### Issue 2168 - Thursday 5th September, 2024

Hello, I'm back in the tech news swamp. Two days off wasn't long enough...

## In Today's Issue

- ASIO boss fires up encryption backdoor debate again
- New NBN speed tiers coming soon & ACCC approves Optus/TPG roaming deal
- Internet Archive loses appeal, has to delete all its books that are still in copyright
- YubiKey vuln, you can't remove Recall from Windows 11, mobile phones very likley do not cause brain or head cancers
- Cheap Audio Technica Turntable, Bose & Sennheiser headphones, Logitech 4K webcam, Bose soundbar, 20% various Sonos bits, Anker USB charger, Wall Street Journal sub, Boost Mobile, used Dell 34" monitors

## The News

### ASIO boss fires up encryption backdoor debate again

ASIO's boss is back on his anti-encryption bullshit, this time telling the ABC that he's "considering" using the immense powers granted to ASIO back in 2018 under the Assistance and Access Act to force tech companies to build backdoors into their software so they can monitor encrypted communications. There's no particular event that caused this discussion to begin today, just the evergreen insatiable appetite for ASIO and its kind to stick its nose in every segment of society regardless of the consequences. It's the usual stuff like some magic thinking that there's a way to build a little hatch only for cops to peek through but nobody else, and that if you're not doing anything wrong there's nothing to worry about. Where have I heard that before, hmmmm?

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### New NBN speed tiers coming soon & ACCC approves Optus/TPG roaming deal

NBN's announced a range of new speed tiers available to ISPs as of September 14th. 500/50, 750/50 and 1000/100 will be available soon, along with 2000/200 on FTTP and a bizarre 2000/100 on HFC. What prices these will retail for are up to the ISPs, but it's nice to see a bit more choice from NBN so ISPs can create more attractive price points. Also in telco-land, the ACCC has given its blessing to TPG & Optus sharing their spectrum and entering a roaming agreement, so TPG and Optus customers get access to each other's networks in regional areas. It also means Optus can roll out more 5G in the regions as it gets access to chunks of spectrum TPG wasn't really using outside metro areas.

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### Internet Archive loses appeal, has to delete all its books that are still in copyright

The Internet Archive lost its appeal against book publisher Hachette, with the court rejecting their argument that "its lending practices were shielded by the fair use doctrine". The Internet Archive made a brief statement saying they're disappointed and are reviewing the court's decision. Some people will say the Internet Archive flew too close to the sun by provoking publishers (who have long hated libraries and the Internet Archive) and removing 1 physical book = 1 digital loan rule during COVID for its controlled digital lending system, but come on man, that was a freak moment in time and it helped a lot of people. I guess this means the vast majority of the Internet Archive's scanned books that are still under copyright will be removed from the site eventually.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### YubiKey vuln, you can't remove Recall from Windows 11, mobile phones very likley do not cause brain or head cancers

Stuff that happened while I was touching grass:

- Someone found a flaw in YubiKeys (those cool USB dongles for multi-factor authentication) that could lead to the private keys being extracted, but the process to do that is super complicated and requires physical possession of the YubiKey. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it or buy new YubiKeys.
- The latest update to Windows 11 added an option to remove the controversial Recall feature, but Microsoft told The Verge "we are aware of an issue where Recall is incorrectly listed as an option under the Turn Windows Features On Or Off dialog in Control Panel. This will be fixed in an upcoming update". Utter contempt from Microsoft towards its users.
- The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency looked at over 5,000 studies about the impacts of mobile phone usage on brain and head cancers, whittled it down to 63 good ones and concluded that "the evidence does not show a link between mobile phones and brain cancer or other head and neck cancers". Honestly, even if there was a link, as if we'd stop using the fucking things.

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## Bargains

- Samsung EVO Plus Gen2 512GB microSD card - $58 from Amazon
- DJI Mic wireless microphone system - $170.10 from Mobileciti's eBay store
- Google Pixel Watch 2 - $251.10 from Mobileciti's eBay store
- Audio Technica LPW40WN Turntable - $549 from JB Hi-Fi
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones - $496.80 from Amazon
- Sennheiser HD25 Professional Headphones - $188.28 from Amazon Japan
- Logitech MX Brio Ultra HD 4K Webcam - $243.95 from Amazon
- Bose Solo Soundbar Series 2 - $149 from Amazon
- 20% off select Sonos gear from Sonos' official online store
- Anker 323 USB-C 33W USB charger - $19.99 from Amazon
- Wall Street Journal online subscription - A$2/m for 12 months
- Boost Mobile 365-day pre-paid SIM with 260GB data, unlimited calls & SMS - $227 from Boost after cashback from TopCashback
- Used Dell UltraSharp U3415W 3440x1440 60Hz 34" monitor (no stand) - $239 from UN Tech

## Image Of The Day

PhotoDisc - Designer Tools Series 5: Keyboards & Computers (Internet Archive / ShivaShaw)

## The End

📻 The Jesus Lizard - Moto(R)

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