# In This Issue

- Secret recording of Zuck off-script during Facebook staff Q&A session

- GoPro releases new Hero 8 Black action cam & Max 360-degree cam

- EU court lays down the law regarding cookies & user consent

- If you don’t like what Google News is saying about you, just put out your own news to drown it out

- Cheap Sphero toys, Yamaha soundbar, Xiaomi powerbank, Boost pre-paid, Dell XPS 13, Bunnings smart plugs, Nikon camera cleaning

# News

#### Secret recording of Zuck off-script during Facebook staff Q&A session

Mark Zuckerberg recently held a town hall style meeting with a bunch of Facebook employees, where they could candidly discuss what's on their mind with the big boss. Someone recorded audio of that meeting and The Verge got their hands on it. Probably the most interesting thing Zuck said is that if Elizabeth Warren becomes President of the US next year and she follows through with her plan to break up big tech companies, that Facebook will be sucked into a legal fight with the US government it doesn't want to enter in to as he reckons Warren is an "existential" threat to Facebook. Zuck also discusses that if he wasn't the majority shareholder, he would probably have been fired and reports of moderator trauma are "a little overdramatic". Here's a full transcript and some audio if you're keen for some off-the-leash Zuck.

#### GoPro releases new Hero 8 Black action cam & Max 360-degree cam

GoPro has shown off their latest attempt to remain relevant in a world where smartphone cameras are awesome for video and decent GoPro clones are cheaper than ever. The Hero 8 Black is the GoPro you know and love, with better image quality and so on, but now they've added "mods" like a higher-quality microphone, a small (but powerful) LED light, and a flip-up display. Looks like an attempt to appeal vloggers (i.e: people that should write a damn blog post instead of making me look at their face for 30 minutes) by giving them an all-in-one kit. Also announced is the GoPro Max, a 360-degree camera. I haven't seen a 360-degree video in a while, but I reckon they're still cool. The Hero 8 Black goes on sale mid-October for $599 and the Max will be available late-October for $799.

#### EU court lays down the law regarding cookies & user consent

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the EU's highest court) has declared it illegal to use cookies without user consent and that websites have to get active consent to store data on a user's device. From the court's press release: "consent must be specific so that the fact that a user selects the button to participate in a promotional lottery is not sufficient for it to be concluded that the user validly gave his or her consent to the storage of cookies" - which I interpret as simply having an "I Agree" button for storing cookies on a device isn't enough. Lots of people in the ad-tech game over in Europe currently running around with their pants on fire right now I imagine.

# Not News

#### If you don’t like what Google News is saying about you, just put out your own news to drown it out

Boris Johnson's PR hacks may have figured out a way to drag his gaffes off the top of Google searches. In this example, a model called Jennifer Arcuri claimed to have had an affair with the new British PM, driving the tabloids wild. To try and drown this unfortunate news out, Boris held a press conference and talked some shit about how he is a "model of restraint" regarding Brexit negotiations. The use of the word model has twisted Google News to show articles about this press conference when people search for "boris johnson model", instead of the articles about his alleged affair with a model. It could be an amazing coincidence (as this Wired article reckons), but now that the theory is out there, I can imagine many politicians having a crack at manipulating the Google News algorithm.

# Bargains

- Various Sphero toys/kits (SPRK, BOLT, Ollie) on sale at Australian Geographic

- Yamaha YAS-108B soundbar - $175 from Amazon AU

- Xiaomi Power Bank 2S 10000mAh - $14.95 from Apus Express eBay store

- Boost 12m 80GB pre-paid SIM kit - $135 from Cellmate

- Dell XPS 13 (i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, FHD, Rose Gold) - $1299 delivered from Dell's eBay store

- Bunnings is clearing out these Brilliant Smart wi-fi plugs with built-in USB chargers for $10 each

- Got a Nikon DSLR/mirrorless camera that needs a good sensor clean? Digital Camera Warehouse in Northcote (VIC) will clean it for free

🎶 Good to Me - The White Stripes

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

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.​