TechLinked Podcast Summary – Nov 20, 2025

Episode Title: ‘Agentic’ Windows double-down, Epic Games/Unity collab, Pebble vs. Rebble + more!
Host: Linus Media Group
Theme: A fast-paced rundown of the hottest and weirdest tech news, with irreverent analysis and banter.

Main Theme / Episode Purpose

This episode delivers recent tech and gaming news, tackling controversial product changes, unexpected collaborations, and colorful community dramas. The hosts blend insightful breakdowns with lively humor, keeping listeners both informed and entertained.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Microsoft’s "Agentic" Windows Features

[00:29]

• Microsoft persists in pushing an “agentic OS”—a Windows system with AI agents that work in the background with access to shared folders.
• Despite user backlash (“No one wants to use an agentic Windows...”), Microsoft’s support articles emphasize enhanced productivity, but users remain skeptical, fearing less control and more security risks.
• The hosts reference a Verge writer’s experiment using Copilot as intended:

  “Copilot made his computer feel incompetent, projecting it had a crisis of confidence. But apparently it's competent enough to install malware.” (Host, 00:29)

• Security is a real concern due to possible vulnerabilities to malicious prompts via emails, docs, webpages.
• The hosts lament Microsoft’s stubborn direction, suggesting fun alternatives (e.g., someone making a Windows 95 3D maze screensaver into a playable game).

2. Epic Games and Unity Team Up

[02:07]

• Unity developers can now publish games directly inside Fortnite via its Island Discovery system.
• This gives small dev teams access to Fortnite’s massive audience and its creator economy payouts.
• The host frames this as part of Epic CEO Tim Sweeney’s “open metaverse” vision:

  “People can not just play, but live their entire lives as Homer Simpson Avatar who communicates entirely through K Pop inspired emotes.” (Host, 02:33)

• The collaboration will also let Unity support games made with Unreal Engine on Epic’s new Commerce Dashboard for managing payments, pricing, and digital catalogs.
• The hosts remark on the unexpected depth of collaboration between two rival game engines, joking about “living in Timothy Sweetner’s metaverse.”

3. Pebble vs. Rebble: Smartwatch Community Schism

[03:09]

• The Pebble smartwatch, recently revived, faces new drama. Community is divided between:
  • Core Devices: Led by the original founder, making new hardware.
  • Rebble: A nonprofit running the Pebble App Store and cloud services since the original company shutdown.
• A now-collapsed deal would’ve had Core build a new app store front while Rebble ran the backend.
• Disputes erupted over data control—Rebble accuses Core of potentially planning a closed, proprietary store and scraping their app data. Core wants a public archive.

  “Both sides claim they’re protecting Pebble’s future, which looks increasingly uncertain as long as mom and dad keep fighting. Please stop. But hey, at least the watches still tell the time, right?” (Host, 04:28)

4. Quick Bits

[05:44 and onward]

• Cloudflare Outage:
  Major outage knocked out ChatGPT, X, and other services after a bot management file overload. No cyberattack, but it’s the third big outage in a month.
• AMD FSR Redstone:
  New AI-powered upscaling tech launches Dec 10. Buzzwords include “neural radiance, caching, and ray regeneration.” Also, GPU price hikes may be incoming.
• Google’s Gemini 3:
  Newly released "smartest AI model yet" with enhanced understanding of text, images, audio. Integrated into Google Search and the Gemini app.

  “But being that it’s a Gemini, is it ever really going to get away from the stereotypes that it’s indecisive, impulsive, unreliable and nosy?” (Host, 07:13)

• Russia’s SIM Card Lockdowns:
  Russia now disables mobile internet for up to 24 hours on re-entry for travelers, to prevent drone navigation. Automation causes chaos in border regions.

  “Phones that reconnect after being on foreign networks get automatically quarantined until users prove... that they’re a human, not a quadcopter.” (Host, 08:20)

• TikTok AI Content Controls:
  TikTok adds a new slider for AI-generated content and invisible watermarking (readable only by TikTok) to flag AI videos, rolling out soon.
• Light-hearted banter and quick jokes sprinkled throughout, maintaining the irreverent tone.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Microsoft’s AI ambitions:

  “For some reason, Microsoft seems hell bent on making Windows worse instead of better." (Host, 01:47)

• On Epic and Unity’s collaboration:

  “Maybe Timothy Sweetner is right. This already is his metaverse and we’re just living in it.” (Host, 02:57)

• Pebble vs. Rebble drama:

  “Both sides claim they’re protecting Pebble’s future, which looks increasingly uncertain as long as mom and dad keep fighting. Please stop. But hey, at least the watches still tell the time, right?” (Host, 04:28)

• Cybersecurity/metaphor humor:

  “Cloudflare’s... crashing harder than a real housewife.” (Host, 05:54)

• On Google’s new AI personality:

  “Is [Gemini] ever really going to get away from the stereotypes that it’s indecisive, impulsive, unreliable and nosy?” (Host, 07:13)

• Border controls in Russia:

  “Phones… get automatically quarantined until users prove... that they’re a human, not a quadcopter.” (Host, 08:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Microsoft "Agentic" Windows News: 00:29–01:56
• Epic Games & Unity Collaboration: 02:07–03:03
• Pebble vs. Rebble Drama: 03:09–04:28
• Quick Bits: 05:44–08:34
  • Cloudflare outage: 05:44
  • AMD FSR Redstone: 06:23
  • Google Gemini 3: 06:59
  • Russia’s SIM crackdown: 08:04
  • TikTok AI controls: 08:34

Tone and Delivery

The episode is rapid-fire, irreverent, and tongue-in-cheek, often lampooning big tech ambitions and playing up oddities in the week’s news. Hosts riff off each other's jokes but pivot quickly to ensure dense, info-rich coverage.

For listeners short on time: This episode delivers up-to-the-minute tech news with a healthy dose of snark and memorable commentary, all in under ten minutes per segment.