### Issue 2011 - Monday 22nd January, 2024

## In Today's Issue

- Ubisoft's CEO says gamers need to get used to game subscriptions
- HP claims fake ink cartridges can contain malware & says when you buy a printer they're investing in you
- Tesla asked Australian Federal court to arrest someone republishing a whistleblower's leaked documents
- Discmaster returns, making it easy to find obscure stuff on old CDs uploaded to the Internet Archive
- Cheap TP-Link smart plugs, Motorola phones, Sennheiser headphones, Ubiqitui gear, 8bitdo controller, Myer gift cards, Lenovo tablet

## The News

### Ubisoft's CEO says gamers need to get used to game subscriptions

The CEO of game publisher Ubisoft copped a lot of heat for telling GamesIndustry.biz that "one of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]". I like to own the music and movies I enjoy so I get why gamers want to do the same, particularly to preserve games once they're removed from a subscription service. But I also subscribe to Microsoft's Game Pass and love being able to try new games without handing over $30-$50-$80 for something that might suck. I happily pay for Spotify and still buy CDs regularly, so I hope the option to buy games I love, as well subscribe to games is a thing that keeps happening despite Ubisoft wanting otherwise.

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### HP claims fake ink cartridges can contain malware & says when you buy a printer they're investing in you

Also in CEOs opening their big mouths and causing trouble, HP's CEO (not HPE, who make the servers and shit, the other HP) got on CBNC and said you should only ever buy genuine HP ink cartridges because "we have seen that you can embed viruses into cartridges, through the cartridge go to the printer, from the printer go to the network, so it can create many more problems for customers" - which sounds like bullshit, but it's true (yeah I'm surprised as well). That said, the chip is there because you put it there Mr. HP, nobody asked for it, you made the security risk to protect your ink business! The CEO also said "every time a customer buys a printer, it's an investment for us. We are investing in that customer, and if that customer doesn't print enough or doesn't use our supplies, it's a bad investment". What a bizarre way to think about someone that just wants to print some stuff out. I'm not an investment! I'm just a person that wants to put some ink on paper!!

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### Tesla asked Australian Federal court to arrest someone republishing a whistleblower's leaked documents

On the 8th of January, Tesla convinced the Federal Court to tell Keef (aka Keith Leech) to stop posting Tesla confidential documents initially leaked by ex-Tesla Norway employee, Lukasz Krupski. Keef didn't stop, so last week Tesla went back to court and asked for Keef to be arrested for breaching the court order, which states Keef is restricted from publishing "any other Tesla technical reports, customer complaints, vehicle repair documents, meeting notes, and product testing, analysis and design documentation". The judge said that while there is a "prima facie case against Leech for contempt of court", it isn't urgent, doesn't justify an arrest and what Tesla wants is "unrealistic" and "draconian". This Keef guy seems to be a bit of a crank and possibly mentally ill, but simply publishing leaked whistleblower documents shouldn't be punished.

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## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Discmaster returns, making it easy to find obscure stuff on old CDs uploaded to the Internet Archive

I'm excited to tell you that Discmaster is back!! This is a side project by Jason Scott, who works at the Internet Archive (but Discmaster is not an official Internet Archive thing), to expose all the data sitting on CD-ROM and floppy disk images on the Internet Archive. Instead of simply searching for the name of a floppy or CD, you can search the contents of those disks! And not only can you search the contents, you can view and download the contents of the disk without having to download the entire disk. I've found so many cool animated GIFs and clip-art vector images that you'll probably see sprinkled throughout The Sizzle over time.

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## Bargains

- TP-Link Tapo P110 Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring 2-pack - $34.20 from Amazon
- Motorola Moto G84 12GB RAM/256GB Storage - $331.55 from Mobileciti
- Moto G54 5G XT-2343-1 smartphone - $238.01 from Mobileciti's eBay store
- Drop + Sennheiser HD6XX open back headphones - $287 from Drop
- UniFi U6 Pro access point & other Ubiquiti goodies - $279 from Wireless1
- 8bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller - $78.96 from Amazon
- 15% bonus credit on Myer gift cards at Coles
- Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen) Android tablet - $249 + delivery & CC surcharge from Centrecom

## Image Of The Day

ESP32 is a series of low-cost, low-power system on a chip microcontrollers with integrated Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth. The ESP32 series employs either a Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor in both dual-core and single-core variations, Xtensa LX7 dual-core microprocessor or a single-core RISC-V microprocessor and includes built-in antenna switches, RF balun, power amplifier, low-noise receive amplifier, filters, and power-management modules. ESP32 is created and developed by Espressif Systems, a Chinese company based in Shanghai, and is manufactured by TSMC using their 40 nm process. (Adafruit Industries / Flickr)

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## The End

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## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

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.