Plus: There’s nothing better than a nice, meaty URL ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

April 04, 2025
# Trump tariffs bring back TikTok, Androids are now iPhones and stop hiring North Koreans (1) Plus: There’s nothing better than a nice, meaty URL
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Issue 2306 - Friday 4 April 2025
# The News
### Trump’s tariffs bring back American content and chip manufacturing
Talk about delivering results! OK, tech stocks have slumped (CNBC) and US billionaires did lose A$330 billion in one day (Bloomberg, $) but Trump’s tariffs are already bringing back one type of manufacturing to the US: content. Trump is reportedly set to announce “TikTok America” before the ban is supposed to kick in this weekend. It will be a new American company that will license the TikTok algorithm with 50% as-yet-unanounced US owners, 33% for existing investors and 19.9% for ByteDance (The Verge). No, these numbers do not add up and I do not get it. Also on the protectionism front, Intel and TSMC are doing a joint venture in the US (Reuters) as a way to bolster the US company’s sagging production with those Taiwanese chip wizards.
### Androids have become iPhones, which are installing random apps
I came across this thought provoking essay on how Android has undergone a “iPhone- ification” (How To Geek). The case is Android has gone from supporting hardware variations, open software guardians and a belief in customisation to adopting Apple-like qualities. Gone or going are bootloaders, custom ROMs, ports, weird designs and even side-loading is under attack. I am not an Android user so I’m curious to hear from you if you’ve noticed the same thing. Over in Apple’s closed garden next door, people are finding that their iPhones are downloading random apps after updating to iOS 18.4 (TechRadar). Wouldn’t be a huge surprise to me — after all, this is the company that once forced everyone to download a U2 album.
### Companies keep accidentally hiring North Koreans
North Korean scammers keep tricking US and EU companies into hiring them under false pretences. This week, Google’s threat team put out an update to a previous warning in 2024 about DPRK IT workers applying for remote jobs using false identities, earning salaries, stealing data and then eventually extorting the companies (Google). Sometimes they even use deepfakes for video calls (WSJ, $)! Here’s my take: if you’re good enough to fool me, you’re good enough to work here. (A joke, the Sizzle’s hiring guidelines are very stringent). They aren’t the only ones being fooled online, either: two Americans are suing OnlyFans because they found out that an agency was responding to messages on behalf of the creator whose account they had subscribed to, and not the creator themselves (404 Media, $).
#### Leftovers
Fast Flux: A national security threat (Cyber.gov.au) Money taken in co-ordinated cyberattack on big super funds (AFR, $) The TCA bolsters collaboration to building sovereign capability to keep Australians safe (Tech Council of Australia) Data Connection: Turning Statistics into Shared Understanding (Speech by Andrew Leigh) Leonardo.Ai shrugs off threat from ChatGPT’s new image tools (Capital Brief, $) Australian EV sales bounce back in March to end quarter on high, despite Tesla struggles (The Driven) Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers From Chicago to Jakarta (Bloomberg) Trump’s tariffs mean you’ll pay more for all gadgets (The Verge) Feeling curious? Google’s NotebookLM can now discover data sources for you (Ars Technica) Oracle Tells Clients of Second Recent Hack, Log-In Data Stolen (Bloomberg) YouTube removes 'gender identity' from hate speech policy (User Mag) Latest Android Auto update could turn your car’s cameras into a free dash cam (TechRadar) E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X (NYT, $)
# Oh, Also
### There’s nothing better than a nice, meaty URL
I’d tricked myself into thinking that innovation was dead. All you see these days is people slapping AI onto things. Then, I came across something I never knew I needed: a link lengthener (loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.ong).
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
TP-Link Tapo P100 Mini Wi-Fi Smart Plug - $11 at Bunnings Anker 323 33W Dual Port USB-C Charger - $19 at AnkerDirect AU via Amazon AU SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card - $53 at Amazon au Elgato Wave Neo Microphone - $79 at Exbox-AUS eBay Elgato Keylight Neo - $79 at Exbox-AUS eBay INIU 25000mAh 100W Powerbank - $84 at INIU via Amazon AU ASUS RT-AX57 Go Travel Router - $99 at Amazon AU Elgato Capture Neo - $132 at Exbox-AUS eBay Audio Technica CKS50TW2 True Wireless Noise Canceling Earphones - $199 at JB Hifi RayNeo Air 3s XR Glasses - $346 at RayNeo LG UT80 65 Inch UHD TV - $888 at Amazon AU BeyerDynamic T5 (3rd Gen) Hi-Res Audio Headphone - $999 at BeyerDynamic Australia LG 42" OLED EVO C4 4K Smart TV (2024) - $1198 at Appliance Central (Excl. TAS) LG C4 65" 4K OLED Smart TV (2024) - $2399 at Appliance Central JVC 98" Mini LED 4K UHD TV (AV-J987145A) - $4167 at Appliances Online
Computing
Glorious Model O - $49 at JB Hi-Fi Glorious Model O Wireless - $89 at JB Hi-Fi Logitech G705 Wireless Gaming Mouse (White Mist) - $92 at Amazon AU ASUS RT-AX57 Go (AX3000) Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router - $99 at Amazon AU Glorious Gaming Keyboard GMMK2 - $129 at JB Hi-Fi GMMK 3 75% - $179 at JB Hi-Fi Toshiba Tecra X40-E- Intel Core i7-8550u, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, FHD Touchscreen, Win11 (Used) - $299 at Corporatepc Samsung Odyssey 49" G93SD OLED Curved DQHD 240hz Monitor - $1259 at SamsungAU Techfest Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti WindForce SFF 16G Graphics Card - $1499 at MSY Gaming PC Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RTX 5070, B650M PLUS, 32GB 6000MHz CL34 RAM, 240mm AIO, 1TB M.2 - $2188 at Nebula PC
Mobile
Postpaid Mobile Plan for 3 Months - $12 at E.Tel Mobile then (Ongoing $23.90/Month) Google Pixel at Phonebot Google Pixel 6a 5G 128GB (Refurbished) - $279 at Phonebot Google Pixel 6 5G 128GB (Refurbished) - $299 at Phonebot Google Pixel 8a 5G 128GB (Refurbished Like New) - $499 at Phonebot Google Pixel 9 128GB - $997 at JB Hi-Fi Google Pixel 9 256GB (Obsidian) - $1147 at JB Hi-Fi
# The End
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