BradenWorks · Tech

Tech news that matters, minus the hype.

Fresh headlines, enterprise IT, security, scripts, and honest gear talk — from a working IT pro. No clickbait, no recycled press releases.

Today in Tech

Fresh · verified this morning

Elon Musk

SpaceXAI considers overhaul of Grok/X pricing

A unified subscription with four tiers — from a free limited plan to a $100/month "Ultra," plus a new $8/month lite plan with Grok, a checkmark, and fewer ads.

Moneyweb (via Bloomberg) · Oct 1

Elon Musk

Musk teases Nvidia AI milestone at SpaceX

Musk says SpaceX is "cautiously optimistic" it can run Nvidia's VR72 AI system near 250kW average power — up to 25% above typical industry figures.

Stocktwits · Oct 2

Nvidia

64GB DGX Spark at $4,999

A cheaper 64GB version of Nvidia's desktop AI supercomputer — half the memory of the original — shipping in the U.S. October 23 through six OEM partners.

NeoTeo · Oct 2

Nvidia

Amazon's $8B Nvidia chip financing plan

Amazon is exploring moving ~$8B of Grace Blackwell chips into an investor-funded vehicle and leasing them back — AI hardware as financeable infrastructure.

Tower Post (via Reuters/FT) · Oct 3

Security

KB Kookmin Bank hit in AI-powered breach

South Korea's KB Kookmin and Shinhan banks breached within 48 hours by hackers reportedly using AI tools — 25,000+ Shinhan customers' loan records exposed.

Nation Press · Oct 2

Flock cameras

Sanders bill would ban federal Flock use

Covers all license-plate readers, lets Americans sue over violations — while Flock, under pressure, cut default data retention from 30 days to 7.

TechCrunch · Oct 2

AI & Chips

Musk · Nvidia · Apple silicon

Apple & Microsoft

Hardware · OS · AI PCs

Apple

12 new things from Apple this October

Foldable iPhone Duo launches October 23 (pre-orders Oct 16), iOS 27.1/27.2 ship, and a 512GB-RAM Mac Studio config arrives late month.

MacRumors · Sep 28

Data Centers

Power · builds · locations

Nuclear

Oracle's nuclear deal for $15B AI campus

Oracle wants 125–250 MW from Wisconsin's Point Beach nuclear plant for its "Lighthouse Campus" with OpenAI — says it could save utility customers $300M.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel · Oct 1

Security

Hacks · exploits · surveillance

Exploit

Attackers hit the vulnerability hunters

Two Zammad helpdesk zero-days (CVSS 9.4) chained to root the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure itself — researchers' emails stolen.

The Register · Oct 1

Flock cameras

11 mystery cameras watched Florida drivers

No known owner. Surfaced as DeSantis ordered Flock cameras off state highways and an officer was arrested for 382 unauthorized database lookups.

Fast Company · Oct 2

Enterprise IT

Exchange · Azure · SCCM · deployment
Heads up, Exchange admins: Extended Security Updates for Exchange 2016/2019 end permanently October 31 — there is no Period 3. Patch now or migrate.

Exchange

Exchange Server SE SU10 V2 released

Fixes nine CVEs including CVE-2026-96940. Known issues: published calendars (.ics HTTP 500s), Korean WordBreaker deadlocks — install the SU, then run Health Checker.

Icewolf Blog · Oct 3

Azure

September Scan Cab re-released (MC1486397)

If you downloaded the September Scan Cab before 6:30 PM PDT Oct 2, re-download — new metadata covers the just-released Exchange updates.

Tophhie Cloud Blog · Oct 2

SCCM

Deploy Windows 11 26H2 via SCCM

26H2 released Sep 29. For 24H2/25H2 machines it's a tiny ~174KB enablement package, not a full reinstall.

Prajwal Desai · Oct 1

Windows Server

Microsoft deprecating major WDS features

PXE network boot and WIM/multicast imaging retire in the next Windows Server release — plan the move to modern deployment tools.

Neowin · Sep 25

Script Library

PSADT · SCCM · PowerShell

IT pro scripts, curated

A working library of deployment and troubleshooting scripts — PSADT packages, SCCM helpers, reset and diagnostic scripts. Every script ships with plain-English instructions: what it does, how to run it, how to test it.

  • Coming first: PSADT application templates and SCCM deployment helpers
  • All scripts are download-with-instructions — a web page can't run code on your machine, and shouldn't
  • No passwords or secrets ever stored with scripts

github.com/askbraden →

How to use them

  • Read first: every script lists what it touches before you run it
  • Test: lab or pilot group before wide deployment
  • In-network vs out: marked per script where it matters
  • Telemetry: strictly opt-in, phase two — your data stays yours

Where to Buy

Latest hardware · real retailers

Out now / shipping soon

  • Nvidia DGX Spark 64GB — $4,999. Ships in the U.S. October 23 through six OEM partners.
  • Googlebook laptops — at Best Buy now (Dell XPS Googlebook $999; free Pixel Buds 2a with pre-order).
  • RTX Spark systems — from Lenovo and Acer this October.
  • AMD EPYC 9006 "Venice" — 31 SKUs priced ($700–$14,904); buy through ASUS, Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Supermicro as platforms launch.
  • Surface Laptop 13 Gen 2 — ships October 13 in the U.S.
  • iPhone Duo (foldable) — pre-orders October 16, launches October 23.

Buying smart

  • Server pricing you see quoted is usually 1Ku (per-1,000-unit) — not the shelf price.
  • AI desktops: compare total memory first — it's the bottleneck, not the GPU name.
  • More buying guides land here as hardware drops. No affiliate links yet — when they appear, they'll be labeled.

Toolbox

Antivirus · troubleshooting · daily drivers
Download only from the vendor's official site — never from a "free download" aggregator. Nothing here is a paid placement, ever.

Security & antivirus

  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free — best hands-off protection; quiet, light, top lab scores. bitdefender.com
  • Avast Free Antivirus — best free overall in 2026 testing (perfect AV-TEST score on the free build). avast.com
  • Malwarebytes Free — the second-opinion scanner; best at cleaning an already-infected PC. Run it alongside your main antivirus. malwarebytes.com
  • AVG AntiVirus Free — solid everyday free protection, clean interface. avg.com
  • Microsoft Defender — already built into Windows and switched on. If you install nothing else, make sure this is on.

Troubleshooting & repair

  • More recommendations landing soon.

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