# In This Issue

- Microsoft teases its 8K/120fps successor to the Xbox One at E3

- More E3 announcements that caught my eye (MS Flight Simulator, Doom Eternal, Commander Keen & Cyberpunk 2077)

- Firefox to get a premium paid subscription service in October

- In-Q-Tel (the CIA, FBI and NSA venture capital fund) lands in Australia

- Large US Customs and Border Protection database of traveler photos leaked

- Sponsored Job Ad: Technical Recruiter - Lookahead Search (Sydney)

- An all new version of Soulver is out, get around it

- Orico’s latest M.2 PCIe NVMe USB 3.1 Type-C external SSD enclosure is good value

- Cheap Acer X34P gaming monitor, $8.99 2GB data plans, Kogan mechanical keyboard, 4K Apple TV, HDHomeRun quad TV tuner, nerd stickers

# News

#### Microsoft teases its 8K/120fps successor to the Xbox One at E3

At E3 over the weekend, Microsoft teased its successor to the Xbox One (aka Project Scarlett). It will come out in late 2020 and will be split into two versions - a high performance unit like the Xbox One X and a "mainstream" cheaper unit like the Xbox One S. The headline feature is 8K/120fps suppport (games probably won't be at that level of performance but the console can output 8K/120fps video) and a custom designed SoC based on AMD's latest Zen 2 architecture. Oh and there will be an all new Halo game to go with it on launch.

#### More E3 announcements that caught my eye (MS Flight Simulator, Doom Eternal, Commander Keen & Cyberpunk 2077)

Microsoft also announced an new version of Flight Simulator with satellite data and Azure cloud stuff. It looks fucken awesome. Besides Microsoft's shenanigans, Bethesda gave us another look DOOM Eternal with a 30 min gameplay vid and a new trailer. Bethesda also said they're gonna revive the Commander Keen brand as a free to play mobile game that looks nothing like the Commander Keen we knew and loved. Keanu Reeves helped CD Projekt Red release more details on last year's E3 announcement of Cyberpunk 2077 - he's gonna play one of the main characters in the game, Johnny Silverhand.

#### Firefox to get a premium paid subscription service in October

Mozilla's CEO let loose with a German blog that they're going to launch a paid premium membership thing for Firefox with features like a VPN and secure cloud storage. All existing features of Firefox will remain free, and the paid version won't have new features as such, just enhanced features (i.e: more/faster VPN bandwidth, more secure storage). No info on pricing, but expect more details on Mozilla's premium Firefox plans in around October.

#### In-Q-Tel (the CIA, FBI and NSA venture capital fund) lands in Australia

The CIA, FBI and NSA backed investment firm In-Q-Tel has opened up a Sydney office to "to reach startups and the venture capital community outside the United States and to better contribute to the national security of the US and its allies". In-Q-Tel's got $400m to splash around and has previously invested in over 178 companies. So if you've got an idea that'll ruin civil liberties, destroy any notion of privacy and kill some Arabs (the cherry on the cake), the oil that greases the wheels of the surveillance industrial complex has a bag of money for ya.

#### Large US Customs and Border Protection database of traveler photos leaked

A sub-contractor working with US Customs and Border Protection copied its database of traveler photos and license plate images to their network then the contractor's network was "compromised by a malicious cyber-attack". According to BuzzFeed, "traveler images were raw images only, not tied to any additional personally identifiable information" and are "restricted to land border entries and did not include any passport or visa photos, the official added". Is this bad? It sounds bad. What could someone do with a CBP database of traveler headshots and license plate numbers?

### Technical Recruiter - Lookahead Search (Sydney)

We hire people who already care about technology and train them to become great technical recruiters. Sometimes that's a developer who wants to be in a more people focused role. Sometimes it's a product manager who wants more autonomy. The glue that binds us at Lookahead is that we care about technology and bringing people together. Each of us has experience in a software team, and it's that empathy for how products are built that helps us match the right people to the right companies. If you're a Sizzle subscriber, we're already off to a good start. If you are curious about what a people focused role is like, email steve@lookahead.com.au

More Details

If you’d like to let 700-ish tech savvy Aussies know about your job vacancy, drop me a line. It’s $100 for a week.

# Not News, But Still Cool

#### An all new version of Soulver is out, get around it

If you asked me what is one Mac app that I really miss whenever I'm using my Windows computers, I'd probably say Soulver. It's so awesome to use for "back of the envelope" calculations like currency conversions, add/remove percentages and add up a list of numbers (the main stuff I do with Soulver). The reason I bring it up is because there's an all new version of Soulver available with heaps of new features like date & time math! It's on sale until the end of June for US$19.95 with a 30 day free trial.

#### Orico’s latest M.2 PCIe NVMe USB 3.1 Type-C external SSD enclosure is good value

Orico has a new NVMe PCIe USB 3.1 M.2 enclosure that lets you take a super fast SSD and chuck it in a little external enclosure for portable storage that's also fast as hell. The SSD Review has reviewed it and found it delivers on its promise of delivering speeds around the 1GB/sec theoretical limit of USB 3.1. Grab an enclosure off Aliexpress for $60 and pair it with your favourite M.2 PCIe SSD for way less than what it normally costs to get a similar speed external SSD (don't get fooled by external SSDs with a SATA bridge instead of PCIe).

#### Cheap Acer X34P gaming monitor, $8.99 2GB data plans, Kogan mechanical keyboard, 4K Apple TV, HDHomeRun quad TV tuner, nerd stickers

- Acer Predator X34P IPS curved 120Hz 3440x1440 G-Sync monitor - $1035.30 delivered from Umart.

- Exetel has the lowest ongoing Optus 4G plan going around - $8.99/m for 2GB and unlimited calls & SMS. No lock-in contract either.

- Kogan's got those cheap mechanical keyboards with RGB LED backlit keys again for $39 + delivery.

- Harvey Norman is selling the 32GB 4K Apple TV for $228, but you can go to Officeworks and get them to price match it down to $216.60.

- SiliconDust HDHomeRun quad TV tuner (works with Plex DVR!) - $227.60 delivered from Techware Pros.

- That pack of 10 Unix/programming-related stickers are back for free with $1 delivery at Sticker Mule.

🎶 Eagles of Death Metal - Careless Whisper

😁 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon. Join us on Slack and chat with other Sizzle subscribers.

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.​