### Issue 1499 - Tuesday 23rd November, 2021

Attention Sydney Sizzle subscribers: this weekend I'm finally returning to your beautiful city for the first time in almost 3 years and would love to catch up with some of you while I'm there.

I've booked the rooftop beer garden at Keg & Brew (26 Foveaux St, Surry Hills - few hundred meters from Central railway station) for 1pm on the 28th of November - if you can't make it at 1pm that's okay, I'll be hanging around for a few hours. I can't wait to enjoy a pint with my northern friends!

## In Today's Issue

- Hell slightly defrosted as iMessage "Tapbacks" are now supported by Google's Android Messages app
- Critical Infrastructure Bill passes, gives ASD power to take over private networks if they're under attack
- Government tells industry that cryptocurrency is not a fad and to get around it for Australia's sake
- Sony's A90J crowned best OLED TV for 2021 by HDTVTest
- A fresb big fat list of Black Friday sales

## The News

### Hell slightly defrosted as iMessage "Tapbacks" are now supported by Google's Android Messages app

Google updated their default Messages app for Android to support Apple's "Tapback" feature in iMessage. You know the reactions to messages iOS users can send like a heart, or a thumbs up? Yeah, those would simply be sent back to the Android user as a separate text SMS with something boring like "haha" or "thumbs down". With the latest version of Google Messages, the iOS reactions will be "translated" to Android emoji and placed on top of the message just like on iOS. Just fucken add RCS support to Messages already Apple, or better yet, make an iMessage app for Android.

### Critical Infrastructure Bill passes, gives ASD power to take over private networks if they're under attack

The Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 passed in the Senate last night. For those unfamiliar, the Critical Infrastructure Bill gives the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Cyber Security Centre powers to "step in and take control of a company's systems if it is subject to a cyber-attack", which means "the company could be compelled to install government software on their networks, letting the government gain access to their networks, analyse their data and direct the firm to do something or not do something". That sounds, bad, I think?

### Government tells industry that cryptocurrency is not a fad and to get around it for Australia's sake

Jane Hume, the Australian Financial Services Minister, said in a speech at the Australian Financial Review Super & Wealth Summit in Sydney yesterday that cryptocurrency "is not a fad" and that government and industry need to "read cautiously, but not fearfully", going on to compare cryptocurrency to the iPhone, Excel and the internet in general. She also said that "de‑centralised finance underpinned by blockchain technology will present incredible opportunities". Choo-choo motherfuckers, government is all aboard the cryptotrain! I expect Scott Morrison to announced his own version of Bitcoin city in Far North Queensland any day now.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Sony's A90J crowned best OLED TV for 2021 by HDTVTest

HDTVTest's Vincent Teoh recently got a group of TV nerds together and did a flagship OLED 4K TV shootout. Good timing considering Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales this week! If you're a gamer, you want the LG G1, which they recommend because of its 4K 120Hz support and the lowest input lag. For every other scenario like home cinema, sports and general living room use, the Sony A90J was their pick over all the other OLEDs they had access to. Sony's TVs also have Google TV built-in, which I like better than WebOS due to a bigger range of apps. So there you go - if you're in the market for a new TV and want the best one (not necessarily the best value for money), grab a Sony XR65A90J or XR83A90J.

## Bargains

- Sonos Roam - $245 delivered from Videopro or $247 from The Good Guys
- Optus 500GB 4G "home internet" data plan - $59/m from Optus
- Logitech MX Keys & MX Master 3 bundle - $299 at JB Hi-Fi
- Facebook Portal TV or the 10" Portal - $99/$179 from Facebook
- 50% off Backblaze Computer Backup - $US$35 a year or US$60 for 2 years from Backblaze
- Capture One 21 Pro with or without Complete Styles Pack - $235.58/$365.75 from Capture One
- Amazon Echo Dot 3rd-gen - $17.88 at Officeworks & Bunnings
- 2nd-gen Google Nest Hub - $77 at JB and Officeworks
- Pluralsight annual subscription, standard or premium - US$179/US$269 from Pluralsight
- Plex Pass Lifetime subscription - $119.99 from Plex
- Google Nest Hub Max - $249 from the Google Store or $247 from Officeworks
- LG gram EVO 14" sub-1kg laptop (1920x1200 display, i5-1135G7 CPU, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM) - $1258 from JB Hi-Fi
- 20% off Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 at JB Hi-Fi
- Buy an Amazon Echo product (even the $19 Dot) and get a LIFX White 800lm smart bulb for $10 at JB Hi-Fi
- 10% off Nintendo eShop, Google Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gift cards at Woolworths
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X CPU - $534 from Scorptec's eBay store using code PLBFSS (affiliate link)
- Buy one Kogan Mobile (Vodafone MVNO) pre-paid SIM, get another one free (e.g: 2x 365-day SIMs with 200GB data each for $130 or $65 each)
- Deathloop for PS5 - $38 from Amazon (affiliate link)
- FIFA 22 for PS5 - $49 from Amazon (affiliate link)
- F1 2021 for PS5 - $35 from Amazon (affiliate link)
- 30% off everything at the Affinity store (Affinity Designer, Photo, Publisher, etc)
- Belkin 8-outlet surge protected power-board with 2x 2.4A USB ports - $39.99 from Amazon (affiliate link)
- Sony XR-65X90J 65" 4K LCD TV - $2024.10 from The Good Guys eBay store using code PLBF5 (affiliate link)
- LG OLED65C1PTB 65" 4K TV - $2743.60 from The Good Guys eBay store using code PLBF5 (affiliate link)
- TCL 85" P725 4K TV - $2235.25 from The Good Guys eBay store using code PLBF5 (affiliate link)
- iPhone 12 mini 64GB is $699 (spread out over 12/24/36 months) if you go on a $45/m plan with Optus

## The End

📻 Punchin' - The Beefs

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.

💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info or change email address? Visit the customer portal.

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.