Plus: Play with this famous German organ online ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

March 28, 2025 | Read online
# Will this be a tech-lection? PNG cuts Facebook and I'm finding myself straying from Google... Plus: Play with this famous German organ online
Issue 2301 - Friday 28 March 2025
Folks, enjoy your weekend! And shout-out to Sizzler Ben who shared news of an actually very bad — and on-going — data breach at retailer Sydney Tool (CyberNews).
# The News
### This is not shaping up to be a tech-lection
The election has been called (this time for real) for May 3! So, what should Sizzlers expect over the next five weeks with regard to tech policy? My guess is: not that much. For the most part, neither major party is campaigning on their stances on big tech because they’re pretty similar. Policies like the teen social media ban, the news media bargaining incentive and the ex-ante regulation all have bipartisan support. The biggest tech difference between Liberals and Labor is the nuclear policy and, despite the efforts of some groups (Crikey, $), Peter Dutton is trying not to talk about it. Dutton’s big cost-of-living policy, the fuel excise cut, won’t help EV owners (The Driven) and the Opposition has flagged it might rollback vehicle emission standards, too (The Guardian Australia). A lot can happen in five weeks but nothing I’ve heard suggests that we should hold our breath for a lot of action. (PS: A Labor staffer rang me to make the point that, while this budget didn’t have that much for tech, previous budgets had things like the PsiQuantum investment. Take from that what you will!)
A reminder: if you see anything weird or interesting related to the election — particularly when it comes to da internet — send me an email or Signal. I love tips!
### PNG cuts Facebook as it gets an ‘OG’ friends-only feature (these facts are not related)
Facebook has been shut down in Papua New Guinea by its government using anti-terrorism laws (ABC News). The country’s police minister said it is a “test” to deal with “unchecked proliferation of fake news, hate speech, pornography, child exploitation, and incitement to violence on platforms”. Opposition MPs and the media have slammed the move. As is often the case with international reporting, it’s hard to get a sense for how legitimate the reason for the ban is but, funnily enough, I wrote for the ABC in 2020 (!) about how fucking insane PNG Facebook is (ABC News). At the time, Meta didn’t have moderators who spoke PNG national languages so it is literally the wild, wild west — non-consensual sexually explicit imagery and child abuse material is rife on the platform. On the topic of Facebook, the company is rolling out an “OG” Facebook feature which shows you content from just your friends (Engadget). There’s a lot to say about the state of Facebook — which remains the world’s most used social network — but my biggest question: who has friends still posting to Facebook in 2025?
### Anyone else finding themselves straying from Google…?
I’m pretty much a professional Google user. A surprising amount of “internet reporting” is just jamming different combinations into Google until you get something useful. And yet, even I find myself drawn to alternatives these days because of how shitty it’s getting. Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern wrote a nice piece this week about the different ways that AI options like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini are undeniably better than Google when it comes to types of search (WSJ, $). For me personally, I find Google works well when you know exactly what term you’re looking for (“Sizzle newsletter sign-up”) but these AI chatbots are better when you vaguely know but don’t know exactly "(“What’s a great value tech newsletter that covers Aussie and international news from a Aus perspective written by a really handsome and funny guy”). Outside of AI, Kagi continues to be a really good alternative. I stumbled across Kagi’s search stat leaderboards for the websites that are most blocked or lowered (Pinterest) or pinned or raised (Wikipedia) in its customised search rankings (Kagi). Very curious to how y’all are searching right now — please tell me!
#### Leftovers
Apple launches additional data inclusions into Apple Maps with Indigenous Lands and Traditional Owner information at a glance (EFTM) Australian home affairs secretary admits to using disappearing messages on Signal for work (The Guardian) ‘Kind of useless’: CSIRO on Microsoft AI and the ‘productivity paradox’ (InnovationAus, $) Australia should hold its nerve against Facebook Rod Sims says (The Australian, $) Cybermate offers free cyber security to Australian registered charities (ARN) Pwning a major New Zealand service provider (Mr Bruh’s Epic Blog) Banned Books Analysis of Censorship on Amazon (Citizen Lab) Discord is planning an IPO this year, and big changes could be on the horizon (Ars Technica) Crypto industry set for worst quarter for hacks in history with $1.6 billion in losses: Immunefi (The Block) Tesla hypes ‘unsupervised full self-driving’ launch in June: here’s what it will actually launch (Electrek) ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Maker Carves Out €4 Billion Unit with Tencent (Bloomberg, $) Signal downloads spike in the US and Yemen amid government scandal (TechCrunch) Zoom bias: The social costs of having a 'tinny' sound during video conferences (Phys.org) AI models miss disease in Black and female patients (Science.org)
# Oh, Also
### Play with this famous German organ online
It’s Friday, let’s have some fun! The City of Hamburg, Germany, has created a faithful digital reproduction version of famed St. Jacobi organ made by renowned craftsman Arp Schnitger that you can play in your browser (Orgelstadt-hamburg.de)! It’s a great example of how fun things like this can bring otherwise unaccessible bits of culture to life for new audiences.
it’s organ time
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
Anker Nebula Capsule Official Travel Case - $5.90 at Amazon AU Anker E-Shop Australia Xiaomi Band 9 Active Smartwatch Beige - $45.48 at Amazon JP via Amazon AU AU Ring White Stick up Cam Battery - 4 Pack - $199 at Bunnings Bose QuietComfort SC Headphones Black - $273 at VChain Global ECommerce via Kogan Klipsch Reference Powered Speakers R40PM) - $649 at Costco NEBULA Capsule 3 GTV Projector - $799 at AnkerDirect AU via Amazon AU Sony Bravia K55XR80 55" OLED 4K HDR Google TT (box damaged) - $1911 at Sony Australia eBay
Computing
Logitech G915 X LIGHTSPEED Low-Profile Wireless Gaming Keyboard (White) - $254 at Amazon AU WD Ultrastar HC550 16TB 3.5″ Enterprise SATA HDD WUH721816ALE6L4 (Used) - $268 at East Digital Alienware 27 Dual-Resolution Gaming Monitor - AW2725QF - $449 at Dell Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB External Hard Drive - $499 at Amazon UK via AU HP Pavilion Aero Laptop 13.3" 2K Ryzen 5-8640U 16GB 512GB - $848 at Hp eBay Gaming PC: Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 4060 Ti, 1TB Gen4 M.2, 16GB RAM, 650W 80+ Silver PSU - $998 at Nebula PC Gaming PC at GALAPOWER i5-14600KF 32GB 1TB RTX 5070 for $1999 Ryzen 7800X3D 32GB 1TB RTX 5070 for $2249
Mobile
Assorted iPhone Cases - From $0.25 at Kmart & Target Samsung Galaxy 5G 128GB at Telstra (Telstra ID Required) A36 for $449 A56 for $549 Motorola Edge 50 Pro 5G 12GB RAM/256GB Storage - $498 at Harvey Norman
# The End
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