Nintendo Switch is getting Virtual Game Cards for porting digital games between devices, and Tom Merritt draws a through line between tech connectivity and our love of animals.
Starring Jason Howell and Huyen Tue Dao.
JASON: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, March 27th, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.
HUYEN: Today we hear from Tom Merritt about wires and we reach into the mailbox for something from you. [18:18]
I’m Jason Howell,
I’m Huyen Tue Dao.
JASON: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
BIG STORY
Exclusive: Google will develop the Android OS fully in private, and here's why
JASON: Google announced a major change to how it develops the Android operating system. Beginning next week, all Android development will be moved to Google's internal branches and away from the public Android Open Source Project (or AOSP) Gerrit. The shift is intended to streamline the development process and minimize complications that occur with the maintenance of two disparate branches: Public AOSP and Google's internal branch.
Google has confirmed its commitment to keeping Android open-source by publishing new Android releases and the Android Linux kernal fork publicly. The company does plan to reduce its frequency in publishing that source code though, moving from an ongoing public development model to releasing the code only when there's a new branch with those changes to be published.
Google has a more formal announcement of this change expected to drop later this week.
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JASON: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
BRIEFS
With the Switch 2 coming, Nintendo is working on Virtual Game Cards for cross-device portability
TechCrunch
HUYEN: Nintendo is near release of a new feature called Virtual Game Cards that is meant to make porting games between Switch devices easier in a similar way to how physical game cards can be easily swapped between consoles. The new feature will be available in late April and allow players to migrate games between devices given they first connect to each other locally to authenticate. The new feature will also enable players to lend games to other players in their Nintendo Family Group on a local Wi-Fi network for 14 days.
The TikTok ban is losing support among Americans, study says
TechCrunch
JASON: American support for the TikTok ban appears to be losing steam according to a survey of more than 5,000 US adults by Pew Research Center. 34% of respondents support the ban, down from 50% in a similar study by Pew in 2023. 32% oppose the ban now, compared to 22% in 2023. Those drops were consistent across party lines as well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, non-users of TikTok were four times as likely to support the ban than non-users. TikTok faces an April 19 deadline but many expect the deadline to get an extension by the US President if a buyer for the app isn't secured in time.
Vivaldi bundles Proton VPN into its web browser
The Verge
HUYEN: The Vivaldi Browser now integrates Proton VPN for free when logged into a Vivaldi account. Desktop users will have the option of switching between five randomly selected countries and speed will be throttled to its medium setting, though users can upgrade to a paid Proton VPN account for $10 per month to remove those limitations. Vivaldi hopes to add free VPN support to its mobile browser sometime in the future.
OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns
TechCrunch
JASON: In the two days since OpenAI introduced its image-generation update to ChatGPT-4o, social media has been inundated with meme content fashioned after all sorts of styles including a large influx of art resembling the style of Studio Ghibli. It has prompted fresh debates around the lack of copyright protection as it relates to an artist's style. OpenAI told TechCrunch that it will not replicate "the style of individual living artists," but is capable of replicating "broader studio styles" like the ones that symbolize the Studio Ghibli look.
Google rolls out new vacation-planning features to Search, Maps, and Gemini
TechCrunch
HUYEN: New trip planning features are rolling out across Google Search, Maps and Gemini on mobile and desktop. AI Overviews now offer trip itinerary planning capabilities with direct export to Docs, Gmail and Maps. Google is also adding Hotel price tracking to its alerts feature, joining flight price tracking capability. Maps will also be able to analyze your screenshots for destinations you've saved that can then be identified and added to a list for planning a future trip.
Oracle customers confirm data stolen in alleged cloud breach is valid
Bleeping Computer
JASON: Oracle maintains no breach involving its Cloud federated SOO login servers has occurred, while a threat actor named "rose87168" claims to have stolen 6 million records, including encrypted SSO and LDAP passwords. The threat actor also listed 140,621 impacted domains in the incident. Researchers have confirmed the authenticity of the leaked data samples with impacted companies, while the hacker has provided proof of access by uploading a file to Oracle's server.
No cloud needed: Nvidia creates gaming-centric AI chatbot that runs on your GPU
Ars Technica
HUYEN: Nvidia has launched G-Assist, an experimental AI chatbot designed for gamers running locally on GPUs instead of relying on cloud servers. It is capable of optimizing system and game settings like GPU overclocking and making peripheral lighting adjustments as well as monitoring performance all through voice and text commands. It currently requires an RTX 30/40/50-series GPU with a minimum of 12GB VRAM.
Instacart will pay shoppers to take videos of store shelves
The Verge
JASON: Instacart has a new way for users to make money while shopping. Store View empowers Instacart users to record video of store shelves "one aisle at a time" to keep tabs on stock and availability inside the app. Instacart's predictive models will use the video data to predict when a product might be restocked with verification to follow. Expect the new feature to roll out to select retailers in the upcoming weeks and more broadly in the US and Canada throughout 2025.
HUYEN: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper in the ongoing stories and follow up.
JASON: Have you ever wondered how you’re able to send information over all the wires that connect your devices? Turns out it’s because of our love of animals. Tom Merritt explains. [TRT 7:36]
HUYEN: If you have feedback about anything that gets brought up on the show… Get in touch with us on the socials. @DTNSshow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads!, Blue Sky and Mastodon (mstdn.social). For TikTok and YouTube you can find us at Daily Tech News Show.
HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND
JASON: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Sylvain Racicot is helping us understand.
HUYEN: Where would you put AI as it stands today (next week will possibly already be different!). I think we're still in transit between disillusion and enlightenment, as we still have high expectations of what it can bring us, while some already figured out how to use the current versions.
JASON: Thanks to Tom Merritt and Sylvain for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. The show is made possible by our patrons onpatreon.com/dtns. DTNS has a live version called DTNS Live on YouTube and Twitch. Find details on that and more ondailytechnewsshow.com. Talk to you tomorrow.
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