### Issue 2091 - Monday 20th May, 2024

Sizzle subscriber Simon and his family are refurbishing computers and selling them to raise money for the Cancer Council. He needs more computers, parts and accessories so if you're in Victoria and have some computer stuff taking up space you can't be bothered selling but it's too good for the bin, check out his Facebook page Computers for a Cause or ping him over in the Sizzle Slack group to learn more.

## In Today's Issue

- OpenAI's "superalignment" team disbanded, signs lifetime non-disparagement agreement on way out
- Microsoft's CO2 emissions & water use see big increases thanks to AI rush
- iOS 17.5 has a bug that un-deletes random iCloud photos
- New LPCAMM2 form factor makes RAM thin & user replaceable
- Cheap LEGO Concorde, Logitech keyboard, Adobe Creative Cloud, Edifier headphones, Synology NAS, Nikon Zf camera, TCN/JB Gift Cards, refurb Dell SFF PC, Limbo Android game, Samsung soundbar

## The News

### OpenAI's "superalignment" team disbanded, signs lifetime non-disparagement agreement on way out

Bit of turmoil over at OpenAI over the weekend with the two bosses of the "Superalignment" (they tried to predict the ramifications of when/if AI becomes smarter than us) team quit. Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike posted on X very bland, non-descript resignation messages, but Jan has complained in the past that OpenAI's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products". Those bland messages seem to be deliberate because OpenAI makes all employees that sign an "extremely restrictive off-boarding agreement that contains nondisclosure and non-disparagement provisions former OpenAI employees are subject to. It forbids them, for the rest of their lives, from criticizing their former employer. Even acknowledging that the NDA exists is a violation of it". That's some serious cult type shit.

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### Microsoft's CO2 emissions & water use see big increases thanks to AI rush

PC Mag noticed in Microsoft's 2024 Sustainability Report that their CO2 emissions rose by 29% and water usage went up by 23% compared to 12 months ago - both bad things to be doing during a climate crisis and bucks the trend of other megatech companies trying their hardest to greenwash (*cough* Apple *cough*) the impacts of their operations on the environment. The reason Microsoft gives for the huge increase is "new technologies, including generative AI" and the Economist notes that the bulk of the increase is from "indirect (Scope 3) emissions last year from building more data centres (including the carbon found in construction materials) as well as from semiconductors, servers and racks", not so much the computers running the AI models themselves. Is all this consumption for AI really worth it though?

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### iOS 17.5 has a bug that un-deletes random iCloud photos

I sat on this for a few days hoping for more info from Apple or someone smarter than me, but people keep reporting that after updating their iPhones to iOS 17.5, photos they've deleted are reappearing. You may have heard it took place on a device that was wiped, removed from an iCloud account and sold to another person, but the person that made that claim on Reddit has since deleted their post - so I would take that with a grain of salt. What does seem to be happening more commonly however are problems with iCloud Photos and deleted photos reappearing for the same user on the same device. That still sucks and shouldn't be happening in 2024 on such an established system, but it's at least somewhat explainable compared to a magic SSD file recovery scheme and kinda on-trend for iCloud being a bit shit at internet sync.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### New LPCAMM2 form factor makes RAM thin & user replaceable

iFixIt got its hands on some LPCAMM2 memory. What the fuck is LPCAMM2 memory? It's a new user-replaceable RAM form-factor that's designed to go into thin laptops where an SO-DIMM slot is just too fat to fit (I know that feeling), as an alternative to soldering the RAM on the mainboard. The article explains that LPDDR RAM kinda needs to be soldered on because "the lower voltage makes signal integrity between the memory and processor challenging, requiring tighter tolerances and shorter trace distances — that is, the farther the signal has to travel, the more voltage you need for a reliable signal", which is at odds with lower power consumption. Being non-upgradeable bit is just a bonus for the OEM. It's still unknown of LPCAMM2 will take off, but I can see someone like Framework getting in on it sooner rather than later.

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## Bargains

- LEGO Icons Concorde 10318 - $254.99 at Myer
- Logitech MX Keys S Advanced Wireless Illuminated Keyboard - $159 at Umart (can get Officeworks to price beat)
- Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Subscription & 100GB Cloud Storage - $52.77/m from Adobe for 1st 12 months
- Edifier WH700NB Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones - $60 on Edifier's eBay store
- Synology DiskStation DS1821+ 8-bay NAS - $1423.75 from Centrecom
- Nikon Zf camera body - $2791.20 from Digidirect
- 20x Everyday Rewards points on TCN Kids & Teen (can be used at JB Hi-Fi) gift cards at Woolworths this week
- Refurb Dell Optiplex 7070 SFF PC (i5-9500, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) - $259 from Metrocom
- Limbo (it's a very popular and quite good game) on Android is just 69c right now
- Samsung Q990D soundbar surround sound system & $119.80 HN gift card - $1198 at Harvey Norman

## Image Of The Day

Die Hackerbibel - Teil 2 (retroGfx / Internet Archive)

## The End

📻 Videosynthetic - Jaded Truth

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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.