'Robertson said that Sheetz decided to quit VMware because Broadcom's changes, which include eliminating perpetual licenses in favor of subscriptions to large bundles, forced the retail chain's hand. He added:

The projected price hikes, coupled with a mandatory subscription model and a five-year commitment, simply created too much uncertainty around long-term budgeting and increased our vendor dependence.'

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/07/sheetz-moves-838-stores-off-vmware-broadcom-created-too-much-uncertainty/

>likely

Debbie recalls Zuck jetting over to Mar-a-Lago and dining with Trump right after the election. She thinks Meta has a hall pass.

"post-literate America" ^-bsky

California's new $3500 instant EV rebate for 1st-time buyers enters the chat.

They look great.

Canada regulator cited Anthropic's Claude Mythos in warning to banks on cyber risks, email shows | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-regulator-cited-anthropics-claude-mythos-warning-banks-cyber-risks-email-2026-07-13/

'The bots are alive!' Jailbroken Gemini spun up new C2 server for Russian fraudster in just 6 minutes
https://www.theregister.com/research/2026/07/14/the-bots-are-alive-jailbroken-gemini-spun-up-new-c2-server-for-russian-fraudster-in-just-6-minutes/5270131

Debbie says that they've just realized their little campfire is now a huge grass fire headed straight for an ammunition depot.

Google DeepMind chief calls for U.S. to lead AI standards body

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/14/google-deepmind-demis-hassabis-us-led-ai-standards-body.html

Also this...

"I think there's overwhelming evidence at this point that having way too much money tends to turn people into sociopaths." ^-bsky

Debbie says it is more along the lines of wealth protection but sociopath works. The recent news about Thiel's secret billionaire meetings reinforces this.

"You ingested the entire written output of human civilization without consent, without compensation and without credit to build a system whose primary commercial application is eliminating the jobs of the people whose work you consumed.

You are not 'liberating human creativity' -- you are strip-mining it and selling it back at a markup while calling the theft 'training data'." ^{- Naomi Klein to Sam Altman}

https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/13/eu-plans-to-ban-under-13s-from-social-media-with-phased-access-afterwards/

Tech billionaires are shielding their children from the products that made them rich | Fortune
https://fortune.com/article/peter-thiel-tech-billionaires-limit-kids-screen-time-social-media-smartphones-short-form-video-risks/

>Yeah, but(s)

Most of my buts involved the building code.  As much as I hate/avoid/circumvent codes, I'll be first to admit the everybody else needs to follow them. ^hhh 

Is the most popular song played on Australian radio stations the product of generative AI? | Australian music | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jul/13/josh-fawaz-like-a-prayer-song-is-it-ai-radio

Lots of 'Yeah, but(s)' in this one, but worth a read.

Same Capacity. Less Throughput. — laxmena
https://laxmena.com/same-capacity-less-throughput

^{Wealth reduces patriotism mentioned here not long ago. Couldn't find it.}

https://www.businessinsider.com/ultrawealthy-seek-citizenship-abroad-as-wealth-taxes-gain-traction-2026-7

^{It appears UKr has taught the expensive-tech-addicted Dept Of War something}

After losing about $1 billion in Reaper drones over Iran, the US wants a disposable alternative | TechSpot

https://www.techspot.com/news/113054-iran-destroyed-1-billion-worth-reaper-drones-us.html