Plus: The Royal Melbourne Show is getting roasted for AI ads ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

September 15, 2025 | Read online
# NBN boost, Australia's quantum computing boom and try using RSS Plus: The Royal Melbourne Show is getting roasted for AI ads
Edition 2418
"Came into the bedroom in the dark, using my phone torch and was surprised at how well defined the shadows around my computer desk were." (Flickr: djdamien)
# The News
### The internet just got quicker for millions of Australians thanks to an NBN upgrade
There’s a good chance that the Sizzle arrived in your inbox a little bit earlier today thanks to a NBN speed upgrade for millions of Australians (NBN Co). Yesterday, the NBN’s “Accelerate Great” network upgrades for FTTP and HFC customers began rolling out for the 2.1 million households on eligible plans (SMH, $). All up, 4 out of 5 of the 12 million-ish households on NBN will get faster speeds on the right plan (AFR, $). Telstra, Optus, TPG and Aussie Broadband are rolling out the upgrades immediately, but people on Dodo and iPrimus will have to wait another month or so.
she goes bois
(I doubt I need to give this to any Sizzle subscriber but here’s a website to check your NBN tech and see if you’ll get the bump)
The Sizzle: With 100Mbps download plans going to 500, 250 to 750, and 500 to 1000, this will be a pretty significant upgrade for a lot of people which is cool as! I probably don’t need to tell you that a lot of people have had shitty experiences with internet in Australia. An instant, free speed bump is a pleasant surprise that will improve the public’s view of a crucial public infrastructure.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Is Australia becoming a quantum computing hot spot?
Earlier this year, Senator Ted Cruz held up Microsoft’s Majorana 1 quantum computing chip, saying “This breakthrough is led by an American company.”
Thank you Mr Cruz
But an interesting Financial Times article points out that’s a little misleading. Large parts of the chip previously covered in the Sizzle were designed in Australia — which, the article says, is emerging as a “quantum computing player”. Among other Australian companies, there’s PsiQuantum, the Australian-founded start-up, part-funded by Australian governments, that has just been valued at AU$10.5 billion and is working with Nvidia (Reuters). Also, Q-CTRL, a company developing “quantum sensing technology for military vehicles” that just got $38 million in US Defense funding (InnovationAus, $).
The Sizzle: I feel like I’m being a disappointing tech news journo but quantum computing remains completely inscrutable to me. It’s cool that Australia seems to be becoming a “powerhouse in quantum” — as one investor put it — that would be a vindication of the federal government’s “national quantum strategy”. But while it all looks promising and interesting but, without a commercially viable technology, I’m not going to count our chickens just yet.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Using RSS to take control of our internet and our attention
Continuing on from last week’s Sizzle about taking control of our internet, I stumbled across this fascinating 2018 article about the history of RSS: about how it started off as a competing standard as a way to share information, gained widespread adoption culminating with Google Reader, before becoming more niche, used mainly by podcasts and nerds like us.
Despite this dip in popularity, the potential of RSS remains the same:
[RSS will] allow businesses and individuals to retain control over their online personae while enjoying the benefits of massive scale and scope
Writer Kevin Werbach in 1999
The Sizzle: This moment has a lot of potential for RSS. So many people I speak to are sick of being served shitty material by their social media feeds and various apps. RSS is great because not only does it let you choose who and what you want to listen to, but also how: no ads, formatted like you want, on your phone or computer or wherever.
So, if you want to introduce RSS into your life, here’s a few basic resources:
There’s a heap of free RSS readers like Inoreader and Feedly, or, if you’re a self-hosting person, I’ve found FreshRSS is good! Here’s the Sizzle’s RSS feed (unfortunately it doesn’t do the full text, you’ll need to click on the post to go to the edition). Kill the Newsletter turns email newsletters into RSS feeds for you (which you can use to turn the Sizzle into an RSS feed to get around the above problem). OpenRSS can turn websites without a RSS feed into a RSS feed.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
From location to keystrokes, Australian workers’ data is being gathered by employers – with little privacy protection (Guardian Australia) Tesla FSD Supervised has quickly won over doubters, but is it legal? (The Driven) Spotify is getting lossless, but it’s not as high-res as others (Pickr) Roblox commits to lift game to protect kids from online grooming under Australia’s world-leading Online Safety Codes and Standards (eSafety Commissioner) AI is helping farmers in Malawi predict weather patterns and improve their crops (AP News) Elon Musk's xAI is laying off data annotators (Business Insider, $) Short-Form Video Clips Could Cannibalize Podcasters’ Real Audiences (Bloomberg, $) Across the US, Activists Are Organizing to Oppose Data Centers (Tech Policy Press) AirPods Live Translation Feature Likely to Be Restricted in the EU (MacRumors) Proton Mail Suspended Journalist Accounts at Request of Cybersecurity Agency (The Intercept) Penske Media, owner of Rolling Stone and Variety, is suing Google over AI Overviews (The Verge) Microsoft reaches a deal with the EU to split Teams from Office 365 (TechSpot)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### The Royal Melbourne Show is getting roasted for AI ads
Across various social media channels including Reddit, I’m seeing a lot of people complaining about what appears to be an AI generated campaign for the Royal Melbourne Show. Look at the girl’s bizarre jacket, the rippling cow, the hellish stalls. (Naturally, the Cadbury branding is perfect).
This feels nightmarish to me
Posts featuring the graphic have been removed from the show’s Instagram account, but unfortunately for them advertisements are being run on trams and on posters across Melbourne. I think it’s only a matter of time until advertisers realise that it’s actually a really bad PR move to associate your brand with AI slop.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
RODE Interview Pro Wireless Microphone - $199 at PLE Computers (Down from $359) Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen at Texh2go Bose quiet comfort ultra 2nd Gen earbuds for $330 Bose quiet comfort ultra 2nd Gen earbuds for $325 (if paid for via mastercard) JBL Tour One MK3 Smart TX NC over-Ear Headphones (Black) - $390.73 at JB HI-FI Business eufy Security Video Smart Lock - $479.96 at goodbuyz Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 4 Audio Interface w/Ableton Live 12 Standard - $499 at Various Sonos Sub Mini - $538 at Sonos AU (Down from $688) eufy Security 3-in-1 Smart Lock - $559 at Jaycar Xbox Series X – 1 TB Digital Edition Xbox Wireless Controller – Robot White - $629 at Target eufy S3 Pro 4-Cam Kit - $1439.96 at goodbuyz LG 75" QNED86A Mini LED 4K Smart TV - $1995 at Betta
Computing
Free Microsoft Office for students & teachers with Edupass accounts Wavlink USB-C Laptop Docking Station - $24.49 at Wavlink Bitdefender Total Security (5 Devices, 3 Years) - $32.56 at Bitdefender India D-Link G416 Eagle Pro AI 4G Wi-Fi 6 Router- $71 at Scorptec Yodoit 15.6" 1920x1080 IPS Portable Monitor - $82.44 at HJD Limited via Amazon AU Dell 24" 200Hz 1080p IPS Monitor SE2425HG - $114.52 at Dell Endgame Gear XM2W 4K mouse - 3395 Sensor - $125 at PC Case Gear NZXT C1000 Gold ATX 3.1 1000W ATX PSU - $199 at Scorptec ASUS RT-BE92U Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router - $340.65 at Amazon Germany via AU (German Stock) PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card - $449 at Centre Com XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC Dual Fan Gaming Edition 8G Graphics Card - $468 at Umart Apple iPad Air (2025) M3 11" Wi-Fi 128GB - $798.99 at TechintheBasket Gaming PC at Evatech 7500F / RTX5060 for $999 7800X3D / RTX5070 + BL4 for $1999 7800X3D / RTX5080 $2999 + BL4 for $2999 PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper 16GB Graphics Card - $1099 at MetroCom eBay Apple MacBook Air 15" M4 24GB RAM 512GB SSD - $2199 at Technology Outlet Apple MacBook Pro 16 with M2 Pro Chip, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD - $2499 at Harvey Norman
Mobile
Telstra prepaid SIM starter kit 365 days 310GB - $284.80 at Telco Biz Trader
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
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