### Issue 1781 - Wednesday 8th February, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Microsoft shows off a ChatGPT infused Bing & Edge
- Safer Internet Day survey finds 23% of people love to watch people get upset online
- Twitter's dumpster fire continues to burn brightly
- Maybe a good idea to avoid Samsung's 980 Pro and 990 Pro NVMe SSDs for now
- Cheap OSMO kids iPad educational kits, Gomo eSIM 30-day trial, Crucial SSD, Pixel 6A, Philips Hue kit, OVHCloud VPS, Apple Watch

## The News

### Microsoft shows off a ChatGPT infused Bing & Edge

Microsoft has added ChatGPT to Bing. The "new Bing" uses an upgraded version of GPT-3.5, dubbed the Prometheus model that is "better able to answer search queries with up-to-date information and annotated answers". Unfortunately this new version of Bing is only in a limited preview. The new Bing FAQ mentions that "it can still show unexpected or inaccurate results based on the web content summarized, so please use your best judgment". Sounds a lot like Tesla's "please pay attention at all times when using your fully self driving car". Microsoft also added some OpenAI powered features to Edge - Chat (summarize the webpage or document they're looking at and ask questions about its contents) and Compose (acts as a writing assistant; helping to generate text, from emails to social media posts, based on a few starting prompts).

### Safer Internet Day survey finds 23% of people love to watch people get upset online

Yesterday was Safer Internet Day and that means the massively ineffective, despite their vague and powerful legislated powers, eSafety Commissioner waves their arms around to remind the public that they exist. This year's thought bubble is asking dating apps to "report on how they are responding to violence and threats" or they "may soon issue legal notices" to do so. Just fucken issue the notices already, what's the point of all that power if you don't wield it? eSafety also commissioned a survey/report that found 23% of respondents reckon "it's fun to watch people get upset about something I've posted online". Natural born posters those 23%! Now what are you gonna do about it eSafety Commissioner? More draconian laws you never enforce?

### Twitter's dumpster fire continues to burn brightly

It's been a minute since I bitched about Twitter. Time to fix that:

- The Information scored some leaked documents that show only 290,000 people have bothered to pay for Twitter Blue. I loved using Twitter and never considered paying. Who hell are the 290,000 freaks coughing up real money for it???
- Remember how the free API is gonna be knocked off and everyone that wants to use it has to pay? Well after PepitoTheCat had a sook, "Twitter will enable a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free".
- CSAM is a growing problem on Twitter. The New York Times and the Canadian Center for Child Protection found way too much of it, out in the open, that Twitter just ignores, even after they're told it exists. Deplorable.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Maybe a good idea to avoid Samsung's 980 Pro and 990 Pro NVMe SSDs for now

Whenever someone asked me which SSD they should buy to upgrade their PC, I'd lazily tell them to get a Samsung as they're usually the best and I know I'm not going to get people coming back telling me I gave them a dud recommendation. It looks like I can no longer recommend Samsung's NVMe SSDs, as the 990 Pro and 980 Pro are shitting themselves prematurely. SSDs have a finite lifespan and after a few hundred terabytes of data copied back and forth, will just crap out. Samsung's latest SSDs are approaching their failure point way too early, like 64% health after only 2TB of written data. High end PC builder Puget Systems reckons its enough of an issue that they've moved to Sabrent as their SSD supplier instead of Samsung.

## Bargains

- OSMO iPad Coding Game, Little Genius Starter Kit or Drawing Kit - $66/$52/$38 from Amazon UK
- 30 Days eSIM Free Trial with Gomo (Optus MVNO)
- Crucial MX500 4TB 2.5" SATA SSD - $369 + delivery from Umart & MSY
- Google Pixel 6a (HK stock) - $479.65 from BuyMobile
- Philips Hue A60 B22 White Starter Kit - $70.99 from Amazon
- 12m of Sydney hosted VPS (2GB RAM, 20GB SSD) - $17.46 from OVHCloud
- $50 off Series 8 Apple Watches at JB Hi-Fi

## Image Of The Day

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, watches Honda Motor Co.'s interactive robot Asimo, demonstrate at the Miraikan, or the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, Monday, March 9, 2015. (AP Photo /Shizuo Kambayashi)

## The End

📻 Say It Ain't So - Weezer

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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.