I didn't have Laurene Powell Jobs calling out Marc Benioff for his philanthropy with asterisks (or "quiet corruption" as she calls it) on my Friday morning bingo card, but grab the popcorn.

Brooklyn Comedy Collective gets it.

Which one is Trump?

Chef's kiss. cc: @thelouvreof.bsky.social

Thought it was just my end, but it seems like the internet has been slow across the board this afternoon? Even downdetector wasn't loading.

Remember when everything needed Wi-Fi? Toasters, forks, egg trays — all “smart.” A decade later, the gadgets stopped shouting, but the noise got louder with generative everything. The Internet of Shit walked so AI slop could run. My latest piece: joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/the-intern...

Excited to watch Apple TV in Apple TV on Apple TV.

I attended the Bring Back BlackBerry campaign launch in Brooklyn. It’s easy to think it’s about nostalgia. It’s not. It’s about a growing movement toward intentional tech: people choosing focus, tactility, and boundaries in a world drowning in AI slop. joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/bring-back...

TIME gave top inventions of the year to literally any product, didn't it? time.com/collections/...

I attended the Bring Back BlackBerry campaign launch in Brooklyn. It’s easy to think it’s about nostalgia. It’s not. It’s about a growing movement toward intentional tech: people choosing focus, tactility, and boundaries in a world drowning in AI slop. joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/bring-back...

Seen on the Salesforce Tower. Is this what they told the hackers?

come on, Canada

Pentagon warns Toronto ‘dangerously close’ to winning World Series

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

The revenue from the stream could cover the child's future therapy bills.

Newsrooms constantly chase backlinks and referral revenue, especially with SEO now. It's not unique to Prime Day(s). It's another example of newsrooms trying to plug revenue gaps, as many resist tech innovation at every turn. Started in the dot-com era with relying only on newspaper-style banner ads

"Asked if Canada will secure any concessions or leave today's meeting empty-handed, Trump said: "I think they're going to walk away very happy," and added later that on trade, "we're going to especially treat Canada fairly."" 🤷‍♂️ www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

This says to me that he either *really* doesn't want to be home or he *really* needs the money.

that new Close to You video in the Nintendo app was weird without any context, right?

You're watching NBA on TNT.

My NYC show was canceled over the weekend and I was super bummed to get the email about it.

I was secretly hoping the famous Apple iPad Pro ad would be added to this YouTube homepage playlist for a bit shade.

This week, the Global Sumud Flotilla tried to deliver life-saving aid to Gaza. Instead, 461 people—including New Yorkers—have been detained by the Israeli military. They must be freed at once. And the deliberate starvation of Palestinians must end now.

Whaaaaat. They've canceled the PlayStation concert that was going to happen in NYC next week. Super bummed.

It's been fun watching just how painfully slow the $325 limited edition PlayStation book has been selling this week.

I wonder if there are any interesting albums releasing tomorrow.

Okay, the Xbox $360 era is pretty clever, @tomwarren.co.uk. Well done.

This is something I saw happening while I was still in newsrooms years ago. A big example given at the time was how much younger the White House press pool was getting. It used to be that it took years to get the coveted spot, but reporters fresh out of J school were now there asking questions.

"The Royals Loved The Show" is such a perfect description of... everything these days

Ohh so it's a "Get you fired for being wrong" level of bad. Good of them to announce that.

everybody is mad about almost everything all the time right now and if you can, i strongly advise finding something that makes you not mad and investing as much time as you can spare in that.

When a political opinion writer tries to be a business reporter but doesn't actually know what CEOs do on a day-to-day basis. Also this is often the rhetoric that the public hears (politicians saying they'll run countries like a business). Not a great move to help reinforce that idea tbh.

The full quote at the end: "...but it does make a lot of sense because they're having a hard time up there in Canada now."

So from reading the coverage, this morning was the textbook definition of "this could have been an email."

one year, without any warning, McDonald's should make it a Game of Life partnership as a social experiment.

I really enjoyed LEGO Dimensions. Was fun to collect and experiment with (especially the Scooby-Doo sets, amirite?). Was a shame it didn't do well, but understandable.

I was just thinking that I hadn't used my Switch Deck OLED in a little while and needed a new game for it, then the Steam Autumn Sale went up and I bought five games. Thank you, universe.

100% tariff on movies that reveal the entire plot in their trailers.

It’s official: EA is going private. The leveraged buyout will be financed by a staggering $20 billion of debt, which likely means some *aggressive* cost cutting is ahead for EA in the coming months and years. www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...

Wow, this would be huge. No longer chasing typical shareholder growth could mean more risk taking and fresh ideas. Obviously still calculated, since the private investors still want a return, but so many more possibilities now.

The best part is the water cooler in the box to replicate R2-D2 being in one.

I can see the UN out our window every day and this week there have consistently been four or five police boats in the East River and a minimum of two helicopters hovering at one time. Thanks, general assembly.

Wow, sure are a lot of people talking about having "con crud" or "the sniffles" or "really bad allergies" or "that nasty cold that's going around" lately. Wonder if there's another name for that...

New from me: Canada announced a new AI task force. The timing felt perfect, landing days after the U.S. hiked H-1B visa costs. But for now, it’s just a small group writing recommendations. It could be nothing unless it leads to real outcomes. My thoughts: joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/canadas-ne...

Said this on the Vergecast last week but this will backfire — the audience isn’t just going to watch whatever is on broadcast TV, they’re going to look at their phones instead! Local TV Giants Boycott Jimmy Kimmel’s Return to Late Night www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/b...

I'm sure we could all use a laugh right now

This is a real 60-second video posted online yesterday evening with featuring numerous popular trademarks. The Pokémon Company is one of the most aggressive protectors of its intellectual property, so I'm curious to see how this goes.

Are you or someone you know skipping GDC (or considering doing so) because of worries about coming to the US/San Francisco in the current environment? If so, I want to hear from you for a piece. DM me here or kyle DOT orland AT arstechnica DOT com. Please spread the word