SpaceX's big rocket launched from Boca Chica last night, but "experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation" about 4 minutes after escaping Earth's gravity. Starship was supposed to "reach an altitude of about 150 miles during a journey around the globe before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii" but multiple engines didn't fire, causing it to "lose altitude and begin to tumble", so when Starship (the bit at the top of the rocket, which shares the same name as the overall rocket/craft) attempted to separate from the Super Heavy booster, it spun out of control and exploded. SpaceX will try another launch "in a few months" according to Elon.
Queensland has beefed up their EV incentives. Instead of $3,000, you get $6,000 off the price of an EV, making it the most generous in the country. The price cap for eligible cars has increased to $68,000, as has the household income threshold which is now $180,000. Those who have already claimed the rebate as of July 1st 2022 can retroactively apply to get the extra $3,000. Combine this with the FBT exemption for EVs on a novated lease and it makes for a very attractive offer for Queenslanders. Meanwhile in Victoria, EV sales have dropped 2.1% this quarter compared to last quarter despite every other state recording double digit growth (90% in NSW, 80% in QLD, 147% in ACT).
A dude on the OCAU forums is building an 8-player LAN party in a box. It's literally a custom made metal box that has the guts of 8 computers in it, each with their own 1U PSU and GPU. The idea is to chuck it in the middle of a room, surround it with tables, plug in monitors, keyboards and mice and game away. I don't even know what games you can play on a local network these days, but I like the idea of crazy computer setups that seem absurd at first, but fill niche use cases like this bloke's multi-player gaming dreams.
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.
A cool business card given to me by legendary hacker Kevin Mitnick after a media event at CeBIT 2015, back when I got invited to media events.
📻 Aerial Love - Daniel Johns
😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.
💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.
👋 Forums not your thing? The Sizzle has a Slack group you can procrastinate in and chat with other nerds bored at work.
💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the customer portal.
📚 Browse The Sizzle Archive. A few issues are missing and it's not searchable, but it's better than nothing.
🫂 Friends of The Sizzle is a small group of businesses or organisations operated by Sizzle subscribers. Support your fellow Sizzler!
💔 Tired of my bullshit? Unsubscribe and I'll never speak to you again.
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.