### Issue 1757 - Friday 16th December, 2022

This is the final issue for 2022! Have a merry Christmas, a happy new year, go touch some grass and I'll see ya on the 5th of Janurary, 2023.

## In Today's Issue

- Elon Musk continues to fuck up Twitter
- WA creates privacy commissioner and mandataory data breach reporting law
- Everyone except Apple & Google start the Overture Maps foundation to create a new map platform
- The Sizzle did well in 2022
- Friday Forum Update
- Cheap Xbox controllers, 4TB Crucial SSD, Philips Hue Play light bar, Far Cry 6, Apple gift cards, Xbox Series S, Bose NC700 headphones

## The News

### Elon Musk continues to fuck up Twitter

Lots of Elon/Twitter news. It's like a car crash I can't look away from.

- As recently as November, Elon Musk tweeted that "my commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk". Yesterday he banned that account, saying that he is suing the operator of it (who also tracked a bunch of other billionaires and their CO2 spewing private jets) and is introducing a new Twitter policy that'll ban "any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone". Links to plane tracking accounts on other platforms are also blocked from being shared on Twitter.
- Back in April, Elon Musk tweeted that "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means". As I write this, Twitter is banning a range of journalists that wrote about Elon's private jet antics in the past and justifying it by saying they broke the less than 24 hours old rule by posting his "assassination co-ordinates". Twitter is also blocking links to Mastodon and banned the Mastodon organisation's Twitter account. A coincidence, I'm sure. Just before I pressed send on this email, Musk started a poll asking what he should do.

Meanwhile:

- Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey jumped on newsletter service Revue to have a rant about how all the shit revealed in the "Twitter Files" is sensationalist nonsense taken out of context.
- The newsletter service Revue is shutting down on Jan 18th 2023. Twitter purchased it in early 2021, but it never gained much traction versus Substack.
- Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and security at Twitter, has "fled his home due to an escalation in threats resulting from Elon Musk's campaign of criticism against him" according to CNN.
- The new head of trust and security, Ella Irwin, decided partnering with Operation Underground Railroad - a controversial anti-human trafficking organisation from Utah - is a good idea (it isn't).
- Musk "donated" US$5.7b to his own charity that does nothing besides act as a tax dodge. Lots of billionaires do it and it's totally legal unfortunately.
- Musk sold a tranche of Tesla stock worth US$3.7b to repay the US$1b/m of interest Twitter owes the banks. Combined with a big drop in Tesla's stock price, he's no longer the world's richest man.
- A bunch of stuff from the Twitter offices are up for auction. Smaller team doesn't need all that stuff I guess. They're also behind on rent, probably sacked the person responsible for doing it.
- And finally, ISIS is back on Twitter - "in the first 12 days of the takeover, ISD tracked 450 new Islamic State Twitter accounts – a 69% increase over the previous 12 days". Nice work Elon.

### WA creates privacy commissioner and mandatory data breach reporting law

Western Australia has set up a Privacy Commissioner and has plans for a mandatory data breach notification scheme for all government departments and agencies. West Aussies will be able to complain to the commissioner if they "believe their personal data has been incorrectly handled or shared to complain and seek resolution" and once the mandatory data breach notification laws pass, will be similar to the laws NSW introduced a month ago. Ashurst Lawyers has an article about how the state data breach laws interact with the federal one - basically it covers all state run organisations (not private ones) that the federal law doesn't. Expect to see some major changes for private businesses once the federal government overhauls the Privacy Act next year.

### Everyone except Apple & Google start the Overture Maps foundation to create a new map platform

AWS, Meta, Microsoft and TomTom have teamed up with the Linux Foundation to start the Overture Maps Foundation, in what looks like an attempt to break Google's dominance in the digital map space. I don't quite grok what's going on as I'm not an expert in cartography, but their FAQ says that "Overture is intended to be complementary to OSM. We combine OSM with other sources to produce new open map data sets. Overture data will be available for use by the OpenStreetMap community under compatible open data licenses. Overture members are encouraged to contribute to OSM directly". Also interesting that Apple and MapBox are not involved.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### The Sizzle did well in 2022

Before I sign off on the last issue for 2022 I wanted to highlight that The Sizzle's gross revenue (before expenses and tax) for 2022 so far is $63,411.46, an increase of 40% compared to last year. After 7 years of grinding away to get more subscribers this is the first year I've earned enough money from The Sizzle to cover my entire household's expenses. It is extremely unique for an Australian technology writer to do this while also being independent and ad-free. I'm proud of this and it's all possible thanks to the 1,279 paid subscribers like you that validate my work every day by plonking down your hard earned cash. You have no idea how grateful I am! Thanks and I hope the things I've got planned for 2023 continue to bring you value for money.

## Friday Forum Update

Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.

- bja is wondering if they should use Pi-Hole or NextDNS
- raunak needs a NAS to replace their WD MyCloud
- joelpmichael wrote an excellent post about configuring a u-blox GPS receiver to use the new SouthPAN GPS augmentation satellite
- wolfjay started a discussion pondering the future of AI-generated content for artists, musicians and writers
- Catch up on some movies and/or TV shows over the break and join these Plex servers on offer from fellow Sizzle subscribers

## Bargains

- Xbox Series Wireless Controller (Black) - $65.55 from EB Games eBay store
- Crucial MX500 4TB 2.5" Internal SSD - $389 from Centrecom
- Philips Hue Play White & Colour Ambiance Smart LED Bar Light 2 Pack (Base Kit) - $149 from Amazon
- Far Cry 6 (Standard Edition) for PC - $15.26 from Ubisoft
- 4% off Apple gift cards at Gift Card Exchange
- Xbox Series S - $429 at EB Games
- Bose Noise Cancelling 700 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones - $360.05 at Amazon with the code EL5PERCENT

## Image Of The Day

Moomba Festival, Melbourne (State Library Victoria)

## The End

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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.