Fortnite Star Wars, Apple Silicon App Tricks, Robot Pets & the Future of GameStop

This week on AwesomeCast, Sorg, Katie, and Podnar cover a wide range of tech, gaming, gadgets, and digital culture — from Apple Silicon productivity tricks to Fortnite becoming an entire entertainment platform.

Podnar kicks things off with a useful reminder for Mac users: if you have an Apple Silicon Mac, you may be able to run iPhone and iPad apps right on your desktop. That opens the door for mobile-first photo apps, media apps, games, and tools that may not have a traditional Mac version.

Katie shares her hands-on impressions of the MacBook Neo after gifting one to her mom. The verdict? The keyboard feels great, the build quality feels better than expected, and the lightweight design makes it a strong everyday computer for users moving up from an iPad or iPhone.

Sorg’s awesome thing of the week is Fortnite’s new Star Wars content. The crew discusses Galactic Siege, Escape Vader, Droid Tycoon, and how Fortnite continues to evolve beyond battle royale into a platform full of branded games, co-op experiences, and weirdly compelling side modes.

The show also digs into the growing world of AI companions with a furry robot pet from the creator of Roomba. Is this a useful future for elder care and companionship, or another strange step toward people building relationships with machines?

Other stories include a Steam game that weaponizes your backlog, WWE getting community-noted for AI promo use, the origin story of iPhone screenshots, and GameStop reportedly making a bid for eBay.

To close, Podnar celebrates AAPI Month with a spotlight on Fazlur Khan, the Bangladeshi-American engineer whose structural work helped define the modern skyscraper.

Support the show at patreon.com/awesomecast.