NEWS
TIO is handling a massive number of complaints about the NBN
The TIO has come out and said that there's been a massive increase in the amount of complaints about the NBN. Between July 2015 and June 2016, there's been 112,518 complaints made, a 147% increase compared to the same time last year. People in regional areas are having a shit time with the NBN too, particularly those on the satellite service. I wonder how many of those people voted for the Libs and are now complaining about their shitty copper based NBN?
Discuss
Facebook fesses up to errors in advertising stats
Facebook's bad PR week got a little worse today, after it announced some of the stats it was using to get people to advertise on its platform were miscalculated. Stats for the weekly and monthly reach of marketers' posts, the number of full video views and time spent with publishers' Instant Articles have all been incorrect for a while. Facebook said they're looking into ways to offer independent third party validation of the metrics they provide.
Discuss
Twitter banned some alt-right "leaders"
Twitter decided to ban heaps of "alt-right" accounts yesterday in an attempt to clean up their service and make it more palatable. I don't recognise the names of any of the accounts binned, but apparently they were mega jerks and harassing people, so Twitter just, got rid of them. Apparently some social media network called Gab is where all the alt-right people are flocking to.
Discuss
NSA boss reckons Wikileaks was a pawn in a nation-state influencing the US election
The head of the NSA has said that a "nation-state" *cough* Russia *cough* used Wikileaks to influence (successfully it seems) the US election. Thats, kinda scary. The world's supposedly strongest democracy was able to be subverted by the Russia, via Wikileaks. The NSA hasn't provided any proof of this, but you don't go around, on stage, in your military uniform, saying this sort of shit unless you believe it.
Discuss
Google Earth is now available for HTC Vive VR headsets
For you lucky owners of a HTC Vive headset and a powerful computer to use it with, there's now Google Earth available in VR. Strap on your headset and explore the world! Most of the world is still a flat map, but some bits are full 3D and you're able to virtually fly around numerous landmarks. This is the start of humanity's attempt to create a virtual copy of the real world, so we never have to leave our hibernation pods, right?
Discuss
COOL SHIT
SpaceX might be launching 4,400 satellites to cover the Earth in internet access
There's a theory going around that SpaceX is gonna make a massive fuck off satellite internet service, like Iridium but for half-decent internet access. This came about due to someone finding an FCC filing for a 4,400 satellite (yes, 4,400 satellites) constellation to carry internet services. There's a thread on the SpaceX reddit and on Hacker News spitballing theories as to how 4,400 satellites providing internet access to every square millimeter of the planet will work. It also creates a very nice way for SpaceX to demonstrate their reusable rockets, "wow look how cheap we're getting all these satellites up here! Let us put your satellite in orbit!". Providing internet access to everyone in the world, or selling the company that begins that process (Google would love it), would give them enough cash to go to Mars too - which you assume is Elon's life mission and end game here.
Discuss
Despite losing its bezel, the Mi Mix is pretty tough
JerryRigEverything has taken his sharp implements and strong thumbs to the new Xiaomi Mi Mix - you know, that cool looking phone with almost no bezel and the ceramic back? According to him, it's a very well constructed phone. What surprised him the most was that the back of the phone, which is shinier and glossier than the iPhone 7 Jet Black, is extremely resistant to scratching due to the ceramic construction. Unlike the Jet Black iPhone that'll get scratched with the slightest touch.
Discuss
20% off eBay tech stores & cheap 10TB HDDs
eBay has another 20% off tech sale. There's nothing particularly amazing I've noticed, but a good time to stock up on microSD cards or USB flash drives. Dell has the Inspiron 11 3000 laptop (which I own and enjoy) on sale for just $320. And unrelated to the eBay sale, B&H over in New York is selling a 10TB Seagate HDD for just $573, delivered to AU, bout $100 less than any local stock.
Discuss
Here endeth the sizzle (until tomorrow!)
--Anthony
The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Today's subject line is from 3 a.m., by Eminem. Like The Sizzle? Like it on Facebook!