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Roomba goes broke, UK wants devices to detect and block nudes, Bondi follow-ups

Plus: some, ehem, hard numbers from P*rnhub about Linux on the desktop

Author

Cam Wilson
December 16, 2025

Edition 2473

Note: I know it seems crazy to censor P*rnhub in an email, but I’ve noticed that any mention of p*rn kills deliverability rates — presumably because it’s flagged by spam filters. There’s no escaping algorithms!

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The News

Roomba goes broke because it sucks compared to its Chinese competitors

The company behind the iconic Roomba robovac has filed for bankruptcy after it was disrupted by Chinese rivals (Yahoo). iRobot will sell its assets to its primary supplier, Chinese company Picea Robots, but otherwise its business and products will remain operational. iRobot created the robot vacuum industry in 2002 and was dominant until the early 2020s. Then, Chinese competitors like Ecovacs and Roborock completely undercut them with cheaper alternatives, which saw iRobot’s revenue halve from its 2021 peak of $2.4 billion in just three years. Also, a failed Amazon takeover bid didn’t help either.

The Sizzle: This is timely for me because I picked up a Lubluelu SL68 in recent sales and I’m really enamoured with the way the little guy bumps around my house.

Donny and Lubluelu have made peace with each other

The Verge has a great interview with iRobot’s cofounder, but it seems as if the problem is that the company made a bet about going upmarket — releasing a $1400 i7 in 2018 — without it being that much better than the good enough robovacs flooding the market. I was happy to take a punt on the Lubluelu for $120, and I’m not sure that having camera-based navigation would be that much more useful than its inferior LiDAR — certainly not at many times the price. If you’ve shelled out for a more expensive robovac (or a real Roomba), would love to hear about it!

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

UK wants Apple and Google to detect and block nudes on phones and computers

The UK is set to pressure Apple and Google to make users verify their age before devices can create or access explicit content (FT, $). Its Home Office is expected to “encourage companies to introduce” — but not require — OS-wide detection and protections for nudity. The point is to prevent any nudity being shown on a screen, or its cameras being used to capture, unless the user has proven they are an adult.

Some of these features already exist in different countries. In Australia, Apple will blur and show a warning in its own applications to child users if it detects nudity (Apple) but OS-wide features, including on computers, are unheard of.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

The gross online afterlife of the Bondi terrorist attack

Just a few other things that have come out of the online response to the Bondi terrorist attack:

  • In the first 24 hours or so, I was surprised that I didn’t see any AI-generated images or videos floating around. Since then, I’ve seen a little bit but still not much. (I did see real videos repurposed, claiming to show something that they didn’t but, again, that was not a majority of content). My guess is that’s because there was so much real-time footage that captured an uncomplicated narrative of two men carrying out a mass shooting.

  • Anytime there is widespread attention and money flowing into causes, scams and grifts follow. The most repugnant thing I saw is that someone created a shitcoin in the name of the 10-year-old girl who was killed. Abhorrent.

  • I’ve seen people sharing content second-hand that warns of plans to either retaliate against Muslims or to commit another attack. All of these are unverified and of unknown origin. It’s good to remember that in moments like this, people seek to exploit tensions by sharing bullshit. Don’t fall for it. If you see anything that is particularly worrying, take a deep breath and keep in mind that the vast majority of people are good who don’t want any more violence or hate.

Here’s the least offensive AI content I could find on the Bondi shooting (still pretty gross IMO)

Also I wrote about the saga of an AI-generated website spreading a lie about the Bondi attack hero that was slurped up and regurgitated by Grok in hours. IMO it’s a preview of a scary future where bad actors target AI bots, not people, with their misinformation.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Leftovers

Australia:

Rest of the world:

Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Oh, Also

Some, ehem, hard numbers from P*rnhub about Linux on the desktop

I’ve been writing a bit about Linux is gathering momentum. Now, another piece of evidence: Linux’s desktop share has increased by nearly a quarter in 2025 according to… P*rnhub! Their 2025 insights report has some pretty interesting reading, including some Australia-specific stats, but, really, we’re all here for the desktop OS data.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Bargains

Electrical & Electronics

Computing

Mobile

The End

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