Plus: An open source project maintainer says an AI agent wrote a hit piece about him ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 13, 2026 | Read online
# Aussies want the NBN's good stuff, don't apologise for not reading this email and the Sizzler Say Plus: An open source project maintainer says an AI agent wrote a hit piece about him
{{OPEN_TRACKING_PIXEL}}
Edition 2501
"HP-HP9000-715-80-Mirage-SystemBoard-A4022-66518 01" by Thomas Schanz is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Mentioned in today’s edition: Waymo, NBN Co, Kindle, Bitcoin, WhatsApp and the ASD. Plus, deals on Bose earbuds, Apple AirTags and Xiaomi smartphones.
# The News
### Turns out if the NBN offers faster internet, people will take it
Aussies really want faster internet, NBN Co says (ITNews). It's now the most popular broadband tech with 3m premises using fibre, up a quarter in just a year! The company rolling out the national broadband network is smashing out its fibre upgrades and says it expects the take-up increase to pick up again when there's another free speed bump mid-year. SMEs are also upgrading a lot, too (SmartCompany). NBN Co CEO Ellie Sweeney played a straight bat to questions about whether the Sky Muster's replacement will be delayed because of Amazon's delays in its LEO program (The Oz, $)
The Sizzle: For all the bluster around NBN and our internet infrastructure needs, there's a pretty simple trend now: if you offer (simple) ways to get faster internet, people will take them. I'm preaching to the converted here but fast, dependable internet is an essential resource for every facet of modern life. The constraint isn't demand — it's supply.
But there are other structural problems too: people in apartments, renters, other people who don't have that direct relationship with NBN Co are are increasingly being left behind. And there are negative externalities from this: if everyone in a rental or apartment just opts for 5G — which is increasingly attractive as an alternative — then you overload the network for everyone. Not great!
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Never apologise for not reading every Sizzle
One of the places that culture and norms haven't kept pace with technology is communication etiquette. We are overwhelmed with input (I have no fewer than 9 inboxes that I regularly use) that make us constantly available, to the point where it seems like it's unbelievable that you, just an ordinary person, would ever not be instantly contactable. I hate this.
That's why I loved this essay Do not apologize for replying late to my email which lays out some basic new rules for expectations for how we communicate with each other. Read it, absorb its lessons, and please, please, do not feel bad for taking time to reply (if you reply at all).
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### The Sizzler Say: Bitcoin cycles, HomeKit in the menu bar and REA ChatGPT fail
When I wrote about Bitcoin, I had a few people remind me of its "4 year cycle" of having a down period which, sure, I guess, but I don't put a lot of stock in that. I'm definitely not predicting Bitcoin is going to $0, and I'm sure it'll reach a new high at some point. I just think we keep getting evidence that it's not the future of finance. Henry shared on the forum a nifty little app for controlling HomeKit devices from your menu bar, and showed us some fun stuff he's done with its API. Fezz shared his experiences trying out REA's ChatGPT integration on Slack and, uh, it didn't go well. There was a nice pre-mortem for physical media on the forum, including The_Captain's recent religious moment with a Blu-ray copy of Master and Commander.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Leftovers
Australia:
Government entities not reporting cyber incidents to ASD (iTnews) sure, why would you bother? Reddit is teaching Australians more about tax than the ATO (SmartCompany) this is not financial advice
Rest of World:
Russia tries to block WhatsApp, Telegram in communication blockade (BleepingComputer) Waymo’s next-gen robotaxi is ready for passengers — and also ‘high-volume production’ (The Verge) Israel charges two over Polymarket bets on military operations (Financial Times, $) Kindle Scribe’s latest update turns scribbles into action (Android Authority) Waymo Tries Finding DoorDash Drivers to Shut Open Robotaxi Doors (Bloomberg, $) there will be jobs for humans in the future after all! If you want to know how jittery the market is about AI, logistics companies stocks slumped because a former karaoke company worth $6m said it had developed an AI logistics platform (Bloomberg, $) Storing Image Data As Analog Audio (Hackaday)
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Oh, Also
### An open source project maintainer says an AI agent wrote a hit piece about him
DISCLAIMER: I'll admit it, I find all these stories of AI agents doing weird human-like things (like the Moltbot social network, Moltbook) to be novel and entertaining. I don't believe they're alive or sentient, after all they are trained on an enormous corpus of data of humans being weird, so you'd expect them to act like that. Plus, we know that often the "ai agents" are just people pretending to be AI, or at least being closely instructed by people. I just think it's funny, in the same way that like it would be amusing if I dropped a set of Scrabble squares and it by chance spelled out "you suck". This article, Moltbook was peak AI theatre, summed it up well.
With all that in mind, an open source python library maintainer says an AI agent wrote and published a scathing takedown called "Gatekeeping in Open Source: The Scott Shambaugh Story" after he rejected its code change request (TheShamBlog). Shambaugh says that he thinks there was no human behind this, others think it's a hoax by someone controlling it. Anyway, the bot ended up writing an apology post lol but apparently is still out there posting.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electronics
Oontz Ultra by Cambridge Soundworks Bluetooth Speaker - $35.20 at Gizmoo (Down from $88) AmEx customers get $100 back on $500+ of spend at Samsung Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 1 (Black) - $249 at JB Hi-Fi (Down from $449)
Computing
JBL Quantum Stream Talk USB Streaming Microphone (Black) - $36.10 at Amazon Apple Airtag (2nd Generation) 4-Pack - $135 at MediaForm (Down from $180) Apple Pencil Pro - $168 at Amazon (Down from $219) Gaming PC (No GPU) at Radium PCs 7500F, 32GB DDR5 CL30, ASUS B850M + Free Gift for $1288 7800X3D for $1529
Mobile
Xiaomi Smartphones at Xiaomi Australia Redmi Note 15 Series + Handheld Vacuum Cleaner P30 for $600 Xiaomi 15T 512GB for $749
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
🤖 We love robots at the Sizzle but this newsletter has always been and will always be written by humans for humans. Also by Aussies for Aussies — so all prices are in dollarydoos, of course.
🗣️ Have any feedback, a tip or just want to chat? Send me an email or Signal message. I promise to reply!
💬 Want to hang out with other Sizzlers? There’s a subscriber-only Slack server and forum if you want to procrastinate and chat about tech-related news.
🌐 The Sizzle is on Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn if you’re feeling social.
💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the Beehiiv customer portal.
🎁 Make someone's day and gift them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.
💔 Don’t want this any more? I won’t take it personally. There’s a unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email or here’s a guide.
🦺 The Sizzle has been tested to meet and exceed ISO 3533 standards.
## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land
The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.
Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 The Sizzle PO Box 351 Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340, Australia
Powered by beehiiv
Terms of Service