Weekly Download #84: LAST CALL for our giveaway!

Roger: Hello , it’s Roger here, and it’s Sunday, May 4 – and don’t make me say it. Okay, I’m gonna say it: May the 4th be With You.

Kevin: Okay, Roger, settle down. Now that you've got that out of your system, I’ll take it from here this week. BTW, aren’t you supposed to be at some wedding?

While Roger is away galavanting with the social elite, let’s take a minute to recognize his dapper drip.

For the ones who know, you a real one. For those who don’t:

_{GIVEAWAY – LAST CALL}

Alright, time for house cleaning stuff. Since we got that out of the way, we can talk about the good stuff. For instance, did you know that our BIG GIVEAWAY for a BLUETTI Charger 1 ends TOMORROW? That’s right, May 5th is your last chance.

Even better news: I have it on good authority that BLUETTI is throwing another winner into the mix. They were FLOORED by the turnout and offered to include another prize. This potentially means we could be picking two winners vs. the original one.

Peek Behind The Weekly Download Curtain:

I'm currently buried in emails, and BLUETTI's been trying to reach me. Just working through the back-and-forth with them to nail down an extra prize for you all.

In the meantime, you can enter now by clicking this link.

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Keep scrolling for some top tech tips for group trips, news of the week, and more.

• HOW TO: How to protect yourself against Apple’s “Airborne” vulnerability.

• THE BIG ONE: One big news story in 100 words or less

• FAST FIVE: Five news stories you missed.

• GEAR OF THE WEEK: CUKTECH 15 Ultra Power Bank

• MORONS OF THE WEEK: Nike’s NFT disaster

• TOOLS: Apps that caught our attention this week.

Let’s goooo!

-Roger

HOW TO
Protect yourself against Apple’s “Airborne” vulnerability 

Roger: Ooof x1000. Earlier this week, Kevin wrote about a newly discovered Apple OS vulnerability that allows hackers to access your phone via a backdoor through AirPlay. That means any iPad, MacBook, or iPhone you use in public could become rotten with spyware and other malicious code.

Here’s what to do to improve your Apple devices’ security.

iPhone
Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install

Mac
Apple > System Preferences > Software Update > Update Now

iPad
Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install

Apple TV
Settings > System > Software Update > Update Software

Why this matters:
Kevin covers it pretty well in his article, but this is a pretty massive security flaw on a piece of Apple OS software that a lot of people use without thinking. Best to run any updates available, IMMEDIATELY.

THE BIG ONE
One big news story in 100 words or less

Well, This Sucks: Tariffs Are About to Murder Your PC Building Dreams

Look, we've got some bad news for anyone planning to build a sick gaming rig anytime soon: the PC hardware industry is getting absolutely demolished by tariffs. We're talking nightmare-level increases of up to 145%, turning what should be affordable computer parts into luxury items.

GamersNexus just dropped a brutal investigation showing manufacturers are straight-up bleeding money. Want a reality check? Companies are losing $90 on $140 cases. Yeah, you read that right. And that whole "just make it in America" solution everyone keeps shouting about? Good luck with that when US labor costs are 5-10x higher than overseas.

The TLDR? Your dream build just got a lot more expensive, and nobody's happy about it.

Source: GamersNexus' deep dive (we highly recommend watching this)

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FAST FIVE
Five news stories you missed

1.) Article #1
KnowTechie’s take: Lorem

2.) Polygon sold to Valnet and hit with mass layoffs
KnowTechie’s take: I’m getting a little sick of seeing this happen to my favorite sites.

3.) White House objects to fines against Apple and Meta by EU
KnowTechie’s take: Looks like Apple and Meta’s investments in Trump’s inauguration fund are paying off.

4.) New “relationship tracking” ring puts your partnership to the test
KnowTechie’s take: Gonna just reply to this one with a big ol’ no thank you!

5.) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge release date leaks
KnowTechie’s take: Looks like this iPhone 17 competitor is due to be unleashed on May 13, 2025.

GEAR OF THE WEEK
UGREEN × Genshin Impact Collection

Kevin’s Pick:

• Launches March 25 in 14 countries

• Features Kinich character designs

• Available on ugreen.com, Amazon & TikTok Shop

Products (US Pricing):

• 20,000mAh Power Bank - $89.99

• 65W GaN Charger - $39.99

• Qi2 Wireless Charger - $59.99

• 100W USB-C Cable - $9.99

Roger’s Pick: We should’ve called the past few weeks “Charging Month” what with our BLUETTI Charger 1 giveway, but in case you don’t win, we have the perfect powerbank for you.

I’m gonna be honest when I saw the name of this device, I did a double take. It’s called the CUKTECH 15 Ultra Power Bank and it feels more than a little NSFW to type that out.

That said: Work is exactly what the CUKTECH 15 Ultra Power Bank is all about. This sleek, fast-charging power bank comes loaded with features you wouldn’t expect to find in a $109.99 device.

Long story short: if you do a lot of working on-the-go, this power bank will become your new go-to.

Features:
- 20,000 mAh capacity
- Supports a broad range of fast charging protocols including: PPS, QC, PD3.1, FCP, SCP, and Xiaomi’s 120W MiPPS
- Dynamic information screen with real-time charging data
- $109.99 sticker price (currently marked down from $119.99)

Read more about the CUKTECH 15 Ultra Power Bank and get yours here:

Morons of the Week
Nike’s NFT disaster

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) were a big thing back in 2021 but it seems like the Crypto world is trying to move beyond it. This has caused a handful of issues for companies who ran campaigns using the tech. The latest victim is Nike, who are facing a class action lawsuit over what some are calling a “rug-pull” (a crypto-specific term for “scam”).

The lawsuit involves NFTs sold as part of the Nike x RTFKT campaign. After Nike shut down RTFKT in late 2024, it rendered most of the NFTs “effectively worthless.”

This mess was exacerbated late last week, when Nike apparently switched to a lower Cloudflare tier which made the NFTs temporarily display as error messages.

TOOLS

PodPod – Turn anything into a podcast

Kayak.AI beta – Plan and book your next trip, conversationally.

Peek – AI-Powered financial planner – so you can feel in control of your money.

OpenAI o3 and o4-mini – Try out OpenAI’s latest LLM releases.

Marvel Unlimited – The best way to read Marvel Comics online.

THANKS FOR READING!

Alright! Thanks for another great week together.

Don’t forget to share this newsletter with friends, family, coworkers, etc. Word of mouth (and clicks on our sponsors’ links) are what keep the Weekly Download going!

-Roger & Kevin