Plus: You'd think a spyware maker would be a bit more clandestine than this ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 12, 2026 | Read online
# Google's kidnapping footage, the end of Blu-ray creeps closer and AI drama Plus: You'd think a spyware maker would be a bit more clandestine than this
{{OPEN_TRACKING_PIXEL}}
Edition 2500 wow!
"Hack Computer Block Diagram" by Rleininger is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Mentioned in today’s edition: The FBI, Paragon, Palantir, Apple, Infosys, Discord and VPNs. Plus, deals on Sony TVs, Logitech mice and Samsung tablets.
# The News
### High profile kidnapping reveals that Google can still get back your “deleted” footage
There has been an odd tech twist in a high profile US kidnapping case: Nancy Guthrie, the mother of well-known TV anchor Savannah Guthrie (who btw is Australian by birth), went missing from her house two weeks ago. The FBI has just released eerie footage of a masked invader caught on her home's Google Nest doorbell camera (ABC News). Interestingly, when police first spoke about the kidnapping, they said the house's door cam had been removed by the intruder and that it didn't have cloud storage. But now Google has been able to "retrieve" the footage (The Verge).
The Sizzle: Google says it automatically retains up to three hours of video from this type of door cams, but promises to delete it afterwards. Cybersecurity experts are saying that the footage was able to be retrieved because it wasn’t overwritten on their servers (CBS News). Admittedly, this is one of those times when you're glad that a company was keeping more data than they said... but I do find this pretty concerning! Even if the process for retrieving the footage was onerous, I think it's fundamentally dishonest to suggest that this footage is "gone" if it's only technically deleted. And if Google can retrieve it for this purpose, they can retrieve it for any other purpose, too.
spooky
It's pretty clear that we're in a world of personal surveillance, now powered by AI, of each other (see the backlash over Amazon Ring's Super Bowl advertisement). I guess people prefer the comfort of being able to monitor this stuff. But if that's the case, at the very least do this stuff locally and don't give Big Tech a 4K stream of everything you and everyone within eyesight are doing.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### The end of the Blu-ray creeps closer
Sony will ship its final ever Blu-ray recorder this month (Toms Hardware). The company cited "the widespread availability of streaming services" as killing demand for the device (Kyodo News). Sony had been making Blu-ray recorders since 2003, and will continue making Blu-ray players for the "time being" which seems ominous. I don't think I've personally used a Blu-ray in 10+ years but I'm not ready for the end of physical media releases...
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### The AI people are being a bit dramatic
I'm putting this down the bottom because I know some of you are sick of AI news, but it really seems like Silicon Valley is on edge. Here are some of the recent stories:
AI entrepreneur Matt Shumer's widely shared essay "Something Big Is Happening" predicts that AI is imminently going to replace everyone's jobs. His advice? You should "sign up for the paid version of Claude or ChatGPT" lol. An OpenAI exec was fired for sexual discrimination, but the reporting seems to suggest that it's linked to her opposition to ChatGPT's forthcoming sexy mode (WSJ, $). One Sizzler pointed out that her resume was Palantir -> Meta -> OpenAI which, uh, is something. An Anthropic researcher quit with a bizarre public letter warning that the world is in peril (Futurism), and an OpenAI employee also publicly quit over ChatGPT's new ads (Ars Technica).
Taking a step back from the tech at the moment, I cannot remember a time when there was a greater divide between the tech industry and the public's views on something. I don't think either side is completely right but it does make for a very weird dynamic right now.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Leftovers
Australia:
Telstra to outsource up to 442 tech roles to Infosys (iTnews) How Freeplay, one of Australia’s leading independent games festivals, is fighting for its future (Infinite Lives) The tech lobby, Tech Council of Australia, has surveyed founders/execs and found that everyone is real hype for AI — what a surprise — but what I found interesting is cybersecurity has become even less exciting ... which I feel could come back and bite them. Trust us: eSafety lashed over social media ban secrecy (The West Australian, $) Anthropic quietly begins its Australian charm offensive (Capital Brief, $)
Rest of World:
Apple is delaying AI Siri AGAIN (Bloomberg, $) Instagram Boss to Defend Platform Its Researcher Called a Drug (Bloomberg, $) It's uh not a great headline for them, hey Telegram CEO condemns new restrictions in Russia as citizens turn to VPNs to bypass the blocks (TechRadar) UK's Ministry of Justice orders deletion of court reporting database founded by Irish journalist (The Journal) Turns out you can get past Discord's age verification by pasting something in your browser console lmaooooo (Kibty Town) Apple just released iOS 26.3 alongside updates for the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch (Engadget) 50 years of Apple history is on display at the Computer History Museum (AppleInsider)
we’re so fucked
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Oh, Also
### You'd think a spyware maker would be a bit more clandestine than this
Spyware maker Paragon is one of the most notorious, sophisticated and secretive professional labs selling its tech for big bucks to states. It has been involved in illegally surveilling journalists, activists, and others around the world using zero-click exploits, despite projecting a buttoned-up vibe and claiming to be more responsible than other competitors. So, you'd think its people would have pretty good opsec. Well, X users are sharing what appears to be a real photograph posted on LinkedIn by Paragon's General Counsel that shows a demo of its tech in the background.
Oops! But hey, nothing we couldn't have found out if we simply hacked into their phones ;)
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electronics
Portable 720p Projector w/ Built in Speaker at Kmart Portable 720p Projector w/ Built in Speaker for $29 1080p Smart Projector for $59 eufy Video Doorbell E340 - $245 at Forge Electrical (Down from $349) Eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20 - $399 at Bunnings Warehouse Dreame L40 Ultra CE Robot Vacuum - $649 at Amazon (Down from $1498) Sony X90L LED TV at Sony eBay 55” for $948 (Down from ~$2599) 65” for $1506 85” for $1830 Samsung 85" U8500F Crystal UHD 4K Smart TV 2025 - $1394 at The Good Guys (Down from $2495) Sony Cameras at Sony eBay Sony Alpha 7C II for $1899 Sony Alpha 7R V for $3599 (Box Damaged) TCL 98" P7K 4K UHD QLED TV - $2961 at JB Hi-FI (Down from $3995) Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM - $3299 at Sony eBay
Computing
HORACO 5-Port 2.5GbE Network Switch with 10G SFP+ Port - $30.69 at HORACO Direct Store AliExpress North Bayou H100 Computer Monitor Swivel Arm Gas Spring 2-9kg - $47.76 at Amazon Biwin Black Opal NV3500 512GB PCIe Gen 3 M.2 SSD - $74 at Centre Com (Down from $180) Logitech MX Vertical Wireless Mouse - $92.65 at Amazon (Down from $169) Logitech MX Master 3S Mouse – Bluetooth Edition (Graphite) - $99.99 at Amazon (Down from $169) Arctic Freezer III 420mm - $159 at Amazon (Down from $249) Keychron K4 HE QMK Wireless Wood Frame Magnetic Switch SE Keyboard - White - $211 at Centre Com Asus XG16AHPE ROG Strix 15.6" Full HD IPS 144Hz G-Sync Compatible Portable Gaming Monitor - $269 at Amazon (Down from $648.95) Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad Pro 2025 - $256 at Goldway AliExpress (Down from ~$499) Lenovo Legion Y700 2025 - $382 at Goldway Store AliExpress (Down from $899) Lenovo Idea Tab Pro - $436 at Mobileciti (Down from $756) GIGABYTE GO27Q24 27" QHD OLED 240Hz Gaming Monitor - $559 at Centre Com (Down from $699) Gaming PC at Evatech Intel 245K, B860M, BYO GPU for $1299 AMD 7800X3D, 32GB RAM, B850M, 1TB SSD, 5070 Ti for $3139
Mobile
Rockrose Powerlink G65 20000mAh 65W PD Quick Charge Powerbank - $49 at Centre Com Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ 256/12GB Wi-Fi - $988 at Samsung EDU (Down from ~$1799)
# The End
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