| Issue 2261 - Friday 31 January, 2025 | Folks, TGIF. You’ve all played a belter, have a great weekend. | In Today’s Issue | Big Tech posts Ws and Ls Most people have NFI there’s new privacy rules Tiny bush paper takes on Google Would you like to overstimulate yourself? Deals including free Wordy language app, plus cheap SanDisk flash drive, Logitech gaming mouse, Google Nest Wi-Fi router, Kogan pre-paid SIM plans, Microsoft Surface Pro 11 PC, Hisense smart project and LG 77’’ OLED 4K TV.
| | The News | Big Tech posts Ws and Ls | It’s that time of year (quarter?) again when US tech companies post their earnings and the infallible logic of the stock market delivers a verdict on whether they’re so over/so back, depending on the results. Here’s the top line stuff for you: | Apple continues an incredible run by making more money, more profit off each unit and continuing to grow. A fall in iPhone sales and a big drop in China trade are some early red flags, but the company’s subscription business continues to scale up (CNBC). Meta promised to spend “hundreds of billions” on AI infrastructure but the market was still happy that the company says it will reduce its engineering costs using AI, i.e. by getting rid of those pesky humans who work there. (Bloomberg, $). Microsoft’s revenue and cloud computing growth are slowing, but don’t worry they’re still printing money (CNBC). Tesla’s share price might not show it but it had a tough year with falling sales and lower margins (The Guardian). Musk, as he often does, promised that robots and AI stuff were coming soon but the spiciest part was when an analyst asked: “Is this a car company? Almost no discussion of core auto business” (The Verge). Intel is still making money but would have a pretty grim future, having so far missed the AI hardware wave, if not for the fact that there are a lot of reasons to think the US government wants a US chip maker around (Yahoo!). Samsung’s profit is down because of lotsa R&D spend, however it’s still getting bigger (CNBC).
| Do you care? Should I do this every quarter so you can stay across it? Or is money worthless, and the only currency worth a damn is the love in your heart? Let me know. | Most people have NFI there’s new privacy rules | You could be forgiven for missing it but Australia has new strengthened privacy rules. They were one of the 30-odd bills passed in a day in Parliament at the very end of last year so most people have NFI about the new obligations probably (Mediaweek). What was passed wasn’t the full reform to the Privacy Act that the government originally agreed to, but it included stuff like allowing people to sue for serious invasions of privacy, criminalising doxxing and more (Law firm MinterEllison has a good guide to what passed). These changes give more tools to the still-relatively-new privacy commissioner Carly Kind who, in a charming lunch interview, recommended pushing back on retailers “who ask for endless amounts of personal information in exchange for goods” (AFR, $). | Tiny bush paper takes on Google | A 152-year-old newspaper that primarily covers Hay, a town in central NSW, and its surroundings is taking on Google. The Riverina Grazier says it will file a class action over claims that Google’s advertising arm has been doing some anti-competitive behaviour. The paper’s editor and manager claims that the “remuneration to us from using Google’s services is a pittance” (The Riverina Grazier) and blames the company for using its market position to unfairly underpay publishers hosting their ads (Mumbrella). The class action, which is being run by Maurice Blackburn and is open for others to join, takes cues from similar cases in the US, UK and Canada. There’s not much to say more about this David vs. Goliath battle without info yet re: how they’re proving this claim, so I’ll hold judgement until we know more. | | Oh, Also | Would you like to overstimulate yourself for fun? | Is the internet too chill for you right now? Try Stimulation Clicker (neal.fun). It’s a pretty simple game, I guess, that rewards a player’s clicks with upgrades that allow them to add new stimulating game features like the bouncing DVD logo, a chat window, a true crime podcast or, my favourite, a chicken. It’s a commentary on what it’s like to use the internet in 2025 but also I found it weirdly relaxing, which I’m guessing isn’t the point. | | Bargains | | | The End | 😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday afternoon. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius. | 💬 Want to hang out with other Sizzlers? There’s a subscriber-only Slack server and forum if you want to procrastinate and chat about tech-related news. | 💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the Beehiiv customer portal. | 🎁 Make someone's day and gift them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle. | 💔 Don’t want this any more? I won’t take it personally. There’s a unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email or here’s a guide. | 🗣️ Have any feedback, a tip or just want to chat? Send me an email or Signal message. I promise to reply! | Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land | The Sizzle is created on Gadigal 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. |
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