# The Sizzle

### Issue 227 - Tuesday, 6th September 2016 - Every Time That I Call You, You Find Some Way To Ditch Me

I'm currently driving to Adelaide, so today's issue might be a bit fucked and disjointed. Possibly even late. I started this issue in Stawell, watching a crow eat the remnants of a feral cat off the Western Highway, but finished it looking at birds dive into the Murray River at sunset in Tailem Bend.

- Open Office is struggling to keep the lights on
- PwC report explains the NDIS payment system's problems
- Adelaide wants some smartphone public transport ticket love

- ORWL, a tamper-proof computer for the paranoid

NEWS

Open Office is struggling to keep the lights on
Old mate Open Office could be discontinued. There's so few people contributing to the open source Office clone, that the remaining maintainers are concerned about their lack of ability to respond to security issues, let alone develop new features and improve the suite. Only about 6 volunteer programmers remain, committing updates. The Apache Software Foundation board is the custodian of Open Office and it seems like ending development is a likely outcome. LibreOffice, a fork of Open Office maintained by Oracle, still kicks on though.
Discuss

PwC report explains the NDIS payment system's problems
We've known that the government's implementation of the NDIS payment system was botched, but now an independent review has confirmed it. The review undertaken by PwC said that it wasn't a single fuck up that caused NDIS payments to be delayed for months, but a series of constant, smaller errors, rooted in incompetency, rushed implementation and under resourcing. Just another government IT implementation shitheap for the pile (insert toilet flushing noise here).
Discuss

Adelaide wants some smartphone public transport ticket love
Adelaide is starting a trial of smartphone payments for public transport. It wants a company to come along and conduct a three month trial on a small section of the network, according to a tender put out by SA’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. It joins NSW in doing a trial of the same thing, while Melbourne sits on its hands, content that we have a ticketing system at all. No details on when the actual trial will start, but the tender closes on October 4th if you wanna put your hand up.
Discuss

COOL SHIT

ORWL, a tamper-proof computer for the paranoid
You can have the most secure operating system, a tight network and even air gaps to make sure your computer isn't hacked. But if someone manages to get their physical hands on the computer, there's so much more they can do. Locking it up isn't even enough - computers can be opened. ORWL has made a computer they claim is tamper-proof and is designed around a threat model of "well what if someone just steals the computer?". The ORWL met its crowdfunding goal and looks really slick. There's actual hardware there, not just renders. Check it out if you've watched too much Mr. Robot.
Discuss

Here endeth the sizzle (until tomorrow!)
--Anthony

The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Today's subject line is from Death And Destruction, by Weezer. Like The Sizzle? Tell your friends!