> Hello to all the 70-ish new subscribers that signed up in the last week or so!

> Welcome to The Sizzle, I hope you like it and eventually feel like the hard earned money you spent on a subscription was worth it.

> Thank you to all the existing subscribers that shared their love of The Sizzle on social media and convincing all these new subscribers to take a chance on me.

# In This Issue

- Australian Consumer Data Right launches today, with banks first to unlock customer data

- Google buys a smart/augmented reality glasses company called North

- McDonalds UK to create EV charging network & LCT threshold for EVs increases in Australia

- Reminisce about the web’s good old days with Vistaserv

- Cheap Nvidia Shield TV Pro, Nokia 5.3 smartphone, Microsoft cert exams, Sony digital camera cashback, free BINGE for Telstra customers & Ethics Litmus Test back in stock

# News

#### Australian Consumer Data Right launches today, with banks first to unlock customer data

Australia's Consumer Data Right platform has finally launched. This government mandated scheme forces businesses in certain industries to open up their live customer data to other businesses so consumers can find better deals, get insights into their activity or use value added services based on that data. The first sector to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century is banking, with Commonwealth, NAB, ANZ and Westpac cracking open the data vaults to the first two accredited data recipients (aka ADR) - "budget management app-maker Frollo and the Regional Australian Bank - who might be able to use that data to offer a better and more personalised deal". Other banks have 12 months to get their CDR shit together. Energy retailers are next in line to open up their data once the banks are done, then telcos will need to do the same.

#### Google buys a smart/augmented reality glasses company called North

Google has acquired North, "a company focused on building augmented reality glasses" for an undisclosed amount. North sold glasses called Focals for US$600 that had "a tiny laser in the arm that projects images in front of users' eyes. The Focals pair to wearers' phones through Bluetooth to display notifications, provide directions, and call an Uber". North didn't sell many Focals, but the tech or staff impressed Google enough to snap them up, where their "technical expertise will help as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts and ambient computing future". As someone that wears glasses at all times except showering and sleeping, I would love a pair of smart glasses. I'm wearing them anyways, may as well make em do cool shit. I really liked this protoype from Intel, shame nothing's been done with it for years.

#### McDonald’s UK to create EV charging network & LCT threshold for EVs increases in Australia

Maccas in the UK has partnered up with Instavolt to install rapid electric car chargers at all their delicious, cheap and quick hamburger dispensaries. McDonald’s said they're doing so to "play its part in a greener economic recovery". With over 1,300 stores in the UK, British EV drivers will never be too far away from a burger and a charge. Not that I need an excuse to visit McDonald’s more regularly, but if the same was done in Australia it would be super handy, plus give a lot more people confidence to buy an EV when they see so many chargers start popping up where they hang out. Meanwhile, the Luxury Car Tax threshold for "fuel efficient vehicles" sold in Australia has been increased by two grand, so EVs that cost less than $77,565 won't incur this additional charge. That's pretty much all the EV incentives Australia gets on a federal level unfortunately.

# Not News

#### Reminisce about the web’s good old days with Vistaserv

I'm going to let this website explain itself - "Vistaserv.net is a grass-roots web hosting initiative hailing from Thornbury, Australia. Inspired by the quirky web of the 90s, we allow users to create home pages, your own little sandbox on the World Wide Web, as it were". It's pretty much Geocities, but still available in 2020! As a teenager many, many years ago I loved making little websites full of my favourite links of stuff I found on the web, which thinking about it, isn't much different to what I do now with The Sizzle. I’d spend hot summer days indoors in the dark because we didn’t have air conditioning, writing all the “code” in Netscape Composer, then when my parents went to bed I’d dial in to Alphalink and upload it all. Oh, the memories of my youth.

# Bargains

- Buy a Sony digital camera or lens between the 1st and 31st of July and get an eftpos gift card

- Nvidia Shield TV Pro - $369 delivered from Shopping Express

- Nokia 5.3 Android One smartphone - $278 at Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and Amazon

- Exams for various Microsoft certifications are only $15 if you can “self-attest that their employment was impacted by COVID-19”

- Free subscriptions to Foxtel’s new BINGE streaming TV service for Telstra post-paid customers

- Sizzle subscriber Laura is doing another run of her excellent Ethics Litmus Test if you missed out last time

🎶 M.E - Wand

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

📡 Aussie Broadband is the best ISP I've used since Internode's glory days. Their CEO gives talks at AUSNOG about their network and they even have network utilisation charts for every NBN POI. Their pricing isn't the cheapest, but if you want an ISP that's fast & reliable, give them a shot. Use my affiliate link or my referral code (1001031) and we both get $50 credit on our next bill.

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.​