Issue 660

Monday, 18th June 2018

In This Issue

News

Optus' World Cup streaming service crapped the bed again

Optus is copping shit from soccer fans unable to watch the World Cup. Optus' collection of apps is the only way to watch every game of the World Cup and it seems like they've failed to provision enough bandwidth and server capacity to handle all the traffic from the Australians wanting to watch the biggest sporting event in the world. The Optus CEO is very, very sorry and is working very, very hard to fix the problems. For those struggling with Optus' garbage, try the official FIFA app and enter your Optus details or visit /r/soccerstreams if you don't mind being a bit dodgy. Just to rub a little more salt in the wound, Americans can watch the World Cup in HDR 4K on their streaming service...

Theranos founder & crony get criminal charges and could end up in jail

Old mate Elizabeth Holmes and her buddy Ramesh Balwani have been "charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud" - pretty solid crimes you go to to prison for. The charges stem from their constant lying to doctors and investors about Theranos' blood test tech, which never worked. As much as it sucks to have this happen in the first place, it is wonderful to see some startup bullshit artists possibly face time in prison. These new criminal charges are on top of the $500,000 in fines she paid the SEC, all the (worthless) Theranos shares she returned and the 10 years period where she can't legally run a public company.

Huawei sends letter to every federal MP explaining all the ways it isn't a traitor

After last week's government attacks towards Huawei, the Chinese telecommunication gear giant has hit back in an attempt to make sure it's allowed to compete in tenders for upcoming 5G networks in Australia. Huawei has published a letter it has sent to to every federal MP, explaining how it totally is not a pawn of the Chinese communist regime, 100% does not spy on its customers or send secret info back to China and points to independent security evaluation programs in the UK, Canada and NZ as proof Huawei gear should be used in Australia too. Huawei also published a 40-page brochure about all the Australian companies it has already infiltrated using its gear. I get the feeling that current and future governments are so keen not to look like they're giving an inch to any Chinese interests, that they'll ban Huawei from government contracts as it's an easy score.

NSW state government throws $10m at robocar trials

The NSW state government will set aside $10m in the 2018-2019 budget to fund more robocar trials. One of the things this cash will be used for is to further an extend a driverless shuttle trial from the confines of Olympic Park to "run on the Sydney orbital network including the Lane Cove Tunnel, The Hills M2 Motorway, Westlink M7, the M5, and the Eastern Distributor" and "the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour tunnel" - sounds like unrealistic hype to me, but god speed NSW government! The end game for the government is to set up on-demand bus services where these robo shuttles come pick you up on demand and act pretty much like Uber Line, just without a person driving the car. Yonks away, but these Liberal fucks are busting for this sorta thing so they can get their rocks off sacking every government paid bus driver in NSW.

Trump announces 25% tariff on Chinese electronics imported to USA

Trump has let loose that the USA will slap a 25% tariff on $50 billion of goods from China related to "industrially significant technologies" - a list of which are on the United States Trade Representative's website. In that list are "components used in electronics manufacturing, specifically naming touchscreens, batteries, and electric motors", as well as things like transistors and other parts used to make electronic devices. Smartphones aren't on the list and neither are TVs, so it seems like anyone in the USA making stuff from Chinese components get stung with a 25% tariff, but not if you just import a completed product from China?

Not News, But Still Cool

Wiby lets you search for old internet sites

Wiby is a search engine for old school websites. I don't know what precisely makes a website "classic", but the about page for Wiby says that it looks for sites without "bloated scripts that add slick cosmetic features" and seeks out home made websites by hobbyists. Like how the internet was back in the 90s. I miss those days, but man, they are long gone. Everyone on the web wants to make a buck or be famous (or both), even me. That's why you pay me for this bullshit and I don't do it for free.

SimpleMining, a Linux distro just for cryptocurrency mining

Still interested in mining some cryptocurrencies? (I won't rat you out for stealing it from your employer, hate the game not the player yo) Check out SimpleMining, it's a Linux distro dedicated to cryptocurrency mining. Install it on your rig, make a few tweaks in a text file and bam, you're quickly on your way to a stress free passive income. It's free to try out, then there's a $2/m fee per rig you run it on. Make sure you get the right distro to match the GPUs (AMD/Nvidia) you're using!

Too much cheap stuff to list in a single line

Loads of bargains in today's Good Guys sale on eBay. Use the code P20TGG. Prices here don't include delivery as you can pick the items up from your local Good Guys store to save money:

Heaps of bargains elsewhere today too:

That's it, see ya tomorrow!
--Anthony

Something For Kate - Captain (Million Miles an Hour)