it's become 'too expensive.' The long-term plan is to make Game Pass more flexible. Rumors suggest that new Call of Duty titles might skip Game Pass entirely, a significant shift given that adding COD was seen as a primary driver for past price hikes. This could undermine the value proposition for many subscribers, potentially leading to cancellations if key titles are no longer included.

Engineers at Discourse discovered a 1.6MB GIF of Jennifer Aniston's 'Happy Dance' was duplicated nearly a quarter-million times within a 600GB backup. Their attempt to fix this with hard links revealed a limitation in the ext4 file system, allowing only 65,000 links per file, resulting in 180,000 duplicate files. This amusing anecdote highlights the unexpected challenges in large-scale data management and file system limitations.

Struggling shoe retailer Allbirds has rebranded as Newbird AI, pivoting entirely to an AI compute infrastructure company. This bizarre move caused their stock to jump from under $3 to $17 in a single day, fueled by a secured $50 million in funding. Critics liken this to the dot-com or crypto bubbles, where companies add buzzwords to their names to artificially inflate stock value, without a clear business model beyond buying and leasing GPUs.

BYD is rolling out 5-minute flash charging for some of its top-selling EVs, starting with the Yuon Plus (Ato 3 outside China). This technology claims to charge from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes and 10% to 97% in 9 minutes, even in extreme cold. BYD has already built over 5,000 1.5-megawatt charging stations in China, with plans for 20,000 by year-end and a European rollout. This advancement could significantly address range anxiety and charging convenience, potentially being the 'last obstacle' to widespread EV adoption.

Starting June 15th, Google will penalize websites that interfere with the browser's back button, including trapping users in loops, redirecting to unintended pages, or inserting ads. This is an update to Google's spam policy, addressing a long-standing user frustration. Websites using third-party ad scripts or recommendation widgets may unknowingly be engaging in this practice, and Google is providing a two-month heads-up to rectify these issues.