Plus: People keep buying Australian tech publications to turn them into zombies ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

July 10, 2025 | Read online
# Samsung's folding bet, AI browsers will kill the web and I'm going on TV Plus: People keep buying Australian tech publications to turn them into zombies
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Edition 2371
"this is the corner of the computer room" (Flickr: fire_and_rain_5150)
# The News
### Samsung is betting big on foldable phones
Spoiled by many of the details already leaked, Samsung nevertheless dropped its new generation of folding phones and smartwatches at a swagless event (The Verge). The massive electronics company is going hardon its folding phone form factors with its new Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and introduced a cheaper model called the Flip 7 FE. On the watch front, the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch 8 updates are just iterative size and storage improvements.
The Sizzle: I’m getting the sense we’re at the tipping point where folding phone technology is getting good enough to tempt average punters, despite the drawbacks of size, weight and look. I ran into a guy at a servo who had a Z Fold 6 recently and he raved about how often he got to use the full screen when I asked. One major sticking point? The Z Fold 7 starts at AU$2900 (Whistleout).
Samsung Unpacked July 2025
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### AI “web-browsers” are a step towards the end of the web as we know it
OpenAI is about to release a web browser that is “designed to keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface” (Reuters). It joins Perplexity (Verge) and the Browser Company’s Dia (TechCrunch) which have also released AI-powered “web browsers”. And Google’s Gemini integration in Chrome is doing the same thing, just to an existing browser (The Verge)
The Sizzle: These AI-powered web browsers are teaching people who are used to surfing the net to instead suck it up through an AI straw. And I think they’ll be popular. Why? Realistically, most people don’t want to Google something. They want an answer to a question, and Google is the best way. For now. But going down this route will mean a lot of changes to the way the internet works — including, potentially, the end of the open internet.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### My big 2025 election takeaway (because I’m going on the telly to talk about it)
This afternoon, I’m going to the ABC to film an interview for upcoming TV show about elections. They’re getting me in to talk about the internet shenanigans around this year’s election (as well as explaining terms like “algorithms” and “fan cams” lmao). The Sizzle: The big trend is the way politics has just been flattened into another type of content by the internet, and now feels like all other content. Politicians are speaking to YouTubers and podcasters because that’s better content than speaking to boring journalists. Political parties are churning out AI slop as a form of political communication because they are competing with every other meme account. Third parties are setting up mysterious Facebook pages because, at the end of the day, there’s no difference between a political party and a Facebook page. Any lofty ideals about the sanctity of “policy” and “discourse” in politics is dead or sidelined. The only thing that matters now in politics, in everything, is: is this good content?
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
New guidance for small businesses to protect your devices and accounts (Australian Cyber Security Centre) SMS ID register consultation hits ‘significant barrier’ (InnovationAus, $) Home Affairs opens up APIs to communicate with industry (InnovationAus, $) Pollies talked tough on tech – then splurged $76m on YouTube, Meta (AFR, $) Tech Council seeks new policy lead after former Turnbull and Morrison advisor resigns (Capital Brief, $) Amazon Prime Day Sales Off 41% First Day, Brand Adviser Says (Bloomberg, $) YouTube prepares crackdown on ‘mass-produced’ and ‘repetitive’ videos, as concern over AI slop grows (TechCrunch) Google just announced 5 new Gemini features coming to Android (TechRadar) Ikea's new Matter-over-Thread smart home gear will work with HomeKit (Apple Insider) Faster, more comfortable Apple Vision Pro rumored to arrive in 2025 (Apple Insider) Browser extensions turn nearly 1 million browsers into website-scraping bots (Ars Technica) Supabase MCP can leak your entire SQL database (General Analysis) Azure MCP exploited : Maliciously leaking user’s KeyVault secrets to attackers (Tramlines) Exclusive: Evidence of cell phone surveillance detected at anti-ICE protest (Straight Arrow News) Why Big Tech is threatened by a global push for data sovereignty (Rest of World) Why I Deleted My Steam Account After 20 Years (Kaldaein on Github) Using MPC for Anonymous and Private DNA Analysis (Vishakh’s blog) TikToker Creates Fake 'Alligator Alcatraz' Tour Company That Redirects MAGA Supporters to Migrant Aid Resources (The Latin Times)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### People keep buying Australian tech publications to turn them into zombies
Australian games writer Edmond Tran posted about something troubling: the lovely, niche Australian gaming news and reviews publication GamesHub is now promoting crypto casinos (Bluesky). This change wasn’t because of an editorial change of heart, but because the domain was sold to some scummy US-based bitcoin shill guy (Creative Hubs Group). The same thing also happened recently to Kotaku Australia. People are buying web properties that used to be for great things purely so they can turn them into zombie versions of their brand (both literally and for SEO) to promote spam and scams. And it sucks! You know what we call people who suck the life out of stuff? Vampires.
| Edmond Tran @edmondtran.bsky.social |
tbh I kinda liked it better when it was an award-winning publication with cool writers and an annual mentorship program
12:30 AM • Jul 10, 2025
84 Likes 13 Reposts | 11 Replies
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
JBL Tune 500 Wired On-Ear Headphones - $13 at Harvey Norman Anker 323 Dual Port Charger (USB-C 20-33W, -a 12W) - $18.99 at Amazon AU Anker 10000mAh 30W Power Bank - $25.49 at AnkerDirect AU via Amazon AU Belkin SurgePlus 8 Outlet 2 USB Powerboard - $34.99 at Bunnings Meross Smart Plug Outdoor Indoor Wi-Fi Outlets 10A Waterproof - $39.95 at Shuzu Amazon AU TP-Link Tapo Products at Amazon AU Tapo H110 Smart IR & IoT Hub for $40.42 3K Pan/Tilt Camera for $99 D235 Video Doorbell for $198 Meross Matter Smart Presence Sensor with Light Sensor - $48.99 at Shuzu-AU Amazon AU TP-Link Tapo D210 2K 3MP Battery Video Doorbell Camera Wireless with Chime - $79 at JB Hi-Fi Sennheiser Accentum Wireless Headphones (Black/Copper Special Edition) + BTD600 BT Adapter - $105 at Amazon AU Anker Soundcore Sport X20 Earbuds - $112 at AnkerDirect Amazon AU REOLINK RLC-843A 4K PoE Security Camera with Spotlights - $132 at REOLINK store Amazon AU Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 25000 P03MI w/Colour Display - $158 at Mostly Melbourne Sony Linkbuds S Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds - $158 at Amazon AU Dreame Mova E20 Robot Vacuum and Mop - $179 at Dreame Official via Amazon AU Monster 2.1.2Ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar - $197 at JB-HiFi Kindle Paperwhite 16GB - $217 at Amazon AU Elgato Stream Deck Plus + XLR - Audio Mixer & Controller - $299 at Amazon AU DJI Osmo Action 4 Standard Combo - $299 at JB Hi-Fi Shark Cordless Detect Pro - $399 at MyDeal via Woolworths Marketplace Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Professional Reference Studio Headphones - $534 at digiDirect
Computing
ASUS Prime AP201 MicroATX Case at PC Case Gear Mesh White for $69 (OOS) Tempered Glass (Black or White) for $89 Kensington VeriMark Desktop Fingerprint Key - $71.61 at Amazon AU Razer Viper V2 Pro Black - $83.25 at Razer eBay ASUS RT-AX59U (AX4200) Dual Band WiFi 6 Extendable Router - $155 at Amazon AU Lenovo Legion R27qe 27-Inch QHD Monitor - $211 at Lenovo eBay Store Gmktec Nucbox M6 Minipc (Ryzen 5 6600h/16GB Ddr5/512GB SSD) - $419 at GMKtec_AUS via Amazon AU AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU - $584 at Amazon US via AU Terramaster F6-424 6-Bay NAS (N95, 8GB, 2x 2 NVMe, 2x 2.5g LAN) - $799 at TerraMaster Amazon AU TerraMaster F4-424 Pro 4-Bay NAS (i3-N305, 32GB RAM, 2x M.2 NVMe, 2x 2.5G LAN) - $848 at TerraMaster Amazon AU LG Ultragear 27" OLED 480Hz QHD Gaming Monitor - $1078 at Amazon AU Apple MacBook Air MC9H4X/A 15'/M3/8-Core CPU/10-Core GPU/24GB/512GB SSD (Space Grey) - $1799 at JB Hi-Fi MacBook Air 13" (M4 Chip) 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD - $1963 at Officeworks
Mobile
Samsung Galaxy A25 5G 128GB - $278 at Amazon AU iPhone 16 128GB on JB Hi-Fi Mobile $99/M 24M SIM Plan - $0 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 256GB after trade-in, Galaxy eVoucher, and if first purchase - $1611 at Samsung EDU (I wouldn’t usually put something like this in but it’s a pretty good deal) Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 or Z Flip7 on 24-Month $99/m SIM Plan - $1800 off/$1450 off at JB Hi-Fi (ditto)
# The End
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