Less Gravity, More Personality

Letās skip the iPhone launch chat. Youāve heard about that everywhere, Iām sure.
Iām planning a special edition to round up the state of phones at the moment very soon. Seems a good time off the back of iPhones and the new Android 10 launch.
Cameras really seem to be driving the evolution of smartphones right now. And thatās largely a good thing. As much as thatās a question of photos and videos, itās also the future of Augmented Reality. The cameras, along with other sensors, deliver the quality of an AR experience.
But a lot of it comes down to software, so iOS 13 and Android 10 are the big boosts to phone values. iPhone owners know they get the upgrade unless they have a super old phone. Android phone users not so much.
Anyway, Iāll save that chat for another newsletter.
Today I put out an open call to mentor anyone who wants to do āmore and betterā with their writing, talking, whatever-ing journalistic type work. I realised I miss being part of an edit team and thought this is a good way to capture my favourite part of it all - helping a team to do their best work.
If you think that might be you, get in touch. DM via Twitter is a best place to start. Or just reply to this email! We can kick it off from there!
Previously on Byteside...
It's really Tim Cook's Apple now
It felt weird to not have a Jony Ive voiceover wrapping the new iPhone in a warm blanket of feelings, but then I realised it shows that weāve entered a truly new era of Appleās public persona.
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5 things I learned about capturing new memories while scanning old photos
I recently tested the Epson FastFoto FF-680W photo scanner. It is a really great machine, but my favourite part was what it told me about how I want to take pictures from now on to make 80-year-old Seamus happier about the photos he gets to look back on.
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Zac and Luke from 'I Speak Giant'
Had a great chat with these two likely lads on The Game Table about their liveplay D&D show and working with Wizards of the Coast on a special campaign in the lead up to the launch of the new book, Descent Into Avernus.
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Going back a month, I had a great catch up with Jaime Lawrence from Good Games who was at GenCon 2019. Now I want to go next year too.
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Hereās that open call on Twitter if you want to catch the thread.
I really miss having a team to mentor. If you love writing / talking about tech / games / digital culture and would like to chat and bounce thoughts about how to do it more and better, DM me.
Yay, Smart People!
Crops under solar panels are a win-win
Smart design, smart resource management, smarty pants effort all round. Thereās even a reduction in water usage through this combo concept.
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New prosthetic legs let amputees feel their foot and knee in real-time
Improved walking capacity, reduction in phantom pains. And itās just a modified regular prosethetic with some new sensors and electrodes. Early days, but just great to see clever advancements in sensory feedback in prosethetics.
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Why electric vehicles could kill the market for household batteries
Headline sounds negative, but itās an overall win as EV cars will perform the role of household power storage as well as being a car. Reminds me of how Back To The Future was originally written with a time machine in the basement of Doc Brownās house. Only later did they change it to a Delorean and thus one of the greatest movies ever found its mojo.
EVs are the Delorean in this story.
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Australia's main grid hits new peak of 41 per cent wind and solar
Hereās another juicy nugget from Renew Economy. Wind and solar hit new record share of output in Australiaās main grid last Saturday.
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Too Cool

I kinda love this. Feels like a proper 'Polaroid' concept.
What 1967 Thought 1999 Was Going To Look Like
I love these historic āthis is the futureā videos. This one has some great hits and misses. I love that the kid attends school twice a week and gets the rest of his education from an online learning centre.
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Interrogator Cyberpunk Cosplay Helmet Is Seriously Badass
It really is.
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Former Donkey Kong champ threatens to sue Guinness over record removal
Billy Mitchell, the pantomime videogame villain we deserve, dumps a 156-page āevidence packageā in attempt to prove his innocence.
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