### Issue 1906 - Wednesday 9th August, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Downfall is the latest Intel CPU vulnerability that'll ruin the weeks of server admins
- Apple Music and Spotify have new AI-based recommendation systems
- FTA TV networks still want a law to force TVs to come with their apps pre-installed
- Turn your old Android smartphone into a music streaming server
- Cheap SD cards, headphones, SSDs, smartphones, Echo Show & Ring combo, USB-C charger

## The News

### Downfall is the latest Intel CPU vulnerability that'll ruin the weeks of server admins

There's a fresh Intel CPU vulnerability - Downfall - a variation of the Meltdown and Fallout vulnerabilities from the last few years. Downfall (aka CVE-2022-40982) "is a transient execution side-channel issue and impacts all processors based on Intel microarchitectures Skylake through Ice Lake" and allows an attacker to "extract sensitive information that is protected by Software Guard eXtensions (SGX)" like "passwords, encryption keys, and private data such as banking details, personal emails, and messages". This is a big deal for cloud computing setups where multiple people have access to other people's stuff floating around on the same CPU. Intel's got a microcode update to patch against it and according to Red Hat, software that "realistic applications" using AVX2/AVX512 (not benchmarks) "only low single-digit percentage slowdowns".

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### Apple Music and Spotify have new AI-based recommendation systems

Apple Music has a new feature called "Discovery Station" that "appears to play songs of a similar style to songs that are in your personal library and that you have listened to and liked in the past, but it chooses songs you don't have in playlists or your library". I wanted to try it out but I get a "not in your country" error. Lame. Over on Spotify, the AI-powered DJ feature is now available in Australia. It's "a curated music selection that includes spoken-word commentary powered by a synthetic voice. The commentary includes light-hearted banter and contextual information that references specific songs and artists the user has previously listened to". I'm listening now and it's cute, but Zane Lowe's job is safe (for now).

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### FTA TV networks still want a law to force TVs to come with their apps pre-installed

Free TV, the lobby group for free to air TV broadcasters, are apparently in Canberra today to ask/blackmail the government for some new laws to keep their businesses viable. They argue it's unfair companies like Amazon and Netflix are paying TV makers to get dedicated buttons on remotes and their apps on the front of TV home screens, while Australian apps (7plus, 10 Play, etc) are left to languish as virtual second class citizens. To resolve this, Free TV wants a law that'll force TV makers to "include access to all TV channels provided by our free local networks, install all local TV apps in the first positions on home screens, and to offer free local TV content first in search results and recommendations". I bet it will happen too. Interesting to see if they'll force it not just on the built-in smart TV interfaces, but on set top boxes like Apple TV, Chromecast and so on.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Turn your old Android smartphone into a music streaming server

David Hamp-Gonsalves turned an old Samsung Galaxy S7 sitting in a drawer into a music streaming server. First they tried running a really handy Android app called Termux that exposes a Linux terminal to the user and installing Navidrome - a lightweight music stream server - but that shat itself every few days, running out of RAM. Ultimately they ended up rooting the phone, installing LineageOS, removing everything non-essential to free up RAM and trying termux and Navidrome again. Works fine, uses fuck all electricity and repurposes a device that would have otherwise ended up as e-waste. You love to see it. Might try this out on a cracked screen Samsung S10 I've got sitting in my junk drawer.

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## Bargains

- 2x Lexar Professional 1667x 128GB SDXC UHS-II cards - $64.96 from Amazon USA
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50X studio headphones - $179.10 from Atlantis Music
- Lexar NM790 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD 1TB/2TB/4TB - $65/$129/$255 from BPC Tech
- Nokia G50 5G 4GB RAM 128GB storage Android 5G dual SIM smartphone - $199.20 from Mobileciti's eBay store
- Telstra Lite 2 phone, Essential 4GX and Smart 3 smartphones - $6/$12/$19 at Coles (random stock around)
- Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen) + Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) - $149 from Amazon
- Anker 735 USB-C Charger (GaNPrime 65W) - $55.20 from Mobileciti's eBay store

## Image Of The Day

In 2009 cells were taken from Billy Apple's blood, then altered using a virus to keep them alive in perpetuity. These immortalised cells have been stored at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. Working with biochemist/artist Dr Craig Hilton, they created The Immortalisation of Billy Apple. This project explores the implications of the use and ownership of body tissue and genetic information, while challenging the constraints on the development and use of biotechnology. (Stuff / Tahatai / Wikimedia Commons)

## The End

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