Amazon and Google have made separate investments into small modular nuclear power reactors to one day fuel their massive data centers. Unlike Microsoft's recent nuclear power announcement, Amazon and Google are investing small modular reactors (SMRs), whereas Microsoft is actually paying a company to refurbish an existing nuclear power plant. What's also interesting is that this small modular nuclear power plants are the thing the Libs here are pumping up as their solution to getting Australia's power grid to net-zero emissions. It still remains to be seen if SMRs can be built at a cost that'll deliver electricity at the same or lower prices than renewables, but so much energy is needed for like, everything, not just data centers, I'm not against Google and Amazon pouring their cash into seeing what SMRs can do.
Yo bruh, we got new Kindles. The entry-level Kindle is lighter than ever, has "a 300 ppi, glare-free display, now with faster page turns, higher contrast ratio, and a front light that is 25% brighter at max setting — as bright as Kindle Paperwhite". The Kindle Paperwhite has 25% faster page turns, the bigger 7" display has the "highest contrast ratio of any Kindle" and has 3 months of battery life. It also comes in a Signature Edition with "32GB of storage, optional wireless charging, and auto-adjusting front light". The Kindle Colorsoft is like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, but with a colour e-ink screen that will go in sale in 2025 in Australia. Finally, the Kindle Scribe "updated the included stylus, the texture and color mask of the 10.2-inch screen, and the internal software to make it feel more paper-y".
Sizzle subscriber Adam sent me a message to say I should watch Red Flag: Music's Failed Revolution on SBS On Demand. I watched it last night and it was good. It's a 2hr doco hosted by Marc Fennell about Guvera, a Gold Coast based music streaming service that tried to compete with the likes of Spotify. I vaguely remember it from 2008 when they were giving out free and legal MP3 downloads supported by ads, but don't really remember much else about it until writing about its financial explosion in The Sizzle in 2016! Certainly worth a watch.
Apollo 17 Hasselblad image from film magazine 134/B - EVA-1 & 3 (Project Apollo Archive)
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