Plus: Save money by making minutes shorter ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 26, 2025 | Read online
# Carmakers snub CarPlay Ultra, deepfake law and Social Network 2 Plus: Save money by making minutes shorter
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Edition 2361
Flickr: ncreedplayer
# The News
### Carmakers do not want Apple CarPlay Ultra because they won’t be able to squeeze you for more $
Carmakers are turning up their noses at Apple’s mega-CarPlay because they’re worried they’ll lose opportunities to make money (FT, $). Despite 98% of new American cars coming with CarPlay, car brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volvo are all saying “no thanks” to the expanded version, CarPlay Ultra, which lets drivers access car data like speed, and to control features like A/C or the radio from inside Apple’s walled garden (Mashable). Why? They want to be able to sell apps and limit access to the car’s data (again, so they can sell it). Every car’s entertainment system that I’ve used has been shithouse in comparison to CarPlay, so I’d definitely want it. I can’t pretend it’s not funny to see Apple get a taste of what it’s like to come begging to be on someone else’s locked-down platform.
Sure beats what I’m rocking in my 2011 Tiguan
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Why an anti-deepfake law looks scary under Trump
You’ve probably heard that the US has passed an anti-nonconsensual deepfake law called the Take It Down Act (AP). I’ve written about how explicit deepfakes apps are a fucking scourge. But there’s reason to be worried that the law’s requirement to take content down in 48 hours and lack of protections will mean companies will just remove any content that’s reported, even if it is not sure it’s a deepfake material (EFF). Trump, who literally posted Taylor Swift deepfakes (Guardian), actually said “I’m going to use this law for myself.” (EFF). Annoyingly, I can’t find the post but some US politician flipped their position to be against the law because the Trump administration’s behaviour meant that they were worried about how the law could be misused. What’s happening in the US has definitely opened my eyes to what governments can do, and made me less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt in the future.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### We’re getting Social Network 2
We will be getting a sequel to The Social Network (Deadspin), the defining technology movie of the 2010s that depicts a weird, sociopathic Mark Zuckerberg’s quest to create Facebook. Aaron Sorkin, the original writer, is apparently set to write and direct a follow-up inspired by the WSJ’s 2021 Facebook Files, which were based on a whistleblower’s internal documents about how the company dealt with its problems with teens, extremism, and undermining democracy. My question is: what would YOU want to see in this sequel? There’s so much great stuff to cover: Zuckerberg’s weird cross-country tour of the US (remember Sweet Baby Rays?) and then tryhard MAGA transformation, the failed Metaverse, how it fuelled QAnon and Jan 6. Personally? I think Sorkin should do a three hour deep-dive into Australia’s news media bargaining code (lol).
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Social media influencers are on notice: stop promoting illegal gambling services to Australians (ACMA) Excessive social media found to harm teenagers’ mental health – but experts say moderation may be key (The Guardian) Sovereign AI infrastructure needs $2b to $4b in investment: ACS (InnovationAus, $) Suzuki confirms first fully electric vehicle to arrive in Australia next year (The Driven) Fraud victims among top crypto ATM users (IT News) Trump administration moves to count crypto as a federal mortgage asset (CNBC) Build and share AI-powered apps with Claude, no deployment needed (Anthropic) Intel Open-Source Software Begins Adding Notices For Generative AI Use (Phoronix) Meta fends off authors' US copyright lawsuit over AI (Reuters) HDMI 2.2 will support 16K video at 60Hz (The Verge) Ahead of Galaxy Z Fold 7 release date, leaked images reveal its entire design (The Shortcut) The Trump Phone no longer promises it’s made in America (The Verge) NHS cyber attack led to patient death (FT, $) List of clips showing Tesla's Robotaxi incidents (Reddit) Hackers abuse Microsoft ClickOnce and AWS services for stealthy attacks (Bleeping Computer) Abusing copyright strings to trick software into thinking it’s running on your competitor’s PC (Microsoft Dev Blog) Social media influencer ‘Liver King’ arrested in Austin (KXAN Austin) I've been building an XR app for a real-world ad blocker using Snap Spectacles (X dot com)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Save money by making minutes shorter
Reading for the Sizzle today, I came across a headline that made me double take: OpenAI Charges by the Minute, So Make the Minutes Shorter (George Mandis). No, it’s not like that grindset influencer who talks about having 3 days in one (it’s worth a watch on YouTube, I promise) but actually some clever thinking. Since companies like OpenAI charge per minute of video transcribing, you can get more bang for your buck if you literally speed up the video you’re transcribing — to a point.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electronics & electrical
The Good Guys 15% Cashback Journey Loc8 Motion Key Organiser (Black & White) for $49 at JB Hi-Fi Superlux D108MKII Dynamic Vocal Microphone Set for $69 at Artist Guitars Kogan 43" LED 4K Smart Roku TV - R95T for $229 at Kogan eBay Insta360 X4 8K 360º Action Camera for $533 at Mobileciti eBay TCL 50" C7K Premium QD Mini LED Google TV 2025 for $995 at The Good Guys FiiO K17 Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier for $1279 at Addicted to Audio LG 65" G5 or 77" C5 AI UHD 4K Smart TV 2025 for $3995 at Good Guys
Computing
Logitech G G502 Hero Wired Gaming Mouse for $55 at Amazon AU AMD Ryzen 7 5700X CPU for $127 at TaiYuan Store AliExpress Lenovo Legion Go S Game Console - Ryzen Z2 GO CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Win11H for $749 at Lenovo Outlet Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14" OLED WUXGA , Ultra 5 125h, 16GB / 512GB for $1097 at The Good Guys Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Gen 10 14" 2.8k OLED 120hz, AMD AI 7 350, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD for $1524 at Lenovo Gaming PC: MSI RTX5080 Inspire OC / 7800X3D / 32GB 6000 C30 D5 / 850W ATX3.1 / 240MM AIO for $3280 at Evatech
# The End
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