Plus: A nice story about the kindness of internet strangers ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

December 17, 2025 | Read online
# Sizzle's Xmas gift guide, Mozilla's 'AI' Firefox future and MAGA app cracked Plus: A nice story about the kindness of internet strangers
Edition 2474
"1st gen ipod and brochure" (Flickr: Mark Mathosian)
# The News
### Still haven’t done your Christmas shopping? The Sizzle gotchu
It’s here! We’ve tapped into the wisdom of the Sizzler community and come up with something great to help you with those last-minute gifts — you’ve pretty much already finished your Christmas shopping, right? Thanks to everyone who contributed!
The 2025 Sizzle last-minute Christmas Gift Guide
Here's the best presents to buy if you're still buying, according to the Sizzle community's collective wisdom
thesizzle.com.au/p/the-2025-sizzle-last-minute-christmas-gift-guide
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Mozilla thinks its future is with AI, which is not exactly what a lot of its users want to hear
Mozilla is betting its future on putting more AI in its browser — but in a safe, ethical way, it claims. In a Verge interview, Firefox lead-turned-CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo says that Mozilla is pushing ahead with an AI mode in Firefox starting next week. The point of differentiation between Mozilla and every other large tech company selling AI is, DeMeo reckons, that they won’t be pushing any one AI product and they will be leaning into “trust”. On top of hosting its own LLM — presumably at a cost — Mozilla will also launch its own VPN service next year as it scrambles to find a way to make money from anywhere other than Google. Wouldn’t say it’s a particularly convincing pitch so far.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Turns out the freedom of the MAGA messaging app comes at a price…
Do you PATRIOTS want to be able to chat FREELY without worrying about the WOKE LEFT surveilling you?
Wow Larry Elder??? Sign me up
Well, I have some bad news: Freedom Chat — a new MAGA-friendly messaging app that phoenix-ed from a previous “privacy friendly” app that was revealed to have terrible security (crnkovic) — may not be as free from privacy concerns as they claim. Researcher Eric Daigle found that it was extremely easy to reveal every member’s phone number (via enumeration) and their security pin that is supposed to protect users in case their number leaks. Oopsie!
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Australia:
Racist and antisemitic false information spreads online following Bondi Beach terrorism attack (ABC News) How grifters and scammers are using crypto and fake fundraisers to profit off the Bondi Beach shooting (Crikey, $) Telcos argue ACMA's $2.3bn spectrum fee-hike will crush investment (iTnews) Ayres to mull landmark R&D review over summer break (InnovationAus, $) Basically a ‘Free for All’: Robodebt Experts Warning on AI Rules Vacuum (InnovationAus, $) Home Affairs Inks 10-Year CDC Data Centres Deal (InnovationAus, $) Neural Notes: How Australia handled AI in 2025 (SmartCompany)
Rest of the world:
iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report (MacRumors) US Threatens to Retaliate Against EU over Digital Tax (Yahoo Finance) Microsoft confirms Windows 11 will ask for consent before AI agents can access your personal files (Windows Latest) “Everyone is so panicked”: Entry-level tech workers describe the AI-fueled jobpocalypse (Rest of World) Journalist Insists Half-Life 3 Will Launch With Steam Machine in Spring 2026 (Ars Technica) Hollow Knight Silksong’s Upcoming DLC Pack Will Be Free for All Players (Engadget) Grindr Goes ‘AI-First’ as It Strives to Be an ‘Everything App for the Gay Guy’ (Wired, $) A Brief History of Times New Roman (Typography for Lawyers) I’m Just Having Fun (Jyn.dev)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### A nice story about the kindness of internet strangers
A Redditor from Yemen called u/maho90 who runs an internet and gaming cafe with pretty shitty gear was gifted a GTX 1080 by another Redditor.
Apparently they’re playing Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and can’t really play online games because, well, Yemeni internet quality.
They say they set up the cafe a few years ago to help keep kids off the street, and now use it to run STEM classes which is very sweet. Reminds me of a more innocent time on the internet! (Please don’t be fake).
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
ESP32 38-Pin Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Development Board - $5.50 at Zaitronics Lubluelu Robot Vacuum SL60D White - $118 at Lubluelu via Amazon AU Philips Oscillating Tower Fan 5000 Series - $121 at Amazon (Down from $179) Eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20 - $399 at Bunnings Warehouse Apple Watch Ultra 3 49mm - $1297 at Retravision
Computing
Keychron M6 Wireless 1k Polling Mouse - $87.50 at Keychron Logitech G502 X Plus Lightspeed Wireless RGB Gaming Mouse - $165 at Scorptec Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go LTE 4GB 64GB - $169 at Phonebot (Refurb) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ - $287 at Amazon AU Alienware 4K QD-OLED Refurbished Gaming Monitors Alienware 27" AW2725Q for $689 refurb Alienware 32" AW3225QF for $929 refurb WD Red Pro 24TB NAS 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $742 at Amazon US via AU
Mobile
amaysim Prepaid SIM Starter Pack (12-Month 240GB + Bonus 80GB) - $199 at Coles (Down from $320) Google Pixel and iPhone but you must add at least a $30/28-Day plan at amaysim Google Pixel 9 for $499 Google Pixel 9 Pro for $799 iPhone 17 Pro Max for $2059 Nothing Phones at Nothing Nothing Phone 3a Pro for $649 Nothing Phone 3 for $999 Google Pixel 10 128GB - $764 at Google Play Store (Down from $899)
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
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