### Issue 2236 - Thursday 12th December, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- News media bargaining incentive forces platforms to pay up even if they don't have news
- Automattic told to stop blocking WP Engine plugins, Mullenweg continues to be a baby
- iOS 18.2 & Apple Intelligence launches in AU, Google's Gemini 2.0 is out, use the Meta Quest as a triple display headset
- Reclaiming digital sovereignty: A roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet
- Cheap Sonos gear, refurb Dell laptops & mini PCs, DJI Mini 3, Bigme color e-ink tablet, AirPods Pro, Soundcore BT speaker, Bose earbuds

## The News

### News media bargaining incentive forces platforms to pay up even if they don't have news

The news media bargaining code was a dud so now we have the news media bargaining incentive. It'll require digital platforms pulling in over $250m of Australian revenue (so really just Meta, TikTok & Google) to either pay the government or enter a deal with news media outlets directly. The government is hoping the platforms will enter a deal as that will be cheaper than whatever number the government pulls out of its arse. They came up with this method so if Meta for example decides to block or ban news on its platform so it doesn't have to enter a deal with media companies, it'll have to pay the government anyways. Consultation paper coming next year according to the press release.

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### Automattic told to stop blocking WP Engine plugins, Mullenweg continues to be a baby

Automattic has been told by a judge to "stop blocking WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources and interfering with its plugins" until WP Engine's beef is heard in court. If you've forgotten, Automattic's CEO and WordPress Foundation boss Matt Mullenweg accused WP Engine of "misusing the WordPress trademark and not contributing enough to the WordPress community", which now looks more like an extortion attempt than any genuine concern for WordPress. When the injunction was handed down, Matt spat the dummy on Slack, saying "it's hard to imagine wanting to continue to working on WordPress after this" and then changed his username to "gone" plus a skull emoji.

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### iOS 18.2 & Apple Intelligence launches in AU, Google's Gemini 2.0 is out, use the Meta Quest as a triple display headset

- iOS 18.2 is out and it finally brings the headline feature of iOS 18 - Apple Intelligence - to Aussie iPhones, plus some additional AI features Apple promised a few months ago like Genmoji and Image Wand. MacStories has a detailed look at how the writing tools work in the real world.
- Google's released Gemini 2.0, "our most capable model yet" that is the "next era of models built for this new agentic era". One of the more interesting new features is Jules, "an experimental AI-powered code agent".
- Microsoft announced that "Windows 11 users can now pair a Meta Quest 3 or Quest 3S headset with a Windows PC and use the headset as a wearable display" with "up to three virtual high-res monitors". I kinda want to try this. Much more affordable than the Apple Vision Pro.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Reclaiming digital sovereignty: A roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet

A bunch of academics and Paris Marx from the Tech Won't Save Us podcast have published Reclaiming digital sovereignty: A roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet. In it, they "outline a progressive reform agenda to enhance digital sovereignty for people and the planet with the following 4 key proposals". Those proposals are - "a democratic, public-led digital stack", "a research agenda focused on digital developments that could solve collective problems and enhance human capacities", "ground digital sovereignty in an ecological internationalism" and "strict mechanisms to dismantle state surveillance or misappropriation of collective solutions by specific governments". Interesting reading if you feel like getting revolutionary on a Thursday arvo.

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## Bargains

- Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar - $1519 at The Good Guys
- Sonos Sub Gen 3 (Black) - $750 at The Good Guys
- Refurb Dell Inspiron 16 Plus laptop (Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB RAM, RTX4060 GPU, 2TB SSD) - $519.05 from Mobileciti
- DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo Plus - $769 from D1 Store
- Bigme B751C colour e-ink tablet - $330.65 from Amazon
- Apple AirPods Pro 2 - $295.95 at digiDirect (can get OW to price beat down to $272.65)
- Soundcore Motion 100 Bluetooth speaker - $39.99 from Soundcore
- Refurb Dell OptiPlex 7060 or 7070 Micro PC (i5-8500T, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD / i5-9500T, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) - $149/$199 from Metrocom
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds - $295 from Amazon

## Image Of The Day

From the 30 May 1970 edition of New Idea (HappySwordsman / Internet Archive)

## The End

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