### Issue 1692 - Tuesday 13th September, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- Apple releases iOS 16, watchOS 9 and a bunch of minor updates too
- Online art communities are not enjoying the flood of AI-generated images
- Climate change is messing with Twitter's data centres
- This technology kit from 1986 is an IBM highlights reel
- Cheap CatchConnect SIM, Yamaha soundbar, Xiaomi monitor, Amazon Surveillance Starter Pack, Sony headphones, Yamaha 5.1 kit, Anker USB charger

## The News

### Apple releases iOS 16, watchOS 9 and a bunch of minor updates too

iOS 16 and watchOS 9 are out now. Macstories has a good article outlining all the stuff in iOS 16 - customised lock screens, editing and unsending iOS messages, notifications now pop up from the bottom, the battery percentage indicator is back and loads more. Apple mentioned a new iOS 16 feature coming soon called Clean Energy Charging that will "decrease the carbon footprint of the iPhone by optimizing charging times for when the grid is using cleaner energy sources". Wired goes through all the new things in watchOS 9. Lots of fitness and health stuff. iOS 15 and macOS 12 got patches, mostly security updates. tvOS 16 is a thing for the Apple TV and HomePod. The "buddy controller" feature for games sounds cool. iPad OS 16 and macOS 13 are due in October.

### Online art communities are not enjoying the flood of AI-generated images

Art websites are starting to get sick of AI-generated images. Fur Affinity bans them because it "lacks artistic merit" (apparently "one AI furry porn generator was uploading one image every 40 seconds before it was banned", lol). Newgrounds banned "using tools such as Midjourney, Dall-E, and Craiyon" as well as ArtBreeder, but allows "an AI-generated background". DeviantArt hasn't banned it but "one of the most popular threads in their forums right now asks the staff to 'combat AI art' by limiting daily uploads, either by segregating it under a special category or to ban it entirely". If you've got an Apple Silicon Mac and want to dip your toes in the AI generated art space, check out Diffusion Bee. It packages up all the bits and pieces you need to run Stable Diffusion into a single binary.

### Climate change is messing with Twitter's data centres

It's getting so hot in California that Twitter had to shut down its Sacramento data centre because the cooling system couldn't cope. As a result, Twitter advised its staff in an internal memo that it is in a "non-redundant state". There's data centers in Atlanta and Portland, but "if we lose one of those remaining datacenters, we may not be able to serve traffic to all Twitter's users". They're pausing "non-critical updates to Twitter's product" until the Sacramento data centre is online. If you aren't adding climate change to your list of business risks, you're a fool.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### This technology kit from 1986 is an IBM highlights reel

Ken Shirriff's blog is lots of fun, but this post from early 2021 is one of my favourites. He got his hands on a German IBM display box from 1986. It's a suitcase stuffed with a range of technology IBM manufactured over the years between the 1940s to 1986 when this box was made. It has contains a vacuum tubes, semiconductors, disk platters, ferrite core memory and other random bits and pieces from IBM's computers that as Ken puts it "marks the peak of IBM's success and influence, right before microcomputers decimated the mainframe market and IBM's dominance".

## Bargains

- Catch Connect 365-day 200GB pre-paid SIM - $150 from Catch
- Yamaha YAS-109 Sound Bar - $199 from Amazon
- Xiaomi 34" curved 144Hz 3440x1440 monitor - $428.22 from Gearbite's eBay store
- Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen) + Echo Dot (4th Gen) + Fire TV Stick 4K Max + Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) - $259 from Amazon
- Sony WH-1000XM5B noise cancelling headphones - $483.55 from ozonlinebuys eBay store
- Yamaha 5.1 Channel Home Theatre Speaker Package - $1648 from West Coast Hi-Fi
- Anker USB-C 45W + 20W, GaN slim charger - $53.03 from Anker's eBay store

## The End

📻 Atopos - Björk

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## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.