### Issue 1744 - Tuesday 29th November, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- Federal MP Andrew Wilkie introduces a bill to regulate video game loot boxes
- Elon Musk hates Apple all of a sudden
- BlockFi crumbles, Bahamas attorney general releases hollow statement about FTX
- Rollercoasters setting off iPhone 14's crash detection feature
- Cheap Orico 2.5" HDD enclosures, Cygnett smart plugs, OECK VPN, Seagate 8TB HDDs, Little Snitch, Rode NT-USB mic, LG 55" OLED, Google Nest Hub 2nd-gen, Rokinon 24mm E-mount lens

## The News

### Federal MP Andrew Wilkie introduces a bill to regulate video game loot boxes

Most gamers these days would be familiar with "loot boxes", essentially in-game poker machines that take real money in return for some random trinket to use in the game. A recent government inquiry into them found that loot boxes "met all the psychological criteria for gambling" and this is bad because they're in games kids under the age of 18 play. Loot boxes are banned in a few countries already (the Netherlands and Belgium off the top of my head) and independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie wants them banned in Australia too. He's proposing a bill that would apply an R18+ rating to any game featuring loot boxes. Kids under 18 can still get their hands on these games, but at least it'll be a little more difficult for them to do so.

### Elon Musk hates Apple all of a sudden

Elon Musk has been on an anti-Apple tirade the last 12 hours, kicking off with "Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?", then let loose that "Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won't tell us why". Twitter long held a free pass when it came to sexual content in its app and I think now that Musk is in charge, Apple is no longer going to turn a blind eye and has done to Twitter what it did to Tumblr - issued an ultimatum get rid of the porn or we'll get rid of you from the App Store. He also posted a meme about the 30% App Store fee. On one hand, yes Elon, I agree, fuck Apple's puritanical censorship and its greedy 30% cut. On the other, ugh, Elon Musk being right.

### BlockFi crumbles, Bahamas attorney general releases hollow statement about FTX

BlockFi has shit the bed. It was one of those "decentralised finance" companies that acted just like a bank - deposit your savings, get interest paid out to you - but without any of the regulation. BlockFi previously said they have "significant exposure to FTX and associated corporate entities that encompasses obligations owed to us by Alameda, assets held at FTX.com, and undrawn amounts from our credit line with FTX.US", making BlockFi collateral damage of FTX's fuck up. Meanwhile, Bahamas attorney general put up a 23 minute video on Facebook about FTX, which was based in the Bahamas. The gist of the statement is that the Bahamas is a "reputable place to do business, with a strong legal framework to deal with bad actors", but lacked any detail on what they're gonna do about FTX, kinda making the statement emptier than my superannuation account after decades of freelance and contract work.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Rollercoasters setting off iPhone 14's crash detection feature

The iPhone 14 has a feature where "if the sensors detect that you've been in an accident, your iPhone will display an alert and call emergency services if you don't dismiss it within 20 seconds". Apple sells this is a cute little safety feature to help you out if you're in a car accident or similar, but apparently it's also pissing off emergency call centers with false positives from people on rollercoasters "after mistaking a thrill ride's twists, turns, and hard braking for a real emergency". This article is from early October, so I don't know if Apple has tweaked the algorithm to stop this now they're aware of it.

## Bargains

- Orico 25WPW1-U3 external 2.5" HDD case - $4 from Orico's Aliexpress Store
- Cygnett Smart Wi-Fi Plug (Homekit support) - $15.70 from Big W
- OECK VPN 12-Month Subscription (good for TV/streaming media) - $126 from OECK
- Seagate Exos 7E10 8TB Enterprise HDD ST8000NM017B - $269.10 from Computer Alliance
- Little Snitch Network Monitor/Filter for macOS - $35 from Objective Development
- RØDE NT-USB Condenser Microphone - $129.35 from Amazon
- LG 55" CS OLED TV - $1770 + delivery from Appliance Central
- Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen Smart Display - $56 from Mobileciti's eBay store
- Rokinon IO24AF-E AF 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Auto Focus Lens for Sony E-Mount - $208.99 from Amazon

## Image Of The Day

Minitel 1 sur le stand du Glitch Lab lors de la manifestation À l’Asso de Rouen 2016 sur le boulevard Pasteur à Rouen (Frédéric BISSON / Flickr)

## The End

📻 The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

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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.