The WAN Show: "I’m Taking Credit For This — WAN Show April 3, 2026"

Host: Linus Sebastian
Co-hosts: Luke Lafreniere, Dan Bessler
Release Date: April 4, 2026

Episode Overview

The WAN Show rings in "Good News April," dedicating this episode to focusing on positive technology updates and engaging discussions about the latest shifts in the tech landscape. Linus, Luke, and Dan dive into the surprising surge of Linux market share on Steam, collapsing DDR5 memory prices (and what’s driving it), ground-breaking AI efficiency improvements, and real human inspiration in space exploration. Sprinkled with their trademark banter, they also dig into listener questions, share hardware mishaps, discuss Jet-ownership and sustainability, and geek out over the ongoing Artemis 2 moon mission—marking humanity's first manned lunar mission in over half a century.

[00:50] Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Steam Survey: Linux Gaming Surges ([03:28]–[32:00])

• Headline: Steam's hardware survey shows Linux market share more than doubled, now at 5.33%.

• Breakdown: Arch Linux leads, followed by Mint and Ubuntu. The hosts muse about possible causes: Steam Deck’s influence, Valve’s reporting adjustments, and the Phoronix-reported removal of China-based users (where piracy is more rampant) from survey stats.

  Takeaway Quotes:

  • “5.33%—that’s pretty good. That’s like a userbase that you care about now.” — Linus [05:37]
  • “If they sell enough [Steam Decks], game developers will simply not be able to afford to ignore it.” — Luke [05:44]

• Personal Linux Experiences: Linus, Luke, and Dan discuss their ongoing "Linux challenge."

  • Friction and hurdles (file system cross-compatibility, NTFS issues, permissions, command line copying vs GUI, etc.)
  • Reframing Linux as a “console” for gaming, not just a Windows replacement.
  • The enduring importance of "killer apps" for platform success.

• Linux Adoption Nuances:

  • Cross-platform is good, but a change in perspective could help users accept some limitations.
  • Ongoing issues remain, especially with moving between file systems (NTFS vs ext4) and anti-cheat compatibility.

2. DDR5 Pricing Collapses, AI’s Role & Economic Ripple ([32:05]–[46:34])

• Headline: DDR5 RAM prices in China drop over 30%, with broader global price dips following.

• Causes: Google's TurboQuant AI compression, Sam Altman’s (OpenAI’s) "letters of intent" for DRAM purchases that never materialized, general bursting of the AI hardware bubble.

• Market Analysis: RAM is a competitive, commoditized market—unlike GPUs—and prices will correct. Linus and Luke expect home labs, AI, and data centers to shake up the secondhand market in coming years.

  Quote:

  • "RAM is like this, man—it’s always up and down… and we’ll absolutely see it crash again." — Luke [35:44]
  • "I’m extremely excited for five years from now when all these data centers are out of date… I can get a couple of cool AI cards." — Luke [36:39]

3. Google TurboQuant: Sixfold RAM Compression for LLMs ([89:19]–[97:21])

• Explanation: TurboQuant compresses the inference memory of large language models by 6x, with no accuracy loss, enabling more efficient (and cheaper) AI inference.

• Market Impacts: Prompted a dip in RAM (and related) stock prices, but AI deployments may simply fan new demand.

• Tech Details: Utilizes "PolarQuant" and "QJL" error correction to store data more efficiently. Could shape the future of both enterprise and local AI.

  Quote:

  • “Just three bits per number. Damn.” — Linus [91:44]

4. Artemis 2: Humans Back to the Moon ([119:02]–[127:18], [151:00]+)

• Historic Launch: NASA’s Artemis 2 begins humanity’s first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 (1972). Canadian astronaut featured.
• Banter:
  • The enormous challenge of retaining and regaining "lost" expertise—“Maintaining knowledge takes actual effort and tons of stuff has been forgotten.” — Luke [127:18]
  • Inspiration and optimism for humanity—“Space stuff just tends to bring people together, which I think is so cool… petty little squabbles are not what we should worry about.” — Linus [126:37]
• Memorable Moment:
  • Astronaut deals with Outlook issues on stream:
    • “I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of these are working. If you want to remote in and check Optimus and those two Outlooks, that would be awesome.” — Commander Reid Wiseman, quoted [123:46]

5. Good News Hits & Community Shout-outs ([48:01]–[54:29], [133:00]+)

• Game Date: New site lets communities schedule play sessions for dead/underrated multiplayer games (Unreal Tournament 2004, Battlefront 2, etc.).

  • “One of the big problems with these old games is they go in a self-fulfilling death spiral… now you can spark some fun experiences.” — Linus [49:15]

• Neuralink Update: Paralyzed patient rates and explores Azeroth in World of Warcraft hands-free, mind control only.

  • “He says he is raiding and exploring Azeroth. Hands free, full speed, no mouse, no keyboard, just intention.” — Linus [142:11]

• Spotify Adds Bit-perfect “Exclusive Mode” for audiophiles on Windows.

  • “That is so cool… You can get bit-perfect quality, that’s sweet.” — Luke [117:14]

• Valve (Steam) Fixes Regional Pricing: Addresses price imbalances in 37 currencies, letting developers price more fairly.

Notable Quotes & In-Episode Banter

• [09:10] Luke (on Linux adoption):
  “What if… instead of thinking about Linux as a replacement for Windows, we think about it as more of like an appliance, more like a console?”
• [11:00] Linus:
  “Microsoft is actively pushing me away. And the Linux experience has gotten so much better since the last time we tried it.”
• [23:45] Linus (on user experience migrating files):
  “If it did error… it should just tell me, ‘Hey, I missed 100,000 files.’”
• [123:46] Artemis 2 Astronaut:
  “I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of these are working. If you want to remote in… that would be awesome.”
• [126:37] Linus:
  “Space stuff just tends to bring people together… astronauts look back at Earth and feel like our petty little squabbles are not things we should worry about.”
• [142:11] Linus (on Neuralink):
  “He is raiding and exploring Azeroth. Hands-free, full speed, no mouse, no keyboard, just intention.”
• [158:26] Linus (on “fixing Windows search”):
  “That was the most angry I’ve ever been about good news. Yeah, but it’s still good news.”
• [205:10]+ Luke (on GamerJet):
  “This is intended to be very temporary… It’s trying to make it fun again. I want to try to make it fun again.”

[63:07+] Listener Q&A and Community Interaction

• On Tech House Renovation: Structural rewiring triggered by extensive asbestos, leading to a full gut. Linus: “There’s no way we were just going to sweep literal asbestos under the rug.”
• On Company Philosophy: Staff compensation (“above norms”), Jet ownership transparency, and content direction: “Trying to find the fun again… Back to basics.”
• Linux Challenge Update: More-real-world file system issues, switching between DEs ("KDE vs Mint and Cinnamon"), and hardware failures possibly accelerated by NTFS incompatibility.
• Favorite Cats Story: Touching anecdotes about Linus’ cats and childhood horses — with more personality talk than you get on any other tech show.
• On Repairability in Products:
  • “Most consumers will not actually buy something for that reason. So you just have to make it really good… you’ll have very loud people on your side, but it still has to be good.” — Linus [228:58]

[221:33+] Rapid-fire Topics: Backup, Bilibili, Home Automation

• Recommendation for backup software: Paragon (“as long-lasting as Windows 7 Backup”).
• Comments on Bilibili’s thriving, personality-rich video community and platform scale.
• Favorite home automation is simple, valuable notifications—like “the garage door is open”—not complexity for its own sake.

[151:00+] Artemis 2 Real-time Milestones

• Host team tracks Artemis 2’s journey live:
  • Features speed/distance trivia, website exploration, excitement over the lunar flyby, and spontaneous celebrations as the spacecraft crosses the “closer to the moon than to Earth” milestone during the show.

Tone & Style

• The show maintains its signature irreverence, deep technical dives, lived-experience anecdotes, and a not-quite-safe-for-corporate level of authenticity.
• “Good News April” brings an upbeat (if at times sardonic) vibe, with the hosts frequently expressing relief that they’re not mired in negativity this week.

Moments Not to Miss (Timestamps)

• [04:05] — Breakdown of distros in Steam Linux surge.
• [05:44] — Steam Deck critical mass & game devs' Linux support.
• [09:10] — Reframing Linux as a “console.”
• [32:23] — “Complete collapse” of DDR5 RAM pricing, tied to Google TurboQuant
• [89:19] — TurboQuant technical explanation.
• [119:02] — Artemis 2 launch, lunar flyby, and why “getting back to the moon is hard.”
• [123:46] — The Artemis 2 “Outlook” quote.
• [126:12] — Linus on inspiration from space travel.
• [142:11] — Neuralink patient plays WoW hands-free.
• [151:00+] — “Crossed the midpoint” live as Artemis 2 gets closer to the moon than Earth.
• [158:26] — “Good news, but angry”—Windows Search.
• [205:10] — Transparency and philosophy on LTT’s GamerJet.
• [228:03] — Turning “repairable” from gimmick to practical.

Final Thoughts

Summary:
This WAN Show is a prime example of why Linus Tech Tips is more than a YouTube channel—it’s a living, messy, and often inspiring forum for real tech talk. The mixture of upbeat news (Linux and RAM on the rise, Artemis to the moon), hands-on troubleshooting, community Q&A, and a core focus on fun keeps it vibrant and relevant.

For first-time listeners:
You'll walk away with insight into market and technology shifts (AI, RAM, operating systems), host perspectives on broader industry trends, and even the existential value of striving for human achievement—set to the backdrop of Artemis 2 streaking across the void.

Closing Vibe:
“Same bat-time, different channel. That’s right. You got to go to the WAN Show channel now.” — [268:53]
The WAN Show rides the wave of good news—reminding us that tech is about possibility, community, and sometimes just a little bit of joy.