This is the final issue for 2022! Have a merry Christmas, a happy new year, go touch some grass and I'll see ya on the 5th of Janurary, 2023.
Lots of Elon/Twitter news. It's like a car crash I can't look away from.
Western Australia has set up a Privacy Commissioner and has plans for a mandatory data breach notification scheme for all government departments and agencies. West Aussies will be able to complain to the commissioner if they "believe their personal data has been incorrectly handled or shared to complain and seek resolution" and once the mandatory data breach notification laws pass, will be similar to the laws NSW introduced a month ago. Ashurst Lawyers has an article about how the state data breach laws interact with the federal one - basically it covers all state run organisations (not private ones) that the federal law doesn't. Expect to see some major changes for private businesses once the federal government overhauls the Privacy Act next year.
AWS, Meta, Microsoft and TomTom have teamed up with the Linux Foundation to start the Overture Maps Foundation, in what looks like an attempt to break Google's dominance in the digital map space. I don't quite grok what's going on as I'm not an expert in cartography, but their FAQ says that "Overture is intended to be complementary to OSM. We combine OSM with other sources to produce new open map data sets. Overture data will be available for use by the OpenStreetMap community under compatible open data licenses. Overture members are encouraged to contribute to OSM directly". Also interesting that Apple and MapBox are not involved.
Before I sign off on the last issue for 2022 I wanted to highlight that The Sizzle's gross revenue (before expenses and tax) for 2022 so far is $63,411.46, an increase of 40% compared to last year. After 7 years of grinding away to get more subscribers this is the first year I've earned enough money from The Sizzle to cover my entire household's expenses. It is extremely unique for an Australian technology writer to do this while also being independent and ad-free. I'm proud of this and it's all possible thanks to the 1,279 paid subscribers like you that validate my work every day by plonking down your hard earned cash. You have no idea how grateful I am! Thanks and I hope the things I've got planned for 2023 continue to bring you value for money.
Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.
Moomba Festival, Melbourne (State Library Victoria)
📻 All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
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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.
