Why is someone uploading early 2000s LAN photos? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 20, 2025 | Read online
# 2253. TikTok lives to be sold another day, phone sales up as makers go all-in on AI, CBA piloting QR code instead of Medicare card Why is someone uploading early 2000s LAN photos?
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Issue 2252 - Monday 20 January, 2025
# In Today’s Issue
TikTok lives to be sold another day Phone sales back up as manufacturers go all-in on AI CBA will take a QR code instead of your Medicare card Why is someone uploading early 2000s LAN photos? Cheap Lebara pre-paid SIMs, Monster 4-Socket power board, Yamaha TW-E3C wireless earbuds, Meross Homekit garage door opener, Apple 140W USB-C, Lubluelu Robot Vacuum L20, Lenovo ThinkPad X12, DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6.
# The News
### TikTok lives to be sold another day
TikTok is banned! Same with ByteDance’s other apps like Capcut, Lemon8 and Marvel Snap (The Verge). Wait, TikTok is now back “as a result of President Trump’s efforts”, according to a prompt (Reuters) shown to the platform’s 170 million US users who were forced to touch grass for 12 hours.
You could look at this as another win for the nothing ever happens crowd (KnowYourMeme) and sanity prevailing, but really Trump’s promise to sign an executive order to delay the sale-or-be-banned law should be understood as the United States’ 47th president getting in on the action himself. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership in a joint venture” he decreed (Truth Social). This law gives Trump a weapon to use against TikTok and its providers, like Apple, Google and Oracle, if they fall out of his good graces (The Verge). Whether or not it ends up becoming a state-owned platform, make no mistake: TikTok’s US operations are going to be sold, it’s going to be to someone who has pledged fealty to Trump and it will be to Trump’s benefit. Just to repeat myself from last week since it has popped up again: no, Australia is not going to “follow the US in banning TikTok” (The Daily Telegraph, $) anytime soon.
### Phone sales pick back up as manufacturers go all-in on AI
Phone sales were up in 2024 after two down years, with Apple and Samsung neck-and-neck as the top manufacturers (The Verge) but most growth coming from other makers. The industry blamed “cost-of-living pressures, improved device longevity, and extended software support” for the previous dip (Telsyte) but I also wonder if we just spend more time inside than pre-pandemic which means we rely less on our phones? Anyway, foldables are apparently out and AI-powered phones are the new phone trend. Apple is reportedly planning on releasing a thinner iPhone model called the Air (Wall Street Journal, $) and a new budget entry, the iPhone SE 4 (Tom’s Guide); whereas leaks show Samsung’s latest flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra with souped up specs and further AI integration will be released later this week (AndroidAuthority).
### CBA will take a QR code instead of your Medicare card
It’s crazy that in 2025 that we still have to physically hand over things like our Medicare card — which would give someone much of the information they would need to gain access to our online health records (Services Australia) — just so we can open a bank account. Now, the CBA is trialing letting people use their MyGov app to scan a QR code to share proof with the bank of their Medicare enrolment, and therefore their identity, without passing over info like their card number or expiration (ITNews). There’ll be another opportunity to write about Digital ID stuff in the future, but frankly I’m a big supporter of government-run tech stuff that reduces the risk of things like identity fraud and other scams because of antiquated requirements.
# Oh, Also
### Why is someone uploading early 2000s LAN photos?
Internet archive archivist Jason Scott shared that someone is uploading dozens of images of LAN parties from the early 2000s. That someone, it appears, says they are a “full time software engineer based in Australia” and at least one of the images has a name that shared a title with an Australian party, so there’s a decent chance that there are Sizzler subscribers are captured in these photographs.
| Jason Scott @textfiles.com |
Someone's been randomly uploading LAN Party photos. archive.org/details/@iss...
11:36 PM • Jan 19, 2025
111 Likes 23 Reposts | 4 Replies
Just seeing these photos brings back a visceral nostalgic feeling for me. It’s almost like I can feel the cool air-conditioning on my skin and the Mountain Dew coursing through my veins as I played CS 1.6 at an internet cafe. (Or, as it was succinctly put by Australian user @darius.dons.net.au, “photos you can smell”).
# Bargains
Prepaid starter SIM and 30 Day 25GB (+10GB Bonus for 3 Recharges) prepaid starter SIM - $8 and $24.90 at Lebara Moose Mobile mobile postpaid plans 27GB and 100GB - $14.80 and $29.80 Monster 4-Socket Surge Protected Power Board - $29 at The Good Guys Zyron Powastone 30W GaN PD PPS Charger & 100W USB-C Cable - 2 for $29.99 at Zyron Tech Yamaha TW-E3C True Wireless Earbuds - $51.99 at Amazon Meross Smart Garage Door Opener Homekit (Homekit Compatible) - $53.96 at Amazon. (I just bought one) QCY Crossky C30 Open Ear TWS Earbuds $53.99 - Amazon AU TP-Link Archer AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 Router - $59 at eBay Apple 140W USB-C Charger - $69 at Officeworks Kings 24Ah 12.8V LiFePO4 60W USB-C Power Pack - $169 at eBay Lubluelu Robot Vacuum L20 - $205.22 at Temu Lenovo Tablet M11 - Wi-Fi, Cellular, 8GB RAM, 128GB EMMC, 11" - $284.99 at Amazon Seagate 20TB Expansion External Hard Drive - A$449 at Amazon US Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable i5-1130G7, 16GB, 256GB, 12.3" FHD+ IPS 400nit Touch 2-in-1, refurbished - $859 at Mobileciti Motorola Razr+ 2024 Unlocked (12GB RAM, 256GB, Midnight Blue) - $835.46 at Amazon US. DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo - $1119 at The Good Guys Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 256GB - $1359 at Centre Com
# The End
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