### Issue 2052 - Thursday 21st March, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- Reddit IPO set for tomorrow, valued at US$6.4b
- First person with a Neuralink implant loves it
- Parrots like using tablet computers
- Shrimp Jesus is big on Facebook
- Cheap refurb Dell micro PC, Xbox controller, Logitech trackball, Meta Quest 2, Catchconnect SIM, Seagate 12TB HDD, Pixel 8 smartphones, Apple Mac computers, various wireless earbuds, 14" portable monitor

## The News

### Reddit IPO set for tomorrow, valued at US$6.4b

Reddit is going to list on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow with the ticker symbol RDDT and has priced its shares at US$34 a pop. That values Reddit at US$6.4b and makes co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman rich to the tune of US$2b as he owns 33% of Reddit. I doubt much will change immediately as Reddit's been trying to maximise its revenue for years in order to look good for investors and prepare for this day, so its already had most of its enshittening take place. That said, if I've learnt anything from 30 years on this world wide web of ours, its that there's no limit to how deep the enshittification process can go when you've got a management team working their hardest to squeeze every last cent out of a community.

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### First person with a Neuralink implant loves it

Neuralink has posted a nine minute video to X on the progress of the first human with an implanted Neuralink device and it's impressive. Nolan can't use his hands but is now able to use his brain to control a computer pretty damn accurately. He started with chess, but is also playing Civ 6 like a madman, something he couldn't do at all before with traditional assistance tools. Nolan describes using a computer via Neuralink like "using the force" from Star Wars. I'm far from an expert in this space but as the linked article mentions, what Nolan is able to do with Neuralink (at the moment at least) seems like eye tracking hardware could do without the need for a risky surgery.

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### Parrots like using tablet computers

Researchers at Northeastern University in the USA have found that "parrots — with their prodigious intelligence, high sociability and singular physical capabilities — are uniquely poised to benefit from touchscreen technology". They got a range of different sized parrots with existing touchscreen experience and got them to play a balloon popping game that "challenged the birds to tap multi-colored target circles of different sizes on varying locations around their screens with their beaks and tongues". The research led to insights about how to design software for the birds in the "booming pet tech market". The same researchers also reckon birds like talking to each other via video conferencing!

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Shrimp Jesus is big on Facebook

404 Media explains how Facebook is sinking even lower into a banal hellscape than it already is thanks to AI-generated images. One example is Shrimp Jesus, "a series of AI-generated images in which Jesus is melded with a crustacean, and which have repeatedly gone viral on Facebook" that "account for hundreds of millions of interactions and are shown through Facebook's Feed to some Facebook users who do not follow the Pages". These pages get loads of traffic by posting AI-generated bottom of the barrel slop, then start posting links to either drop shippers selling absolute junk at high prices or websites covered in Google Adsense ads that I assume the same dribbling morons that earnestly comment on Shrimp Jesus also click - and Facebook promotes this via their algorithm! Our Father who art in heaven, deliver us from Shrimp Jesus, amen.

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## Bargains

- Refurb Dell OptiPlex 7070 Micro (i5-9500T, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Win11 Pro) - $239 from Australian Computer Traders
- Xbox wireless controller - $62.10 from Big W
- Logitech MX Ergo Advanced wireless trackball - $74.95 from Need1
- Meta Quest 2 128GB - $359.99 from Amazon
- CatchConnect 365-day SIM, 120GB/200GB data, unlimited calls & SMS - $119/$150 from Catch
- Seagate ST12000NM0127 12TB refurbished 3.5" SATA HDD - $210 from Amazon Germany
- Google Pixel 8 5G 128GB & bonus $100 JB gift card - $899 from JB Hi-Fi
- Trade-in any smartphone and get $400 bonus credit off the price of a new Pixel 8 Pro at JB Hi-Fi
- 10% off Macs at JB Hi-Fi
- Apple AirPods 2nd-gen - $158 from Big W
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds - $310 at JB Hi-Fi
- Jabra Elite 8 Active or Elite 10 wireless earbuds - $213/$262 from The Good Guys eBay store
- ZSUS 14" 1080p portable USB-C monitor - $95 from Aliexpress

## Image Of The Day

Pipi Storm Computer Days. Angela Gee, 1981. (National Gallery of Australia)

## The End

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