Microsoft’s all-new version of Edge now available for all platforms
4,000 premises less than 25km from capital city GPOs are stuck on NBN’s satellite service
Games and subscriptions are how mobile apps made money in 2019
Monitor your home’s power consumption without paying an electrician
Cheap 75" 4K TV, 16" MacBook Pro, Blue Yeti USB mic, 20% off Crumpler bags
Microsoft's new Chromium-based version of the Edge web browser is now available to download for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. I just tried Edge out on my Mac and it looks and works fine to me. On Windows it's supposed to support emulating Internet Explorer for those shit websites that don't play along with modern browsers. The 1Password extension is basically the Chrome extension, so much so that 1Password emailed me to say there's been a new login from a device running Chrome. Edge also supports multi-user profiles, that's nice. Meanwhile, Mozilla/Firefox sacked 70 people seemingly at random last night.
A freedom of information request lodged by Ry Crozier at iTnews has found that there's over 4,000 premises and 1,000 users less than 25km away from a capital city GPO, with NBN's Sky Muster satellite service their only option. 25km from the CBD of a capital city is like, a 30 minute drive! That deserves more than pissweak satellite - fixed wireless at least. If all the 4,000 eligible users migrate to Sky Muster when their existing service is cut off, it would be a massive burden for the already slow and unreliable satellite service, further eroding the quality of access those in genuinely remote areas put up with. Classic NBN antics.
App Annie's annual "State of Mobile" report reckons that there were 204 billion app downloads and US$120b of cash spent on apps, subscriptions and other in-app purchases in 2019. Games make up 72% of that spend, with the rest coming mostly from subscriptions. 94% and 79% of the top 250 apps on iOS and Android respectively generated their revenue from subscriptions. China is still the biggest market for app spending, with 40% of revenue coming from that massive market. I could go on for ages regurgitating the stats in App Annie's report, go check it out yourself if you're interested in how people use smartphone apps, how they make money and what types of apps make money.
If you're after a cheap way to monitor your home's power consumption, check out Powerpal. Unlike other home energy usage systems, Powerpal doesn't require and expensive electrician to come to your house and install CT clamps on your incoming power supply - it takes advantage of the flashing usage LED on your smart meter to measure your billable consumption. The app looks half decent and the whole thing is $129, pretty cheap compared to other turnkey systems on the market. A Sizzle subscriber informed me about Powerpal (I don't think they have a connection to it, they're just a happy customer) and I liked the look of it, but I haven't used it myself.
EKO 75” 4K TV with Netflix & YouTube built-in - $899 at Big W
Take an extra 20% off sale items on Crumpler’s website
16” MacBook Pro (512GB SSD, 16GB RAM) is $3499 at CentreCom, but you can get Officeworks to price match it down to $3324
Blue Yeti USB microphone - $129 at Mwave
🎶 Better in the Shed - Cosmic Psychos
😁 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.