It was a perfect June evening in New York when I received my first email from the source who would ask me to call him Red Bull. He was writing from hell, 8,000 miles away.
A summer shower had left a rainbow over my Brooklyn neighborhood, and my two children were playing in a kiddie pool on the roof of our apartment building. Now the sun was setting, while I—in typical 21st-century parenting fashion, forgive me—compulsively scrolled through every app on my phone.
The message had no subject line and came from an address on the encrypted email service Proton Mail: “vaultwhistle@proton.me.” I opened it.
“Hello. I’m currently working inside a major crypto romance scam operation based in the Golden Triangle,” it began. “I am a computer engineer being forced to work here under a contract.”
“I’ve collected internal evidence of how the scam works—step by step,” the message continued. “I am still inside the compound, so I cannot risk direct exposure. But I want to help shut this down.”
I knew only vaguely that the Golden Triangle was a lawless jungle region in Southeast Asia. But as a reporter who has covered cryptocurrency crime for the past decade and a half, I understood that crypto scamming—specifically the version of it that’s come to be known as “pigbutchering,” in which victims are lured with promises of romance and lucrative investments, only to be tricked into handing over their life savings—has become the most profitable form of cybercrime in the world, pulling in tens of billions of dollars annually.
This sprawling scam industry is, today, staffed by hundreds of thousands of forced laborers in compounds across Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. They’re trafficked there from the poorest regions of Asia and Africa and pressed into the service of Chinese organized crime groups. The result is a self-perpetuating, constantly growing, globe-spanning money funnel that destroys lives on both ends—bankrupting one kind of victim, enslaving another.
I had read harrowing reports of scam compounds where laborers are beaten, tortured with electric shock batons, starved, and even murdered by their captors. Those stories have mostly come from the rare survivors who have escaped or been rescued by law enforcement. Never before, though, had I heard of someone currently working within a scam compound offering to act as a whistleblower—an actual source on the inside.
A Booz Allen contractor had leaked confidential tax information that showed how wealthy people like Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos manage to minimize their tax obligations.
After repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, Ukrainians face long outages during a cold winter at war. On social media, Ukrainians share tips for keeping warm at home.
You wouldn’t think it, but for years people have looked at the humble umbrella and seen more than just a way to keep dry during a rainstorm. They see it as a challenge. Can human ingenuity perfect it? Are there ways to use it we never thought of before? Can it be both more practical and insanely complicated? The answer to all of this appears to be “Yes.”
There are currently more than 11 registered patents for backpack umbrellas, and their designs range from simple extendable parasols that reach out from standard backpacks to giant shell-like hoods that cover your entire head. There are full-body umbrellas that make you look like you’re walking around in a hamster ball, there are shoe umbrellas for keeping you dry when you’re wearing open-toe footwear, and even personal vehicles to escort you through inclement weather (at some point in the not-too-distant future).
Despite the creativity, these attempts at innovation are still cumbersome and, well, frankly impractical. But John Tse, an engineer and filmmaker who runs the I Build Stuff YouTube channel, has really thought outside the box with his fascinating flying umbrella.
The opposite of a cartoon character walking around with a tiny raincloud hovering over their head, Tse’s invention utilizes drone technology to keep your head covered without the need to hold anything, wear anything, or strap yourself into anything.
Originally designed and prototyped in 2024, Tse provided a detailed behind-the-scenes update on the project just a few weeks ago to his audience of 160K+ subscribers (and beyond). In the video, Tse describes how his initial drone umbrella relied on a handheld controller, making it impractical and limited in its usability. Responding to customer suggestions, he set out to add a tracking system so that the flying umbrella could simply follow its user around, hovering just a few feet above their heads.
The process involved testing different tracking systems, from cameras, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors and even, facetiously, a remote human operator.
Tse is exhaustive in the details–explaining how flight controllers and Raspberry Pi single-board computers were used to test methods of identifying and eventually following specific targets. The inventor also manages to be skillful, clever, and funny in the storytelling. At one point, he lectures to himself in an empty classroom.
Not to spoil the ending of a video titled “I Built a Fully Autonomous Flying Umbrella,” but Tse is able to achieve his goal…sort of. As he says at the end of the video, “I’d be lying if I said this project turned out perfect, but at the same time I would also be lying to say that this moment didn’t bring us joy.”
Tse’s channel is sparse (he currently has 16 videos) but they clearly represent someone asking the questions no one else is. Apart from “wouldn’t it be cool to have a flying autonomous umbrella?” he ponders adding aimbots to a bow and arrow or building a working flight stick out of LEGO.
Even in its imperfect state, Tse’s umbrella invention is fun, potentially practical, and certainly better than…whatever this is.
If you’re in the market for a new Tesla, your fancy new electric car is going to be a little less smart—unless you pony up for a subscription. According to reporting from Elektrek and buying experiences from drivers, the company is ditching the basic Autopilot mode that used to come standard in new vehicles, and is now pushing buyers to subscribe to Full Self-Driving instead.
Before, Autopilot consisted of two minor but helpful driving assist features. The first was Traffic Aware Cruise Control, which automatically adjusts speed based on the speed limit and surrounding cars, and the second was Autosteer, which helps keep you in the center of your lane. The idea was that, while highway driving, you could turn on Autopilot and essentially let your car drive itself (while still remaining attentive and aware, of course).
Now, though, Autosteer will only be available as part of a Full Self-Driving, or FSD, subscription. Traffic Aware Cruise Control will still come standard on new vehicles, but highway drivers who aren’t paying Tesla a monthly fee will now need to make tiny corrections every once in a while to keep from veering into the wrong lane.
Making its cars dumber by default is an odd move for a company that wants to be seen as cutting-edge, although if removing Autopilot encourages more FSD subscriptions, that would see more users with Tesla’s most-advanced self-driving tech on the road. Unfortunately, that goal will be pretty costly for consumers. A Full Self-Driving subscription currently costs $99 per month, although until Feb. 14, you are able to buy a lifetime FSD subscription for $8,000.
Which features you’d get with an FSD sub depends on what’s legally available in your area, but in addition to bringing back Autosteer, upgrading could also net you assistance with parking, pickups, and lane changes. However, if all you want is to get your basic functionality back, disgruntled drivers are pointing out that the discontinued features continue to be offered standard on lower-cost models from competing brands, like Toyota.
The move to push Full Self-Driving subscriptions also comes alongside a promise from Tesla owner Elon Musk that pricing for the feature will go up as it improves, although the statement seemed to mostly focus on hopes of a future unsupervised FSD mode rather than more minor upgrades.
At any rate, it’s getting more expensive to buy a Tesla that lives up to the futuristic dreams the marketing promises. The company does still offer a slightly less expensive $6,000 "Enhanced Autopilot" add-on in some international regions, which combines the features from basic Autopilot with a few FSD features, but North American customers will now have no choice but to subscribe.
The console wars ended a while ago, in case you didn’t know. But if they were still raging on, a talented hardware modder in China created a device force a lasting peace. It’s a massive and very cleverly designed triangular box that contains an Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch 2. They all work and can be easily swapped between with the press of a button.
As first spotted by Tom’s Hardware, Chinese tech and computer expert ??? XNZ has created an all-in-one mega console which she anointed the “Ningtendo PXBOX 5,” a name that just rolls right off the tongue. According to XNZ, the idea behind this wild device came from her wanting to play various console-exclusive games without having to get up and manually power on and off each machine to switch between them.
The design of the monster machine is inspired by the 2013 Apple Mac Pro, aka the one that looked like a trash can. And while she didn’t use the actual innards of an old Mac, the inside of that strange computer was a triangular setup that ended up being the perfect design to house three disassembled gaming console. A fan at the bottom is then used to cool the consoles.
But creating a triangular heatsink for that would be expensive, so XNZ used an ancient method known as lost-wax casting to create the high-end piece of tech. Essentially, you first create an object out of an easy to melt piece of material, like wax or plastic, and then coat it in a heat-resistant material. Then you heat the object and all the soft insides melt and you can pour molten metal inside, which hardens and cools into your desired shape. Nifty!
The end product is an impressive device but it might not be the most practical. The power supply she used only allows one console at a time to play a game, though the others can idle in the background. A big button on top switches the HDMI input between the consoles. Probably easier and cheaper to just buy the consoles and an HDMI switcher with a remote, but that’s not nearly as cool as the Ningtendo PXBOX 5.
Corporations don’t have feelings. And yet, they want others to think they do—and that we’re being too rough on them.
Twice this past week, major tech companies appealed to empathy. One bid bubbled up in a Wccftech interview with Micron, when the memory producer was asked if it and other suppliers were abandoning consumers. The response: “Our viewpoint is that we are trying to help consumers around the world. We’re just doing it through different channels. […] What’s going on right now is that the TAM [ed: Total Addressable Market] and data center is growing just absolutely tremendously. And we want to make sure that, as a company, we help fulfill that TAM as well.”
Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.
The other came from Nvidia, with CEO Jensen Huang calling gloomy views of AI “extremely hurtful” during a discussion on the No Priors podcast. Huang’s take: “I think we’ve done a lot of damage lately with very well-respected people who have painted a doomer narrative, end of the world narrative, science fiction narrative. […] It’s not helpful to people, it’s not helpful to the industry, it’s not helpful to society, it’s not helpful to the governments.”
I was struck by the argument Huang went on to present in that same podcast segment, which suggests AI is going through growing pains while reaching the goal of functionality, and such negativity hinders and slows that progress—as well as that of the podcast hosts, who seeded the idea of self-interest as the motivator for regulatory action. That those seeking regulation may be trying to freeze out new startups, not save humanity.
So expensive. And not going to drop in price anytime soon, either, no matter how you buy it as a consumer.
Foundry
There’s a lesson here for those of us in the stands—everyone is looking out for their own interests, including consumers. And we should be smart about appeals to emotion, because they’re not always in the interest of the listener.
Meanwhile, inflation and interest rates continue to depress consumer spending power here in the U.S., which is reflected abroad as well. AI has also torched jobs—it’s fueled thousands of layoffs already.
Sure, in the grand scheme of things, the fevered pace of tech often has led to good outcomes in the end. But that doesn’t change the individual impact of incomes lost, plans destroyed, security evaporated. So when a company makes a play for my agreement through emotion, I always wonder: Who benefits from this vision?
In this case, consumers not being completely shut out isn’t the win Micron delicately posited. RAM now costs triple what it did just bare months ago—many will still be effectively shut out from upgrades and replacement PCs. For Nvidia’s part, the hints that zero regulation benefits progress ignores the human element: As the saying goes, regulations are often written in blood. How much regulation is warranted is a different conversation, and a reasonable one to have.
But you can’t have a reasonable discussion without some critique or outright criticism. When companies appeal to emotion, I wonder why it doesn’t cut both ways. I wonder who benefits. In the case of technology right now, certainly not individuals. This approach isn’t a fair tactic. None of us should accept it as such.
In this episode of The Full Nerd
In this episode of The Full Nerd, Will Smith, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Michael Crider give CES 2026 a final send-off with a look at the smaller things we liked at the show. I’m still considering building my own E-Ink picture display now. If technology can save me from my sad bachelor-esque habits, I’m for it.
Also, Will did make me feel better that I’m not as bad as I thought, regarding home decor. I have a couch, sir. And even a coffee table!
I was not in the majority on my opinion of the show floor robots, though.
And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds.
This week’s quieter nerd news
I can’t say I’m mad about the slow flow of news this week—I guess everyone’s still wrung out from CES 2026…or just tired from counting all the mentions of AI from the keynotes. (I would like to note that Will and I got our count through pure, old-fashioned grit.)
Still, there’s plenty to eye with speculation. Or outright suspicion. (I’m giving that supposed Steam Machine pricing some side-eye.)
I guess my old Sandy Bridge system could get revived again…
kingston.com
Digging deep into the archives: Apparently, Chinese DIY builders are now recommissioning DDR3 motherboards for use. I never thought I could justify my continued use of my Sandy Bridge system, but here we are.
Necessity is the mother of invention: Or at least, the precipitator of modding laptop RAM to work as desktop RAM, because it works out to be cheaper.
I am not all-in: Google Gemini can now connect with Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube to provide more personalized answers to an individual’s questions. It’s currently set as opt-out, and Google pinky-swears it’s not training the model on any accessible data…but the company also is reminding everyone that, you know, your data is living already on its servers. Yeah.
On the inside: I like me a good factory tour. I was very pleased when I saw a notification for this Gamers Nexus video, which gives a cool peek into production of Intel Arc cards at Sparkle.
Uh, congrats, Linux? Security researchers have uncovered a new, previously unknown—and more advanced—malware targeting Linux cloud servers. An unwanted (but I guess predictable) reminder that bad actors go after people, not platforms.
ICYMI: Nvidia DLSS 4.5 (at least, the super resolution part) is live—if you have a compatible card, you can try it out right now.
Valve
I’m dubious: Buried deep in a Czech retailer’s website were two possible indicators of the upcoming Steam Machine’s price, with both the entry-level and upgrade versions circling the $1,000 mark. Placeholder, or a sign of the times? My vote’s for the former.
Oooooh: Is AMD taking a page out of Nvidia’s playbook? Rumor has it that Team Red will drop its new Gorgon Point CPUs just days ahead of Panther Lake’s imminent launch. (Shhh, don’t tell Brad I’m spreading scuttlebutt.)
Cool…but I don’t have a problem, Brad: Brad raved about this particular software demo among those he saw at CES 2026. I admit it’s interesting, but I want to stress I have no issues with how many tabs I keep open. I live a comfortable life.
I winced: Those deep in the memory trenches predict years of RAM shortages, given the current climate—the best estimate came from Micron, with things beginning to ease in mid-2027. Yeah.
Thanks, I hate it: Verizon made a deal to allow its users to unlock phones after 60 days. A new FCC ruling says it no longer has to. I guess it’s back to unlocked phones only for me…
Gosh, what a banger of a start to the new year. I thought I’d spend most of this week sneaking in complaints about crowded gyms. Yes, it’s absolutely other people’s fault I ate too much and drank a ton of Will’s excellent eggnog. (Thanks again for sharing that with us!)
Catch you all next week!
Alaina
This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld.
