TechLinked – March 28, 2026 Episode: Google TurboQuant, Mac Pro Discontinued, Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 + More!
Host: Linus Media Group

Episode Overview

This lively episode of TechLinked dives into the latest tech and gaming news, poking fun at the week's biggest developments with signature wit. Major topics include Google’s TurboQuant breakthrough for AI memory compression, Apple’s discontinuation of the Mac Pro, AMD’s heavy-duty new Ryzen chip for creators, and more. The episode highlights industry shakeups, product moves, and a string of quirky quick bits, all delivered with an irreverent, tongue-in-cheek tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Google’s TurboQuant AI Compression

[00:30 – 03:15]

• What is TurboQuant?

  • Google Research’s blog post introduces TurboQuant, a “compression algorithm that shrinks an AI model’s working memory by six times with zero accuracy loss.” (B, 00:35)
  • Targets “the key value cache”—the part of a large language model that tracks conversation context, which becomes a huge memory hog in long sessions.

• How does it work?

  • It's lauded for using “circle math” to remove memory overhead, as most compression so far added overhead and thus limited efficiency. TurboQuant results in “up to an 8 times speed up on Nvidia H100 GPUs.” (B, 01:35)
  • The research itself is about a year old but is in focus now ahead of its ICLR 2026 presentation.

• Impact on the industry

  • Finance world panicked, memory stocks like Micron and Sandisk tumbled on the news.
  • Analysts reassured that, like previous disruptions, increased efficiency will likely mean increased AI use, potentially creating more demand for memory, not less.

• Memorable Quote

  • “If you were holding your breath hoping this killed the memory crunch, maybe hold your breath a little less hard. Stop. Stop holding your breath. You're gonna breathe. Please live.” (B, 02:55)

2. Apple Discontinues Mac Pro

[03:16 – 06:08]

• Mac Pro quietly dropped

  • Apple “quietly pulled the former king of Macs from its website,” with no immediate plans or announcements for a successor. (B, 03:25)
  • Reference to the much-maligned “trash can era,” replaced in 2019 by the “cheese grater” design.

• Mac Studio now the high-end option

  • Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is “$5,000 less” than the Mac Pro's $7,000 starting price. (B, 04:04)
  • The Pro Display XDR and its famous $1,000 stand are also gone.

• Tone and Style

  • Multiple tongue-in-cheek references to the inexplicably expensive accessories: “No, the $300ft kit. Oh wow. And as of earlier this month, the... $1,000 stand.” (B, 04:25)
  • “How am I supposed to grate my incredibly expensive mature Coolea cheese while rendering on silicon that's three generations out of date now?” (B, 04:35)

• Notable Exchange

  • “I'll make something else screamingly expensive for you. Thank you, Tim Cook God.” (B, 04:50)

3. AMD’s Monster Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

[06:09 – 09:12]

• New desktop CPU launch

  • The “world’s first Desktop CPU with 3D V cache stacked on both chiplets,” the 9950X3D2, is announced. It features “208 megabytes of on chip cache across its 16 Zen 5 cores.” (B, 06:15)
  • Designed less for gamers, more for developers and creators: “5 to 10% gains over the already beastly 9950x3D no. 2 in tools like Blender, DaVinci Resolve and Unreal Engine.” (B, 06:55)

• Curious Absence

  • AMD didn’t share any gaming benchmarks, suggesting the new chip’s strengths are in productivity rather than games.

• Downsides and Pricing

  • The new chip has a “200 watt TDP, the highest of any AM5 chip, and a boost clock that actually dropped 100 MHz.” (B, 07:41)
  • No pricing yet, launches April 22.
  • Both AMD and Intel “raising CPU prices up to 15% thanks to the whole global supply crunch fiasco.” (B, 08:00)

• Quote

  • “At least you can get a deal with our sponsor, Vessi. Do you have feet?” (B, 08:11 – episode transitions to ad, not summarized further here)

4. Quick Bits: Fast Tech Updates

[10:45 – 18:45]

RCS Universal Profile 4.0 Finalized

• Adds “native video calling, including group calls with up to... 32 people.” (B, 10:53)
• Smarter media sharing and rich text formatting (bold, italics, strikethrough).
• “While the cost of living might be skyrocketing, you'll at least be rich in text.” (B, 11:32)

Apple Hands Over iCloud Alias Data to FBI

• Apple gave the FBI the real identity behind an iCloud “Hide My Email” alias after threats were sent using it.
• Highlights limits of privacy: “Unlike their device level encryption, alias to account mapping is stored on Apple servers and as a result can be subpoenaed.” (B, 12:11)
• Patel’s Gmail hacked; embarrassing vacation photos leaked.

Sony Raises PS5 Prices (Again)

• Price hikes effective April 2nd: PlayStation Portal up $50, regular and digital PS5s up $100, PS5 Pro up $150 to $900.
• “Sony blamed continued pressures in the global economic landscape... and bravely passed those costs onto their consumers.” (B, 14:22)

Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Articles

• Editors voted overwhelmingly to ban LLM-generated or rewritten articles due to “regularly violat[ing] the site's core context rules around verifiability and sourcing.”
• “Hallucinations will do that. Editors can still use AI for basic copy editing and translation assistance, but only with human review.” (B, 15:20)

More Delivery Robot Mishaps in Chicago

• Serve Robotics delivery robot “smashed through the glass wall of a bus stop shelter in Chicago before sheepishly blinking and then shambling away shamefully.” (B, 16:01)
• A second robot crash that week; incident goes viral.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Google TurboQuant hype:
  “Is the memory crisis over? Can we buy RAM yet? Well, we're here to give you a definitive maybe.” (B, 00:45)

• On Mac Pro discontinuation:
  “Kind of like how your landlord changes the locks while you're at work—all the time.” (B, 03:30)

• On AMD Ryzen 9950X3D2:
  “That's enough cache to make it feel at home in the vault of the Bellagio in Ocean's Eleven. And you don't even need to squeeze an ornery gymnast into a room service cart to access it.” (B, 06:25)

• On AI at Wikipedia:
  “So maybe your middle school teacher was right all along. That's one for you, Madame Ruzel. But I should still be allowed to chew gum in class, so I still don't like you.” (B, 15:35)

• On robot accidents:
  “Making the successful delivery to smashed bus stop ratio lower than residents would hope. It's not what we were going for.” (B, 17:15)

Segment Timestamps

• Intro and TurboQuant Discussion: 00:30 – 03:15
• Apple Mac Pro Discontinued: 03:16 – 06:08
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Launch: 06:09 – 09:12
• Quick Bits (RCS, Apple/FBI, PS5 price hike, Wikipedia AI ban, robot crash): 10:45 – 18:45

Summary

TechLinked’s March 28, 2026 episode brings a punchy, irreverent run-through of the week’s biggest tech stories: a major AI model memory breakthrough (that probably won’t end the memory crunch), dramatic end for the Mac Pro, AMD’s behemoth new CPU for creators, rule changes on AI at Wikipedia, and a string of quirky news bits including delivery robot fails and price hikes on PS5. Whether you’re a deep-nerd or a casual observer, the episode delivers breaking news, analysis, and plenty of laughs, all while keeping the listener in the know.