In this episode of This Week in Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the latest updates on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, the potential for aurora sightings due to increased solar activity, and China's ambitious lunar exploration program with returning guest Mike Wall, Spaceflight Editor at Space.com. The conversation focuses on China's upcoming Chang'e 6 mission, its capabilities, and the implications of China's growing presence on the Moon. The hosts also touch upon the nationalistic aspects of the new space race between the United States and China.

Headlines:

• Boeing's Starliner update: The spacecraft is ready for launch on June 1st, despite recent issues with parachutes, wiring, and helium leaks.
• Venus Exploration: Japan's Akatsuki probe, currently the only active mission at Venus, has lost contact with JAXA. However, NASA, ESA, and private companies like Rocket Lab are planning future missions to explore the planet.
• SpaceX Dragon capsule debris found in North Carolina: A piece of the trunk, about the size of a small coffee table, was discovered on a hiking trail.
• Increased solar activity may lead to Aurora sightings: A giant sunspot has returned, and its intense activity could trigger powerful Aurora displays.

Main Topic - China's Lunar Ambitions and the New Space Race:

• Chang'e 6 Mission: China is set to launch the Chang'e 6 mission to the far side of the moon's southern polar region, with the goal of returning samples. The mission is part of China's ambitious lunar exploration program.
• International Collaboration: Although US-China collaboration is limited, Chang'e 6 includes contributions from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan.
• Future Chinese Lunar Missions: China plans to launch Chang'e 7 in 2026, featuring an orbiter, rover, and a hopping robot, and Chang'e 8 in 2028, which will attempt 3D printing using lunar regolith.
• Artemis Accords and the Outer Space Treaty: As China and the US both aim to establish a presence on the moon, questions arise about territorial claims and the enforcement of the Outer Space Treaty.
• Space Race Rhetoric: Both the US and China have engaged in nationalistic rhetoric regarding their lunar ambitions, with concerns about China's potential to claim exclusive rights to lunar resources.
• Scientific Significance: Despite the geopolitical tensions, Chang'e 6 and future missions from both nations have the potential to greatly advance our understanding of the moon and its environment.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Mike Wall

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Can you debunk misinformation before it gets out to the public? A massive leak of Google's search algorithm made its way online. What is the /e/OS mobile operating system? And OpenAI is working with Apple to train Siri, and it is making Microsoft concerned about their relationship.

• Will Oremus from The Washington Post joins Mikah Sargent to talk about misinformation and the practice of 'prebunking' as a way to educate voters in upcoming elections so that they are as informed as possible when casting their votes.
• Mikah talks about a recent leak of Google's search algorithm and the company's acknowledgement of the leak.
• Senior Writer Scott Gilbertson of Wired stops by the show to discuss /e/OS and its differences from the stock Google Android operating system.
• Finally, Mikah talks about OpenAI helping Apple fix its digital assistant, Siri, and how that working relationship is making Microsoft very concerned.

Host: Mikah Sargent

Guests: Will Oremus and Scott Gilbertson

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After receiving a number of emails about scheduling Time Machine backups, Mikah Sargent has created an episode of Hands on Mac about TimeMachineEditor. TimeMachineEditor is an app whose sole purpose is to serve as a Time Machine backup scheduler. Mikah walks you through the process of setting up and scheduling Time Machine backups using the app.

TimeMachineEditor - https://tclementdev.com/timemachineeditor/

Host: Mikah Sargent

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For the most part, Microsoft Edge looks and works much like other modern web browsers. It offers all the features you expect, like tabbed browsing, an address bar with integrated search, support for themes and extensions, and so on. This Week, Paul shows some of his favorite new features in Microsoft's native web browser.

Host: Paul Thurrott

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Lisa outlines four compelling reasons for brands to buy direct. Learn about the importance of implementing ad tech, landing a better deal, receiving script recommendations, and securing the right customers. Find out how TWiT can help you achieve your growth goals and campaign objectives.

Host: Lisa Laporte

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Listener TR's cousin lives in rural Ohio with no cable or Internet and needs a new TV. He wants to know if "dumb" TVs are still available. Scott Wilkinson offers some alternatives.

Host: Scott Wilkinson

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If you've been rocking the standard, default, first-party widgets from Apple, your widget game needs an upgrade! Rosemary Orchard and Mikah Sargent share some of the best widgets to stay updated, informed, and in control on your iPhone and iPad.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard

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

• Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search
• Ex-OpenAI Director Says Board Learned of ChatGPT Launch on Twitter
• OpenAI researcher who resigned over safety concerns joins Anthropic
• UN statement on risks from generative AI
• We'll Miss You: Pioneering instant messaging program ICQ is finally shutting down after nearly 30 years
• Congress Just Made It Basically Impossible to Track Taylor Swift's Private Jet
• Everything Google announced at its big Chromebook showcase
• Google adds AI-powered features to Chromebook
• Here's the Google Home app 'Favorites' widget
• Google Ads Now Being Mixed In With Organic Results
• YouTube's free games catalog 'Playables' rolls out to all users
• How Shein and Temu Snuck Up on Amazon
• BuzzFeed Clashes With Vivek Ramaswamy, Its New Activist Investor
• Internet Archive and the Wayback Machine under DDoS cyber-attack
• HUGE Google Search document leak reveals inner workings of ranking algorithm
• TikTok offered an extraordinary deal. The U.S. government took a pass
• Parents Dance Like It's the '80s on TikTok, and Bring Down the House
• Meta's white, male advisory group
• My weekend plans: Ren Faire on HBO
• Canva meets Hamilton
• Top 50 podcasts

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau

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Bing outage, NVIDIA's record Q1 FY25, WPF's rebirth

Windows 11

• A quick look back at the Copilot+ PC launch
• Paul did end up making a video of each MacBook Air reference during last week's launch
• The Copilot+ PC event was also notable for its many references to the past: Paul counted at least 7 in the first 7 minutes alone
• After some soul-searching, Paul went all-in on Surface Laptop by canceling the first preorder and bulking it up with more RAM and storage
• Release Preview (last week): 24H2 comes to RP, suggesting it hits stable on Tuesday, June 11 (in preview), one week before the first Copilot+ PCs arrive with this build preinstalled
• Beta (last week): 23H2 build with no new features (arriving after 24H2 in Release Preview, of course)
• Microsoft Edge is getting more responsive thanks to a "WebUI 2.0" initiative
• Lenovo earnings up 9 percent in quarter, down 8 percent for the year. The future? AI PCs, duh

AI

• There was a massive Bing outage late last week. Press hold on all the obvious jokes, this impacted Copilot everywhere, DuckDuckGo, other services
• Cue the Chicken Little "this is why I'll never use AI" crowd, which used to be the "this is why I'll never use the cloud" crowd
• Copilot comes to Telegram for some reason
• Google goes live with AI overviews in Search and the world grinds to a halt
• Google adds Gemini to Chromebook Plus, gives one free year of Google One AI Premium to new device buyers
• WWDC is coming soon and we're seeing hints of how Apple will add more AI to its products
• Opera partners with Google Cloud on Gemini in Aria AI and image understanding/image generation in browser
• And it now plans to make 2000 SLMs available in the browser
• NVIDIA revenues were a record in Q1, up 262 percent YOY

Dev

• Last week, we learned that WPF is making a comeback. This week, Paul revived his .NETpad project and is going to modernize it using the new features

Xbox

• We finally have some news about Activision Blizzard games and Game Pass!!! But it's only one game, and it doesn't happen until November
• Atari buys the Intellivision brand. I wish we knew more about this

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Beware the dark patterns
• App pick of the week: Windows 11 version 24H2
• RunAs Radio this week: PowerApp Extensibility with Christina Wheeler
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Glen Garioch 1797 Founder's Reserve

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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• The bigger problem with AI Overview
• https://udm14.com/ -and- https://tenbluelinks.org/
• The horses have left the barn
• VPNs and Firewalls
• Email @ GRC
• Extension to fix Google search
• Passwords and SPAM
• Fixing motherboard components
• Vertical tabs in Firefox
• FritzBox routers
• Too many PINs
• More Google search fixes
• Testing Windows XP
• The 50 Gigabyte Privacy Bomb

Show Notes - 976-Notes.pdf">https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-976-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte

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You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page.

For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6.

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