Episode 15 – Data Centers Are Basically Digital Coal

This is the week somebody has been deciding things for you.

Not the government — well, partly the government. Mostly one enormous company you’ve never really thought about.

A list of words your phone won’t say. A grid that was not built for what’s coming. And the most people who have ever voted on the future of the biggest buildout in history.

And the Hang Jury: who’s going to pay for the AI boom — and who gets to say no?

This is The Tech Hangout. Let’s get into it.

🕐 Timestamps

0:00 — Cold Open
0:41 — Intro & Banter
4:07 — Marty: MacBook Neo Doubles Production
10:56 — Ben: Apple’s Record Quarter and a $5 Trillion Company
23:06 — Patrice: Apple’s Secret Keyboard Blacklist
28:53 — The Hang Jury: Who’s Going to Pay for the AI Boom?
42:49 — The Drop
57:08 — Outro & Find Us

🗂️ The Feed

💻 Apple Is Doubling Orders for the MacBook Neo — AppleInsider
https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/11/04/apple-is-reportedly-doubling-orders-for-a-new-macbook-neo

💰 Apple’s Record Quarter, and a $5 Trillion Company — Apple Newsroom / MacDailyNews
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/11/apple-reports-fourth-quarter-results/
https://macdailynews.com/2026/11/02/apple-captures-50-of-consumer-revenue-of-the-top-half-of-the-sp-500/

🔤 Apple Has a Secret List of Words Your iPhone Won’t Predict — Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/apples-predictive-text-restrictions-include-dictator-trump-sleepy-joe-researcher-2026-11-06/

⚖️ Hang Jury: Who’s Going to Pay for the AI Boom — and Who Gets to Say No?

Last Tuesday, forty-one data-center ballot measures went before voters in ten states. Restrictions on power, on water, on noise. Voters backed restrictions in every single one — every one except a single measure in Harwood, North Dakota. Population 940.

In Texas, the governor has halted every data center permit pending a grid audit. ERCOT is looking at roughly 474 gigawatts of pending connections — five times the state’s record peak demand, and about 90% of it data centers.

And the stock market lost two trillion dollars in a week. The Nasdaq dropped more than five percent in a day. Some AI names fell double digits. Your 401(k) owns the stocks that just fell.

So the AI buildout doesn’t need permission from Congress. It needs permission from your electric utility. Which means the real question is: who’s going to pay for it — and who gets to say no?

Marty’s answer is always yes. Ben calls data centers “basically digital coal.” Patrice is on the fence but not where you expect. And nobody is pretending Harwood, North Dakota made the wrong choice.

Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2026/11/05/nx-s1-6031987/stock-markets-ai-midterm-elections
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/data-center-ballot-measures-2026-midterm.html
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-directs-comprehensive-data-center-audit
https://ballotpedia.org/Data_center-related_ballot_measures,_2026

📦 The Drop

🎬 Marty: Logitech MX Creative Console — nine customizable LCD keys with a dial, for a fifth of the price of a Stream Deck
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DB7SRW2G

🔋 Ben: Amazon Basics 25W Qi2.2 Wireless Charging Pad with Kickstand — $16, and the best value of any 25W Qi charger he’s found
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Wireless-Charging-Certified/dp/B0FPDX2Q8H

📚 Patrice: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men — the landmark case for the gender data gap
https://hardcover.app/books/invisible-women

🔍 Find Us

🦋 Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/thetechhangout.com

🐘 Mastodon:
https://techhangout.social/@thetechhangout

📺 Twitch:
thetechhangout

▶️ YouTube:
@techhangoutshow

🌐 thetechhangout.com

👤 Ben:
@BenRoethig
RoethigTech.com

👤 Chuck: — not on this show
MacVoices.com

👤 Dave: — not on this show
@daveginsburg (Mastodon/Bluesky)
intouchwithios.com

👤 Jeff: @JGamet — not on this show
jeffgamet.com
freshbrewedtales.com