TechIn5 - Dire Wolves, $80 Mario, and Why AI Is Writing My Music Now

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This Week in Tech: From AI Agents to Disposable Cameras (Seriously)

You ever have one of those weeks where every corner of the internet feels like it’s from a different timeline? That’s what this one felt like — part sci-fi, part retro comeback, with a healthy dose of pricing drama and synthetic beats. We’re breaking down the biggest tech stories of the week — all covered on TechInform.us, all in five minutes or less.

Let’s jump in.

💼 Google Cloud Goes Full Stack on AI

At Google Cloud Next ’25, CEO Thomas Kurian brought the fireworks — and for once, some of the hype might actually land. Yes, we got the usual metric tsunami (hi, “42.5 exaflops per pod”), but underneath it all, Google’s AI stack is starting to look cohesive.

What’s New:

• Gemini 2.5 Pro & Flash: Big-and-precise vs. fast-and-cheap. Actually a smart split.
• New tools in Vertex AI like Imagen 3, Lyria, and Veo 2.
• Ironwood TPUs and NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs under the hood — serious compute muscle.
• AI agents are the new obsession, with Google releasing dev kits, communication protocols, and a UI called Agentspace.

My Take:

A lot of it’s still early, but this isn’t just keynote glitter. Google’s finally delivering tools you can actually use in production — if you’ve got the team to support it.

Trevor Score: 8/10 — Bold, fast, and finally cohesive — but some claims need a reality check.

Google Cloud Next ’25: Thomas Kurian Unveils the Future of Enterprise AI (Maybe)

🧑‍💻 Let’s Be Real for a Second Every year, tech giants promise that this is the year AI changes everything. And every year, we get a few impressive demos, a flood of hype, and… a lot of half-baked tools that don’t quite work outside the keynote stage. So when

TechInformTrevor Barnes

🤑 Nintendo’s Pricing Is Testing Our Love

Nintendo finally gave us real details on the Switch 2, and wow — it’s a financial rollercoaster. Here’s the deal:

• Console: $449.99, maybe climbing to $499+ thanks to tariffs.
• Mario Kart World: $79.99
• Welcome Tour tutorial: $9.99 just to learn how to use the system.

The Spin: Nintendo says it’s about “value.” They claim the content justifies the price. But to fans? It feels like being charged extra for the instructions.

And yes, I’m still buying one. But I’m also furious.

Trevor Score: 6.5/10 — The games look fun, but the pricing is testing my patience.

Nintendo Is Charging $10 for a Console Tour. This Is a Joke, Right?

You ever buy something expensive and then get charged extra just to figure out how to use it? That’s where we’re at with Nintendo right now. The Switch 2 is already coming in hot at $449.99. Mario Kart World is somehow $79.99. And now, just to

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The Switch 2’s GameChat Isn’t the Revolution WIRED Thinks It Is

I hate writing hit pieces—especially against tech outlets 100,000,000% bigger than TechInform.us—but sometimes you have to speak up when someone reads the room this wrong. I usually read WIRED with a mix of admiration and low-key envy. Their access, their writers, their production value—top

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Members Only: I’m Still Excited About the Switch 2 — But Nintendo’s Pricing Strategy Feels Like a Gut Punch

Fueling Curiosity Since 2010!

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📈 Tariffs Paused — But Tech’s Still on Edge

After an intense week of backlash, the U.S. paused its universal and “reciprocal” tariffs — except on China, which now faces a jaw-dropping 125% rate. Markets cheered. Tech teams didn’t.

Why? Because hardware companies are still reeling from the uncertainty, especially with Chinese-made goods at the center of so many supply chains.

What it means:

• Switch 2 production could still be impacted.
• Cloud infrastructure, chips, and components? Still vulnerable.
• Prices may rise anyway — just on delay.

Trevor Score: 5/10 — A sigh of relief, not a solution.

Tariffs Just Got Real: What the New U.S. Trade Moves Mean for Tech

We’re not getting political—just practical, and this is our one deep dive. When Trade Gets Techy: Why We’re Talking About Tariffs We’re not in the habit of diving into politics here at TechInform. But this one? It’s hard to ignore. The U.S. just dropped

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Tariffs Paused, Markets Rebound — But Tech’s Still in the Crosshairs

So, remember when we said we weren’t going to do another story on the tariffs unless something big happened? Yeah… this counts. After just days of market chaos and widespread backlash, the U.S. has paused its sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days, easing the pressure on most trade

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📸 Disposable Cameras Are the Coolest Dumb Tech of 2025

Fujifilm’s QuickSnap is suddenly… a hot commodity? Yep. Disposable cameras are flying off shelves.

This isn’t just a nostalgia trip — it’s a reaction. People are tired of perfect photos. They want raw, weird, lived-in memories.

Why it works:

• One shot. No edits. No do-overs.
• TikTok and IG are full of lo-fi “film dumps.”
• Fuji’s film tones are cozy and imperfect in the best way.

Trevor Score: 8/10 — A surprising return to feeling over perfection.

Fujifilm’s Disposable Camera Sales Are Booming — What’s Driving the Comeback?

It’s not just nostalgia — something bigger might be going on They’re Selling Out? Really? Fujifilm recently shared that their disposable camera sales are way up — and I’ll admit, that gave me pause. In a year where smartphones can shoot in RAW and AI can turn your cat

TechInformTrevor Barnes

🎶 I’m Making Music With AI — And Yeah, It’s Kind of Great

I’ve been using Suno.ai and Udio to generate full tracks — lyrics, vocals, instruments, vibe — all from a few text prompts.

And now? Google’s in the game, with a new AI music model running on its Ironwood hardware. It’s targeted at creators, brands, and anyone needing fast, royalty-free sound.

Why it matters:

• I’ve dropped full songs under two AI aliases.
• The output is shockingly listenable.
• I still polish tracks in a DAW, but the foundation? Wildly good.

Some of my stuff is chaotic. Some of it’s lowkey emotional. But it’s undeniably fun to collaborate with code.

Trevor Score: 8.5/10 — Weird, fun, and way more capable than I expected.

The Machines Are Making Music Now — And Yeah, I’m Into It

🎧 So, Uh… I Make Music With AI Now I’ll just say it: I never thought I’d be co-producing songs with a neural network. But here we are. Over the past year, I’ve been experimenting with AI-generated music — not just as a fun tech demo, but as a

TechInformTrevor Barnes

The Banana Man

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🐺 Dire Wolves Are Real Now. One’s Named Khaleesi. What Could Go Wrong?

Colossal Biosciences just bioengineered actual dire wolf hybrids. They’re real. They’re alive. And one is named after the Game of Thrones dragon queen, which — if you’ve seen the show — should set off every alarm.

What it signals:

• Genetic resurrection tech is real and accelerating.
• The PR strategy is… less serious than it should be.
• Fiction is starting to feel like nonfiction.

Trevor Score: ∞/10 — Because this feels infinitely like a bad idea.

They Brought Back a Dire Wolf and Named It “Khaleesi” — Have We Learned Nothing from Jurassic Park?

This isn’t just a bad name. It’s a warning sign. — I wasn’t even doomscrolling when I found out. I was on the couch with my wife Anna and the kids, half-watching cartoons, half-answering emails, when she looked up from her phone and said, “Hey, someone brought back

TechInformTrevor Barnes

⚡ Quick Hits, Lightning Round Style

PSA: Apple TV+ Is Just $2.99 Right Now — Yep, Really

If you’ve been eyeing Severance, Ted Lasso, or that new Jon Hamm show but didn’t want to pay ten bucks a month, here’s your moment: Apple just quietly dropped the price of TV+ to $2.99/month for a limited time. This deal’s open to both

TechInformTrevor Barnes

Dear Easter Bunny: I’m All Ears (and I Want the AirPods Max USB-C)

Dear Mr. Bunny (or may I call you Hop Daddy?), I hope this letter finds you well and thumpin’. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate this time of year — what with the egg hiding, jelly bean logistics, and trying not to melt in early April heatwaves

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GTA 6: Every Leak, Rumor, and Unreal Possibility We Know So Far (And Why I’m Hyped Beyond Reason)

Alright, let’s cut the small talk—Grand Theft Auto VI is real, it’s coming, and I can’t stop thinking about it. As someone who grew up glued to every single GTA game like it was a second life, this one feels different. Bigger. Wilder. Finally real. And

TechInformTrevor Barnes

Meta Drops Llama 4: Big AI Brains, Still a Few Blurry Edges

⚠️ Heads up: This is a deep dive. AI is complicated, and Llama 4 is a big, layered release. If you’re just looking for the highlights, here’s your quick TL;DR before we get into the weeds: 🧵 TL;DR (Too Long, Don’t Research): * Meta has released Llama 4,

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🧱 Final Word: Tech Is Getting Faster — and Stranger

Between AI music, resurrected predators, retro cameras, and next-gen consoles pricing themselves into orbit, this week was a reminder: tech’s not just accelerating — it’s diverging.

We’re building toward the future and digging into the past. Sometimes in the same news cycle.

Stay weird, stay grounded, and maybe don’t name your science experiment after a Targaryen.

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Catch you next Friday.

— Trevor Barnes

Editor & Resident Dire Wolf Skeptic, TechInform.us