Just a quick heads up - there won’t be an issue of The Sizzle on Monday as it’s the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.

In This Issue

News

More info on Google’s gaming streaming service, Stadia

Google's let loose with more info on their game streaming service Stadia, prior to the E3 expo next week. The launch hardware is essentially a controller packed with wi-fi that receives the stream from Google's beefy servers and talks to a Chromecast ultra plugged in to a TV. There will be other ways to play coming in 2020, but for 2019 the only way to use Stadia is via this "Founder's Edition" kit. 1080p is free, but if you want 4K goodness, that'll cost ya US$9.99/m and will include some games, but if you want other games, they cost money on top. Oh and it's not coming to Australia. Probably because you need at a solid 35-40 Mbps internet connection.

Hackers installed malware into factory Android smartphone images to display fake ads & send spam

Google security researchers have verified that several Chinese Android device makers were hacked, malware inserted at the factory and sold to unsuspecting users. Some of the known devices infected include the "Leagoo M5 Plus, Leagoo M8, Nomu S10, and Nomu S20" - those too cheap to be true phones up on Aliexpress and stuff. The hackers were able to stuff their malware into Android OS libraries at the factory, which evaded detection when getting preloaded onto devices. What did this malware do? "Install apps that could be used to send spam and display ads", awesome.

Making convincing deepfake videos just got a little easier

Some big brains at Harvard have developed a system that makes creating a "deepfake" of a talking head way too easy. Here's a demo. You just type the words you want the person to say and the video will be modified to make it look for all intents and purpose as the person really said that. It's bad enough people (well, boomers) believed poorly Photoshopped memes that Bill Shorten's gonna implement a retiree tax and a death tax. Imagine the rate of boomers getting sucked in by this fucking voodoo magic.

Nvidia remasters Quake 2 with real-time ray tracing

To show off the real-time ray tracing capabilities of Nvidia's latest RTX series of graphics cards, Nvidia has remastered the legendary Quake 2 (from 1997!) to take advantage of the new technology. You need an Nidia RTX graphics card to take advantage of it (duh) and the game is free up on Steam for the first few levels, then US$5 for the entire game. If you don't have an RTX graphics card (i.e: 99% of us), here's a gameplay vid on YouTube. It's still looks old school but with way better and more realistic lighting.

Fair Work Commission says Uber drivers are not employees

After 2 years of investigation, the Fair Work Commission has declared that Australian Uber drivers are not employees. The key reason the FWC reckons Uber drivers aren't employees is that there's no "formal or operational obligation to perform work" as "Uber Australia drivers have control over whether, when, and for how long they perform work, on any given day or on any given week" - which employees do not. This sets a precedent for all the other "Uber but for (x)" businesses in Australia to keep on lowering worker's rights, fueled by technology.

Software Developer – Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)

Interested in using your tech skills to fight for workers' rights? The ACTU is looking for a Software Developer to join their data team based in Melbourne. You would be working across a wide range of technologies and projects, with plenty of opportunities to build tools to help the union movement campaign and grow.

More Detail

Sizzle subscribers paying for job ads is still a thing! If you’d like to let ~700 tech savvy Aussies know about your job vacancy, drop me a line.

Not News, But Still Cool

An attempt to understand Twitter trolls just demonstrates that arseholes are simply arseholes

Geraldine DeRuiter decided instead of ignoring misogynistic trolls on Twitter, or even arguing with them, that she will engage with them in the hope of learning something about why they do what they do. What she learned was that none of them considered themselves misogynists and when they're called out on it, double down on sexist insults and blame her for making them act that way. It's an unsatisfying read (you kinda hope these attackers would have a moment of clarity), but interesting to observe this pond scum in action.

Accurately plan an outdoor security camera install with this calculator

Planning on installing some security cameras but are confused about the different type and if they'll capture the area you need them to? IPVM V3 calculator will absolutely help. It's a big database of IP cameras that you can place onto Google Streetview to see the scene the camera would see. Means you can make sure the field of view is appropriate. No point getting a wide angle camera when you just want a specific area, as you'll lose a lot of image detail. Also no point getting a narrow angle when you want to capture general activity. Here's a quick tutorial on how to use it.

Cheap Nokia 5.1 Plus, Nokia 8.1, Samsung Galaxy S10+, Xbox One X, Audio Technica AT2020 mic

🎶 Smashing Pumpkins - I Am One

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong 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.​