### Issue 1741 - Thursday 24th November, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- There's never been a better time to make video games in Australia
- Microsoft's takeover of Activision looking unlikely & UK to investigate Apple & Google's smartphone browser domination
- San Francisco police want to use robots to kill people
- More images of the day for you to enjoy
- Cheap Civ 6, Xiaomi 34" monitor, Lenovo laptop, Brother laser MFC, Valve Complete Pack, Pro-Ject turntable, Pixel 6a & Chromecast, Ergotron monitor arm, Shure microphone, Dell TB3 dock, DJI Mini SE drone, Switch controllers, Canon wi-fi PTZ camera

## The News

### There's never been a better time to make video games in Australia

Aussie game developers will be very pleased to learn that the Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) bill has enetered Parliament. It will provide "a 30% tax rebate for game development projects that reach an expenditure threshold of AUD $500,000". The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association reckons the DGTO is "one of the best game development incentives anywhere in the world", and when combined with Screen Australia's "Games: Expansion Pack" funding initiative and various state based incentives, Australia will be "among the best places in the world to make video games" and "many multinational companies expand their operations to Australia and contribute to a thriving and sustainable game development ecosystem". The DGTO isn't law yet, but should sail through Parliament quickly as nobody's really against it.

### Microsoft's takeover of Activision looking unlikely & UK to investigate Apple & Google's smartphone browser domination

Microsoft's US$69b plan to acquire the massive game publisher Activision Blizzard King might have shit the bed. Politico is reporting that "three people with knowledge of the matter" reckon staffers at the USA's Federal Trade Commission "are skeptical of the companies' arguments" that the deal will not be anti-competitive and are concerned over how Microsoft "could leverage future, unannounced titles to boost its gaming business". Meanwhile in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority is carrying out a market investigation on how "Apple and Google dominate the mobile browser market and how Apple restricts cloud gaming through its App Store". It wouldn't shock me at all if it came out that Apple deliberately limits Safari on iOS so web apps are shit compared to native apps, entrenching their App Store monopoly.

### San Francisco police want to use robots to kill people

In what sounds like it was pulled right out of a Neal Stephenson or William Gibson book, the San Francisco Police Department is seeking approval to "explicitly authorize San Francisco police to kill suspects using robots". In a draft policy put to the Board of Supervisors ("a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government" in various US states), the SFPD struck out a suggestion from the committee's chair that "robots shall not be used as a Use of Force against any person" and replaced it with "Robots will only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers are imminent and outweigh any other force option available to SFPD". The policy is still a draft so with some luck Rococop will remain a fictional movie instead of a documentary.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### More images of the day for you to enjoy

One of my new favourite hobbies is browsing the vast collections of various libraries, archives and museums around the world and stockpiling high resolution computer/tech/science related images. It's so much fun to trawl these huge collections and seeing what comes up. There's so much content just sitting there waiting to be discovered! I find so many cool pictures that I created a Make scenario that goes through my OneDrive folder of image files at 8:45am every day and shares a random image for everyone to enjoy. They're different images than the ones I share in this email, so if you like those, you should follow @thesizzle.iotd on Instagram or @sizzle_iotd on Twitter to get even more technology related image based content.

## Bargains

- Civilization VI: Anthology - $38.09 on Steam
- Xiaomi Mi 3440x1440 144Hz Curved 34" Monitor - $427 from Gearbite's eBay store
- Lenovo ThinkBook 14s G2 (i5-1135G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 14" 1080p) - $857.22 from Shopping Express eBay store
- Brother MFC-L3770CDW Colour Laser Multi-Function Centre - $476.10 from Amazon
- Valve Complete Pack for PC - $9.59 on Steam
- Pro-Ject Audio Primary E Phono turntable - $369 from Pro-Ject Audio
- Google Pixel 6a 128GB with a Free Chromecast with Google TV (4K) - $549 at JB Hi-Fi
- Ergotron LX Single Monitor Arm - $190 from Amazon
- Shure MV7X XLR Podcast Microphone - $194 from Amazon
- Refurbished Dell TB16 Thunderbolt 3 UHD 4K (USB-C) Docking Station - $89 from Recompute
- DJI Mini SE Drone - $329 from eBay when using Afterpay
- Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controller Pair (Purple/Neon Orange) - $89 from Amazon
- Canon PowerShot PICK PTZ Vlogging Camera - $169 at JB Hi-Fi ($19 after cashback, $9 after JB Hi-Fi Perks $10 credit)

## Image Of The Day

AUSSAT Satellite in Orbit 1986 (Colnect)

## The End

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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.