# In This Issue

- Foxtel might get the power to ask ISPs directly to block whatever they want

- Javascript modules running on a terminal have ads in them now

- PewDiePie busts 100m subs on YouTube to be the biggest individual creator

- Tesla’s solar panel business is a dud and everyone knows it except the brainwashed Musk defenders

- Cheap iTunes & Spotify gift cards, Samsung Tab S6 pre-order, 960GB SSD, Amazon Kindle & Echo, Civ6 Gold

# News

#### Foxtel gains the power to ask ISPs directly to block whatever they want

Foxtel is trying to convince the Federal Court to give it the ability to "add new domains or URLs to the list of blocked sites without returning to court" - basically Foxtel can tell ISPs to block whatever Foxtel wants and as long as the ISPs don't object to it, the site will be blocked without Foxtel having to return to court. This is a big change from the existing process of Foxtel making a list of sites, going to the Federal Court, having the merits of the blocking request argued and then the court mandating the to the ISPs what to block. It's pretty wild that Foxtel has such power, isn't it?

#### Javascript modules running on a terminal have ads in them now

This one's a deep cut for the programmer types, but was so ridiculous I had to mention it. "Standard, a JavaScript style guide, linter, and automatic code fixer, has implemented what appears to be the first advertising system for JavaScript libraries. Starting with last week, when developers install the library via the npm JavaScript package manager, they also get a giant banner advertisement in their terminal" - that's right, ads in npm packages. It's not a hack or a cheeky dev either, but part of a project called "Funding", that's designed to be an ad network for open source projects looking for some maintenance revenue. Is there no depths the ad industry won’t plumb?

#### PewDiePie busts 100m subs on YouTube to be the biggest individual creator

PewDiePie has 100 million subscribers on YouTube now. The most of any other single creator on YouTube. There is a channel called T-Series with more subscribers than PewDiePie, that I've never heard of but is "a music record label and film production company in India founded by Gulshan Kumar in 1983. It is primarily known for Bollywood music soundtracks and Indi-pop music. As of 2014, T-Series is India's largest music record label, with up to a 35% share of the Indian music market". I don't know what else there is to say really. 100 million people like PewDiePie's antics enough to want to keep track of when new videos come out. Cool.

# Not News

#### Tesla’s solar panel business is a dud and everyone knows it except the brainwashed Musk defenders

Vanity Fair has a great article detailing the bullshit Musk pulled in Tesla's acquisition of his brother's business, Solar City. It lead Tesla to get into the solar panel manufacturing game where it's currently doing sweet fuck all after many years and US$750m of incentives from the New York State government. Even fanboy sites like CleanTechnica reckon Tesla's solar panel ambitions are "a disaster waiting to happen". The entire acquisition of SolarCity is rotten to the core and the only reason it went ahead was to preserve Musk's vanity and maintain his financial house of cards. It's fine to enjoy a Tesla car (they're cool), but Musk is a 100% charlatan, no different to that bloke in the Simpsons selling monorails to sucker cities.

# Bargains

- 15% off iTunes and Spotify gift cards at Big W.

- Pre-order the Samsung Tab S6 and get $200 off.

- 960GB Crucial BX500 SSD - $116 from Futu Online's eBay store using the code PAPA20.

- Amazon's still got cheap Kindles and Echo devices.

- Civilization VI Gold Edition for $35 at Fanatical (thanks for the heads up Gus!).

🎶 A Reminder - Radiohead

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

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.​