### Issue 1762 - Wednesday 11th January, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Brisbane woman kicks robot "dog"
- Pirate IPTV users to get a visits from UK police
- Security updates end for Windows 7 & 8.1
- David Bowie liked the internet
- Cheap iPad Pro, SanDisk 1TB SSD, Dell & LG monitors, Samsung Galaxy S22+, Blu-Ray movies

## The News

### Brisbane woman kicks robot "dog"

A woman in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley kicked the shit out of a robot "dog" on Saturday night and its owner cracked the sads about it, making a Facebook page to find who did it along with a $500 reward. A friend ratted her out and she apologised to the robot's owner, Mark Trueno. I know it's not nice to break other people's property and I can understand why Mark is upset to have the $15,000 piece of gear damaged and yes, this robot isn't designed to specifically be a death machine - but also, it just feels right that the robot got kicked in the head? It feels cathartic and good that someone did this??? We shouldn't be normalising a dude taking his quasi-military robot pretending to be a cute dog called Stampy "for a walk" and expect everyone to be happy about its presence.

### Pirate IPTV users to get a visits from UK police

Some users of some illegal IPTV streaming boxes (you know the ones - little STB's running Android, pre-loaded with Kodi and plugins that give access to 10,000 channels, popular for pirating live sport) will receive home visits from police in the UK. West Mercia Police got access to a list of users after busting an IPTV operation and plans to "serve notices to individuals to cease illegal streaming activities with immediate effect and informing users of the associated risks, which include criminal prosecution". Dunno how they identified the illegal IPTV service customers, but it would be pretty alarming having a cop show up to your house just for paying a pirate to watch some soccer or whatever. They must have solved all the crime in West Mercia.

### Security updates end for Windows 7 & 8.1

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 have hit retirement age, with Microsoft ending all security updates for those venerable operating systems as of yesterday. Google ends Chrome support for these versions of Windows in February, so you probably should have upgraded to Windows 10 or another operating system a while ago, but I don't blame anyone for sticking with Windows 7 - it was pretty good as far as Windows goes and still got updates, so why bother moving away if it was getting the job done? Quick tip for anyone looking for an upgrade path out of Win7/8 but doesn't want to buy a new computer because all they do is browse the web and use web-based apps, check out ChromeOS Flex.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### David Bowie liked the internet

Inspired by the photo of David Bowie using a computer in yesterday's newsletter, Sizzle subscriber Mike Sampson informed me that Mr. Bowie started an ISP in 1998 called BowieNet that at its peak, serviced around 100,000 customers in the USA and UK. It was also a fan club for the musician that provided exclusive content, like a live video feed from Bowie's studio. You even got a fancy your.name@davidbowie.com email address! There's an interview with Bowie from 1999 where he reckons if he was 19, he wouldn't get into music, but instead be an artist on the internet because "the Internet carries the flag of being subversive and possibly rebellious and chaotic, nihilistic". I wonder what he'd think of the internet now?

## Bargains

- iPad Pro 11-Inch Wi-Fi 128GB M2 (4th Generation) - $1304 from Amazon
- SanDisk 1TB E30 Portable SSD - $99 from JB Hi-Fi
- Dell Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED Monitor - $1739 from Amazon
- LG 34WQ75C 34" monitor - $599 from Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy S22+ 256GB - $1198 from Amazon
- Blu-Ray Clearance over 800 Titles $7 or Less at JB Hi-Fi

## Image Of The Day

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann peers through one of the seven windows in the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world." Mann displays the U.S. flag inside the cupola in the window next to her. (NASA Johnson / Flickr)

## The End

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## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

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.