Plus: What if you could add a turbocharger to a wood burn barrell? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 21, 2026 | Read online
# We learned nothing from Robodebt, Sony getting out of TVs and hiding your likes Plus: What if you could add a turbocharger to a wood burn barrell?
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Edition 2485
"CHM Artifacts (2635593132)" by Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, Calif. is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mentioned in today’s edition: OpenAI, Services Australia, Nvidia, Palantir, Roblox, EV chargers, Kingston and Camp Dogs. Plus, deals on Logitech iPad cases, Dreame robot vacuums and Lyca Mobile plans.
# The News
### Post-Robodebt, Government agencies still aren't explaining how they're automating decision-making
None — zero, zip, nada — of Australian government agencies are properly explaining how they're using machines to make decisions for them, according to a privacy watchdog sweep (OAIC). The Office of the Information Commissioner published a report looking at the transparency of departments and government bodies and their use of automated decision-making (ADM), a term that includes everything from tax calculators to Robodebt. Of 23 authorised to use ADM, 10 didn't mention it on their websites (although it's not known if 9 of those are using it) and just four specified that they use it to make decisions. The OAIC said all 23 failed to give any practical details on its use.
The Sizzle: The OAIC's report is quite cautious so let me pop off: this is so emblematic of everything wrong with privacy law. Yes, the government is meeting its bare minimum legal requirements. Some agencies are better than others (notably, Services Australia is named as having some of the best, although not perfect, behaviours). But none of it passes the "can I, an idiot, read your website and actually understand what's actually going on?". Like with the story about Gabrielle and the data requests earlier this week, it's not a coincidence that all these systems and organisations are fundamentally opposed to letting people understand them. It's a choice that most Australians are just resigned to accepting.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Sony is getting out of the TV game (but you'll still see Bravia around)
Sony is giving up on making TVs, according to its announcement of a "strategic partnership" (corporate speak for surrender) to TCL (Verge). The Japanese company will give 51% of a company containing its spun off home entertainment business to the Chinese manufacturer. The new venture will still produce Sony Bravia TVs, but it sounds like Sony's contribution will be sharing its tech know-how and branding while TCL does all the heavy lifting.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Hiding likes doesn't seem to make people engage with riskier content
Does changing your social media likes from public to private change what you like on the platform? A interesting pre-print paper suggests that, counterintuitively, maybe not (arxiv)? Researchers used X's decision to hide its likes tab as a natural experiment to track how posts from high risk (i.e. OnlyFans creators, extremists, etc) and low risk (like celebs) accounts performed before and after. They found that liking behaviour barely changed but, according to a survey they also ran with some X users, people did feel better about liking the red hot stuff once it was hidden.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Leftovers
Australia:
Australian quantum computer company Q-CTRL says its navigation systems work as well as GPS (Capital Brief, $) Early warning: Australia’s critical infrastructure is not ready for a drone-enabled cyber attack (Cyber Daily) CBA calls for RBA to use new power to force open Apple iPhone payments (Australian Financial Review, $) double sicko: yessss Copper trading needs to implement KYC to stop EV charger theft (techAU) I was not aware this was a problem for EV charging stations
Rest of World:
OpenAI is rolling out its age verification (OpenAI) What a surprise! DOGE admits social security data misuse after denying it (The Verge) Roblox launched age-verification rules. Days later, age-verified accounts were available on eBay (Fast Company) Highly insecure AI apps in the App Store are leaking tons of user data (AppleInsider) Gemini AI assistant tricked into leaking Google Calendar data (BleepingComputer) Ukraine is going to work with Palantir to share its war data (Financial Times, $) cool cool cool OnePlus update starts bricking phones when you try to install older software (9to5Google) Portugal orders Polymarket blocked after election bets surge before results announced (The Block) Nvidia Contacted Anna’s Archive to Secure Access to Millions of Pirated Books (TorrentFreak) DIY Magnetic Markers Help 3D Scan Tricky Objects (Hackaday) IP Addressing 2025 (Potaroo) I've had this Kingston USB 2.0 keyring drive for 11 years (Reddit) o7
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Oh, Also
### What if you could add a turbocharger to a wood burn barrel?
If you've never had the pleasure of using a wood burn barrel, it's pretty much what it says on the box: a barrel used to burn wood (or other) waste. It's also, as it turns out, fundamentally the same as a jet engine, as demonstrated by Aussie YouTube channel Camp Dogs. In a bonkers 2022 video, that I saw shared by @whitequark@treehouse.systems on Mastodon, they weld a turbocharger from a diesel engine onto a barrel to see just how hot and intense they can make it burn. And, well, you can see for yourself how it goes.
Insane turbo barrel makes 30+ psi boost on FIREWOOD
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electronics
Kmart 6 Port USB Charger Stand - $20 at Kmart (Down from $49) UGREEN Magsafe Wireless Charger - $39.98 at Amazon (Down from $59.99) Logitech Combo Touch iPad Pro 11-inch Case - $179 at Amazon AU (Down from ~$299) Dreame L10s Ultra Gen2 Robot Vacuum and Mop - $599 at Amazon (Down from $1299)
Computing
The Premiere LPU9D 4K Triple Laser Projector + Music Frame - $4249 at Samsung EPP (Down from ~$9,999)
Mobile
Lyca Mobile 360-Day 17GB/30-Day Prepaid Mobile Plan - $110 at Lyca Mobile (Down from $220)
# The End
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