Issue 2338 - Friday 23 May 2025

It’s Friday! Wanted to finish off the week with a lighter Sizzle so I hope you enjoy the edition and your weekend ❤️ .

The News

Ship tracking and bookmark saving are relics of the old internet

Ship stuck! Cargo vessel NCL Salten ran aground in central Norway and ended up in someone’s backyard (The Guardian). Sizzler Justin shared a link to the Slack for a live marine traffic watcher (Marine Traffic). Sitting here, watching the little dot, presumably with thousands of other people simultaneously, reminded me of a simpler time on the internet with websites and public data. At the same time, I read news that Pocket, the link bookmarking app that was acquired by Mozilla in 2017, is shuttering because the organisation says people’s “browsing habits and online needs” have changed (Mozilla). The idea that an app could do something simple and useful, without being built around an algorithmic recommendation system or social features, feels like a relic of the past.

Telstra’s expensive week

Telstra is finishing up its tough week by facing a backlash over its hiked internet and mobile prices. As flagged by andyb in the Sizzle forum, most post-paid mobile and fixed line internet plans are going up by $3-5 a month (Telstra), although it is reducing its 100/40 ‘premium’ plan from $140 to $125 (SmartCompany). And as Sizzler Dave Hall pointed out, this comes a year after the telco moved away from tying its plan prices to CPI which would have meant smaller increases (Telstra). Price increases are a part of life, but it’s becoming increasingly hard to justify being a Telstra post-paid mobile customer when the gap between it and other telcos in terms of quality and service is not that significant. While we’re on ISPs, Starlink has been “formally warned” after failing to give Australia’s comms regulator a report of complaints — four times! (ACMA).

Will your next phone be the AIpod Shuffle?

We’ve gotten some details about the Sam Altman-Jony Ive AI device that will come out of the $10 billion purchase of io (a device startup founded by Ive that’s separate to his LoveFrom firm, which I mistakenly said was acquired yesterday). Altman told OpenAI employees it won’t be a phone or glasses but another device that’ll sit on a desk or in your pocket (WSJ, $). A trust industry analyst said his research suggests it’ll be a bit larger than the dearly departed Humane Pin and similar to the iPod shuffle, have microphones and cameras but no screen, and is expected to ship by 2027 (X). Meanwhile, Apple is eyeing releasing some AI glasses as soon as next year but has ditched the “camera watch” idea (Bloomberg, $). I am excited! I wanna see some cool new gadgets! I’d love to hear from you if you are loving any non-phone/computer device, or whether you reckon you’d use any of these things. I personally like this Hacker News commenter’s ideal form factor:

Leftovers

Oh, Also

Tesla chair’s biggest challenge yet: Australian local council planning

Robyn Denholm has taken on a lot of challenges. As a former Telstra exec, the chair of Tesla (meaning she’s Elon Musk’s boss) and the federal government’s R&D system review, Denholm has a lot on her plate. And now she’s taken on the challenge of defeating the Northern Beaches Council planning committee (Crikey, $). I discovered Denholm has been in a stoush with the council over her plans to build a inclinator — one of those beach lift things — up to her five-storey Whale Beach house. Just goes to show nothing is more powerful than local planners. (PS: I want to do more reporting on Denholm. Know anything about her? Send me a message, confidentiality guaranteed!)

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.

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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.