Plus: someone has brought Clippy back to life ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

May 07, 2025 | Read online
# Apple app makers taking back 30%, Europe to ban crime coins, GTA6 and Half-Life 3 soon? Plus: someone has brought Clippy back to life
Issue 2326 - Wednesday 7 May
Congratulations to Stilgherrian and bacco007 for being the first people to notice that I updated the newsletter template footer to declare that the Sizzle is ISO 3533 (Wiki) certified. Safety, of course, is our top concern here at Sizzle HQ.
# The News
### App makers are very eager to stop paying Apple 30%
With free money suddenly on the table, Apple app developers have wasted no time in putting in direct payment options in apps. Since last week’s court ruling, Amazon’s Kindle app (The Verge) and Patreon (TechCrunch) both now offer cheaper, in-app payment options instead of using Apple as a payment provider and taking its 30%. I’m not sure what the flow-on effects of this will be on Apple’s business model — apparently surveys show only one in five iPhone users would be “extremely likely” to buy outside of the App Store (Apple Insider) — but it’s really hard to see how this is bad for the consumer so far. And who knows what will happen if this ends up being widely popular? A Republican congresswoman has introduced a bill that would force Apple to allow people to install third-party app stores (The Verge). This won’t pass but it could be a preview of what’s to come.
What a beautiful button
### Europe doesn’t want people using crypto crime coins
Europe is set to ban anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and coins from 2027 (CoinTelegraph). The EU’s new anti-money laundering rules will force banks, crypto exchanges and other financial institutions from even handling coins like Monero, a currency with untraceable transactions that recently saw a 50% increase in value after someone used it to wash $330 million in stolen bitcoin (CoinTelegraph). Now, I want to be fair: Crypto isn’t only used for crime — it’s also used for “probably-should-be(-and-might-be)-crimes” like $TRUMP (The Guardian). New reporting shows that 99.993% of $TRUMP coin buyers lost money (CNBC) while two dozen accounts made $100 million by buying $MELANIA in the minutes before it went public (FT).
### GTA6 pushed back, Half-Life 3 might drop soon
Grand Theft Auto 6’s launch has been pushed back to next year, as Rockstar drops a new trailer for the game (YouTube). I haven’t played a GTA game since Vice City — which, coincidentally, is where the new game is set — but it looks pretty sick. Considering GTA5 is by some counts the highest grossing entertainment product of all time, there’s a lot of anticipation for the game that’s been more than a decade in the making. Incredibly, it’s possible that Half-Life 3 could be out before GTA6 if a rumour that it might be announced and released this year is true (Engadget). I am fascinated to see how much interest there would be in the game considering that it’s been 21 years since Half-Life 2 was released. (Have fond memories of playing CS 1.6, TF2, or another Valve-made game? Send me an email!).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2
#### Leftovers
Vodafone tests ‘direct-to-mobile’ satellite service in NSW (CyberDaily) Time for Anthony Albanese to get serious on AI, say tech bosses (The Australian, $) The tech giants reaping billions – and complaining about Australia (AFR, $) Australia’s EV industry has a problem. It is not selling enough cars (The Driven) Govt’s data sharing review revives private sector path (InnovationAus, $) Football Australia to deploy AI cameras at venues to livestream matches (ITNews) Meta wins $168 million in damages from Israeli cyberintel firm in Whatsapp spyware scandal (Courthouse News Service) Google funding electrician training as AI power crunch intensifies (Reuters) Data centers say Trump’s crackdown on renewables bad for business, AI (Ars Technica) Spotify now shows how many times people listened to podcast episodes (TechCrunch) CISA slammed for role in 'censorship industrial complex' as budget faces possible $500M cut (The Register) AI Upgrades Come to Search Ad Campaigns With Google's New AI Max (AdWeek) Microsoft shrinks its Surface Laptop down to 13 inches, priced at $899 (The Verge) New in iOS 18.5: changes to Mail, Screen Time, Pride Harmony wallpaper (AppleInsider) Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi unit issues software recall after recent Las Vegas crash (CNBC) The DEA Once Touted Body Cameras for Their “Enhanced Transparency.” Now the Agency Is Abandoning Them. (ProPublica) US Targets Junta-Linked Militia in Myanmar Over ‘Scam Compounds’ (Bloomberg, $)
# Oh, Also
### A developer updated Clippy for 2025
I’ve seen people joke about this before, so I was pleased to see it come real: Software developer Felix Rieseberg has built a version of Clippy that is powered by a local LLM of your choice (Felix Rieseberg). It’s a cute little project that lights up the nostalgia part of my brain, but it also makes an interesting point: why hasn’t any AI provider tried to make a more interesting avatar for their products like this? Bonzi Buddy is begging to be brought back to life…
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
Anker Power Bank (20000mAh 87W Built-in USB-C Cable) - $79.99 at AnkerDirect via Amazon AU Kentfaith AI Voice Recorder with ChatGPT Transcription - $160 at Kentfaith JVC 32" QLED TV - $229 at BigW ELEGOO Mars 4 Ultra - MSLA Resin 3D Printer w/ 7-inch 9K Mono LCD - $324 at ELEGOO AU Flashforge Adventurer 5M 3D Printer - $327 at Flashforge 3D Direct eBay Creality 3D Printers & Laser at Creality Store-AU Creality K1 Max for $999 Falcon2 Pro Laser for $1499 Raptor for $1989
Computing
Apple Online Store & Apple Education Store: 5% Cashback Cursor Pro One Year Free for Students - $0 at Cursor Pro Mountain Makalu 67 Gaming Mouse - $19 at PCCaseGear CORSAIR K55 CORE RGB Membrane Wired Gaming Keyboard - $49 at Amazon AU Amazon Elgato Stream Deck Pedal - $89 at Amazon AU TerraMaster F2-212 2-Bay NAS - $223 at Amazon ASUS ROG STRIX Z890-A GAMING Wi-Fi LGA1851 DDR5 ATX Motherboard - $449 at Mike PC Apple iPad 11" A16 Wi-Fi 128GB - $479 at Costco HP ProOne 245 G10 AIO PC: AMD Ryzen 7 7730U 16GB RAM 512GB SSD - $979 at Hub by triforce ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend 16GB - $1249 at Scorptec Gaming PC at GALAPOWER R5 5600GT 5060 Ti for $1249 R5-7500F RTX 5070 for $1749 R7 7700X RTX 5070 for $2199 Gaming PC: Ryzen 5 7500F RTX 5070 B650M Wi-Fi 32GB 6000MHz CL32 RAM 1TB Gen4 M.2 - $1798 at Nebula PC Gaming PC: R7-7800X3D RX 9070 XT B650M MB 32GB 6000MHZ RAM 1TB Gen 4 NVME - $2388 at TechFast
Mobile
50% off Belong SIM Starter Kits In-store at Coles $30 Mobile for $15 $35 Data for $17 $55 Mobile for $27 Apple iPhone 16 128GB - $1139 at Costco Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB - $1869 at Costco
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
🗣️ Have any feedback, a tip or just want to chat? Send me an email or Signal message. I promise to reply!
💬 Want to hang out with other Sizzlers? There’s a subscriber-only Slack server and forum if you want to procrastinate and chat about tech-related news.
🗣️ The Sizzle is on Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn if you’re feeling social.
💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the Beehiiv customer portal.
🎁 Make someone's day and gift them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.
💔 Don’t want this any more? I won’t take it personally. There’s a unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email or here’s a guide.
🦺 The Sizzle has been tested to meet and exceed ISO 3533 standards.
## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land
The Sizzle is created on Gadigal 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.
Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 The Sizzle PO Box 351 Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340, Australia
Powered by beehiiv
Terms of Service