### Issue 2120 - Monday 15th July, 2024

Bit of a weird request to start off the week - I'm looking for part-time work to supplement The Sizzle for around 10 to 20 hours a week. You already know I can write and I'm still open to copywriting, documentation, blogging or technical writing type work if you need it, but I'm also good at other things and it would be nice to have a break from writing all day:

- Computer stuff like basic Linux server admin, Tailscale, web server admin, Wordpress etc.
- Automation/no-code tasks like Zapier & Make.com and integrating them with various APIs.
- Internet research, like product info, market research, or competitor analysis.
- Audio editing (e.g: podcasts) or basic video editing (trims, cuts, adding pre-made graphics).
- Digitisation - ripping audio/video, bulk scanning of documents.

Even if it's not in that list, but you've got a job you think I'd be good at, let me know! There's plenty of ways to get in touch.

## In Today's Issue

- Phone call & SMS logs of every AT&T customer leaked thanks to Snowflake breach
- EU reckons X isn't complying with Digital Services Act
- Aussie Broadband launches new "challenger" brand, Buddy Telco
- Goldman Sachs wonders if the massive AI investments are worth it
- Cheap Blu-ray movies, AMD CPUs, Kindle, Samsung SSD, Amazon Fire TV, Optus USB modem, Xiaomi router, LG 4K monitor, Apple gift cards, Gamesir mobile controller, 25mbit NBN, Optus burner phone, refurb Pixels, MacBook Air, iPhone 15, Amaysim pre-paid, Ring camera, eero routers, Concorde LEGO

## The News

### Phone call & SMS logs of every AT&T customer leaked thanks to Snowflake breach

Huge USA telco AT&T suffered a leak of call and SMS metadata for all its customers between May 1st 2022 and October 31st 2022. That's a huge list of every phone number every single AT&T customer called in that 6 month period. If this data became public, you could look up someone's phone number and get a list of who they called - I don't think I need to explain why this is a Bad Thing. This leak happened because AT&T was sending this data to a service called Snowflake and Snowflake did a very bad job securing that data. The only thing standing between the public and this database was a username and password. Not even basic MFA, a VPN, ACLs or anything like that. Really does boggle the mind how mindlessly all this data is stored, AT&T absolutely know better than this.

⬆ Share or Discuss

### EU reckons X isn't complying with Digital Services Act

The EU has pointed its regulation laser away from Apple and is beaming it directly into Elon Musk's eyes over X's multiple breaches of the Digital Services Act. The EU's three beefs are the blue checkmarks to verify a user is who they say they are is bullshit and doesn't work, there's no transparency around who is placing ads on X as is required by the DSA and that X cut off researchers from gathering data via the API and even web scraping. This also makes X the first company to be found non-compliant with the DSA and unless X can change the EU's mind, will be fined up to 6% X's worldwide turnover until the EU is happy.

⬆ Share or Discuss

### Aussie Broadband launches new "challenger" brand, Buddy Telco

Aussie Broadband has launched a new brand, Buddy Telco - a "new digital-first challenger brand aimed at disrupting the value-seeking NBN market in Australia, targeting 4 million households out of the estimated total addressable NBN market of approximately 8.3 million". They claim plan pricing will be "highly competitive, supported by the self-serve model, lower cost to serve, and the benefits of automation and AI". Buddy's 1000/50 pricing is $99/m, $30 a month cheaper than Aussie Broadband, but with the same typical evening speeds. Will be interesting to see what any practical differences exist once they start on-boarding customers.

⬆ Share or Discuss

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Goldman Sachs wonders if the massive AI investments are worth it

Goldman Sachs released a report on the state of AI investment and their view is that "the technology isn't designed to solve the complex problems that would justify the costs, which may not decline as many expect". Even if you assume that AI will get to the point eventually where the benefits are obvious - those benefits being making employees more productive little machines - the insane amounts of electricity (not cheap while we transition to renewables and supply is constrained) and processing power (extremely not cheap as TSMC has everyone by the balls) required makes AI as we know it economically unrealistic - pretty similar to what Sequoia was saying last week.

⬆ Share or Discuss

## Bargains

- Buy 2 Blu-ray movies, get 1 free at JB Hi-Fi
- AMD Ryzen 5 7500F CPU - $181 from Aliexpress
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU - $117 from Aliexpress
- Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB - $239 from Amazon
- Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD - $227.83 from Amazon Germany
- Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K/4K Max & bonus 1 month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate - $39/$59 from Amazon
- Optus ZTE MF833N 4G USB Modem - $19.50 at Big W
- Xiaomi AX3000T Wi-Fi 6 Router - $45 from Aliexpress
- LG 27UL550-W 4K 27" IPS monitor - $256.47 from Shopping Express eBay store
- 20x Everyday Rewards Points on Apple Gift Cards at Woolworths
- Gamesir G8+ Bluetooth Mobile Controller - $108.90 from Gamesir
- NBN 25/10mbps - $39/month for first 6 months via Flip Connect
- Optus X Lite 4 mobile phone - $9 from Catch (free delivery with One Pass)
- Refurb Pixel smartphones, e.g: Pixel 4 64GB - $165.26 from Catch
- Apple MacBook Air 13" M3 (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) - $2149 from JB/Officeworks
- Free iPhone 15 128GB if you go on a $99/m 24m Telstra contract at JB Hi-Fi
- Amaysim 365-day SIM with 200GB data, unlimited calls & SMS - $175 after $75 cashback via Cashrewards/Shopback/Topcashback
- Ring Spotlight Cam Plus Battery & 1 Solar Panel - $199 from Amazon
- eero 6+ Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router System (3 Pack) - $389 from Amazon
- eero Pro 6 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router - $174.99 from Amazon
- LEGO Icons Concorde 10318 - $235 from Myer

## Image Of The Day

Mondo 2000, Issue 14, 1995 (Famicoman / Internet Archive)

## The End

📻 Filter - Hey Man, Nice Shot - Remastered Version

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.

👋 Forums not your thing? The Sizzle has a Slack group you can procrastinate in and chat with other nerds bored at work.

💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the customer portal.

🎁 Make someone's day and buy them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.

📚 Browse The Sizzle Archive. A few issues are missing and it's not searchable, but it's better than nothing.

🫂 Friends of The Sizzle is a small group of businesses or organisations operated by Sizzle subscribers. Support your fellow Sizzler!

💔 Tired of my bullshit? Unsubscribe and I'll never speak to you again.

## 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.