### Issue 1728 - Monday 7th November, 2022

The Australian Computer Museum Society will be hosting a get-together for Sizzle subscribers at their HQ - 9 West Street, Croydon (not a drug den, just looks like it on Street View, is nicer now) - for a free sausage sizzle on Sunday the 13th of November. I'll be there from 12pm to about 4pm-ish! Pop in, grab a snag, look at the old computers and meet some Sizzle subscribers.

## In Today's Issue

- The circus at Elon Musk's Twitter continues
- Apple warns there might no the enough iPhones for Christmas after workers escape locked factory
- Medibank confirms 9.7m past and current customers impacted by its cyber "incident"
- Meta owns more fibre optic submarine cable than I realised
- Cheap Google Nest Hub, 10% off Amazon & JB gift cards, Herman Miller office chair, Pro-Ject turntable, Apple keyboards & trackpad, Logitech MX Keys, BioShock Collection (Switch)

## The News

### The circus at Elon Musk's Twitter continues

Twitter is delaying the roll-out of its US$7.99/m upgrade to Twitter Blue until after the USA's mid-term elections this week. Apparently they're worried about gronks buying Twitter Blue, getting a "verification" check mark and spreading bullshit on Twitter that'll influence the election. If they actually bothered to verify the accounts this wouldn't be a problem, but all Twitter is doing is giving you a blue tick if you pay. Spammers can't afford US$8/m in Elon Musk's fantasy land. Meanwhile, he's asked engineers to slash infrastructure costs by US$1b/yr, is whinging that advertisers leaving Twitter are "trying to destroy free speech in America" and attempting to re-hire people he fired after quickly realising they were actually important. As I write this, Musk just tweeted "Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying 'parody' will be permanently suspended". Musk also found time to unwittingly (I hope) agree with a neo-Nazi quote.

### Apple warns there might no the enough iPhones for Christmas after workers escape locked factory

Apple just put out a statement saying "COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China". That's putting it mildly. According to AFP/Hong Kong Free Press, Apple isn't telling us about how Foxconn trapped workers inside the factory for "more than two weeks". They tried to create a "closed loop" within the factory so production could continue, but some workers didn't want to essentially be slaves (more than usual), climbing fences and digging holes out of the compound. Those stuck inside suffered from food shortages, lack of medical care and COVID running rampant through the joint. Check out the videos in that linked article, some real Lord of the Flies shit going on at the iPhone factory.

### Medibank confirms 9.7m past and current customers impacted by its cyber "incident"

Medibank has provided a detailed update on what the hell happened to their customer data a few weeks ago. The name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address for around 9.7 million current and former customers along with the health claim data for around 160,000 Medibank customers, around 300,000 ahm customers and around 20,000 international customers seem to be the worrying info now out in the wild. Medibank also added "that no ransom payment will be made" and "paying could have the opposite effect and encourage the criminal to directly extort our customers, and there is a strong chance that paying puts more people in harm's way by making Australia a bigger target". To Medicare's credit, they have offered a decent range of support for those impacted, far more than Optus has.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Meta owns more fibre optic submarine cable than I realised

The Fair Internet Report has published an report and map of Meta's vast ownership of international submarine cables. According to their report, by 2024 Meta will have "partial ownership over 13% of the world's total length of backhaul infrastructure, spanning 33 countries and touching 36% of the global population". I knew they invested in a few cables (all the Big Tech companies do it) but didn't know they're involved with so many. Anyway, this is a great excuse to re-post a link to my one of my favourite websites, TeleGeography's Submarine Cable Map. Look at all those cables!

## Bargains

- Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen Smart Display - $65 via MyDeal's app
- 10% off Amazon, Ultimate Him, Her, Home, Kids & Teens Gift Cards (i.e: JB Hi-Fi & The Good Guys) at ALDI in 2 weeks
- Used Herman Miller Mirra Task Chairs - $275 (Melb pickup only) from Sustainable Office Solutions
- Pro-Ject Essential III Phono Turntable with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge - $561 from WestCoast Hi-Fi
- Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad - $183 from Amazon
- Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID - $151 from Amazon
- Apple Magic Trackpad 2 - $143.20 from Amazon
- Logitech MX Keys Wireless Illuminated Keyboard - $138.57 from Ozonlinebuy's eBay store
- BioShock: The Collection for Switch - $17.99

## Image Of The Day

Elevated view of computer section in unidentified Coles store (State Library Victoria)

## 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.