Plus: Play your MacBook’s screen hinge like an instrument ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

September 08, 2025 | Read online
# Australians are gamers, undersea cables cut and Elon's $1.5T pay plan Plus: Play your MacBook’s screen hinge like an instrument
Edition 2413
"computer UNI3Varese (9)" (Flickr: UNI3Varese)
# The News
### Australia is a gaming nation
Four in five Australians play video games, according to the Australian gaming industry’s annual survey (PDF). This year’s IGEA report found more or less the same results as last year: the average gamer is 34 years old, there’s about an even gender split, and most people are still gaming on consoles, followed closely by phones. This year’s edition also has some parent-specific findings: that parents play video games to hang out with their kids, to keep an eye on them, and generally report they’re aware of console and game-specific safety controls.
IGEA
The Sizzle: Gaming remains pretty mainstream as a pastime and an expression of culture, but largely ignored outside of gaming circles. The last bit about parental controls seems like a response to the teen social media ban and the broader atmosphere. The reason that gaming escaped Australia’s ban is because it’s already regulated via the classification system, but there’s certainly a case that online gaming is a risk vector for kids — hence why platforms like Roblox are under a lot of pressure to beef up their safety features (CNBC).
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Who keeps cutting undersea cables?
Microsoft says all is now well after “multiple” subsea cables were severed, causing Azure problems in parts of Asia and the Middle East (Bloomberg, $). The company said it’s been able to optimise routing around the problem, but hasn’t yet explained how the cables were cut. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have previously denied claims that they are targeting cables to pressure Israel (AP).
Catalin Cimpanu (@campuscodi@mastodon.social)
Attached: 1 image Microsoft: Multiple subsea fiber cuts in the Red Sea impacting global communications https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status
mastodon.social/@campuscodi/115159324233808049
The Sizzle: Sometimes I forget that all our little bits are going through tubes under the sea! Sometimes these are accidents (or intentional but by sharks) but it does seem like cables are a pretty easy target for anyone who wants to cause some big headaches.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Elon to get eleventy gazillion dollars under proposed pay plan
Elon Musk could be paid $1.5 trillion if Tesla hits a number of stretch goals under a proposal from the carmaker’s board (WSJ, gift). Musk’s “unprecedented” new deal has performance incentives over the next decade including helping Tesla increase its market value by eight times, selling and delivering 20 million vehicles or a million robots, getting a million robotaxis on the roads and signing up 10 million subscribers for full self-driving. Shareholders will vote to approve the package in early November.
The Sizzle: Australia’s own Robyn Denholm continues to ignore Musk’s abhorrent extracurriculars and move to pay the world’s richest man even more — just as long as he can make the company more money. Some goals seem quite difficult but others not so much. Tesla moved 1.8 million cars in 2024, so doing 20 million in a decade isn’t out of the question.
However, there is one spicy little bit of the contract that caught my eye:
An unusual provision in the award could essentially wipe out the value of shares he has earned if Tesla’s share price falls far enough by the time the shares vest—to $334 for shares earned before 2030, or the share price in spring 2032 for any earned subsequently.
WSJ
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
eSafety takes first step to ban ‘nudify’ app used on Australian school children (eSafety Commissioner) NBN gets set for the final roll out of Fibre upgrades to another 600,000 homes (EFTM) SA-made game Hollow Knight: Silskong goes gangbusters worldwide (InDaily) Canva co-founder says IPO more appealing as valuations rise (The Australian Financial Review, $) ‘Shadow AI’ surges in Aussie businesses as 1 in 3 professionals admit to uploading sensitive data (Cyber Daily) Tesla Model Y Performance is coming back to Australia in December (techAU) OpenAI Says Business Will Burn $115 Billion by 2029, $80 billion more than forecast, (The Information, $) Amazon demos Project Kuiper, its high-speed satellite internet service (TechSpot) Google AI Mode To Become Default For Google Search Soon (Search Engine Roundtable) ‘It’s an existential crisis’: how Google’s use of AI in search has upended web publishers’ models (The Guardian) Twitch viewership drops to lowest in 5 years amid viewbot crackdown (Dexerto) Garmin Beats Apple to Market with Satellite-Connected Smartwatch (MacRumors) Google's AI cites sources written by AI. What could go wrong? (The Register) H We Hacked Burger King: How Authentication Bypass Led to Drive-Thru Audio Surveillance (bobdahacker, wayback machine link because original link taken down) The world's oldest living transaction (avi dot im) How an empty S3 bucket can make your AWS bill explode (Medium, $)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Play your MacBook’s screen hinge like an instrument
Designer and engineer Sam Henri Gold discovered something curious about his MacBook. While not publicised, the laptop has a sensor that knows “the exact angle of your screen hinge”. So, naturally, he rigged it up to make a sound like an old wooden door when it closes, to play like a theremin and even released the code so you can play it for yourself (GitHub).
| sam henri gold @samhenrigold |
Did you know your MacBook has a sensor that knows the exact angle of the screen hinge? It’s not exposed as a public API, but I figured out a way to read it and make it sound like an old wooden door.
8:42 PM • Sep 6, 2025
49K Likes 2.91K Retweets
538 Replies
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
Cygnett MagCharge Magnetic Apple Watch Charger - $12 at BIG W Ugreen 100w USB-C Gan II 4 Ports Charging Station - $61.72 at Ugreen Amazon AU LIMETA/ISDT C4 EVO at Li-meta $63.19 at Amazon CyberPower UT650EG 650VA 360W UPS - $79 at Amazon Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 4-Pack (2 Black + 2 White) - $80 at Amazon (down from $169) Lubluelu L15 Plus Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner with 2L Auto-Empty Dock - $197.59 at eBay Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - $295.80 at Harvey Norman Audio Technica LP70x Bluetooth Turntable - $355.30 at Good Guys VITURE Pro XR/AR Glasses 135" 120Hz 1000Nits UltraClarity Display Harman Audio - $399 at Amazon (Down from $499) Dreame L40 Ultra CE Robot Vacuum Cleaner & Mop - $449.50 at Amazon Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - $550 at Harvey Norman NEBULA Capsule 3 GTV Smart Mini Projector (1080P, Wi-Fi, 120" Display, Netflix Licensed) - $649 at Amazon Bauhn 75" 4K UHD Smart TV with webOS - $799 at Aldi
Computing
Crucial Pro DDR5 RAM 2x16gb 6000MHz CL36 - $119.52 at AliExpress Samsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSD - $182.75 at Amazon US via AU TP-Link Archer BE550 Pro BE9700 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router - $399 at Amazon AU Samsung 990 PRO 4TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD - $419.04 at Amazon US via AU Sapphire Radeon RX 9060 XT Pulse Gaming GDDR6 16GB Graphics Card - $589 at Centre Com Kogan Infinity Curved USB-C Freesync Monitor at Kogan IPS WUHD 40" for $599 VA DFHSD 49" for $679 Alienware AW2725D 26.7" 1440p 280Hz QD-OLED Gaming Monitor - $621.64 at Dell Legion 5i (15", Gen 10): 14700HX, 5070, 16GB, 512GB, OLED 1600p - $2010.21 at Lenovo Edu Gaming PC: AMD 9950X3D, RTX 5080, 32GB 6000 C30, 1TB NVMe, 850W PSU, BORDERLANDS 4 - $3560 at UMKLOGIX
Mobile
Lyca Mobile 80GB 28 Days Prepaid SIM/eSIM with $10 cashback - $6 at TopCashback (yes that means a $4 profit!!!!!!!) amaysim Starter Pack 80GB Data, Unlimited Standard International T&T to 42 Countries - $15 at amaysim (Down from $40) Telechoice 60GB 180 Days Prepaid plan - $100 at Telechoice Optus 300GB 365-Day Prepaid SIM Starter Kit - $199 at Woolworths (down from $35) Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE 5G (8GB RAM, 128GB, Import Model) - $989 at Becextech Motorola Razr 60 Ultra 16GB + 256GB, with Global ROM (Import Model) - $1328.41 at BluDiode
# The End
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