### Issue 1680 - Friday 26th August, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- T-Mobile partners with Starlink to end mobile coverage blackspots next year
- Pot, meet kettle - USA uses social media for propaganda overseas
- Robodebt royal commission, LastPass got hacked, Ethereum sets date for proof-of-stake, Samsung's new SSD, UK Home Secretary blasts Meta for end-to-end encryption
- An ode to the mediocre programmer
- Friday Forum Update
Cheap Pioneer receiver, Nokia XR20, SanDisk 128GB flash drive, Cyberpunk 2077, refurb Dell laptop, Switch controllers, Logitech MX Keys, Chromecast, 85" Samsung TV, HP Ryzen laptop, Nikon camera bodies & free lens promo

## The News

### T-Mobile partners with Starlink to end mobile coverage blackspots next year

Starlink and T-Mobile have announced that as of next year customers on T-Mobile's network will be able to use Starlink's network when there's no T-Mobile signal, effectively creating 100% coverage across the USA. This capability relies on Starlink's 2nd generation satellites (launching next year) that will have "big, big antennas" and work on T-Mobile's "mid-band 5G spectrum" so existing phones will be able to communicate with the satellites for SMS/MMS and "select messaging apps". No voice or data, but SMS/MMS is still super useful compared to nothing. Tesla cars will connect to this network too apparently. This is a game changer and I can't wait to learn more details. It's inevitable an Australian telco will join in too, yeah?

### Pot, meet kettle - USA uses social media for propaganda overseas

You know how the US cracked the absolute shits at Russia for interfering with their 2016 and 2020 presidential elections by professionally shitposting on Facebook and Twitter? The US just got busted doing the same thing according to social network analysis firm Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory. US-based accounts posted memes, hashtag campaigns, petitions, deep fakes and links to US propaganda outlets (i.e: Voice of America/Radio Free Europe) to "promote pro-Western narratives" in countries like Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran. There's no hard evidence it was government sponsored, but the "the two most-followed assets in the data provided by Twitter were overt accounts that publicly declared a connection to the U.S. military".

### Robodebt royal commission, LastPass got hacked, Ethereum sets date for proof-of-stake, Samsung's new SSD, UK Home Secretary blasts Meta for end-to-end encryption

This week was particularly packed with news. Here's some stuff that didn't make the cut but probably would have in a not so busy week:

- The government is kicking off a royal commission into the sad Robodebt saga that saw Centrelink blindly use a shitty algorithm to often incorrectly take money from the poorest people in Australia, then make them fight a huge bureaucracy to get their money back.
- LastPass got hacked. From their blog: "an unauthorized party gained access to portions of the LastPass development environment through a single compromised developer account and took portions of source code and some proprietary LastPass technical information".
- Ethereum has finally set a date for switching from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake - September 6th. This means Ethereum will use 99.95% less energy to do its thing. The Washington Post has a plain English explanation of what's going on that I found useful.
- Samsung's got a new flagship NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 consumer SSD, the 990 Pro. It's available with or without heatsink, up to 4TB in capacity and is 55% faster than the 980 Pro. 7.4GB/s sequential reads, 6.9GB/s sequential writes. 50% more power efficient too. Goes on sale in October.
- The UK's Home Secretary wants Meta to scrap plans to enable end-to-end encryption in Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp because "the move will prevent police investigating child abuse", calling the plans "a grotesque betrayal" and would be "catastrophic" for child safety.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### An ode to the mediocre programmer

Here's an ode to the mediocre programmer. The book will "uncover some of common misconceptions we have about programming, failure, and growth and come to understand that the act of programming and development is something we undertake each day and improve in small ways. It's these small changes that over time transform us from being mediocre programmers into better programmers". Shit, even if you don't become a better programmer, it's okay not to be amazing at something! I'm a mediocre writer that's at peace with being mediocre and writing is the thing I'm best at. Me write good.

## 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.

- andyb's Apple Watch is sucking the life out of its battery like a gang of mosquitoes sucking the blood out of my ankles on a hot summer's day
- cmccallu is after a HDHomeRun Connect Duo or Quatro if anyone's got one they'd like to sell
- domp is after a cheap but not shit mini hi-fi system with a CD player for their father
- LiamJM has given us an update on the off-grid power setup they're using for their van
- The_Hawk has some thoughts on LAX airport's huge 1,300 EV charger installation

## Bargains

- Pioneer VSX-534 5.2ch receiver - $488 from West Coast Hi-Fi
- Nokia XR20 rugged 5G dual-SIM Android phone - $426.31 from Amazon UK
- SanDisk 128GB Ultra Flair CZ73 USB flash drive - $19.95 from Shopping Square
- Cyberpunk 2077 for PC - $22.79 from CD Keys
- Refurb Dell Latitude 7490 laptop (14" touch 1080p, i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) - $549 from Recompute
- Joy-Con Controllers for Nintendo Switch - $78 from The Gamesmen
- Logitech MX Keys Mini - $127.20 from digiDirect's eBay store
- Logitech MX Keys - $151.20 from digiDirect's eBay store
- Chromecast with Google TV - $69.52 from The Good Guys eBay store
- Samsung UA85BU8000WXXY 85" 4K TV - $2108.05 from Powerland's eBay store
- HP 15s laptop (Ryzen 5625U CPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) - $799 from JB Hi-Fi
- Nikon Z6II, Nikon Z7II or Nikon Z 28-75mm F/2.8 lens - $2479.20, $3919.20, $1111.20 from digiDirect's eBay store
- Nikon Z5 camera body - $1798 from Amazon
- Free 28mm f/2.8 Nikon lens if you buy a Nikon Z7II, Z6II or Z5

## The End

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## 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.