# In This Issue

- The iPhone SE got updated with iPhone 11 bits inside and iPhone 8 on the outside

- The demoscene has been added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage items

- Some COVID-19 technology related news

- An outdoor 4G CAT6 LTE modem router that’s robust and easy to install

- Cheap AirPods Pro, LIFX A60 twin-pack, Edifier R1280DB speakers, Samsung 128GB microSD, 2020 iPad Pro

# News

#### The iPhone SE got updated with iPhone 11 bits inside and iPhone 8 on the outside

Apple's released a new iPhone SE. It's got the guts of an iPhone 11 (A13 SoC) inside the body of an iPhone 8, Touch ID instead of Face ID and a single camera instead of the multi-cam setup on the 11. Oh and there's no headphone jack or fancy U1 radio chip. Other than that though, it's basically a flagship phone priced at US$399/AU$749 for the 64GB variant. If you buy the red one money will go towards fighting COVID-19. If you want the smallest iPhone around, this is it. I'm a little disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to develop an even smaller phone with a 4" screen that a bunch of nerds like me are desperate for.

#### The demoscene has been added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage items

The Finnish government successfully lobbied UNESCO to add the demoscene to their National Inventory of Living Heritage. Basically Finland is saying the demoscene is a strong part of their culture that they think should be recognised and protected. The demoscene, if you're unfamiliar are little computer programs, usually written in a low level language like assembly, designed to show off the graphics capabilities of a computer. They've been made since the 80s and are still done today. Here's a video explaining the demoscene. Here's a video of a modern demo called Fermi Paradox - it is 64 kilobytes in size! Here's one running on a Commodore 64.

#### Some COVID-19 technology related news

- Bad time to be looking for an IT job, with Seek's latest employment report showing a 30% decrease in IT job ads on their platform in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. I can only imagine it got worse in April. Year over year, IT job ads are down a whopping 60%. Yikes.

- Amazon's share price has grown steadily during the pandemic because suddenly everyone's buying shit online and Amazon's pretty damn good at selling shit online. As a result, Jeff Bezos' net worth has increased 20% in the last 4 months (approx US$24b) placing him well ahead as the world's richest person with US$138b.

- School buses in the USA are being used as internet on wheels so schoolkids can get online whilst in lockdown. They're literally putting wi-fi access points with external antennas on buses that share internet from LTE in the area, then driving them to apartment blocks where they know kids are too poor to afford internet.

- Google is turning the streaming quality of its Nest internet connected cameras down to "default" if you have it set to "high" - but you can turn it back up to high if you want, so I guess Google is hoping heaps of people with it set to high don't notice so they can save some bandwidth.

- Microsoft is going to extend security updates and support for Windows 10 v1809 past the previously announced cut-off (May 12th, Microsoft gives 18 months of updates for non-long term versions of Windows now) because IT departments have a lot of shit on their plate right now due to the rona.

# Not News

#### An outdoor 4G CAT6 LTE modem router that’s robust and easy to install

Are you one of those poor bastards stuck on 4G for internet access, but your indoor signal is weak? Powertec's new Cellferno is an all in one antenna/CAT6 LTE modem designed for outdoor use. Stick it on a pole with the included bracket, run an ethernet cable from your house to it and you're set. It's PoE powered and can either act as a router or you can put the modem in bridge mode. It's the nicest and easiest to install unit I've seen for this purpose. It does cost $1650, but if you pair it with one of Optus' 500GB mobile broadband plans it's probably the best internet access you'll get with the least fucking around. Here's a link to the datasheet and the quick start guide.

# Bargains

- AirPods Pro - $350 at Costco (membership required)

- LIFX A60 wi-fi smart bulb twin pack - $99 from LIFX

- Edifier R1280DB bookshelf speakers with built-in amp & Bluetooth - $109

- Samsung EVO Plus 128GB microSD card - $25.95 + $3.95 delivery at ShoppingSquare

- 2020 iPad Pro 11" 128GB - $1220.02 from MediaForm

🎶 Flesh Into Gear - CKY

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

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.​