2026.35: Internet Hype and Real World Change

(Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery!

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On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.

The Breaker’s Advantage. One of the most important takeaways of The Hugging Face Incident is that agents are more useful for attacking infrastructure than in defending it. While in theory defenders know the code, their number one job is to not break things; for attackers breaking things is the point. This week’s Article Autonomy and Innovation makes the case that this dichotomy isn’t just relevant to security: it also explains why startups consistently defeat incumbents, and why AI’s takeover of the economy will take longer than people think.

The New Battle for HDMI1. For years Netflix insisted its service stood alone, resisting attempts by companies like Apple to integrate their service. Now Netflix is poised to go in the other direction, potentially selling access to other streaming services. Ben wrote about the company’s shift on Tuesday, and on this week’s Sharp Tech chalked it up to Hollywood staying irrational longer than Netflix could stay patient. — Andrew Sharp

How Data Center Discourse Ends. The backlash to the continued buildout of AI data centers has continued all summer, and now looks even more widespread than it was when Ben tackled the issue in May and we dedicated an entire episode of Sharp Tech to the controversy. Now that people in tech are legitimately worried, however, it’s time to zag: I think that this will ultimately be a non-issue, just like so many other overwhelming Internet movements. — AS

Stratechery Articles and Updates

Autonomy and Innovation — Incentives favor offense when it comes to agentic cybersecurity; it’s the same dynamic that will limit incumbents and fuel startups in the long run.

Netflix to Sell Streaming Services?, Streamers as Aggregators, Revisiting Roku — Netflix is considering selling other streaming services, and I think it’s a good idea; it’s also a let-down for Netflix’s original goals and potential pivots.

Apple Updates Mini and Studio, AI Computers, OpenAI Jalapeño — Apple and OpenAI have two completely different hardware announcements; both represent pressure on Nvidia.

Sharp Text by Andrew Sharp

Halt and Catch Ire — A survey of data center madness, and why I’d bet the under on the durability of the backlash.

Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber

Omarchy and Open Macs

AI Macs

Asianometry with Jon Yu

Has the Solid State Transformer’s Time Finally Come?

Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop

Five US-China (and Russia) Questions; Cabbage with Formaldehyde; The Continuing Tax Crackdown; Unitree Stock Down 45%

Greatest of All Talk

Peyton Watson to the Cavs, Building a Top Five for 2031, Top 5 Feats of Loser Behavior

Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

Meta’s New Restrictions for Teens, Nvidia’s Open Source Investments, Q&A on Netflix, Druckenmiller, Parameters and Performance

This week’s Stratechery video is on Nvidia’s Risky Business.