Plus: You have to see this incredible Windows 7 anime commercial ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 04, 2026 | Read online
# Nintendo is still selling A LOT of Switch 1s, tech political donations and more gizmos Plus: You have to see this incredible Windows 7 anime commercial
Edition 2494
"Audio-TRS-Mini-Plug" by Evan-Amos is licensed under Public domain
In this edition: Nintendo, Sony Walkman, Scott Farquhar, DoorDash, Amazon, Uber, Grok, Xero, Salesforce, iPod and OS-tan Nanami Madobe. Plus, deals on Motorola Moto Tags, JBL Boombox and Apple iPhones.
# The News
### The Nintendo Switch (1) is still selling like hot cakes
No, that's not a typo: Nintendo's original Switch has just become the second best-selling game console ever, after the PS2 (Ars Technica). This milestone — which makes it Nintendo's best-selling console ever — was announced in the company's most recent earnings report (CNBC). Not to be outdone, the Switch 2 is also Nintendo's fastest selling console ever. Interestingly, though, Nintendo's "annual playing users" count has hovered around 130 million for the last three years.
The Sizzle: Nintendo occupies a unique place among gaming companies where it seems to avoid the, uh, gamer tag? It's got plenty of die-hard fans, but still appeals to casual gamers in a non-intimidating way. That's a remarkable feat — and a serious business advantage. This smart Verge piece on the Switch's legacy points out that Nintendo is an entertainment company more than just gaming, creating worlds that transcend media to become things like the super successful Super Mario Bros. Movie and theme parks across the world. One thing that remains interesting: despite this appeal, Nintendo still hasn't cracked mobile gaming. I wonder why that is. (Do you have thoughts? Let me know).
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Who did tech donate to in 2024-25?
Data on political donations in the 2025 election year came out earlier this week and, I gotta say, I'm always surprised by how little is given in Australia compared to the US. Technically the Liberal Party received more from the tech sector but, as InnovationAus' Joseph Brookes pointed out in his wrap-up ($), that was because of a $780k donation from DoorDash, of all companies. Outside of that, Labor received the lion's share. Here are some highlights:
Lobby group Tech Council of Australia gave $55k to Labor, $53k to the Liberals (a $2k difference, wow). Its chair, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, gave $1.5 million to Climate 200. (The other co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, gave $1.3 million). Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht also gave $500k to Climate 200. Amazon and Uber gave $80k and $55k respectively to Labor Salesforce gave $142k to the Queensland LNP Google gave exactly $22k to both major parties.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### The solution to "too much tech" might be more tech
I came across this random blog Decentralizing My Smartphone With Single Purpose Devices which I found myself nodding along to. Its author says that she's combatting the feeling of information overload by moving away from her phone as the catch-all device towards dedicated tech for each purpose: a portable DVD player, camera, CD player, iPod, Switch, even a portable word processor. What I like about this approach is that it's not trying to fight the worst parts of tech — notifications, gamification, etc — by eschewing technology altogether. Rather, it's about choosing to use technology that is designed in a way to encourage use that we like.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Leftovers
Australia:
Peep the difference in tone between this media release and this news article about the federal government review of its "single seller arrangements" (aka bulk buying from tech companies): Independent review supports retention of Single Seller Arrangements (Digital Transformation Agency) and DTA cuts government's biggest tech buyers out of vendor talks (iTnews) Australian influencer's illegal crypto gambling ads permitted by Meta despite Acma warning of $2.4m fine (The Guardian) A news article and opinion piece from the AFR re: the big sell-off of non-AI tech companies: Xero can't be easily cloned with AI, says Singh Cassidy (Australian Financial Review, $) and From Atlassian to private equity to Canva, this sell-off spares no one (Australian Financial Review, $) Play the Stage: Asses.masses Turns the Sydney Opera House Theatre into a Collaborative Video Game (Sifter)
Rest of World:
This, by my former BuzzFeed News colleague, is the best thing I read on Epstein and how he seeded our current internet/dystopia (Garbage Day). I'm fascinated by the SpaceX and xAI merger analysis which, I didn't note before, makes it the biggest merger of all time. If you're interested: Musk’s Moonshot Merger (Bloomberg, $), Space Twitter! (Spyglass) and SpaceX and Tesla are sounding very similar these days (Sherwood News). Also in Musk news: UK privacy watchdog probes Grok over AI-generated sexual images (Bleeping Computer) and Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of investigation into child abuse images and deepfakes (AP News). AI chatbots are not your friends, experts warn (Politico EU) Apparently famed director Darren Aronofsky's AI series looks like dogshit (The Guardian) Senior staff departing OpenAI as firm prioritizes ChatGPT development (Ars Technica) Six Months Of ‘AI CSAM Crisis’ Headlines Were Based On Misleading Data (Techdirt) This blog from renowned cryptographer Matthew Green puts some cold water over the claims of WhatsApp's e2ee backdoor (Cryptography Engineering) YouTube may be blocking background play on third-party browsers (Android Authority) SSD=Some SDs (Reddit) hahahha Technology: The (nearly) perfect USB cable tester does exist (Literarily Starved)
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Oh, Also
### You have to see this incredible Windows 7 anime commercial
There's been some great TV commercials about computers over the years, but none make me feel like this short video promoting the launch of Windows 7 (YouTube). Apparently, there is a whole world of "OS-tans", which are the anime personifications of various operating systems like Windows 7's Nanami Madobe.
Windows 7 Madobe Nanami Commercial [4K 60FPS Remastered]
There was a special edition of Windows 7 released on CD in Japan that included a theme matching Madobe (Unboxing video here). Sadly, it seems, her time has run out. YouTuber Com.Figurado, who posted the video above, wrote that in 2023 "the Windows 7 was totaly discontinued by Microsoft and our heroine fall... But will forever be in our hearts. 😥"
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electronics
Motorola Moto Tag (1 Pack) - $25 at Harvey Norman (Down from $49.95) [Prime] UGREEN FineTrack Rechargeable Smart Tag 4-Pack at Amazon Android Version for $42.23 (Down from ~$53) iOS Version for $44.79 (Down from ~$56) Final Audio UX 2000 over Ear ANC Headphones - $99 at Addicted to Audio Australia (Down from $199.95) Garmin Edge 810 Classic Bike Computer - $299 at Crooze (Down from $749.95) JBL Boombox 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - $399 at JB Hi-Fi (Down from $699) Garmin Forerunner 965 Black - $698 at Woolworths Everyday Market (Down from $999) Garmin Epix Pro 2 Sapphire Edition 51mm - $918 at Amazon (Down from $1,837)
Computing
Refurbished Microsoft Surface Book 2 13" i5 8350U 8GB RAM 256GB SSD Win 11 - $279 at UN Tech
Mobile
amaysim Prepaid Mobile Starter Packs at Woolworths SIM Only for $1 (Down from $2) $30 Pack for $12 (Down from $30) $50 Pack for $18 (Down from $50) $150 Pack for $109 (Down from $150) Apple iPhone 13 128GB (Starlight) - $727 at Officeworks (Down from $849)
# The End
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