# In This Issue

- CORONAVIRUS

- Chelsea Manning to be released from jail

- AFP calls in consultants to do an audit regarding misuse of mandatory data retention laws

- New products you might be interested in but got overlooked because there was more important stuff to talk about

- Cheap Samsung 128MB USB 3.1 flash drive, Sid Meier's Beyond Earth, Logitech MX Anywhere 2S mouse, Samsung SmartThings sensors, LIFX Mini lights, Tile bluetooth trackers

# News

#### CORONAVIRUS

- Someone who works in Atlassian's office got a positive COVID-19 test, so Atlassian has shut its Sydney offices as a precaution and told everyone to work from home.

- Discord has increased the number of people who can simultaneously watch a “Go Live” stream from 10 to 50, so those in quarantine can get a bit more social.

- Shopify is giving employees US$1000 to improve their working from home setup and said they can take "home any office equipment, including computer monitors, they need to do their jobs".

- Bitcoin is tanking at the same time stockmarkets are tanking. There's no particular reason why cryptocurrencies would be shitting the bed - I thought it was supposed to be independent of traditional finance?

- Apple has re-opened its Chinese stores after a month of being closed to stop the spread of coronavirus. You'd assume they're doing so because things have calmed down after the month long lockdown.

- A teacher at NYU tried to give a class via Twitch because the campus is closed and it was a disaster as everyone filled the chat with emote spam and memes.

#### Chelsea Manning to be released from jail

A judge has ordered Chelsea Manning be released from jail immediately. She enteted jail in 2013 for her role in giving a bunch of government files to Wikileaks, then was pardoned by Obama on his way out of the White House in 2017. After a few months of freedom, she was placed back in jail in May last year for refusing to testify before a Grand Jury investigating WikiLeaks. The judge reckons she no longer needs to appear before the jury, so "her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose". It may also have something to do with the fact she tried to kill herself and was hospitalised yesterday, a day before a hearing about her continued incarceration was to be heard.

#### AFP calls in consultants to do an audit regarding misuse of mandatory data retention laws

The AFP has got in PricewaterhouseCoopers to do an audit over "compliance issues, some dating back to 2007" regarding mandatory data retention. Apparently the ACT Policing division of the AFP (the AFP handle general police duties in the ACT) self-reported to the Commonwealth Ombudsman that they snagged the location of a "mobile device" during an investigation when they didn't have the legal right to do so. Location requests are only supposed to be used for "serious offences or offences punishable by imprisonment for at least three years" but the offence in question here didn't meet that requirement. I bet this abuse of the data collected happens way more than the AFP report and way way more than what PWC will dig up and make public.

# Not News

#### New products you might be interested in but got overlooked because there was more important stuff to talk about

- Logitech’s new “Powered Wireless Charging 3-in-1 Dock” is probably the nicest and most practical dock I’ve seen to charge your AirPods case, iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time.

- Lego and Nintendo have collaborated on “a physical, brick-based take on the platform adventure called Lego Super Mario”, that looks like a way for kids to make Mario maps and play them with a digitised Mario figurine.

- Amazon’s got new versions of the popular, but problematic Ring video doorbells. The main feature is being able to view the previous 4-sec of footage prior to motion being detected.

- EA is doing a 4K remastering of one of my all time favourite game franchises, Command & Conquer. The collection includes both Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert, as well as Covert Ops, Counterstrike and The Aftermath, their three expansion packs.

- Tesla Powerwalls are now eligible for the Victoria Solar Homes Program, meaning that if you’re eligible for it (gotta have solar already, earn under a certain amount, etc), the Powerwall will set you back “only” $6,862, plus installation.

# Bargains

- Samsung Bar+ 128GB USB flash drive - $29 from Bing Lee’s eBay store

- Sid Meier's Beyond Earth - $11.99 on Steam via Fanatical

- Logitech MX Anywhere 2S wireless mouse - $58 at Amazon

- Various Samsung SmartThings sensors for under $30 at JB Hi-Fi

- LIFX Mini warm white LED wi-fi bulbs - $19.98 at JB Hi-Fi

- 4-pack of Tile Bluetooth trackers (2018 version) - $49.95 at JB Hi-Fi

🎶 Song 2 - Blur

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

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.​