| Issue 2336 - Wednesday 21 May 2025 | | The News | Google’s AI fest introduces search changes, Chrome features and return of the Google glasses | Google just wrapped its big developers conference today (WIRED, $). There were a lot of AI promises (or bullshit, to some, but at least some new things that are either here now or interesting. Here are the highlights: | Google’s big money maker — search — is going all-in on AI. You’ll see its AI summaries on more searches and a new tab, AI Mode, which is essentially a chatbot interface (Google). Google glasses are back! A lot has changed in the decade since the company was essentially shamed into dropping its smart glasses, and now Google is showing off a demo of the Android XR as a competitor to the Meta and Snap offerings with a display, camera and, of course, plenty of AI (Engadget). Relatedly, Google’s Sergey Brin: ‘I made a lot of mistakes with Google Glass’ (TechCrunch). Chrome will now offer to change your leaked passwords for you, which is a nice little feature that I’ve been surprised that it didn’t have in the past (Lifehacker). And if you’re an AI sicko, the company also announced new image and video generating tools (TechCrunch); as well as a new way to use Gemini to watch your camera in real time so it can interact with what it can see (Google). Google also dropped a demo of an always-on-agentic-AI thing called Project Astra which, honestly, 🤷 (The Verge).
| No time to go into any of this at depth today, but we’ll have a chance to look more critically at this stuff in future Sizzles. |  | Google I/O '25 Keynote |
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| Many young people wish they grew up without the internet. It doesn’t have to be this way | About half of UK young people say they wish they could be young in a world without the internet (The Guardian). The survey, done by a not-for-profit, also captured that more than two-thirds of the 16-21 year olds feel bad after using the internet. Some of the answers I don’t think are particularly troubling, like 42% saying they lie about their age online, but this survey suggests that being young on the internet sucks at the moment.
Why I say “at the moment” is because I’m optimistic that the internet doesn’t have to be this way. We’ve never had a more centralised internet, controlled by a few foreign billionaires, funded by a business model that’s contrary to our wellbeing. This is one of the reasons that people want to ban teens from social media, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We should be building an internet that makes people feel good about using it — for our children and for ourselves. | Robot. Vacuum. Arm. Robot. Vacuum. Arm | Yes!!! Yes!!!!!!! Yes!!! It’s gadget time!!!!!!! The Verge has a review of the Roborock Saros Z70 a.k.a. the robot vacuum with an arm (The Verge). And, spoilers, it’s cool as hell!!!!!! The Z70 will pick up items up to 300 grams in weight — things like discarded socks and scrunched up paper — and put them in a designated bin. The review reckons it has an 80% success rate of picking stuff and putting it away and, if that fails, has a manual control option like you’re operating a Mars rover from Earth. For $3,699, it’s pretty spenny (Roborock) and I won’t be getting one any time soon but I’m actually excited for this concept. Tech should be weird and different and have new arms, not just the same chatbot that makes up stuff 10% of the time. |  | Roborock’s New Saros Z70 Robovacuum with Robotic Arm |
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| Leftovers | eSafety receives final draft industry codes to protect children from porn and other high-impact content (eSafety) Outcome of review of Australian satellite filing procedures (ACMA) Pair jailed for using dating app Grindr to launch spree of robberies of gay men in Sydney (The Guardian Australia) EV lobby demands financial penalties as broken public chargers fail drivers (The Driven) Ayres arrives: New minister vows to link up policy, ditch ‘dogma’ (InnovationAus, $) Victoria looks to AI ahead of public sector ‘right-sizing’ (InnovationAus, $) Fortnite is finally back on US iPhones (Apple Insider) Amazon reportedly working on foldable device for 2027 (The Shortcut) How 3D printing is personalizing health care (Ars Technica) VanHelsing ransomware builder leaked on hacking forum (BleepingComputer) Edit is now open source (Microsoft Blog) KrebsOnSecurity Hit With Near-Record 6.3 Tbps DDoS (KrebsonSecurity) Apple to Open AI Models to Developers, Betting That It Will Spur New Apps (Bloomberg, $) The Agentic Web and Original Sin (Stratechery) Can Sam Altman Be Trusted with the Future? (New Yorker) France barred Telegram founder Pavel Durov from traveling to US (Politico) The world’s top EV battery maker pulled off 2025’s biggest IPO. Here’s what to know (Rest Of World) Sweden bans buying OnlyFans content (Euractiv) Making Video Games in 2025 (without an engine) (Noel Berry)
| | Oh, Also | I’m smitten with this Bindicator | Speaking of Gadgets and Gizmos, I love this “Bindicator”, a programmable, light-up bin-shaped reminder to take your bins out (Bindicator). It lights up with the colours of the bins you need to take out that day, and you tap it on the lid when the job’s done.
It’s designed and assembled in Sydney, a reasonable price, and, importantly, it’s really cute. It’s sold out at the moment but will be back in stock soon and is not too expensive ($40). And it can display alerts for 32 different bins, so even you people who live in local government areas with a full rainbow of options can use it. |  | I don’t need a Bindicator — I think dads are biologically hardwired to remember bin day — but I do want one |
| | Bargains | General | | Electrical & Electronics | | Computing | | Mobile | | | The End | 😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius. | 🗣️ 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. |
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