The plan for TPG and Telstra to share mobile networks and implement roaming for their customers is officially dead. The ACCC rejected the concept earlier this year saying it would further undermine regional telecommunications network investment, so everyone expected TPG and Telstra to appeal the ACCC's decision in court and that's what the two telcos said they'd do. But today, in an ASX filing, TPG said that it "will not seek judicial review" and Telstra said in its own ASX filing it has "now considered the judgement and will not be appealing the decision". Will be interesting to see what TPG (aka Vodafone) does now in regards to beefing up its mobile network outside of metro areas in order to compete with Telstra and Optus.
Also in things never happening - the cage fight between Musk and Zuck. After a series of clearly bullshit posts on X from Musk claiming they'll be fighting in Italy, that "everything in the camera frame will be ancient Rome", money will go to support children's hospitals in Italy and that the Italian PM has given it support (she hasn't), plus earlier posts about a sore shoulder and an MRI or something, Zuck pretty much told Musk to fuck off. He posted on Threads that "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on" and "if Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously". Once again, Elon Musk has let me down.
The Internet Archive has been slapped with a lawsuit from UMG, Sony and Capitol, who have an issue with around 2,700 out of 400,000 records preserved and digitised by the IA's Great 78 Project. They argue that most of the music is "already available to stream or download from licensed online platforms" and "face no danger of being lost, forgotten, or destroyed", with the IA's preservation simply a rouse for wholesale piracy. Also, the Internet Archive has posted that after losing its court case against book publishers it will be making changes to its lending program. According to the court documents the publishers want all books "commercially available in any format" removed from the IA - which sounds bad, but in practice, we now have a precedent for things out of print. The New York Times has a good summary of what the case was about and where it's at now.
The Acoustic-Hearing Evaluation Unit (UNEVA) at the Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) is home to cutting edge research into hearing aid and implant technology. At the heart of the facility is a soundproofed room with variable reverberation that allows listening to be simulated in various sound environments thanks to its Genelec 8020 studio monitors. (Genelec)
📻 Fever - The Black Keys
😎 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.
🎁 Make someone's day and buy them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.
📚 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.