 | Edition 2466 |
|
|
The News |
What the hell is happening with Windows? |
People have barely transitioned from Windows 10 to 11 since many of the versions of the older OS lost support (The Register). One of the contributing factors is probably that Windows 11 is filled with errors that Microsoft keeps having to fix (Neowin). Another is that Microsoft is hyping that its new Copilot laptops are “computers you can talk to” but, actually, its AI assistants are embarrassingly bad according to this great Verge review. Perhaps relatedly, Microsoft staff are reportedly lowering their AI products sales targets, a claim that the company denies (Reuters). |
The Sizzle: Microsoft is going all-in on AI, but in a way that’s not very good. Regardless of the technology itself, there’s no denying that Microsoft’s newest products and changes simply do not work. My guess is that they’re thinking: we want to win the AI game and there’s no future in Windows. We’re a cross-platform services company that does Azure and Teams and Copilot and bla bla bla. |
That’s fine, I guess, I’m not an MBA so I’ll leave the business strategy to the eggheads. It’s just such a shame that none of these companies have any pride in their work any more. Like aren’t you embarrassed? Just a little bit? To be one of the most valuable companies in the world, still run the dominant computer OS, and… just put out something that is fundamentally bad that your own customers don’t care for. |
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum. |
Turns out the poop camera isn’t secure |
Earlier this year, I shared a link about a smart camera that goes in your toilet bowl and “analyses the images to advise you on your gut health” (TechCrunch). At the time, people were told that the data was end-to-end encrypted. Anyway, security researcher Simon Fondrie-Teitler published a blog this week that revealed that this “end-to-end encryption” was “simply HTTPS encryption” and with some encryption on their servers. As it turns out the manufacturer Kohler can see your poo pics and said it may even use them to train its AI models or to give to third-parties. Hmm. |
 | rear end to end encryption |
|
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum. |
The Sizzler Say: VPNs types, smart meter strava nightmare, and a horticulturalist’s laugh |
After I wrote about VPNs earlier in the week, Joel wrote a great email to point out that it’s worth separating out business VPNs (for connecting to work networks), personal Tailscale-like networks, and even simple stripped down VPN that route your traffic through something like AWS. This distinction matters both for public perception and because it shows the challenge of trying to distinguish between these purposes if you try to regulate VPNs in any way. Gareth and Anthony went back and forth on the forum about why there’s such a focus on facial recognition tech. dzastin shared a horror story about a smart meter installation in a strata complex on Slack. A Sizzle horticulturalist had a laugh on the forum about one part of yesterday’s rare plants YouTube video.
|
As always, if you wanna get involved (or even be able to read what’s on Slack) you can join the Slack server and forum via these links. |
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum. |
Leftovers |
Australia: |
|
Rest of the world: |
|
|
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum. |
|
Oh, Also |
Now you can use AI to automate wiping your harddrive |
When Google launched Gemini a few weeks back, it also released an AI-powered IDE called Antigravity for all your vibe-coding needs. One task that it will take off your hands? Deleting the contents of one of your drives. You really need to watch the video to see how the person finds out. |
 | Google Antigravity’s Turbo mode erased my drive partition?! Really, the ‘smartest’ AI? [Video Proof] |
|
|
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum. |
|
Bargains |
Electrical & Electronics |
|
Computing |
|
Mobile |
|
|
The End |
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius. |
🤖 We love robots at the Sizzle but this newsletter has always been and will always be written by humans for humans. Also by Aussies for Aussies — so all prices are in dollarydoos, of course. |
🗣️ Have any feedback, a tip or just want to chat? Send me an email or Signal message. I promise to reply! |
💬 Want to hang out with other Sizzlers? There’s a subscriber-only Slack server and forum if you want to procrastinate and chat about tech-related news. |
🌐 The Sizzle is on Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn if you’re feeling social. |
💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the Beehiiv customer portal. |
🎁 Make someone's day and gift them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle. |
💔 Don’t want this any more? I won’t take it personally. There’s a unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email or here’s a guide. |
🦺 The Sizzle has been tested to meet and exceed ISO 3533 standards. |
Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land |
The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present. |
