### Issue 2172 - Wednesday 11th September, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- All Australian user data is fed to Meta's AI, no opt-out like in Europe
- PlayStation 5 Pro is a beefed up PS5 for better graphics
- USA states want feds to put warning labels on social media for kids
- Huawei's trifold smartphone is cool and I want to try it
- Cheap Ultimate & Nintendo gift cards, AirPods 4, ASUS laptop, Amaysim pre-paid, refurb Dell 34" monitor

## The News

### All Australian user data is fed to Meta's AI, no opt-out like in Europe

During a government inquiry examining AI adoption in Australia, Meta was forced to admit that while folks in the EU can opt-out of having their data (posts, photos, comments, etc) used to train Meta's AI models, it doesn't extend that same basic human decency to Australians. When asked by the politicians in the inquiry why the EU gets to opt-out but we don't, Meta responded that they do it in the EU as a "response to a very specific legal frame" - i.e: the EU has superior privacy laws that impact on Meta if they don't abide by them. Australia does not have these laws, so Meta can do whatever it likes. How about that Privacy Act update, hey?

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### PlayStation 5 Pro is a beefed up PS5 for better graphics

The PlayStation 5 Pro is now a thing. It's the same PS5 we know and love, but with a beefier specs to hit 4K graphics at a consistent 60fps, "advanced ray tracing" and "AI-driven upscaling". Sounds a lot like what AMD/Nvidia do with RTX/DLSS/FSR. Older games can benefit from this spec bump as they should run smoother and get "enhanced image quality". There's also 2TB of storage, Wi-Fi 7 and no more optical disc drive (but one can be purchased separately for $159). The PS5 Pro will go on sale in Australia for $1,199 on November 7th, with pre-orders kicking off on September 26th.

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### USA states want feds to put warning labels on social media for kids

42 state attorneys general over in the USA have signed an open letter asking Congress to implement the Surgeon General's plan for warning labels on social media, similar to those on cigarettes. They reckon that "A surgeon general's warning on social media platforms, though not sufficient to address the full scope of the problem, would be one consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth". I doubt the yanks were inspired by our local kids and social media posturing this week (which is way worse than a useless but harmless "social media is addictive" label), but it's a worrying trend.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Huawei's trifold smartphone is cool and I want to try it

We don't get many Huawei phones over in Australia due to the whole not allowed to have the Google Play Store thing, but their new Mate XT Ultimate "trifold" smartphone looks really cool. It's folded up like a pamphlet into three segments that expands out to a 10.2" screen. When fully folded it's 12.8mm thick - just 4mm thicker same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Fuck knows what the durability is like and it will have the same problem all folding devices have with unsightly plastic screens that get deformed, but I reckon the concept is great. Chinese market only and will sell for a whopping A$4,250. I'd love to try one.

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## Bargains

- Get 10% off at 4Cabling's online store when you sign up for their newsletter
- AirPods 4 with ANC - $279.99 from Costco (lemme know if you need a Costco member to drop ship some to you)
- 20x FlyBuys points on Ultimate gift cards at Coles
- Motorola Moto G84 smartphone - $268.19 from Mobileciti's ebay store
- 20% off Nintendo eShop gift cards at Coles
- ASUS Vivobook S 16 laptop (Ryzen 8845HS, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 120Hz 16" OLED display) - $1699 at Scorptec
- Amaysim 365-day SIM with 140GB data, unlimited calls & SMS, 1000 bonus EDR points - $149 at Woolworths
- Refurb Dell C3422WE 34" 3440x1440 IPS monitor with USB-C dock (90W power, gigabit ethernet, USB hub) and popup webcam - $374.25 from Computer Traders eBay store

## Image Of The Day

PhotoDisc - Object Series 41: InfoMedia 3 (Internet Archive / ShivaShaw)

## The End

📻 Air - La femme d'argent

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