### Issue 2019 - Thursday 1st February, 2024

I'm taking the day off tomorrow as a replacement for the Australia Day public holiday I worked, so there won't be a Sizzle. Normal Sizzle business returns on the 5th of Feb!

## In Today's Issue

- Zuck apologises to families of dead children in US Senate hearing
- Google has removed cache feature from search results without announcement
- Agreement between USA & Australia to make it easier for cops to get data on US/AU servers is now in effect
- A Sizzle subscriber made an excellent fuel price app for iOS called Petty
- Cheap Viofo dashcam, Telstra pre-paid SIM, Bose Bluetooth speaker, Moto G14 smartphone, Samsung 4TB portable SSD

## The News

### Zuck apologises to families of dead children in US Senate hearing

Mark Zuckerberg got bullied by a US Senator into apologising to "families who said their children had self-harmed or killed themselves as a result of social media content" during a hearing in the Senate on the topic of "Big Tech and the online child sexual exploitation crisis". Zuck stood up, turned around and told families in the audience holding photos of their dead kids, "I'm sorry for everything you've all gone through, it's terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered". Besides that, it was the usual series of clueless Senators, that as Mike Masnick describes, "make nonsense pronouncements in hopes of getting a viral clip to show up on the very social media they're pretending to demonize, but which they rely on to pretend to their base that they're leading the culture war moral panic against social media" - which makes this Zuck clip the political equivalent of a hole in one.

⬆ Share or Discuss

### Google has removed cache feature from search results without announcement

We've all used Google Cache to dig up a previous version of a website that's been altered or taken down, but it looks like Google has removed this feature from appearing in search results. Ernie over at Tedium noticed this too, but discovered "it is simply hidden from public view" and can be accessed "manually by typing in a specialized URL, along the lines of https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tedium.co". Doesn't surprise me Google is hiding/downplaying its cache, considering how many lawsuits in Australia alone have been centered around Google keeping this copy of a news story up when the original publisher had to remove it for defamation reasons. That said, the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine still exists, goes a good job and may it live forever. There's even a self-hosted app called ArchiveBox that lets you make your own mini Wayback Machine.

⬆ Share or Discuss

### Agreement between USA & Australia to make it easier for cops to get data on US/AU servers is now in effect

The "Agreement on Access to Electronic Data for the Purpose of Countering Serious Crime" between the USA and Australia (aka the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act in the US and Schedule 1 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 in Australia) is now in effect. According to a joint statement by the US and Australian Attorney-Generals, "the Agreement will allow US and Australian authorities to obtain more timely access to electronic data held by service providers in the partner nation". I don't know the full details of this setup, but it was cooked up back in 2021 and kinda flew under the radar all this time. The NSW Council for Civil Liberties and the Australian Information Industry Association made a submission to a joint standing committee on the agreement back in 2022 and didn't have much of an issue with it, but was "concerned by the Agreement's impact on the privacy protections currently enjoyed by Australian residents".

⬆ Share or Discuss

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### A Sizzle subscriber made an excellent fuel price app for iOS called Petty

Do you have an iPhone? Do you drive a car that uses fossil fuels? Do you live in a state with official petrol price reporting (everywhere except VIC & NT)? Then you gotta get Petty - an app developed by long time Sizzle subscriber Zach Simone. He's just released version 7.0 and it now includes CarPlay support. Even if you don't have a vehicle with CarPlay, it's still the nicest fuel price finding app on the market. There's a free version that works pretty well and a $10/yr premium version with some extra features. I do not drive a petrol car and I live in Victoria which still doesn't have official petrol price reporting (wtf?) so this app is useless to me, which is shame as it's a very good app for everyone else!

⬆ Share or Discuss

## Bargains

- Viofo VS1 dashcam & 32gb microSD card - $151.84 from Viofo
- Telstra 365-day pre-paid SIM with 230GB data, unlimited calls & SMS - $280 from Telstra
- Bose SoundLink Revolve II Bluetooth Speaker - $280.46 from Myer
- Motorola Moto G14 smartphone - $147 at Officeworks
- Samsung T9 4TB Portable SSD - $467.75 from Amazon USA

## Image Of The Day

Had another, more wide-ranging, demo with Apple Vision Pro today. Ask me anything. (John Gruber)

## The End

📻 Corduroy - Pearl Jam

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.

👋 Forums not your thing? The Sizzle has a Slack group you can procrastinate in and chat with other nerds bored at work.

💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the customer portal.

🎁 Make someone's day and buy them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.

📚 Browse The Sizzle Archive. A few issues are missing and it's not searchable, but it's better than nothing.

🫂 Friends of The Sizzle is a small group of businesses or organisations operated by Sizzle subscribers. Support your fellow Sizzler!

💔 Tired of my bullshit? Unsubscribe and I'll never speak to you again.

## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

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.