### Issue 1607 - Monday 16th May, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- Elon Musk "pauses" Twitter purchase
- VIC digital drivers licence still a while away
- Onkyo's brand means nothing now
- Stuff I saw on the internet
- Cheap Jabra earbuds, Netgear Orbi, Edifier speakers, Dell dual monitor arm, Philips Hue starter kit, Alienware OLED monitor, Telstra/Optus/Amaysim prepaid

## The News

### Elon Musk "pauses" Twitter purchase

Elon Musk has put his quest to buy Twitter "temporarily on hold". He tweeted over the weekend that deal has hit a snag, "pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5 percent of users", but he is still "committed to acquisition". Matt Levine over at Bloomberg reiterates that Musk has a binding contract and that contract "does not allow Musk to walk away if it turns out that 'spam/fake accounts' represent more than 5% of Twitter users". Musk is up to something dodgy, as usual.

### VIC digital drivers licence still a while away

Work on Victoria's digital drivers licence is still dragging on. At a committee hearing the government services minister was unable to answer if the digital licence project is included in the $167m set aside for it and 20 other "new online services" ($167m!) to go online between 2022 and 2024, simply saying that "conversations are ongoing". So it looks like the soonest Victoria will have a digital drivers licence is 2024 while other states (NSW, SA, & QLD) are either active now or ready for 2023.

### Onkyo's brand means nothing now

The once reputable hi-fi and home theater brand Onkyo has been slowly dying, but this week had the final nail slammed into its coffin. All the good stuff was sold off to Sharp and Voxx International back in September, with the rest of Onkyo filing for bankruptcy last week. The Onkyo name will live on via the Sharp and Voxx joint venture, but it'll likely be slapped on shit products like the sad sight of Polaroid or Kodak on a 24-pack of AAA batteries for $5 at Cheap as Chips.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Stuff I saw on the internet

- Here's a list of piracy scene upload and encoding rules. I don't know what you can do with this info, but here it is anyways. Maybe the x265 rules are handy for your next video encode? The instructions are so detailed.
- Kolari Vision tore down a Sony Alpha 1 mirrorless digital camera so we can all gawk at its insides while someone that knows what they're talking about explains what's going on. What an amazingly intricate piece of technology we take for damn granted.
- Transcend has made a 512GB microSD card that snugly fits in the card reader slot of a MacBook Pro with a flush end that aligns with the laptop's chassis. Looks like a nifty way to add a chunk of cheap storage for data that doesn't need the performance of a proper SSD.
- Look at this tiny RC car! It's a 1/87 scale model car that got a little motor and rechargeable battery crammed inside, along with circuitry so it can be controlled over Bluetooth. I am in awe of how precise and small everything is here, considering it was made by hand!
- This promotional video for MS-DOS 5.0 is pretty funny. It's got that 80s white people trying to rap cringe together with the evergreen dorkiness of trying to make computers cool to normies. This was bad when it came out and has not aged well. Gimme 5!

## Bargains

- Jabra Elite 85t wireless noise cancelling earbuds - $178 from Amazon
- NetGear Orbi RBK50 2-pack mesh wi-fi - $279 at JB Hi-Fi
- Edifier R1700BT active bookshelf speakers - $131.12
- Dell MDA20 dual monitor arm - $297.12 from Dell
- Philips Hue E27 White Ambience LED Smart Bulb Starter Kit - $102 from Amazon
- Alienware AW3423DW 34" QD-OLED monitor - $1703.56 from Dell
- Amaysim prepaid SIMs, 12m/60GB, 6m/160GB, 12m/165GB - $60/$75/$100 from Amaysim & $17.50 off via Cashrewards
- Telstra $150 prepaid starter kit - $135 from Telstra
- Optus $40 SIM starter kit - $15 from Optus

## The End

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