Spotify gives Joe Rogan a big bag of money to get exclusive distribution of his podcast
COVIDSafe gets its first notified contact in VIC whilst NSW isn’t even enabled to use it, maybe
Interesting Windows stuff from Microsoft’s Build 2020 conference
Ubiquiti’s SunMAX SolarSwitch is a PoE ethernet switch & solar MPPT combo for off-grid computing
Cheap refurb HP i5-4570 PC, AiPods, HomePod, Telstra discount for JobSeekers, Sonos Arc pre-order bonus, Unreal game pack, Jira training from Atlassian
Spotify has landed a fresh podcasting whale onto the deck of its cashed up boat - Joe Rogan. They're giving Joe over US$100m to make his podcast exclusive to Spotify's platform. No more full length YouTube videos, no more RSS feed. The deal kicks off September 1st and will be fully exclusive "later in 2020". It sucks to see popular podcasts lock themselves in with content distributors and adds to the list of shows I won't be able to get in Pocketcasts. Long term it can't be good, but I wouldn't turn down $100m to talk shit into a microphone with some interesting people, so who am I to judge?
After being available to download for almost a month and installed by 5.5m people, COVIDSafe finally had its first meaningful use on Monday. A Victorian infected with COVID-19 had the app installed and the state health department used it to augment their traditional contact tracing method and inform additional close contacts that they should self-isolate. Too bad if you're in NSW though, as their chief health officer said they are "evaluating" COVIDSafe, only received training on how to access the data it collects last week and are still unable to integrate the federal government's data into their existing contact tracing methods. But in a statement since, the NSW health department said “members of that team [contact tracers] can and have accessed app data”.
Microsoft's Build conference is taking place this week (online only thanks to the rona) and there's been a few interesting announcements regarding Windows. Project Renunion is Microsoft's attempt to combine win32 and UWP so devs can build a single Windows app regardless of version/device. A new addition to PowerToys brings a "Run Launcher" to Windows 10 that's like a souped up version of macOS's Spotlight. Windows Subsystem for Linux v2 is adding GUI app support and GPU hardware acceleration, allowing for running Linux GUI apps side by side with Windows apps (hell is now colder than the dark side of the Moon). The final thing that caught my interest was a preview of Windows Package Manager. Build also had loads of Office 365 and Azure news too if you’re into that kinda thing. The Build Book of News is a great way to keep on top of all the Build announcements.
I recently discovered that Ubiquiti sell a ~$370 ethernet switch with a built-in solar MPPT called the SunMAX SolarSwitch & SolarPoint. You plug in a solar panel (10-60V & 10A max input), connect a 24V battery, connect your gear over PoE and off you go. The SolarSwitch's user interface is quite nice too, so you can monitor and configure battery voltages from a computer. Get a PoE enabled Raspberry Pi combined with a PoE 4G modem like the Telco T1 and you've got a robust standalone internet connected computer that can work anywhere.
Refurbished HP EliteDesk 800 G1 small form factor PC (i5-4570, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD) - $299 delivered from Amazon AU via Bufferstock
2nd-gen Apple AirPods with charging case - $195 + delivery at Umart
Apple Homepod speaker - $298 + delivery at Catch
$10-$20/m off your Telstra bill if you're currently on the JobSeeker Centrelink payment
Pre-order a Sonos Arc soundbar and get an Amazon Echo Show 8 for free from Amazon AU
Unreal 2, Unreal Gold, Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Tournament 3 and Unreal Tournament GOTY - $4 from Gamersgate UK
Atlassian’s Jira training materials that normally cost $300-$400 each (wtf) are now free
🎶 Tomorrow and the Next Day - Something for Kate
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