eSafety Commissioner gets power to force telcos to block internet content
PM visits G7 summit to get other countries onboard the online content blocking train
Group of men arrested for match fixing esports games
Running UniFi wireless networking gear at home is cool
Cheap 4TB portable HDD, iTunes gift cards, mechanical keyboard, UnixStickers, Optus & Boost prepaid SIMs, Google Home Minis, Lenovo Smart Clock, Samsung Tab S4, GoPro Hero7 Black, Yamaha soundbar, Google Home Max, Sony noise canceling headphones
We all thought the eSafety Commissioner was a joke, but the government has given it powers to force telcos into blocking content during "crisis events", to avoid a repeat of the awful live stream broadcast on Facebook by the perpetrator during the Christchurch terrorist attack. Alongside these new powers, "the government would also be establishing a 24/7 Crisis Coordination Centre to inform government agencies of "online crisis events" and aid the eSafety Commissioner to make a "rapid assessment" during such situations". The full government statement on this topic can be read here.
Meanwhile, over in France where the G7 summit is being held, our PM is lobbying the G7 countries to do similar online content blocking - which is weird as we aren't part of the G7 (he was invited by Emmanuel Macron) and the terrorist attack happened in NZ, not Australia. Anyways, plans to have "social media giants" like Snapchat, Google and Facebok sign the "Charter for an Open, Free, and Safe Internet" backfired after they were allegedly bullied by the Trump administration not to do it. Also at G7, Trump said that if France implements its "digital tax" plans that the USA will "be taxing their wine like they’ve never seen before".
Six men have been busted by Australia's first ever police investigation into esports match-fixing. "Police allege the men, from Victoria and Western Australia, arranged the outcomes of matches during a tournament, and placed bets on their own matches". The maximum punishment for "the offences of engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome, and use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes" is 10 years jail time - would be pretty rough to end up in jail for esports match fixing! Apparently Sportsbet lets you place bets on the outcome of esports matched. I had no idea.
Scott Hanselman has blogged about his joy of using Ubiquiti's UniFi wireless networking gear at home. I use UniFi at home too (3x 802.11n UAPs and a USG, would love to get a UniFi switch and some 802.11ac APs one day) and it's been running smoothly for years. I love that I can have a single wi-fi network name and my devices seamlessly roam between the closest access point for the strongest signal. That's really the killer UniFi feature for me. It's also great to use on remote sites, as you can host the management stuff in the cloud (i.e: with HostFi), making it perfect for installing at your parents house for example.
4TB Seagate portable HDD - $134.95 with the code PONY10 on eBay (free delivery for eBay Plus members)
15% off iTunes gift cards from PayPal's Digital Gifts store on eBay
Kogan's cheap mechanical keyboard (Outemu Blue switches & RGB backlit keys) is back for $39 with free delivery
Sample pack of 10 UnixStickers nerdy stickers for $1 from Sticker Mule
Optus $30 prepaid SIM for $15 and free delivery
Two Google Home Minis for $79 at JB
Boost Prepaid 12m prepaid kit with 80GB of data and unlimited calls/SMS - $140 at Big W
The Good Guys have a new eBay sale using the code PGUY15:
Lenovo Smart Clock - $84.15
GoPro HERO7 Black + Dry Bag - $423
Yamaha YAS-108B soundbar - $169.15
Google Home Max - $254.15
🎶 M.E. - Gary Numan
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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.