# In This Issue

- Tesla made a profit for the 4th quarter in a row, will enter the S&P 500 index

- Slack complains to the EU about Microsoft bundling Teams into Office

- UNSW has a Bachelor of Quantum Engineering now

- Logitech and Herman Miller team up to make a very fancy (and expensive) gaming chair

- Cheap Logitech Brio 4K webcam, Yamaha YHT-1840B home theatre kit, Doom & Last of US PS4, BDI 4G ethernet modem router, Xiaomi 4K laser projector

# News

#### Tesla made a profit for the 4th quarter in a row, will enter the S&P 500 index

Tesla has an investor update conference call last night. Despite COVID-19 it managed to make a 4th consecutive quarterly profit. Digging a little deeper, it seems that the vast majority of Tesla's profits came from selling "regulatory credits" to other car makers that haven't put any effort into cleaning up their vehicle emissions. Elon said they're gonna build a factory in Texas to build the Cybertruck, which will be their 4th factory (Fremont, Shanghai and Berlin). Tesla's market cap has grown so high lately that combined with consecutive profits, they're now eligible to be tracked in the S&P 500, so if you have an ETF or super fund that tracks the S&P 500, you'll be an investor in Tesla soon. Here's the full investor presentation.

#### Slack complains to the EU about Microsoft bundling Teams into Office

Slack has officially complained to the European Commission, saying that "Microsoft has illegally tied its Teams product into its market-dominant Office productivity suite, force installing it for millions, blocking its removal, and hiding the true cost to enterprise customers". Slack goes on to say that "what we are asking for is Teams be separated from the Office Suite and sold separately with a fair commercial price tag, so it competes on the merits with our products". Quite a change of tune from 2016 where they ran a full-page ad in the NYT teasing Microsoft when Teams was released. If Microsoft did what Slack wanted, selling Teams on its own without an option for bundling it with Office 365, you'd have loads of people complaining it's not part of Office! Microsoft's fucked if you do, fucked if you don't here.

#### UNSW has a Bachelor of Quantum Engineering now

Feel like studying the cutting edge of computing technology? UNSW is offering the world's first bachelor's degree in quantum engineering. The Bachelor of Quantum Engineering will teach people "advanced electronics and telecommunications engineering with a focus on how to design and control complex quantum systems" as well as "courses in nanoelectronics, microwave engineering, quantum technologies for advanced sensors and secure communications". Pretty fucking hardcore! Apparently the course came about from industry and research demand because there aren't enough qualified people in quantum computing to fill the jobs in Australia and around the world.

# Not News

#### Logitech and Herman Miller team up to make a very fancy (and expensive) gaming chair

Logitech has teamed up with famed office furniture company Herman Miller to make a US$1,495 gaming variant of their Embody office chair. What makes it "gaming"? The fluorescent blue highlights and a big G logo to signify being part of Logitech's gaming range! Oh and a "copper-infused foam in its back cushion that aims to keep you cooler while you game". Other than that though, it's the same Herman Miller Embody you wish you could afford. Considering how long I sit at my computer each day, I feel like an even fancier chair (I've got a Buro Metro that cost me ~$250 five years ago) would be good for me.

# Bargains

- Logitech Brio 4K webcam (supports Windows Hello) - $299 at Umart

- Yamaha YHT-1840B 5.1 speaker & amp home theater pack - $399 plus $60 credit from The Good Guys

- Doom & The Last of Us - $7.48 / $12.47 on the PlayStation Store

- BDI B936 4G LTE wi-fi router with ethernet - $124.16 from Switch-Hub’s eBay store

- Xiaomi 4K short throw laser projector - $3199 from Fengmi Tech

🎶 Obtusian - Regurgitator

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