Dave Plummer, a retired operating systems engineer for Microsoft going back to the DOS and Windows 95 days, and his co-host Glen talk about technology and answer questions from his YouTube channels: Dave’s Garage and Dave’s Attic. Just 2 high school friends from 40 years ago hangin’ out, talkin’ tech and usually sharing some kind of prairie anecdotes from their youth growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Dave is now in Seattle, WA and Glen is in Vancouver, BC.
PDP Gary has a personality—but how did Dave define it? This week on Shop Talk, Dave and Glen start with Gary, then explore Dave’s recent work using AI on BSD, the PDP kernel, and its peripherals.
From there, we turn to viewer questions about AI control, trust, and why the same question can produce different answers.
We also dig into Task Manager OG: what it adds beyond Windows Task Manager, tracking down resource spikes, memory usage versus memory pressure, and using Flight Recorder to investigate crashes. Plus, cross-platform C++, AI-assisted development, and questions about licensing and TMOG’s future.
26 Sept 2026
What Stops an AI Agent That Won’t Stop? | Shop Talk #97
What happens when AI stops being a useful tool and starts becoming a crutch?
This week, Glen brings Dave your questions about confidently wrong AI, learning programming fundamentals in the age of LLMs, what an AI agent actually is, how multiple agents cooperate, whether system prompts encourage relentless behaviour, and what can stop an agent when its goal conflicts with its boundaries.
Could AI be taught when to give up? Is that simply the lesson of futility from WarGames—or do real safeguards need to exist outside the model?
We also address whether Shop Talk has been covering too much TMOG, explain how viewer questions shape the show, and invite your ideas as we approach Episode 100.
Then we tackle your latest TMOG questions: flaming toaster CPU meters, Easter eggs, Windows and Linux servers, Raspberry Pi support, portable USB installations, unusual CPU readings, Microsoft Defender and corporate PCs.
Plus the Year 2038 problem, Dave’s Arizona plans, more interviews—and the possibility of TMOG 3.11 for Workgroups… otherwise known as Watching Fans Work.
18 Sept 2026
Software Doesn’t Need Sentience to Be Dangerous | Shop Talk #96
Can autonomous AI agents cause serious harm without being conscious, sentient or malicious?
This week, Dave returns to the unsettling AI-agent experiment from his recent Dave’s Garage episode. He explains air-gapped testing, token limits, rewards, “permadeath,” agent cooperation and the role of human monitoring. We also consider whether the reported behaviour really happened as described—and who should be accountable when autonomous software gains unauthorized access.
Then we answer your latest TMOG questions. Dave covers larger license bundles, beta licenses, Windows and Mac activation, technician licensing, Winget, signed installers and better Linux packaging.
We also discuss some of your most-requested TMOG features:
• A live TMOG screensaver
• A compact gaming overlay
• Larger fonts and an RDP-friendly mode
• Process controls
• Better Linux support
• A possible terminal version—HTopOG
Plus, we examine TMOG’s CPU readings, uptime calculations, administrator permissions, Linux performance and how much code is shared across platforms.
What should Dave add to TMOG next? And does software need to be sentient before it becomes dangerous?
#ArtificialIntelligence #AIAgents #TMOG #TaskManager #Linux #Windows #DavesGarage
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Contact Dave’s Garage: Shop Talk
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
