Apple Renamed the EU App Store Fee | The Fee Got Promoted
Apple said it resolved its EU app fight by renaming the Core Technology Fee a commission. The store still takes twenty-six percent. Apps sold outside still owe five. Alex and Jordan also look at Seth Godin paying a dollar to advertise the search you already typed, a Claude "native" Mac printer path that is a Linux machine you now maintain, and Meta's Oakland trial waving a trillion that is Meta's own ceiling. The side of tech news nobody talks about.
Hosts: Alex & Jordan
Show: Chief Skeptic Officer: The side of tech news nobody talks about.
Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York
Episode date: 2026-08-19
In this episode
Apple / EU terms: The per-install fee is gone. Five percent on the outside door replaced it. Twenty-six inside did not move.
The Amazon tax: The ad that paid off best was his own name. Organic search has to get worse for that to work.
Claude / HP printer: Command-P is real. The driver is HP's Linux program in a small computer you keep running.
Quick hit: Meta trial: Four states arguing for twenty-nine. The trillion is Meta's scare number. The feed waits for an order.
Links
Apple Newsroom: EU app terms
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/0...
HN: Apple EU app terms
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...
Seth Godin: The Amazon tax
https://seths.blog/2026/08/the-amazon...
HN: The Amazon tax
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...
GitHub: HP Laser 1008a on macOS
https://github.com/Kuberwastaken/hp-l...
Runtime Wire: Claude Code / HP Laser 1008a
https://runtimewire.com/article/claud...
HN: Claude writing a macOS driver
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...
Euronews: Meta trial
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/08...
HN: Meta tobacco trial
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...
AI disclosure
This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.