What do schools, universities, motivated STEM students, NASA, and the space industry have in common, all across the globe? The Universities Space Research Association! You may not have heard of this group before, but it's high time you did. Their new President and CEO, Dr. Elsayed Talaat, joins us to discuss the association's long history, educational and industry affiliations, and perhaps most impressively, their vast areas of research. If it's space, cutting-edge, and cool, the USRA is probably engaged. Join us for this fascinating look at one of the best education and research facilitators anywhere--the USRA.

Headlines:
• Astronomers mistakenly identified Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as an asteroid, highlighting the challenges of tracking an increasing number of objects in space
• AstroForge, a space mining company, announced their target asteroid for a mission launching next month, following calls for increased transparency from the scientific community
• SpaceX is completing construction on their fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule, as the current fleet is expected to meet NASA's needs until Starship becomes operational
• A newly discovered asteroid, 2024 YR4, has a small chance (1 in 83) of impacting Earth in 2032; NASA emphasizes that an impact is highly unlikely but will continue to track the object and refine the trajectory plot

Main Topic - All the Way with the USRA:
• The USRA was founded in 1969 to connect universities with NASA projects, particularly for lunar sample research during the Apollo era
• The organization has since expanded to cover a wide range of space-related research areas, including astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, space nuclear propulsion, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and microgravity science
• The USRA plays a key role in workforce development by providing internship and scholarship opportunities for students interested in space research
• The organization has a consortium of 121 member universities worldwide, which helps guide USRA's research focus and advocate for the interests of the academic space research community
• The USRA's funding primarily comes from competitively awarded NASA contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, as well as some funding from the Department of Defense and Department of Energy
• President and CEO Dr. Talaat emphasizes the importance of collaboration and cross-disciplinary research in advancing space science and technology
• The USRA's Lunar and Planetary Institute has been a key player in lunar research and exploration since the Apollo era, and continues to offer internship programs to inspire and train the next generation of space scientists
• Dr. Talaat highlights the critical role of space weather research in protecting technological infrastructure and ensuring the safety of astronauts and pilots
• He encourages young people to get involved in space research, emphasizing the excitement of scientific discovery and the real-world applications that benefit society

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dr. Elsayed R. Talaat

Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Bookshop.org is now offering a Kindle alternative. How hackers are hijacking WordPress sets to put out malware. And how people are freaking out about DeepSeek since it made a huge splash this past week.

• Dan Moren is joining Mikah Sargent this week! Dan talks about how Bookshop.org is now selling e-books, but Dan has concerns about how this could present technological challenges with DRM and app store fees.
• Mikah shares how hackers are hijacking WordPress sites and using them to push out malware for both Windows and Mac machines.
• Mikah also talks about how DeepSeek has made a huge splash in the technology world since this past Sunday and what has happened with the technology community and AI as a whole.
• And Eric Migicovsky, founder of the smartwatch company Pebble, joins Mikah to talk about exciting news with Pebble.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guest: Eric Migicovsky

Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

• uscloud.com
• zscaler.com/security
• veeam.com

In this episode, Mikah Sargent walks through step-by-step instructions for turning off the new Apple Intelligence features that are enabled by default on iPhones, iPads, and Macs running the latest software. Disabling Apple Intelligence will turn off capabilities like enhanced writing tools, accessing ChatGPT via Siri, and more.

- Apple Intelligence is a set of AI features now enabled by default on iPhones, iPads and Macs running the latest software.
- Some users may want to disable Apple Intelligence and stick with standard device functionality
- On a Mac:
- Go to System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri
- Toggle off "Apple Intelligence"
- This will disable Apple Intelligence features and revert Siri to basic functionality
- On an iPhone or iPad:
- Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri
- Toggle off "Apple Intelligence"
- This disables enhanced features and changes "Talk and Type to Siri" option to just "Talk to Siri"
- Toggles off on-device AI models which frees up storage space
- Models can be re-downloaded by re-enabling Apple Intelligence in settings
- Typing to Siri can be enabled separately via accessibility settings when Apple Intelligence is off

Host: Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to Hands-On Mac at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-mac

Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

From autocorrect to AI, Microsoft has updated the Notepad app to bring it into the modern age.

Host: Paul Thurrott

Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows

Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Industry journalist and consultant Mike Heiss joins Scott Wilkinson to discuss what he saw and heard at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. In Part 3, we talk about some audio products and technologies announced at the show.

Host: Scott Wilkinson

Guest: Michael Heiss

Want access to the video version and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard check out the often-overlooked Tips app on Apple devices, showing how it can be a powerful tool for discovering features and learning device functionality. They explore how the app has evolved from basic instructions to become an essential resource for both new and experienced users, complete with interactive demos and deep links to settings.

• Get Started section contains essential setup checklists for new devices, covering Face ID, Apple account, iCloud backup, and emergency contacts
• Navigate Your iPhone feature provides interactive tutorials with animations for basic gestures and controls
• Practice mode lets users try gestures with real-time feedback and haptic responses
• What's New in iOS section highlights latest features and updates
• Genius Picks section showcases expert-curated tips, including lesser-known features like Vehicle Motion Cues for reducing motion sickness
• Complete user guides for iPhone, Apple Watch, HomePod, Apple TV, and AirPods
• Tips widget can be added to home screen and customized for different Focus modes
• Search function helps quickly find specific features or solutions
• Tips can be bookmarked and shared with others

Feedback

• Question about disabling CarPlay navigation prompts to home/work

Shortcuts Corner

• An explanation of how to customize the Apple Health data export based on specific health data types (steps, sleep, blood oxygen, etc.)

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard

Want access to the video version and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

You can also contribute to iOS Today by sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv.

• Leo's AI Toys
• DeepSeek
• How a top Chinese AI model overcame US sanctions
• Mark Zuckerberg post re: Llama 4
• 17th Century Death Roulette ☠️
• Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' in Maps app after government updates
• 23andMe might sell itself as it runs out of money
• The rise of 'influencer voice': Why this TikTok creator accent is taking over the internet and maybe the world
• Paris' new TV
• Scoldy Mastodon
• Pluralistic: It's not a crime if we do it with an app (25 Jan 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
• Comcast unveils ultra-low lag Internet connection
• Dr. Barlow and HIllmanTok
• Philip Low, long-time friend and peer of Elon Musk, posts open letter calling him out for what he is.
• Why doesn't Siri know what it doesn't know?
• New Vatican document examines potential and risks of AI
• Technological puritanism
• All in the mind? The surprising truth about brain rot
• By Paris: Before Google's $2.7 Billion Deal With AI Startup, a Stark Warning on Safety
• The mayor of Merrymac

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau

Download or subscribe to This Week in Google (and Intelligent Machines) at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google.

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell go over the latest batch of preview updates for January 2025, including KB5050094! The big story of the week revolves around DeepSeek and its noticeable effects on the modern AI world. Sinofsky even wrote a big piece on the latest AI assistant!

Windows 11

• Preview updates for Windows 11, 10 arrive ahead of February Patch Tuesday
• Windows 11 - Taskbar preview improvements, Windows Studio Effects in the system tray, many File Explorer fixes, more
• Windows 10 - New Outlook replaces Mail, Calendar, People
• New Dev and Beta channel builds - Overdue battery icon updates in Dev, Snap Layout experiments in Beta
• New Canary build today with new File Explorer home view tab
• Microsoft to remove Dev Home from Windows - This never made sense, so that's fine, but its most important features will live on
• Microsoft Edge for Windows now has a Scareware blocker in preview

AI

• DeepSeek explodes out of the gate, sends Big Tech/AI stock reeling and opening up questions about how much money these companies are spending on AI
• Nadella, Altman, Nvidia all react to this change in interesting ways
• Steve Sinofsky - This was inevitable, disruption always comes from outside
• Ahead of this blockbuster development, a look at how the Microsoft/OpenAI relationship is changing - and now we need another look
• OpenAI announces Operator agent for ChatGPT in preview
• Google is bringing new Gemini features to Android and Pixel
• Google is also bringing NotebookLM to almost every Workspace tier, including the cheap one I (Paul) use, NotebookLM Plus to WS Standard and better

Microsoft

• Microsoft preps smaller Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon chips for some reason
• Microsoft is closing its UK-based "experience center"

Xbox

• Thanks to Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is the biggest game publisher in the world
• Phil Spencer: Xbox Series S a "real advantage" for coming portable gaming product
• Phil Spencer says hardware still "critical" to Xbox. More like "critical condition," am I right?
• No surprises at Xbox Developer_Direct, but a solid collection of games, including the new DOOM

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: It's time to start watching Dave's Garage
• App pick of the week: PowerToys, now with Zoomit
• RunAs Radio this week: Querying for Breaches with Mark Morowcyznski
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Blair Athol 12 Floral & Fauna

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

• Melissa.com/twit