### Issue 1504 - Thursday 30th November, 2021

## In Today's Issue

- Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO of Twitter
- Updated law allows Aussie telcos to filter spam SMS
- Elon worried SpaceX will go broke if Starship doesn't fly regularly in 2022
- Interesting podcast episode about semiconductor giant TSMC
- Cheap QNAP NAS, Bose soundbar, Sony cameras, Kayo gift cards, Seagate HDDs, Monkey Island Collection, AirPods, Firewatch, Nokia C30, Yamaha stereo amp, Optus pre-paid SIM, Logitech M720 mouse, Vodafone Home 5G, Samsung SSD, Hayu streaming new customer offer

## The News

### Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO of Twitter

Jack Dorsey has quit as CEO of Twitter. Parag Agrawal, the CTO, will take over as CEO. Jack said in an open letter that "I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders" and anointed Parag as his successor because of how "how deeply he understands the company and its needs" - something that can't be said for Twitter's leaders for a large chunk of its history. Honestly I'm not surprised Jack is leaving Twitter now. It'll let him focus on being the CEO of Square and continue using it as a vehicle for legitimising his strong "cryptocurrency is the future of finance!!" bullshit.

### Updated law allows Aussie telcos to filter spam SMS

Those fucking annoying spam SMSes might finally piss off now that the federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act has been updated to allow telcos to block spam SMSes. Apparently there was a legal technicality that meant telcos could not interfere with the delivery of an SMS, even if it is spam or malicious. But that's gone now and Telstra was quick to hype their "new cyber safety capability" that is "designed to automatically detect and block scam SMS messages as they travel across our network". Telstra employees' family and friends are currently guinea pigs in a pilot program to test it out and when it doesn't suck will go live for everyone.

### Elon worried SpaceX will go broke if Starship doesn't fly regularly in 2022

Space Explored got its hands on a leaked SpaceX memo and according to Elon Musk, things are shaky at the rocket factory. The money quote is right at the end - "what it comes down to, is that we face a genuine risk of bankruptcy if we can't achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year". Apparently Starlink's viability is tied up in the massive reusable Starship spacecraft being able to take shitloads of satellites into space at once, but Starship's engines are way behind schedule and heat tiles keep cracking and falling off. Space Explored reckons Musk is just being dramatic about impending bankruptcy in order to scare the employees into working harder.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Interesting podcast episode about semiconductor giant TSMC

On my recent drive to and from Sydney I enjoyed listening to this episode of the Acquired podcast that went into great detail (270 minutes!) about the history of TSMC and the pivotal role it plays in the success of companies like Apple, Nvidia and AMD. I knew about the recent history of TSMC and how its the premier manufacturer of tiny transistors and even its unique status as "insurance" for protecting Taiwan from China - but I did not know how its founder Morris Chang went through three wars before migrating to the USA, worked at Texas Instruments for 25 years and was then head hunted by the Taiwanese government to lift its economy.

## Bargains

- QNAP TS-453D-4G NAS - $748.20 from Shopping Express eBay store with Afterpay and QNAP rebate
- Bose Smart Soundbar 300 - $535 from Videopro (or $539.10 from The Good Guys if you have gift cards/Videopro won't ship to you)
- Sony Alpha 7R IV camera body only - $3485.65 from Sony after cashback
- 15% off Kayo gift cards at Coles starting tomorrow
- Seagate Ironwolf 12TB SATA 3.5" HDD - $411.75 (buy 2x HDDs and get a $100 Flight Centre voucher) from Futu Online's eBay store using Afterpay
- Monkey Island Collection for PC - $12.82 on Steam
- Sony A7C camera body only - $2,144.96 from Teds
- Apple AirPods Pro (with Magsafe charging case) - $319 from Amazon
- Firewatch for PC - $7.23 from Steam
- Nokia C30 Android smartphone (locked to Telstra) - $99 at Woolworths
- Yamaha WXA-50 wireless streaming amplifier - $392.85 from CablePro's eBay store using Afterpay
- Optus $300 pre-paid SIM (300GB data, 365-day expiry, unlimited calls & SMS) - $225 from Optus
- Sony ZV-1 vlogging camera - $674.25 from Camera House's eBay store using Afterpay
- Logitech M720 Triathlon wireless mouse - $49 from Amazon
- Samsung T7 500GB portable SSD - $80.10 from The Good Guys
- Vodafone Home 5G unlimited data is half price for first 12 months - $37.50/m for 100mbit or $42.50/m for full speed
- Apple AirPods Max (green or pink) - $649 from Amazon
- Hayu reality TV streaming service - $3 for the first 3 months (new subscribers)

## The End

📻 The Green Line Is Us, The Red Line Is Them - Something For Kate

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong 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.