TechLinked – "Complete Spotify Torrent, RIP Steam Deck LCD, China Gets Blackwell + More!"
Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: James, Riley
Episode Overview
This episode of TechLinked delivers a rapid-fire rundown of the latest breaking stories in the world of tech and gaming. Key topics include the unprecedented leak of Spotify’s entire music library, the quiet discontinuation of the original Steam Deck LCD, China’s clever workarounds to U.S. chip export bans, major browser updates, curious YouTube resource drains, San Francisco’s driverless car woes, and nostalgic Dreamcast news. True to the podcast’s punchy style, hosts James and Riley keep things irreverent, insightful, and packed with memorable one-liners.
1. Spotify’s Entire Music Library Leaked (00:25)
- Event: An activist pirate group scraped nearly all of Spotify’s music library (~300 TB encompassing metadata and tens of millions of tracks) and dumped it on Anna’s Archive, an open-source “shadow library.”
- Details:
- Represents 99.6% of Spotify listens
- “Take a second to appreciate just how much music that no one cares about is in these files.” — James (00:54)
- Purpose of Leak: Pitched as a “preservation project” by hackers, though Spotify claims the group abused public endpoints and bypassed protections.
- Security Impact:
- No customer personal info was compromised.
- Focus was on audio files and metadata — not some full internal breach.
- “It's not a lot in size, but it's a lot in file count.” — James (01:13)
- Spotify Response:
- Vowed to defend artist rights and seek legal action.
- James’ take: “When hacktivists scrape someone's data, they call the lawyers. But nobody bats an eye when data from YouTube, Twitter, or Reddit gets scraped by AI, the AI doesn't know any better. It's still learning.” (01:26)
- Reflection on platform responsibility and data licensing.
2. RIP Steam Deck LCD (01:48)
- News: Valve quietly discontinued the original Steam Deck LCD handheld.
- Significance:
- Launched 2022 at $400, was the entry-level portable gaming device.
- “One of the best bang for your buck handheld gaming devices ever made.” — James (01:50)
- Why Discontinued:
- Likely due to OLED version sales cannibalizing the LCD.
- OLED model ($550) now the new baseline.
- “The murderer, the cane of handheld. Still, it stings.” — James (02:19)
- Industry Note: Handheld prices are rising, and the LCD was one of the last affordable options.
- Bonus News: Steam itself will go fully 64-bit on Windows by 2026.
- 32-bit Windows installs will lose update support.
- “Steam isn't mad, it's just moving on.” — James (02:41)
3. China Gets Its Hands on Nvidia Blackwell (02:46)
- Background: U.S. export bans bar Nvidia Blackwell B200 AI chips from sale in China.
- Workaround:
- Chinese tech giants (notably Tencent) lease top-tier Nvidia GPUs from a Japanese cloud operator (Data Section) that owns the hardware and operates outside China.
- “They're kind of like the Blockbuster Video for AI. The chips never physically enter China, so the arrangement stays technically legal under current rules.” — James (03:06)
- “I guess more like Netflix.” — James (03:12)
- Scale: Thousands of B200 and newer B300 chips leased, contracts worth billions.
- Benefit:
- Outperforms chips approved for sale inside China.
- Possibly more desirable than buying legal domestic chips.
- Nvidia still grows influence globally—just received US antitrust clearance for a minority Intel investment (03:46).
- Industry Trend: Vertical integration and global hardware jockeying.
4. Firefox Adds AI Kill Switch (05:22)
- News: Mozilla, after community feedback, will introduce one explicit toggle switch to disable all AI features in Firefox.
- Context:
- New CEO pushing Firefox as a modern browser with (optional) AI features.
- “One big button to make the annoying thing go away. I wish I could do this with Christmas and you just get them all enough.” — James (05:33)
- Significance: Responding to privacy concerns and user demands for control; reflects changing attitudes to browser AI.
5. YouTube Causing High CPU Load (05:35)
- Issue: YouTube Premium web app is causing high CPU usage, even when idle or on the homepage.
- Discovery:
- Reported by “Rayzazel” on the LTT subreddit, traced to a “web worker” called ‘Echo Worker JS’ sitting in a busy-wait loop.
- “Sounds like my old job.” — Riley (06:04)
- Solutions:
- Temporary workaround for Firefox users available via Rayzazel’s post.
- Chrome users: “Pick up some more CPU cores while you're downloading more ram, homeboy. Just you're on your own.” — James (06:24)
- Comedic Dog Pack Banter:
- Riley: “Pack is Firefox users.” (06:18)
- James: “It's a canine. Who is this guy?” (06:22)
6. Chinese GPUs Challenge Nvidia (06:27)
- Release: More Threads launches new GPU line, including the Huashan AI chip.
- Claims: Competitive with Nvidia’s most powerful chips.
- Market Impact: Stock price jumps, excitement over tech independence.
- Caveat: “Company hasn't given detailed benchmarks yet, and there's no third party benchmarks...” — James (06:36)
- Desire for Real-World Power: “I'm just looking for an affordable GPU that can run Crysis.” — James (06:43)
7. Waymo Robo-taxis Blocked by Power Outages (07:13)
- Incident: Major San Francisco power outage led to traffic lights going out; Waymo driverless cars got stuck, further clogging roads.
- Response: Waymo paused services until the grid was restored.
- Global Expansion:
- Uber & Lyft collaborate with Baidu to bring Apollo Go robo-taxis to London for 2026 tests.
- “Just hope there's no power outages, Londoners, or you'll be back to chakin the tube.” — James (07:50)
- Tone: Wry commentary on the growing pains of autonomous driving.
8. Sega Dreamcast Browser Dies After 25 Years (07:52)
- Headline: Google drops support for Dreamcast’s “PlanetWeb 3.0” browser (original to the 1999 console).
- Significance:
- “One of the longest running services Google didn't intentionally kill.” — James (08:07)
- “How the heck am I supposed to get my optimal seaman growth strategies now? Jeff, I need you to stay strong. I will get you out of that tank eventually. It's a Dreamcast game, Riley, okay?” — James (08:19)
- Retro Nods: Mourning the end of web connectivity for a beloved retro platform.
Noteworthy Quotes & Moments
- “Take a second to appreciate just how much music that no one cares about is in these files.” — James (00:54)
- “The murderer, the cane of handheld. Still, it stings.” — James (02:19)
- “They're kind of like the Blockbuster Video for AI.” — James (03:06)
- “Steam isn't mad, it's just moving on.” — James (02:41)
- “One big button to make the annoying thing go away. I wish I could do this with Christmas and you just get them all enough.” — James (05:33)
- Playful banter on canine vs. fox naming (06:18–06:27)
- “I'm just looking for an affordable GPU that can run Crysis.” — James (06:43)
- “How the heck am I supposed to get my optimal seaman growth strategies now? Jeff, I need you to stay strong. I will get you out of that tank eventually.” — James (08:18)
Timeline Quick Reference
| Topic | Start Time | |---------------------------------------------------|:----------:| | Spotify library scrape | 00:25 | | Valve discontinues Steam Deck LCD + 64-bit news | 01:48 | | China/Nvidia Blackwell chip leasing workaround | 02:46 | | Firefox AI kill switch | 05:22 | | YouTube high CPU bug | 05:35 | | More Threads new Chinese GPUs | 06:27 | | Waymo robo-taxi power outage, London expansion | 07:13 | | Dreamcast browser end | 07:52 |
Conclusion
The Dec 23, 2025 episode of TechLinked covers the biggest stories shaking the world of tech and gaming: massive piracy, the bittersweet rise of better hardware at higher prices, boundary-pushing cloud computing to skirt export bans, the ever-complicated role of AI in mainstream products, quirky browser nostalgia, and the odd snafus that come with our automated future. Sprinkled throughout are sharp observations, in-jokes, and a healthy dose of holiday-tech malaise — everything fans expect from TechLinked’s style.