Plus: How Trump uses his iPhone ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 03, 2025 | Read online
# Telstra gets Starlink texting, Ukraine drone vids and the war on bad USB-C gizmos Plus: How Trump uses his iPhone
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Issue 2345
Flickr: bluestvenus
# The News
### Telstra turns on Starlink texting, Optus gives out free AI search subscription
Telstra customers will be able to text from anywhere in Australia now that the company has switched on satellite text messaging capabilities via Starlink (Information Age). Initially limited to just Samsung S25 devices, Telstra will soon support satellite messaging for compatible iPhones, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixels. The roll-out comes at a — ahem — very convenient time for Telstra given its coverage controversies. But let’s also acknowledge that it’s wicked that people will be able to text anywhere using standard consumer phones using satellites (and with all of the qualifications like needing line-of-sight, slow sending speeds, yada yada). Optus, which is also set to get satellite texting at some point, simultaneously announced that pre- and post-paid phone customers will get a free year subscription to AI search app Perplexity Pro (ARNnet) which, soon, might also be Samsung’s preloaded search app of choice on its devices (Bloomberg, $).
### Ukraine drone strike footage is the latest front in the content war
If you scrolled through social media over the past few days, you might have seen incredible first-person footage of Ukraine’s surprise drone attack on Russia’s military aircraft and airfields. Aside from loving to see the good guys get up on some baddies, the other incredible thing was the speed with which the footage made its way online and in incredible quality. The remarkable videos, also taken by drone, were obtained by a Ukrainian journalist from a federal security agency — clearly shared with the intention of immediately showing off the success of the operation to a global audience. The Verge makes the good point that Ukraine has used social media masterfully to win over the world as it tries to fend off Russia. It’s only a matter of time until the country livestreams one of their operations!
Footage shows major Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers
### Microsoft wants you to stop having to use shitty USB-C gizmos
The Sizzle doesn’t often get to congratulate a big tech company for doing something good but, in my eyes, Microsoft is on the side of the angels in its fight against shitty USB-Cs (Ars Technica). For those who believe that the move to USB-C meant that the war has been won, you are clearly not one of the 27% of people who’ve run into problems USB-C ports with bad data transfer and charging speed or without the ability to carry HDMI signals, per Microsoft’s data. That’s because — for some insane reason — specifications for the physical USB dongle are different to rules and standards for the USB protocol (if that’s confusing, it’s like having a design spec for your mailbox to signal which size letters it can hold versus the rules for what is allowed to go through the postal system). Anyway! Microsoft on its Microsoft USB Blog (!!!) says it’s changing its hardware compatibility program to require some basic standards like being able to support an external display and provide 4.5W of power (Microsoft USB Blog) which will hopefully pressure manufacturers.
I never knew a table of specs could bring a tear to my eye…
#### Leftovers
After hundreds of complaints, eHarmony’s auto renewal subscription case begins in Australian federal court (Guardian Australia) Cryptocurrency ATM scams on the rise as more than $3m lost in 12 months (Cyber Daily AU) Science Minister Ayres signals a bigger role for unions over AI use at work (AFR, $) Research blockers keep govt data sharing scheme grounded (InnovationAus, $) Video of Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang likely manipulated with AI, experts say (ABC News) This comes after the ABC wrote an article on the video as if it was real. Oops! A Neuralink Rival Just Tested a Brain Implant in a Person (WIRED, $) Web-scraping AI bots cause disruption for scientific databases and journals (Nature, archived) Chatbot platform Character.AI unveils video generation, social feeds (TechCrunch) 'Forest Blizzard' vs 'Fancy Bear' - cyber companies hope to untangle weird hacker nicknames (Reuters) Mysterious leaker GangExposed outs Conti kingpins in massive ransomware data dump (The Register) NSO Group asks judge for new trial, calling $167 million in damages ‘outrageous’ (TechCrunch) Google settles shareholder lawsuit, will spend $500M on being less evil (Ars Technica) Texas Right to Repair bill passes, heads to the governor’s desk (The Verge) ‘Humanity deserves better’: Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs on tech’s next chapter (FT, $) No, you shouldn't peel off the Nintendo Switch 2 screen's protective layer (TechRadar) My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts (Fly . io) This will probably make some people mad but worth reading
# Oh, Also
### How Trump uses his iPhone
I love hearing about how people use tech. It’s so crazy that the most popular piece of tech in the world — the iPhone — is used by literally every kind of person, including the current president. The Atlantic has a great piece about Trump’s iPhone(s) with details like his lock screen (a stern photo of himself pointing at the screen), ring tone (the default Reflection track) and how he is completely addicted to using it despite it almost certainly being tapped by foreign adversaries. He just like me for real.
You gotta hand it to him…
Bonus phone story: The iPhone note, Chris Dawson’s lawyer brother and a $13m fortune (SMH, $)
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# Bargains
Electrical and electronics
8% Cashback on Apple 50% off Cygnett coupon EcoPebble Lite 3-Watt Mini Waterproof Party Speaker in Black, Mint, Orange - $39.95 at Mobileskin TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi RGB Downlight GU10 - Model L630 4-Pack - $40.90 at Amazon DE via AU Anker Prime Charger (100W, 3 Ports, GaN) - $85.49 at AnkerDirect via Amazon AU Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 - $113 at Telstra (Telstra ID Required) DJI Osmo Action 4 Combos at Amazon AU Standard Combo for $328 Adventure Combo for $508 Sennheiser Over-Ear Open Back HD 600 Headphones - $350 at Amazon AU Viture Pro XR/AR Glasses - $599 at Amazon Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 47mm Bluetooth + 4G - $649 at Telstra (Telstra ID Required) Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2-Channel AV Receiver - $929 at Amazon AU ECOVACS Deebot T30 Omni Robot Vacuum Cleaner - $1049 at ECOVACS Robotics via Amazon AU TCL 65C6K 4K QD-Miniled Google TV (2025) (Excl TAS) - $1464 at Appliance Central PERLISTEN Audio R8s Subwoofer - $1499 at AddictedToAudio
Computing
GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 Wireless Mini Portable VPN Travel Router - $31.50 at Amazon AU Rapoo Superlight Wireless Gaming Mouse VT9Pro - $33.99 at LH-RAPOO-US-DirectStore via Amazon AU Rapoo MT760 Multi-Device Wireless Mouse - $47.99 at LH-RAPOO-US-DirectStore Amazon AU Logitech Triathlon M720 Mouse - $50.15 at Amazon AU Kensington VeriMark Desktop Fingerprint Key - $79.57 at Amazon AU GL.iNet Routers at GL.iNet via Amazon AU GL-MT3000 (Beryl AX) Travel Router for $103 GL-MT6000 (Flint 2) Router for $182 Corsair HS80 RGB Premium Wireless Gaming Headset (Carbon) (RRP $249) - $149 at Amazon AU GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) Dual-Band WiFi 7 Travel Router - $203 at GL.iNet via Amazon AU Western Digital WD 16TB HDD Ultrastar DC HC550 (Refurbished) - $296 at Metrocom via Amazon AU ASUS RT-BE88U BE7200 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 AiMesh Router - $465 at Amazon AU MSI Modern 14 H D13M 14" FHD+ i9 16GB RAM 1TB Business Laptop - $1099 at Centrecom Microsoft Surface Pro 11: X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD - $1497 at Kogan/Dick Smith @ eBay NETGEAR Orbi Quad-Band WiFi 6E Mesh Network System (RBKE963), Router + 2 Satellite Extenders - $1999 at Amazon
Mobile
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# The End
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