### Issue 1933 - Friday 15th September, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Google extends Chromebook support to 10 years after complaints from schools
- Tesla registers with AEMO be a Market Customer, possibly become an electricity retailer
- Blackmagic Camera iOS app, Cyberpunk 2077 update, Arm's IPO went well
- What's up with all the unreliable EV chargers?
- Friday Forum Update
- Cheap refurb 14TB HDD, RX 7800 XT GPU, BMAX Android Tablet, 4-pack of Airtags, refurb ThinkPad T480, 1TB SanDisk microSD card

## The News

### Google extends Chromebook support to 10 years after complaints from schools

Good news for Chromebook fanciers - Google has promised that "all Chromebook platforms will get regular automatic updates for 10 years — more than any other operating system commits to today". Starting in 2024, "if you have Chromebooks that were released from 2021 onwards, you'll automatically get 10 years of updates" and for Chromebooks released before 2021 and already in use, "users and IT admins will have the option to extend automatic updates to 10 years from the platform's release (after they receive their last automatic update)". 10 year old computers (i.e: Intel Core i5-3000/4000 series CPUs) are still very usable!

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### Tesla registers with AEMO be a Market Customer, possibly become an electricity retailer

Distributed energy expert and consultant Jon Sibley discovered that Tesla has registered with AEMO (the mob that co-ordinate the electric grid in Australia) to become a "Market Customer", one of the main steps in becoming an energy retailer. According to Jon, "one option is Tesla becoming the FRMP for its large-scale battery and public charging assets. Tesla would need to also register as a scheduled generator for large-scale battery purposes (noting IRP changes could change AEMO's registration definitions). Another more interesting option is Tesla becoming an electricity retailer to sell energy services directly to end customers, potentially with a EaaS/MaaS angle".

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### Blackmagic Camera iOS app, Cyberpunk 2077 update, Arm's IPO went well

- Melbourne company Blackmagic Design, has a new free iPhone app called Blackmagic Camera. It lets you record video on your device using the "same digital film camera controls and image processing functions that are available with Blackmagic Design's cameras" and integrates with Blackmagic Cloud and DaVinci Resolve for editing.
- Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC is getting a beefy update September 21st. Update 2.0 includes "redesigned perk and skill trees, vehicle combat and car chases, and a revamped police system". There's also a major expansion pack coming September 26th - Phantom Liberty. Here's a trailer for it featuring Idris Elba.
- Arm's IPO on the Nasdaq took place overnight and it was a success. The stock price closed for the day up 25% from the IPO price, valuing the business responsible for the architecture of the CPUs in so many of our favourite gadgets at US$68b. Considering Nvidia was gonna buy Arm off Softbank for US$40b but was told "no fucken way" by every competition regulator in the world, this is a pretty good result for investors.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### What's up with all the unreliable EV chargers?

WhichCar Australia has a great article about why EV chargers are do damn unreliable. With the exception of Tesla's Supercharger network, it's a disappointingly common experience to rock up to a rapid charger in your EV only find that despite the app or website saying that the charger is available and operational, it's fucked. Chargefox's CEO explains that part of it is simply 1st-generation units not being as robust as expected in Australian conditions. Another part of it is a a convoluted repair process due to "limited local parts supply, component shortages, and an extended diagnosis-to-repair cycle that regularly takes two or three attempts". Things are getting better though, with the network operators learning from their mistakes.

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## Friday Forum Update

Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.

- codaroma updated a thread about IT certifications with news that ServiceNow admin courses & certs are free at the moment
- adamxweb is after an alternative to Lightroom for photo editing and library management
- zuccs is getting into the Christmas spirit early, seeking recommendations on good quality outdoor lights that'll last a while
- netizen is experiencing Synology NAS selection paralysis and turned to The Sizzle forums for assistance
- warkolm wonders what you could do to use up the left over dollars on pre-paid debit cards

## Bargains

- Seagate EXOS X18 14TB 3.5" HDD SATA Factory Recertified - $249 from Pongobyte Computers
- Asrock RX 7800 XT Challenger OC 16GB GDDR6 Graphics Card - $829.10 from Amazon Japan
- BMAX MaxPad I11 Plus Android tablet (10.4" 2000x1200 IPS, 8GB RAM/128GB storage, 4G dual SIM, Unisoc T616 SoC ) - $151 from Aliexpress
- Apple Airtag 4-pack - $129 from MyDeal
- Lenovo ThinkPad T480 (i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p 14" touch screen) - $335 from Bufferstock
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB microSDXC - $180.30 from Amazon

## Image Of The Day

Poly Kicks T-Shirt from Poly Kicks. Back printed Gildan Premium Cotton Ring Spun T-Shirt. Design by Heikki Lotvonen. (Bandcamp)

## The End

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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.