 | Edition 2548 |
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 | not technically a computer but it’s a CRT and it’s my last week so it counts |
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Mentioned in today’s edition: Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, Anthropic, Canva, David Swan, Cursor, Apple and Payphone Tag. Plus, deals on LG OLED TVs, Logitech gaming mice and HP laptops. |
The News |
I went to Copilot-chella and all I got was $25 billion of Microsoft money |
I went to Microsoft's Sydney stop of its "AI Tour" — or, as I have dubbed it, Copilot-chella — and the big announcement was CEO Satya Nadella saying the company will spend $25 billion in Australia over the next four years (Reuters). This money will be spent on data centres, training and AI safety measures, the company says (Microsoft). Also, in coincidental timing — or maybe not ;) — Microsoft will also be excluded from Australia's new version of the news media bargaining code, saving them potentially hundreds of millions of dollars (SMH, $). |
The Sizzle: A few disparate thoughts: |
Microsoft's eagerness to spend money here is further proof that companies are climbing over themselves to build data centres in Australia. For all the fearmongering about us missing out on the AI revolution, it's pretty clear that our stable, well-resourced and highly skilled nation has a bit of negotiating leverage for tech companies who want to set up shop in the southern hemisphere. Two little wiggle points in that $25 bil: Microsoft said it's "aligned" with Australia's new AI principles — hmm — and, as friend of the Sizzle David Swan points out "the announcement was noticeably light on physical details [... and] mounting questions of how much of the foreign capital flowing into Australia's data centre boom actually stays in the local economy" (SMH, $) Just a vibe check from Copilot-chella: it was packed at the ICC in Sydney which has thousands of seats. It was, predictably, a lot of talk about Copilot in its many different meanings. Like sentences about using Copilot in your Copilot app. Also, I literally don't remember Windows being mentioned once.
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Discuss in Slack or Forum. |
Elon Musk just admitted Tesla has been lying for years to millions of its customers |
Tesla has taken a break from its awful earnings run to post a nice little quarter, with better revenue and earnings thanks in part to the Iran war boosting EV sales (WSJ, $). That's fine but money's all made up, so I think the real fucking controversy is that Elon Musk has admitted that he was lying for years when he promised that the HW3 Teslas (2019-2022-ish) will get unsupervised full-self driving**** (Verge). How a major company CEO can get away with completely bullshitting about the capabilities of 4 million vehicles, including some whose owners literally paid up front for the capabilities, is beyond me. It's more than just misplaced optimism. He's just a liar-liar pants on fire. |
*** not actually unsupervised full-self driving |
Discuss in Slack or Forum. |
What kinds of bugs are these AI models finding? |
Looping back to Anthropic's sPoOkY model, Mythos: while places like the UK's AI Safety Institute have vouched for its cyber prowess, there's also been a contra take that posits that Mythos is a step up but still in line with existing models’ abilities. The reason it's turning up "271 flaws in Firefox" (The Register), the case goes, is because they're just blasting it at every piece of software now and that these bugs could be found with any other model if you did the same thing (Aisle). The more interesting critique to me was on the excellent Risky Business podcast which argued that the model can rack up huge numbers of "bugs" found, but what would be really useful would be identifying and making the higher order changes that would systematically stop all those bugs (YouTube). |
Related reading: The boy that cried Mythos: verification is collapsing trust in Anthropic (Flying Penguin) |
Discuss in Slack or Forum. |
Leftovers |
Australia: |
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Rest of World: |
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Discuss in Slack or Forum. |
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Oh, Also |
This sick new Aussie game turns payphones into a capture-the-flag game |
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Payphone Tag is such a cool, fun idea by an Australian developer. This website turns the scores of pretty redundant payphones into a capture-the-flag-type game. The premise is simple: you go to a payphone, ring a number and enter your assigned code to "claim" that phone and earn points. And if someone else has already claimed one, you can go and steal it from them. Extra points for doing adjacent payphones. |
Discuss in Slack or Forum. |
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Bargains |
Electronics |
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Computing |
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The End |
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson 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. |
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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 past and present. |
