### Issue 2229 - Wednesday 4th December, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- Intel's new GPUs could be value for money bangers
- Universal Service Obligation possibly coming to mobile phone service soon
- The Verge has a paywall for some stuff now
- Doyen of podcasting reckons video "podcasts" are taking over RSS feed podcasts
- Cheap Bambu Labs A1 Mini 3D printer, LG 24" monitor, Arlec smart plugs

## The News

### Intel's new GPUs could be value for money bangers

Intel's got a new range of GPUs - the Arc B580 and Arc B570, also known as "Battlemage". No independent reviews out yet, but Intel's benchmarks put the B580 10% faster on average than the RTX4060. That's not so impressive on its own, but considering the B580 will sell for US$249 (about $380-$400), it'll be cheaper than the RTX4060 for more performance so that's pretty good. The RTX4060 is almost 18-months old though. One of the best things about Intel's GPUs is that the drivers are fully open source and have excellent Linux support. They're also beasts at AV1 video encoding (the latest and greatest video codec - super impressive quality and file size) if you're into that kinda thing.

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### Universal Service Obligation possibly coming to mobile phone service soon

Crikey is reporting that the "Albanese government is considering developing a universal service obligation for mobile phone service providers". A 2023 parliamentary inquiry found that one was needed, but over a year later, the government is yet to respond. There's rumours that this is something the ALP might cook up to take to the election. We already have a USO for landline phone and for broadband, but not mobile phone service, which in 2024, is practically how everyone makes a phone call. It's framed as an issue for rural areas (and it is, large chunks of the country have poor mobile reception) but it would also be a huge benefit for metro areas. I know of at least half a dozen dead spots in Melbourne's western suburbs that have been that way for a decade or more.

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### The Verge has a paywall for some stuff now

The Verge is getting into subscriptions now. Their "homepage, core news posts, Decoder interview transcripts, Quick Posts, Storystreams, and live blogs will remain free", but "original reporting, reviews, and features will be behind a dynamic metered paywall". So it's free but how many you get to read for free I dunno. They're also getting rid of "all the chumboxes and third-party programmatic ads, cut down the overall number of ad units, and only fill what’s left with high-quality ads directly sold by Vox Media". So there's still ads, but they're not shit ads. I love The Verge's work (95% of the time) and while it's insanely US-centric it's the best we've got and it would suck for them to disappear, so if by taking reader money they can stress less and do better work without the constraints of advertiser pressure, power to them.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Doyen of podcasting reckons video "podcasts" are taking over RSS feed podcasts

Dave Winer, someone influential back in the early 2000s with RSS and podcasting, reckons we are "losing the word podcast very quickly" as podcasts are "coming to mean video interviews on YouTube mostly". He isn't wrong. If your podcast doesn't have a video element, it's practically impossible to promote it on social media and find new listeners. He also wants to "add an important feature to podcasting that can only work with RSS, it can't work with Spotify, Google, Audible etc" because "the RSS-based podcast industry just hasn't been moving and if we don't add features, improve the tech with new features for creators and users, then we deserve what we get". It's a miracle podcasting has held out so long against corporate interests compared to how quickly the web seems to have atrophied.

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## Bargains

- Bambu Lab A1 Mini & A1 Mini Combo 3D printers - $299/$549 + shipping from Bambu Lab
- LG 24MR400-B.AAU 24" 1080p IPS monitor - $78 from The Good Guys
- Arlec Smart Plug With Power Monitoring (2-pack) - $20 at Bunnings

## Image Of The Day

Listening Post 2SER FM 107.5 Radio Guide November 1984 (National Library of Australia)

## The End

📻 Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

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