Plus: You wouldn’t download a font, would you? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

April 24, 2025 | Read online
# EU hits Apple and Meta, YouTube turns 20 and satellite problems for Elon and Bezos Plus: You wouldn’t download a font, would you?
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Issue 2363 - Thursday 24 April 2025
Yesterday’s edition had a broken link for 12-year-old Doom 2 challenge map finally beaten after six-hour, 23K-demon grind (Ars Technica). Sorry!
# The News
### EU tests its powers with Apple and Meta fines
Apple and Meta have been the first companies pinged under Europe’s new big digital market law with “modest” fines of €500 million and €200 million respectively (Ars Technica). Apple’s violation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act was for banning developers from letting App Store customers know of “alternative distribution channels” in app, while Meta’s was for not allowing users to use an equivalent Facebook/Instagram service that used less of their personal data. Look, I’m a sicko for forcing tech companies to do things for the average punter but even I have questions about forcing Meta to essentially abandon its business model. Naturally, both companies say they’ll appeal and are crying to Daddy Trump (Politico). Relatedly: more EU companies are calling to be less reliant on US tech (The Register) and here’s a case about why Australia should be, too (The Policymaker).
### YouTube turns 20 (and yes that means we’re old)
It’s been 20 years since the first video ‘Me at the Zoo’ was uploaded to YouTube (The Hollywood Reporter). Since then, the company says, more than 20 billion videos have been uploaded to the platform which IMO has never been more important than it is today. Here’s a good piece on YouTube’s influence (The Verge). It’s crazy how YouTube has grown from being the world’s greatest collection of movie bloopers and sports highlights — already a crucial resource! — into something that’s at the centre of global culture. It’s swallowed TV, livestreaming, podcasts and short-form videos. In fact, I’m about to write a ‘2025 is the YouTube election’ piece over at Crikey. I think you can make a case that YouTube has become the most important platform on the internet (and a spicier take that acquisition of the video streaming website was the original, digital antitrust sin that cemented Google as a monopoly.)
Anyway, here’s a great YouTube clip of a dark moment in Australian television history.
Sunrise Where Is The Love
### Amazon and Starlink’s satellite problems
Amazon is struggling to roll out its low Earth orbit satellites because of difficulties producing the technology and getting it into space (Bloomberg, $). Project Kuiper is supposed to have half of the planned constellation of 3,200-ish satellites in orbit by our winter 2026 but is behind schedule. Getting an extension from the FCC normally wouldn’t be a problem but there are fears that Musk might lean on the administration to make life difficult for the Starlink competitor. While these delays might complicate NBN Co’s plans to announce Project Kuiper as its SkyMuster replacement, things aren’t going peachy for SpaceX either: Optus has delayed its Starlink partnership and, reportedly, there are concerns that the spectrum that the telco has been allocated might not actually support voice calls as promised (The Australian, $)
#### Leftovers
ICANN82 debrief (auDA) Dept of Health and Aged Care inks new AWS agreement (ITNews) Dutton backflips on vow to keep EV tax break (AFR, $) ‘Moral panic’ about new media’s influence on young voters underplays their interest in politics, creators say (The Guardian Australia) Optus turns to Google and Anthropic to power its AI strategy (Capital Brief, $) Charity raises alarm over surge in level of child sexual abuse imagery hosted in EU (Internet Watch Foundation) Nintendo admits Switch 2 demand "far exceeds expectations" in Japan, as company president offers stark warning over stock (EuroGamer) Government censorship comes to Bluesky, but not its third-party apps … yet (TechCrunch) Discord co-founder and CEO Jason Citron is stepping down (The Verge) Tesla begins ‘FSD Supervised’ ride-hail tests with employees in Austin, Bay Area (TechCrunch) DOGE Worker’s Code Supports NLRB Whistleblower (KrebsOnSecurity) They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. (NYT, $) Meta is bringing smart glasses live translation and AI to more people (Engadget) Meta’s Oversight Board seeks details on the company’s new hate speech policies (TechCrunch) The Tech That Safeguards the Conclave’s Secrecy (WIRED, $) You can trick Google's AI Overviews into explaining made-up idioms (Engadget) Don’t Make It Like Google (Rakhim’s Blog)
# Oh, Also
### You wouldn’t download a font, would you?
There are few ads that are burned into my brain like the “You wouldn’t download a car” anti-piracy campaign. I don’t think it was particularly effective but it was certainly memorable. Well, a Mastodon user Rib did a bit of sleuthing recently and figured out that the campaign literally used an illegally ripped version of a font (Fedi.Rib.Gay)! Incredibly, this wasn’t the only cultural theft associated with the ad. A 2013 ABC article by Dr Karl claims that the ad also stole the music too (ABC). It’s almost as if the music and movie lobby groups don’t really care about artists’ intellectual property…
TBH I probably would if I could
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
Wimius 15000 Lumen 5G WiFi Bluetooth Full HD 1080P Mini Portable Projector (demo, open box) - $49.99 at Vinnies Victoria 12V DC Power Bank | Mini-UPS 7800mAh - Backup Battery - $79.20 at dwelligence Amazon Echo Show 8 2nd Generation - $89 at Optus Kings 24Ah LiFePO4 60W USB-C Portable Power Pack & LED Worklight - $168 at 4WD Supa Centre Sonos Ace Active Noise Cancelling over-Ear Headphones (Black) - $499 at JB HiFi Hisense 65 Inch U7NAU 4K Mini-LED TV - $1099 at Costco (Membership Required) ViewSonic PX701-4K Projector 4K HDR 3200 ANSI Lumens 4.2ms Lag 240hz - $1118 at ViewSonic via Amazon AU Samsung 65” Neo QLED 4K QN85D Smart TV + $100 Trade Bonus - $1499 at Samsung via Westpac Rewards LG 77" OLED evo AI G5 4K Smart TV 2025 (pre-order) - $5736 at LG Partner Store
Computing
Wave Free 9 Plugin Pack Lenovo Items at MobileSkin Go Wireless Vertical Mouse for $43 Tab M8 4th Gen Wi-Fi + Clear Case (8", 3GB+32GB) for $134.95 Lenovo Tablets at Centre Com Tab M8 (4th Gen) 32GB for $99 Tab M11, 11" 8GB / 128GB LTE + Pen for $299 Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Silver - $499 at The Good Guys Apple iPad 11" A16 Blue 128GB - $499 at BIG W Gaming PCs at TechFast ITX i5-12400F, 4060 for $688 R5-7500F, 5070 for $1788 R7-7700, 5070 TI, 32GB RAM for $2388 QNAP TS-464-8G 4-Bay NAS + Free 8GB RAM Upgrade to 16GB - $1003 at Device Deal
Mobile
Minesweeper Classic Pro iOS app - $0 at Apple App Store Refurbished Google Pixel 7 Pro 5G at Phonebot 256GB for $449 512GB for $499
# The End
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