### Issue 2034 - Friday 23rd February, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- WA cops embed themselves in Telstra's core WA exchange
- NASA funded Intuitive Machines puts the first US made thing on the moon since the 70s
- Google stops Gemini AI-generated images, Sony to make the PS VR2 headset PC compatible, Reddit offers power users stock in its IPO
- The Polaroid SX-70 camera was and still is a technological marvel
- Friday Forum Update
- Cheap Samsung soundbar, SanDisk 128GB microSD, Belkin TB3 dock, Brother colour laser MFC, Sony 75" mini LED TV

## The News

### WA cops embed themselves in Telstra's core WA exchange

How do you feel about the sentence "WA Police Force is now operating a central command centre out of Telstra's Wellington Street exchange tower in Perth"? Because that's a thing that's happening right now. They've combined "the services and resources of the former State Operations Command Centre (SOCC) and Police Operations Centre into one high-tech, purpose-built facility" that just happens to be in the same building as Telstra's exchange because it "provides excellent power and connectivity resiliency and will literally put WA Police as close as they can possibly get to our state's most critical piece of telecommunications infrastructure". Police have never been much for the optics of their actions, have they?

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### NASA funded Intuitive Machines puts the first US made thing on the moon since the 70s

The USA has landed something on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 all the way back in 1972. NASA gave a company called Intuitive Machines US$77m in 2019 to build and launch the Nova-C Moon lander carrying a few science instruments and now they've done it. While it as routine in the early 70s for things to be on the Moon and people took it for granted, it's actually really fucking hard and to do it for "only" US$77m is quite the achievement. They even launched a little CubeSat called EagleCam so it can relay images from the lander via wi-fi then back to Earth, making it the first wi-fi network on the Moon. Wikipedia has a bunch of info on the IM-1 mission, the Nova-C spacecraft and the instruments it deployed.

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### Google stops Gemini AI-generated images, Sony to make the PS VR2 headset PC compatible, Reddit offers power users stock in its IPO

- Google had to stop letting Gemini generate images as people discovered it was "inserting diversity into its images in a historically inaccurate way, such as depicting multi-racial Nazis and medieval British kings with unlikely nationalities". Go look at the example image of the culturally diverse Nazis in the article. I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
- Sony snuck in a blog post that they're "currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5. We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates". Hopefully Sony lets any VR game use it, not just games Sony blesses with support.
- Reddit has officially filed for its IPO on the NYSE (ticker symbol RDDT) and they're gonna give an "unspecified number of its top users, including moderators and those with high karma scores, the chance to buy shares in its IPO". The shares aren't free as a thank you for giving them the actual content that makes their business valuable, but if the IPO goes well, could be quite lucrative.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### The Polaroid SX-70 camera was and still is a technological marvel

Ken Shirriff has a wonderful look at all the integrated circuits that made the revolutionary Polaroid SX-70 instant camera possible. While everything in there is now pretty mundane, at the time of its release in 1972, this was all cutting edge stuff - you could call it the iPhone of its time, with Fairchild and Texas Instruments battling to create an exposure control circuit board at the right price. Before the SX-70 getting the exposure correct for a Polaroid was a huge pain in the arse, but the exposure control circuit board automated it all. Also on the topic of the SX-70 is this gorgeous short film/ad about the camera by the Eames brothers (yeah the chair dudes).

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## 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.

- lenjet wants to digitise a bunch of old photos and wants tips on how to start
- shermozle made a nice little hack to get around Daikin removing local API support for their air conditioner
- matthaymes wants to know of a good 3rd party joint to get an iPhone's screen glass replaced in Melbourne
- jdenredden shared omg.lol with us, a fun group of nerdy micro services for just US$20/yr - what a great concept!
- jonoabroad is after internet speed test software they can self-host and customise

## Bargains

- Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar with wireless sub & surrounds - $966 from Appliances Online's eBay store
- SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSD card - $22.90 from Amazon
- Belkin F4U110bt Thunderbolt 3 dock - $94 from Amazon
- Brother MFC-L8690CDW colour laser printer & scanner/copier - $633.48 from Printer Supermarket
- Sony XR75X95K 75" 4K mini LED TV - $2,999 from Sony

## Image Of The Day

IM-1, the first NASA Commercial Launch Program Services launch for Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander, will carry multiple payloads to the Moon, including Lunar Node-1, demonstrating autonomous navigation via radio beacon to support precise geolocation and navigation among lunar orbiters, landers, and surface personnel. NASA’s CLPS initiative oversees industry development of small robotic landers and rovers to support NASA’s Artemis campaign. (NASA Image and Video Library)

## The End

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