• Victoria Police have won the right to disconnect as part of the union's most recent negotiations. 
• Apart from emergencies, they're not to be contacted outside of work hours unless it’s for a welfare check. 
• Other unions are likely to follow - with work increasingly encroaching on our home lives, clocking off is getting harder. 

Porter appointment to tech portfolio 

• A follow up on the PM’s cabinet reshuffle last month, that saw Christian Porter, the former attorney general moved to the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio 
• Tech industry leaders have told the AFR they won’t meet with the minister, invite him to things and will think twice about accepting any government grants. 
• The principle complaint is the appointment is damaging to a sector that’s working to improve its gender diversity 
• Other criticism includes: he lacks experience in technology and would be too focused on saving his political career and a defamation fight over the ABC’s coverage of the allegations, to properly lead the sector. 
• It’s always tricky for business to comment on government, and they usually have a diplomatic line about just sticking to their business… and in this case many industry leaders declined to comment, because of their ties to the government.

Facebook 

• Information belonging to more than 7.3 million Australians was leaked online as part of a massive data dump of 533 million facebook records. 
• Facebook says the data was scraped due to a vulnerability that the company discovered and patched in 2019. 
• The leaked data contains phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birth dates, bios and email addresses. It does not contain password information.
• But that information can be used by cybercriminals to impersonate someone online or get them to hand over passwords or credit card information. 
• No company should be able to have that much information that can be accessed through a single exploit. 

Andrew Laming 

• The Guardian reports Liberal National MP Andrew Laming operates more than 30 Facebook pages and profiles under the guise of community groups to promote the LNP and attack opponents. 
• For example, there’s the Redland Bay Bulletin – which uses a similar name to the local news site the Redland City Bulletin – was set up by Laming in October 2015 claiming to be a “community group”.
• None of the pages include political authorisation disclosures.
• According to the Australian Electoral Commission, political authorisation is required for information intended to influence the way electors vote in a federal election. Those rules were extended to include social media in 2016.  
• The MP is is on leave from parliament to undertake empathy counselling following complaints about his behaviour towards women,

Canva valuation 

• Australian start-up Canva is now valued at almost $20 billion australian dollars after raising $US71 million.
• This makes it one of the fastest growing 
• The milestone comes with Canva on track to turn over $US500 million this financial year, a 130 per cent...

  ---

  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  ]]> Right to disconnect 

  
  

  • Victoria Police have won the right to disconnect as part of the union's most recent negotiations. 
  • Apart from emergencies, they're not to be contacted outside of work hours unless it’s for a welfare check. 
  • Other unions are likely to follow - with work increasingly encroaching on our home lives, clocking off is getting harder. 

  
  

  Porter appointment to tech portfolio 

  • A follow up on the PM’s cabinet reshuffle last month, that saw Christian Porter, the former attorney general moved to the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio 
  • Tech industry leaders have told the AFR they won’t meet with the minister, invite him to things and will think twice about accepting any government grants. 
  • The principle complaint is the appointment is damaging to a sector that’s working to improve its gender diversity 
  • Other criticism includes: he lacks experience in technology and would be too focused on saving his political career and a defamation fight over the ABC’s coverage of the allegations, to properly lead the sector. 
  • It’s always tricky for business to comment on government, and they usually have a diplomatic line about just sticking to their business… and in this case many industry leaders declined to comment, because of their ties to the government.

  
  

  Facebook 

  
  

  • Information belonging to more than 7.3 million Australians was leaked online as part of a massive data dump of 533 million facebook records. 
  • Facebook says the data was scraped due to a vulnerability that the company discovered and patched in 2019. 
  • The leaked data contains phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birth dates, bios and email addresses. It does not contain password information.
  • But that information can be used by cybercriminals to impersonate someone online or get them to hand over passwords or credit card information. 
  • No company should be able to have that much information that can be accessed through a single exploit. 

  
  

  Andrew Laming 

  • The Guardian reports Liberal National MP Andrew Laming operates more than 30 Facebook pages and profiles under the guise of community groups to promote the LNP and attack opponents. 
  • For example, there’s the Redland Bay Bulletin – which uses a similar name to the local news site the Redland City Bulletin – was set up by Laming in October 2015 claiming to be a “community group”.
  • None of the pages include political authorisation disclosures.
  • According to the Australian Electoral Commission, political authorisation is required for information intended to influence the way electors vote in a federal election. Those rules were extended to include social media in 2016.  
  • The MP is is on leave from parliament to undertake empathy counselling following complaints about his behaviour towards women,

  
  

  Canva valuation 

  • Australian start-up Canva is now valued at almost $20 billion australian dollars after raising $US71 million.
  • This makes it one of the fastest growing 
  • The milestone comes with Canva on track to turn over $US500 million this financial year, a 130 per cent...

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> Virtual Conferences Are Back For 2021 Wed, 31 Mar 2021 18:38:00 GMT 9:12 76cf1225-ef1d-4462-9bbf-1dfca19db18d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/virtualconferencesarebackfor2021 76cf1225-ef1d-4462-9bbf-1dfca19db18d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 virtualconferencesarebackfor2021 full Lots of Uber news

    Opal card to extend to Uber, taxis and share bikes

    NSW is letting commuters pay for Ubers, Lime bikes, taxis and ferries with their digital Opal card in a new trial 

    FYI - uber pool is back in Sydney & Perth 

    How to cut costs on your ride: Uber pools riders back together 

    
    

    
    

    For anyone hoping 2021 would see a return to travel… 

    WWDC 2021 officially announced, iOS 15 expected

    
    

    • WWDC was one of the better virtual confs i attended last year 
    • WWDC is Apple’s developer conference, where they announce the developer beta of the latest operating systems for the Mac, iPhone, Watch and iPad 
    • The focus is on software usually, but Apple often announces hardware too, while the world’s media is paying attention 
    • Do you have any changes you’d like to see in software? 

    
    

    
    

    
    

    LinkedIn Making a Clubhouse Rival 

    LinkedIn confirms it's working on a Clubhouse rival, too

    
    

    
    

    NFTs go missing

    People's Expensive NFTs Keep Vanishing. This Is Why

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> Lots of Uber news

    Opal card to extend to Uber, taxis and share bikes

    NSW is letting commuters pay for Ubers, Lime bikes, taxis and ferries with their digital Opal card in a new trial 

    FYI - uber pool is back in Sydney & Perth 

    How to cut costs on your ride: Uber pools riders back together 

    
    

    
    

    For anyone hoping 2021 would see a return to travel… 

    WWDC 2021 officially announced, iOS 15 expected

    
    

    • WWDC was one of the better virtual confs i attended last year 
    • WWDC is Apple’s developer conference, where they announce the developer beta of the latest operating systems for the Mac, iPhone, Watch and iPad 
    • The focus is on software usually, but Apple often announces hardware too, while the world’s media is paying attention 
    • Do you have any changes you’d like to see in software? 

    
    

    
    

    
    

    LinkedIn Making a Clubhouse Rival 

    LinkedIn confirms it's working on a Clubhouse rival, too

    
    

    
    

    NFTs go missing

    People's Expensive NFTs Keep Vanishing. This Is Why

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> What Is The Life Of An Influencer Really Like? Tue, 30 Mar 2021 13:05:53 GMT 22:06 197c32d5-0cf2-4bf6-9f9c-2b7a92ca46da false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/whatisthelifeofaninfluencerreallylike- 197c32d5-0cf2-4bf6-9f9c-2b7a92ca46da 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 whatisthelifeofaninfluencerreallylike- full SBS reporter Calliste Weitenberg has been leading a double life online. She spent six months creating a fake wellness influencer Mia Wilde aka @ThatCoastalGirl all in the name of uncovering exactly how the influencer economy operates. 
    
    

    On today’s show, Calliste talks us through the highs and lows on being an influencer, how much fake followers cost and what happens when you dupe a marketing agency. 

    
    

    You can catch her full series of Like, Subscribe, Follow 10pm Tuesdays on The Feed, or anytime on SBS on-demand. Read about the experiment here.

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> SBS reporter Calliste Weitenberg has been leading a double life online. She spent six months creating a fake wellness influencer Mia Wilde aka @ThatCoastalGirl all in the name of uncovering exactly how the influencer economy operates. 
    
    

    On today’s show, Calliste talks us through the highs and lows on being an influencer, how much fake followers cost and what happens when you dupe a marketing agency. 

    
    

    You can catch her full series of Like, Subscribe, Follow 10pm Tuesdays on The Feed, or anytime on SBS on-demand. Read about the experiment here.

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> Cabinet Reshuffle Raises Eyebrows Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:54:00 GMT 7:27 d9288bd2-23b4-43c9-8782-5dfd9592da74 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/cabinetreshuffleraiseseyebrows d9288bd2-23b4-43c9-8782-5dfd9592da74 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 cabinetreshuffleraiseseyebrows Nine Entertainment is still reeling from a cyber attack that hit the company’s headquarters over the weekend, crippling some operations and stopping shows from going to air. So far the source of the suspected ransomware attack has not been identified.... full Nine Entertainment is still reeling from a cyber attack that hit the company’s headquarters over the weekend, crippling some operations and stopping shows from going to air. So far the source of the suspected ransomware attack has not been identified. 
    
    

    Scott Morrison’s didn’t win any fans from the tech sector with his cabinet reshuffle yesterday. As James Riley, editor of InnovationAus puts it: the PM has buried the two most controversial Cabinet members by giving them tech-heavy portfolios. Christian Porter has been moved to the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio. While Linda Reynolds becomes the Minister for Government Services and the NDIS. 

    
    

    Remember COVIDsafe? Well, turns out it’s still around and costing about $100,000 per month to run. 

    
    

    Energy companies are working out how to deal with the strain electric vehicles will put on the grid. Origin energy is rolling out 150 “smart chargers” to electric vehicle owners that will coordinate times that their cars are recharged with periods of surplus solar supply.

    
    

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> Nine Entertainment is still reeling from a cyber attack that hit the company’s headquarters over the weekend, crippling some operations and stopping shows from going to air. So far the source of the suspected ransomware attack has not been identified. 
    
    

    Scott Morrison’s didn’t win any fans from the tech sector with his cabinet reshuffle yesterday. As James Riley, editor of InnovationAus puts it: the PM has buried the two most controversial Cabinet members by giving them tech-heavy portfolios. Christian Porter has been moved to the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio. While Linda Reynolds becomes the Minister for Government Services and the NDIS. 

    
    

    Remember COVIDsafe? Well, turns out it’s still around and costing about $100,000 per month to run. 

    
    

    Energy companies are working out how to deal with the strain electric vehicles will put on the grid. Origin energy is rolling out 150 “smart chargers” to electric vehicle owners that will coordinate times that their cars are recharged with periods of surplus solar supply.

    
    

    ---

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ]]> Amazon Needs To Clean Up After Itself Sun, 28 Mar 2021 18:48:00 GMT 9:13 02a37eb0-a481-4882-86fb-08562a9e2fa9 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/amazonneedstocleanupafteritself 02a37eb0-a481-4882-86fb-08562a9e2fa9 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 amazonneedstocleanupafteritself full Lots of Slack news 

    Slack now lets you DM anyone 

    
    

    • Slack is starting to roll out a new feature that lets anyone using the service DM each other.
    • Announced back in October, Slack Connect DMs will let Slack users privately message employees outside of their company.
    • This new DM feature builds on Slack's work with Connect, which started appearing last year.

    
    

    Slack quickly removes message invites in its new DM feature over harassment concerns

    • The company says in response to concerns the feature could be used to send abusive messages or harassment with relative ease, it's now disabling the option to send a message alongside an invite.

    
    

    Slack is getting new audio features 

    Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield says the company will soon introduce new audio features; 

    
    

    • Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said his company would soon add a range of audio features for all users of its work chat app.
    • Terfield said that a feature for leaving audio messages, similar to a function available in messaging apps like Telegram, was available in a beta test.
    • He also said that Slack would soon offer a feature akin to the audio-chat app Clubhouse, which allows users to drop into rooms for conversations without requiring scheduling a meeting or initiating a call.
    • Terfield also said Slack would soon get an ephemeral video message feature commonly known as "Stories," similar to a message format originated by Snapchat and imitated by many, from Instagram to LinkedIn.

    
    

    Amazon has a poop problem 

    • The pandemic-induced boom in online shopping has come with an unhygienic side effect. 
    • The Intercept reports, Amazon’s delivery drivers in the US often don’t have anywhere to go to the bathroom during their shifts. Leaving them to pee in bottles or defecate in bags.
    • Amazon, in a fight with Bernie Sanders on Twitter, said this an urban legend
    • But documents from The Intercept show management is aware of the problem. 
    • This story has some amazing passive aggressive emails from management to their drivers… 

    
    

    
    

    Intel to Spend $20 Billion on 2 New Chip Factories in Arizona.

    
    

    • Intel announced massive changes in its "Intel Unleashed: Engineering the Future" webcast last week
    • New Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced plans for Intel to produce processors for other companies.
    • There are three components of this vision; Intel's in-house manufacturing, Intel using third-party foundries for manufacturing, and the company's new Intel Foundry Services that will produce chips for other companies.
    • Intel expects to build on its existing relationships with third-party foundries, which today manufacture a range of Intel technology - from communications and connectivity to graphics and chipsets.
    • To deliver this vision, Intel is establishing a new standalone business unit, Intel Foundry Services, led by semiconductor industry veteran Dr. Randhir Thakur, who will report directly to Gelsinger.
    • That's a major shift for Intel that could see the company making chips for some of its biggest...

      ---

      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

      ]]> Lots of Slack news 

      Slack now lets you DM anyone 

      
      

      • Slack is starting to roll out a new feature that lets anyone using the service DM each other.
      • Announced back in October, Slack Connect DMs will let Slack users privately message employees outside of their company.
      • This new DM feature builds on Slack's work with Connect, which started appearing last year.

      
      

      Slack quickly removes message invites in its new DM feature over harassment concerns

      • The company says in response to concerns the feature could be used to send abusive messages or harassment with relative ease, it's now disabling the option to send a message alongside an invite.

      
      

      Slack is getting new audio features 

      Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield says the company will soon introduce new audio features; 

      
      

      • Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said his company would soon add a range of audio features for all users of its work chat app.
      • Terfield said that a feature for leaving audio messages, similar to a function available in messaging apps like Telegram, was available in a beta test.
      • He also said that Slack would soon offer a feature akin to the audio-chat app Clubhouse, which allows users to drop into rooms for conversations without requiring scheduling a meeting or initiating a call.
      • Terfield also said Slack would soon get an ephemeral video message feature commonly known as "Stories," similar to a message format originated by Snapchat and imitated by many, from Instagram to LinkedIn.

      
      

      Amazon has a poop problem 

      • The pandemic-induced boom in online shopping has come with an unhygienic side effect. 
      • The Intercept reports, Amazon’s delivery drivers in the US often don’t have anywhere to go to the bathroom during their shifts. Leaving them to pee in bottles or defecate in bags.
      • Amazon, in a fight with Bernie Sanders on Twitter, said this an urban legend
      • But documents from The Intercept show management is aware of the problem. 
      • This story has some amazing passive aggressive emails from management to their drivers… 

      
      

      
      

      Intel to Spend $20 Billion on 2 New Chip Factories in Arizona.

      
      

      • Intel announced massive changes in its "Intel Unleashed: Engineering the Future" webcast last week
      • New Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced plans for Intel to produce processors for other companies.
      • There are three components of this vision; Intel's in-house manufacturing, Intel using third-party foundries for manufacturing, and the company's new Intel Foundry Services that will produce chips for other companies.
      • Intel expects to build on its existing relationships with third-party foundries, which today manufacture a range of Intel technology - from communications and connectivity to graphics and chipsets.
      • To deliver this vision, Intel is establishing a new standalone business unit, Intel Foundry Services, led by semiconductor industry veteran Dr. Randhir Thakur, who will report directly to Gelsinger.
      • That's a major shift for Intel that could see the company making chips for some of its biggest...

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Aloof Nerd or Straight Up F**Kwit Thu, 25 Mar 2021 18:39:52 GMT 13:11 29f8915a-0505-480d-a7b7-86452d94c31c false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/aloofnerdorstraightupf-kwit 29f8915a-0505-480d-a7b7-86452d94c31c 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 aloofnerdorstraightupf-kwit full FRIDAY LINKS:
        
        

        WeWork tells investors it lost $3.2bn last year as it woos them for Spac deal 

        WeWork is back and plans to go public via a SPAC merger. The paperwork shows the company lost $3.2B last year, which compares with a $3.5B loss in 2019. occupancy rates fell to 47 percent at the close of 2020, a drop of 72 percent from the start of the year. Will there be a co-working comeback?  

        
        

        Richard Stallman returns to the Free Software Foundation after resigning in 2019

        “Stallman also had a long history of iffy behaviour that often crossed the line between aloof nerd and straight up fuckwit.” The Sizzle… 

        And a number of FSF members have asked he be removed again 

        Free software advocates seek removal of Richard Stallman and entire FSF board

        
        

        
        

        Facebook is cool with you threatening to kill a public person 

        Facebook guidelines allow users to call for death of public figures

        
        

        Apple Wants Epic Games' Australian Lawsuit Thrown Out of Federal Court

        Among many arguments made, Apple argued that the cases between Epic and Apple are so similar in both California and Australia that it should be settled in the jurisdiction originally agreed upon by the two companies.

        
        

        Super Nintendo World review: sensory overload

        This is the first place i want to go to overseas 

        
        

        OnePlus Watch has 14-day battery, $159 price tag

        Not running Android Wear, but a proprietary system 

        
        

        Nintendo’s fancy new switch still using off the shelf products - upscaling 

        OLED Nintendo Switch reportedly uses new Nvidia chip with DLSS support

        
        

        Why does the homepod have temperature and humidity sensors? 

        HomePod mini reportedly includes room temperature and humidity sensor, could be enabled through software update

        
        

        Butterfly keyboard class action 

        Judge certifies class action lawsuit against Apple over infamous MacBook butterfly keyboard

        
        

        Ted Lasso wins writers guild 

        Ted Lasso wins big at Writers Guild...

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> FRIDAY LINKS:
        
        

        WeWork tells investors it lost $3.2bn last year as it woos them for Spac deal 

        WeWork is back and plans to go public via a SPAC merger. The paperwork shows the company lost $3.2B last year, which compares with a $3.5B loss in 2019. occupancy rates fell to 47 percent at the close of 2020, a drop of 72 percent from the start of the year. Will there be a co-working comeback?  

        
        

        Richard Stallman returns to the Free Software Foundation after resigning in 2019

        “Stallman also had a long history of iffy behaviour that often crossed the line between aloof nerd and straight up fuckwit.” The Sizzle… 

        And a number of FSF members have asked he be removed again 

        Free software advocates seek removal of Richard Stallman and entire FSF board

        
        

        
        

        Facebook is cool with you threatening to kill a public person 

        Facebook guidelines allow users to call for death of public figures

        
        

        Apple Wants Epic Games' Australian Lawsuit Thrown Out of Federal Court

        Among many arguments made, Apple argued that the cases between Epic and Apple are so similar in both California and Australia that it should be settled in the jurisdiction originally agreed upon by the two companies.

        
        

        Super Nintendo World review: sensory overload

        This is the first place i want to go to overseas 

        
        

        OnePlus Watch has 14-day battery, $159 price tag

        Not running Android Wear, but a proprietary system 

        
        

        Nintendo’s fancy new switch still using off the shelf products - upscaling 

        OLED Nintendo Switch reportedly uses new Nvidia chip with DLSS support

        
        

        Why does the homepod have temperature and humidity sensors? 

        HomePod mini reportedly includes room temperature and humidity sensor, could be enabled through software update

        
        

        Butterfly keyboard class action 

        Judge certifies class action lawsuit against Apple over infamous MacBook butterfly keyboard

        
        

        Ted Lasso wins writers guild 

        Ted Lasso wins big at Writers Guild...

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Is Discord Up For Sale? Wed, 24 Mar 2021 20:28:23 GMT 10:05 bc0bbfc0-2bcf-46ae-a6d6-ac0d033fb5c3 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/isdiscordupforsale- bc0bbfc0-2bcf-46ae-a6d6-ac0d033fb5c3 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 isdiscordupforsale- full Thursday 25th 
        
        

        Microsoft in talks to buy Discord for more than $US10 billion 

        Discord and Microsoft Said to Discuss Deal That Could Top $10 Billion

        
        

        • Popular chat client Discord is potentially up for sale, with Microsoft a potential buyer, according to those in the know 
        • The Slack-like service is incredibly popular with gamers, and could easily slot into Microsoft’s Xbox gaming environment, on consoles and PCs
        • Microsoft has another Slack-like chat product in Teams, but that has never really taken off outside of the enterprise - so there wouldn't be much overlap between the two clients
        • The only other tech giant that seems like a suitable purchaser would be Amazon, who could roll Discord into its Twitch game streaming service. 
        • Or, this could all just be rumours to get Discord re-valued for an upcoming IPO 

        
        

        Airtasker goes public 

        • The platform you turn to when none of your friends will help you move is worth more than $400 million dollars.
        • Airtasker listed on the ASX on Tuesday with a market valuation of $255.4 million. By the end of the day, it was valued at $412.5 million. 
        • CEO Tim Fung, who co-founded the company in 2012, held onto his 12.7 per cent stake in the business through the IPO. His share is now worth more than $52 million. 
        • One of the biggest things the company has going for it? Name recognition. In 2020, 99% of Airtasker’s new customers came from non-paid marketing channels. 
        • That means they don’t need to pay the Google & Facebook tax. 

        
        

        YouTube to auto-detect products in videos, serve related links

        
        

        • Youtube has a new experimental feature to detect products within a video, and generate links to the websites 
        • The system is a bit of a twofer - training Google’s algorithms on image analysis, and also providing more ways to monetize youtube content. 
        • This seems to be the holy grail of tv marketing, I’ve read similar experiments over the years from network television, smart tvs, Instagram and even youtube in the past 
        • Youtube is already messy enough, do we really want more links and overlays in the service? 

        
        

        Prince Harry appointed chief impact officer at Silicon Valley start-up 

        • Fresh from his separation from the Royal family, Prince Harry is sprucing up his resume. 
        • The royal has been appointed the chief impact officer of BetterUp, a Silicon Valley start-up that provides coaching and mental health assistance for corporate employees.
        • Harry, who has been vocal about his struggles with mental health, used the company’s app prior to joining it.
        • In his new role he will “focus on driving advocacy and awareness for mental fitness” and “diversify Betterup’s community of coaches and customers through strategic planning”
        • Which famous person would you hire for your start-up and what role would you give them?

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Thursday 25th 
        
        

        Microsoft in talks to buy Discord for more than $US10 billion 

        Discord and Microsoft Said to Discuss Deal That Could Top $10 Billion

        
        

        • Popular chat client Discord is potentially up for sale, with Microsoft a potential buyer, according to those in the know 
        • The Slack-like service is incredibly popular with gamers, and could easily slot into Microsoft’s Xbox gaming environment, on consoles and PCs
        • Microsoft has another Slack-like chat product in Teams, but that has never really taken off outside of the enterprise - so there wouldn't be much overlap between the two clients
        • The only other tech giant that seems like a suitable purchaser would be Amazon, who could roll Discord into its Twitch game streaming service. 
        • Or, this could all just be rumours to get Discord re-valued for an upcoming IPO 

        
        

        Airtasker goes public 

        • The platform you turn to when none of your friends will help you move is worth more than $400 million dollars.
        • Airtasker listed on the ASX on Tuesday with a market valuation of $255.4 million. By the end of the day, it was valued at $412.5 million. 
        • CEO Tim Fung, who co-founded the company in 2012, held onto his 12.7 per cent stake in the business through the IPO. His share is now worth more than $52 million. 
        • One of the biggest things the company has going for it? Name recognition. In 2020, 99% of Airtasker’s new customers came from non-paid marketing channels. 
        • That means they don’t need to pay the Google & Facebook tax. 

        
        

        YouTube to auto-detect products in videos, serve related links

        
        

        • Youtube has a new experimental feature to detect products within a video, and generate links to the websites 
        • The system is a bit of a twofer - training Google’s algorithms on image analysis, and also providing more ways to monetize youtube content. 
        • This seems to be the holy grail of tv marketing, I’ve read similar experiments over the years from network television, smart tvs, Instagram and even youtube in the past 
        • Youtube is already messy enough, do we really want more links and overlays in the service? 

        
        

        Prince Harry appointed chief impact officer at Silicon Valley start-up 

        • Fresh from his separation from the Royal family, Prince Harry is sprucing up his resume. 
        • The royal has been appointed the chief impact officer of BetterUp, a Silicon Valley start-up that provides coaching and mental health assistance for corporate employees.
        • Harry, who has been vocal about his struggles with mental health, used the company’s app prior to joining it.
        • In his new role he will “focus on driving advocacy and awareness for mental fitness” and “diversify Betterup’s community of coaches and customers through strategic planning”
        • Which famous person would you hire for your start-up and what role would you give them?

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Explainer: Mental Health Options Online Tue, 23 Mar 2021 18:59:22 GMT 9:24 295c23bd-7841-4098-b085-5f3c03ece349 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/explainer-mentalhealthoptionsonline 295c23bd-7841-4098-b085-5f3c03ece349 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 explainer-mentalhealthoptionsonline Welcome to The Helpdesk for Wednesday March 24.We all consult Dr Google from time to time. But what’s the best way to manage your mental health online? full Welcome to The Helpdesk for Wednesday March 24.
        
        

        We all consult Dr Google from time to time. But what’s the best way to manage your mental health online?

        
        

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Welcome to The Helpdesk for Wednesday March 24.
        
        

        We all consult Dr Google from time to time. But what’s the best way to manage your mental health online?

        
        

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> How Much Would You Pay To Undo A Tweet? Mon, 22 Mar 2021 18:22:00 GMT 10:53 33fce0ae-c1a0-4375-9d79-01017c70ea29 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/howmuchwouldyoupaytoundoatweet- 33fce0ae-c1a0-4375-9d79-01017c70ea29 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 howmuchwouldyoupaytoundoatweet- Welcome to The Helpdesk for Tuesday March 23.The evidence is mounting that Twitter will be adding an “undo tweet” feature. The ability to take back tweets has also shown up on a survey asking Twitter users about features they’d be willing to pay for... full Welcome to The Helpdesk for Tuesday March 23.
        
        

        The evidence is mounting that Twitter will be adding an “undo tweet” feature. The ability to take back tweets has also shown up on a survey asking Twitter users about features they’d be willing to pay for, as well as in the code for the app, and CNET received confirmation today from Twitter that it is, in fact, being tested.

        
        

        More Twitter news: the company sent out a survey to random users asking if leaders should face more, less, or the same amount of scrutiny as other accounts and if it’s okay for the platform to ban a sitting president or prime minister. 

        
        

        Apple has announced the executives who it wants to take the stand in the case against Epic, and the lineup is, well, Epic. Plus take a trip into Apple’s history… 

        
        

        Venture capital company Spark Capital decided to sever ties with Dispo, the app it just gave a truckload of cash to. 

        
        

        Got a tech question you want answered? Get in touch at Thehelpdesk.com.au

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Welcome to The Helpdesk for Tuesday March 23.
        
        

        The evidence is mounting that Twitter will be adding an “undo tweet” feature. The ability to take back tweets has also shown up on a survey asking Twitter users about features they’d be willing to pay for, as well as in the code for the app, and CNET received confirmation today from Twitter that it is, in fact, being tested.

        
        

        More Twitter news: the company sent out a survey to random users asking if leaders should face more, less, or the same amount of scrutiny as other accounts and if it’s okay for the platform to ban a sitting president or prime minister. 

        
        

        Apple has announced the executives who it wants to take the stand in the case against Epic, and the lineup is, well, Epic. Plus take a trip into Apple’s history… 

        
        

        Venture capital company Spark Capital decided to sever ties with Dispo, the app it just gave a truckload of cash to. 

        
        

        Got a tech question you want answered? Get in touch at Thehelpdesk.com.au

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Instagram wants your kids to share pics of their babycinos Sun, 21 Mar 2021 18:41:39 GMT 10:06 74796f5a-4eb8-49e5-bf11-99936c0c36ed false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/instagramwantsyourkidstosharepicsoftheirbabycinos 74796f5a-4eb8-49e5-bf11-99936c0c36ed 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 instagramwantsyourkidstosharepicsoftheirbabycinos full Welcome to The Helpdesk for Monday, March, 22. 
        
        

        Will Apple stand up to China on privacy? 

        
        

        • Apple warns Chinese apps not to dodge its new privacy rules

        
        

        Zuck changes his tune of Apple’s anti-tracking features - kinda. 

        
        

        • Zuckerberg: Facebook could be in “stronger position” after Apple tracking change 

        
        

        Instagram wants your kids to share pics of their babycinos.  

        
        

        • 'A bad idea all round': Facebook to launch Instagram for kids 

        
        

        Streaming services spend big on US sports. 

        
        

        • NFL media rights deal 2023-2033: Amazon gets exclusive Thursday Night

        
        

        Got a tech question? Get in touch at thehelpdesk.com.au

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Welcome to The Helpdesk for Monday, March, 22. 
        
        

        Will Apple stand up to China on privacy? 

        
        

        • Apple warns Chinese apps not to dodge its new privacy rules

        
        

        Zuck changes his tune of Apple’s anti-tracking features - kinda. 

        
        

        • Zuckerberg: Facebook could be in “stronger position” after Apple tracking change 

        
        

        Instagram wants your kids to share pics of their babycinos.  

        
        

        • 'A bad idea all round': Facebook to launch Instagram for kids 

        
        

        Streaming services spend big on US sports. 

        
        

        • NFL media rights deal 2023-2033: Amazon gets exclusive Thursday Night

        
        

        Got a tech question? Get in touch at thehelpdesk.com.au

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:41:05 GMT 6:27 6db390b1-dabc-4f36-84f0-c04e4a78ba55 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/fine.welltalkaboutthetechnoking- 6db390b1-dabc-4f36-84f0-c04e4a78ba55 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 fine.welltalkaboutthetechnoking- full Welcome to The Helpdesk for Friday, 19th March. Today we catch up on all the stories we missed this week: 

        
        

        • Federal Liberal MP calls for EV support, ban on fossil fuel cars by mid-2030s 
        • Elon Musk crowns himself ‘Technoking’ of Tesla
        • AirPods and Apple Watch continue to dominate wearables market but the HomePod has been discontinued 
        • Twitter Hacker Pleads Guilty in Florida Court
        • Judge rules Google has to face lawsuit that claims it tracks users even in Incognito mode
        • Google announces new Nest Hub with Soli 'Sleep Sensing'
        • CBA launches Afterpay rival 
        • Almost a fifth of Facebook employees are now working on VR and AR: report 

        
        

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Welcome to The Helpdesk for Friday, 19th March. Today we catch up on all the stories we missed this week: 

        
        

        • Federal Liberal MP calls for EV support, ban on fossil fuel cars by mid-2030s 
        • Elon Musk crowns himself ‘Technoking’ of Tesla
        • AirPods and Apple Watch continue to dominate wearables market but the HomePod has been discontinued 
        • Twitter Hacker Pleads Guilty in Florida Court
        • Judge rules Google has to face lawsuit that claims it tracks users even in Incognito mode
        • Google announces new Nest Hub with Soli 'Sleep Sensing'
        • CBA launches Afterpay rival 
        • Almost a fifth of Facebook employees are now working on VR and AR: report 

        
        

        ---

        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

        ]]> Painful Day For GPs As Vaccine Website Crashes Wed, 17 Mar 2021 18:31:00 GMT 7:44 d8219e6e-36d5-40e3-b0e1-5c58ea6ce92e false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/painfuldayforgpsasvaccinewebsitecrashes d8219e6e-36d5-40e3-b0e1-5c58ea6ce92e 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 painfuldayforgpsasvaccinewebsitecrashes full Vaccine booking website frustrates users 
        • GP clinics were inundated with phone calls from people trying to book their Covid-10 vaccine yesterday after the federal government’s online booking website failed to launch. 
        • Bookings opened for vaccinations for people in the 1b group yesterday, but the government’s booking page wouldn’t let anyone actually make a booking online. 
        • The Guardian reports, “the booking website told them to call their nearest vaccinating clinic to book an appointment, receptionists had told them they could not take any bookings as they has not yet been told by the government how many doses they would be receiving.” 
        • Many of those people waiting on hold were in their 80s. 
        • At a press conference, Health Minister Greg Hunt insisted the website had not been rushed and was always scheduled to be launched on Wednesday.
        • There are a lot of moving parts here… 
        • FYI the vaccine booking website – accessed via the Department of Health’s eligibility tool

        
        

        Instagram Creeps Blocked

        Instagram rolling out message restrictions to protect young users

        
        

        • Instagram now bans adults from messaging teenagers who don't follow them. 
        • The app will also now show “safety prompts” to teens messaged by adults “exhibiting potentially suspicious behaviour,” offering options to report or block the users. 
        • Instagram is going to give safety notices to teens making sure they know they can restrict, report, and block users.
        • The prompt also gives reminders that say “Don’t feel pressured to respond,” “Only share with people you trust,” and “Your safety comes first.”

        Amazon’s newest robot cathedral 

        
        

        • Amazon is building a colossal warehouse in Sydney’s West and it is ready for the robots to move in. 
        • The fulfillment centre will be Amazon’s biggest in the southern hemisphere, covering 200,000 square metres over four levels, it is the size of 24 football fields.
        • It will be Amazon’s fifth fulfilment centre in Australia, but the first one with the really good robots. 
        •  The robots basically do all the heavy lifting and moving the inventory inside the building, and the humans do the picking and the packing. 
        • Expected to be completed for the Black Friday sales in November, and will house 11 million items.
        • Is this enough for Amazon to go from quietly competing to absolutely crushing retail in Australia? 

        
        

        Wikimedia wants big tech to pay

        Wikipedia Is Finally Asking Big Tech to Pay Up

        
        

        • For years now, Wikipedia has made freely available a snapshot of everything that appears on the site every two weeks—a so-called “data dump” for users
        • Today, the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the Wikipedia project in more than 300 languages as well as other wiki-projects, is announcing the launch of a commercial product, Wikimedia Enterprise. 
        • The new service is designed for the sale and efficient delivery of Wikipedia's content directly to these online behemoths (and eventually, to smaller companies too).
        • seeking the reaction of Wikipedia’s...

          ---

          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

          ]]> Vaccine booking website frustrates users 
          • GP clinics were inundated with phone calls from people trying to book their Covid-10 vaccine yesterday after the federal government’s online booking website failed to launch. 
          • Bookings opened for vaccinations for people in the 1b group yesterday, but the government’s booking page wouldn’t let anyone actually make a booking online. 
          • The Guardian reports, “the booking website told them to call their nearest vaccinating clinic to book an appointment, receptionists had told them they could not take any bookings as they has not yet been told by the government how many doses they would be receiving.” 
          • Many of those people waiting on hold were in their 80s. 
          • At a press conference, Health Minister Greg Hunt insisted the website had not been rushed and was always scheduled to be launched on Wednesday.
          • There are a lot of moving parts here… 
          • FYI the vaccine booking website – accessed via the Department of Health’s eligibility tool

          
          

          Instagram Creeps Blocked

          Instagram rolling out message restrictions to protect young users

          
          

          • Instagram now bans adults from messaging teenagers who don't follow them. 
          • The app will also now show “safety prompts” to teens messaged by adults “exhibiting potentially suspicious behaviour,” offering options to report or block the users. 
          • Instagram is going to give safety notices to teens making sure they know they can restrict, report, and block users.
          • The prompt also gives reminders that say “Don’t feel pressured to respond,” “Only share with people you trust,” and “Your safety comes first.”

          Amazon’s newest robot cathedral 

          
          

          • Amazon is building a colossal warehouse in Sydney’s West and it is ready for the robots to move in. 
          • The fulfillment centre will be Amazon’s biggest in the southern hemisphere, covering 200,000 square metres over four levels, it is the size of 24 football fields.
          • It will be Amazon’s fifth fulfilment centre in Australia, but the first one with the really good robots. 
          •  The robots basically do all the heavy lifting and moving the inventory inside the building, and the humans do the picking and the packing. 
          • Expected to be completed for the Black Friday sales in November, and will house 11 million items.
          • Is this enough for Amazon to go from quietly competing to absolutely crushing retail in Australia? 

          
          

          Wikimedia wants big tech to pay

          Wikipedia Is Finally Asking Big Tech to Pay Up

          
          

          • For years now, Wikipedia has made freely available a snapshot of everything that appears on the site every two weeks—a so-called “data dump” for users
          • Today, the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the Wikipedia project in more than 300 languages as well as other wiki-projects, is announcing the launch of a commercial product, Wikimedia Enterprise. 
          • The new service is designed for the sale and efficient delivery of Wikipedia's content directly to these online behemoths (and eventually, to smaller companies too).
          • seeking the reaction of Wikipedia’s...

            ---

            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

            ]]> Tue, 16 Mar 2021 18:43:00 GMT 7:07 d0812579-4b13-482c-b4e4-dc7b903f8891 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/garbotakinoutthetrash d0812579-4b13-482c-b4e4-dc7b903f8891 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 garbotakinoutthetrash Tinder will soon let you run a background check on a potential date - Tinder is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record. - How does it work? Garbo allows people to find... full Tinder will soon let you run a background check on a potential date
            • Tinder is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record.
            • How does it work? Garbo allows people to find out whether someone they are interacting with has a criminal record or other court actions, such as a restraining order with only their name & phone number. 
            • The service is expected to be integrated into Tinder later this year 
            • BUT Hack, which has been following the Tinder story, have confirmed the feature will not available in OZ 
            • Is this just another feature Tinder can charge its users for? 

            
            

            News Corp Australia signs Facebook deal; Nine reaches agreement

            • And a follow up on yesterday’s Media Code story, Facebook has struck content deals with Australia’s two largest media companies — Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Nine Entertainment.
            • Details are scarce … 
            • Nine, the owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has also signed a letter of intent with the tech giant for use of its news articles, according to industry sources 
            • News Corp signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Facebook for use of news articles from publications such as The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun and videos from Sky News Australia.
            • So that’s one less drama for Facebook to worry about. 

            
            

            
            

            https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/mar/16/australia-news-live-pressure-morrison-listen-women-vaccine-delay-albanese-nationals?page=with:block-60501fa38f08b2dc0e123ffb#block-60501fa38f08b2dc0e123ffb

            
            

            • The government will amend its controversial online safety bill in the Senate to provide more transparency over how the eSafety commissioner uses their powers, as well as greater review mechanisms over decisions made about content removal, Guardian Australia understands.
            • The Greens announced on Tuesday they would vote against the legislation.
            • Labor MP Tim Watts expressed concerns about the lack of oversight and transparency. Among the changes will be more reporting from the commissioner about how the powers are used, and an internal review scheme.
            • Opinion piece in the Saturday Paper https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/03/13/flaws-new-online-safety-laws/161555400011272 

            
            

            Parliament Is Finally Starting To Understand Video Games

            
            

            Alex Walker at Kotaku has penned a love letter to three federal Labor MPs. 

            
            

            • Increased noise and support for the video games industry, particularly from Labor MPs Susan Templeman, Josh Burns and Watts, is at least an encouraging sign. Watts’ support for the sector is well pronounced, but the other members have interesting touchpoints with the video game industry as well.
            • Burns electorate covers the main areas of Melbourne that...

              ---

              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

              ]]> Tinder will soon let you run a background check on a potential date
              • Tinder is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record.
              • How does it work? Garbo allows people to find out whether someone they are interacting with has a criminal record or other court actions, such as a restraining order with only their name & phone number. 
              • The service is expected to be integrated into Tinder later this year 
              • BUT Hack, which has been following the Tinder story, have confirmed the feature will not available in OZ 
              • Is this just another feature Tinder can charge its users for? 

              
              

              News Corp Australia signs Facebook deal; Nine reaches agreement

              • And a follow up on yesterday’s Media Code story, Facebook has struck content deals with Australia’s two largest media companies — Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Nine Entertainment.
              • Details are scarce … 
              • Nine, the owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has also signed a letter of intent with the tech giant for use of its news articles, according to industry sources 
              • News Corp signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Facebook for use of news articles from publications such as The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun and videos from Sky News Australia.
              • So that’s one less drama for Facebook to worry about. 

              
              

              
              

              https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/mar/16/australia-news-live-pressure-morrison-listen-women-vaccine-delay-albanese-nationals?page=with:block-60501fa38f08b2dc0e123ffb#block-60501fa38f08b2dc0e123ffb

              
              

              • The government will amend its controversial online safety bill in the Senate to provide more transparency over how the eSafety commissioner uses their powers, as well as greater review mechanisms over decisions made about content removal, Guardian Australia understands.
              • The Greens announced on Tuesday they would vote against the legislation.
              • Labor MP Tim Watts expressed concerns about the lack of oversight and transparency. Among the changes will be more reporting from the commissioner about how the powers are used, and an internal review scheme.
              • Opinion piece in the Saturday Paper https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/03/13/flaws-new-online-safety-laws/161555400011272 

              
              

              Parliament Is Finally Starting To Understand Video Games

              
              

              Alex Walker at Kotaku has penned a love letter to three federal Labor MPs. 

              
              

              • Increased noise and support for the video games industry, particularly from Labor MPs Susan Templeman, Josh Burns and Watts, is at least an encouraging sign. Watts’ support for the sector is well pronounced, but the other members have interesting touchpoints with the video game industry as well.
              • Burns electorate covers the main areas of Melbourne that...

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> How Do You Build A Workplace Culture When No One Is At Your Workplace? Mon, 15 Mar 2021 18:23:00 GMT 8:32 e072a798-7c19-4f54-9379-155ab04d9b8a false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/howdoyoubuildaworkplaceculturewhennooneisatyourworkplace- e072a798-7c19-4f54-9379-155ab04d9b8a 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 howdoyoubuildaworkplaceculturewhennooneisatyourworkplace- Qantas begins trialling vaccine passport appJustin Hendry, IT News - Qantas is looking at introducing a vaccine passport app in preparation for the return of international travel. - iTnews reports that the airline is testing the CommonPass app o... full Qantas begins trialling vaccine passport app
                
                

                Justin Hendry, IT News

                
                

                • Qantas is looking at introducing a vaccine passport app in preparation for the return of international travel.
                • iTnews reports that the airline is testing the CommonPass app on repatriation flights which logs whether a passenger has either tested negative for COVID or has been vaccinated. 
                • CommonPass is not the only app being trialled. Qantas is also testing one developed by the International Air Transport Association. 
                • While the app will be limited to international repatriation flights, the airline will at some point integrate the functionality into its app.
                • Qantas hopes to resume international travel from late October with passengers requiring COVID vaccinations to board flights.

                
                

                
                

                Culture Amp revenue soars, as workplaces face burnout challenge

                
                

                Yolanda Redrup, AFR: 

                
                

                • Despite fears the COVID-19 pandemic would put a handbrake on employee engagement software company Culture Amp’s growth, the $US700 million ($903 million)-valued company has recorded one of its best years yet, with revenue climbing 64 per cent.
                • Former AMP Bank CEO Sally Bruce is now helping lead Culture Amp. Eamon Gallagher
                • Figures lodged with ASIC for the 12 months to June 30, 2020, showed Culture Amp benefited as workplaces around the world were forced to grapple with burnt-out employees and low morale during COVID-19 lockdowns.

                
                

                ACCC watching the clock tick as Facebook lags Google in striking news media deals

                
                

                Asha Barbaschow at ZDnet

                
                

                • A fortnight after the media code passed through Parliament, Facebook has only signed a revenue deal with one large organisation. Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims was asked if there was anything that could be done to move this along.
                • During a recent senate inquiry he said: "I'm happy to give it a bit more time and therefore not do anything at the moment.” 
                • According to media reports, Nine and News Corp are close to reaching deals with FB 

                
                

                
                

                Netflix password sharing clamp-down could be pandemic bad news

                Jason Gurwin at The Streamable 

                
                

                • Earlier this week, some Netflix subscribers began to notice that it might be a bit harder to “borrow” someone’s password.
                • In the prompt, customers are told that “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” In order to continue, they need to verify the account with a E-mail or Text Code, or create a new account with a 30-Day Free Trial.
                • 
                  

                
                

                
                

                
                

                
                

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Qantas begins trialling vaccine passport app
                
                

                Justin Hendry, IT News

                
                

                • Qantas is looking at introducing a vaccine passport app in preparation for the return of international travel.
                • iTnews reports that the airline is testing the CommonPass app on repatriation flights which logs whether a passenger has either tested negative for COVID or has been vaccinated. 
                • CommonPass is not the only app being trialled. Qantas is also testing one developed by the International Air Transport Association. 
                • While the app will be limited to international repatriation flights, the airline will at some point integrate the functionality into its app.
                • Qantas hopes to resume international travel from late October with passengers requiring COVID vaccinations to board flights.

                
                

                
                

                Culture Amp revenue soars, as workplaces face burnout challenge

                
                

                Yolanda Redrup, AFR: 

                
                

                • Despite fears the COVID-19 pandemic would put a handbrake on employee engagement software company Culture Amp’s growth, the $US700 million ($903 million)-valued company has recorded one of its best years yet, with revenue climbing 64 per cent.
                • Former AMP Bank CEO Sally Bruce is now helping lead Culture Amp. Eamon Gallagher
                • Figures lodged with ASIC for the 12 months to June 30, 2020, showed Culture Amp benefited as workplaces around the world were forced to grapple with burnt-out employees and low morale during COVID-19 lockdowns.

                
                

                ACCC watching the clock tick as Facebook lags Google in striking news media deals

                
                

                Asha Barbaschow at ZDnet

                
                

                • A fortnight after the media code passed through Parliament, Facebook has only signed a revenue deal with one large organisation. Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims was asked if there was anything that could be done to move this along.
                • During a recent senate inquiry he said: "I'm happy to give it a bit more time and therefore not do anything at the moment.” 
                • According to media reports, Nine and News Corp are close to reaching deals with FB 

                
                

                
                

                Netflix password sharing clamp-down could be pandemic bad news

                Jason Gurwin at The Streamable 

                
                

                • Earlier this week, some Netflix subscribers began to notice that it might be a bit harder to “borrow” someone’s password.
                • In the prompt, customers are told that “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” In order to continue, they need to verify the account with a E-mail or Text Code, or create a new account with a 30-Day Free Trial.
                • 
                  

                
                

                
                

                
                

                
                

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Sun, 14 Mar 2021 18:24:00 GMT 14:34 951ff0fe-c7bd-41c1-915c-cd97d231613b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebooksnewsfeedasseenbyatrumporbidenvoter 951ff0fe-c7bd-41c1-915c-cd97d231613b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebooksnewsfeedasseenbyatrumporbidenvoter full Australia extends tech giant probe to Google and Apple browser domination
                
                

                ZDnet: 

                
                

                • With the News Media Bargaining Code out of the way, the Australian government has moved its tech giant battle to the browser scene, keeping Google in its crosshairs while putting Apple under the microscope.
                • Led by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the new battle is focused on "choice and competition in internet search and web browsers".
                • The consumer watchdog on Thursday put out a call for submissions, with a number of questions posed in a discussion paper [PDF], centred on internet browser defaults.
                • It claimed Apple's Safari is the most common browser used in Australia for smartphones and tablets, accounting for 51% of use. This is followed by Chrome with 39%, Samsung Internet with 7%, and with less than 1%, Mozilla Firefox.

                
                

                
                

                Microsoft and newspapers join forces to fight Google

                Google accuses Microsoft of 'naked corporate opportunism'

                
                

                • Google repeated how its against “proposals that would disrupt access to the open web,” believing that link taxes “hurt consumers, small businesses, and publishers.”
                • The company then makes the case that Microsoft’s participation in the discussion is not being done in good faith, with “self-serving claims” that are “just plain wrong.”
                • They have paid out a much smaller amount to the news industry than we have. And given the chance to support or fund their own journalists, Microsoft replaced them with AI bots.

                
                

                
                

                Split Screen: How Different Are Americans' Facebook Feeds? – The Markup

                
                

                
                

                
                

                
                

                Apple sues former employee for stealing trade secrets, leaking information to the media

                
                

                Apple is taking legal action against its former materials lead, Simon Lancaster, over allegedly leaking trade secrets to the media. The lawsuit accuses Lancaster of abusing his “position and trust within the company to systematically disseminate Apple’s sensitive trade secret information in an effort to obtain personal benefits.”

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Australia extends tech giant probe to Google and Apple browser domination
                
                

                ZDnet: 

                
                

                • With the News Media Bargaining Code out of the way, the Australian government has moved its tech giant battle to the browser scene, keeping Google in its crosshairs while putting Apple under the microscope.
                • Led by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the new battle is focused on "choice and competition in internet search and web browsers".
                • The consumer watchdog on Thursday put out a call for submissions, with a number of questions posed in a discussion paper [PDF], centred on internet browser defaults.
                • It claimed Apple's Safari is the most common browser used in Australia for smartphones and tablets, accounting for 51% of use. This is followed by Chrome with 39%, Samsung Internet with 7%, and with less than 1%, Mozilla Firefox.

                
                

                
                

                Microsoft and newspapers join forces to fight Google

                Google accuses Microsoft of 'naked corporate opportunism'

                
                

                • Google repeated how its against “proposals that would disrupt access to the open web,” believing that link taxes “hurt consumers, small businesses, and publishers.”
                • The company then makes the case that Microsoft’s participation in the discussion is not being done in good faith, with “self-serving claims” that are “just plain wrong.”
                • They have paid out a much smaller amount to the news industry than we have. And given the chance to support or fund their own journalists, Microsoft replaced them with AI bots.

                
                

                
                

                Split Screen: How Different Are Americans' Facebook Feeds? – The Markup

                
                

                
                

                
                

                
                

                Apple sues former employee for stealing trade secrets, leaking information to the media

                
                

                Apple is taking legal action against its former materials lead, Simon Lancaster, over allegedly leaking trade secrets to the media. The lawsuit accuses Lancaster of abusing his “position and trust within the company to systematically disseminate Apple’s sensitive trade secret information in an effort to obtain personal benefits.”

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Roblox: Into The Metaverse Thu, 11 Mar 2021 18:48:00 GMT 8:08 463d9766-bfc8-4d84-929b-e4e99ddde096 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/roblox-intothemetaverse 463d9766-bfc8-4d84-929b-e4e99ddde096 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 roblox-intothemetaverse Roblox Soars 43% on First Day of Trading as Gaming Booms - The games industry had a bumper year last year, with the launch of two new consoles and people locked indoors for a good chunk of the year - A record $56.9 billion was spent on gaming las... full
                

                Roblox Soars 43% on First Day of Trading as Gaming Booms

                
                

                • The games industry had a bumper year last year, with the launch of two new consoles and people locked indoors for a good chunk of the year
                • A record $56.9 billion was spent on gaming last year in the United States, up 27 percent from 2019, according to the NPD Group
                • That all set the stage for Roblox first day of trading, which saw its shares jump by 43% 
                • Roblox is fascinating story - it was started 16 years ago and launched 14 years ago, so it is hardly an overnight success, but it’s still niche enough that many people wouldn’t have heard of the company 
                • The game is sort of like a online version of Minecraft - while minecraft can be played online, you do need to build your own server, so that’s a barrier for most people 
                • Roblox allows users to create their own minigames that others can play. Many of the games have been built by kids who grew up with the game, and know it back to front 
                • One developer, Anne Shoemaker, 21, said she had earned more than $500,000 from the platform, most of it since the pandemic began. She has used some of the money to hire two employees and a dozen contractors, she said.

                
                

                Epic expands app store fight even further with new legal claim against Google in Australia

                • Epic Games is continuing its worldwide fight against Google & Apple’s app stores. 
                • The gaming company has started legal proceedings in Australia against Google, alleging Google is breaching Australian consumer law by abusing its control over the Android operating system.
                • The legal claim follows a similar action against Apple in Australia filed last November, and Epic’s legal fight against app stores now spans the European Union, the UK, and the US
                • At the heart of the matter...Epic says it’s unfair Google and Apple take 30% cut of app revenue and app makers need alternative app stores or alternative in-app payment systems.

                
                

                Facebook Seeks to Dismiss Antitrust Suits, Saying It Hasn’t Harmed Consumers 

                • Meanwhile, Facebook wants the antitrust cases against it to be dismissed. 
                • FB filed two motions this week asking courts to dismiss the lawsuits filed by the FTC and a coalition of state attorneys general last year. 
                • It’s the first move from Facebook’s lawyers in what will be a long legal back-and-forth. 

                
                

                Fire breaks out in OVH building in Lille, France 

                • Millions of European websites were taken down after a fire destroyed parts of a major data centre. 
                • The data centre was located in Strasbourg, in eastern France, and is operated by OVHCloud, a french alternative to AWS and Microsoft Azure. 
                • Why is a fire in your data centre bad? 

                
                

                Tech’s War With News Outlets Flares as U.S. Lawmakers Ready...

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]>
                

                Roblox Soars 43% on First Day of Trading as Gaming Booms

                
                

                • The games industry had a bumper year last year, with the launch of two new consoles and people locked indoors for a good chunk of the year
                • A record $56.9 billion was spent on gaming last year in the United States, up 27 percent from 2019, according to the NPD Group
                • That all set the stage for Roblox first day of trading, which saw its shares jump by 43% 
                • Roblox is fascinating story - it was started 16 years ago and launched 14 years ago, so it is hardly an overnight success, but it’s still niche enough that many people wouldn’t have heard of the company 
                • The game is sort of like a online version of Minecraft - while minecraft can be played online, you do need to build your own server, so that’s a barrier for most people 
                • Roblox allows users to create their own minigames that others can play. Many of the games have been built by kids who grew up with the game, and know it back to front 
                • One developer, Anne Shoemaker, 21, said she had earned more than $500,000 from the platform, most of it since the pandemic began. She has used some of the money to hire two employees and a dozen contractors, she said.

                
                

                Epic expands app store fight even further with new legal claim against Google in Australia

                • Epic Games is continuing its worldwide fight against Google & Apple’s app stores. 
                • The gaming company has started legal proceedings in Australia against Google, alleging Google is breaching Australian consumer law by abusing its control over the Android operating system.
                • The legal claim follows a similar action against Apple in Australia filed last November, and Epic’s legal fight against app stores now spans the European Union, the UK, and the US
                • At the heart of the matter...Epic says it’s unfair Google and Apple take 30% cut of app revenue and app makers need alternative app stores or alternative in-app payment systems.

                
                

                Facebook Seeks to Dismiss Antitrust Suits, Saying It Hasn’t Harmed Consumers 

                • Meanwhile, Facebook wants the antitrust cases against it to be dismissed. 
                • FB filed two motions this week asking courts to dismiss the lawsuits filed by the FTC and a coalition of state attorneys general last year. 
                • It’s the first move from Facebook’s lawyers in what will be a long legal back-and-forth. 

                
                

                Fire breaks out in OVH building in Lille, France 

                • Millions of European websites were taken down after a fire destroyed parts of a major data centre. 
                • The data centre was located in Strasbourg, in eastern France, and is operated by OVHCloud, a french alternative to AWS and Microsoft Azure. 
                • Why is a fire in your data centre bad? 

                
                

                Tech’s War With News Outlets Flares as U.S. Lawmakers Ready...

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Peloton is Coming To Australia Wed, 10 Mar 2021 18:48:10 GMT 9:17 b320882e-4dac-4878-bcd2-a0dc4c9e282f false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/pelotoniscomingtoaustralia b320882e-4dac-4878-bcd2-a0dc4c9e282f 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 pelotoniscomingtoaustralia Peloton is coming to Australia - Cult fitness brand Peloton is coming to Australia - The exercise tech company has often been described as “the Apple of Fitness”, due to it’s very shiny marketing, and full stack of hardware and software - The exerci... full Peloton is coming to Australia
                • Cult fitness brand Peloton is coming to Australia
                • The exercise tech company has often been described as “the Apple of Fitness”, due to it’s very shiny marketing, and full stack of hardware and software
                • The exercise bikes feature a large screen for streaming workouts 
                • Bikes will start at AU$2,895 - with a $59 a month subscription on top of that
                • Peloton’s announcement follows a massive December quarter for the company, which saw its revenue grow 128% to AU$1.38 billion
                • The launch is expected in the second half of this year

                
                

                Twitter is taking on Clubhouse, Substack and Patreon with new products

                • The Verge has a profile on Twitter’s Kayvon Beykpour -head of consumer product
                • No new information here, we’ve talked about all the various new products Twitter is working on, including Spaces, and Super Follows
                • Still, it’s a really thoughtful interview and one that product managers and owners should listen to or read 
                • Kayvon talks about needing to shift the culture at twitter from one resistant to change, to one that embraces it. 

                
                

                Amazon is working on a new robot

                • Amazon has more than 800 employees working on a new Alexa powered home robot, with the code name Vesta
                • There’s not a huge amount of detail on what the robot may do, but it is described as being about “the size of two small cats” that roams around the house & will have multiple cameras and screens 
                • Internally, the project has caused some grief due to delays and redesigns, with some worried the device will have limited “mainstream appeal” - or even worse, become another complete dud, like the Amazon Fire Phone 

                
                

                Pete Evans Is Back On Facebook, Which The Company Says Is Fine

                • Celebrity chef and expensive lamp seller Pete Evans is back on Facebook 
                • In November, Facebook banned the page “Chef Pete Evans” for continually breaking the platform's rules on spreading covid and vaccine misinformation. 
                • Evan’s new page is there to support Evan’s senate race, and is called, Pete Evans – Senate – Great Australia Party’
                • “Facebook has a recidivism policy that prohibits people from creating new Pages that are similar to ones that were removed for violating the platform’s rules.” 
                • But in this case, Facebook seems to think Pete Evans Potential senator is very different to Pete Evans Chef. 

                
                

                
                

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> Peloton is coming to Australia
                • Cult fitness brand Peloton is coming to Australia
                • The exercise tech company has often been described as “the Apple of Fitness”, due to it’s very shiny marketing, and full stack of hardware and software
                • The exercise bikes feature a large screen for streaming workouts 
                • Bikes will start at AU$2,895 - with a $59 a month subscription on top of that
                • Peloton’s announcement follows a massive December quarter for the company, which saw its revenue grow 128% to AU$1.38 billion
                • The launch is expected in the second half of this year

                
                

                Twitter is taking on Clubhouse, Substack and Patreon with new products

                • The Verge has a profile on Twitter’s Kayvon Beykpour -head of consumer product
                • No new information here, we’ve talked about all the various new products Twitter is working on, including Spaces, and Super Follows
                • Still, it’s a really thoughtful interview and one that product managers and owners should listen to or read 
                • Kayvon talks about needing to shift the culture at twitter from one resistant to change, to one that embraces it. 

                
                

                Amazon is working on a new robot

                • Amazon has more than 800 employees working on a new Alexa powered home robot, with the code name Vesta
                • There’s not a huge amount of detail on what the robot may do, but it is described as being about “the size of two small cats” that roams around the house & will have multiple cameras and screens 
                • Internally, the project has caused some grief due to delays and redesigns, with some worried the device will have limited “mainstream appeal” - or even worse, become another complete dud, like the Amazon Fire Phone 

                
                

                Pete Evans Is Back On Facebook, Which The Company Says Is Fine

                • Celebrity chef and expensive lamp seller Pete Evans is back on Facebook 
                • In November, Facebook banned the page “Chef Pete Evans” for continually breaking the platform's rules on spreading covid and vaccine misinformation. 
                • Evan’s new page is there to support Evan’s senate race, and is called, Pete Evans – Senate – Great Australia Party’
                • “Facebook has a recidivism policy that prohibits people from creating new Pages that are similar to ones that were removed for violating the platform’s rules.” 
                • But in this case, Facebook seems to think Pete Evans Potential senator is very different to Pete Evans Chef. 

                
                

                
                

                ---

                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                ]]> eSafety Concerns Tue, 09 Mar 2021 18:50:00 GMT 8:49 3a0e192d-477e-4768-90aa-c1c9a4e9baec false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/esafetyconcerns 3a0e192d-477e-4768-90aa-c1c9a4e9baec 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 esafetyconcerns full Google alternative 
                
                

                https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2021/03/08/after-building-googles-advertising-business-this-founder-is-creating-an-ad-free-alternative/

                
                

                • Forbes has a good profile on Srid-har Ramaswamy, a former Googler who is now CEO of search engine start up, Neeva
                • Neeva users will pay between $5 and $10 a month to get the search results without ads
                • Ironically, Ramaswamy used to be head of Google’s ad division 
                • The company has just 45 employees, over a dozen from Google
                • Still a long way from being a competitor, but worth keeping an eye on 

                
                

                Esafety

                
                

                • The esafety bill is moving it’s way through parliament, and commissioner  Julie Inman Grant has made it clear that she won’t be going after nudity or sexual content on sites for sex workers
                • Sex Industry groups were worried they would become swept up in the new esafety laws - but Inman Grant has said there will be exceptions for sex workers 
                • In the US, when a simialr law made advertising sexual services illegal, many sex workers complained this made the industry far more dangerous. 
                • Meanwhile, Gizmodo has asked is this the return of the porn face scanner by stealth,,? 
                • 
                  

                Sex industry ‘not my concern’: eSafety Commissioner defends proposed new powers

                https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/03/the-online-safety-act-could-bring-in-the-porn-face-scan-by-stealth/ 

                
                

                https://www.afr.com/technology/tech-sector-warns-of-dangers-in-rushed-online-safety-laws-20210305-p5788h 

                
                

                Another streaming service is coming to Oz 

                • Paramount+ will launch in Australia later this year 
                • Owned by US media conglomerate ViacomCBS, the streaming service launched in the US and parts of Latin America last week.
                • It’s not totally new - Paramount+ replaces/supersedes CBS All Access which currently operates as 10 All Access here in Australia (because remember that CBS bought 10 a few years back for super cheap)
                • The service will also have shows from MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and VH1, as well as some original series. 

                
                

                Q. What do you think a streaming service needs to succeed in Australia? 

                Q. How many streaming services will people subscribe to? Is there such a thing as coming too late to the market? 

                
                

                
                

                
                

                
                

                Wtf is discord? 

                https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-social-network-without-ads-discord-defies-convention-11615199401

                
                

                • The Wall Street Journal has a great story on Discord today, the little social network that could 
                • The service went from 60m monthly users at the start of 2020, to 725m users today 
                • Discord started as a gaming chat service, popular because of its small resources and low lag 
                • Discord is similar in look...

                  ---

                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                  ]]> Google alternative 
                  
                  

                  https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2021/03/08/after-building-googles-advertising-business-this-founder-is-creating-an-ad-free-alternative/

                  
                  

                  • Forbes has a good profile on Srid-har Ramaswamy, a former Googler who is now CEO of search engine start up, Neeva
                  • Neeva users will pay between $5 and $10 a month to get the search results without ads
                  • Ironically, Ramaswamy used to be head of Google’s ad division 
                  • The company has just 45 employees, over a dozen from Google
                  • Still a long way from being a competitor, but worth keeping an eye on 

                  
                  

                  Esafety

                  
                  

                  • The esafety bill is moving it’s way through parliament, and commissioner  Julie Inman Grant has made it clear that she won’t be going after nudity or sexual content on sites for sex workers
                  • Sex Industry groups were worried they would become swept up in the new esafety laws - but Inman Grant has said there will be exceptions for sex workers 
                  • In the US, when a simialr law made advertising sexual services illegal, many sex workers complained this made the industry far more dangerous. 
                  • Meanwhile, Gizmodo has asked is this the return of the porn face scanner by stealth,,? 
                  • 
                    

                  Sex industry ‘not my concern’: eSafety Commissioner defends proposed new powers

                  https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/03/the-online-safety-act-could-bring-in-the-porn-face-scan-by-stealth/ 

                  
                  

                  https://www.afr.com/technology/tech-sector-warns-of-dangers-in-rushed-online-safety-laws-20210305-p5788h 

                  
                  

                  Another streaming service is coming to Oz 

                  • Paramount+ will launch in Australia later this year 
                  • Owned by US media conglomerate ViacomCBS, the streaming service launched in the US and parts of Latin America last week.
                  • It’s not totally new - Paramount+ replaces/supersedes CBS All Access which currently operates as 10 All Access here in Australia (because remember that CBS bought 10 a few years back for super cheap)
                  • The service will also have shows from MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and VH1, as well as some original series. 

                  
                  

                  Q. What do you think a streaming service needs to succeed in Australia? 

                  Q. How many streaming services will people subscribe to? Is there such a thing as coming too late to the market? 

                  
                  

                  
                  

                  
                  

                  
                  

                  Wtf is discord? 

                  https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-social-network-without-ads-discord-defies-convention-11615199401

                  
                  

                  • The Wall Street Journal has a great story on Discord today, the little social network that could 
                  • The service went from 60m monthly users at the start of 2020, to 725m users today 
                  • Discord started as a gaming chat service, popular because of its small resources and low lag 
                  • Discord is similar in look...

                    ---

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> Rumour Roundup - Apple and Nintendo Mon, 08 Mar 2021 17:47:20 GMT 10:57 35a8e672-da20-4d40-ae20-ce0b4ce2db2e false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/rumourroundup-appleandnintendo 35a8e672-da20-4d40-ae20-ce0b4ce2db2e 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 rumourroundup-appleandnintendo https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac-pro/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/nintendo-plans-switch-model-with-bigger-samsung-oled-display full https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac-pro/
                    
                    

                    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/nintendo-plans-switch-model-with-bigger-samsung-oled-display

                    
                    

                    ---

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac-pro/
                    
                    

                    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/nintendo-plans-switch-model-with-bigger-samsung-oled-display

                    
                    

                    ---

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> Jack Loves Jay Z Sun, 07 Mar 2021 18:57:40 GMT 8:14 b2ad7e70-1ac2-4a9c-ba94-3d6d3aa5df3d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/jacklovesjayz b2ad7e70-1ac2-4a9c-ba94-3d6d3aa5df3d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 jacklovesjayz Jack Dorsey is desperate for celebrity parties. full

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]>

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> WTF are NFTs? Thu, 04 Mar 2021 18:53:00 GMT 11:48 5ff135bd-4028-442a-82e0-ed9d98ad017b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/wtfarentfs- 5ff135bd-4028-442a-82e0-ed9d98ad017b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 wtfarentfs- A video clip created by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was flipped for a record $6.6 million recently. It had originally been bought for around $67,000. Beeple is like a banksy of digital art … Esquire has a good profile on ... full A video clip created by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was flipped for a record $6.6 million recently. It had originally been bought for around $67,000. Beeple is like a banksy of digital art … Esquire has a good profile on him. 
                    
                    

                    CryptoKitties were one of the earliest types of NFTs in 2017 - the idea of buying a digital cat was considered weird back then. 

                    
                    

                    What kinda stuff can I buy as an NFT? 

                    
                    

                    There’s a lot of art. Some of it seems a bit trolly - a Homer Simpson Pepe digital artwork was sold recently forl $390,000 online. 

                    
                    

                    In the “real art world” Robert Alice sold his artwork Block 21- at christies auction house last year for $130,000. it was a physical painting that also comes with an NFT. The two pieces are linked: the digital component of the artwork is only visible during daylight within the time zone in which it is geographically located. As the owner of the NFT, the buyer can control the visibility of the artwork by changing where it is located. 

                    
                    

                    According to Business Insider, the most popular NFT platform – NBA Top Shot – has sold nearly $US270 ($349) million worth of unique NBA video highlights. 

                    These are clips you can find online - but they’ve been turned into digital playing cards thanks to blockchain. For sports fans The Bleacher report has a good feature on the marketplace. 

                    
                    

                    Who’s making money? 

                    Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is into NFTs has been vocal about his investment in digital tokens like NFTs.

                    
                    

                    Grimes made $US5.8 ($7) million in under 20 minutes selling her digital collection WarNymph on the NFT trading platform Nifty Gateway.

                    
                    

                    Lindsey Lohan sold an NFT for $US59,000 ($76,216) in February. 

                    
                    

                    How do I buy one? 

                    
                    

                    In order to purchase an NFT, buyers must use digital currencies like Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) orWorld Asset eXchange (WAX). While ETH is one of the most popular NFT currencies, each platform chooses its digital wallet service.

                    
                    

                    Nifty Gateway, OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare,

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> A video clip created by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was flipped for a record $6.6 million recently. It had originally been bought for around $67,000. Beeple is like a banksy of digital art … Esquire has a good profile on him. 
                    
                    

                    CryptoKitties were one of the earliest types of NFTs in 2017 - the idea of buying a digital cat was considered weird back then. 

                    
                    

                    What kinda stuff can I buy as an NFT? 

                    
                    

                    There’s a lot of art. Some of it seems a bit trolly - a Homer Simpson Pepe digital artwork was sold recently forl $390,000 online. 

                    
                    

                    In the “real art world” Robert Alice sold his artwork Block 21- at christies auction house last year for $130,000. it was a physical painting that also comes with an NFT. The two pieces are linked: the digital component of the artwork is only visible during daylight within the time zone in which it is geographically located. As the owner of the NFT, the buyer can control the visibility of the artwork by changing where it is located. 

                    
                    

                    According to Business Insider, the most popular NFT platform – NBA Top Shot – has sold nearly $US270 ($349) million worth of unique NBA video highlights. 

                    These are clips you can find online - but they’ve been turned into digital playing cards thanks to blockchain. For sports fans The Bleacher report has a good feature on the marketplace. 

                    
                    

                    Who’s making money? 

                    Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is into NFTs has been vocal about his investment in digital tokens like NFTs.

                    
                    

                    Grimes made $US5.8 ($7) million in under 20 minutes selling her digital collection WarNymph on the NFT trading platform Nifty Gateway.

                    
                    

                    Lindsey Lohan sold an NFT for $US59,000 ($76,216) in February. 

                    
                    

                    How do I buy one? 

                    
                    

                    In order to purchase an NFT, buyers must use digital currencies like Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) orWorld Asset eXchange (WAX). While ETH is one of the most popular NFT currencies, each platform chooses its digital wallet service.

                    
                    

                    Nifty Gateway, OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare,

                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                    ]]> Wed, 03 Mar 2021 18:56:00 GMT 12:07 3a5a0c81-9454-4b20-92e3-2223dd316a01 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/ninesstreamingguytakesthereins 3a5a0c81-9454-4b20-92e3-2223dd316a01 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 ninesstreamingguytakesthereins full
                    

                    Nine picked a streaming guy to be its new CEO

                    
                    

                    • Mike Sneesby is the new boss of Nine Entertainment. He is a former telco executive and the head of streaming service Stan. 
                    • He will be in charge of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, but Nine also owns Stan as well as television, radio and other publishing assets. 
                    • The company has been searching for a new CEO since Hugh Marks abruptly resigned in November because of his relationship with a former member of his executive team. 
                    • Sneesby has extensive experience in leading a subscription service, but does not have a background in free-to-air television, radio or publishing. There’s some commentary around that this signals the TV side of Nine is more powerful than the old Fairfax side… But I think it’s a sign that the future is digital and driven by subscription revenues. That’s good news for newspapers. 
                    • Investors value Stan at more than $1 billion. Stan has 2.3 million subscribers. The achievement was met through securing large content deals with US companies such as ViacomCBS, Disney and NBC Universal. There’s also Stan Sport… 
                    • So now Stan is looking for a new boss… 

                    
                    

                    
                    

                    Teams upgrades + speaker 

                    
                    

                    Microsoft’s new Intelligent Speakers deliver its promised meeting room of the future

                    Microsoft to add new shared channels, encryption for calls, webinar features to Teams

                    
                    

                    • Microsoft Ignite is on, and the conference has a few great Teams updates so far 
                    • Teams Connect will allow users from two different organisations a way to create a shared channel to collaborate
                    • 
                      
                    • Microsoft is getting into the smart speaker business, but in a very Microsoft way 
                    • Rather than coming after Google, Apple and Amazon in the personal speaker device, Microsoft’s new  Intelligent Speaker is an enterprise product 
                    • The new smart microphone can detect up to ten separate voices and dictate the notes of a meeting, so you can see exactly who did the talking 
                    • The mic can also translate, in case a host or guest is speaking in another language
                    • No pricing as yet

                    
                    

                    
                    

                    Meanwhile, Zoom killing it

                    Zoom (ZM) earnings Q4 2021

                    
                    

                    • Revenue grew 369% year over year in the quarter that ended on Jan. 31, according to a statement. 

                    
                    

                    
                    

                    
                    

                    It’s too soon to kill off cash 

                    • An analogue story from Woolies, which has walked away a cashless store trial at a small number of its Metro stores
                    • The trial started mid-way through last year, when no one was touching cash and in smaller stores that didn’t have a high amount of cash payments. 
                    • But Woolies will be accepted cash again at those locations  
                    • Woolworths Metro general manager Justin Nolan told iTnews, “While almost all Metro customers choose to pay with cards, cash remains...

                      ---

                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                      ]]>
                      

                      Nine picked a streaming guy to be its new CEO

                      
                      

                      • Mike Sneesby is the new boss of Nine Entertainment. He is a former telco executive and the head of streaming service Stan. 
                      • He will be in charge of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, but Nine also owns Stan as well as television, radio and other publishing assets. 
                      • The company has been searching for a new CEO since Hugh Marks abruptly resigned in November because of his relationship with a former member of his executive team. 
                      • Sneesby has extensive experience in leading a subscription service, but does not have a background in free-to-air television, radio or publishing. There’s some commentary around that this signals the TV side of Nine is more powerful than the old Fairfax side… But I think it’s a sign that the future is digital and driven by subscription revenues. That’s good news for newspapers. 
                      • Investors value Stan at more than $1 billion. Stan has 2.3 million subscribers. The achievement was met through securing large content deals with US companies such as ViacomCBS, Disney and NBC Universal. There’s also Stan Sport… 
                      • So now Stan is looking for a new boss… 

                      
                      

                      
                      

                      Teams upgrades + speaker 

                      
                      

                      Microsoft’s new Intelligent Speakers deliver its promised meeting room of the future

                      Microsoft to add new shared channels, encryption for calls, webinar features to Teams

                      
                      

                      • Microsoft Ignite is on, and the conference has a few great Teams updates so far 
                      • Teams Connect will allow users from two different organisations a way to create a shared channel to collaborate
                      • 
                        
                      • Microsoft is getting into the smart speaker business, but in a very Microsoft way 
                      • Rather than coming after Google, Apple and Amazon in the personal speaker device, Microsoft’s new  Intelligent Speaker is an enterprise product 
                      • The new smart microphone can detect up to ten separate voices and dictate the notes of a meeting, so you can see exactly who did the talking 
                      • The mic can also translate, in case a host or guest is speaking in another language
                      • No pricing as yet

                      
                      

                      
                      

                      Meanwhile, Zoom killing it

                      Zoom (ZM) earnings Q4 2021

                      
                      

                      • Revenue grew 369% year over year in the quarter that ended on Jan. 31, according to a statement. 

                      
                      

                      
                      

                      
                      

                      It’s too soon to kill off cash 

                      • An analogue story from Woolies, which has walked away a cashless store trial at a small number of its Metro stores
                      • The trial started mid-way through last year, when no one was touching cash and in smaller stores that didn’t have a high amount of cash payments. 
                      • But Woolies will be accepted cash again at those locations  
                      • Woolworths Metro general manager Justin Nolan told iTnews, “While almost all Metro customers choose to pay with cards, cash remains...

                        ---

                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                        ]]> Far-Right Social Media Service Gab Hacked Tue, 02 Mar 2021 18:44:00 GMT 8:37 d2670b5b-96fe-417e-b15d-7eff5118ecb9 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/far-rightsocialmediaservicegabhacked d2670b5b-96fe-417e-b15d-7eff5118ecb9 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 far-rightsocialmediaservicegabhacked full  Far-Right Platform Gab Has Been Hacked—Including Private Data

                        
                        

                        • Following Twitter’s ban on Trump and Qanon, Parler and Gab became the two main PUBLIC platforms for displaced social media savvy racists. 
                        • Parler was more talked about, because it only alluded to being a home for racists, whereas Gab proudly was 
                        • In the weeks following, Parler was hacked, and then it was dropped by Amazon web hosting, knocking the site offline. 
                        • Now Gab, which inherited some of Parler's displaced users, has been badly hacked too.
                        • Yesterday a group calling themselves the Distributed Denial of Secrets revealed what it calls GabLeaks, a collection of more than 70 gigabytes of Gab data representing more than 40 million posts
                        • DDoSecrets cofounder Emma Best says that the hacked data includes not only all of Gab's public posts and profiles—with the exception of any photos or videos uploaded to the site—but also private group and private individual account posts and messages, as well as user passwords and group passwords
                        • The group has not made the dump public, instead, it will be sharing the information with journalists 

                        
                        

                        Instagram 

                        
                        

                        • Instagram is launching “Live Rooms,” which allow up to four people to broadcast live together at the same time. 
                        • Previously, the app only allowed users to live stream with one other person. 
                        • The live broadcast formats to allow for things like live talk shows, expanded Q&A’s or interviews, jam sessions for musicians, live shopping experiences.
                        • There will also be payments ... fans can buy badges to support the hosts as well as use other interactive features like Shopping and Live Fundraisers.
                        • The company says it’s also now developing other tools, like moderator controls and audio features that will roll out in the months to come.
                        • It sounds a lot like Clubhouse, but with the video turned on. 
                        • 
                          

                        
                        

                        Period tracking app Clue is launching a digital contraceptive 

                        • Clue is a period tracking app with around 13 million users
                        • The company is working on a digital contraceptive which will offer users a statistical prediction of ovulation as a birth control tool.
                        • The Berlin-based company says they’ve gained FDA clearance for the product, clearing the way for a US launch in 2021.
                        • Basically, the app will take data on your cycle and show high risk days for falling pregnant. 
                        • Period tracking apps already do that. But the company says their new method of calculating the fertile window is a more reliable model of contraception. 
                        • Clue’s medical officer says “[The high risk window] will start out long… Usually it’ll be 16 days within the cycle — but it’ll shorten over time. It probably won’t shorten to more than 11 days.”
                        • The ovulation prediction algorithm was put through a year-long independent clinical trial involving more than 700 women.
                        • The data shows: Clue says the product has been shown to be 92% effective at preventing unwanted pregnancy under ‘typical use’ and 97% effective under ‘perfect use’ 
                        • This is an insight into personalised health services that could become more common. 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        ASX speeding tickets triple on social media-driven speculation 

                        GameStop, AMC, and...

                        ---

                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                        ]]>  Far-Right Platform Gab Has Been Hacked—Including Private Data

                        
                        

                        • Following Twitter’s ban on Trump and Qanon, Parler and Gab became the two main PUBLIC platforms for displaced social media savvy racists. 
                        • Parler was more talked about, because it only alluded to being a home for racists, whereas Gab proudly was 
                        • In the weeks following, Parler was hacked, and then it was dropped by Amazon web hosting, knocking the site offline. 
                        • Now Gab, which inherited some of Parler's displaced users, has been badly hacked too.
                        • Yesterday a group calling themselves the Distributed Denial of Secrets revealed what it calls GabLeaks, a collection of more than 70 gigabytes of Gab data representing more than 40 million posts
                        • DDoSecrets cofounder Emma Best says that the hacked data includes not only all of Gab's public posts and profiles—with the exception of any photos or videos uploaded to the site—but also private group and private individual account posts and messages, as well as user passwords and group passwords
                        • The group has not made the dump public, instead, it will be sharing the information with journalists 

                        
                        

                        Instagram 

                        
                        

                        • Instagram is launching “Live Rooms,” which allow up to four people to broadcast live together at the same time. 
                        • Previously, the app only allowed users to live stream with one other person. 
                        • The live broadcast formats to allow for things like live talk shows, expanded Q&A’s or interviews, jam sessions for musicians, live shopping experiences.
                        • There will also be payments ... fans can buy badges to support the hosts as well as use other interactive features like Shopping and Live Fundraisers.
                        • The company says it’s also now developing other tools, like moderator controls and audio features that will roll out in the months to come.
                        • It sounds a lot like Clubhouse, but with the video turned on. 
                        • 
                          

                        
                        

                        Period tracking app Clue is launching a digital contraceptive 

                        • Clue is a period tracking app with around 13 million users
                        • The company is working on a digital contraceptive which will offer users a statistical prediction of ovulation as a birth control tool.
                        • The Berlin-based company says they’ve gained FDA clearance for the product, clearing the way for a US launch in 2021.
                        • Basically, the app will take data on your cycle and show high risk days for falling pregnant. 
                        • Period tracking apps already do that. But the company says their new method of calculating the fertile window is a more reliable model of contraception. 
                        • Clue’s medical officer says “[The high risk window] will start out long… Usually it’ll be 16 days within the cycle — but it’ll shorten over time. It probably won’t shorten to more than 11 days.”
                        • The ovulation prediction algorithm was put through a year-long independent clinical trial involving more than 700 women.
                        • The data shows: Clue says the product has been shown to be 92% effective at preventing unwanted pregnancy under ‘typical use’ and 97% effective under ‘perfect use’ 
                        • This is an insight into personalised health services that could become more common. 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        ASX speeding tickets triple on social media-driven speculation 

                        GameStop, AMC, and...

                        ---

                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                        ]]> Uber Eats Is Getting Safer For Riders Mon, 01 Mar 2021 18:13:00 GMT 9:48 e92defa9-40c7-427e-b38d-f9f7a8019987 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/ubereatsisgettingsaferforriders e92defa9-40c7-427e-b38d-f9f7a8019987 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 ubereatsisgettingsaferforriders full Safety gear for UberEats riders  

                        
                        

                        • Uber has new safety gear and technology for its Australian riders.
                        • From today the Uber app will be able to tell whether its riders are wearing a helmet, using object recognition is its app.
                        • Riders will also have to complete a checklist of their bike’s roadworthiness,
                        • And later this month, Uber will start distributing lights, reflective vests, bells and phone holders.  
                        • The changes come after the deaths of two Uber Eats riders in three days amid a spate of five deaths across the industry last year.
                        • As the Nine newspapers point out, “The more resources a company provides to its workers, the more likely they are to be classified as employees than independent contractors and therefore entitled to the minimum wage, workers’ compensation and unfair dismissal protections.” 
                        • But Uber Eats Australian general manager Matthew Denman said the legalities did not factor into its decision to deploy the new safety features. And it’s the right thing to do. 

                        Ensuring a minimum wage sounds like a pretty good way to improve safety… 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        Social media moves beyond the feed | by Will Oremus | Feb, 2021 | OneZero

                        
                        

                        • Will Oremus argues that Clubhouse and Twitter’s Spaces offers a new way of looking at social media
                        • feed-based platforms are powered by scale and automation. They encourage users to friend, follow, and like liberally, building sprawling networks on the promise that aggressive ranking algorithms will filter out the chaff and surface the most compelling content
                        • New digital media products are focusing on low-volume, high-attention relationships rather than high-volume, low-attention feeds.

                        
                        

                        Queensland finally has its own QR code check-in app

                        
                        

                        • The Queensland government has finally rolled out a QR code check-in app that hospitality venues and other businesses can use for contact tracing purposes, iTnews reports.
                        • I’ve been up here for weeks putting my details into all finds of weird check-in apps… one was literally just a Google Form. 
                        • The Check In Qld app went live over the weekend. all other states and territories introduced similar apps last year.
                        • The app is voluntary for hospitality venues, which means I’ll probably still be putting my contact details into random databases...  
                        • (Businesses that do not take up the app will still need to continue to collect and store details electronically.) 

                        
                        

                        Google TV will soon let you turn your smart TV into a dumb screen, and that's a great thing.

                        
                        

                        • For true nerds, Google will now let your smart TV become a dumb tv. 
                        • The new feature, called basic tv, coming to Android powered TVs will allow users to turn off all the smarts of their tv - leaving just free to air and settings, and switch to a HDMI port on start up by default 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        ---

                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                        ]]> Safety gear for UberEats riders  

                        
                        

                        • Uber has new safety gear and technology for its Australian riders.
                        • From today the Uber app will be able to tell whether its riders are wearing a helmet, using object recognition is its app.
                        • Riders will also have to complete a checklist of their bike’s roadworthiness,
                        • And later this month, Uber will start distributing lights, reflective vests, bells and phone holders.  
                        • The changes come after the deaths of two Uber Eats riders in three days amid a spate of five deaths across the industry last year.
                        • As the Nine newspapers point out, “The more resources a company provides to its workers, the more likely they are to be classified as employees than independent contractors and therefore entitled to the minimum wage, workers’ compensation and unfair dismissal protections.” 
                        • But Uber Eats Australian general manager Matthew Denman said the legalities did not factor into its decision to deploy the new safety features. And it’s the right thing to do. 

                        Ensuring a minimum wage sounds like a pretty good way to improve safety… 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        Social media moves beyond the feed | by Will Oremus | Feb, 2021 | OneZero

                        
                        

                        • Will Oremus argues that Clubhouse and Twitter’s Spaces offers a new way of looking at social media
                        • feed-based platforms are powered by scale and automation. They encourage users to friend, follow, and like liberally, building sprawling networks on the promise that aggressive ranking algorithms will filter out the chaff and surface the most compelling content
                        • New digital media products are focusing on low-volume, high-attention relationships rather than high-volume, low-attention feeds.

                        
                        

                        Queensland finally has its own QR code check-in app

                        
                        

                        • The Queensland government has finally rolled out a QR code check-in app that hospitality venues and other businesses can use for contact tracing purposes, iTnews reports.
                        • I’ve been up here for weeks putting my details into all finds of weird check-in apps… one was literally just a Google Form. 
                        • The Check In Qld app went live over the weekend. all other states and territories introduced similar apps last year.
                        • The app is voluntary for hospitality venues, which means I’ll probably still be putting my contact details into random databases...  
                        • (Businesses that do not take up the app will still need to continue to collect and store details electronically.) 

                        
                        

                        Google TV will soon let you turn your smart TV into a dumb screen, and that's a great thing.

                        
                        

                        • For true nerds, Google will now let your smart TV become a dumb tv. 
                        • The new feature, called basic tv, coming to Android powered TVs will allow users to turn off all the smarts of their tv - leaving just free to air and settings, and switch to a HDMI port on start up by default 

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        ---

                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                        ]]> Twitter Introduces Super Friends! Sun, 28 Feb 2021 18:44:44 GMT 11:10 55dae99e-d61b-443e-b4da-ebfa558f2b0b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/twitterintroducessuperfriends- 55dae99e-d61b-443e-b4da-ebfa558f2b0b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 twitterintroducessuperfriends- Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets - Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features on Friday: the ability for users to charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to create and join gro... full Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets

                        
                        

                        • Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features on Friday: the ability for users to charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to create and join groups based around specific interests. 
                        • Super Follows will allow Twitter users to charge followers and give them access to extra content. 
                        • That could be bonus tweets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support. In a mockup screenshot, Twitter showed an example where a user charges $4.99 per month to receive a series of perks.
                        • Twitter also announced a new feature called Communities, which appear to be its take on something like Facebook Groups.
                        • I’ve also been added to the Spaces thing, if you want to play with that. 

                        
                        

                        'All the bones are there': could a new electric vehicle be built in Australia?

                        
                        

                        • An article in the Guardian suggests Australia could be building electric cars if it had the inclination and government support to do so 
                        • According to the article, former car manufacturing plants in South Australia and Victoria have been left largely untouched since they produced petrol cars
                        • These plants could be easily retooled to pump out evs for Australia
                        • While critics say that Australian labour costs are too high, advocates for the plan say the actual work of manufacturing electric vehicles is half what it once was. Rather than “guys bending metal” it’s more about building the robots that build the cars – and with a highly educated workforce, Australia is highly competitive.
                        •  

                        
                        

                        Former SolarWinds CEO blames intern for 'solarwinds123' password leak

                        
                        

                        • We’ve talked about the SolarWinds hack - the security breach that saw access to critical infrastructure in the US, including water, electricity, hospital systems, and the US government payroll
                        • The attack has been described as one of the most sophisticated attacks ever seen. Just last week we talked about the first parts of the attack starting up to 9 months before it was discovered
                        • Well, in front of congress to explain the attacks, the former CEO put the initial blame on the attack to an intern who shared an internal password. That password, “solarwinds123” 
                        • The password was discovered in 2019 on the public internet by an independent security researcher who warned the company that the leak had exposed a SolarWinds file server. The password was never changed. 
                        • Katie Porter, who’s one of the most tech savvy representatives in Congress, said: 
                        • “"I’ve got a stronger password than 'solarwinds123' to stop my kids from watching too much YouTube on their iPad. You and your company were supposed to be preventing the Russians from reading Defense Department emails!"

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        
                        

                        'Hey Google' Voice Command on Wear OS has Been Busted for Months

                        
                        

                        • This is so depressing - the very first article i ever wrote on smh was along the lines of “Apple Watch has a huge battle against Google Wear, because Google’s voice assistant is so much better..” 

                        
                        

                        • In

                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                          ]]> Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets

                          
                          

                          • Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features on Friday: the ability for users to charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to create and join groups based around specific interests. 
                          • Super Follows will allow Twitter users to charge followers and give them access to extra content. 
                          • That could be bonus tweets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support. In a mockup screenshot, Twitter showed an example where a user charges $4.99 per month to receive a series of perks.
                          • Twitter also announced a new feature called Communities, which appear to be its take on something like Facebook Groups.
                          • I’ve also been added to the Spaces thing, if you want to play with that. 

                          
                          

                          'All the bones are there': could a new electric vehicle be built in Australia?

                          
                          

                          • An article in the Guardian suggests Australia could be building electric cars if it had the inclination and government support to do so 
                          • According to the article, former car manufacturing plants in South Australia and Victoria have been left largely untouched since they produced petrol cars
                          • These plants could be easily retooled to pump out evs for Australia
                          • While critics say that Australian labour costs are too high, advocates for the plan say the actual work of manufacturing electric vehicles is half what it once was. Rather than “guys bending metal” it’s more about building the robots that build the cars – and with a highly educated workforce, Australia is highly competitive.
                          •  

                          
                          

                          Former SolarWinds CEO blames intern for 'solarwinds123' password leak

                          
                          

                          • We’ve talked about the SolarWinds hack - the security breach that saw access to critical infrastructure in the US, including water, electricity, hospital systems, and the US government payroll
                          • The attack has been described as one of the most sophisticated attacks ever seen. Just last week we talked about the first parts of the attack starting up to 9 months before it was discovered
                          • Well, in front of congress to explain the attacks, the former CEO put the initial blame on the attack to an intern who shared an internal password. That password, “solarwinds123” 
                          • The password was discovered in 2019 on the public internet by an independent security researcher who warned the company that the leak had exposed a SolarWinds file server. The password was never changed. 
                          • Katie Porter, who’s one of the most tech savvy representatives in Congress, said: 
                          • “"I’ve got a stronger password than 'solarwinds123' to stop my kids from watching too much YouTube on their iPad. You and your company were supposed to be preventing the Russians from reading Defense Department emails!"

                          
                          

                          
                          

                          
                          

                          'Hey Google' Voice Command on Wear OS has Been Busted for Months

                          
                          

                          • This is so depressing - the very first article i ever wrote on smh was along the lines of “Apple Watch has a huge battle against Google Wear, because Google’s voice assistant is so much better..” 

                          
                          

                          • In

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Red Canary Discovers A Silver Sparrow Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:25:00 GMT 5:59 6da5a924-85fc-4289-9f3a-57fd3e342ae6 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/redcanarydiscoversasilversparrow 6da5a924-85fc-4289-9f3a-57fd3e342ae6 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 redcanarydiscoversasilversparrow full
                            
                            
                            

                            YouTube’s ‘supervised experiences’ help parents choose what content their kids can see

                            
                            

                            Ring's new Video Doorbell Pro 2 will have a built-in radar

                            
                            

                            Biden Orders Broad Supply-Chain Review Amid Chip Shortages

                            
                            

                            Apple Takes Step to Prevent Further Spread of 'Silver Sparrow' Malware on Macs

                            
                            

                            Bill establishing cyber abuse takedown scheme for adults enters Parliament

                            
                            

                            Explainer: The Online Safety Bill

                            
                            

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]>
                            
                            
                            

                            YouTube’s ‘supervised experiences’ help parents choose what content their kids can see

                            
                            

                            Ring's new Video Doorbell Pro 2 will have a built-in radar

                            
                            

                            Biden Orders Broad Supply-Chain Review Amid Chip Shortages

                            
                            

                            Apple Takes Step to Prevent Further Spread of 'Silver Sparrow' Malware on Macs

                            
                            

                            Bill establishing cyber abuse takedown scheme for adults enters Parliament

                            
                            

                            Explainer: The Online Safety Bill

                            
                            

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Meet Poop Map, the Number One App On the AppStore Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:39:57 GMT 14:01 79badde9-248d-469d-94d4-ccd12d3c3f8b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/meetpoopmap-thenumberoneappontheappstore 79badde9-248d-469d-94d4-ccd12d3c3f8b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 meetpoopmap-thenumberoneappontheappstore full During the great Facebook News ban of 2021, The ABC’s News app climbed to the number one downloaded app in Australia, ironically replacing Facebook in the number one spot. 

                            Each day of the ban I’d re-check the charts to see whether order had been restored. Yesterday, the ABC news app had fallen but in its place was a new social network called Poop Map.

                            Poop Map is a social network where users, called “poopers”, “drop poops” on their location. As with most social networks, it has the ability to like and follow other users, and to comment on their poops. “Poopers” can even upload selfies to their poops...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> During the great Facebook News ban of 2021, The ABC’s News app climbed to the number one downloaded app in Australia, ironically replacing Facebook in the number one spot. 

                            Each day of the ban I’d re-check the charts to see whether order had been restored. Yesterday, the ABC news app had fallen but in its place was a new social network called Poop Map.

                            Poop Map is a social network where users, called “poopers”, “drop poops” on their location. As with most social networks, it has the ability to like and follow other users, and to comment on their poops. “Poopers” can even upload selfies to their poops...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Facebook Standoff Ends Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:32:26 GMT 10:59 3074a1a2-7e0d-458d-9923-1624dab81090 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookstandoffends 3074a1a2-7e0d-458d-9923-1624dab81090 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookstandoffends full
                            
                            
                            

                            Is this the end of Facebook’s news ban? 

                            • It looks like news is coming back to Facebook. 
                            • Facebook says it will reinstate news content on its platform after the government agreed to last minute amendments to the media bargaining code.
                            • Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships, said the company would restore news in “coming days” 
                            • Here’s the quote: “After further discussions with the Australian government, we have come to an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose to, including small and local publishers. We’re restoring news on Facebook in Australia in the coming days,” Mr Brown said.
                            • “Going forward, the government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won’t automatically be subject to a forced negotiation.”
                            • So, sounds like not everyone will be back, just the publishers who play nice with FB? 

                            
                            

                            • The amendments include inserting a two-month mediation period into the code to give the parties more time to broker agreements before they are forced to enter a binding final offer arbitration process. 
                            • Also: the code will take into account whether the digital platform “has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry through reaching commercial agreements with new media businesses” 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Automation set to gut 1.5m jobs from Australian economy 

                            
                            

                            • Robots will take 1.5 million Australian jobs by 2020, according to new research from research firm Forrester 
                            • Australia’s job market will shrink by 11 per cent by 2030 due to the rise of better automation technology
                            • How did they come up with these numbers? By tracking the progress of automation on 391 occupations that the ABS tracks. 
                            • Under the most threat in the near term, according to the report, are the cubicle workers, such as bookkeepers, accountants, human resources staff and office clerks. 
                            • If your gig involves repetitive and structured tasks it might be time to plan an exit strategy. 
                            • On the other side of the digital divide are the “digital elites” like data scientists, software and app developers, network and systems administrators, mathematicians and information security specialists who will be even more in demand.

                            
                            

                            https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22295273/spotify-hifi-announced-lossless-streaming-hd-quality?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

                            
                            

                            • Spotify had an event overnight to announce a new high quality pricing tier, although weirdly they didn’t announce what the pricing is..
                            • The new service, called Spotify Hifi will be rolling out in 80 markets 
                            • They’ve also announced advertising tools to podcasts. They’ve purchased megaphone, a podcast advertising company that currently is used around the world. 
                            • Disclaimer we use acast for ad insertion, but megaphone has a similar platform that inserts local ads into pods dynamically
                            • Australia is not listed as a market yet

                            
                            

                            Canva’s...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]>
                            
                            
                            

                            Is this the end of Facebook’s news ban? 

                            • It looks like news is coming back to Facebook. 
                            • Facebook says it will reinstate news content on its platform after the government agreed to last minute amendments to the media bargaining code.
                            • Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships, said the company would restore news in “coming days” 
                            • Here’s the quote: “After further discussions with the Australian government, we have come to an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose to, including small and local publishers. We’re restoring news on Facebook in Australia in the coming days,” Mr Brown said.
                            • “Going forward, the government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won’t automatically be subject to a forced negotiation.”
                            • So, sounds like not everyone will be back, just the publishers who play nice with FB? 

                            
                            

                            • The amendments include inserting a two-month mediation period into the code to give the parties more time to broker agreements before they are forced to enter a binding final offer arbitration process. 
                            • Also: the code will take into account whether the digital platform “has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry through reaching commercial agreements with new media businesses” 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Automation set to gut 1.5m jobs from Australian economy 

                            
                            

                            • Robots will take 1.5 million Australian jobs by 2020, according to new research from research firm Forrester 
                            • Australia’s job market will shrink by 11 per cent by 2030 due to the rise of better automation technology
                            • How did they come up with these numbers? By tracking the progress of automation on 391 occupations that the ABS tracks. 
                            • Under the most threat in the near term, according to the report, are the cubicle workers, such as bookkeepers, accountants, human resources staff and office clerks. 
                            • If your gig involves repetitive and structured tasks it might be time to plan an exit strategy. 
                            • On the other side of the digital divide are the “digital elites” like data scientists, software and app developers, network and systems administrators, mathematicians and information security specialists who will be even more in demand.

                            
                            

                            https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22295273/spotify-hifi-announced-lossless-streaming-hd-quality?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

                            
                            

                            • Spotify had an event overnight to announce a new high quality pricing tier, although weirdly they didn’t announce what the pricing is..
                            • The new service, called Spotify Hifi will be rolling out in 80 markets 
                            • They’ve also announced advertising tools to podcasts. They’ve purchased megaphone, a podcast advertising company that currently is used around the world. 
                            • Disclaimer we use acast for ad insertion, but megaphone has a similar platform that inserts local ads into pods dynamically
                            • Australia is not listed as a market yet

                            
                            

                            Canva’s...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Uber Drivers are Workers in The UK Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:17:54 GMT 6:12 7c3f6ce0-1f58-425d-842d-c2fca7919cad false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/uberdriversareworkersintheuk 7c3f6ce0-1f58-425d-842d-c2fca7919cad 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 uberdriversareworkersintheuk full
                            
                            
                            

                            In the UK, Uber drivers are self employed  

                            • First to London where the UK’s Supreme Court has ruled Uber drivers are indeed workers not self-employed.  
                            • The decision means drivers could be entitled to employment benefits such as a minimum wage and holiday pay. 
                            • The case dates back to a complaint made in 2016 by two Uber drivers. 
                            • Uber maintained it was just a booking app, that requires independent contractors to provide the actual transport. 
                            • The ruling could leave the ride-hailing app facing a hefty compensation bill, and have wider consequences for the gig economy.
                            • The AFR has a local follow up, an interview with the Australian barrister Sheryn Omeri, who successfully argued the UK case. 
                            • It’s a good read if you’d like to get into the details on the difference between an “employee” a worker and an independent contractor. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Buzzfeed has a long read on how decisions get made, and unmade at Facebook 

                            Facebook’s rules to combat misinformation and hate speech are subject to the whims and political considerations of its CEO and his policy team leader.

                            • They report, CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally intervened when the platform was preparing to ban Infowars founder Alex Jones for spreading misinformation and hate. 
                            • "Mark personally didn’t like the punishment, so he changed the rules,” a former policy employee told BuzzFeed News,
                            • Facebook determined that Jones - who claims 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre was a “giant hoax” - should be kicked off the social media site 
                            • But Zuckerberg stepped in and overruled his own internal experts and opened a gaping loophole: Facebook would permanently ban Jones and his company — but would not touch posts of praise and support for them from other Facebook users.
                            • That meant Jones’ followers could continue to share his lies across the world’s largest social network.
                            • The decision delayed the company’s efforts to remove right wing militant organizations such as the Oath Keepers, which were involved the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

                            
                            

                            The security concerns around clubhouse aren’t going away 

                            • Bloomberg reports, that an unidentified user was able to stream Clubhouse audio feeds this weekend from “multiple rooms” into their own third-party website this weekend. 
                            • the company says it’s “permanently banned” that particular user and installed new “safeguards” to prevent a repeat, researchers contend the platform may not be in a position to make such promises.
                            • Users of the invitation-only iOS app should assume all conversations are being recorded, the Stanford Internet Observatory,
                            • Alex Stamos is the director of the SIO and Facebook Inc.’s former security chief. and his team were also able to confirm that Clubhouse relies on a Shanghai-based startup called Agora Inc. to handle much of its back-end operations. 
                            • Raises extensive privacy concerns, especially for Chinese citizens and dissidents under the impression their conversations are beyond the reach of state surveillance

                            
                            

                            And that’s all for today. We will be back to usual programming on...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]>
                            
                            
                            

                            In the UK, Uber drivers are self employed  

                            • First to London where the UK’s Supreme Court has ruled Uber drivers are indeed workers not self-employed.  
                            • The decision means drivers could be entitled to employment benefits such as a minimum wage and holiday pay. 
                            • The case dates back to a complaint made in 2016 by two Uber drivers. 
                            • Uber maintained it was just a booking app, that requires independent contractors to provide the actual transport. 
                            • The ruling could leave the ride-hailing app facing a hefty compensation bill, and have wider consequences for the gig economy.
                            • The AFR has a local follow up, an interview with the Australian barrister Sheryn Omeri, who successfully argued the UK case. 
                            • It’s a good read if you’d like to get into the details on the difference between an “employee” a worker and an independent contractor. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Buzzfeed has a long read on how decisions get made, and unmade at Facebook 

                            Facebook’s rules to combat misinformation and hate speech are subject to the whims and political considerations of its CEO and his policy team leader.

                            • They report, CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally intervened when the platform was preparing to ban Infowars founder Alex Jones for spreading misinformation and hate. 
                            • "Mark personally didn’t like the punishment, so he changed the rules,” a former policy employee told BuzzFeed News,
                            • Facebook determined that Jones - who claims 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre was a “giant hoax” - should be kicked off the social media site 
                            • But Zuckerberg stepped in and overruled his own internal experts and opened a gaping loophole: Facebook would permanently ban Jones and his company — but would not touch posts of praise and support for them from other Facebook users.
                            • That meant Jones’ followers could continue to share his lies across the world’s largest social network.
                            • The decision delayed the company’s efforts to remove right wing militant organizations such as the Oath Keepers, which were involved the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

                            
                            

                            The security concerns around clubhouse aren’t going away 

                            • Bloomberg reports, that an unidentified user was able to stream Clubhouse audio feeds this weekend from “multiple rooms” into their own third-party website this weekend. 
                            • the company says it’s “permanently banned” that particular user and installed new “safeguards” to prevent a repeat, researchers contend the platform may not be in a position to make such promises.
                            • Users of the invitation-only iOS app should assume all conversations are being recorded, the Stanford Internet Observatory,
                            • Alex Stamos is the director of the SIO and Facebook Inc.’s former security chief. and his team were also able to confirm that Clubhouse relies on a Shanghai-based startup called Agora Inc. to handle much of its back-end operations. 
                            • Raises extensive privacy concerns, especially for Chinese citizens and dissidents under the impression their conversations are beyond the reach of state surveillance

                            
                            

                            And that’s all for today. We will be back to usual programming on...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> The Actual Monday Episode Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:59:39 GMT 13:20 206099b1-4104-42f1-9f77-4116160c1a51 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/theactualmondayepisode 206099b1-4104-42f1-9f77-4116160c1a51 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 theactualmondayepisode full
                            

                            Facebook ban follow up 

                            • Following up on the big story last week, and unsurprisingly news consumption dropped after Facebook banned news from its platform. 
                            • Data compiled by measurement company Nielsen found that the ban had an immediate impact on publishers.   
                            • Nielsen used its Digital Content Ratings methodology – which provides data each month on traffic volumes for tagged websites and apps regardless of the source being on or off-platform – to track total sessions and total time spent for the Current Events & Global News category yesterday. 
                            • Total Sessions fell by 16% last Thursday, when compared with an average Thursday.
                            • According to Nielsen about 22% of news audiences consumed their content exclusively via the Facebook app. 
                            • But, media execs are saying people are coming directly to their sites. And the ABC news app was the most downloaded free App in the App Store on Friday. Above Insta, Messenger, FB and Whatsapp 
                            • They may have had strong traffic on Thursday because it was a strong news day. It will be hard to sustain that without huge breaking news. If publishers can hang on and adapt it could be a net positive. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook news ban: Thuggery shows why we must move fast to fix it

                            
                            

                            https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/facebook-s-devastating-display-of-defiance-is-vintage-zuckerberg-20210219-p5741b.html

                            
                            

                            Facebook loses friends as protest over new media code backfires

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            COVID vaccinations in Victoria to be tracked by new tech platform

                            
                            

                            Australia’s vaccination program starts today! 

                            
                            

                            Victoria will be using a system from Microsoft to keep track of the vaccinations. the Vaccination Registration and Administration Solution (VRAS) is a management platform to co-ordinate the logistics and scheduled delivery of the vaccines at clinics.

                            
                            

                            According to Microsoft, the VRAS technology would also let the Department of Health monitor “cold chain” requirements to ensure vaccines are safe and effective. 

                            Hopefully this isn’t a covid safe app situation… 

                            
                            

                            When it comes to record keeping, the Australian government will use its existing systems, in particular the Australian Immunisation Register. 

                            All Covid vaccination info will be required to be uploaded to the register to help track and trace who is and isn’t protected from the virus.

                            Previously it wasn’t mandatory to report vaccines, but a law change earlier this month means that the gov will have a complete picture of vaccinations.

                            Vaccination records are viewable through Medicare Online, myGov, the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or My Health Record.

                            Ahead of the vaccine rollout, federal government services minister Stuart Robert on Friday called on Australians to link their...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]>
                            

                            Facebook ban follow up 

                            • Following up on the big story last week, and unsurprisingly news consumption dropped after Facebook banned news from its platform. 
                            • Data compiled by measurement company Nielsen found that the ban had an immediate impact on publishers.   
                            • Nielsen used its Digital Content Ratings methodology – which provides data each month on traffic volumes for tagged websites and apps regardless of the source being on or off-platform – to track total sessions and total time spent for the Current Events & Global News category yesterday. 
                            • Total Sessions fell by 16% last Thursday, when compared with an average Thursday.
                            • According to Nielsen about 22% of news audiences consumed their content exclusively via the Facebook app. 
                            • But, media execs are saying people are coming directly to their sites. And the ABC news app was the most downloaded free App in the App Store on Friday. Above Insta, Messenger, FB and Whatsapp 
                            • They may have had strong traffic on Thursday because it was a strong news day. It will be hard to sustain that without huge breaking news. If publishers can hang on and adapt it could be a net positive. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook news ban: Thuggery shows why we must move fast to fix it

                            
                            

                            https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/facebook-s-devastating-display-of-defiance-is-vintage-zuckerberg-20210219-p5741b.html

                            
                            

                            Facebook loses friends as protest over new media code backfires

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            COVID vaccinations in Victoria to be tracked by new tech platform

                            
                            

                            Australia’s vaccination program starts today! 

                            
                            

                            Victoria will be using a system from Microsoft to keep track of the vaccinations. the Vaccination Registration and Administration Solution (VRAS) is a management platform to co-ordinate the logistics and scheduled delivery of the vaccines at clinics.

                            
                            

                            According to Microsoft, the VRAS technology would also let the Department of Health monitor “cold chain” requirements to ensure vaccines are safe and effective. 

                            Hopefully this isn’t a covid safe app situation… 

                            
                            

                            When it comes to record keeping, the Australian government will use its existing systems, in particular the Australian Immunisation Register. 

                            All Covid vaccination info will be required to be uploaded to the register to help track and trace who is and isn’t protected from the virus.

                            Previously it wasn’t mandatory to report vaccines, but a law change earlier this month means that the gov will have a complete picture of vaccinations.

                            Vaccination records are viewable through Medicare Online, myGov, the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or My Health Record.

                            Ahead of the vaccine rollout, federal government services minister Stuart Robert on Friday called on Australians to link their...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Happy Vaccination Day! (new!) Sun, 21 Feb 2021 17:49:14 GMT 13:20 878d2302-3140-42b5-a6fb-6825090c2262 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/happyvaccinationday- 878d2302-3140-42b5-a6fb-6825090c2262 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 happyvaccinationday- full
                            
                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook ban follow up 

                            • Following up on the big story last week, and unsurprisingly news consumption dropped after Facebook banned news from its platform. 
                            • Data compiled by measurement company Nielsen found that the ban had an immediate impact on publishers.   
                            • Nielsen used its Digital Content Ratings methodology – which provides data each month on traffic volumes for tagged websites and apps regardless of the source being on or off-platform – to track total sessions and total time spent for the Current Events & Global News category yesterday. 
                            • Total Sessions fell by 16% last Thursday, when compared with an average Thursday.
                            • According to Nielsen about 22% of news audiences consumed their content exclusively via the Facebook app. 
                            • But, media execs are saying people are coming directly to their sites. And the ABC news app was the most downloaded free App in the App Store on Friday. Above Insta, Messenger, FB and Whatsapp 
                            • They may have had strong traffic on Thursday because it was a strong news day. It will be hard to sustain that without huge breaking news. If publishers can hang on and adapt it could be a net positive. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook news ban: Thuggery shows why we must move fast to fix it

                            
                            

                            https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/facebook-s-devastating-display-of-defiance-is-vintage-zuckerberg-20210219-p5741b.html

                            
                            

                            Facebook loses friends as protest over new media code backfires

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            COVID vaccinations in Victoria to be tracked by new tech platform

                            
                            

                            Australia’s vaccination program starts today! 

                            
                            

                            Victoria will be using a system from Microsoft to keep track of the vaccinations. the Vaccination Registration and Administration Solution (VRAS) is a management platform to co-ordinate the logistics and scheduled delivery of the vaccines at clinics.

                            
                            

                            According to Microsoft, the VRAS technology would also let the Department of Health monitor “cold chain” requirements to ensure vaccines are safe and effective. 

                            Hopefully this isn’t a covid safe app situation… 

                            
                            

                            When it comes to record keeping, the Australian government will use its existing systems, in particular the Australian Immunisation Register. 

                            All Covid vaccination info will be required to be uploaded to the register to help track and trace who is and isn’t protected from the virus.

                            Previously it wasn’t mandatory to report vaccines, but a law change earlier this month means that the gov will have a complete picture of vaccinations.

                            Vaccination records are viewable through Medicare Online, myGov, the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or My Health Record.

                            Ahead of the vaccine rollout, federal government services minister Stuart Robert on Friday...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]>
                            
                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook ban follow up 

                            • Following up on the big story last week, and unsurprisingly news consumption dropped after Facebook banned news from its platform. 
                            • Data compiled by measurement company Nielsen found that the ban had an immediate impact on publishers.   
                            • Nielsen used its Digital Content Ratings methodology – which provides data each month on traffic volumes for tagged websites and apps regardless of the source being on or off-platform – to track total sessions and total time spent for the Current Events & Global News category yesterday. 
                            • Total Sessions fell by 16% last Thursday, when compared with an average Thursday.
                            • According to Nielsen about 22% of news audiences consumed their content exclusively via the Facebook app. 
                            • But, media execs are saying people are coming directly to their sites. And the ABC news app was the most downloaded free App in the App Store on Friday. Above Insta, Messenger, FB and Whatsapp 
                            • They may have had strong traffic on Thursday because it was a strong news day. It will be hard to sustain that without huge breaking news. If publishers can hang on and adapt it could be a net positive. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook news ban: Thuggery shows why we must move fast to fix it

                            
                            

                            https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/facebook-s-devastating-display-of-defiance-is-vintage-zuckerberg-20210219-p5741b.html

                            
                            

                            Facebook loses friends as protest over new media code backfires

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            COVID vaccinations in Victoria to be tracked by new tech platform

                            
                            

                            Australia’s vaccination program starts today! 

                            
                            

                            Victoria will be using a system from Microsoft to keep track of the vaccinations. the Vaccination Registration and Administration Solution (VRAS) is a management platform to co-ordinate the logistics and scheduled delivery of the vaccines at clinics.

                            
                            

                            According to Microsoft, the VRAS technology would also let the Department of Health monitor “cold chain” requirements to ensure vaccines are safe and effective. 

                            Hopefully this isn’t a covid safe app situation… 

                            
                            

                            When it comes to record keeping, the Australian government will use its existing systems, in particular the Australian Immunisation Register. 

                            All Covid vaccination info will be required to be uploaded to the register to help track and trace who is and isn’t protected from the virus.

                            Previously it wasn’t mandatory to report vaccines, but a law change earlier this month means that the gov will have a complete picture of vaccinations.

                            Vaccination records are viewable through Medicare Online, myGov, the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or My Health Record.

                            Ahead of the vaccine rollout, federal government services minister Stuart Robert on Friday...

                            ---

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Facebook Goes Nuclear Thu, 18 Feb 2021 18:00:00 GMT 17:46 280a2bbc-e98c-4cde-bc0c-ea24ed783738 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookgoesnuclear 280a2bbc-e98c-4cde-bc0c-ea24ed783738 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookgoesnuclear full Holy crap! Facebook has deleted all news sources.
                            
                            

                            And here’s some of the stories that caught our eye this week, but didn’t warrant a full discussion: 

                            
                            

                            Bitcoin (BTC USD) Cryptocurrency Price Jumps to $50,000

                            
                            

                            • If you had bought $100 bitcoin in 2011, it would've been worth $6.1m this week 

                            
                            

                            Is no one buying the small phone? 

                            
                            

                            • Sorry, small-phone lovers: The iPhone 12 mini was Apple’s 2020 sales flop
                            • But wait! 
                            • iPhone 13 Mini Still Expected Despite Lackluster iPhone 12 Mini Sales

                            
                            

                            Lastpass munted 

                            LastPass free restricts users to one device type in March

                            
                            

                            • LastPass is restricting the way it’s free tier works. The next update will make you choose between lastpass on mobile devices, or computers, but not both. 
                            • DO you use a Password Manager? 

                            
                            

                            SolarWinds: How Russian spies hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy and Commerce Departments

                            
                            

                            • Microsoft head of security tells 60 Minutes the Solarwinds hack was the most “sophisticated” he’s ever seen!

                            
                            

                            Want a cheap electric car? Ausdroid has a guide 

                            Want a sub $20K electric car? Tassie entrepreneurs Good Car co are importing into Australia

                            
                            

                            Parler Back

                            Parler crawls back online empty and with a Tea Party CEO 

                            
                            

                            • After being kicked off AWS servers in January, conservative social media platform Parler is back online. The new host is SkySilk
                            • There’s a new logo and the old CEO John Matze has been replaced by Mark Meckler, founder of the Tea Party Patriots. 
                            • It’s still banned on App Stores so users need to log on via web. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Xinja

                            Xinja - should see if there’s an update after the shareholders meeting 

                            'Gun at their head': Xinja shareholders call for more options

                            • Investors who own more than 20 per cent of Xinja’s shares are now calling for a third option that includes retaining the company’s banking license, raising more capital and flushing out the board. “The license is the most valuable asset the bank has,”  

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            NYT Doco on the “Teenager who hacked Twitter”

                            https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12673712/?ref_=ttep_ep5

                            
                            

                            • I found this lookin g for the britney spears doco, which i’d also recommend. 

                            
                            

                            A new online game -

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Holy crap! Facebook has deleted all news sources.
                            
                            

                            And here’s some of the stories that caught our eye this week, but didn’t warrant a full discussion: 

                            
                            

                            Bitcoin (BTC USD) Cryptocurrency Price Jumps to $50,000

                            
                            

                            • If you had bought $100 bitcoin in 2011, it would've been worth $6.1m this week 

                            
                            

                            Is no one buying the small phone? 

                            
                            

                            • Sorry, small-phone lovers: The iPhone 12 mini was Apple’s 2020 sales flop
                            • But wait! 
                            • iPhone 13 Mini Still Expected Despite Lackluster iPhone 12 Mini Sales

                            
                            

                            Lastpass munted 

                            LastPass free restricts users to one device type in March

                            
                            

                            • LastPass is restricting the way it’s free tier works. The next update will make you choose between lastpass on mobile devices, or computers, but not both. 
                            • DO you use a Password Manager? 

                            
                            

                            SolarWinds: How Russian spies hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy and Commerce Departments

                            
                            

                            • Microsoft head of security tells 60 Minutes the Solarwinds hack was the most “sophisticated” he’s ever seen!

                            
                            

                            Want a cheap electric car? Ausdroid has a guide 

                            Want a sub $20K electric car? Tassie entrepreneurs Good Car co are importing into Australia

                            
                            

                            Parler Back

                            Parler crawls back online empty and with a Tea Party CEO 

                            
                            

                            • After being kicked off AWS servers in January, conservative social media platform Parler is back online. The new host is SkySilk
                            • There’s a new logo and the old CEO John Matze has been replaced by Mark Meckler, founder of the Tea Party Patriots. 
                            • It’s still banned on App Stores so users need to log on via web. 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Xinja

                            Xinja - should see if there’s an update after the shareholders meeting 

                            'Gun at their head': Xinja shareholders call for more options

                            • Investors who own more than 20 per cent of Xinja’s shares are now calling for a third option that includes retaining the company’s banking license, raising more capital and flushing out the board. “The license is the most valuable asset the bank has,”  

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            NYT Doco on the “Teenager who hacked Twitter”

                            https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12673712/?ref_=ttep_ep5

                            
                            

                            • I found this lookin g for the britney spears doco, which i’d also recommend. 

                            
                            

                            A new online game -

                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                            ]]> Negotiate or Arbitrate! Wed, 17 Feb 2021 18:05:00 GMT 10:51 29239407-17db-41f3-8035-cd58cba84c1d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/negotiateorarbitrate- 29239407-17db-41f3-8035-cd58cba84c1d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 negotiateorarbitrate- full Media Code
                            
                            

                            Google, Nine agree commercial terms for news content 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            • Another day, another deal with Google. Nine reportedly struck a $30 million-a-year cash deal with Google on Wednesday. (although neither side are officially confirming it yet)
                            • The AFR is reporting Junkee Media inked a smaller agreement and Guardian Australia and the ABC could have agreements wrapped up by the end of the week. That follows the Seven West deal we spoke about earlier in the week. 
                            • Under the proposed Media code the options are basically: negotiate or arbitrate 
                            • This could be Google setting the market rate before it goes into arbitration. Ie News can’t ask for $600 million when Nine’s already agreed to $30 million 
                            • Nothing from FB yet. I wonder how those negotiations are going. 
                            • What would you do with the cash? Well, the media union, the MEAA, says any money from these content deals must “end up in the newsroom, not the boardroom” 

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Facebook Ban 

                            https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/craig-kelly-cops-one-week-facebook-ban-for-covid-19-misinformation-20210216-p5730u.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1613459499

                            
                            

                            • Federal member for Hughes, Craig Kelly, has copped a 7 day ban from Facebook for “violating the company’s COVID 19 misinformation policy
                            • Facebook also deleted four coronavirus-related posts from Mr Kelly’s official MP Facebook page, including one where he likened the wearing of masks by children to child abuse.
                            • Mr Kelly has used his page, which has more than 80,000 followers, to promote treatments for COVID-19 at odds with official government and medical advice.
                            • Kelly revealed the 7 day ban in a bizarre interview with Cam Wilson of Gizmodo. 
                            • At one point in the interview, Kelly is asked what fact checking he does before sharing Covid related stuff and gave this answer: 
                            • Before I posted it, I checked the credibility of it. He had this long Jewish beard. He looked a bit … I looked him up to see that he was on the up and up and I satisfied myself. So I posted it to Facebook.

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            
                            

                            Amazon just bought an Australian ecommerce company you’ve never heard of

                            • Imagine you’re an Aussies entrepreneur, you started your business in 2013 making ecommerce software. Over the years you raise $11 million, and open offices overseas. 
                            • Then you do the biggest deal of your life and sell your company to Amazon. What do you do? 
                            • Selz, which was founded in Sydney, announced they had been bought by Amazon in January with 2 sentences of their website. And no one really noticed until this week. 
                            • “We have signed an agreement to be acquired by Amazon and are looking forward to working with them as we continue to build easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs.” CEO Martin Rushe 
                            • There’s a few reasons Amazon might have wanted to do this deal, one would be as an acqui-hire (an...

                              ---

                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                              ]]> Media Code
                              
                              

                              Google, Nine agree commercial terms for news content 

                              
                              

                              
                              

                              • Another day, another deal with Google. Nine reportedly struck a $30 million-a-year cash deal with Google on Wednesday. (although neither side are officially confirming it yet)
                              • The AFR is reporting Junkee Media inked a smaller agreement and Guardian Australia and the ABC could have agreements wrapped up by the end of the week. That follows the Seven West deal we spoke about earlier in the week. 
                              • Under the proposed Media code the options are basically: negotiate or arbitrate 
                              • This could be Google setting the market rate before it goes into arbitration. Ie News can’t ask for $600 million when Nine’s already agreed to $30 million 
                              • Nothing from FB yet. I wonder how those negotiations are going. 
                              • What would you do with the cash? Well, the media union, the MEAA, says any money from these content deals must “end up in the newsroom, not the boardroom” 

                              
                              

                              
                              

                              
                              

                              Facebook Ban 

                              https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/craig-kelly-cops-one-week-facebook-ban-for-covid-19-misinformation-20210216-p5730u.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1613459499

                              
                              

                              • Federal member for Hughes, Craig Kelly, has copped a 7 day ban from Facebook for “violating the company’s COVID 19 misinformation policy
                              • Facebook also deleted four coronavirus-related posts from Mr Kelly’s official MP Facebook page, including one where he likened the wearing of masks by children to child abuse.
                              • Mr Kelly has used his page, which has more than 80,000 followers, to promote treatments for COVID-19 at odds with official government and medical advice.
                              • Kelly revealed the 7 day ban in a bizarre interview with Cam Wilson of Gizmodo. 
                              • At one point in the interview, Kelly is asked what fact checking he does before sharing Covid related stuff and gave this answer: 
                              • Before I posted it, I checked the credibility of it. He had this long Jewish beard. He looked a bit … I looked him up to see that he was on the up and up and I satisfied myself. So I posted it to Facebook.

                              
                              

                              
                              

                              
                              

                              Amazon just bought an Australian ecommerce company you’ve never heard of

                              • Imagine you’re an Aussies entrepreneur, you started your business in 2013 making ecommerce software. Over the years you raise $11 million, and open offices overseas. 
                              • Then you do the biggest deal of your life and sell your company to Amazon. What do you do? 
                              • Selz, which was founded in Sydney, announced they had been bought by Amazon in January with 2 sentences of their website. And no one really noticed until this week. 
                              • “We have signed an agreement to be acquired by Amazon and are looking forward to working with them as we continue to build easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs.” CEO Martin Rushe 
                              • There’s a few reasons Amazon might have wanted to do this deal, one would be as an acqui-hire (an...

                                ---

                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                ]]> WTF is Clubhouse? Audio LinkedIn For A Visual World Tue, 16 Feb 2021 18:19:00 GMT 13:47 1aa83a06-e2ca-477d-884b-2e647744e85f false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/wtfisclubhouse-audiolinkedinforavisualworld 1aa83a06-e2ca-477d-884b-2e647744e85f 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 wtfisclubhouse-audiolinkedinforavisualworld full What is Clubhouse 
                                • Clubhouse is a real-time audio-based social network 
                                • Clubhouse lets you create and join "rooms," where you can then chat with others in a big conference call. It’s just audio & you can drop in and out of rooms at any time. 
                                • Once the conversations are over the room closes and 
                                • There’s a lot of discussion around start-ups and clubhouse itself. But there’s also NBA watch parties and 
                                • Clubhouse is like crack for big LinkedIn users - I see it as an audio extension of LinkedIn. 
                                • It reminds me of twitter when hashtags started being a thing - which again reminds me that twitter couldve and shouldve done this first 

                                
                                

                                Who’s behind it? 

                                • The company recently raised around $100 million in Series B funding led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the company at $1 billion 
                                • Founders are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. who have been working on social products for a decade, with little success. According to Business Insider, the pair have at least nine failed apps between them, including Talkshow, their first collaboration and the predecessor to Clubhouse. Clubhouse was their "one last try" to crack the social graph

                                
                                

                                Who’s on Clubhouse? 

                                • Well apart from Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley types … 
                                • Theres a lot of talk about Marc Andressen wanting to side step the media - i think thats part of the appeal of Clubhouse
                                • In a post Trump world, we’re seeing more people like Elon Musk ignore trad media and speak directly to followers. Just like Trump, Elon has stepped in trouble with tweets, but it hasn’t seemed to impact him too much
                                • Clubhouse has been downloaded about 4.7 million times to date since launching in September according to Apptopia. Growth is accelerating:
                                • It hit 1 million downloads at the end of last year, per Apptopia. For now, it's only available on iOS. 
                                • Access still requires an invite. I joined without an invite, I just signed up last Friday and 20 minutes later one of my LinkedIn contacts had vouched for me and I got a notification that my account was ready” 

                                
                                

                                First Impressions?   

                                • The app icon is weird compared to every other icon on my homescreen
                                • I really don’t know what I’m doing in there. But I don’t feel old like when I was using house party. I’ve clicked on notifications, been taken directly to a room and freaked out because I don’t know why I’m there. 
                                • If you’ve got limits on your phone about how long you can use social media, Clubhouse will burn through those limits really quickly. 

                                
                                

                                Why Audio-first? Who’s the competition? 

                                • Facebook & Twitter 
                                • Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse
                                • Twitter launches its voice-based 'Spaces' social networking feature into beta testing
                                • The Case for Twitter Spaces. Why Twitter's Clubhouse clone is poised… | by Alex Kantrowitz | Feb, 2021 | OneZero
                                • 
                                  

                                
                                

                                All the possible downsides 

                                • Clubhouse is facing the same content moderation dilemmas as...

                                  ---

                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                  ]]> What is Clubhouse 
                                  • Clubhouse is a real-time audio-based social network 
                                  • Clubhouse lets you create and join "rooms," where you can then chat with others in a big conference call. It’s just audio & you can drop in and out of rooms at any time. 
                                  • Once the conversations are over the room closes and 
                                  • There’s a lot of discussion around start-ups and clubhouse itself. But there’s also NBA watch parties and 
                                  • Clubhouse is like crack for big LinkedIn users - I see it as an audio extension of LinkedIn. 
                                  • It reminds me of twitter when hashtags started being a thing - which again reminds me that twitter couldve and shouldve done this first 

                                  
                                  

                                  Who’s behind it? 

                                  • The company recently raised around $100 million in Series B funding led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the company at $1 billion 
                                  • Founders are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. who have been working on social products for a decade, with little success. According to Business Insider, the pair have at least nine failed apps between them, including Talkshow, their first collaboration and the predecessor to Clubhouse. Clubhouse was their "one last try" to crack the social graph

                                  
                                  

                                  Who’s on Clubhouse? 

                                  • Well apart from Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley types … 
                                  • Theres a lot of talk about Marc Andressen wanting to side step the media - i think thats part of the appeal of Clubhouse
                                  • In a post Trump world, we’re seeing more people like Elon Musk ignore trad media and speak directly to followers. Just like Trump, Elon has stepped in trouble with tweets, but it hasn’t seemed to impact him too much
                                  • Clubhouse has been downloaded about 4.7 million times to date since launching in September according to Apptopia. Growth is accelerating:
                                  • It hit 1 million downloads at the end of last year, per Apptopia. For now, it's only available on iOS. 
                                  • Access still requires an invite. I joined without an invite, I just signed up last Friday and 20 minutes later one of my LinkedIn contacts had vouched for me and I got a notification that my account was ready” 

                                  
                                  

                                  First Impressions?   

                                  • The app icon is weird compared to every other icon on my homescreen
                                  • I really don’t know what I’m doing in there. But I don’t feel old like when I was using house party. I’ve clicked on notifications, been taken directly to a room and freaked out because I don’t know why I’m there. 
                                  • If you’ve got limits on your phone about how long you can use social media, Clubhouse will burn through those limits really quickly. 

                                  
                                  

                                  Why Audio-first? Who’s the competition? 

                                  • Facebook & Twitter 
                                  • Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse
                                  • Twitter launches its voice-based 'Spaces' social networking feature into beta testing
                                  • The Case for Twitter Spaces. Why Twitter's Clubhouse clone is poised… | by Alex Kantrowitz | Feb, 2021 | OneZero
                                  • 
                                    

                                  
                                  

                                  All the possible downsides 

                                  • Clubhouse is facing the same content moderation dilemmas as...

                                    ---

                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                    ]]> Mon, 15 Feb 2021 18:20:00 GMT 9:29 9115628a-c88f-4b75-8d20-5ab9e36d973d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/someoneelsesmoney 9115628a-c88f-4b75-8d20-5ab9e36d973d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 someoneelsesmoney full
                                    
                                    
                                    

                                    Media Code update 

                                    Seven West Media and Google strike long-term partnership 

                                    Federal government concession sends tech giants scrambling 

                                    After chat with Mark Zuckerberg, Treasurer thinks deals under media code are 'very close' 

                                    Google, Seven strike News Showcase deal

                                    Seven West Media strikes deal with Google, swings to net profit

                                    • As we round the home stretch of the media code law - with the vote expected this Friday, last minute deals are being made… 
                                    • Seven West Media has inked a deal to join Google Showcase, Google’s preferred way of distributing its wealth to media in Australia
                                    • Meanwhile, the Age reports both Google and Facebook are quote “scrambling” to make last minute deals with media companies to avoid the media code deadline of friday, though that paper provides no detail of these deals. 
                                    • And the ABC reports that treasurer Josh Frydenberg has chatted again with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, again, no new details beyond their budding friendship, but Frydenberg is also optimistic that some last minute deals will be struck. 
                                    • Doesn’t that sound like the federal government is somewhat undermining its own proposed law, if it hopes that deals will be struck before it’s passed? Not really - remember, the media code was only drawn up after media and tech refused to negotiate. 

                                    
                                    

                                    
                                    

                                    What’s happening with Xinja? 

                                    
                                    

                                    • In December neobank Xinja handed back its banking licence and closed all of its customers’ accounts. But the startup didn’t go out of business. 
                                    • On the other side of the summer holidays, and The Australian has an update on what’s going on with the former bank. 
                                    • The company’s future will be decided at an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday, the paper reports. 
                                    • The options on the table are to pivot from a bank to a US share-trading platform or wind the business up. 
                                    • in a letter penned by chief executive Eric Wilson asks his investors if they would prefer to lock in a loss of 95c-100c in the dollar, or recapitalise and bet on the new venture. 
                                    • Mr Wilson, who declined to comment, writes in the letter, “I don’t wish to sugar-coat this. It will be a long and difficult journey with considerable risk. We will be starting with a small team and limited capital. It will require raising further capital”  

                                    
                                    

                                    
                                    

                                    Facebook Meets Apple in Clash of the Tech Titans—‘We Need to Inflict Pain’

                                    • Forget the cold war between Facebook and Apple, as the Wall Street Journal says Facebook executives have been told to “inflict pain” on Apple 
                                    • There’s not much new here, but the details are...

                                      ---

                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                      ]]>
                                      
                                      
                                      

                                      Media Code update 

                                      Seven West Media and Google strike long-term partnership 

                                      Federal government concession sends tech giants scrambling 

                                      After chat with Mark Zuckerberg, Treasurer thinks deals under media code are 'very close' 

                                      Google, Seven strike News Showcase deal

                                      Seven West Media strikes deal with Google, swings to net profit

                                      • As we round the home stretch of the media code law - with the vote expected this Friday, last minute deals are being made… 
                                      • Seven West Media has inked a deal to join Google Showcase, Google’s preferred way of distributing its wealth to media in Australia
                                      • Meanwhile, the Age reports both Google and Facebook are quote “scrambling” to make last minute deals with media companies to avoid the media code deadline of friday, though that paper provides no detail of these deals. 
                                      • And the ABC reports that treasurer Josh Frydenberg has chatted again with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, again, no new details beyond their budding friendship, but Frydenberg is also optimistic that some last minute deals will be struck. 
                                      • Doesn’t that sound like the federal government is somewhat undermining its own proposed law, if it hopes that deals will be struck before it’s passed? Not really - remember, the media code was only drawn up after media and tech refused to negotiate. 

                                      
                                      

                                      
                                      

                                      What’s happening with Xinja? 

                                      
                                      

                                      • In December neobank Xinja handed back its banking licence and closed all of its customers’ accounts. But the startup didn’t go out of business. 
                                      • On the other side of the summer holidays, and The Australian has an update on what’s going on with the former bank. 
                                      • The company’s future will be decided at an extraordinary general meeting on Wednesday, the paper reports. 
                                      • The options on the table are to pivot from a bank to a US share-trading platform or wind the business up. 
                                      • in a letter penned by chief executive Eric Wilson asks his investors if they would prefer to lock in a loss of 95c-100c in the dollar, or recapitalise and bet on the new venture. 
                                      • Mr Wilson, who declined to comment, writes in the letter, “I don’t wish to sugar-coat this. It will be a long and difficult journey with considerable risk. We will be starting with a small team and limited capital. It will require raising further capital”  

                                      
                                      

                                      
                                      

                                      Facebook Meets Apple in Clash of the Tech Titans—‘We Need to Inflict Pain’

                                      • Forget the cold war between Facebook and Apple, as the Wall Street Journal says Facebook executives have been told to “inflict pain” on Apple 
                                      • There’s not much new here, but the details are...

                                        ---

                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                        ]]> Bumble CEO Parties in Clubhouse Sun, 14 Feb 2021 18:05:00 GMT 10:32 a557e791-0bdc-4ad8-a19f-de248d2401e5 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/bumbleceopartiesinclubhouse a557e791-0bdc-4ad8-a19f-de248d2401e5 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 bumbleceopartiesinclubhouse full Clubhouse issues 

                                        https://onezero.medium.com/clubhouse-is-suggesting-users-invite-their-drug-dealers-and-therapists-a8161b3062fc

                                        
                                        

                                        • Clubhouse has become big news recently and because of that, it is under more scrutiny 
                                        • Will Oremus has looked at how Clubhouse uses your contacts, and its not great
                                        • Like most apps, if you grant it access to your contacts, it uploads your entire address book 
                                        • It you dont allow it to upload your contacts, you dont get the much prized invites to invite two friends
                                        • But then if you do, like me, and like Will, you might find it requesting names you cant remember 

                                        
                                        

                                        And twitters clubhouse 

                                        https://bigtechnology.substack.com/p/the-bull-case-for-twitter-spaces

                                        
                                        

                                        Clubhouse’s launch feels like a throwback with its beg for invites model

                                        My Twitter dms are full of randos asking for invites 

                                        
                                        

                                        https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-plans-smartwatch-with-focus-on-messaging-health?shared=68804956321ee69c 

                                        https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/12/22280798/facebook-smartwatch-messaging-health-fitness-release-date 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        • A scoop from the Information, Facebook is building its own smartwatch 
                                        • Facebook isn’t known for its hardware, but it does own VR headset business Oculus and released the Portal video chat devices a few years ago. 
                                        • The smartwatch would have messaging, health, and fitness features, 
                                        • The device reportedly is an Android-based smartwatch. It also says Facebook is working on building its own operating system for hardware devices and that future iterations of the wearable may run that software instead. 
                                        • Peter, where would a Facebook watch it into the wearable market? I guess this makes sense if you think about integrations with Whatsapp or Messenger… 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        https://www.axios.com/microsoft-us-should-consider-aussie-law-vexing-facebook-google-a691794e-2018-4c3a-aff1-172b42864761.html

                                        • As we’ve already discussed Microsoft thinks Australia’s media code is great and now the maker of Bing thinks the U.S. and other countries should consider adopting media rules.
                                        • In an interview with Axios, Microsoft President Brad Smith said "we recognize that this is an opportunity to combine good business with a good cause," 
                                        • Exploiting the angst between Google & governments is perhaps the best shot Microsoft have ever had to grow their search business 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        … And the media code is a step closer towards becoming law. 

                                        The  government will introduce the news media bargaining code to parliament on Monday after a Senate committee recommended the bill be passed. 

                                        
                                        

                                        The Australian reports the government will seek to push its legislation through the lower house today, and debate on the bill could begin in the Senate as early as Tuesday, with the government hoping to have the code finally enshrined in law within a fortnight. 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                        ]]> Clubhouse issues 

                                        https://onezero.medium.com/clubhouse-is-suggesting-users-invite-their-drug-dealers-and-therapists-a8161b3062fc

                                        
                                        

                                        • Clubhouse has become big news recently and because of that, it is under more scrutiny 
                                        • Will Oremus has looked at how Clubhouse uses your contacts, and its not great
                                        • Like most apps, if you grant it access to your contacts, it uploads your entire address book 
                                        • It you dont allow it to upload your contacts, you dont get the much prized invites to invite two friends
                                        • But then if you do, like me, and like Will, you might find it requesting names you cant remember 

                                        
                                        

                                        And twitters clubhouse 

                                        https://bigtechnology.substack.com/p/the-bull-case-for-twitter-spaces

                                        
                                        

                                        Clubhouse’s launch feels like a throwback with its beg for invites model

                                        My Twitter dms are full of randos asking for invites 

                                        
                                        

                                        https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-plans-smartwatch-with-focus-on-messaging-health?shared=68804956321ee69c 

                                        https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/12/22280798/facebook-smartwatch-messaging-health-fitness-release-date 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        • A scoop from the Information, Facebook is building its own smartwatch 
                                        • Facebook isn’t known for its hardware, but it does own VR headset business Oculus and released the Portal video chat devices a few years ago. 
                                        • The smartwatch would have messaging, health, and fitness features, 
                                        • The device reportedly is an Android-based smartwatch. It also says Facebook is working on building its own operating system for hardware devices and that future iterations of the wearable may run that software instead. 
                                        • Peter, where would a Facebook watch it into the wearable market? I guess this makes sense if you think about integrations with Whatsapp or Messenger… 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        https://www.axios.com/microsoft-us-should-consider-aussie-law-vexing-facebook-google-a691794e-2018-4c3a-aff1-172b42864761.html

                                        • As we’ve already discussed Microsoft thinks Australia’s media code is great and now the maker of Bing thinks the U.S. and other countries should consider adopting media rules.
                                        • In an interview with Axios, Microsoft President Brad Smith said "we recognize that this is an opportunity to combine good business with a good cause," 
                                        • Exploiting the angst between Google & governments is perhaps the best shot Microsoft have ever had to grow their search business 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

                                        … And the media code is a step closer towards becoming law. 

                                        The  government will introduce the news media bargaining code to parliament on Monday after a Senate committee recommended the bill be passed. 

                                        
                                        

                                        The Australian reports the government will seek to push its legislation through the lower house today, and debate on the bill could begin in the Senate as early as Tuesday, with the government hoping to have the code finally enshrined in law within a fortnight. 

                                        
                                        

                                        
                                        

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                                        ]]> Bumble Prepares for a Valentines IPO Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:00:00 GMT 9:11 e5e16465-5ec4-4117-9f3e-a25fb61240bf false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/bumblepreparesforavalentinesipo e5e16465-5ec4-4117-9f3e-a25fb61240bf 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 bumblepreparesforavalentinesipo Bumble is about to go public with a stack of women in the top jobs - Bumble, the dating app where women make the first move, has priced its IPO at $43 per share - The company will begin to trade tomorrow morning/by the time you hear this podcast wit... full
                                        

                                        Bumble is about to go public with a stack of women in the top jobs

                                        • Bumble, the dating app where women make the first move, has priced its IPO at $43 per share - The company will begin to trade tomorrow morning/by the time you hear this podcast with a market cap of $7 billion. 
                                        • 31 year old CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will be the youngest woman to ever take a company public
                                        • The chair of the board is also female and women occupy 8 of the 11 board seats, that’s 70% … that’s incredibly rare most big companies in Australia have just been pressured by shareholders to have 30% female representation on their boards.
                                        • Bumble is free to use but sells features to users. The company had 42 million monthly active users as of the end of September, out of which 2.5 million were paying users, up 22% from the prior year.
                                        • The company will rival Match Group which owns Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge 
                                        • I think the valentine’s day timing is deliberate - proving IPOs are a major branding event. 

                                        
                                        

                                        Twitter news 

                                        Twitter’s Jack Dorsey wants to build an app store for social media algorithms

                                        Twitter kept gaining new users after it banned Trump

                                        • Twitter has announced its quarterly results and they’ve had a great quarter, but there were some interesting tidbits from Jack Dorsey on the call 
                                        • Firstly, Dorsey talked about wanting to turn Twitter into a kind of federated platform for chat, that could power other chat services. 
                                        • He believes Twitter could be the “app store” of social media - which is basically what Twitter was back in 2008, before it decided to keep all the conversation to itself, and disable all the weird and wonderful apps people were building on top of twitter, and limiting 3rd party access to the API
                                        • Another interesting data point: Twitter saw user growth AFTER it banned trump and Qanon 
                                        • Dorsey didn’t give exact numbers, but indicated the trend proved Twitter “Was bigger than one account” 
                                        • It seems that 13 years into Twitter, it’s creator is finally understanding the appeal of the service. 

                                         Can smart speakers survive without Google Search? 

                                        • Alex Kidman has a story on Gizmodo about how your smart speaker will cope if Google Search leaves Australia. 
                                        • Google has threatened to pull search from the market as a response to Australia’s new media code - however it has walked back some of those comments and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has had a “constructive” call with Scott Morrison. 
                                        • But the withdrawal could have consequences beyond your web browser. For example just about every service Google offers relies on search, such as its smart speakers or displays
                                        • Google has a 64% share of the smart speaker market here in Australia.
                                        • While Google didn’t comment, Kidman writes that most of the smart home IoT device functions of a Google powered smart speaker should continue to operate
                                        • Cops

                                        Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime’s ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed?

                                        • In a textbook...

                                          ---

                                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                          ]]>
                                          

                                          Bumble is about to go public with a stack of women in the top jobs

                                          • Bumble, the dating app where women make the first move, has priced its IPO at $43 per share - The company will begin to trade tomorrow morning/by the time you hear this podcast with a market cap of $7 billion. 
                                          • 31 year old CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will be the youngest woman to ever take a company public
                                          • The chair of the board is also female and women occupy 8 of the 11 board seats, that’s 70% … that’s incredibly rare most big companies in Australia have just been pressured by shareholders to have 30% female representation on their boards.
                                          • Bumble is free to use but sells features to users. The company had 42 million monthly active users as of the end of September, out of which 2.5 million were paying users, up 22% from the prior year.
                                          • The company will rival Match Group which owns Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge 
                                          • I think the valentine’s day timing is deliberate - proving IPOs are a major branding event. 

                                          
                                          

                                          Twitter news 

                                          Twitter’s Jack Dorsey wants to build an app store for social media algorithms

                                          Twitter kept gaining new users after it banned Trump

                                          • Twitter has announced its quarterly results and they’ve had a great quarter, but there were some interesting tidbits from Jack Dorsey on the call 
                                          • Firstly, Dorsey talked about wanting to turn Twitter into a kind of federated platform for chat, that could power other chat services. 
                                          • He believes Twitter could be the “app store” of social media - which is basically what Twitter was back in 2008, before it decided to keep all the conversation to itself, and disable all the weird and wonderful apps people were building on top of twitter, and limiting 3rd party access to the API
                                          • Another interesting data point: Twitter saw user growth AFTER it banned trump and Qanon 
                                          • Dorsey didn’t give exact numbers, but indicated the trend proved Twitter “Was bigger than one account” 
                                          • It seems that 13 years into Twitter, it’s creator is finally understanding the appeal of the service. 

                                           Can smart speakers survive without Google Search? 

                                          • Alex Kidman has a story on Gizmodo about how your smart speaker will cope if Google Search leaves Australia. 
                                          • Google has threatened to pull search from the market as a response to Australia’s new media code - however it has walked back some of those comments and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has had a “constructive” call with Scott Morrison. 
                                          • But the withdrawal could have consequences beyond your web browser. For example just about every service Google offers relies on search, such as its smart speakers or displays
                                          • Google has a 64% share of the smart speaker market here in Australia.
                                          • While Google didn’t comment, Kidman writes that most of the smart home IoT device functions of a Google powered smart speaker should continue to operate
                                          • Cops

                                          Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime’s ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed?

                                          • In a textbook...

                                            ---

                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                            ]]> Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:50:00 GMT 11:28 e1df8d3e-247f-4f58-959d-e5fb6748e351 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/notthemediacode-itsadeepdiveontheaccc e1df8d3e-247f-4f58-959d-e5fb6748e351 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 notthemediacode-itsadeepdiveontheaccc full
                                            

                                            An incredibly detailed twitter thread on ACCC report on google

                                            * Last week? We took a very high level look at a report from the ACCC into the digital advertising market - this isn't the media code, but moreseo looking at how competition in the digital advertising market which happens to be dominated by Google and Facebook. 

                                            
                                            

                                            * Jason Kint has taken a deep dive into the 222-page report. He is an expert on the Digital Duopoly (Goog & FB) and he is the CEO of Digital Content Next which is an industry 

                                            association that represents big publishers in the US like the NYT & Conde Nast. 

                                            
                                            

                                            * "hands-down the best report I've ever seen on adtech complex - creates an overwhelmingly clear picture of the problem." Almost makes me want to read it! 

                                            
                                            

                                            * One of the key findings of that report is Google's tech is the whole way along the advertising supply chain, that means its technology is representing the advertiser who is bidding on an ad spot and the publisher who is selling an ad spot. 

                                            
                                            

                                            * Kint says "the report pretty much summarizes that both sides of the market are screwed due to Google's adtech monopoly power" - DSP and an SSP 

                                            
                                            

                                            * He notes that a lot of Google's advantages come from the massive amount of data it collects on us, which make its advertising tools so much more effective than anyone else (except maybe FB). One proposed solution is to make Google silo its data and act as a service provider when selling ad tech. 

                                            
                                            

                                            * All of this may go some way to explaining why publishers are so pissed off and pushing the media code so hard 

                                            
                                            

                                            
                                            

                                            Aussies' iPhone obsession is saving the phone industry

                                            
                                            

                                            • John Davidson of the Fin shares sales figures of mobile phones in the last quarter
                                            • The numbers show a modest increase in sales for the last q of 2020, up from 3 per cent 
                                            • A small growth, but much better than the “disastrous” sales at the start of the year, which makes a lot of sense
                                            • The rebound was not enough to make up for the slow start to the year, however, and the industry exited 2020 having sold just 8.38 million phones, down 1 per cent compared with the 8.44 million phones sold in 2019.
                                            • The rebound was led by Apple, which had a bumper final quarter of the year after the release of its iPhone 12. Its market share increased by 3.8 percentage points in the year, Telsyte figures show.
                                            • The iPhone now has 46.2 per cent of Australian phone sales, compared with 53.8 per cent for the entire Android market.

                                            
                                            

                                            
                                            

                                            Salesforce declares the 9-to-5 workday dead, will let some employees work remotely from now on

                                            • It’s almost a year since we all got sent home from the office and companies are still working out what to do about remote work. 
                                            • Facebook, Microsoft, Dropbox have all announced permanent WFH policies in response to the pandemic. 
                                            • Salesforce says the “9-to-5 workday is dead” and that it will allow employees to choose one of three categories that dictate how often, if ever, they return to the office once it’s safe to do so. 
                                            • Behind Door number one is Flex - which means coming into the office 3 days per week for team meeting etc. and 2 days at home to hang the washing out and get your packages delivered. 
                                            • The second option is fully remote - committing to a lifetime of Zoom calls and the third is office based, like the before...

                                              ---

                                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                              ]]>
                                              

                                              An incredibly detailed twitter thread on ACCC report on google

                                              * Last week? We took a very high level look at a report from the ACCC into the digital advertising market - this isn't the media code, but moreseo looking at how competition in the digital advertising market which happens to be dominated by Google and Facebook. 

                                              
                                              

                                              * Jason Kint has taken a deep dive into the 222-page report. He is an expert on the Digital Duopoly (Goog & FB) and he is the CEO of Digital Content Next which is an industry 

                                              association that represents big publishers in the US like the NYT & Conde Nast. 

                                              
                                              

                                              * "hands-down the best report I've ever seen on adtech complex - creates an overwhelmingly clear picture of the problem." Almost makes me want to read it! 

                                              
                                              

                                              * One of the key findings of that report is Google's tech is the whole way along the advertising supply chain, that means its technology is representing the advertiser who is bidding on an ad spot and the publisher who is selling an ad spot. 

                                              
                                              

                                              * Kint says "the report pretty much summarizes that both sides of the market are screwed due to Google's adtech monopoly power" - DSP and an SSP 

                                              
                                              

                                              * He notes that a lot of Google's advantages come from the massive amount of data it collects on us, which make its advertising tools so much more effective than anyone else (except maybe FB). One proposed solution is to make Google silo its data and act as a service provider when selling ad tech. 

                                              
                                              

                                              * All of this may go some way to explaining why publishers are so pissed off and pushing the media code so hard 

                                              
                                              

                                              
                                              

                                              Aussies' iPhone obsession is saving the phone industry

                                              
                                              

                                              • John Davidson of the Fin shares sales figures of mobile phones in the last quarter
                                              • The numbers show a modest increase in sales for the last q of 2020, up from 3 per cent 
                                              • A small growth, but much better than the “disastrous” sales at the start of the year, which makes a lot of sense
                                              • The rebound was not enough to make up for the slow start to the year, however, and the industry exited 2020 having sold just 8.38 million phones, down 1 per cent compared with the 8.44 million phones sold in 2019.
                                              • The rebound was led by Apple, which had a bumper final quarter of the year after the release of its iPhone 12. Its market share increased by 3.8 percentage points in the year, Telsyte figures show.
                                              • The iPhone now has 46.2 per cent of Australian phone sales, compared with 53.8 per cent for the entire Android market.

                                              
                                              

                                              
                                              

                                              Salesforce declares the 9-to-5 workday dead, will let some employees work remotely from now on

                                              • It’s almost a year since we all got sent home from the office and companies are still working out what to do about remote work. 
                                              • Facebook, Microsoft, Dropbox have all announced permanent WFH policies in response to the pandemic. 
                                              • Salesforce says the “9-to-5 workday is dead” and that it will allow employees to choose one of three categories that dictate how often, if ever, they return to the office once it’s safe to do so. 
                                              • Behind Door number one is Flex - which means coming into the office 3 days per week for team meeting etc. and 2 days at home to hang the washing out and get your packages delivered. 
                                              • The second option is fully remote - committing to a lifetime of Zoom calls and the third is office based, like the before...

                                                ---

                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                ]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2021 18:30:11 GMT 12:32 11606e17-c75a-40f8-8afd-5568de7d336e false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/yourelesslikelytoburndownaserviceyoureinvestedin 11606e17-c75a-40f8-8afd-5568de7d336e 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 yourelesslikelytoburndownaserviceyoureinvestedin full Amazon Australia 

                                                https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/amazon-australia-still-losing-money-despite-hitting-1bn-sales-in-2020/news-story/212a95c7354bc9962e842ff5519118be?utm_source=TheAustralian&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Editorial&utm_content=AM_BIZREV_Newsletter

                                                Amazon breaks through $1 billion revenue mark in Australia 

                                                
                                                

                                                • Amazon Commercial Services, reported $1.12 billion in net sales for the 2020 calendar year, a 99.4 per cent jump from the year prior.
                                                • This shows the online retailer has also seen a similar boost in customer numbers as other major Australian e-commerce sellers such as Catch and Kogan as locked-down shoppers took their spending online.
                                                • Despite the huge growth, Amazon Australia’s results revealed the company still closed the year with a $3.8m loss, according to its accounts lodge with the corporate regulator.
                                                • 
                                                  

                                                
                                                

                                                
                                                

                                                Woolies promises to protect jobs from automation 

                                                
                                                

                                                The robots are coming for our jobs. 

                                                
                                                

                                                But the economists forecast that while automation will destroy old jobs, new ones will be created. The problem is training people to move from stacking shelves to programming those shelf-stacking robots

                                                
                                                

                                                Australia’s biggest employer Woolworths will spend $50 million over the next three years on training and education to “upskill, reskill and redeploy” 60,000 of its 200,000 staff. 

                                                
                                                

                                                The key training areas will be in: digital, data analytics, machine learning and robotics plus “advanced customer service skills, team leadership and agile ways of working.” 

                                                
                                                

                                                In an opinion piece published in Nine newspapers this week, Woolies CEO Brad Banducci says people shouldn’t be scared of technological change. Pointing to self serve checkouts: 

                                                
                                                

                                                “In 2009 - when we completed the self-service rollout - we employed 113,000 people in our Australian supermarkets. Today, we employ around 140,000, and the number continues to grow.”

                                                
                                                

                                                “the fastest-growing role in our business is one that didn’t exist in 2009. It’s that of the online personal shopper and at Christmas we had around 25,000 of them hand picking orders for our customers.” 

                                                
                                                

                                                
                                                

                                                iOS 14.5 lets you set Spotify and others as Siri’s default music service

                                                
                                                

                                                • Apple’s latest beta will allow users to set default music service
                                                • iOS 14 already allowed users to set default mail and browser clients, but more apps would be welcomed 
                                                • Hopefully maps becomes the next default 
                                                • Casey Newton tweets https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1358838280746225665
                                                • The threat of an antitrust lawsuit is truly the most powerful and benevolent product manager in all of tech 

                                                
                                                

                                                
                                                

                                                
                                                

                                                Bitcoin 

                                                • Tesla now owns $1.5 billion worth of...

                                                  ---

                                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                  ]]> Amazon Australia 

                                                  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/amazon-australia-still-losing-money-despite-hitting-1bn-sales-in-2020/news-story/212a95c7354bc9962e842ff5519118be?utm_source=TheAustralian&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Editorial&utm_content=AM_BIZREV_Newsletter

                                                  Amazon breaks through $1 billion revenue mark in Australia 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  • Amazon Commercial Services, reported $1.12 billion in net sales for the 2020 calendar year, a 99.4 per cent jump from the year prior.
                                                  • This shows the online retailer has also seen a similar boost in customer numbers as other major Australian e-commerce sellers such as Catch and Kogan as locked-down shoppers took their spending online.
                                                  • Despite the huge growth, Amazon Australia’s results revealed the company still closed the year with a $3.8m loss, according to its accounts lodge with the corporate regulator.
                                                  • 
                                                    

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  Woolies promises to protect jobs from automation 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  The robots are coming for our jobs. 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  But the economists forecast that while automation will destroy old jobs, new ones will be created. The problem is training people to move from stacking shelves to programming those shelf-stacking robots

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  Australia’s biggest employer Woolworths will spend $50 million over the next three years on training and education to “upskill, reskill and redeploy” 60,000 of its 200,000 staff. 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  The key training areas will be in: digital, data analytics, machine learning and robotics plus “advanced customer service skills, team leadership and agile ways of working.” 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  In an opinion piece published in Nine newspapers this week, Woolies CEO Brad Banducci says people shouldn’t be scared of technological change. Pointing to self serve checkouts: 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  “In 2009 - when we completed the self-service rollout - we employed 113,000 people in our Australian supermarkets. Today, we employ around 140,000, and the number continues to grow.”

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  “the fastest-growing role in our business is one that didn’t exist in 2009. It’s that of the online personal shopper and at Christmas we had around 25,000 of them hand picking orders for our customers.” 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  iOS 14.5 lets you set Spotify and others as Siri’s default music service

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  • Apple’s latest beta will allow users to set default music service
                                                  • iOS 14 already allowed users to set default mail and browser clients, but more apps would be welcomed 
                                                  • Hopefully maps becomes the next default 
                                                  • Casey Newton tweets https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1358838280746225665
                                                  • The threat of an antitrust lawsuit is truly the most powerful and benevolent product manager in all of tech 

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  
                                                  

                                                  Bitcoin 

                                                  • Tesla now owns $1.5 billion worth of...

                                                    ---

                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                    ]]> Laser Focused And Kinda Creepy Sun, 07 Feb 2021 18:55:00 GMT 8:57 3739ab2c-c3ae-4fa0-8636-5ab895e36740 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/laserfocusedandkindacreepy 3739ab2c-c3ae-4fa0-8636-5ab895e36740 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 laserfocusedandkindacreepy full This is the Democrats’ plan to limit Section 230

                                                    Now It's The Democrats Turn To Destroy The Open Internet: Mark Warner's 230 Reform Bill Is A Dumpster Fire Of Cluelessness

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • In the last few months of his presidency, Trump - remember that guy? - rallied against the tech companies over Section 230 
                                                    • Trump believed conservatives were being unfairly targeted on social media, and that’s where his focus was - less moderation 
                                                    • Democrats have taken a different approach - proposing to change 230 to only protect speech, not actions, information. This means twitter, for example, would still be protected on any speech it hosts, but could be fined for hosting instructions to make a gun, or providing a platform that leads to an insurrection..
                                                    • "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Under the SAFE TECH Act, the word "information" would be swapped out for the word "speech,"
                                                    • The SAFE TECH Act was introduced Friday by Sens. Mark Warner, Mazie Hirono and Amy Klobuchar.
                                                    • The bill has already drawn some criticism for the dismantling of protections of 230 - 
                                                    • Techdirt complains the bill would make all web hosting unprotected, because “money changing hands” for hosting would strip both parties of 230 protections. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Google retracts its threat to leave after Scott Morrison meeting

                                                    Google launches News Showcase in Australia

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Scott Morrison has given some details of his call with Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. 
                                                    • The Australian reports that ScoMo was upbeat and positive about the call, saying he made it clear that the media code would be going ahead, and Google will find a way to work within it 
                                                    • Sundar Pichai hasn’t confirmed this, but he also hasn’t denied it. 
                                                    • Meanwhile, Google’s News Showcase product launched Friday. Apparently. 
                                                    • I’ve been trying to see what its like, but it’s not in my google news app, or on the web 
                                                    • Wait!! I found it - it’s under the old newsstand column… So much for a showcase.. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Apple versus Facebook on ad-tracking: Harvard sides with Apple

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Harvard Business Review has examined Facebook’s claim that App Privacy in iOS 14 will cost small businesses “up to 60%” of sales because their ads will be less effective 
                                                    • Havard’s study is long and detailed, so instead I’ve read 9to5 Mac’s crib notes
                                                    • According to the site, Harvard thinks these “eye-popping” claims are over stated, saying facebook has conflated correlation with causation - and there’s no evidence the anti tracking features will affect sales
                                                    • They also point out that Facebook’s reported increase in ad spend during the pandemic is also highly inaccurate. 
                                                    • It’s so unlike facebook to exaggerate data to make them look good.. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Australia steps up its bushfire prediction...

                                                    ---

                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                    ]]> This is the Democrats’ plan to limit Section 230

                                                    Now It's The Democrats Turn To Destroy The Open Internet: Mark Warner's 230 Reform Bill Is A Dumpster Fire Of Cluelessness

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • In the last few months of his presidency, Trump - remember that guy? - rallied against the tech companies over Section 230 
                                                    • Trump believed conservatives were being unfairly targeted on social media, and that’s where his focus was - less moderation 
                                                    • Democrats have taken a different approach - proposing to change 230 to only protect speech, not actions, information. This means twitter, for example, would still be protected on any speech it hosts, but could be fined for hosting instructions to make a gun, or providing a platform that leads to an insurrection..
                                                    • "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Under the SAFE TECH Act, the word "information" would be swapped out for the word "speech,"
                                                    • The SAFE TECH Act was introduced Friday by Sens. Mark Warner, Mazie Hirono and Amy Klobuchar.
                                                    • The bill has already drawn some criticism for the dismantling of protections of 230 - 
                                                    • Techdirt complains the bill would make all web hosting unprotected, because “money changing hands” for hosting would strip both parties of 230 protections. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Google retracts its threat to leave after Scott Morrison meeting

                                                    Google launches News Showcase in Australia

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Scott Morrison has given some details of his call with Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. 
                                                    • The Australian reports that ScoMo was upbeat and positive about the call, saying he made it clear that the media code would be going ahead, and Google will find a way to work within it 
                                                    • Sundar Pichai hasn’t confirmed this, but he also hasn’t denied it. 
                                                    • Meanwhile, Google’s News Showcase product launched Friday. Apparently. 
                                                    • I’ve been trying to see what its like, but it’s not in my google news app, or on the web 
                                                    • Wait!! I found it - it’s under the old newsstand column… So much for a showcase.. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Apple versus Facebook on ad-tracking: Harvard sides with Apple

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Harvard Business Review has examined Facebook’s claim that App Privacy in iOS 14 will cost small businesses “up to 60%” of sales because their ads will be less effective 
                                                    • Havard’s study is long and detailed, so instead I’ve read 9to5 Mac’s crib notes
                                                    • According to the site, Harvard thinks these “eye-popping” claims are over stated, saying facebook has conflated correlation with causation - and there’s no evidence the anti tracking features will affect sales
                                                    • They also point out that Facebook’s reported increase in ad spend during the pandemic is also highly inaccurate. 
                                                    • It’s so unlike facebook to exaggerate data to make them look good.. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Australia steps up its bushfire prediction...

                                                    ---

                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                    ]]> What Makes A Good Search Engine? Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:55:00 GMT 15:39 f08ff053-cd7f-448f-bbde-c87045ec7447 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/whatmakesagoodsearchengine- f08ff053-cd7f-448f-bbde-c87045ec7447 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 whatmakesagoodsearchengine- full Some random kvetching on the media code: 

                                                    Google's search engine not as good as its competitors for news, research finds

                                                    How I dumped Google before it dumped me

                                                    Scott Morrison meets Google CEO Sundar Pichai over media bargaining code

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Following on from his call to Satya Nadella of Microsoft, today ScoMo and Frydo got on the blower to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, to discuss the media code. 
                                                    • No details of what they discussed has been released, but for those sick of this story, parliament is expected to submit its report next friday.
                                                    • In related news, The Guardian reports that Bing returns “more trusted news results” than Google
                                                    • According to a study from Monash University, on Australia Day “Grace Tame” was the most popular search term used on Google – reflecting the fact that she had just been made Australian of the Year. The top 50 results delivered by Google included only 70% of professional news websites, compared with 94% for the same search term on Bing and 82% on Ecosia.
                                                    • Meanwhile, at the Fin, John Davidson has experimented with “dumping google before it dumps me” 
                                                    • He’s moved to DuckDuckGo, and appreciates the lack of tracking
                                                    •  “I’ve not missed Google search one bit.” writes John. 

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Wired has a look at Amazon’s Greatest hits of the Bezos era 

                                                    Amazon’s Greatest Gadget Hits in the Bezos Era: Kindle, Echo, and More

                                                    • Quite a few duds and hits in the list
                                                    • The original fugly kindle 
                                                    • The Fire Phone that went nowhere
                                                    • Dash buttons! Loved the idea of these 
                                                    • And the product category the can claim ownership of, the voice assistant speaker

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    Is Apple really really making a car now? 

                                                    Kia Motors Shares Jump After Report Apple to Invest $3.6 Billion

                                                    Kuo adds fuel to Apple-Hyundai electric car rumors

                                                    NEWS: Dan Riccio begins a new chapter at Apple

                                                    Apple Car: It's no secret, Apple's actively working on Car tech

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    
                                                    

                                                    • Kia Motors Corp. jumped as much as 14.5% after a local media report that Apple Inc. will invest 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) as part of a collaboration with the South Korean carmaker on making electric vehicles.
                                                    • Rumours have been circling for a while that Apple and Hyundai (a division of Kia) may collaborate - Hyundai almost blew their chances by publicly confirming the talks last month, then walking back the statement a few days later. The fiercely private Apple doesnt like when partners talk.. 
                                                    • Could this be the new product that Dan Riccio has been appointed to? Last week Apple announced a cryptic new role for the hardware executive: 
                                                    • “Apple today announced Dan Riccio will transition to a new role focusing on a new project and...

                                                      ---

                                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                      ]]> Some random kvetching on the media code: 

                                                      Google's search engine not as good as its competitors for news, research finds

                                                      How I dumped Google before it dumped me

                                                      Scott Morrison meets Google CEO Sundar Pichai over media bargaining code

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      • Following on from his call to Satya Nadella of Microsoft, today ScoMo and Frydo got on the blower to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, to discuss the media code. 
                                                      • No details of what they discussed has been released, but for those sick of this story, parliament is expected to submit its report next friday.
                                                      • In related news, The Guardian reports that Bing returns “more trusted news results” than Google
                                                      • According to a study from Monash University, on Australia Day “Grace Tame” was the most popular search term used on Google – reflecting the fact that she had just been made Australian of the Year. The top 50 results delivered by Google included only 70% of professional news websites, compared with 94% for the same search term on Bing and 82% on Ecosia.
                                                      • Meanwhile, at the Fin, John Davidson has experimented with “dumping google before it dumps me” 
                                                      • He’s moved to DuckDuckGo, and appreciates the lack of tracking
                                                      •  “I’ve not missed Google search one bit.” writes John. 

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      Wired has a look at Amazon’s Greatest hits of the Bezos era 

                                                      Amazon’s Greatest Gadget Hits in the Bezos Era: Kindle, Echo, and More

                                                      • Quite a few duds and hits in the list
                                                      • The original fugly kindle 
                                                      • The Fire Phone that went nowhere
                                                      • Dash buttons! Loved the idea of these 
                                                      • And the product category the can claim ownership of, the voice assistant speaker

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      Is Apple really really making a car now? 

                                                      Kia Motors Shares Jump After Report Apple to Invest $3.6 Billion

                                                      Kuo adds fuel to Apple-Hyundai electric car rumors

                                                      NEWS: Dan Riccio begins a new chapter at Apple

                                                      Apple Car: It's no secret, Apple's actively working on Car tech

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      
                                                      

                                                      • Kia Motors Corp. jumped as much as 14.5% after a local media report that Apple Inc. will invest 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) as part of a collaboration with the South Korean carmaker on making electric vehicles.
                                                      • Rumours have been circling for a while that Apple and Hyundai (a division of Kia) may collaborate - Hyundai almost blew their chances by publicly confirming the talks last month, then walking back the statement a few days later. The fiercely private Apple doesnt like when partners talk.. 
                                                      • Could this be the new product that Dan Riccio has been appointed to? Last week Apple announced a cryptic new role for the hardware executive: 
                                                      • “Apple today announced Dan Riccio will transition to a new role focusing on a new project and...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Bing is The New Google Wed, 03 Feb 2021 18:00:00 GMT 10:21 11897c80-47aa-40cb-a647-aefeb22cd1a2 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/bingisthenewgoogle 11897c80-47aa-40cb-a647-aefeb22cd1a2 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 bingisthenewgoogle full Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Jeff Bezos has informed Amazon staff he is stepping down as CEO, after 27 years running the company he founded 
                                                        • In an email to staff he said he plans “to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives” - ie, use his enormous wealth to hang out with hollywood celebs 
                                                        • Taking over is the current head of AWS, Andy Jassy. This makes a lot of sense, as AWS went from a loss leader to one of the biggest services in the world, powering a lot of the sites you use every day. 
                                                        • Who is Andy Jassy, Amazon's next CEO?
                                                        • CNBC has a nice rundown of Andy, “In September, a column in the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, called Jassy the “clear heir apparent” to Bezos.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Microsoft's Bing ready to step in if Google pulls search from Australia, minister says

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Microsoft has jumped into the Media code story. 
                                                        • On Monday, ScoMo joked he’d been on the blower to Satya Nadella, to discuss Bing filling the search engine void if Google left the market 
                                                        • At present Microsoft’s search engine Bing enjoys only 3.7 per cent market share in Australia, compared with Google’s 94 per cent.
                                                        • At best, Australians are lukewarm on Bing
                                                        • As those numbers show, most people don’t use Bing - and according to the Fin, the average punter is not happy to move. 
                                                        • Salon owners optimistic about future without Google, as tech giant threatens to leave Australia
                                                        • Although the Australian has a story about small business owners who think Google leaving may be a “blessing in disguise”, as so much time is devoted to SEO 
                                                        • Microsoft willing to accept new media bargaining code, unlike Google, Facebook
                                                        • And just to be even cheekier, Microsoft says it is happy to pay the media code. Clever move. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google Rides Global Ad Recovery to Record Revenue

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Google has reported its Quarterly earnings, and the company is doing alright 
                                                        • Google parent Alphabet Inc posted a record $56.9 billion revenue, up from $43.2 billion a year ago. 
                                                        • YouTube revenue soared 46% in the quarter, as advertisers flocked to the video-sharing platform amid the pandemic 
                                                        • Alphabet’s “Other Bets'' division, which is a combination of Google’s moonshot ideas, continues to burn money, but at a slower rate. The division lost $1.14 billion compared to $2.03 billion in Q4 2019. Alphabet reports Q4 2020 revenue of $56.9 billion

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Jeff Bezos has informed Amazon staff he is stepping down as CEO, after 27 years running the company he founded 
                                                        • In an email to staff he said he plans “to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives” - ie, use his enormous wealth to hang out with hollywood celebs 
                                                        • Taking over is the current head of AWS, Andy Jassy. This makes a lot of sense, as AWS went from a loss leader to one of the biggest services in the world, powering a lot of the sites you use every day. 
                                                        • Who is Andy Jassy, Amazon's next CEO?
                                                        • CNBC has a nice rundown of Andy, “In September, a column in the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, called Jassy the “clear heir apparent” to Bezos.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Microsoft's Bing ready to step in if Google pulls search from Australia, minister says

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Microsoft has jumped into the Media code story. 
                                                        • On Monday, ScoMo joked he’d been on the blower to Satya Nadella, to discuss Bing filling the search engine void if Google left the market 
                                                        • At present Microsoft’s search engine Bing enjoys only 3.7 per cent market share in Australia, compared with Google’s 94 per cent.
                                                        • At best, Australians are lukewarm on Bing
                                                        • As those numbers show, most people don’t use Bing - and according to the Fin, the average punter is not happy to move. 
                                                        • Salon owners optimistic about future without Google, as tech giant threatens to leave Australia
                                                        • Although the Australian has a story about small business owners who think Google leaving may be a “blessing in disguise”, as so much time is devoted to SEO 
                                                        • Microsoft willing to accept new media bargaining code, unlike Google, Facebook
                                                        • And just to be even cheekier, Microsoft says it is happy to pay the media code. Clever move. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google Rides Global Ad Recovery to Record Revenue

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Google has reported its Quarterly earnings, and the company is doing alright 
                                                        • Google parent Alphabet Inc posted a record $56.9 billion revenue, up from $43.2 billion a year ago. 
                                                        • YouTube revenue soared 46% in the quarter, as advertisers flocked to the video-sharing platform amid the pandemic 
                                                        • Alphabet’s “Other Bets'' division, which is a combination of Google’s moonshot ideas, continues to burn money, but at a slower rate. The division lost $1.14 billion compared to $2.03 billion in Q4 2019. Alphabet reports Q4 2020 revenue of $56.9 billion

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Sun, 31 Jan 2021 18:59:00 GMT 8:40 2a50ef54-1d98-40a6-91bf-49b678049657 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookandappleswarofwords 2a50ef54-1d98-40a6-91bf-49b678049657 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookandappleswarofwords full
                                                        

                                                        Apple’s App Tracking Transparency coming in early spring – TechCrunch

                                                        Facebook Preps Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple — The Information

                                                        Apple's Tim Cook warns of adtech fuelling a 'social catastrophe' as he defends app tracker opt-in

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The cold war between Facebook and Apple continues, with Apple once again stating its App Transparency tools will soon prompt users about the amount of data being shared within apps. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Information reports that Facebook has been working on an antitrust complaint against Apple, saying it is violating its own App Store policies by not including these warnings on its own suite of Apps, such as iMessage. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple CEO Tim Cook has hit back with harsh rhetoric - and while he didn't name facebook, he said “ad based social media companies” that “rely on constant engagement” are fueling a “Social catastrophe” of misinformation and social division. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy

                                                        Robinhood Says It Will Reopen GameStop Trading

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While Wall Street tries to figure out what to do about GameStop’s sudden surge, the app responsible for many of the “retail investors” who’ve bought into the failing game store chain has halted trading of the stock. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Robinhood is a retail investor app, and it has been criticised in the past for using similar tactics of gambling apps, targeting young men with get rich quick promises. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Late last week, Robinhood suspended trading on Gamestop, Blackberry, Blockbuster, and other stocks caught up in the Wallstreetbets buying frenzy. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Angry redditors have flooded the App Store with 1 star reviews, complaining the app is blocking their attempts to throw good money on bad companies, to screw over a bunch of hedge funds. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        NAB will buy 86 400 for up to $220 million, leaving Australia's neobank experiment looking shaky

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The market for neo-banks in Australia has reduced once more, following the news that NAB is buying 86 400, and rolling its technology into its own digital only banking product, UBank.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        NAB already had an 18% stake in the neobank, and will buy the remaining shares in a deal worth $220 million

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The deal will still need to be approved by regulators and shareholders. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        86 400 is being acquired less than a month after neobank Xinja folded, handing back it’s banking licence and returning customers’ deposits. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you are an 86 400 customer, day-to-day nothing changes and 86 400 will continue to operate as a separate business from NAB, run by its team in Sydney.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Normally a $220 million exit for an Australian start-up would be considered a fantastic result. But this has an air of waving the white flag, and acknowledging that start-ups can’t take on the big four… yet. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]>
                                                        

                                                        Apple’s App Tracking Transparency coming in early spring – TechCrunch

                                                        Facebook Preps Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple — The Information

                                                        Apple's Tim Cook warns of adtech fuelling a 'social catastrophe' as he defends app tracker opt-in

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The cold war between Facebook and Apple continues, with Apple once again stating its App Transparency tools will soon prompt users about the amount of data being shared within apps. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Information reports that Facebook has been working on an antitrust complaint against Apple, saying it is violating its own App Store policies by not including these warnings on its own suite of Apps, such as iMessage. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple CEO Tim Cook has hit back with harsh rhetoric - and while he didn't name facebook, he said “ad based social media companies” that “rely on constant engagement” are fueling a “Social catastrophe” of misinformation and social division. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy

                                                        Robinhood Says It Will Reopen GameStop Trading

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While Wall Street tries to figure out what to do about GameStop’s sudden surge, the app responsible for many of the “retail investors” who’ve bought into the failing game store chain has halted trading of the stock. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Robinhood is a retail investor app, and it has been criticised in the past for using similar tactics of gambling apps, targeting young men with get rich quick promises. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Late last week, Robinhood suspended trading on Gamestop, Blackberry, Blockbuster, and other stocks caught up in the Wallstreetbets buying frenzy. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Angry redditors have flooded the App Store with 1 star reviews, complaining the app is blocking their attempts to throw good money on bad companies, to screw over a bunch of hedge funds. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        NAB will buy 86 400 for up to $220 million, leaving Australia's neobank experiment looking shaky

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The market for neo-banks in Australia has reduced once more, following the news that NAB is buying 86 400, and rolling its technology into its own digital only banking product, UBank.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        NAB already had an 18% stake in the neobank, and will buy the remaining shares in a deal worth $220 million

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The deal will still need to be approved by regulators and shareholders. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        86 400 is being acquired less than a month after neobank Xinja folded, handing back it’s banking licence and returning customers’ deposits. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you are an 86 400 customer, day-to-day nothing changes and 86 400 will continue to operate as a separate business from NAB, run by its team in Sydney.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Normally a $220 million exit for an Australian start-up would be considered a fantastic result. But this has an air of waving the white flag, and acknowledging that start-ups can’t take on the big four… yet. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Is Google A Tax Or A Service? Thu, 28 Jan 2021 18:55:00 GMT 8:34 eac45a01-d388-4ec9-b05b-dd2e0185f0f0 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/isgoogleataxoraservice- eac45a01-d388-4ec9-b05b-dd2e0185f0f0 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 isgoogleataxoraservice- full Google's ad dominance under fire
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Australian reports the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has raised concerns over Google's dominance in online advertising. Again. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The interim report for the ACCC’s Digital Advertising Services Inquiry warns of a lack of competition and transparency across the $3.4bn display advertising sector and Google’s “ability and ­incentive to favour its own related business interests”.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The consumer watchdog’s investigation into display advertising found Google held up to 90 per cent of the industry when measured via impressions, and 70 per cent of the revenue.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google’s technology powers the real-time auctions in which the ads are sold and the company controls virtually the entire ­advertising supply chain.. This report raises concerns that the tech giant preferences its own ad tech businesses. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Yet another long legal battle for Google coming up… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Online trading platforms see a surge in usage as Redditors take on Wall Street

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This story has been bubbling along all week, and it’s been bizarre to try to piece together, so I’ll try to explain it as best I can. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Retail traders on the subreddit WallStreetBets have been coordinating to buy shorted stocks. The motivation it seems is not to invest in companies that have been wrongly devalued, but purely to troll hedge funds that have “shorted” the stock

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        When you short a stock, you’re making a bet the value of the stock will go down. Gamestop was shorted by many firms to hit around $4 a share, it is currently trading at $300. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Other shorted companies caught up in WallStreetBets read like a nostalgia trip - Blackberry, Nokia, Blockbuster Video, AMC Movie Theatres, all have seen their stock price skyrocket over the last week. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Short sellers have lost around $5b so far 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As Molly Wood said so concisely: “You built the world’s largest casino and now you’re sorry gamblers showed up…” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And now it’s a game of chicken for those holding stock - if they sell now, they’ll make bank, but they won’t achieve their goal of screwing the hedge funds. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Wallstreetbets was made private yesterday, as markets scramble to put guardrails in place. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Moving on from crazy wall street bets - The tech giants have all reported their earnings for the quarter, and they’re all getting richer… 

                                                        Quarterly Reports

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has reported a 21% increase in revenue, year over year. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        All major product lines reported over expectations - with iPhones, Macs, iPads, and wearables - including Apple Watch and AirPods - all seeing growth. Even services were up. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        iPads did best, with a massive 40% increase in sales Year over Year 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Meanwhile, Facebook  reported $28.1 billion in revenue for the quarter, of which $27.2 billion came from ads. Facebook has warned investors that Apple’s changes to privacy in iOS 14 will impact its earnings in 2021. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google will report next week, and is expected to also see a rise in revenue from online ads, but it Google's ad dominance under fire

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Australian reports the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has raised concerns over Google's dominance in online advertising. Again. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The interim report for the ACCC’s Digital Advertising Services Inquiry warns of a lack of competition and transparency across the $3.4bn display advertising sector and Google’s “ability and ­incentive to favour its own related business interests”.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The consumer watchdog’s investigation into display advertising found Google held up to 90 per cent of the industry when measured via impressions, and 70 per cent of the revenue.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google’s technology powers the real-time auctions in which the ads are sold and the company controls virtually the entire ­advertising supply chain.. This report raises concerns that the tech giant preferences its own ad tech businesses. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Yet another long legal battle for Google coming up… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Online trading platforms see a surge in usage as Redditors take on Wall Street

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This story has been bubbling along all week, and it’s been bizarre to try to piece together, so I’ll try to explain it as best I can. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Retail traders on the subreddit WallStreetBets have been coordinating to buy shorted stocks. The motivation it seems is not to invest in companies that have been wrongly devalued, but purely to troll hedge funds that have “shorted” the stock

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        When you short a stock, you’re making a bet the value of the stock will go down. Gamestop was shorted by many firms to hit around $4 a share, it is currently trading at $300. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Other shorted companies caught up in WallStreetBets read like a nostalgia trip - Blackberry, Nokia, Blockbuster Video, AMC Movie Theatres, all have seen their stock price skyrocket over the last week. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Short sellers have lost around $5b so far 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As Molly Wood said so concisely: “You built the world’s largest casino and now you’re sorry gamblers showed up…” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And now it’s a game of chicken for those holding stock - if they sell now, they’ll make bank, but they won’t achieve their goal of screwing the hedge funds. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Wallstreetbets was made private yesterday, as markets scramble to put guardrails in place. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Moving on from crazy wall street bets - The tech giants have all reported their earnings for the quarter, and they’re all getting richer… 

                                                        Quarterly Reports

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has reported a 21% increase in revenue, year over year. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        All major product lines reported over expectations - with iPhones, Macs, iPads, and wearables - including Apple Watch and AirPods - all seeing growth. Even services were up. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        iPads did best, with a massive 40% increase in sales Year over Year 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Meanwhile, Facebook  reported $28.1 billion in revenue for the quarter, of which $27.2 billion came from ads. Facebook has warned investors that Apple’s changes to privacy in iOS 14 will impact its earnings in 2021. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google will report next week, and is expected to also see a rise in revenue from online ads, but it 03ed05fb-d863-4a70-8a6d-e676500e0e74 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/podcastsareover-newslettersarein 03ed05fb-d863-4a70-8a6d-e676500e0e74 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 podcastsareover-newslettersarein full
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Queensland trial uses Spotify to slow down drivers near school zones 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Spotify is creating special songs that encourage users to slow down around school zones, as part of a trial in Queensland. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Spotify will use the geolocation information from a user’s phone to identify when they’re within 5kms of a school zone, and sneak in a track with messages to slow down, and watch out for school crossings

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The audio has been created by local Brisbane artists, and the song will slot into a playlist once the current playing song is finished. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The trial officially launched in Brisbane on Wednesday, but will run state-wide. It will aim to cover all school traffic zones, at both primary and secondary campuses. As it’s using Spotify’s advertising insertion, the slow down tracks will only play for Spotify users on the free tier, premium subscribers will not hear the messages. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google News Showcase launch to go ahead after backflip amid political battle

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google is planning on rolling out a new product, called News Showcase, in Australia as soon as next month. The service aims to bundle up a bunch of news services under a single paywall, and share the revenue with publishers. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google first announced the product back in June last year, but pulled the launch but pulled the plug when the Media Code was first introduced, telling partners “ it would not launch until it had a better idea of how the proposed laws would affect it financially.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The announcement that News Showcase is back comes just a few days after Google threatened to pull search from Australia, in retaliation to the code. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Is this Google saying “take me back, i can change?” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter acquiring newsletter publishing company Revue

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter is getting into the newsletter as a service game, after acquiring the newsletter start up Revue. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Revue will continue as a stand alone product separate to Twitter, but will be “closely integrated” into the service, and fees will be lowered to 5%, the same cut Substack charges for its service. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter says journalists are one of the most important groups using twitter and "are a valuable part of the conversation and it’s critical we offer new ways for them to create and share their content, and importantly, help them grow and better connect with their audience," 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple fixes another three iOS zero-days exploited in the wild

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has released iOS 14.4, an update that patches 3 security issues discovered with its mobile operating system 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has shared little detail of what the exploits could do, but did say all 3 were discovered by an anonymous researcher, suggesting the bugs may have been discovered by nefarious actors as well. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you have an iPhone, you should update it as soon as possible. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]>
                                                        
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Queensland trial uses Spotify to slow down drivers near school zones 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Spotify is creating special songs that encourage users to slow down around school zones, as part of a trial in Queensland. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Spotify will use the geolocation information from a user’s phone to identify when they’re within 5kms of a school zone, and sneak in a track with messages to slow down, and watch out for school crossings

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The audio has been created by local Brisbane artists, and the song will slot into a playlist once the current playing song is finished. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The trial officially launched in Brisbane on Wednesday, but will run state-wide. It will aim to cover all school traffic zones, at both primary and secondary campuses. As it’s using Spotify’s advertising insertion, the slow down tracks will only play for Spotify users on the free tier, premium subscribers will not hear the messages. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google News Showcase launch to go ahead after backflip amid political battle

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google is planning on rolling out a new product, called News Showcase, in Australia as soon as next month. The service aims to bundle up a bunch of news services under a single paywall, and share the revenue with publishers. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google first announced the product back in June last year, but pulled the launch but pulled the plug when the Media Code was first introduced, telling partners “ it would not launch until it had a better idea of how the proposed laws would affect it financially.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The announcement that News Showcase is back comes just a few days after Google threatened to pull search from Australia, in retaliation to the code. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Is this Google saying “take me back, i can change?” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter acquiring newsletter publishing company Revue

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter is getting into the newsletter as a service game, after acquiring the newsletter start up Revue. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Revue will continue as a stand alone product separate to Twitter, but will be “closely integrated” into the service, and fees will be lowered to 5%, the same cut Substack charges for its service. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter says journalists are one of the most important groups using twitter and "are a valuable part of the conversation and it’s critical we offer new ways for them to create and share their content, and importantly, help them grow and better connect with their audience," 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple fixes another three iOS zero-days exploited in the wild

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has released iOS 14.4, an update that patches 3 security issues discovered with its mobile operating system 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Apple has shared little detail of what the exploits could do, but did say all 3 were discovered by an anonymous researcher, suggesting the bugs may have been discovered by nefarious actors as well. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you have an iPhone, you should update it as soon as possible. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> You Only Get One Dolly Tue, 26 Jan 2021 18:55:00 GMT 10:00 d66fc64e-7795-4cac-a393-3c2156eabef9 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/youonlygetonedolly d66fc64e-7795-4cac-a393-3c2156eabef9 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 youonlygetonedolly full Twitter launches 'Birdwatch,' a forum to combat misinformation

                                                        Twitter has announced a new service called Birdwatch, which will allow users to flag tweets as misleading

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The service is being rolled out to a limited number of users who have verified their accounts with a phone number - and Twitter says it is targeting influential users and fact checkers first. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        On its blog post, Twitter says “We know this might be messy and have problems at times, but we believe this is a model worth trying,”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Discussion: 

                                                        Twitter is leaving moderation in the hands of its users… 

                                                        Better than the current method of reporting a tweet and getting zero feedback 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook will let researchers study how advertisers targeted users with political ads prior to Election Day

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook for the first time is giving researchers access to data on how ads were targeted to users in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Previously, Facebook has provided information on the advertising campaigns run on its platform, but the information has just been about how much was spent on various campaigns and community groups 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This new data set, from August 3 to November 3 2020, will show how advertisers targeted users based on demographics 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Discussion: Is this a risky move for facebook? To see just how much its platform can be used to target individuals with misinformation? Or is this a clever way of shaming those caught into not doing it again? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Big Tech nemesis Lina Khan is gaining traction for top Biden antitrust role

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Lina Khan is being touted as the new head of the Federal Trade Commission in the states, the organisation responsible for, amongst other things, antitrust legislation 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If Khan is appointed, Vox Media reports we should expect to see a renewed focus on antitrust in big tech 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As Vox points out, “Khan played a crucial role as legal counsel for the House antitrust subcommittee’s 16-month investigation into the Big Tech giants, and in producing the 400-page House Democrat report that alleged that all of the tech giants engage in anti-competitive practices and need to be reined in.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Khan made a name for herself in 2017 when she penned a legal paper dubbed “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” - which argued that the current definition of antitrust, that relies on a “bad for the consumer” threshold, is inappropriate when looking at tech companies - because, in this example, Amazon provides a pretty great user experience, while still driving others from the market. 

                                                        Aussie video game company bought by French studio for $55m 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Australia’s Big Ant Studios has been bought by French-based Nacon in a €35 million ($54.9 million) deal

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Big Ant Studios has made a name for itself being the kind of EA Sports to sports only Australians care about, like Cricket and Rugby and AFL. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The deal will see Big Ant Studios run largely independently in Australia, with Nacon providing marketing and distribution to sell these games in markets like India (for Cricket) and France (for Rugby). 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        After two decades of pretty terrible...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Twitter launches 'Birdwatch,' a forum to combat misinformation

                                                        Twitter has announced a new service called Birdwatch, which will allow users to flag tweets as misleading

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The service is being rolled out to a limited number of users who have verified their accounts with a phone number - and Twitter says it is targeting influential users and fact checkers first. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        On its blog post, Twitter says “We know this might be messy and have problems at times, but we believe this is a model worth trying,”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Discussion: 

                                                        Twitter is leaving moderation in the hands of its users… 

                                                        Better than the current method of reporting a tweet and getting zero feedback 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook will let researchers study how advertisers targeted users with political ads prior to Election Day

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook for the first time is giving researchers access to data on how ads were targeted to users in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Previously, Facebook has provided information on the advertising campaigns run on its platform, but the information has just been about how much was spent on various campaigns and community groups 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This new data set, from August 3 to November 3 2020, will show how advertisers targeted users based on demographics 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Discussion: Is this a risky move for facebook? To see just how much its platform can be used to target individuals with misinformation? Or is this a clever way of shaming those caught into not doing it again? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Big Tech nemesis Lina Khan is gaining traction for top Biden antitrust role

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Lina Khan is being touted as the new head of the Federal Trade Commission in the states, the organisation responsible for, amongst other things, antitrust legislation 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If Khan is appointed, Vox Media reports we should expect to see a renewed focus on antitrust in big tech 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As Vox points out, “Khan played a crucial role as legal counsel for the House antitrust subcommittee’s 16-month investigation into the Big Tech giants, and in producing the 400-page House Democrat report that alleged that all of the tech giants engage in anti-competitive practices and need to be reined in.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Khan made a name for herself in 2017 when she penned a legal paper dubbed “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” - which argued that the current definition of antitrust, that relies on a “bad for the consumer” threshold, is inappropriate when looking at tech companies - because, in this example, Amazon provides a pretty great user experience, while still driving others from the market. 

                                                        Aussie video game company bought by French studio for $55m 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Australia’s Big Ant Studios has been bought by French-based Nacon in a €35 million ($54.9 million) deal

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Big Ant Studios has made a name for itself being the kind of EA Sports to sports only Australians care about, like Cricket and Rugby and AFL. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The deal will see Big Ant Studios run largely independently in Australia, with Nacon providing marketing and distribution to sell these games in markets like India (for Cricket) and France (for Rugby). 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        After two decades of pretty terrible...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Viva La Media Code 🇫🇷 Sun, 24 Jan 2021 18:55:27 GMT 11:02 4c0ecb37-86b7-4091-8589-a0b2d806b853 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/vivalamediacode- 4c0ecb37-86b7-4091-8589-a0b2d806b853 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 vivalamediacode- full Google threatens to leave Australia if Media Code Goes Ahead
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Search giant Google has hinted off the record it may have to abandon Search in Australia if the media code becomes law. Last Friday, it made the threat public at the Senate enquiry. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google Australia managing director Mel Silva told a Senate hearing on Friday that the proposed news media bargaining code remained "unworkable", and the company was prepared to exit the Australian market.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google’s issue of course is not the fee structure itself, but the precedent set if Google has to pay for news in one tiny little market like Australia - which would risk it’s “international business model”. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        To clarify, Google is only saying it will disable search, not it’s other products like Gmail, Youtube, and Google Docs. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        At the same hearing, Facebook again said it would remove news from its product if the code became law. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Is it time to migrate to alternative search engines? 

                                                        Meanwhile, in France Google has agreed to pay news publishers

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Techcrunch reports that Google has agreed to pay French publishers for using snippets of stories in search results and in Google News. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While the fight in France was different, there are many parallels between this French settlement and the current media laws being fought in Australia. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google threatened to remove the snippets from search and news in response to the new fees, but in April last year, the French competition watchdog banned this move, saying Google’s withdrawal of snippets would be unfair and damaging to the press sector, and likely to constitute an abuse of a dominant market position.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Not wanting to open a “monopoly” can of worms, Google agreed to negotiate with France’s media industry association - L’Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        For Australian media organisations looking for a quick win, they should note this law was introduced in 2019, and has only just passed its final appeal process. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Back Home, and Australia is starting another fight with Big Tech

                                                        The Fin reports Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has warned big tech platforms that they must do more to tackle the problems caused by anonymous accounts on their services.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Ms Inman Grant – a former public policy director at Twitter released a position statement on the dangers of anonymous accounts, leading to online bullying and abuse, and fuelling the global rise of conspiracy theories such as Qanon. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Inman Grant is not calling for an end to online anonymity, saying it can provide a “powerful form of protection for victims of domestic violence, whistleblowers and people living under authoritarian regimes”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Under her proposal, Individuals could be fined up to $111,000 for anonymous abusive behaviour, such as posting revenge porn. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Content hosts such as social media, dating or games platforms could be slugged with fines up to $550,000.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Concepts such as "digital licence plates", blockchain-based identity management systems and digital signatures are being explored as potential solutions to authenticate people online, without them being publicly identified or...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Google threatens to leave Australia if Media Code Goes Ahead
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Search giant Google has hinted off the record it may have to abandon Search in Australia if the media code becomes law. Last Friday, it made the threat public at the Senate enquiry. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google Australia managing director Mel Silva told a Senate hearing on Friday that the proposed news media bargaining code remained "unworkable", and the company was prepared to exit the Australian market.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google’s issue of course is not the fee structure itself, but the precedent set if Google has to pay for news in one tiny little market like Australia - which would risk it’s “international business model”. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        To clarify, Google is only saying it will disable search, not it’s other products like Gmail, Youtube, and Google Docs. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        At the same hearing, Facebook again said it would remove news from its product if the code became law. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Is it time to migrate to alternative search engines? 

                                                        Meanwhile, in France Google has agreed to pay news publishers

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Techcrunch reports that Google has agreed to pay French publishers for using snippets of stories in search results and in Google News. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While the fight in France was different, there are many parallels between this French settlement and the current media laws being fought in Australia. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Google threatened to remove the snippets from search and news in response to the new fees, but in April last year, the French competition watchdog banned this move, saying Google’s withdrawal of snippets would be unfair and damaging to the press sector, and likely to constitute an abuse of a dominant market position.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Not wanting to open a “monopoly” can of worms, Google agreed to negotiate with France’s media industry association - L’Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        For Australian media organisations looking for a quick win, they should note this law was introduced in 2019, and has only just passed its final appeal process. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Back Home, and Australia is starting another fight with Big Tech

                                                        The Fin reports Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has warned big tech platforms that they must do more to tackle the problems caused by anonymous accounts on their services.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Ms Inman Grant – a former public policy director at Twitter released a position statement on the dangers of anonymous accounts, leading to online bullying and abuse, and fuelling the global rise of conspiracy theories such as Qanon. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Inman Grant is not calling for an end to online anonymity, saying it can provide a “powerful form of protection for victims of domestic violence, whistleblowers and people living under authoritarian regimes”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Under her proposal, Individuals could be fined up to $111,000 for anonymous abusive behaviour, such as posting revenge porn. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Content hosts such as social media, dating or games platforms could be slugged with fines up to $550,000.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Concepts such as "digital licence plates", blockchain-based identity management systems and digital signatures are being explored as potential solutions to authenticate people online, without them being publicly identified or...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Qanon Followers Left Disappointed Thu, 21 Jan 2021 18:57:00 GMT 6:51 35ddc956-5480-4e50-be1a-cc06776dd4cc false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/qanonfollowersleftdisappointed 35ddc956-5480-4e50-be1a-cc06776dd4cc 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 qanonfollowersleftdisappointed full Amazon is offering to help distribute the COVID vaccine in the US
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Joe Biden has set a goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the next 100 days, and Amazon is offering its distribution centres and logistical expertise to make that happen. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amazon executive Dave Clark wrote in an open letter that “Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amazon also asks that “frontline workers” such as its own workers in distribution centres, and those working in delivery, should get the vaccine “as a priority” - which seems pretty fair, if a little self serving. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Considering I can find a useless thing i don’t need on Amazon and have it arrive the next day, I’d be happy with Amazon making a similar offer in Australia. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Alibaba’s Jack Ma makes his first public appearance in months 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder and former chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has appeared publicly for the first time since late October 2020

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In September 2020, Ma criticized regulators as having a “pawnshop mentality” when it came to technology, and asked the government for less regulation around money lending. This reportedly infuriated the Chinese government. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A month later, Chinese regulators cancelled the IPO of Ant Group, Ma’s fintech start up, saying it didn’t “meet the listing conditions or disclosure requirements”. The move knocked $68 billion off the value of Alibaba. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Ever since, Ma has not been seen, leading some to fear for his safety. His video today, which was described as “happy and positive, and did not look like a hostage video” -- has helped Alibaba shares rebound by 8% 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        LG prepares to exit the smartphone market

                                                        The Korea Herald reports that the CEO of LG sent out an internal memo to staff on Wednesday, hinting that LG is considering exiting the smart phone business. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In a follow up to the Herald, a spokesperson for LG said : “Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice. The company is considering all possible measures, including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s an amazing fall for LG, who with HTC and Samsung were once the high flyers in Android phones. HTC has already ceased smartphones, which they blamed on spending too long chasing Windows phones. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        LG on the other hand, seemed to constantly misjudge the timing of features for its phones, and was constantly out-marketed by Korean rival Samsung. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Increasingly, LG has looked to crazy gimmicks to market it’s phones, see roll up displays and that weird wing phone. But when was the last time you saw an LG phone in the wild? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Qanon followers struggle to cope with Inauguration day 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Axios dove into the Qanon private groups and message threads to see how followers of Q are dealing with the inauguration of Joe Biden. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Overall the message boards were a mixture of anger and disappointment that “Trump did not black out U.S. communications networks and send in the military to arrest...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Amazon is offering to help distribute the COVID vaccine in the US
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Joe Biden has set a goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the next 100 days, and Amazon is offering its distribution centres and logistical expertise to make that happen. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amazon executive Dave Clark wrote in an open letter that “Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amazon also asks that “frontline workers” such as its own workers in distribution centres, and those working in delivery, should get the vaccine “as a priority” - which seems pretty fair, if a little self serving. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Considering I can find a useless thing i don’t need on Amazon and have it arrive the next day, I’d be happy with Amazon making a similar offer in Australia. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Alibaba’s Jack Ma makes his first public appearance in months 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder and former chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has appeared publicly for the first time since late October 2020

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In September 2020, Ma criticized regulators as having a “pawnshop mentality” when it came to technology, and asked the government for less regulation around money lending. This reportedly infuriated the Chinese government. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A month later, Chinese regulators cancelled the IPO of Ant Group, Ma’s fintech start up, saying it didn’t “meet the listing conditions or disclosure requirements”. The move knocked $68 billion off the value of Alibaba. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Ever since, Ma has not been seen, leading some to fear for his safety. His video today, which was described as “happy and positive, and did not look like a hostage video” -- has helped Alibaba shares rebound by 8% 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        LG prepares to exit the smartphone market

                                                        The Korea Herald reports that the CEO of LG sent out an internal memo to staff on Wednesday, hinting that LG is considering exiting the smart phone business. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In a follow up to the Herald, a spokesperson for LG said : “Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice. The company is considering all possible measures, including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s an amazing fall for LG, who with HTC and Samsung were once the high flyers in Android phones. HTC has already ceased smartphones, which they blamed on spending too long chasing Windows phones. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        LG on the other hand, seemed to constantly misjudge the timing of features for its phones, and was constantly out-marketed by Korean rival Samsung. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Increasingly, LG has looked to crazy gimmicks to market it’s phones, see roll up displays and that weird wing phone. But when was the last time you saw an LG phone in the wild? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Qanon followers struggle to cope with Inauguration day 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Axios dove into the Qanon private groups and message threads to see how followers of Q are dealing with the inauguration of Joe Biden. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Overall the message boards were a mixture of anger and disappointment that “Trump did not black out U.S. communications networks and send in the military to arrest...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Facebook Breaks Its Own Election Safety Policy Wed, 20 Jan 2021 18:55:00 GMT 6:45 824f3cb1-fb27-4f1d-90d1-1c492602d77e false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookbreaksitsownelectionsafetypolicy 824f3cb1-fb27-4f1d-90d1-1c492602d77e 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookbreaksitsownelectionsafetypolicy US Government weighs in on Media CodeIn a submission to the parliamentary inquiry to the new Media Code, that would force Facebook and Google to pay for news aggregated on their websites, the US government described the proposed legislation as:un... full US Government weighs in on Media Code
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry to the new Media Code, that would force Facebook and Google to pay for news aggregated on their websites, the US government described the proposed legislation as:

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        unreasonable, impractical, “fundamentally imbalanced” and could run counter to the US-Australia free trade agreement, The Guardian reports.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The US position is the Media code may do “undue harm”, and seems to “unfairly attack” just two companies, Facebook and Google. They ask the Australian government to put faith in “market forces” to sort it all out. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        To be fair, the code does target just two companies, but both are effective monopolies in their field, so there’s not a lot of market force to challenge them… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Anyway, hopefully this is the last time we need to talk about the code, due to be discussed in parliament again this Friday, until next week… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook did something it promised it wouldn't do 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        I know it’s hard to believe, but Facebook has been caught ignoring its own rules again. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In the run-up to the 2020 election, Facebook brought in a bunch of “emergency” measures to prevent people from using the platform to spread misinformation or coordinate violence.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        One such measure was to stop promoting private political groups to users. Zuckerberg testified under oath last October saying the company had stopped promoting political groups, and the company made the claim again in a January 11th blog post. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Despite Facebook's promise, the markup has found that the company continued to recommend political groups to its users throughout December and January. Trump voters were most targeted with 25% of all Trump voters.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In this study, receiving suggestions to join groups, like, “Rudy Giuliani's common sense group” and another simply called “storm the capitol.” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The study was based on users who have downloaded the Markup’s browser extension that shows how Facebook is targeting its users. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        You may recall that Facebook wanted to shut down this research, because it said it violated Facebook's Terms of Service. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Netflix has stunned Wall Street with a massive quarter 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The streaming giant added more than 8 million new subscribers worldwide.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        You may recall that wall street was a little disappointed in Netflix last quarter.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While the company had grown throughout 2020 due to the pandemic. It was spending a hell of a lot of money as well. Investors were hoping that Netflix would rein in its spending.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It hasn't done that, but it's created so much wealth that it doesn't really need to. Netflix has even hinted at a share buy back based on its profits. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As we mentioned last week, Netflix has over 70 movies premiering this year on the platform, which will no doubt go down well while cinemas remain closed.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, Ben Thompson of strategic theory has a long read on Intel's future 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In his newsletter, Ben explains the last 20 years of Intel chips and how they did very very well in Google's data centers and, therefore, many other...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> US Government weighs in on Media Code
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry to the new Media Code, that would force Facebook and Google to pay for news aggregated on their websites, the US government described the proposed legislation as:

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        unreasonable, impractical, “fundamentally imbalanced” and could run counter to the US-Australia free trade agreement, The Guardian reports.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The US position is the Media code may do “undue harm”, and seems to “unfairly attack” just two companies, Facebook and Google. They ask the Australian government to put faith in “market forces” to sort it all out. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        To be fair, the code does target just two companies, but both are effective monopolies in their field, so there’s not a lot of market force to challenge them… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Anyway, hopefully this is the last time we need to talk about the code, due to be discussed in parliament again this Friday, until next week… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook did something it promised it wouldn't do 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        I know it’s hard to believe, but Facebook has been caught ignoring its own rules again. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In the run-up to the 2020 election, Facebook brought in a bunch of “emergency” measures to prevent people from using the platform to spread misinformation or coordinate violence.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        One such measure was to stop promoting private political groups to users. Zuckerberg testified under oath last October saying the company had stopped promoting political groups, and the company made the claim again in a January 11th blog post. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Despite Facebook's promise, the markup has found that the company continued to recommend political groups to its users throughout December and January. Trump voters were most targeted with 25% of all Trump voters.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In this study, receiving suggestions to join groups, like, “Rudy Giuliani's common sense group” and another simply called “storm the capitol.” 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The study was based on users who have downloaded the Markup’s browser extension that shows how Facebook is targeting its users. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        You may recall that Facebook wanted to shut down this research, because it said it violated Facebook's Terms of Service. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Netflix has stunned Wall Street with a massive quarter 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The streaming giant added more than 8 million new subscribers worldwide.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        You may recall that wall street was a little disappointed in Netflix last quarter.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        While the company had grown throughout 2020 due to the pandemic. It was spending a hell of a lot of money as well. Investors were hoping that Netflix would rein in its spending.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It hasn't done that, but it's created so much wealth that it doesn't really need to. Netflix has even hinted at a share buy back based on its profits. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        As we mentioned last week, Netflix has over 70 movies premiering this year on the platform, which will no doubt go down well while cinemas remain closed.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, Ben Thompson of strategic theory has a long read on Intel's future 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In his newsletter, Ben explains the last 20 years of Intel chips and how they did very very well in Google's data centers and, therefore, many other...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Intel’s new CEO is spooked by Apple’s M1 chip Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:55:00 GMT 5:54 bb6edf03-5473-4ba2-9dfe-a02a9631a396 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/intel-snewceoisspookedbyapple-sm1chip bb6edf03-5473-4ba2-9dfe-a02a9631a396 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 intel-snewceoisspookedbyapple-sm1chip full Intel’s new CEO is spooked by Apple’s M1 chip
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Last week, CES announcements were dominated by laptops running chips from AMD and ARM. Intel was still inside many PCs and laptops, but the headlines went to Intel’s rivals… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amid the cover of CES, Intel’s CEO resigned. Intel’s new CEO, Pat Gelsinger doesn’t start his new role until February, but he attended an all hands meeting yesterday where he told Intel employees 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “We have to deliver better products to the PC ecosystem than any possible thing that a lifestyle company in Cupertino [makes]. We have to be that good, in the future.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s a noble goal, but feels like one of those quotes that could haunt Gelsinger to his grave…  

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Speaking of Apple’s M1 Chips… 

                                                        Apple rumour king, Mark Gurman had a raft of Apple product rumours over the weekend, involving said M1 chip 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Gurman says we can expect to see new M1 based iMacs in the coming months, with smaller bezels and a more streamlined look, based on a more powerful variant of the M1 chip 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        That new chip is also expected in new 14” and 16” Macbook Pros - but for Apple fans the big news is Gurman expects these laptops to reintroduce Magsafe, and ditch the controversial touchbar. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Finally, Gurman predicts a new mini Mac Pro and to go with it, a new retina monitor with a more realistic price point, than the current $8k XDR display 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Mac fans have commented and tweeted that this all sounds “too good to be true”... 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Your smartwatch knows you have covid before you do 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Smartwatches that continuously measure users' heart rates, skin temperature and other physiological markers can help spot coronavirus infections days before an individual is diagnosed.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Devices like the Apple Watch, Garmin and Fitbit watches can predict whether an individual is positive for COVID-19 even before they are symptomatic or the virus is detectable by tests, according to studies from Mount Sinai Health System in New York. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A separate study from Stanford, in which participants wore a variety of different activity trackers from Garmin, Fitbit, Apple found that 81% of coronavirus-positive participants experienced changes in their resting heart rates up to nine and a half days prior to the onset of symptoms.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Experts say wearable technology could play a vital role in stemming the pandemic and other communicable diseases.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, it’s not even news at this stage, but Covidsafe did not detect a single case during the recent Christmas clusters

                                                        This period includes the South Australian Parafield outbreak starting in mid November, clusters in NSW on the Northern Beaches and Berala, and community transmission cases in Victoria.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A spokesperson for The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria said that from 14 November, out of the 14 cases that had the app, it identified zero new contacts through the COVIDSafe data.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        _________

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you have questions or comments for the show, you can find us on Twitter @peterwells and @tessbennett - or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts with feedback. 

                                                        Thanks for listening, and we’ll speak to you tomorrow

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Intel’s new CEO is spooked by Apple’s M1 chip
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Last week, CES announcements were dominated by laptops running chips from AMD and ARM. Intel was still inside many PCs and laptops, but the headlines went to Intel’s rivals… 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Amid the cover of CES, Intel’s CEO resigned. Intel’s new CEO, Pat Gelsinger doesn’t start his new role until February, but he attended an all hands meeting yesterday where he told Intel employees 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “We have to deliver better products to the PC ecosystem than any possible thing that a lifestyle company in Cupertino [makes]. We have to be that good, in the future.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s a noble goal, but feels like one of those quotes that could haunt Gelsinger to his grave…  

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Speaking of Apple’s M1 Chips… 

                                                        Apple rumour king, Mark Gurman had a raft of Apple product rumours over the weekend, involving said M1 chip 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Gurman says we can expect to see new M1 based iMacs in the coming months, with smaller bezels and a more streamlined look, based on a more powerful variant of the M1 chip 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        That new chip is also expected in new 14” and 16” Macbook Pros - but for Apple fans the big news is Gurman expects these laptops to reintroduce Magsafe, and ditch the controversial touchbar. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Finally, Gurman predicts a new mini Mac Pro and to go with it, a new retina monitor with a more realistic price point, than the current $8k XDR display 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Mac fans have commented and tweeted that this all sounds “too good to be true”... 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Your smartwatch knows you have covid before you do 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Smartwatches that continuously measure users' heart rates, skin temperature and other physiological markers can help spot coronavirus infections days before an individual is diagnosed.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Devices like the Apple Watch, Garmin and Fitbit watches can predict whether an individual is positive for COVID-19 even before they are symptomatic or the virus is detectable by tests, according to studies from Mount Sinai Health System in New York. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A separate study from Stanford, in which participants wore a variety of different activity trackers from Garmin, Fitbit, Apple found that 81% of coronavirus-positive participants experienced changes in their resting heart rates up to nine and a half days prior to the onset of symptoms.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Experts say wearable technology could play a vital role in stemming the pandemic and other communicable diseases.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, it’s not even news at this stage, but Covidsafe did not detect a single case during the recent Christmas clusters

                                                        This period includes the South Australian Parafield outbreak starting in mid November, clusters in NSW on the Northern Beaches and Berala, and community transmission cases in Victoria.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        A spokesperson for The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria said that from 14 November, out of the 14 cases that had the app, it identified zero new contacts through the COVIDSafe data.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        _________

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        If you have questions or comments for the show, you can find us on Twitter @peterwells and @tessbennett - or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts with feedback. 

                                                        Thanks for listening, and we’ll speak to you tomorrow

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Red Hats Are Red Flags Mon, 18 Jan 2021 18:55:40 GMT 9:31 c8e4b97f-bb61-4802-ad65-9ee76c29b877 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/redhatsareredflags c8e4b97f-bb61-4802-ad65-9ee76c29b877 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 redhatsareredflags full And first up today we have the continuing story of Australian media vs Google and Facebook 
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Australian reports that “Google said it was burying links from traditional media outlets in some search ­results”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The company has described the ­actions as an “experiment”, and just one of tens of thousands it conducts every year.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        But in the current cold war between big tech and big media, the experiment has raised eyebrows 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Greens slammed Google’s hiding Australian news content in its search engine for some users as a “scaremongering tactic” while Opposition communications spokesman Tim Watts said his party would support a “workable code”.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The New York Times has an incredible story on Twitter’s ban on Trump 

                                                        According to reports, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was “working remotely from a private island in French Polynesia when the decision was made. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The hands off CEO heard about Trump’s 12 hr ban after it had happened. Instead, the decision was made by twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Once Trump’s 12hr ban was lifted, the company monitored Trump’s tweets, just two of them, before permanently banning the account. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter had long resisted silencing Trump, but during the 12hr ban, over 300 Twitter employees signed a company wide letter asking for the ban to become permanent. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Last Wednesday, Dorsey tweeted that he did “not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump” because “a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Sticking with the US, and dating apps Bumble and Tinder are now on the front line of identifying rioters at the US Capitol. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Washington Post reports the apps are using images captured from inside the Capitol siege and to identify and ban rioters’ accounts. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Alongside the ban, there appears to be a grassroots campaign of users identifying rioters, and then passing along their details to the FBI. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        According to the report, “Many women in Washington over the past two weeks had taken notice of a surge in conservative men on dating apps, many wearing Make America Great Again hats or other markers of support for President Trump rarely seen in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        One user said it was “her civic duty” to swipe on these accounts, get all the information available, and pass it along to the FBI. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This idea has sparked a debate on “ethical doxxing” - when is it ethical to turn in an account online? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal has a great article on the algorithms that rule our lives. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s one of the simplest breakdowns I’ve ever read of the power of the algorithm, and it’s a shame it’s behind a paywall. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Stern argues we lost control of social media back in 2016, when Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube replaced the standard chronological feed with one curated by artificial intelligence. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “Bye-bye, feeds that showed everything and everyone we followed in an unending, chronologically ordered river. Hello, high-energy feeds that popped with must-clicks.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “at the heart of it all, this is still a gigantic technology problem: Computers are in...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> And first up today we have the continuing story of Australian media vs Google and Facebook 
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Australian reports that “Google said it was burying links from traditional media outlets in some search ­results”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The company has described the ­actions as an “experiment”, and just one of tens of thousands it conducts every year.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        But in the current cold war between big tech and big media, the experiment has raised eyebrows 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Greens slammed Google’s hiding Australian news content in its search engine for some users as a “scaremongering tactic” while Opposition communications spokesman Tim Watts said his party would support a “workable code”.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The New York Times has an incredible story on Twitter’s ban on Trump 

                                                        According to reports, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was “working remotely from a private island in French Polynesia when the decision was made. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The hands off CEO heard about Trump’s 12 hr ban after it had happened. Instead, the decision was made by twitter’s top lawyer Vijaya Gadde.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Once Trump’s 12hr ban was lifted, the company monitored Trump’s tweets, just two of them, before permanently banning the account. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter had long resisted silencing Trump, but during the 12hr ban, over 300 Twitter employees signed a company wide letter asking for the ban to become permanent. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Last Wednesday, Dorsey tweeted that he did “not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump” because “a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Sticking with the US, and dating apps Bumble and Tinder are now on the front line of identifying rioters at the US Capitol. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        The Washington Post reports the apps are using images captured from inside the Capitol siege and to identify and ban rioters’ accounts. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Alongside the ban, there appears to be a grassroots campaign of users identifying rioters, and then passing along their details to the FBI. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        According to the report, “Many women in Washington over the past two weeks had taken notice of a surge in conservative men on dating apps, many wearing Make America Great Again hats or other markers of support for President Trump rarely seen in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        One user said it was “her civic duty” to swipe on these accounts, get all the information available, and pass it along to the FBI. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        This idea has sparked a debate on “ethical doxxing” - when is it ethical to turn in an account online? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        And finally, Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal has a great article on the algorithms that rule our lives. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s one of the simplest breakdowns I’ve ever read of the power of the algorithm, and it’s a shame it’s behind a paywall. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Stern argues we lost control of social media back in 2016, when Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube replaced the standard chronological feed with one curated by artificial intelligence. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “Bye-bye, feeds that showed everything and everyone we followed in an unending, chronologically ordered river. Hello, high-energy feeds that popped with must-clicks.”

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        “at the heart of it all, this is still a gigantic technology problem: Computers are in...

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> CES Day 2 : The Oven For Your Head is A Baldness Cure Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:59:00 GMT 4:49 24ff2b5e-765d-465c-afb8-d102dcd226b3 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/cesday2-theovenforyourheadisabaldnesscure 24ff2b5e-765d-465c-afb8-d102dcd226b3 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 cesday2-theovenforyourheadisabaldnesscure full

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]>

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk at CES - ASMR Edition Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:59:55 GMT 5:47 8963b237-f205-4980-b189-5f415379a38a false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdeskatces-asmredition 8963b237-f205-4980-b189-5f415379a38a 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdeskatces-asmredition full The kids are finally in bed, so I could record a quick look at some of the announcements from Day One of CES.

                                                        I'll speak a little louder tomorrow. Please do not listen when driving, or while operating heavy machinery.

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> The kids are finally in bed, so I could record a quick look at some of the announcements from Day One of CES.

                                                        I'll speak a little louder tomorrow. Please do not listen when driving, or while operating heavy machinery.

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Sun, 10 Jan 2021 18:55:00 GMT 13:56 4beaac60-7944-4526-a143-8813b92007bd false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/trumpspermabandacespredictions 4beaac60-7944-4526-a143-8813b92007bd 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 trumpspermabandacespredictions full The week that was. The perma ban of trump came early, or very late, depending on your perspective. 
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In response to the insurrection at the US Capitol building on January 6th, Twitter first froze Trump’s account before permanently banning the president from the platform, citing the "risk of further incitement of violence". It’s a much bigger move than just labelling tweets as false or deleting them. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook has suspended Trump from its platform at least until Inauguration Day, January 20. He is also banned from Instagram for two weeks as well as a host of other online services. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s not just Trump’s account that tech companies are worried about. Parler which is popular among Trump supporters has been pulled from the Apple App store and Google Play store. Amazon Web Services is kicking Parler off its cloud hosting service, meaning the app will go offline unless it can find another hosting service.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Buzzfeed reports, The app has recently been overrun with death threats, celebrations of violence, and posts encouraging “Patriots” to march on Washington, DC with weapons on January 19, the day before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Once again shows the massive weight of big tech. Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter all had to respond this week. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Also worth noting these bans came the day that the democrats took control of the senate. The fact that Zuck moved first shows he’s the better businessman than Jack. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        But is this where we are? That meaningful change can only happen if Tim Cook is personally offended by something? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://mobile.twitter.com/killaudeepstate

                                                        Also gone

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnpaczkowski/amazon-parler-aws 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Listen to Kara Swisher interview Parler CEO John Matze 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/opinion/sway-kara-swisher-john-matze.html

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        CES PREDICTIONS

                                                        What is CES and why do we care? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        What should we expect this year? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Slick as hell presentations. Without having to do something live, most of the big brands have probably spent the last 3 months editing the hell out of their launches - so it’ll be possibly the most watchable CES in years. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Mini LED - which some brands call ULED - will be the manor push from all companies that aren’t LG

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Focus on the home - I reckon we’ll see a heap of home office and home fitness products this year, or the same old products repackaged as home fitness/home office. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Lots of PC announcements - will they be good or bad for Intel?

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        5G

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hall one has gone from a cheap accessories hall to a car hall in recent years - expect to see many EVs and more self driving cars

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> The week that was. The perma ban of trump came early, or very late, depending on your perspective. 
                                                        
                                                        

                                                        In response to the insurrection at the US Capitol building on January 6th, Twitter first froze Trump’s account before permanently banning the president from the platform, citing the "risk of further incitement of violence". It’s a much bigger move than just labelling tweets as false or deleting them. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Facebook has suspended Trump from its platform at least until Inauguration Day, January 20. He is also banned from Instagram for two weeks as well as a host of other online services. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        It’s not just Trump’s account that tech companies are worried about. Parler which is popular among Trump supporters has been pulled from the Apple App store and Google Play store. Amazon Web Services is kicking Parler off its cloud hosting service, meaning the app will go offline unless it can find another hosting service.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Buzzfeed reports, The app has recently been overrun with death threats, celebrations of violence, and posts encouraging “Patriots” to march on Washington, DC with weapons on January 19, the day before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Once again shows the massive weight of big tech. Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter all had to respond this week. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Also worth noting these bans came the day that the democrats took control of the senate. The fact that Zuck moved first shows he’s the better businessman than Jack. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        But is this where we are? That meaningful change can only happen if Tim Cook is personally offended by something? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://mobile.twitter.com/killaudeepstate

                                                        Also gone

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnpaczkowski/amazon-parler-aws 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Listen to Kara Swisher interview Parler CEO John Matze 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/opinion/sway-kara-swisher-john-matze.html

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        CES PREDICTIONS

                                                        What is CES and why do we care? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        What should we expect this year? 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Slick as hell presentations. Without having to do something live, most of the big brands have probably spent the last 3 months editing the hell out of their launches - so it’ll be possibly the most watchable CES in years. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Mini LED - which some brands call ULED - will be the manor push from all companies that aren’t LG

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Focus on the home - I reckon we’ll see a heap of home office and home fitness products this year, or the same old products repackaged as home fitness/home office. 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Lots of PC announcements - will they be good or bad for Intel?

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        5G

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Hall one has gone from a cheap accessories hall to a car hall in recent years - expect to see many EVs and more self driving cars

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        ---

                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                        ]]> Facebook v Apple - Who Do You Trust? Thu, 17 Dec 2020 20:15:48 GMT 9:10 3ae9045b-3d1a-4d6e-8c60-1c79b69637bc false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookvapple-whodoyoutrust- 3ae9045b-3d1a-4d6e-8c60-1c79b69637bc 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookvapple-whodoyoutrust- full
                                                        

                                                        Facebook runs full page ads against Apple’s privacy rules

                                                        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/facebook-attacks-apple-s-ios-changes-in-full-page-newspaper-ads?utm_source=url_link

                                                        'Don't make Tiktok a political football', begs app in full-page ads 

                                                        https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-looks-for-allies-in-privacy-battle-with-apple-11608138311?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Facebook is not concerned that privacy changes in iOS may threaten some of its revenue, rather, that it will mainly hurt small business. 
                                                        • Apple spokeswoman said in a statement:
                                                        • “Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not,” an “App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising, it simply requires they give users a choice.”
                                                        • Meanwhile, Facebook has said it will help fun Epic - the makers of Fortnite, an insanely popular video game which was recently blocked from the App store - in its legal fight with Apple 
                                                        • Epic has yet to publicly respond to the offer. 
                                                        • Whenever a company takes out a newspaper ad, they aren’t targeting you or me. For example, in Australia TikTok took out newspaper ads earlier this year saying “don’t make TikTok a political football” when there were concerns in Canberra over what the Chinese-owned app does with our data. 
                                                        • A newspaper ad has more cut through with media and lawmakers than publishing a blog post 

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Twitter says it will start removing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        • Twitter announced that it will remove tweets making false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations.
                                                        • Any tweets claiming that vaccines “intentionally cause harm to control populations” or invoke conspiracy theories will be subject to removal, according to Twitter’s blog post. 
                                                        • Tweets falsely suggesting that COVID-19 doesn’t exist or espouse “widely debunked” claims may also be removed. Enforcement of the new policy will begin next week.
                                                        • The new rules expand on coronavirus-related policies put in place by Twitter earlier this year. 
                                                        • In March, Twitter rolled out a COVID-19 tab in its Explore page and partnered with organizations like the World Health Organization to supply reputable coronavirus information on its platform.

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        
                                                        

                                                        Govt readies IT systems for Australia's Covid-19 vaccine rollout 

                                                        Govt pours millions into Covid vaccine tracking systems 

                                                        • So far this pandemic we’ve had the Covid Safe App and contacting tracing technology to talk about. The next tech story will be how the gov manages the large scale, high-demand vaccine roll-out 
                                                        • It's still early days...

                                                          ---

                                                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                          ]]>
                                                          

                                                          Facebook runs full page ads against Apple’s privacy rules

                                                          https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/facebook-attacks-apple-s-ios-changes-in-full-page-newspaper-ads?utm_source=url_link

                                                          'Don't make Tiktok a political football', begs app in full-page ads 

                                                          https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-looks-for-allies-in-privacy-battle-with-apple-11608138311?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                          
                                                          

                                                          • Facebook is not concerned that privacy changes in iOS may threaten some of its revenue, rather, that it will mainly hurt small business. 
                                                          • Apple spokeswoman said in a statement:
                                                          • “Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not,” an “App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising, it simply requires they give users a choice.”
                                                          • Meanwhile, Facebook has said it will help fun Epic - the makers of Fortnite, an insanely popular video game which was recently blocked from the App store - in its legal fight with Apple 
                                                          • Epic has yet to publicly respond to the offer. 
                                                          • Whenever a company takes out a newspaper ad, they aren’t targeting you or me. For example, in Australia TikTok took out newspaper ads earlier this year saying “don’t make TikTok a political football” when there were concerns in Canberra over what the Chinese-owned app does with our data. 
                                                          • A newspaper ad has more cut through with media and lawmakers than publishing a blog post 

                                                          
                                                          

                                                          Twitter says it will start removing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

                                                          
                                                          

                                                          • Twitter announced that it will remove tweets making false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccinations.
                                                          • Any tweets claiming that vaccines “intentionally cause harm to control populations” or invoke conspiracy theories will be subject to removal, according to Twitter’s blog post. 
                                                          • Tweets falsely suggesting that COVID-19 doesn’t exist or espouse “widely debunked” claims may also be removed. Enforcement of the new policy will begin next week.
                                                          • The new rules expand on coronavirus-related policies put in place by Twitter earlier this year. 
                                                          • In March, Twitter rolled out a COVID-19 tab in its Explore page and partnered with organizations like the World Health Organization to supply reputable coronavirus information on its platform.

                                                          
                                                          

                                                          
                                                          

                                                          Govt readies IT systems for Australia's Covid-19 vaccine rollout 

                                                          Govt pours millions into Covid vaccine tracking systems 

                                                          • So far this pandemic we’ve had the Covid Safe App and contacting tracing technology to talk about. The next tech story will be how the gov manages the large scale, high-demand vaccine roll-out 
                                                          • It's still early days...

                                                            ---

                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                            ]]> Xinja - We Hardly Knew Ya Wed, 16 Dec 2020 15:32:17 GMT 12:21 1cf43601-4dbf-4821-ba3b-86458918c8e8 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/xinja-wehardlyknewya 1cf43601-4dbf-4821-ba3b-86458918c8e8 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 xinja-wehardlyknewya full ACCC Sues Facebook 

                                                            alleges Facebook misled consumers when promoting app to 'protect' users' data | ACCC 

                                                            Facebook to face ACCC court action over private data 

                                                            
                                                            

                                                            • Australia’s consumer watchdog has launched Federal Court action against tech giant Facebook,
                                                            • The ACCC is alleging two of its subsidiaries secretly collected and aggregated users’ personal data for Facebook’s commercial benefit.
                                                            • The action relates to Facebook’s Onavo Protect mobile app, which provided a virtual private network (VPN) for users.
                                                            • For those that don’t remember, Onavo was ‘data saving’ VPN client for Android and iOS, that Facebook purchased and rebranded in 2013
                                                            • In 2019, Techcrunch revealed Facebook had been using the traffic of Onavo users to find what other apps were popular amongst young people - helping guide its purchases of competitors Instagram and Whatsapp 
                                                            • When Onavo was removed from the Apple App Store for this reason, Facebook relaunched the App under its developer program 
                                                            • It paid users $20 to install the app, in a move that violated Apple’s developer program 
                                                            •  Apple revoked Facebook's Enterprise Developer Program, and for a few days no Facebook employee could test any of the company’s apps. It’s probably the harshest penalty Apple has ever given one of the big tech companies 
                                                            • Facebook said “We will review the recent filing by the ACCC and will continue to defend our position in response to this recent filing.”

                                                            
                                                            

                                                            Sticking with Facebook and Apple.. 

                                                            Apple’s seismic change to the mobile ad industry is drawing near, and it's rocking the ecosystem

                                                            MacRumors.com on Twitter: "Got a finger cramp scrolling through Facebook's new privacy section on the App Store…… "

                                                            
                                                            

                                                            • iOS 14.3 is live and part of the update includes the new privacy policy 
                                                            • The new policy lists all the ways an app uses your data, including what it requests and uploads
                                                            • I’m disappointed to see the list is only on the App Store, and only then it is truncated at first view, so you just get a summary 
                                                            • But if you click through to the full list, even if you are a techy, you’ll be amazed at the amount of stuff facebook grabs from you, including all your contacts, cross referenced with all your contacts contacts, etc 
                                                            • We’ve included a tweet in the show notes from MacRumours, that scrolls through the facebook privacy notice. Grab a cup of tea before hitting play on it 
                                                            • I’d really love to see this list as a splash screen for all apps on launch! 

                                                            
                                                            

                                                            And topping off a very bad, inevitable week for big tech.. 

                                                            Europe triples down on tough rules for tech

                                                            
                                                            

                                                            • The European Union Tuesday unveiled sweeping new proposals to control tech industry giants as "gatekeepers" who could be fined up to 10% of their revenue for breaking EU rules on competition.
                                                            • The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA)...

                                                              ---

                                                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                              ]]> ACCC Sues Facebook 

                                                              alleges Facebook misled consumers when promoting app to 'protect' users' data | ACCC 

                                                              Facebook to face ACCC court action over private data 

                                                              
                                                              

                                                              • Australia’s consumer watchdog has launched Federal Court action against tech giant Facebook,
                                                              • The ACCC is alleging two of its subsidiaries secretly collected and aggregated users’ personal data for Facebook’s commercial benefit.
                                                              • The action relates to Facebook’s Onavo Protect mobile app, which provided a virtual private network (VPN) for users.
                                                              • For those that don’t remember, Onavo was ‘data saving’ VPN client for Android and iOS, that Facebook purchased and rebranded in 2013
                                                              • In 2019, Techcrunch revealed Facebook had been using the traffic of Onavo users to find what other apps were popular amongst young people - helping guide its purchases of competitors Instagram and Whatsapp 
                                                              • When Onavo was removed from the Apple App Store for this reason, Facebook relaunched the App under its developer program 
                                                              • It paid users $20 to install the app, in a move that violated Apple’s developer program 
                                                              •  Apple revoked Facebook's Enterprise Developer Program, and for a few days no Facebook employee could test any of the company’s apps. It’s probably the harshest penalty Apple has ever given one of the big tech companies 
                                                              • Facebook said “We will review the recent filing by the ACCC and will continue to defend our position in response to this recent filing.”

                                                              
                                                              

                                                              Sticking with Facebook and Apple.. 

                                                              Apple’s seismic change to the mobile ad industry is drawing near, and it's rocking the ecosystem

                                                              MacRumors.com on Twitter: "Got a finger cramp scrolling through Facebook's new privacy section on the App Store…… "

                                                              
                                                              

                                                              • iOS 14.3 is live and part of the update includes the new privacy policy 
                                                              • The new policy lists all the ways an app uses your data, including what it requests and uploads
                                                              • I’m disappointed to see the list is only on the App Store, and only then it is truncated at first view, so you just get a summary 
                                                              • But if you click through to the full list, even if you are a techy, you’ll be amazed at the amount of stuff facebook grabs from you, including all your contacts, cross referenced with all your contacts contacts, etc 
                                                              • We’ve included a tweet in the show notes from MacRumours, that scrolls through the facebook privacy notice. Grab a cup of tea before hitting play on it 
                                                              • I’d really love to see this list as a splash screen for all apps on launch! 

                                                              
                                                              

                                                              And topping off a very bad, inevitable week for big tech.. 

                                                              Europe triples down on tough rules for tech

                                                              
                                                              

                                                              • The European Union Tuesday unveiled sweeping new proposals to control tech industry giants as "gatekeepers" who could be fined up to 10% of their revenue for breaking EU rules on competition.
                                                              • The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA)...

                                                                ---

                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                ]]> Cupcakes and Toxicity - Fixed Tue, 15 Dec 2020 22:44:18 GMT 10:21 59e5ac6c-a75a-4742-abac-6d6db9048fb1 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/cupcakesandtoxicity-fixed 59e5ac6c-a75a-4742-abac-6d6db9048fb1 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 cupcakesandtoxicity-fixed FTC = One More Thinghttps://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html - Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve - The Federa... full FTC = One More Thing

                                                                https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html

                                                                
                                                                

                                                                • Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve
                                                                • The Federal Trade Commission has told nine tech companies to share information about how they collect and use data from their users, the agency announced Monday.
                                                                • Amazon, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Discord, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Reddit, Snap, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube were each sent orders to hand over information about their data practices. 
                                                                • The companies have 45 days to respond from the date they received the orders.
                                                                • The FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows it to pursue broad studies separate from law enforcement.
                                                                • This means no fines or middling needs to be established to ask for these practices. 
                                                                • Expect all companies to argue sharing this information will reveal competitive secrets 
                                                                • The FTC is seeking a more detailed look at the companies data practices including 
                                                                • how they determine which ads to show their users, whether algorithms or data analytics are used on personal information, how they “measure promote, and research” engagement from users as well as how their data practices impact children and teens.

                                                                
                                                                

                                                                
                                                                

                                                                Pinterest Settlement 

                                                                https://twitter.com/FrancoiseBr/status/1338597706999029761

                                                                Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit with former COO for $22.5 million 

                                                                • Pinterest has settled a gender discrimination case brought by its former chief operating officer for $22.5 million 
                                                                • Francoise Brougher sued and company in August, alleging gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.
                                                                • Alongside her lawsuit, she published a blog post titled “The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity,” (fabulous title) which detailed how she had been left out of important meetings, was given gendered feedback and was paid less than her male peers. She said she was fired in April after she spoke up about the treatment.
                                                                • As part of the settlement Pinterest did not admit any liability, and Pinterest and Brougher will donate $2.5 million toward “Advancing women and underrepresented communities” in the tech industry.
                                                                • The settlement stands out because of its size, the charitable donation and that it was made public in the first place. 
                                                                • Prior to Brougher’s claims, two black women had accused Pinterest of racial discrimination

                                                                
                                                                

                                                                Apple Fitness Plus 

                                                                https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-fitness-review-great-affordable-workoutsfor-watch-owners-only-11607954400?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                                
                                                                

                                                                • Reviews of the new Apple Fitness+ service have been published 
                                                                • Most say the service is excellent for beginners, with clear, easy to follow instructions - although those coming from les mills or Peleton my find the service lacking in challenges 
                                                                • Many praise the service for playing...

                                                                  ---

                                                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                  ]]> FTC = One More Thing

                                                                  https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html

                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                  • Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve
                                                                  • The Federal Trade Commission has told nine tech companies to share information about how they collect and use data from their users, the agency announced Monday.
                                                                  • Amazon, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Discord, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Reddit, Snap, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube were each sent orders to hand over information about their data practices. 
                                                                  • The companies have 45 days to respond from the date they received the orders.
                                                                  • The FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows it to pursue broad studies separate from law enforcement.
                                                                  • This means no fines or middling needs to be established to ask for these practices. 
                                                                  • Expect all companies to argue sharing this information will reveal competitive secrets 
                                                                  • The FTC is seeking a more detailed look at the companies data practices including 
                                                                  • how they determine which ads to show their users, whether algorithms or data analytics are used on personal information, how they “measure promote, and research” engagement from users as well as how their data practices impact children and teens.

                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                  Pinterest Settlement 

                                                                  https://twitter.com/FrancoiseBr/status/1338597706999029761

                                                                  Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit with former COO for $22.5 million 

                                                                  • Pinterest has settled a gender discrimination case brought by its former chief operating officer for $22.5 million 
                                                                  • Francoise Brougher sued and company in August, alleging gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.
                                                                  • Alongside her lawsuit, she published a blog post titled “The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity,” (fabulous title) which detailed how she had been left out of important meetings, was given gendered feedback and was paid less than her male peers. She said she was fired in April after she spoke up about the treatment.
                                                                  • As part of the settlement Pinterest did not admit any liability, and Pinterest and Brougher will donate $2.5 million toward “Advancing women and underrepresented communities” in the tech industry.
                                                                  • The settlement stands out because of its size, the charitable donation and that it was made public in the first place. 
                                                                  • Prior to Brougher’s claims, two black women had accused Pinterest of racial discrimination

                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                  Apple Fitness Plus 

                                                                  https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-fitness-review-great-affordable-workoutsfor-watch-owners-only-11607954400?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                                  
                                                                  

                                                                  • Reviews of the new Apple Fitness+ service have been published 
                                                                  • Most say the service is excellent for beginners, with clear, easy to follow instructions - although those coming from les mills or Peleton my find the service lacking in challenges 
                                                                  • Many praise the service for playing...

                                                                    ---

                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                    ]]> Cupcakes And Toxicity Headline of The Year Tue, 15 Dec 2020 18:55:56 GMT 7:34 3e3e4e90-bfb0-4824-a1ae-6e5d513bb837 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/cupcakesandtoxicityheadlineoftheyear 3e3e4e90-bfb0-4824-a1ae-6e5d513bb837 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 cupcakesandtoxicityheadlineoftheyear FTC = One More Thinghttps://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html - Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve - The Federa... full FTC = One More Thing

                                                                    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html

                                                                    
                                                                    

                                                                    • Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve
                                                                    • The Federal Trade Commission has told nine tech companies to share information about how they collect and use data from their users, the agency announced Monday.
                                                                    • Amazon, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Discord, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Reddit, Snap, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube were each sent orders to hand over information about their data practices. 
                                                                    • The companies have 45 days to respond from the date they received the orders.
                                                                    • The FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows it to pursue broad studies separate from law enforcement.
                                                                    • This means no fines or middling needs to be established to ask for these practices. 
                                                                    • Expect all companies to argue sharing this information will reveal competitive secrets 
                                                                    • The FTC is seeking a more detailed look at the companies data practices including 
                                                                    • how they determine which ads to show their users, whether algorithms or data analytics are used on personal information, how they “measure promote, and research” engagement from users as well as how their data practices impact children and teens.

                                                                    
                                                                    

                                                                    
                                                                    

                                                                    Pinterest Settlement 

                                                                    https://twitter.com/FrancoiseBr/status/1338597706999029761

                                                                    Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit with former COO for $22.5 million 

                                                                    • Pinterest has settled a gender discrimination case brought by its former chief operating officer for $22.5 million 
                                                                    • Francoise Brougher sued and company in August, alleging gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.
                                                                    • Alongside her lawsuit, she published a blog post titled “The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity,” (fabulous title) which detailed how she had been left out of important meetings, was given gendered feedback and was paid less than her male peers. She said she was fired in April after she spoke up about the treatment.
                                                                    • As part of the settlement Pinterest did not admit any liability, and Pinterest and Brougher will donate $2.5 million toward “Advancing women and underrepresented communities” in the tech industry.
                                                                    • The settlement stands out because of its size, the charitable donation and that it was made public in the first place. 
                                                                    • Prior to Brougher’s claims, two black women had accused Pinterest of racial discrimination

                                                                    
                                                                    

                                                                    Apple Fitness Plus 

                                                                    https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-fitness-review-great-affordable-workoutsfor-watch-owners-only-11607954400?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                                    
                                                                    

                                                                    • Reviews of the new Apple Fitness+ service have been published 
                                                                    • Most say the service is excellent for beginners, with clear, easy to follow instructions - although those coming from les mills or Peleton my find the service lacking in challenges 
                                                                    • Many praise the service for playing...

                                                                      ---

                                                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                      ]]> FTC = One More Thing

                                                                      https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/14/ftc-orders-amazon-facebook-and-others-to-explain-how-they-use-personal-data.html

                                                                      
                                                                      

                                                                      • Not content with its Christmas surprise of suing Facebook, the ftc has one more thing up its sleeve
                                                                      • The Federal Trade Commission has told nine tech companies to share information about how they collect and use data from their users, the agency announced Monday.
                                                                      • Amazon, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Discord, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Reddit, Snap, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube were each sent orders to hand over information about their data practices. 
                                                                      • The companies have 45 days to respond from the date they received the orders.
                                                                      • The FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows it to pursue broad studies separate from law enforcement.
                                                                      • This means no fines or middling needs to be established to ask for these practices. 
                                                                      • Expect all companies to argue sharing this information will reveal competitive secrets 
                                                                      • The FTC is seeking a more detailed look at the companies data practices including 
                                                                      • how they determine which ads to show their users, whether algorithms or data analytics are used on personal information, how they “measure promote, and research” engagement from users as well as how their data practices impact children and teens.

                                                                      
                                                                      

                                                                      
                                                                      

                                                                      Pinterest Settlement 

                                                                      https://twitter.com/FrancoiseBr/status/1338597706999029761

                                                                      Pinterest settles gender discrimination lawsuit with former COO for $22.5 million 

                                                                      • Pinterest has settled a gender discrimination case brought by its former chief operating officer for $22.5 million 
                                                                      • Francoise Brougher sued and company in August, alleging gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.
                                                                      • Alongside her lawsuit, she published a blog post titled “The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity,” (fabulous title) which detailed how she had been left out of important meetings, was given gendered feedback and was paid less than her male peers. She said she was fired in April after she spoke up about the treatment.
                                                                      • As part of the settlement Pinterest did not admit any liability, and Pinterest and Brougher will donate $2.5 million toward “Advancing women and underrepresented communities” in the tech industry.
                                                                      • The settlement stands out because of its size, the charitable donation and that it was made public in the first place. 
                                                                      • Prior to Brougher’s claims, two black women had accused Pinterest of racial discrimination

                                                                      
                                                                      

                                                                      Apple Fitness Plus 

                                                                      https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-fitness-review-great-affordable-workoutsfor-watch-owners-only-11607954400?mod=djemalertNEWS

                                                                      
                                                                      

                                                                      • Reviews of the new Apple Fitness+ service have been published 
                                                                      • Most say the service is excellent for beginners, with clear, easy to follow instructions - although those coming from les mills or Peleton my find the service lacking in challenges 
                                                                      • Many praise the service for playing...

                                                                        ---

                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk Tech Gift Guide Tue, 15 Dec 2020 08:40:17 GMT 53:08 9782197e-9e27-4dc5-9404-286dec22f75b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesktechgiftguide 9782197e-9e27-4dc5-9404-286dec22f75b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesktechgiftguide full Tim Biggs and Alice Clarke from SMH join me to discuss the best tech gift guides of 2020
                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Evergreen pick: 

                                                                        Entry level iPad

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Fitness

                                                                        Withings Watch 

                                                                        Withings Smart Scale 

                                                                        Withings Sleep Analyser

                                                                        Apple Watch

                                                                        Apple Fitness plus 

                                                                        Suunto Watch - fitness

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Gaming: 

                                                                         

                                                                        Spider-Man Miles Morales

                                                                        Sackboy

                                                                        Xbox Game Pass

                                                                        2DS XL

                                                                        Anything Zelda

                                                                        Mario Kart Home Circuit

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Headphones 

                                                                        Sony WH-1000X M4

                                                                        Bose Quiet Comfort 

                                                                        AirPods Pro 

                                                                        Beats Flex 

                                                                        Beyer Dynamics 

                                                                        Plantronics/Poly 

                                                                        Smart oven - Electrolux

                                                                        Viccountrymarket

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Smart home: 

                                                                        Google Nest Audio is our pick, but all sound really good this year. 

                                                                        Echo 

                                                                        HomePod Mini 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Google Tv 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Kids

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Super Mario Lego

                                                                        Leapfrog 

                                                                        A Hundred Words

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Stocking Stuffers: 

                                                                        Tile 

                                                                        TP Link Smart Plug

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        EBike! 

                                                                        ---

                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                        ]]> Tim Biggs and Alice Clarke from SMH join me to discuss the best tech gift guides of 2020
                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Evergreen pick: 

                                                                        Entry level iPad

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Fitness

                                                                        Withings Watch 

                                                                        Withings Smart Scale 

                                                                        Withings Sleep Analyser

                                                                        Apple Watch

                                                                        Apple Fitness plus 

                                                                        Suunto Watch - fitness

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Gaming: 

                                                                         

                                                                        Spider-Man Miles Morales

                                                                        Sackboy

                                                                        Xbox Game Pass

                                                                        2DS XL

                                                                        Anything Zelda

                                                                        Mario Kart Home Circuit

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Headphones 

                                                                        Sony WH-1000X M4

                                                                        Bose Quiet Comfort 

                                                                        AirPods Pro 

                                                                        Beats Flex 

                                                                        Beyer Dynamics 

                                                                        Plantronics/Poly 

                                                                        Smart oven - Electrolux

                                                                        Viccountrymarket

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Smart home: 

                                                                        Google Nest Audio is our pick, but all sound really good this year. 

                                                                        Echo 

                                                                        HomePod Mini 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Google Tv 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Kids

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Super Mario Lego

                                                                        Leapfrog 

                                                                        A Hundred Words

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Stocking Stuffers: 

                                                                        Tile 

                                                                        TP Link Smart Plug

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        EBike! 

                                                                        ---

                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                        ]]> Did You Pay More Tax Than IBM Last Year? Mon, 14 Dec 2020 18:55:19 GMT 7:34 35c9cd5a-fed9-4205-b334-dcfef287e0fc false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/didyoupaymoretaxthanibmlastyear- 35c9cd5a-fed9-4205-b334-dcfef287e0fc 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 didyoupaymoretaxthanibmlastyear- full Probably...
                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        US Treasury Hacked

                                                                        Russian government hackers are behind a broad espionage campaign that has compromised U.S. agencies, including Treasury and Commerce

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • According to the Washington Post, 
                                                                        • Russian government hackers breached the Treasury and Commerce departments, along with other U.S. government agencies, as part of a global espionage campaign that stretches back months
                                                                        • The Russian hackers, known by the nickname Cozy Bear, are part of that nation’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR
                                                                        • The treasury was hit via an update to a network management system made by the firm SolarWinds
                                                                        • SolarWinds said the network system was surreptitiously weaponized in a “highly-sophisticated, targeted . . . attack by a nation state.”
                                                                        • It’s not just the government agencies - SolarWinds has some of the biggest names in the world as clients, including government, consulting, technology, telecom, and oil and gas companies around the world. 
                                                                        • The exploit was discovered by FireEye, a security firm which was also running SolarWind and also exploited Sunday. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        ATO reveals biggest tax dodgers in tech 

                                                                        ATO reveals the IT giants that paid zero tax last year

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • The Australian Taxation Office has published its sixth annual corporate tax transparency report, which discloses the 2018-19 tax bills of the largest companies operating in the country.
                                                                        • It covers over two thousand public and foreign-owned companies with incomes of $100 million or more
                                                                        • The report shows that 741 of these companies paid no tax in Australia in 2018, including four IT companies that generated a taxable income – and that is somehow an improvement of previous years.
                                                                        • Tech companies avoiding tax include IBM, which had a taxable income of $60 million on revenue of $3.26 billion, as well as Netcom Wireless, Toshiba and Unisys.
                                                                        • Vodafone and NBN Co made a loss last year, and paid no tax
                                                                        • Atlassian, which – like IBM – paid no tax in the last three years, paid a tax bill of $11 million on a taxable income of $56.8 million in 2018-19 - an effective tax rate of 19 percent.
                                                                        • iTnews has the whole list of who paid what if you want to go check 
                                                                        • 
                                                                          

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Apple killed gawker show

                                                                        Apple TV Was Making a Show About Gawker. Then Tim Cook Found Out.

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • According to the New York Times, Tim Cook specifically stepped in to nix a series on Gawker
                                                                        • That’s just one of the juicy tidbits 
                                                                        • Gawker was home to some of the most sensationalist blogs on the web, including Valleywag, which covered tech 
                                                                        • Mr. Cook was surprised to learn that his company was making a show about Gawker, which had humiliated the company at various times and famously outed him, back in 2008, as gay.
                                                                        • Some other fun details - a Dr Dre biopic was cancelled due to too much drugs and nudity
                                                                        • Apple TV shows shouldnt show busted phones.. 
                                                                        • And more seriously, Apple exec Eddy Cue has asked no series show China in a bad light 
                                                                        • Gawker was eventually sue out of publication by Hulk Hogan, after the dite published a sex tape of his. 
                                                                        • It was later revealed tech mogul and Facebook shareholder Peter Thiel had secretly financed the lawsuit, to get back at outing him. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Here’s another...

                                                                        ---

                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                        ]]> Probably...
                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        US Treasury Hacked

                                                                        Russian government hackers are behind a broad espionage campaign that has compromised U.S. agencies, including Treasury and Commerce

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • According to the Washington Post, 
                                                                        • Russian government hackers breached the Treasury and Commerce departments, along with other U.S. government agencies, as part of a global espionage campaign that stretches back months
                                                                        • The Russian hackers, known by the nickname Cozy Bear, are part of that nation’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR
                                                                        • The treasury was hit via an update to a network management system made by the firm SolarWinds
                                                                        • SolarWinds said the network system was surreptitiously weaponized in a “highly-sophisticated, targeted . . . attack by a nation state.”
                                                                        • It’s not just the government agencies - SolarWinds has some of the biggest names in the world as clients, including government, consulting, technology, telecom, and oil and gas companies around the world. 
                                                                        • The exploit was discovered by FireEye, a security firm which was also running SolarWind and also exploited Sunday. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        ATO reveals biggest tax dodgers in tech 

                                                                        ATO reveals the IT giants that paid zero tax last year

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • The Australian Taxation Office has published its sixth annual corporate tax transparency report, which discloses the 2018-19 tax bills of the largest companies operating in the country.
                                                                        • It covers over two thousand public and foreign-owned companies with incomes of $100 million or more
                                                                        • The report shows that 741 of these companies paid no tax in Australia in 2018, including four IT companies that generated a taxable income – and that is somehow an improvement of previous years.
                                                                        • Tech companies avoiding tax include IBM, which had a taxable income of $60 million on revenue of $3.26 billion, as well as Netcom Wireless, Toshiba and Unisys.
                                                                        • Vodafone and NBN Co made a loss last year, and paid no tax
                                                                        • Atlassian, which – like IBM – paid no tax in the last three years, paid a tax bill of $11 million on a taxable income of $56.8 million in 2018-19 - an effective tax rate of 19 percent.
                                                                        • iTnews has the whole list of who paid what if you want to go check 
                                                                        • 
                                                                          

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Apple killed gawker show

                                                                        Apple TV Was Making a Show About Gawker. Then Tim Cook Found Out.

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • According to the New York Times, Tim Cook specifically stepped in to nix a series on Gawker
                                                                        • That’s just one of the juicy tidbits 
                                                                        • Gawker was home to some of the most sensationalist blogs on the web, including Valleywag, which covered tech 
                                                                        • Mr. Cook was surprised to learn that his company was making a show about Gawker, which had humiliated the company at various times and famously outed him, back in 2008, as gay.
                                                                        • Some other fun details - a Dr Dre biopic was cancelled due to too much drugs and nudity
                                                                        • Apple TV shows shouldnt show busted phones.. 
                                                                        • And more seriously, Apple exec Eddy Cue has asked no series show China in a bad light 
                                                                        • Gawker was eventually sue out of publication by Hulk Hogan, after the dite published a sex tape of his. 
                                                                        • It was later revealed tech mogul and Facebook shareholder Peter Thiel had secretly financed the lawsuit, to get back at outing him. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Here’s another...

                                                                        ---

                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                        ]]> Zoom! But For Kids! Sun, 13 Dec 2020 18:55:00 GMT 10:05 ba095aab-be95-4240-8ef2-8d15c1028b6a false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/zoom-butforkids- ba095aab-be95-4240-8ef2-8d15c1028b6a 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 zoom-butforkids- full Airbnb IPO raises even more cash, based on Doordash debut 

                                                                        Airbnb soars to near $100bn valuation as shares more than double in IPO

                                                                        The IPO market looks hot as Airbnb and C3.ai raise price targets

                                                                        Laid-Off Airbnb Employees Lost Mountain of Canceled Stock

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • Airbnb has smashed through Wall Street expectations for its IPO, trading at a $100bn valuation after it’s first day on the stock exchange. 
                                                                        • The company was originally hoping for a $60bn valuation just last week, but analysts marked the company up to $80bn following DoorDash’s massive IPO on Wednesday. 
                                                                        • Airbnb had a difficult 2020 as the floor dropped out of the tourism industry, but it fared better than most. It’s operational costs plummeted with revenue, as the company owns almost no premises and doesn't have to pay cleaning and maintenance staff across its network. 
                                                                        • For comparison, Airbnb is valued at over twice the rate of Hilton, which owns actual real estate across the planet. Does this make sense? 
                                                                        • The sale will add billions to the fortunes of its founders and allow staff to sell up to 15% of their shares after the listing, instead of waiting for the usual lock-up period, creating more millionaires.
                                                                        • But spare a thought for the ex-Airbnb staff who didn’t get rich last week. Cory Weinberg at The Information reports that the company canceled about $616 million worth of unvested stock awards through the first nine months of the year, the majority of those awards likely belonged to the roughly 1,800 employees Airbnb let go when in April, around 25% of its staff. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Speaking of staff… 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Uber As A Collective

                                                                        New York City Drivers Cooperative Aims to Smash Uber’s Exploitative Model

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • InTheseTime’s has a story about “a rideshar­ing app that you can feel good about” 
                                                                        • The service, called Driver’s Co-operative, has been in development for the last year, and is launching in 2021 in New York
                                                                        • Driver’s Co-op aims to feature all the services and convenience of ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft, without the rider’s guilt. 
                                                                        • The service will take 15% of fees from the driver, which is 10% less than Uber and Lyft, while organising to pay for petrol and servicing of its drivers cars, something that Uber and Lyft don’t offer. 
                                                                        • And at the end of 2021, any funds left over from the kitty will be returned to all drivers, as dividends. 
                                                                        • Ken Lewis, a co-founder of Driver’s Co-op, says “The way the [Uber] mod­el is orga­nized is extrac­tive. It takes out the mon­ey and doesn’t give back much. Imag­ine a com­pa­ny that doesn’t have any prof­its, but has cre­at­ed bil­lion­aires,” Lewis says. ​“That mon­ey comes from drivers.” 
                                                                        • I’ve been watching this for the last year, and similar community car share services in cities like Austin, Texas. I’d love to see this here. 

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        Salesforce buying Slack - Another Argument for Antitrust? 

                                                                        The dark reality behind Slack’s billion-dollar sale to Salesforce

                                                                        
                                                                        

                                                                        • Last week Slack announced that it would sell itself to tech behemoth Salesforce for a whopping $27.7...

                                                                          ---

                                                                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                          ]]> Airbnb IPO raises even more cash, based on Doordash debut 

                                                                          Airbnb soars to near $100bn valuation as shares more than double in IPO

                                                                          The IPO market looks hot as Airbnb and C3.ai raise price targets

                                                                          Laid-Off Airbnb Employees Lost Mountain of Canceled Stock

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          • Airbnb has smashed through Wall Street expectations for its IPO, trading at a $100bn valuation after it’s first day on the stock exchange. 
                                                                          • The company was originally hoping for a $60bn valuation just last week, but analysts marked the company up to $80bn following DoorDash’s massive IPO on Wednesday. 
                                                                          • Airbnb had a difficult 2020 as the floor dropped out of the tourism industry, but it fared better than most. It’s operational costs plummeted with revenue, as the company owns almost no premises and doesn't have to pay cleaning and maintenance staff across its network. 
                                                                          • For comparison, Airbnb is valued at over twice the rate of Hilton, which owns actual real estate across the planet. Does this make sense? 
                                                                          • The sale will add billions to the fortunes of its founders and allow staff to sell up to 15% of their shares after the listing, instead of waiting for the usual lock-up period, creating more millionaires.
                                                                          • But spare a thought for the ex-Airbnb staff who didn’t get rich last week. Cory Weinberg at The Information reports that the company canceled about $616 million worth of unvested stock awards through the first nine months of the year, the majority of those awards likely belonged to the roughly 1,800 employees Airbnb let go when in April, around 25% of its staff. 

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          Speaking of staff… 

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          Uber As A Collective

                                                                          New York City Drivers Cooperative Aims to Smash Uber’s Exploitative Model

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          • InTheseTime’s has a story about “a rideshar­ing app that you can feel good about” 
                                                                          • The service, called Driver’s Co-operative, has been in development for the last year, and is launching in 2021 in New York
                                                                          • Driver’s Co-op aims to feature all the services and convenience of ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft, without the rider’s guilt. 
                                                                          • The service will take 15% of fees from the driver, which is 10% less than Uber and Lyft, while organising to pay for petrol and servicing of its drivers cars, something that Uber and Lyft don’t offer. 
                                                                          • And at the end of 2021, any funds left over from the kitty will be returned to all drivers, as dividends. 
                                                                          • Ken Lewis, a co-founder of Driver’s Co-op, says “The way the [Uber] mod­el is orga­nized is extrac­tive. It takes out the mon­ey and doesn’t give back much. Imag­ine a com­pa­ny that doesn’t have any prof­its, but has cre­at­ed bil­lion­aires,” Lewis says. ​“That mon­ey comes from drivers.” 
                                                                          • I’ve been watching this for the last year, and similar community car share services in cities like Austin, Texas. I’d love to see this here. 

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          Salesforce buying Slack - Another Argument for Antitrust? 

                                                                          The dark reality behind Slack’s billion-dollar sale to Salesforce

                                                                          
                                                                          

                                                                          • Last week Slack announced that it would sell itself to tech behemoth Salesforce for a whopping $27.7...

                                                                            ---

                                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                            ]]> Facebook is sued! Finally! Thu, 10 Dec 2020 18:55:24 GMT 7:27 7f4b8db5-7761-4160-8ada-1794904c6a60 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookissued-finally- 7f4b8db5-7761-4160-8ada-1794904c6a60 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookissued-finally- Facebook sued by the FTCFTC Sues Facebook for Illegal MonopolizationLawsuits Filed by the FTC and the State Attorneys General Are Revisionist HistoryFacebook Accused of Breaking Antitrust Laws - The New York Times reports The Federal Trade Commissi... full Facebook sued by the FTC

                                                                            FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization

                                                                            Lawsuits Filed by the FTC and the State Attorneys General Are Revisionist History

                                                                            Facebook Accused of Breaking Antitrust Laws

                                                                            • The New York Times reports The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states have accused Facebook on of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition
                                                                            • The lawsuit alleges that Facebook deployed anticompetitive tactics in order to buy or neutralize its rivals and shore up its market dominance, specifically with its purchase of photo-sharing app Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp.
                                                                            • The states’ lawsuit quotes an email from CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom warning of the competitive threat Instagram faced if it turned down Facebook. “At some point soon, you’ll need to figure out how you actually want to work with us.”
                                                                            • They have called for Facebook to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram, and to seek approval for any future acquisitions
                                                                            • Facebook has responded to the lawsuit, dismissing it as “Revisionist History”
                                                                            • On their newsroom, they’ve said “The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general today attack two acquisitions that we made: Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. 
                                                                            • Facebook points out that The FTC conducted an in-depth “Second Request” of the Instagram transaction in 2012 before voting unanimously to clear it.
                                                                            • “Now, many years later, with seemingly no regard for settled law or the consequences to innovation and investment, the agency is saying it got it wrong and wants a do-over. In addition to being revisionist history, this is simply not how the antitrust laws are supposed to work.”
                                                                            • Looks like this will be a long, protracted legal fight 
                                                                            • “I had "Facebook sued for Antitrust" on my 2020 Bingo Card, although admittedly I also had it on my 2019 and 2018 Bingo card as well,” says Tess’ old boss. 
                                                                            • Facebook is the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the US Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the tech company of abusing its position to maintain an illegal monopoly over search and search advertising.

                                                                            
                                                                            

                                                                            
                                                                            

                                                                            So long Melbourne’s flying taxis, we barely knew ye

                                                                            • Uber has sold off its aviation division to start-up called Joby, just days after offloading its self-driving car business
                                                                            • It’s looking unlikely Uber will deliver on its promise to launch a fleet of 1000 commercial flying taxis in Melbourne from 2023.  
                                                                            • Last year Uber said Melbourne would be one of three cities to pilot Uber Air. 
                                                                            • Cara Waters from the SMH reports “A spokesperson for Joby, said the startup was still on track to launch flying taxis in 2023 but could not say whether Melbourne would be involved.” 
                                                                            • Peter, as a Melbournian are you disappointed? 

                                                                            
                                                                            

                                                                            Twitch, YouTube and PornHub try and minimise the harm they induce

                                                                            
                                                                            

                                                                            • Anthony Agius points to three different services cleaning up their act today in his latest newsletter, The Sizzle 
                                                                            • Game streaming service Twitch will "ban lewd or repeated comments about anyone's physical appearance and expressly prohibit the sending of unsolicited links to nudity" and "prohibit streamers from displaying the Confederate battle flag and...

                                                                              ---

                                                                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                              ]]> Facebook sued by the FTC

                                                                              FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization

                                                                              Lawsuits Filed by the FTC and the State Attorneys General Are Revisionist History

                                                                              Facebook Accused of Breaking Antitrust Laws

                                                                              • The New York Times reports The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states have accused Facebook on of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition
                                                                              • The lawsuit alleges that Facebook deployed anticompetitive tactics in order to buy or neutralize its rivals and shore up its market dominance, specifically with its purchase of photo-sharing app Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp.
                                                                              • The states’ lawsuit quotes an email from CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom warning of the competitive threat Instagram faced if it turned down Facebook. “At some point soon, you’ll need to figure out how you actually want to work with us.”
                                                                              • They have called for Facebook to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram, and to seek approval for any future acquisitions
                                                                              • Facebook has responded to the lawsuit, dismissing it as “Revisionist History”
                                                                              • On their newsroom, they’ve said “The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general today attack two acquisitions that we made: Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. 
                                                                              • Facebook points out that The FTC conducted an in-depth “Second Request” of the Instagram transaction in 2012 before voting unanimously to clear it.
                                                                              • “Now, many years later, with seemingly no regard for settled law or the consequences to innovation and investment, the agency is saying it got it wrong and wants a do-over. In addition to being revisionist history, this is simply not how the antitrust laws are supposed to work.”
                                                                              • Looks like this will be a long, protracted legal fight 
                                                                              • “I had "Facebook sued for Antitrust" on my 2020 Bingo Card, although admittedly I also had it on my 2019 and 2018 Bingo card as well,” says Tess’ old boss. 
                                                                              • Facebook is the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the US Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the tech company of abusing its position to maintain an illegal monopoly over search and search advertising.

                                                                              
                                                                              

                                                                              
                                                                              

                                                                              So long Melbourne’s flying taxis, we barely knew ye

                                                                              • Uber has sold off its aviation division to start-up called Joby, just days after offloading its self-driving car business
                                                                              • It’s looking unlikely Uber will deliver on its promise to launch a fleet of 1000 commercial flying taxis in Melbourne from 2023.  
                                                                              • Last year Uber said Melbourne would be one of three cities to pilot Uber Air. 
                                                                              • Cara Waters from the SMH reports “A spokesperson for Joby, said the startup was still on track to launch flying taxis in 2023 but could not say whether Melbourne would be involved.” 
                                                                              • Peter, as a Melbournian are you disappointed? 

                                                                              
                                                                              

                                                                              Twitch, YouTube and PornHub try and minimise the harm they induce

                                                                              
                                                                              

                                                                              • Anthony Agius points to three different services cleaning up their act today in his latest newsletter, The Sizzle 
                                                                              • Game streaming service Twitch will "ban lewd or repeated comments about anyone's physical appearance and expressly prohibit the sending of unsolicited links to nudity" and "prohibit streamers from displaying the Confederate battle flag and...

                                                                                ---

                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                ]]> Finally! The Media Code is Tabled Wed, 09 Dec 2020 18:55:00 GMT 7:50 d943c538-a53e-4f2c-adf3-5262b3accb5a false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/finally-themediacodeistabled d943c538-a53e-4f2c-adf3-5262b3accb5a 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 finally-themediacodeistabled full
                                                                                

                                                                                Reactions to Media Bargaining Code: 

                                                                                Tech sector urges media, tech giants to shake hands 

                                                                                'Value of journalism recognised', says Michael Miller

                                                                                Nine opposes concessions for Google, Facebook

                                                                                
                                                                                

                                                                                • After what feels like a decade of talking about this, yesterday treasurer Josh Frydenberg tabled the Media Bargaining code in Federal parliament
                                                                                • Reactions from the media were mixed - some thought the legislation was a giant step forward, others a missed opportunity 
                                                                                • News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller:
                                                                                • “It recognises the value of journalism, and it puts a framework in place to formalise how digital platforms and media companies should work together,” he said.
                                                                                • “It’s important to have as many Australian voices heard as possible. And in a practical sense, this legislation will give us the ability to cover more topics in more regions­, with the confidence that the journalism that we are publishing is also going to reach the right people.”
                                                                                • Nine doesn’t like it. A spokesperson said the concessions given to Facebook and Google further entrench their monopoly power and the imbalance in media and tech regulation.
                                                                                • Yolanda Redrup at The Fin interviewed industry heavyweights from tech and media for their takes
                                                                                • Tech industry veteran Paul Bassat called the code “bad policy”, but hoped it would see an end to the war of words between media and big tech: 
                                                                                • "It makes sense for both sides to sit down and work out something everyone can live with," he said. "In a perfect world you end up with a logic, rational outcome everyone can live with."

                                                                                
                                                                                

                                                                                
                                                                                

                                                                                AFP powers delayed 

                                                                                AFP's new hacking powers referred to committee 

                                                                                Online account takeover powers sent to PJCIS for review 

                                                                                • Staying with the government, and the new powers proposed for the AFP, giving federal police the ability to take over online accounts of Australians, has thankfully been delayed 
                                                                                • The bill has been referred to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security for further scrutiny. 
                                                                                • This means we won't see another tech bill rushed through before Christmas 

                                                                                
                                                                                

                                                                                Apple Announced AirPods Max

                                                                                https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/12/apple-introduces-airpods-max-the-magic-of-airpods-in-a-stunning-over-ear-design/

                                                                                
                                                                                

                                                                                • Apple had yet another hardware announcement to make in 2020, unveiling the AirPods Max overnight
                                                                                • The over-ear headphones are $549 US, which is a jaw dropping $900 dollarydoos. 
                                                                                • At that price, these better be amazing. The current industry leading noise cancelling headphones are the Sony WH-1000XM4 - which can be bought for 400 dollarydoos 
                                                                                • Despite the price, Mark Gurman notes the shipping time has...

                                                                                  ---

                                                                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                  ]]>
                                                                                  

                                                                                  Reactions to Media Bargaining Code: 

                                                                                  Tech sector urges media, tech giants to shake hands 

                                                                                  'Value of journalism recognised', says Michael Miller

                                                                                  Nine opposes concessions for Google, Facebook

                                                                                  
                                                                                  

                                                                                  • After what feels like a decade of talking about this, yesterday treasurer Josh Frydenberg tabled the Media Bargaining code in Federal parliament
                                                                                  • Reactions from the media were mixed - some thought the legislation was a giant step forward, others a missed opportunity 
                                                                                  • News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller:
                                                                                  • “It recognises the value of journalism, and it puts a framework in place to formalise how digital platforms and media companies should work together,” he said.
                                                                                  • “It’s important to have as many Australian voices heard as possible. And in a practical sense, this legislation will give us the ability to cover more topics in more regions­, with the confidence that the journalism that we are publishing is also going to reach the right people.”
                                                                                  • Nine doesn’t like it. A spokesperson said the concessions given to Facebook and Google further entrench their monopoly power and the imbalance in media and tech regulation.
                                                                                  • Yolanda Redrup at The Fin interviewed industry heavyweights from tech and media for their takes
                                                                                  • Tech industry veteran Paul Bassat called the code “bad policy”, but hoped it would see an end to the war of words between media and big tech: 
                                                                                  • "It makes sense for both sides to sit down and work out something everyone can live with," he said. "In a perfect world you end up with a logic, rational outcome everyone can live with."

                                                                                  
                                                                                  

                                                                                  
                                                                                  

                                                                                  AFP powers delayed 

                                                                                  AFP's new hacking powers referred to committee 

                                                                                  Online account takeover powers sent to PJCIS for review 

                                                                                  • Staying with the government, and the new powers proposed for the AFP, giving federal police the ability to take over online accounts of Australians, has thankfully been delayed 
                                                                                  • The bill has been referred to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security for further scrutiny. 
                                                                                  • This means we won't see another tech bill rushed through before Christmas 

                                                                                  
                                                                                  

                                                                                  Apple Announced AirPods Max

                                                                                  https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/12/apple-introduces-airpods-max-the-magic-of-airpods-in-a-stunning-over-ear-design/

                                                                                  
                                                                                  

                                                                                  • Apple had yet another hardware announcement to make in 2020, unveiling the AirPods Max overnight
                                                                                  • The over-ear headphones are $549 US, which is a jaw dropping $900 dollarydoos. 
                                                                                  • At that price, these better be amazing. The current industry leading noise cancelling headphones are the Sony WH-1000XM4 - which can be bought for 400 dollarydoos 
                                                                                  • Despite the price, Mark Gurman notes the shipping time has...

                                                                                    ---

                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                    ]]> Helpdesk Escalations: Monitor Buying Guide Tue, 08 Dec 2020 23:00:00 GMT 44:54 bcc37c59-39ae-4b3b-8849-15c904a9c8f7 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/helpdeskescalations-monitorbuyingguid bcc37c59-39ae-4b3b-8849-15c904a9c8f7 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 helpdeskescalations-monitorbuyingguid full Welcome to the first where we deep dive into a topic. First up, our monitor buying guide!
                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Our too-long-didnt-listen recommendation - buy the best dell you can afford: 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Dell Utrasharp 27

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-monitor-u2719d/apd/210-aqwy/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $634

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Dell Utrasharp 27 with USB-C Hub 

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-usb-c-hub-monitor-u2721de/apd/210-awhy/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $748

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Monitor

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/ultrasharp-27-4k-usb-c-monitor-u2720q/apd/210-auzu/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $920

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    _______

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Peter’s monitor: 

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/accessories/apd/210-ATTT

                                                                                    Dell 32 Curved Gaming Monitor

                                                                                    $899 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Anthony’s Monitor: 

                                                                                    Xiaomi Mi 34" Curved Gaming Monitor

                                                                                    https://www.mi-store.com.au/xiaomi-mi-curved-gaming-monitor-34

                                                                                    $599

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Marc’s Monitor

                                                                                    Apple Pro XDR

                                                                                    https://www.apple.com/au/pro-display-xdr/

                                                                                    $8499

                                                                                    ---

                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                    ]]> Welcome to the first where we deep dive into a topic. First up, our monitor buying guide!
                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Our too-long-didnt-listen recommendation - buy the best dell you can afford: 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Dell Utrasharp 27

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-monitor-u2719d/apd/210-aqwy/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $634

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Dell Utrasharp 27 with USB-C Hub 

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/dell-ultrasharp-27-usb-c-hub-monitor-u2721de/apd/210-awhy/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $748

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Monitor

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/ultrasharp-27-4k-usb-c-monitor-u2720q/apd/210-auzu/monitors-monitor-accessories

                                                                                    $920

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    _______

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Peter’s monitor: 

                                                                                    https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/accessories/apd/210-ATTT

                                                                                    Dell 32 Curved Gaming Monitor

                                                                                    $899 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Anthony’s Monitor: 

                                                                                    Xiaomi Mi 34" Curved Gaming Monitor

                                                                                    https://www.mi-store.com.au/xiaomi-mi-curved-gaming-monitor-34

                                                                                    $599

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Marc’s Monitor

                                                                                    Apple Pro XDR

                                                                                    https://www.apple.com/au/pro-display-xdr/

                                                                                    $8499

                                                                                    ---

                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                    ]]> Online Dating Is a Little Safer Today Tue, 08 Dec 2020 18:55:00 GMT 9:36 e737748a-ad4a-4cbd-9a24-804c92c777c6 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/onlinedatingisalittlesafertoday e737748a-ad4a-4cbd-9a24-804c92c777c6 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 onlinedatingisalittlesafertoday full Dating apps getting a little safer 
                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Tinder makes it easier to report bad actors using 'unmatch' to hide from victims

                                                                                    • Tinder is making it easier to report bad actors on the dating app 
                                                                                    • The move follows criticism highlighted by ABC Hack and Four Corners, that showed sexual predators on the service would unmatch their victims, making them hard to find. 
                                                                                    • Now, when a users are “unmatched”, both retain a history of the chat in case one side wishes to report 
                                                                                    • Bumble introduced a similar feature last month for its users. Bumbles feature includes a massive “report” button, whereas Tinder simply links to an FAQ about reporting users.  

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Meanwhile, Ina Fried at Axios is reporting that Tinder’s parent company, Match, is working with RAINN, a leading anti-sexual violence organisation in the US, to fully audit it’s dating apps, in an attempt to prevent sexual assault on its platforms. 

                                                                                    Match apps include: Tinder, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish.

                                                                                    Match to audit sexual assault prevention efforts 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    Uber exits self driving cars

                                                                                    Uber Gives Up on the Self-Driving Dream

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    • Uber seems to be exiting the self driving car race 
                                                                                    • Uber was one of the first companies to embrace self driving cars, throwing a tonne of money behind the project, and hiring some of the best names in the business
                                                                                    • Uber was keen on the technology, as the hefty meatsack behind the driver’s wheel was always Uber’s biggest expense 
                                                                                    • But the company had a fraught history with the technology. In 2018 the company was found to have stolen tech from competitor Waymo 
                                                                                    • Anthony Levandowski, the head of Uber Self Drive, was sentenced to 18 months prison for his role in the scandal 
                                                                                    • Also in 2018, an Uber car hit and killed a pedestrian during a trial run 
                                                                                    • Company Aurora will be purchasing the tech at a bargain basement price
                                                                                    • Developing self-driving vehicles is taking longer and is more expensive than the tech optimists predicted. 

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    In inevitable but still exciting news… 

                                                                                    Apple Preps Next Mac Chips With Aim to Outclass Top-End PCs

                                                                                    
                                                                                    

                                                                                    • Over at Bloomberg, Apple reporting wunderkin Mark Gurman writes that Apple is readying the next batch of Apple Silicon powered macs 
                                                                                    • He reports: “Apple has planned for the release as early as the spring and later in the fall. And that the chips are destined to be placed across upgraded versions of the MacBook Pro, both entry-level and high-end iMac desktops, and later a new Mac Pro workstation”
                                                                                    • Spring and fall are US times of course, and on schedule to what I would be expecting
                                                                                    • The current M1 chip has a mobile-centric design built around four high-performance processing cores to accelerate tasks like video editing and four power-saving cores that can handle less intensive jobs like web browsing. 
                                                                                    • For its next generation chip targeting MacBook Pro and iMac models, Apple is working on designs with as many as 16 power cores and four efficiency cores
                                                                                    • Apple normally has an education focussed event around late March, this would be the perfect time to introduce iMacs, and if the same chip is expected in both iMacs and Macbook Pros - as we saw the same M1 across three product lines - then i...

                                                                                      ---

                                                                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                      ]]> Dating apps getting a little safer 
                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      Tinder makes it easier to report bad actors using 'unmatch' to hide from victims

                                                                                      • Tinder is making it easier to report bad actors on the dating app 
                                                                                      • The move follows criticism highlighted by ABC Hack and Four Corners, that showed sexual predators on the service would unmatch their victims, making them hard to find. 
                                                                                      • Now, when a users are “unmatched”, both retain a history of the chat in case one side wishes to report 
                                                                                      • Bumble introduced a similar feature last month for its users. Bumbles feature includes a massive “report” button, whereas Tinder simply links to an FAQ about reporting users.  

                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      Meanwhile, Ina Fried at Axios is reporting that Tinder’s parent company, Match, is working with RAINN, a leading anti-sexual violence organisation in the US, to fully audit it’s dating apps, in an attempt to prevent sexual assault on its platforms. 

                                                                                      Match apps include: Tinder, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish.

                                                                                      Match to audit sexual assault prevention efforts 

                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      Uber exits self driving cars

                                                                                      Uber Gives Up on the Self-Driving Dream

                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      • Uber seems to be exiting the self driving car race 
                                                                                      • Uber was one of the first companies to embrace self driving cars, throwing a tonne of money behind the project, and hiring some of the best names in the business
                                                                                      • Uber was keen on the technology, as the hefty meatsack behind the driver’s wheel was always Uber’s biggest expense 
                                                                                      • But the company had a fraught history with the technology. In 2018 the company was found to have stolen tech from competitor Waymo 
                                                                                      • Anthony Levandowski, the head of Uber Self Drive, was sentenced to 18 months prison for his role in the scandal 
                                                                                      • Also in 2018, an Uber car hit and killed a pedestrian during a trial run 
                                                                                      • Company Aurora will be purchasing the tech at a bargain basement price
                                                                                      • Developing self-driving vehicles is taking longer and is more expensive than the tech optimists predicted. 

                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      In inevitable but still exciting news… 

                                                                                      Apple Preps Next Mac Chips With Aim to Outclass Top-End PCs

                                                                                      
                                                                                      

                                                                                      • Over at Bloomberg, Apple reporting wunderkin Mark Gurman writes that Apple is readying the next batch of Apple Silicon powered macs 
                                                                                      • He reports: “Apple has planned for the release as early as the spring and later in the fall. And that the chips are destined to be placed across upgraded versions of the MacBook Pro, both entry-level and high-end iMac desktops, and later a new Mac Pro workstation”
                                                                                      • Spring and fall are US times of course, and on schedule to what I would be expecting
                                                                                      • The current M1 chip has a mobile-centric design built around four high-performance processing cores to accelerate tasks like video editing and four power-saving cores that can handle less intensive jobs like web browsing. 
                                                                                      • For its next generation chip targeting MacBook Pro and iMac models, Apple is working on designs with as many as 16 power cores and four efficiency cores
                                                                                      • Apple normally has an education focussed event around late March, this would be the perfect time to introduce iMacs, and if the same chip is expected in both iMacs and Macbook Pros - as we saw the same M1 across three product lines - then i...

                                                                                        ---

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> Final Negotiations For Google, Facebook and the Australian Media Mon, 07 Dec 2020 18:55:00 GMT 8:23 62e6fdf4-4363-417e-bfb6-0c139d5a534d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/finalnegotiationsforgoogle-facebookandtheaustralianmedia 62e6fdf4-4363-417e-bfb6-0c139d5a534d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 finalnegotiationsforgoogle-facebookandtheaustralianmedia full
                                                                                        
                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Google could cut Australians out of upgrades 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • In the ongoing feud between Google and Facebook and the government, the Fin Review reports Google is working on “a secret project to exclude Australians from regular improvements to its search function and other services if the company does not agree with proposed laws to regulate how it deals with news publishers.”
                                                                                        • This would effectively isolate Australia from other global markets that have services such as search, news and discover (a personalised content feed) continually tuned and tweaked for efficiency.
                                                                                        • More sources said Google had been exploring a number of scenarios to assess the effect the code of conduct might have on its products.
                                                                                        • On Tuesday, the Morrison government is expected to take its revised code of conduct proposal to the party room, with an introduction into Parliament most likely on Wednesday.
                                                                                        • 
                                                                                          

                                                                                        Tech giants win concessions, but 'baseball arbitration' remains

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Also at the Fin, they’re reporting tech companies have won a few concessions from the upcoming bill, which Treasurer Frydenberg is expected to unveil on Tuesday. They include: 
                                                                                        • Facebook and Google will be permitted to count the monetary worth of online readers they deliver news websites, and offset that against the bill they need to pay publishers
                                                                                        • Facebook’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube will both be excluded from the new digital platform rules
                                                                                        • Under the mandatory bargaining code if the parties fail to strike a financial deal, an auction system similar to schemes used by American baseball teams in player pay disputes would be overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
                                                                                        • Nice colour from the SMH which has a quote from an anonymous gov backbencher “The outcome will be that Google and Facebook won't be completely happy with it and the media companies won't be completely happy, but it's something they can all live with.”  

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/how-joe-biden-s-digital-team-beat-trump-by-chasing-a-kinder-gentler-internet-20201207-p56l51.html 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The post-mortem of the US election campaign continues, with the NYT examining how Joe Biden’s warm fuzzy campaign online held up against the Trump Death Star.  
                                                                                        • Kevin Roose writes, figuring out whether any particular online strategy decisively moved the needle for Biden is probably impossible. But since successful campaigns breed imitators, it's worth looking under the hood of the Biden digital strategy to see what future campaigns might learn from it.
                                                                                        • "The whole Biden campaign ethos was, 'Twitter isn't real life,'" said Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden's presidential campaign. "There are risks of running a campaign that is too hyperaware of your own ideological corner."
                                                                                        • As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to "Facebook moms"— women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, 
                                                                                        • The story goes into all the various platforms Biden used, including Youtube, Tiktok, and even Animal Crossing 

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]>
                                                                                        
                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Google could cut Australians out of upgrades 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • In the ongoing feud between Google and Facebook and the government, the Fin Review reports Google is working on “a secret project to exclude Australians from regular improvements to its search function and other services if the company does not agree with proposed laws to regulate how it deals with news publishers.”
                                                                                        • This would effectively isolate Australia from other global markets that have services such as search, news and discover (a personalised content feed) continually tuned and tweaked for efficiency.
                                                                                        • More sources said Google had been exploring a number of scenarios to assess the effect the code of conduct might have on its products.
                                                                                        • On Tuesday, the Morrison government is expected to take its revised code of conduct proposal to the party room, with an introduction into Parliament most likely on Wednesday.
                                                                                        • 
                                                                                          

                                                                                        Tech giants win concessions, but 'baseball arbitration' remains

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Also at the Fin, they’re reporting tech companies have won a few concessions from the upcoming bill, which Treasurer Frydenberg is expected to unveil on Tuesday. They include: 
                                                                                        • Facebook and Google will be permitted to count the monetary worth of online readers they deliver news websites, and offset that against the bill they need to pay publishers
                                                                                        • Facebook’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube will both be excluded from the new digital platform rules
                                                                                        • Under the mandatory bargaining code if the parties fail to strike a financial deal, an auction system similar to schemes used by American baseball teams in player pay disputes would be overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
                                                                                        • Nice colour from the SMH which has a quote from an anonymous gov backbencher “The outcome will be that Google and Facebook won't be completely happy with it and the media companies won't be completely happy, but it's something they can all live with.”  

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/how-joe-biden-s-digital-team-beat-trump-by-chasing-a-kinder-gentler-internet-20201207-p56l51.html 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The post-mortem of the US election campaign continues, with the NYT examining how Joe Biden’s warm fuzzy campaign online held up against the Trump Death Star.  
                                                                                        • Kevin Roose writes, figuring out whether any particular online strategy decisively moved the needle for Biden is probably impossible. But since successful campaigns breed imitators, it's worth looking under the hood of the Biden digital strategy to see what future campaigns might learn from it.
                                                                                        • "The whole Biden campaign ethos was, 'Twitter isn't real life,'" said Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden's presidential campaign. "There are risks of running a campaign that is too hyperaware of your own ideological corner."
                                                                                        • As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to "Facebook moms"— women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, 
                                                                                        • The story goes into all the various platforms Biden used, including Youtube, Tiktok, and even Animal Crossing 

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> Can Only Fans Shake Off Its Only Porn Reputation? Sun, 06 Dec 2020 18:55:22 GMT 7:33 bf136197-9e12-4707-a20d-8f341eb68c70 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/canonlyfansshakeoffitsonlypornreputation- bf136197-9e12-4707-a20d-8f341eb68c70 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 canonlyfansshakeoffitsonlypornreputation- full New legislation for Australian Federal Police tabled in parliament 

                                                                                        AFP's 'expansion of authoritarian powers'

                                                                                        Govt urged to avoid TOLA repeat with dark web laws

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Last week, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton introduced the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 into the federal parliament.
                                                                                        • The bill gives the AFP broad new surveillance powers, to take over the online accounts of Australians, and devices at the network level
                                                                                        • Currently, law enforcement can only take control of a person’s account with their consent. These proposed laws would allow the AFP to take over an account without consent, as long as they had a warrant
                                                                                        • While the new laws are designed to target child abuse and terrorism, the new warrants will also apply to Commonwealth crimes including theft, fraud, tax evasion, illegal gambling, forgery and piracy.
                                                                                        • With just four sitting days left, the Law Council of Australia has urged the government not to repeat what it did with the country's encryption-busting laws by similarly trying to rush through new online account takeover powers before Christmas, but the timing cannot be ignored here. 
                                                                                        • And as we’ve reported, both the government encryption laws and mandatory data retention laws have been criticised since their introduction, as being too broad, and accessible by far too many agencies. 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        'Ridiculous and dangerous': the hard road to safety in the gig economy

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The SMH has a fantastic, long piece on NSW’s Safework investigation into food delivery services UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog
                                                                                        • NSW Labor, the Greens and peak body Unions NSW have all urged the state government to expand the coverage of the workers' compensation scheme to cover food delivery riders and to boost the enforcement of occupational health and safety rules. 
                                                                                        • Unions NSW general secretary Mark Morey, who has worked with Airtasker to introduce minimum pay rates for workers, says "all work, regardless of the employment definition, should attract a minimum wage, leave loadings, superannuation and injury insurance".
                                                                                        • No one from food delivery companies agreed to answer questions for the article, but it sounds like they are working with the governments
                                                                                        • It's unlikely gig workers will ever be considered employees, but safety standards for the gig economy is clearly needed. 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Celebrities Like Cardi B Could Turn OnlyFans Into a Billion-Dollar Media Company

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Bloomberg has a great story on the rise of Onlyfans - a site that allows users to follow and tip their favourite online personalities for access to content 
                                                                                        • OnlyFans is adding as many as 500,000 users a day and paying out more than $200 million a month to its creators.
                                                                                        • Like so many services on the internet, onlyfans growth was originally fuelled by adult film stars offering private shows 
                                                                                        • More recently celebrities like Cardi B have released content on the platform, but will that be enough to shake its “adult” roots and hit the mainstream? 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        More than...

                                                                                        ---

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> New legislation for Australian Federal Police tabled in parliament 

                                                                                        AFP's 'expansion of authoritarian powers'

                                                                                        Govt urged to avoid TOLA repeat with dark web laws

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Last week, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton introduced the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 into the federal parliament.
                                                                                        • The bill gives the AFP broad new surveillance powers, to take over the online accounts of Australians, and devices at the network level
                                                                                        • Currently, law enforcement can only take control of a person’s account with their consent. These proposed laws would allow the AFP to take over an account without consent, as long as they had a warrant
                                                                                        • While the new laws are designed to target child abuse and terrorism, the new warrants will also apply to Commonwealth crimes including theft, fraud, tax evasion, illegal gambling, forgery and piracy.
                                                                                        • With just four sitting days left, the Law Council of Australia has urged the government not to repeat what it did with the country's encryption-busting laws by similarly trying to rush through new online account takeover powers before Christmas, but the timing cannot be ignored here. 
                                                                                        • And as we’ve reported, both the government encryption laws and mandatory data retention laws have been criticised since their introduction, as being too broad, and accessible by far too many agencies. 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        'Ridiculous and dangerous': the hard road to safety in the gig economy

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The SMH has a fantastic, long piece on NSW’s Safework investigation into food delivery services UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog
                                                                                        • NSW Labor, the Greens and peak body Unions NSW have all urged the state government to expand the coverage of the workers' compensation scheme to cover food delivery riders and to boost the enforcement of occupational health and safety rules. 
                                                                                        • Unions NSW general secretary Mark Morey, who has worked with Airtasker to introduce minimum pay rates for workers, says "all work, regardless of the employment definition, should attract a minimum wage, leave loadings, superannuation and injury insurance".
                                                                                        • No one from food delivery companies agreed to answer questions for the article, but it sounds like they are working with the governments
                                                                                        • It's unlikely gig workers will ever be considered employees, but safety standards for the gig economy is clearly needed. 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Celebrities Like Cardi B Could Turn OnlyFans Into a Billion-Dollar Media Company

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Bloomberg has a great story on the rise of Onlyfans - a site that allows users to follow and tip their favourite online personalities for access to content 
                                                                                        • OnlyFans is adding as many as 500,000 users a day and paying out more than $200 million a month to its creators.
                                                                                        • Like so many services on the internet, onlyfans growth was originally fuelled by adult film stars offering private shows 
                                                                                        • More recently celebrities like Cardi B have released content on the platform, but will that be enough to shake its “adult” roots and hit the mainstream? 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        More than...

                                                                                        ---

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> Has Covid Killed Cinemas? Fri, 04 Dec 2020 03:05:42 GMT 12:50 fd9bac89-f2cf-46a2-a97f-ae03d5c5e0d1 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/hascovidkilledcinemas- fd9bac89-f2cf-46a2-a97f-ae03d5c5e0d1 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 hascovidkilledcinemas- No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time - The Guardian is reporting that cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal, has been approved to go on sale in Singapore - This is the first time “lab grown meat” ... full No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The Guardian is reporting that cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal, has been approved to go on sale in Singapore
                                                                                        • This is the first time “lab grown meat” has been approved for sale anywhere in the world.
                                                                                        • The “chicken bites”, produced by the US company Eat Just, have passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency 
                                                                                        • The approval could open the door to a future when all meat is produced without the killing of livestock, the company said.
                                                                                        • Discussion: would you eat lab meat? 
                                                                                        • One of the major reasons to go vegan is the massive carbon footprint of meat, this reduces that as well
                                                                                        • And we've seen slaughterhouses the main point of covid transmission 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Covid killed Cinemas? 

                                                                                        Warner Bros. will release all of its new 2021 movies simultaneously on HBO Max

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • WarnerMedia will be releasing every one of its movies in 2021 simultaneously on HBO Max.
                                                                                        • The movies will only stream on HBO Max for one month before leaving the platform for a period of time. 
                                                                                        • This helps keep “the release window” deal cinemas have had for decades in place. The movies will be exclusive to HBO Max during the window, then will come to all streaming services after the standard gap 
                                                                                        • The plan is to run this experiment for one year, with movies like Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad and Matrix 4
                                                                                        • HBO Max users will not have to pay anything about the standard $15 per month to access these movies 
                                                                                        • Disney experimented with streaming blockbusters with Mulan earlier in the year, but charged $20 on top of the standard Disney+ sub. 
                                                                                        • Discussion: Are cinemas dead? Have you been to a cinema post covid? 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Apple open for small business 

                                                                                        Apple opens enrollment for new App Store Small Business Program with 15% commission

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Apple has opened its small business program for App Store developers earning less than a million a year in sales 
                                                                                        • Developers can sign up now. 
                                                                                        • The sign up process is straight forward through Itunes Connect, and examines your 2020 sales, and if eligible, you will be moved to the new pay scale for 2021 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Casey Newton has a nice history lesson on Slack 

                                                                                        How Microsoft crushed Slack

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Casey says the company was doomed the moment Microsoft released Teams, and bundled it in with 365
                                                                                        • Casey notes the open letter Slack posted in the New York Times back in 2016, welcoming Microsoft to workplace chat
                                                                                        • For those that don't recognise the hubris, Apple wrote a similar welcome to IBM back in the eighties, welcoming them to Personal Computers.  
                                                                                        • When Teams was introduced, I was running Slack amongst my team at an old job. We eventually moved to teams, even though I hated the UI, because it was easier to get management buy in. 
                                                                                        • There’s not much more to say here other than it’s a great weekend read

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        And sticking with Casey Newton, we’re ending the week talking about his tweet on Spotify Wrapped 

                                                                                         

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • The Guardian is reporting that cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal, has been approved to go on sale in Singapore
                                                                                        • This is the first time “lab grown meat” has been approved for sale anywhere in the world.
                                                                                        • The “chicken bites”, produced by the US company Eat Just, have passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency 
                                                                                        • The approval could open the door to a future when all meat is produced without the killing of livestock, the company said.
                                                                                        • Discussion: would you eat lab meat? 
                                                                                        • One of the major reasons to go vegan is the massive carbon footprint of meat, this reduces that as well
                                                                                        • And we've seen slaughterhouses the main point of covid transmission 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Covid killed Cinemas? 

                                                                                        Warner Bros. will release all of its new 2021 movies simultaneously on HBO Max

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • WarnerMedia will be releasing every one of its movies in 2021 simultaneously on HBO Max.
                                                                                        • The movies will only stream on HBO Max for one month before leaving the platform for a period of time. 
                                                                                        • This helps keep “the release window” deal cinemas have had for decades in place. The movies will be exclusive to HBO Max during the window, then will come to all streaming services after the standard gap 
                                                                                        • The plan is to run this experiment for one year, with movies like Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad and Matrix 4
                                                                                        • HBO Max users will not have to pay anything about the standard $15 per month to access these movies 
                                                                                        • Disney experimented with streaming blockbusters with Mulan earlier in the year, but charged $20 on top of the standard Disney+ sub. 
                                                                                        • Discussion: Are cinemas dead? Have you been to a cinema post covid? 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Apple open for small business 

                                                                                        Apple opens enrollment for new App Store Small Business Program with 15% commission

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Apple has opened its small business program for App Store developers earning less than a million a year in sales 
                                                                                        • Developers can sign up now. 
                                                                                        • The sign up process is straight forward through Itunes Connect, and examines your 2020 sales, and if eligible, you will be moved to the new pay scale for 2021 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Casey Newton has a nice history lesson on Slack 

                                                                                        How Microsoft crushed Slack

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • Casey says the company was doomed the moment Microsoft released Teams, and bundled it in with 365
                                                                                        • Casey notes the open letter Slack posted in the New York Times back in 2016, welcoming Microsoft to workplace chat
                                                                                        • For those that don't recognise the hubris, Apple wrote a similar welcome to IBM back in the eighties, welcoming them to Personal Computers.  
                                                                                        • When Teams was introduced, I was running Slack amongst my team at an old job. We eventually moved to teams, even though I hated the UI, because it was easier to get management buy in. 
                                                                                        • There’s not much more to say here other than it’s a great weekend read

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        And sticking with Casey Newton, we’re ending the week talking about his tweet on Spotify Wrapped 

                                                                                         

                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                        ]]> Microsoft Dials Back The Creepy Thu, 03 Dec 2020 03:49:36 GMT 7:34 5bd1caeb-746f-4e69-b3a2-d0f4d3f4caaa false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/microsoftdialsbackthecreepy 5bd1caeb-746f-4e69-b3a2-d0f4d3f4caaa 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 microsoftdialsbackthecreepy full Tis the season for end of year wraps - and first cab off the rank is Apple and Google, awarding best of apps, music and podcasts: 
                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Apple releases its 'Best of 2020' App Store winners and most downloaded apps of the year

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Google Play's Best of 2020 Awards highlight the stressful year it's been

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        • In its press release, Apple said “apps are a reflection of culture. And this year, they reflected people’s focus on self-care and mental health, remote work and learning, staying connected with family and friends, interactive and social gaming, and more.”
                                                                                        • For Apple, home workout app Wakeout! won iPhone App of the Year and Zoom got the top iPad app 
                                                                                        • Google’s best app was Loona, a relaxation and sleep app. 
                                                                                        • Unlike other sleep or meditation apps where users close their eyes and drift off, Loóna is intended to help people wind down while still on their phones.
                                                                                        • Users of the app spend on average 34mins a day playing with the pretty colours and images, and the app has a massive conversion rate of over 50% from free to paying customers, so it must be doing something right. 
                                                                                        • Both platforms awarded Genshin Impact as game of the year 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        In podcasting News.. 

                                                                                        • Amazon in Talks to Buy Podcast Maker Wondery - WSJ
                                                                                        • We previously reported on rumours that Apple was looking to buy podcast content creator Wondery
                                                                                        • The new word on the street is that Amazon is looking to purchase the company, possibly to lock in its shows like Dr Death and Dirty John to its own podcast directory 
                                                                                        • Amazon was late to podcasting, it opened a podcast directory just a few months ago
                                                                                        • Spotify shares dropped the day Amazon’s directory went live, showing how much the market values podcasts
                                                                                        • Podcasts are seen to benefit streaming music services in two ways:
                                                                                        • One - they keep users in your ecosystem longer
                                                                                        • Two - podcasts are generally free to stream, theres no royalties to pay 
                                                                                        • Meanwhile, 
                                                                                        • Spotify says a million-plus Anchor podcasts will help it dominate podcasting
                                                                                        • Spotify’s $100 million-plus Anchor acquisition is seemingly paying off.
                                                                                        • Spotify purchased Anchor, a simple podcast creation platform, in 2019
                                                                                        • The streaming company says 70% of podcasts listened to on Spotify are produced with Anchor 

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        
                                                                                        

                                                                                        Thanks to listener Simon who contacted me on Twitter to our next story, Microsoft listened to our podcast and has changed it’s Productivity Score program 

                                                                                        Our commitment to privacy in Microsoft Productivity Score

                                                                                        • Microsoft has bowed to pressure and is dramatically changing the productivity score details available to employers
                                                                                        • Microsoft Are removing employee data from the product. 
                                                                                        • During the preview, Microsoft added a feature that showed user data of all employee names over a 28-day period. 
                                                                                        • In response to feedback over the last week, they’re removing that feature entirely. 
                                                                                        • Going forward, the communications, meetings, content collaboration, teamwork, and mobility measures in...

                                                                                          ---

                                                                                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                          ]]> Tis the season for end of year wraps - and first cab off the rank is Apple and Google, awarding best of apps, music and podcasts: 
                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          Apple releases its 'Best of 2020' App Store winners and most downloaded apps of the year

                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          Google Play's Best of 2020 Awards highlight the stressful year it's been

                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          • In its press release, Apple said “apps are a reflection of culture. And this year, they reflected people’s focus on self-care and mental health, remote work and learning, staying connected with family and friends, interactive and social gaming, and more.”
                                                                                          • For Apple, home workout app Wakeout! won iPhone App of the Year and Zoom got the top iPad app 
                                                                                          • Google’s best app was Loona, a relaxation and sleep app. 
                                                                                          • Unlike other sleep or meditation apps where users close their eyes and drift off, Loóna is intended to help people wind down while still on their phones.
                                                                                          • Users of the app spend on average 34mins a day playing with the pretty colours and images, and the app has a massive conversion rate of over 50% from free to paying customers, so it must be doing something right. 
                                                                                          • Both platforms awarded Genshin Impact as game of the year 

                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          In podcasting News.. 

                                                                                          • Amazon in Talks to Buy Podcast Maker Wondery - WSJ
                                                                                          • We previously reported on rumours that Apple was looking to buy podcast content creator Wondery
                                                                                          • The new word on the street is that Amazon is looking to purchase the company, possibly to lock in its shows like Dr Death and Dirty John to its own podcast directory 
                                                                                          • Amazon was late to podcasting, it opened a podcast directory just a few months ago
                                                                                          • Spotify shares dropped the day Amazon’s directory went live, showing how much the market values podcasts
                                                                                          • Podcasts are seen to benefit streaming music services in two ways:
                                                                                          • One - they keep users in your ecosystem longer
                                                                                          • Two - podcasts are generally free to stream, theres no royalties to pay 
                                                                                          • Meanwhile, 
                                                                                          • Spotify says a million-plus Anchor podcasts will help it dominate podcasting
                                                                                          • Spotify’s $100 million-plus Anchor acquisition is seemingly paying off.
                                                                                          • Spotify purchased Anchor, a simple podcast creation platform, in 2019
                                                                                          • The streaming company says 70% of podcasts listened to on Spotify are produced with Anchor 

                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                                                                          Thanks to listener Simon who contacted me on Twitter to our next story, Microsoft listened to our podcast and has changed it’s Productivity Score program 

                                                                                          Our commitment to privacy in Microsoft Productivity Score

                                                                                          • Microsoft has bowed to pressure and is dramatically changing the productivity score details available to employers
                                                                                          • Microsoft Are removing employee data from the product. 
                                                                                          • During the preview, Microsoft added a feature that showed user data of all employee names over a 28-day period. 
                                                                                          • In response to feedback over the last week, they’re removing that feature entirely. 
                                                                                          • Going forward, the communications, meetings, content collaboration, teamwork, and mobility measures in...

                                                                                            ---

                                                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                            ]]> NBNCo Shows The True Cost Of Fibre Wed, 02 Dec 2020 03:07:11 GMT 12:44 074c52a8-6167-4690-8c12-6eb3576ac36d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/nbncoshowsthetruecostoffibre 074c52a8-6167-4690-8c12-6eb3576ac36d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 nbncoshowsthetruecostoffibre Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.7B megadeal - As predicted last week, the Customer Relations Software giant Salesforce has acquired Slack, the workplace communications tool. (A$37.5 billion) - This follows years of Slack rejecting offers from Micros... full Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.7B megadeal

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            • As predicted last week, the Customer Relations Software giant Salesforce has acquired Slack, the workplace communications tool. (A$37.5 billion)
                                                                                            • This follows years of Slack rejecting offers from Microsoft and Google, who both showed interest in the company 
                                                                                            • Microsoft went on to build Teams, a slack competitor, in house - and has since grown it into somewhat of a Zoom competitor as well. Google has instead incorporated Slack into its Google Workspace tools. 
                                                                                            • Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said ““This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world,”
                                                                                            • Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield “we share a vision of reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility... Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going,”
                                                                                            • So while everyone is putting a positive spin on things, it does seem Slack has hit the ceiling for organic growth, and that made Butterfield, who has been reluctant to sell his baby, come to the table. 
                                                                                            • What does this mean for the free tier of Slack? Will we see communities move to Discord? And is Slack + Salesforce really a competitor to Office 365? 

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            NBN Co opens instant quote generator for user-pays fibre upgrades

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            • NBN Co has soft-launched the instant quote generator for its user-pays upgrade program Technology Choice.
                                                                                            • The quote generator is now free, allowing users to see how much it would cost to upgrade their home or business to Fibre to the Premise 
                                                                                            • Until now, simply asking NBNCo for a quote cost $350, and that was before any upgrades
                                                                                            • So if you’re wondering why your twitter feed is filled with nerds quoting upgrades today, this is why. 
                                                                                            • Don’t expect upgrades to be cheap - I’ve seen anything from $2 to $20k for a Fibre upgrade (my place is $8,500)
                                                                                            • Average upgrades for residential homes seem to be around the five to seven thousand mark - depending on the current infrastructure in your area
                                                                                            • NBN Co is hoping that impatient customers will pay their own way to fibre rather than wait what could be years for a free upgrade.
                                                                                            • Is this something NBNCo really expects people to use, or is this more a PR move to say “see, this is how much fibre costs, and this is why we didn't roll it out?” 

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            The Nerds have logged on to COVIDSafe’s github 

                                                                                            
                                                                                            

                                                                                            • As promised, the government has posted the code to its new COVIDsafe app to Github, the popular code sharing website
                                                                                            • Github allows anyone to mark issues they find within the code, and ask for clarification from the developers. 
                                                                                            • iOS Developers have been quick to post concerns on the apps performance under a thread that is in our show notes. 
                                                                                            • If you read the thread, you can see the person posting as the developer is answering concerns with the same scorecard matrix we’ve seen in the media over the last few days 
                                                                                            • Unfortunately, the developers in this thread are not happy with this matrix, and many have compiled the code themselves and ran their own testing - one finding that “Two iPhones, side by side, do not share tokens when both devices are locked or the app is in the background” 
                                                                                            • Developers are asking the COVIDsafe team to share their own testing, and testing procedures. 
                                                                                            • The COVIDSafe team has yet to respond to these requests,...

                                                                                              ---

                                                                                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                              ]]> Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.7B megadeal

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              • As predicted last week, the Customer Relations Software giant Salesforce has acquired Slack, the workplace communications tool. (A$37.5 billion)
                                                                                              • This follows years of Slack rejecting offers from Microsoft and Google, who both showed interest in the company 
                                                                                              • Microsoft went on to build Teams, a slack competitor, in house - and has since grown it into somewhat of a Zoom competitor as well. Google has instead incorporated Slack into its Google Workspace tools. 
                                                                                              • Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said ““This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world,”
                                                                                              • Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield “we share a vision of reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility... Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going,”
                                                                                              • So while everyone is putting a positive spin on things, it does seem Slack has hit the ceiling for organic growth, and that made Butterfield, who has been reluctant to sell his baby, come to the table. 
                                                                                              • What does this mean for the free tier of Slack? Will we see communities move to Discord? And is Slack + Salesforce really a competitor to Office 365? 

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              NBN Co opens instant quote generator for user-pays fibre upgrades

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              • NBN Co has soft-launched the instant quote generator for its user-pays upgrade program Technology Choice.
                                                                                              • The quote generator is now free, allowing users to see how much it would cost to upgrade their home or business to Fibre to the Premise 
                                                                                              • Until now, simply asking NBNCo for a quote cost $350, and that was before any upgrades
                                                                                              • So if you’re wondering why your twitter feed is filled with nerds quoting upgrades today, this is why. 
                                                                                              • Don’t expect upgrades to be cheap - I’ve seen anything from $2 to $20k for a Fibre upgrade (my place is $8,500)
                                                                                              • Average upgrades for residential homes seem to be around the five to seven thousand mark - depending on the current infrastructure in your area
                                                                                              • NBN Co is hoping that impatient customers will pay their own way to fibre rather than wait what could be years for a free upgrade.
                                                                                              • Is this something NBNCo really expects people to use, or is this more a PR move to say “see, this is how much fibre costs, and this is why we didn't roll it out?” 

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              The Nerds have logged on to COVIDSafe’s github 

                                                                                              
                                                                                              

                                                                                              • As promised, the government has posted the code to its new COVIDsafe app to Github, the popular code sharing website
                                                                                              • Github allows anyone to mark issues they find within the code, and ask for clarification from the developers. 
                                                                                              • iOS Developers have been quick to post concerns on the apps performance under a thread that is in our show notes. 
                                                                                              • If you read the thread, you can see the person posting as the developer is answering concerns with the same scorecard matrix we’ve seen in the media over the last few days 
                                                                                              • Unfortunately, the developers in this thread are not happy with this matrix, and many have compiled the code themselves and ran their own testing - one finding that “Two iPhones, side by side, do not share tokens when both devices are locked or the app is in the background” 
                                                                                              • Developers are asking the COVIDsafe team to share their own testing, and testing procedures. 
                                                                                              • The COVIDSafe team has yet to respond to these requests,...

                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                ]]> One Chatbot To Rule Them All Tue, 01 Dec 2020 02:49:38 GMT 6:47 6887c9b7-19e8-4f91-b2b5-116ba450775f false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/onechatbottorulethemall 6887c9b7-19e8-4f91-b2b5-116ba450775f 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 onechatbottorulethemall London A.I. Lab Claims Breakthrough That Could Accelerate Drug Discovery - An artificial intelligence lab in London has built a computer system to map out complex proteins in less than a few hours -- a process that has previously taken years to do m... full
                                                                                                

                                                                                                London A.I. Lab Claims Breakthrough That Could Accelerate Drug Discovery

                                                                                                • An artificial intelligence lab in London has built a computer system to map out complex proteins in less than a few hours -- a process that has previously taken years to do manually
                                                                                                • DeepMind, a lab owned by the same parent company as Google, said on Monday that its system had solved what is known as “the protein folding problem.” Given the string of amino acids that make up a protein, the system can rapidly and reliably predict its three-dimensional shape.
                                                                                                • The breakthrough arrives too late to make a significant impact on the coronavirus. But researchers believe DeepMind’s methods could accelerate the response to future pandemics. 
                                                                                                • It is hoped this new AI can help scientists gain a better understanding of genetic diseases along the lines of Alzheimer’s or cystic fibrosis.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Government's cut-price cyber defence leaves departments open to attack

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • John Davidson at The Fin writes:
                                                                                                • Australian government departments are “making themselves easy targets for criminal and state-based hackers, a report has found.”
                                                                                                • The report, based on a survey of many of Australia's top Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs)
                                                                                                • Australian government departments are under-investing in cyber security
                                                                                                • Compared to private enterprise, government departments are investing less than half the money per employee on securing their technology and data.
                                                                                                • Not surprisingly, The financial services sector was the top-spending industry, averaging $3038 per employee, the CISO Lens Benchmark 2020 report found.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                ACCC consulting on Google's pending FitBit acquisition

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • The ACCC is seeking feedback on a proposal made by Google concerning its acquisition of Fitbit
                                                                                                • Under the proposed undertaking, Google has said it will not use certain user data collected through Fitbit and Google wearables for its advertising purposes for 10 years. 
                                                                                                • The search giant has also proposed that this ban could be extended by a further 10 years if the ACCC deemed it to be appropriate. 
                                                                                                • ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said “Our decision to begin consultation should not be interpreted as a signal that the ACCC will ultimately accept the undertaking and approve the transaction," 
                                                                                                • Google announced the $2.1 billion deal a year ago but it has not gained final regulatory approval for the deal in Australia or the European Union.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Facebook Buys Customer-Service Software Maker Kustomer

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • Facebook Inc. has acquired Kustomer Inc., a New York-based software company that helps businesses manage customer conversations from multiple services on one dashboard.
                                                                                                • The deal was valued at more than $1 billion, said a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the terms were private.
                                                                                                • The social media giant made the deal to bolster efforts to monetize its messaging business, which is expanding to include customer-service products that help companies interact with people via chat apps, like WhatsApp and Messenger.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                ]]>
                                                                                                

                                                                                                London A.I. Lab Claims Breakthrough That Could Accelerate Drug Discovery

                                                                                                • An artificial intelligence lab in London has built a computer system to map out complex proteins in less than a few hours -- a process that has previously taken years to do manually
                                                                                                • DeepMind, a lab owned by the same parent company as Google, said on Monday that its system had solved what is known as “the protein folding problem.” Given the string of amino acids that make up a protein, the system can rapidly and reliably predict its three-dimensional shape.
                                                                                                • The breakthrough arrives too late to make a significant impact on the coronavirus. But researchers believe DeepMind’s methods could accelerate the response to future pandemics. 
                                                                                                • It is hoped this new AI can help scientists gain a better understanding of genetic diseases along the lines of Alzheimer’s or cystic fibrosis.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Government's cut-price cyber defence leaves departments open to attack

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • John Davidson at The Fin writes:
                                                                                                • Australian government departments are “making themselves easy targets for criminal and state-based hackers, a report has found.”
                                                                                                • The report, based on a survey of many of Australia's top Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs)
                                                                                                • Australian government departments are under-investing in cyber security
                                                                                                • Compared to private enterprise, government departments are investing less than half the money per employee on securing their technology and data.
                                                                                                • Not surprisingly, The financial services sector was the top-spending industry, averaging $3038 per employee, the CISO Lens Benchmark 2020 report found.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                ACCC consulting on Google's pending FitBit acquisition

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • The ACCC is seeking feedback on a proposal made by Google concerning its acquisition of Fitbit
                                                                                                • Under the proposed undertaking, Google has said it will not use certain user data collected through Fitbit and Google wearables for its advertising purposes for 10 years. 
                                                                                                • The search giant has also proposed that this ban could be extended by a further 10 years if the ACCC deemed it to be appropriate. 
                                                                                                • ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said “Our decision to begin consultation should not be interpreted as a signal that the ACCC will ultimately accept the undertaking and approve the transaction," 
                                                                                                • Google announced the $2.1 billion deal a year ago but it has not gained final regulatory approval for the deal in Australia or the European Union.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Facebook Buys Customer-Service Software Maker Kustomer

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • Facebook Inc. has acquired Kustomer Inc., a New York-based software company that helps businesses manage customer conversations from multiple services on one dashboard.
                                                                                                • The deal was valued at more than $1 billion, said a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the terms were private.
                                                                                                • The social media giant made the deal to bolster efforts to monetize its messaging business, which is expanding to include customer-service products that help companies interact with people via chat apps, like WhatsApp and Messenger.

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                ]]> Mon, 30 Nov 2020 02:46:52 GMT 17:02 d785eec7-3724-4757-8c6d-3af4b80f621b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/theemperorsnewcovidsafe d785eec7-3724-4757-8c6d-3af4b80f621b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 theemperorsnewcovidsafe COVIDSafe app to get overhaul to capture all close contacts - Testing by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) on behalf of the federal health department has shown 100 per cent performance, scoring “excellent” in all operating modes. - Local iOS ... full COVIDSafe app to get overhaul to capture all close contacts

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • Testing by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) on behalf of the federal health department has shown 100 per cent performance, scoring “excellent” in all operating modes.
                                                                                                • Local iOS developer Quentin Zervaas points out in a passionate twitter thread: 
                                                                                                • In order to achieve “Excellent” for 2 locked iPhones (or as they claim, “100%”), there needs to be a third person nearby with an Android phone running COVIDSafe to facilitate key exchange.
                                                                                                • The app will be posted to github, for full transparency
                                                                                                • The new contract tracing API is available now to look at on Github, as it is made by VMware. The API is called Herald 
                                                                                                • Continues Zervaas: “This is the system the NHS abandoned because it worked nowhere near as well as the Google Apple framework
                                                                                                • He’s linked to a BBC article showing why Herald was rejected by the NHS:
                                                                                                • Contact-tracing app: First version worked on more phones

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Black Friday online shopping comes in $9B, $3.6B on smartphones

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • Adobe, which is following online sales in real-time at 80 of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. said US consumers spent $9 billion online on Black Friday
                                                                                                • That’s up 21.6% on a year ago. Adobe had originally forecast sales of between $8.9 billion and $9.6 billion.
                                                                                                • Cyber Monday - today - is expected to be bigger again 
                                                                                                • No local numbers yet, but so far I’ve resisted the bargain hunt

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Telstra set to pay AU$50m for unconscionable sales to 108 Indigenous Australians

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • Telstra has copped a $50m fine from the ACCC for unfairly targeting indigenous Australians with post paid phone contracts
                                                                                                • Staff in five Telstra licensed stores manipulated credit assessments, such as saying the customers were employed, to sign them up. 
                                                                                                • Once the debts were accumulated, Telstra then referred a portion of them to debt collectors.
                                                                                                • The average debt was $7,400 per customer
                                                                                                • According to the ACCC chair Rod Sims said.
                                                                                                •  "Many of the consumers spoke English as a second or third language, had difficulties understanding Telstra's written contracts, and many were unemployed and relied on government benefits or pensions as the primary source of their limited income. Some lived in remote areas where Telstra provided the only mobile network."
                                                                                                • "This case exposes extremely serious conduct which exploited social, language, literacy, and cultural vulnerabilities of these Indigenous consumers," 

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                Raspberry Pi Used To Hack Tesla Model X SUV Key Fob

                                                                                                
                                                                                                

                                                                                                • In a story that Elon Musk fans will take with grace and good humour, Tesla’s key fob has been defeated with a $40 Raspberry Pi 
                                                                                                • According to this Tom's Hardware story, a Belgian PhD student managed to wrest full control of a Tesla Model X SUV, by way of hijacking the Bluetooth keyfob and reprogramming it, using a Raspberry Pi.
                                                                                                • Tesla has since issued a software update to protect against that kind of attack
                                                                                                • Since the attack is done via Bluetooth, control could be gained wirelessly from 5 meters away.
                                                                                                • According to the article this is the third time the same student "has...

                                                                                                  ---

                                                                                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                  ]]> COVIDSafe app to get overhaul to capture all close contacts

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  • Testing by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) on behalf of the federal health department has shown 100 per cent performance, scoring “excellent” in all operating modes.
                                                                                                  • Local iOS developer Quentin Zervaas points out in a passionate twitter thread: 
                                                                                                  • In order to achieve “Excellent” for 2 locked iPhones (or as they claim, “100%”), there needs to be a third person nearby with an Android phone running COVIDSafe to facilitate key exchange.
                                                                                                  • The app will be posted to github, for full transparency
                                                                                                  • The new contract tracing API is available now to look at on Github, as it is made by VMware. The API is called Herald 
                                                                                                  • Continues Zervaas: “This is the system the NHS abandoned because it worked nowhere near as well as the Google Apple framework
                                                                                                  • He’s linked to a BBC article showing why Herald was rejected by the NHS:
                                                                                                  • Contact-tracing app: First version worked on more phones

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  Black Friday online shopping comes in $9B, $3.6B on smartphones

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  • Adobe, which is following online sales in real-time at 80 of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. said US consumers spent $9 billion online on Black Friday
                                                                                                  • That’s up 21.6% on a year ago. Adobe had originally forecast sales of between $8.9 billion and $9.6 billion.
                                                                                                  • Cyber Monday - today - is expected to be bigger again 
                                                                                                  • No local numbers yet, but so far I’ve resisted the bargain hunt

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  Telstra set to pay AU$50m for unconscionable sales to 108 Indigenous Australians

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  • Telstra has copped a $50m fine from the ACCC for unfairly targeting indigenous Australians with post paid phone contracts
                                                                                                  • Staff in five Telstra licensed stores manipulated credit assessments, such as saying the customers were employed, to sign them up. 
                                                                                                  • Once the debts were accumulated, Telstra then referred a portion of them to debt collectors.
                                                                                                  • The average debt was $7,400 per customer
                                                                                                  • According to the ACCC chair Rod Sims said.
                                                                                                  •  "Many of the consumers spoke English as a second or third language, had difficulties understanding Telstra's written contracts, and many were unemployed and relied on government benefits or pensions as the primary source of their limited income. Some lived in remote areas where Telstra provided the only mobile network."
                                                                                                  • "This case exposes extremely serious conduct which exploited social, language, literacy, and cultural vulnerabilities of these Indigenous consumers," 

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  Raspberry Pi Used To Hack Tesla Model X SUV Key Fob

                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  • In a story that Elon Musk fans will take with grace and good humour, Tesla’s key fob has been defeated with a $40 Raspberry Pi 
                                                                                                  • According to this Tom's Hardware story, a Belgian PhD student managed to wrest full control of a Tesla Model X SUV, by way of hijacking the Bluetooth keyfob and reprogramming it, using a Raspberry Pi.
                                                                                                  • Tesla has since issued a software update to protect against that kind of attack
                                                                                                  • Since the attack is done via Bluetooth, control could be gained wirelessly from 5 meters away.
                                                                                                  • According to the article this is the third time the same student "has...

                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                    ]]> Black Friday Bargains Galore Fri, 27 Nov 2020 02:28:31 GMT 19:05 63ad1501-5562-4a9e-b3f2-1f94075e2936 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/blackfridaybargainsgalore 63ad1501-5562-4a9e-b3f2-1f94075e2936 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 blackfridaybargainsgalore Netflix to face local content quota under proposed Australian TV reforms - Netflix and other global streaming services could be forced to spend millions of dollars on Australian programs and films under major changes to media laws proposed by the fe... full Netflix to face local content quota under proposed Australian TV reforms

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Netflix and other global streaming services could be forced to spend millions of dollars on Australian programs and films under major changes to media laws proposed by the federal government 
                                                                                                    • Federal Communications and Arts Minister Paul Fletcher will launch a green paper with the proposed reforms today
                                                                                                    • Fletcher said the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had reinforced the need for regulatory action to help the TV industry.
                                                                                                    • A 2017 inquiry recommended subscription streaming services invest 10 per cent of the revenues they earn in Australia in new local content
                                                                                                    • Free to Air Networks currently have to screen 55% locally made content

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Coronavirus Victoria: State government-backed universal contact-tracing app that centralises QR code data collection set to be rolled out next week

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • The Victorian state government is expected to launch a QR Code app next week, to help people check in at businesses and venues around the state
                                                                                                    • The app is being launched by Service Victoria and was custom built by Melbourne startup Two Bulls.
                                                                                                    • An anonymous source said “There's a huge advantage for the government because it means that the data is fed directly to the Department of Health and Human Services"
                                                                                                    • This also means the data will not be available to the venues themselves, to use for marketing
                                                                                                    • The Victorian government's app has been trialled successfully by 100 venues, including Officeworks, which has been using the app to check in customers at five of its stores.

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Exclusive: Foxconn to shift some Apple production to Vietnam to minimise China risk

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Foxconn is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple Inc
                                                                                                    • Apple is moving production to minimise the impact of a Sino-U.S. trade war.
                                                                                                    • This move has been expected for a while now, not just from Apple but from many large US based tech companies, that have the majority of production coming from China
                                                                                                    • Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some production from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and India.
                                                                                                    • The Vietnamese Foxconn plant currently manufactures Sony TVs
                                                                                                    • Foxconn is spending $1b to upgrade its plants in India, to produce more iPhones there  

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Microsoft productivity score feature criticised as workplace surveillance

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Microsoft has been criticised for rolling out a new feature to track users productivity in its Office 365 products
                                                                                                    • The reports show how often employees are using Office Products like Outlook, Word and Excel, and how often they’re in meetings, based on their calendar
                                                                                                    • I saw a glimpse of this at my old workplace, and really found it quite disgusting, and I’m glad to see this being reported. 
                                                                                                    • “The word dystopian is not nearly strong enough to describe the fresh hellhole Microsoft just opened up,” tweeted David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder of the office productivity suite Basecamp. 

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Ant’s Bargain bin - what have you found for black...

                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                    ]]> Netflix to face local content quota under proposed Australian TV reforms

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Netflix and other global streaming services could be forced to spend millions of dollars on Australian programs and films under major changes to media laws proposed by the federal government 
                                                                                                    • Federal Communications and Arts Minister Paul Fletcher will launch a green paper with the proposed reforms today
                                                                                                    • Fletcher said the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had reinforced the need for regulatory action to help the TV industry.
                                                                                                    • A 2017 inquiry recommended subscription streaming services invest 10 per cent of the revenues they earn in Australia in new local content
                                                                                                    • Free to Air Networks currently have to screen 55% locally made content

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Coronavirus Victoria: State government-backed universal contact-tracing app that centralises QR code data collection set to be rolled out next week

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • The Victorian state government is expected to launch a QR Code app next week, to help people check in at businesses and venues around the state
                                                                                                    • The app is being launched by Service Victoria and was custom built by Melbourne startup Two Bulls.
                                                                                                    • An anonymous source said “There's a huge advantage for the government because it means that the data is fed directly to the Department of Health and Human Services"
                                                                                                    • This also means the data will not be available to the venues themselves, to use for marketing
                                                                                                    • The Victorian government's app has been trialled successfully by 100 venues, including Officeworks, which has been using the app to check in customers at five of its stores.

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Exclusive: Foxconn to shift some Apple production to Vietnam to minimise China risk

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Foxconn is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple Inc
                                                                                                    • Apple is moving production to minimise the impact of a Sino-U.S. trade war.
                                                                                                    • This move has been expected for a while now, not just from Apple but from many large US based tech companies, that have the majority of production coming from China
                                                                                                    • Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some production from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and India.
                                                                                                    • The Vietnamese Foxconn plant currently manufactures Sony TVs
                                                                                                    • Foxconn is spending $1b to upgrade its plants in India, to produce more iPhones there  

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Microsoft productivity score feature criticised as workplace surveillance

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • Microsoft has been criticised for rolling out a new feature to track users productivity in its Office 365 products
                                                                                                    • The reports show how often employees are using Office Products like Outlook, Word and Excel, and how often they’re in meetings, based on their calendar
                                                                                                    • I saw a glimpse of this at my old workplace, and really found it quite disgusting, and I’m glad to see this being reported. 
                                                                                                    • “The word dystopian is not nearly strong enough to describe the fresh hellhole Microsoft just opened up,” tweeted David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder of the office productivity suite Basecamp. 

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Ant’s Bargain bin - what have you found for black...

                                                                                                    ---

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                                                                                                    ]]> Slack As A Service Thu, 26 Nov 2020 02:47:44 GMT 9:41 3d4b4810-8002-43b0-ba64-80ec5ee14ca1 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/slackasaservice 3d4b4810-8002-43b0-ba64-80ec5ee14ca1 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 slackasaservice full ABC and SBS added to Mandatory News Code 

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    • The ABC and SBS have been included in the draft code of the federal government’s bill that seeks to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for their content
                                                                                                    • Labor, the Greens and several crossbenchers suggested the public broadcasters should be added to the ranks of Australian news publishers to benefit from the code
                                                                                                    • If passed, the legislation would force Google and Facebook to share revenue from news links with news publishers or pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.
                                                                                                    • Google was quick to create a new video of that woman on the bus explaining why the code was a bad idea… 
                                                                                                    • Facebook has maintained a public silence since announcing on 1 September it would block Australians from sharing news, but is understood to be in confidential negotiations with the government. 
                                                                                                    • BUT they are advertising for a Digital News Curator - suggesting they still expect to have news to curate. “Curate credible news and video content from a diverse set of publishers, broadcasters, public figures, and influencers, covering a wide range of subject areas, including news, health, entertainment and sports” 
                                                                                                    •  https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2304152225/  

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    OANN suspended from YouTube after promoting a sham cure for Covid-19

                                                                                                    • YouTube has suspended the conservative news outlet One America News Network from posting new videos for a week and from making money off of its existing videos after it promoted a sham cure for Covid-19.
                                                                                                    • The video was removed under YouTube’s policies to prevent the spread of Covid-19 misinformation, which prohibit saying there is a guaranteed cure to the virus. 
                                                                                                    • OANN has been suspended for “repeated violations” of this policy, said a YouTube spokeswoman, Ivy Choi.
                                                                                                    • OANN has had remarkable growth following the US election, as many Trump voters and Trump himself accused Fox of costing him the election 
                                                                                                    • In the Trump orbit, Fox News has become too left leaning… 

                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    Salesforce to Buy Slack? 

                                                                                                    • According to the Wall Street Journal, Salesforce is in “advanced stages” to buy  Slack, the wildly popular workplace collaboration tool 
                                                                                                    • The companies could reach a deal within days—in time for Salesforce to report its third-quarter financial results on Tuesday
                                                                                                    • Slack is currently valued at 17 billion, and resisted selling to Microsoft four years ago. Microsoft went on to make Teams, a Slack-like competitor. 
                                                                                                    • With Microsoft out of the bidding, and Apple not interested, Salesforce could be the only company with both the cash on hand and the reason to purchase Slack 
                                                                                                    • While Slack has the name recognition of Zoom during lockdown, its stock has only modestly improved, while other remote work tools around it have skyrocketed 
                                                                                                    • This might suggest that Slack has exhausted its pool of paying customers 
                                                                                                    • The size of the deal could be massive, as Salesforce is happy to open its wallet. They bought Tableau for $15 billion and Mulesoft for $6.5 billion. Slack would be Salesforce’s biggest ever...

                                                                                                      ---

                                                                                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                      ]]> ABC and SBS added to Mandatory News Code 

                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      

                                                                                                      • The ABC and SBS have been included in the draft code of the federal government’s bill that seeks to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for their content
                                                                                                      • Labor, the Greens and several crossbenchers suggested the public broadcasters should be added to the ranks of Australian news publishers to benefit from the code
                                                                                                      • If passed, the legislation would force Google and Facebook to share revenue from news links with news publishers or pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.
                                                                                                      • Google was quick to create a new video of that woman on the bus explaining why the code was a bad idea… 
                                                                                                      • Facebook has maintained a public silence since announcing on 1 September it would block Australians from sharing news, but is understood to be in confidential negotiations with the government. 
                                                                                                      • BUT they are advertising for a Digital News Curator - suggesting they still expect to have news to curate. “Curate credible news and video content from a diverse set of publishers, broadcasters, public figures, and influencers, covering a wide range of subject areas, including news, health, entertainment and sports” 
                                                                                                      •  https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2304152225/  

                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      

                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      

                                                                                                      OANN suspended from YouTube after promoting a sham cure for Covid-19

                                                                                                      • YouTube has suspended the conservative news outlet One America News Network from posting new videos for a week and from making money off of its existing videos after it promoted a sham cure for Covid-19.
                                                                                                      • The video was removed under YouTube’s policies to prevent the spread of Covid-19 misinformation, which prohibit saying there is a guaranteed cure to the virus. 
                                                                                                      • OANN has been suspended for “repeated violations” of this policy, said a YouTube spokeswoman, Ivy Choi.
                                                                                                      • OANN has had remarkable growth following the US election, as many Trump voters and Trump himself accused Fox of costing him the election 
                                                                                                      • In the Trump orbit, Fox News has become too left leaning… 

                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      

                                                                                                      Salesforce to Buy Slack? 

                                                                                                      • According to the Wall Street Journal, Salesforce is in “advanced stages” to buy  Slack, the wildly popular workplace collaboration tool 
                                                                                                      • The companies could reach a deal within days—in time for Salesforce to report its third-quarter financial results on Tuesday
                                                                                                      • Slack is currently valued at 17 billion, and resisted selling to Microsoft four years ago. Microsoft went on to make Teams, a Slack-like competitor. 
                                                                                                      • With Microsoft out of the bidding, and Apple not interested, Salesforce could be the only company with both the cash on hand and the reason to purchase Slack 
                                                                                                      • While Slack has the name recognition of Zoom during lockdown, its stock has only modestly improved, while other remote work tools around it have skyrocketed 
                                                                                                      • This might suggest that Slack has exhausted its pool of paying customers 
                                                                                                      • The size of the deal could be massive, as Salesforce is happy to open its wallet. They bought Tableau for $15 billion and Mulesoft for $6.5 billion. Slack would be Salesforce’s biggest ever...

                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                        ]]> Startup-Co and Battle for the Blue Tick Wed, 25 Nov 2020 02:12:14 GMT 9:14 62e4ae42-4e9c-42f4-a400-26df00775329 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/startup-coandbattleforthebluetick 62e4ae42-4e9c-42f4-a400-26df00775329 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 startup-coandbattleforthebluetick full Telstra puts the brakes on its start-up accelerator
                                                                                                        • Telstra will no longer be welcoming founders into its start-up accelerator Muru-D after the telco reviewed how it engages with the sector. 
                                                                                                        • Muru-D was started in 2013, since then 140 startups across 17 cohorts have graduated from the accelerator. 
                                                                                                        • But the telco says things have changed & “ there are now many start-up accelerators from venture capitalists, global accelerators, university and government partnerships to help early stage companies develop their initial product.” 
                                                                                                        • Instead of investing in start-ups Telstra will use muru-D to provide start-ups with access to its technologies and “work selectively with more mature start-ups on partnerships with Telstra as either a supplier to us or as a go-to-market partner.”
                                                                                                        • That means no new seed funding.
                                                                                                        • How should corporations engage the start-up sector? 

                                                                                                        COVIDSafe data 'incidentally' collected by intelligence agencies in first six months

                                                                                                        • The collection happened “in the course of lawful collection of other data” allowed under the Privacy Act. 
                                                                                                        • The collection is considered incidental because it was not possible to collect the data covered by a warrant without inadvertently collecting the COVIDSafe data.
                                                                                                        • COVIDSafe uses bluetooth to log proximity, not location data but the app requires a user to upload some personal info like name, age, postal code, and phone number.

                                                                                                        The case for getting your parents off Facebook 

                                                                                                        • NYT opinion writer Charlie Warzel asked two baby boomers, who he had never met, for the passwords to their Facebook accounts so he could see what their newsfeeds looked like around the US election. 
                                                                                                        • He found “an information hellscape” 
                                                                                                        • “Touching family moments are interspersed with Bible quotes that look like Hallmark cards, hyperpartisan fearmongering and conspiratorial misinformation” 
                                                                                                        • And as Cam Wilson points out at Gizmodo, Facebook is still taking ad money from anti-vax groups in Australia, despite saying it would ban Anti-vax ads 
                                                                                                        • Facebook Keeps Taking Money To Promote Australian Anti-Vaxx Content Despite Their Ban

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        Twitter to relaunch account verifications in early 2021, asks for feedback on policy

                                                                                                        • For the last few months, Twitter has not been giving out the blue tick to users, as it put the verification system on hold 
                                                                                                        • The system will relaunch in 2021, with an emphasis on companies, community groups, and activists, not just the twitter famous
                                                                                                        • Twitter says an account must be “notable and active,” and the badge won’t be awarded to any accounts with incomplete profiles. You also must not have broken any twitter rules in the past six months  
                                                                                                        • Twitter is asking for feedback on the system 

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        And a brief follow up for yesterday...

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        NSW Launches Safework Taskforce on food...

                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                        ]]> Telstra puts the brakes on its start-up accelerator
                                                                                                        • Telstra will no longer be welcoming founders into its start-up accelerator Muru-D after the telco reviewed how it engages with the sector. 
                                                                                                        • Muru-D was started in 2013, since then 140 startups across 17 cohorts have graduated from the accelerator. 
                                                                                                        • But the telco says things have changed & “ there are now many start-up accelerators from venture capitalists, global accelerators, university and government partnerships to help early stage companies develop their initial product.” 
                                                                                                        • Instead of investing in start-ups Telstra will use muru-D to provide start-ups with access to its technologies and “work selectively with more mature start-ups on partnerships with Telstra as either a supplier to us or as a go-to-market partner.”
                                                                                                        • That means no new seed funding.
                                                                                                        • How should corporations engage the start-up sector? 

                                                                                                        COVIDSafe data 'incidentally' collected by intelligence agencies in first six months

                                                                                                        • The collection happened “in the course of lawful collection of other data” allowed under the Privacy Act. 
                                                                                                        • The collection is considered incidental because it was not possible to collect the data covered by a warrant without inadvertently collecting the COVIDSafe data.
                                                                                                        • COVIDSafe uses bluetooth to log proximity, not location data but the app requires a user to upload some personal info like name, age, postal code, and phone number.

                                                                                                        The case for getting your parents off Facebook 

                                                                                                        • NYT opinion writer Charlie Warzel asked two baby boomers, who he had never met, for the passwords to their Facebook accounts so he could see what their newsfeeds looked like around the US election. 
                                                                                                        • He found “an information hellscape” 
                                                                                                        • “Touching family moments are interspersed with Bible quotes that look like Hallmark cards, hyperpartisan fearmongering and conspiratorial misinformation” 
                                                                                                        • And as Cam Wilson points out at Gizmodo, Facebook is still taking ad money from anti-vax groups in Australia, despite saying it would ban Anti-vax ads 
                                                                                                        • Facebook Keeps Taking Money To Promote Australian Anti-Vaxx Content Despite Their Ban

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        Twitter to relaunch account verifications in early 2021, asks for feedback on policy

                                                                                                        • For the last few months, Twitter has not been giving out the blue tick to users, as it put the verification system on hold 
                                                                                                        • The system will relaunch in 2021, with an emphasis on companies, community groups, and activists, not just the twitter famous
                                                                                                        • Twitter says an account must be “notable and active,” and the badge won’t be awarded to any accounts with incomplete profiles. You also must not have broken any twitter rules in the past six months  
                                                                                                        • Twitter is asking for feedback on the system 

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        And a brief follow up for yesterday...

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        NSW Launches Safework Taskforce on food...

                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                        ]]> The Human Cost Of Uber Eats Tue, 24 Nov 2020 03:22:46 GMT 10:47 c6f539ee-7759-4fd1-86a5-60d4692f6227 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehumancostofubereats c6f539ee-7759-4fd1-86a5-60d4692f6227 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehumancostofubereats full UberEats rider Bijoy Paul killed in incident on Sydney road

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        • First to some sad news, an UberEats rider died in hospital after he was hit by a car in Sydney on Saturday morning while completing a delivery. 
                                                                                                        • Overnight, another uber rider was killed in redfern 
                                                                                                        • Uber Eats rider killed in Sydney is the fifth food delivery death in two months
                                                                                                        • The deaths have sparked an outpouring of grief from his fellow riders and calls for more protective equipment and better insurance from the sector's union.
                                                                                                        • A NSW government report released earlier this month found gig economy workers receive only limited safety advice from food delivery platforms, suffer abuse and often fear reporting incidents.

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        • 5 food delivery rider to die on Australian roads in the past three months. 

                                                                                                         

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        Another apology from Facebook 

                                                                                                        Facebook apologises for misleading advertisers

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        • Facebook has said sorry to Australian advertisers for miscalculating metrics such as how many people clicked on an ad or how much users prefer one advertiser over another. 
                                                                                                        • The social media giant is giving free "credits" to multiple local advertisers to make up for the stuff up. 
                                                                                                        • Zoe Samios reports, A Facebook spokeswoman claimed it had affected 0.1 per cent of the local advertising market, but multiple industry sources said that a number of companies across large advertising agencies were affected. 
                                                                                                        • The incident casts further doubt over the accuracy of the way Facebook measures its own performance. 

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        France is delaying Black Friday

                                                                                                        France Postpones Black Friday 

                                                                                                        • The giant sale is scheduled for Friday 27th of November and by now you’ve probably received some marketing emails in your inbox. But the French will have to wait a little longer to indulge in the festive consumerism. 
                                                                                                        • The NYT reports, The French government declared it was postponing Black Friday, as it moved to quell a nationwide rebellion by shopkeepers who say that Amazon has been stealing business from them during France’s coronavirus lockdown.
                                                                                                        • Amazon has agreed to the delay and the sale, which it popularised in Europe, will be pushed back by a week, to Dec. 4 with restrictions planned to lift on Dec the first. 
                                                                                                        • The pandemic has solidified Amazon’s dominance in the retail sector, while small businesses have been getting crushed. 
                                                                                                        • FWIW, these are made up events and can be changed therefore I’d like Australian retailers to pick a new name for the sale. Call it five weeks until Christmas… 

                                                                                                        Inside YouTube’s plan to win the music-streaming wars

                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        • Protocol has an interesting report on Youtube’s strategy to win the music streaming wars. 
                                                                                                        • “Not that long ago, YouTube was at best a frenemy to the music industry. It would gleefully announce the billions it was paying in royalties, only for industry bodies

                                                                                                          Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                          ]]> UberEats rider Bijoy Paul killed in incident on Sydney road

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          • First to some sad news, an UberEats rider died in hospital after he was hit by a car in Sydney on Saturday morning while completing a delivery. 
                                                                                                          • Overnight, another uber rider was killed in redfern 
                                                                                                          • Uber Eats rider killed in Sydney is the fifth food delivery death in two months
                                                                                                          • The deaths have sparked an outpouring of grief from his fellow riders and calls for more protective equipment and better insurance from the sector's union.
                                                                                                          • A NSW government report released earlier this month found gig economy workers receive only limited safety advice from food delivery platforms, suffer abuse and often fear reporting incidents.

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          • 5 food delivery rider to die on Australian roads in the past three months. 

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          Another apology from Facebook 

                                                                                                          Facebook apologises for misleading advertisers

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          • Facebook has said sorry to Australian advertisers for miscalculating metrics such as how many people clicked on an ad or how much users prefer one advertiser over another. 
                                                                                                          • The social media giant is giving free "credits" to multiple local advertisers to make up for the stuff up. 
                                                                                                          • Zoe Samios reports, A Facebook spokeswoman claimed it had affected 0.1 per cent of the local advertising market, but multiple industry sources said that a number of companies across large advertising agencies were affected. 
                                                                                                          • The incident casts further doubt over the accuracy of the way Facebook measures its own performance. 

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          France is delaying Black Friday

                                                                                                          France Postpones Black Friday 

                                                                                                          • The giant sale is scheduled for Friday 27th of November and by now you’ve probably received some marketing emails in your inbox. But the French will have to wait a little longer to indulge in the festive consumerism. 
                                                                                                          • The NYT reports, The French government declared it was postponing Black Friday, as it moved to quell a nationwide rebellion by shopkeepers who say that Amazon has been stealing business from them during France’s coronavirus lockdown.
                                                                                                          • Amazon has agreed to the delay and the sale, which it popularised in Europe, will be pushed back by a week, to Dec. 4 with restrictions planned to lift on Dec the first. 
                                                                                                          • The pandemic has solidified Amazon’s dominance in the retail sector, while small businesses have been getting crushed. 
                                                                                                          • FWIW, these are made up events and can be changed therefore I’d like Australian retailers to pick a new name for the sale. Call it five weeks until Christmas… 

                                                                                                          Inside YouTube’s plan to win the music-streaming wars

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          • Protocol has an interesting report on Youtube’s strategy to win the music streaming wars. 
                                                                                                          • “Not that long ago, YouTube was at best a frenemy to the music industry. It would gleefully announce the billions it was paying in royalties, only for industry bodies

                                                                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                            ]]> Census Fail 2.0 Fri, 20 Nov 2020 03:44:11 GMT 11:03 e943652d-f9c7-487c-9fb6-c73f3955e1a6 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/censusfail2.0 e943652d-f9c7-487c-9fb6-c73f3955e1a6 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 censusfail2.0 full Remember #CensusFail? 
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Census 2021 cyber security measures only 'partly appropriate', audit finds

                                                                                                            https://www.zdnet.com/article/australian-2021-census-preparation-gets-marginal-pass-mark-from-auditor/

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • The Census happens again next year, and the ABS still has work to do to avoid a repeat of 2016 mistakes. 
                                                                                                            • As a quick reminder, the official story is the 2016 Census was downed by a series of distributed-denial-of-service attacks
                                                                                                            • ZDNet points out the 2021 census is moving from on-premise servers to Amazon’s AWS - which should at least help with load
                                                                                                            • An Auditor general’s report, released yesterday found that the ABS systems were “partly effective” and “largely appropriate” -  faint praise indeed. 
                                                                                                            • But the report concludes the ABS “has not put in place arrangements to ensure that improvements” on governance, reporting, change management or infrastructure. 
                                                                                                            • Anyone who works in IT will be shaking their damn head at this. 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Want an electric car? Head to Canberra. 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            A follow up on electric cars from last week(?) 

                                                                                                            • Getting a look at what progressive electric car policy would look like in Australia, with the ACT announcing that it will offer electric car buyers free rego and interest free loans up to $15,000 
                                                                                                            • Currently, the ACT already provides a stamp duty exemption to electric car buyers, as well as a 20 per cent discount on registration.

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            ACT to offer electric car buyers free registration and $15,000 loans 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            The ACT is set to be the most electric vehicle-friendly jurisdiction in Australia, offering interest-free loans and free rego

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Apple’s iOS 14 Privacy features Delayed until 2021 

                                                                                                            Apple doubles down on upcoming iOS 14 privacy features, slams Facebook for collecting 'as much data as possible'

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • One key feature of iOS 14 is App Tracking Transparency
                                                                                                            • This will allow users to see how often an app tracks it’s location, and what other apps and services the app then shares that data between. 
                                                                                                            • Today, many free apps send a lot of information back to large advertising companies - mainly Youtube and Facebook 
                                                                                                            • if you have a free weather app on your phone, unless it’s from the bureau of meteorology, it is undoubtedly selling your location history. 
                                                                                                            • Petey’s Sniff Test: how big is your app? 
                                                                                                            • Many apps also use “crash analytics” packages offered for free from Twitter and Facebook, which also report back to their respective makers on app usage. 
                                                                                                            • Apple said the delay is to give time for developers to make changes necessary in their apps - perhaps some developers would be as shocked as users would be at how much data their apps are leaking back to other companies. 
                                                                                                            • In its letter, Apple singled out Facebook as a company that “tries to collect as much data as possible” on its users
                                                                                                            • Facebook has told advertisers they could see a “drop in revenue of 40%” when the privacy tools come online.

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            ---

                                                                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                            ]]> Remember #CensusFail? 
                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Census 2021 cyber security measures only 'partly appropriate', audit finds

                                                                                                            https://www.zdnet.com/article/australian-2021-census-preparation-gets-marginal-pass-mark-from-auditor/

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • The Census happens again next year, and the ABS still has work to do to avoid a repeat of 2016 mistakes. 
                                                                                                            • As a quick reminder, the official story is the 2016 Census was downed by a series of distributed-denial-of-service attacks
                                                                                                            • ZDNet points out the 2021 census is moving from on-premise servers to Amazon’s AWS - which should at least help with load
                                                                                                            • An Auditor general’s report, released yesterday found that the ABS systems were “partly effective” and “largely appropriate” -  faint praise indeed. 
                                                                                                            • But the report concludes the ABS “has not put in place arrangements to ensure that improvements” on governance, reporting, change management or infrastructure. 
                                                                                                            • Anyone who works in IT will be shaking their damn head at this. 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Want an electric car? Head to Canberra. 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            A follow up on electric cars from last week(?) 

                                                                                                            • Getting a look at what progressive electric car policy would look like in Australia, with the ACT announcing that it will offer electric car buyers free rego and interest free loans up to $15,000 
                                                                                                            • Currently, the ACT already provides a stamp duty exemption to electric car buyers, as well as a 20 per cent discount on registration.

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            ACT to offer electric car buyers free registration and $15,000 loans 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            The ACT is set to be the most electric vehicle-friendly jurisdiction in Australia, offering interest-free loans and free rego

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Apple’s iOS 14 Privacy features Delayed until 2021 

                                                                                                            Apple doubles down on upcoming iOS 14 privacy features, slams Facebook for collecting 'as much data as possible'

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • One key feature of iOS 14 is App Tracking Transparency
                                                                                                            • This will allow users to see how often an app tracks it’s location, and what other apps and services the app then shares that data between. 
                                                                                                            • Today, many free apps send a lot of information back to large advertising companies - mainly Youtube and Facebook 
                                                                                                            • if you have a free weather app on your phone, unless it’s from the bureau of meteorology, it is undoubtedly selling your location history. 
                                                                                                            • Petey’s Sniff Test: how big is your app? 
                                                                                                            • Many apps also use “crash analytics” packages offered for free from Twitter and Facebook, which also report back to their respective makers on app usage. 
                                                                                                            • Apple said the delay is to give time for developers to make changes necessary in their apps - perhaps some developers would be as shocked as users would be at how much data their apps are leaking back to other companies. 
                                                                                                            • In its letter, Apple singled out Facebook as a company that “tries to collect as much data as possible” on its users
                                                                                                            • Facebook has told advertisers they could see a “drop in revenue of 40%” when the privacy tools come online.

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            ---

                                                                                                            Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                            ]]> Google Coming For Your Banking Thu, 19 Nov 2020 03:04:44 GMT 6:05 195f84b4-b23d-4ce6-b7ed-c24ec9fcf20e false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/googlecomingforyourbanking 195f84b4-b23d-4ce6-b7ed-c24ec9fcf20e 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 googlecomingforyourbanking full Apple reduces its cut for indies

                                                                                                            Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January 1st

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • Apple has announced one of the biggest changes in App Store history 
                                                                                                            • Called the App Store Small Business Program, any developer who earns less than $1 million a year will now pay Apple 15 percent, not 30 percent (of app revenue & in-app purchases) 
                                                                                                            • The cynical view is Apple is making these changes as a public relations play
                                                                                                            • Epic Games is suing Apple in Australia and the US, in part over the 30% cut, which Epic Games calls an “unfair Apple tax” 
                                                                                                            • According to the New York Times, this change will cover 98% of developers on the App Store - which means the majority of money is made by the other 2% of developers… 

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Google Takes on The Banks 

                                                                                                            Google Pay gets a major redesign with a new emphasis on personal finance

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • Google  is launching a major redesign of its Google Pay app on both Android and iOS today.
                                                                                                            • Google Pay can store credit and debit cards, as well as voucher and loyalty cards
                                                                                                            • The bigger news is Google is partnering with Citi Bank to create it’s own virtual bank
                                                                                                            • The new app will feature many of the key benefits of “app banks” - like savings goals and spending habits 
                                                                                                            • The new app is not currently available in Australia - perhaps waiting on a local partner

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Trump will still have power on Facebook next year

                                                                                                            How Twitter and Facebook plan to handle Trump’s accounts when he leaves office.

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg fronted congress again yesterday, and revealed how the companies would deal with a post Trump world
                                                                                                            • Dorsey confirmed Trump would lose all the protections his account currently enjoys on Twitter - suggesting that Trumps false tweets would be rejected, rather than mislabeled as false 
                                                                                                            • Zuckerberg said Facebook would not change how they currently moderate Trump 
                                                                                                            • Some other interesting tibits from the hearing: 
                                                                                                            • Zuckerberg had to again defend his stance on not banning Steve Bannon, after he called for the beheading of government officials 
                                                                                                            • And when asked if social media can be addictive, Twitter’s Dorsey said yes, Zuckerberg said the “data was inconclusive” 

                                                                                                            Jack Dorsey says social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be addictive — Mark Zuckerberg says the research is 'inconclusive'

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Another Day, Another MVNO

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            Optus launches Singtel's Gomo mobile brand in Australia

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                            • Last week saw the launch of TPG and Vodafone’s low cost sub-brand, Felix
                                                                                                            • Today Optus launched it’s new MVNO, Gomo 
                                                                                                            • Like Felix, Gomo is just one plan, but it’s much more generous than Felix
                                                                                                            • For $25 a month, you get 18gbs of data, uncapped, and the data rolls over 
                                                                                                            • Felix gives “unlimited data” capped at 5 megabits per second
                                                                                                            • Gomo is offering the first month for $1 for the first five thousand...

                                                                                                              ---

                                                                                                              Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                              ]]> Apple reduces its cut for indies

                                                                                                              Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January 1st

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              • Apple has announced one of the biggest changes in App Store history 
                                                                                                              • Called the App Store Small Business Program, any developer who earns less than $1 million a year will now pay Apple 15 percent, not 30 percent (of app revenue & in-app purchases) 
                                                                                                              • The cynical view is Apple is making these changes as a public relations play
                                                                                                              • Epic Games is suing Apple in Australia and the US, in part over the 30% cut, which Epic Games calls an “unfair Apple tax” 
                                                                                                              • According to the New York Times, this change will cover 98% of developers on the App Store - which means the majority of money is made by the other 2% of developers… 

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              Google Takes on The Banks 

                                                                                                              Google Pay gets a major redesign with a new emphasis on personal finance

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              • Google  is launching a major redesign of its Google Pay app on both Android and iOS today.
                                                                                                              • Google Pay can store credit and debit cards, as well as voucher and loyalty cards
                                                                                                              • The bigger news is Google is partnering with Citi Bank to create it’s own virtual bank
                                                                                                              • The new app will feature many of the key benefits of “app banks” - like savings goals and spending habits 
                                                                                                              • The new app is not currently available in Australia - perhaps waiting on a local partner

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              Trump will still have power on Facebook next year

                                                                                                              How Twitter and Facebook plan to handle Trump’s accounts when he leaves office.

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              • Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg fronted congress again yesterday, and revealed how the companies would deal with a post Trump world
                                                                                                              • Dorsey confirmed Trump would lose all the protections his account currently enjoys on Twitter - suggesting that Trumps false tweets would be rejected, rather than mislabeled as false 
                                                                                                              • Zuckerberg said Facebook would not change how they currently moderate Trump 
                                                                                                              • Some other interesting tibits from the hearing: 
                                                                                                              • Zuckerberg had to again defend his stance on not banning Steve Bannon, after he called for the beheading of government officials 
                                                                                                              • And when asked if social media can be addictive, Twitter’s Dorsey said yes, Zuckerberg said the “data was inconclusive” 

                                                                                                              Jack Dorsey says social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be addictive — Mark Zuckerberg says the research is 'inconclusive'

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              Another Day, Another MVNO

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              Optus launches Singtel's Gomo mobile brand in Australia

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              • Last week saw the launch of TPG and Vodafone’s low cost sub-brand, Felix
                                                                                                              • Today Optus launched it’s new MVNO, Gomo 
                                                                                                              • Like Felix, Gomo is just one plan, but it’s much more generous than Felix
                                                                                                              • For $25 a month, you get 18gbs of data, uncapped, and the data rolls over 
                                                                                                              • Felix gives “unlimited data” capped at 5 megabits per second
                                                                                                              • Gomo is offering the first month for $1 for the first five thousand...

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Come For The Performance, Stay For The Battery Life Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:53:21 GMT 10:17 e92584da-c09a-43f0-a0dc-4f00fc795705 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/comefortheperformance-stayforthebatterylife e92584da-c09a-43f0-a0dc-4f00fc795705 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 comefortheperformance-stayforthebatterylife full New M1 Mac Reviews: 

                                                                                                                https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro-is-powerful-but-its-the-battery-life-that-will-blow-you-away/

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Faster video and audio editing, encoding 

                                                                                                                Crazy battery life 

                                                                                                                Rosetta 2 shows no tax to the system 

                                                                                                                Staying with Apple, and Epic Games is suing Apple in Australia

                                                                                                                Epic Games is Now Suing Apple in Australia

                                                                                                                Epic is claiming that Apple’s refusal to allow alternative payment options on its platforms, such as the App Store, is a breach of Australian consumer law.

                                                                                                                “This is much bigger than Epic versus Apple – it goes to the heart of whether consumers and creators can do business together directly on mobile platforms or are forced to use monopoly channels against wishes and interests,” Epic founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, said in a statement.

                                                                                                                The games company is also suing Apple in the US.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/google-and-facebook-rejected-1-in-5-data-requests-from-law-enforcement-in-2019-20201117-p56fa5.html

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Lisa Visentin in SMH: 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Facebook and Google are rejecting one in five data disclosure requests from Australian law enforcement bodies, amid rising concerns among security agencies about platforms adopting end-to-end encryption.

                                                                                                                The tech giants defended their data disclosure practices at a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday, where they were also grilled about the adequacy of their measures to protect users from abusive content on their platforms

                                                                                                                Both Google and Facebook said they rejected about 20 per cent of data disclosure requests from Australian law enforcement agencies in 2019 on the grounds the requests were too broad or had no legal basis.” 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Twitter launches disappearing 'fleets' worldwide - Software 

                                                                                                                 Twitter’s “Fleets” feature is now rolling out to all iOS and Android users. Despite Twitter marketing Fleets as “disappearing” Tweets, they’re really yet another version of the popular “stories” feature found on most social media platforms 

                                                                                                                It’s always fun watching companies announce something that is so clearly a rip off of something else, and bend over backwards to pretend they came up with the idea themselves. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> New M1 Mac Reviews: 

                                                                                                                https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro-is-powerful-but-its-the-battery-life-that-will-blow-you-away/

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Faster video and audio editing, encoding 

                                                                                                                Crazy battery life 

                                                                                                                Rosetta 2 shows no tax to the system 

                                                                                                                Staying with Apple, and Epic Games is suing Apple in Australia

                                                                                                                Epic Games is Now Suing Apple in Australia

                                                                                                                Epic is claiming that Apple’s refusal to allow alternative payment options on its platforms, such as the App Store, is a breach of Australian consumer law.

                                                                                                                “This is much bigger than Epic versus Apple – it goes to the heart of whether consumers and creators can do business together directly on mobile platforms or are forced to use monopoly channels against wishes and interests,” Epic founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, said in a statement.

                                                                                                                The games company is also suing Apple in the US.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/google-and-facebook-rejected-1-in-5-data-requests-from-law-enforcement-in-2019-20201117-p56fa5.html

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Lisa Visentin in SMH: 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Facebook and Google are rejecting one in five data disclosure requests from Australian law enforcement bodies, amid rising concerns among security agencies about platforms adopting end-to-end encryption.

                                                                                                                The tech giants defended their data disclosure practices at a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday, where they were also grilled about the adequacy of their measures to protect users from abusive content on their platforms

                                                                                                                Both Google and Facebook said they rejected about 20 per cent of data disclosure requests from Australian law enforcement agencies in 2019 on the grounds the requests were too broad or had no legal basis.” 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Twitter launches disappearing 'fleets' worldwide - Software 

                                                                                                                 Twitter’s “Fleets” feature is now rolling out to all iOS and Android users. Despite Twitter marketing Fleets as “disappearing” Tweets, they’re really yet another version of the popular “stories” feature found on most social media platforms 

                                                                                                                It’s always fun watching companies announce something that is so clearly a rip off of something else, and bend over backwards to pretend they came up with the idea themselves. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Robodebt Victims Settle Out Of Court Tue, 17 Nov 2020 02:51:21 GMT 8:14 423e253e-84c9-4791-b560-d8191d70f616 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/robodebtvictimssettleoutofcourt 423e253e-84c9-4791-b560-d8191d70f616 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 robodebtvictimssettleoutofcourt Robodebt SettlementThe federal government agreed on Monday to pay $112 million in compensation, interest and legal costs to up to 430,000 people who were affected by the scheme, which recouped alleged welfare overpayments calculated through a flawed... full 22 Robodebt Settlement
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The federal government agreed on Monday to pay $112 million in compensation, interest and legal costs to up to 430,000 people who were affected by the scheme, which recouped alleged welfare overpayments calculated through a flawed method.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Former ABC reporter Ariel Bogle tweeted: Wonder if this is the biggest-ever settlement related to government-by-algorithm, even globally?

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Another fun reaction from Dan Nolan, Comp Sci ethics courses are going to replace the ariane 5 with robodebt for being an insanely costly disaster

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                at least if they make people do ethics courses anymore… 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Github brings back youtube-dl 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The worlds’ largest code repo has reinstated youtube-dl.

                                                                                                                A quick reminder, youtube-dl is an open source tool that allows users to download video from the popular video service, as well as from ABC iView, SBS on Demand, and other streaming platforms. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Today we reinstated youtube-dl, a popular project on GitHub, after we received additional information about the project that enabled us to reverse a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown. “ 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Nonetheless, developers who want to push back against unwarranted takedowns may face the risk of taking on personal liability and legal defense costs. To help them, GitHub will establish and donate $1M to a developer defense fund to help protect open source developers on GitHub from unwarranted DMCA Section 1201 takedown claims. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Big Sur “Bricking” 2013 and 2014 Macbook Pros

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                macOS Big Sur Update Bricking Some Older MacBook Pro Models

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                A large number of late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro owners are reporting that the macOS Big Sur update is bricking their machines. A MacRumors forum thread contains a significant number of users reporting the issue, and similar problems are being reported across Reddit and the Apple Support Communities, suggesting the problem is widespread.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Until it is clear what may be causing the issue and Apple releases a fix, late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro may wish to hold off on installing ‌macOS Big Sur‌.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Felix Launches

                                                                                                                TPG's New Felix Mobile Brand Has Only One Plan

                                                                                                                The telco is positioning itself as a simple service with just one plan available - $35 a month with “endless” data, but that data is capped at 5mbp speeds. 

                                                                                                                That’ll be fine for social, email, browsing, and even some video watch, but don’t expect HD on Netflix

                                                                                                                Very clever marketing as Australia’s first “zero carbon telco” - and the service will plant one tree per customer per month. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Robodebt Settlement
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The federal government agreed on Monday to pay $112 million in compensation, interest and legal costs to up to 430,000 people who were affected by the scheme, which recouped alleged welfare overpayments calculated through a flawed method.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Former ABC reporter Ariel Bogle tweeted: Wonder if this is the biggest-ever settlement related to government-by-algorithm, even globally?

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Another fun reaction from Dan Nolan, Comp Sci ethics courses are going to replace the ariane 5 with robodebt for being an insanely costly disaster

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                at least if they make people do ethics courses anymore… 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Github brings back youtube-dl 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The worlds’ largest code repo has reinstated youtube-dl.

                                                                                                                A quick reminder, youtube-dl is an open source tool that allows users to download video from the popular video service, as well as from ABC iView, SBS on Demand, and other streaming platforms. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Today we reinstated youtube-dl, a popular project on GitHub, after we received additional information about the project that enabled us to reverse a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown. “ 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                “Nonetheless, developers who want to push back against unwarranted takedowns may face the risk of taking on personal liability and legal defense costs. To help them, GitHub will establish and donate $1M to a developer defense fund to help protect open source developers on GitHub from unwarranted DMCA Section 1201 takedown claims. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Big Sur “Bricking” 2013 and 2014 Macbook Pros

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                macOS Big Sur Update Bricking Some Older MacBook Pro Models

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                A large number of late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro owners are reporting that the macOS Big Sur update is bricking their machines. A MacRumors forum thread contains a significant number of users reporting the issue, and similar problems are being reported across Reddit and the Apple Support Communities, suggesting the problem is widespread.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Until it is clear what may be causing the issue and Apple releases a fix, late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro may wish to hold off on installing ‌macOS Big Sur‌.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Felix Launches

                                                                                                                TPG's New Felix Mobile Brand Has Only One Plan

                                                                                                                The telco is positioning itself as a simple service with just one plan available - $35 a month with “endless” data, but that data is capped at 5mbp speeds. 

                                                                                                                That’ll be fine for social, email, browsing, and even some video watch, but don’t expect HD on Netflix

                                                                                                                Very clever marketing as Australia’s first “zero carbon telco” - and the service will plant one tree per customer per month. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Who Is Bankrolling Parler? Mon, 16 Nov 2020 02:45:34 GMT 7:20 2935eb54-e9d3-490d-a3ed-d5b09d80a46d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/whoisbankrollingparler- 2935eb54-e9d3-490d-a3ed-d5b09d80a46d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 whoisbankrollingparler- Who’s paying for Parler?https://www.wsj.com/articles/parler-backed-by-mercer-family-makes-play-for-conservatives-mad-at-facebook-twitter-11605382430 - The WSJ revealed Rebekah Mercer is an investor in Parler, the fast-growing consverative social ... full 21 Who’s paying for Parler?
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.wsj.com/articles/parler-backed-by-mercer-family-makes-play-for-conservatives-mad-at-facebook-twitter-11605382430

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                • The WSJ revealed Rebekah Mercer is an investor in Parler, the fast-growing consverative social media app. Who are the Mercers? 
                                                                                                                • The Mercer family have previously bankrolled Breitbart News, giving Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos their first prominent gigs. They also backed Cambridge Analytica. 
                                                                                                                • Since we first spoke about Parler two weeks ago, the site has grown from 3 to 10 million users. Still a drop in the bucket compared to the numbers on Twitter and Facebook

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                At least 3 state sponsored attacks against Covid vaccine companies. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-says-three-apts-have-targeted-seven-covid-19-vaccine-makers/

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                • Microsoft says it detected three state-sponsored hacking operations (also known as APTs) that have launched cyber-attacks on at least seven prominent companies involved in COVID-19 vaccines research and treatments.
                                                                                                                • Microsoft traced the attacks back to one threat actor in Russia and two North Korean hacking groups.
                                                                                                                • Microsoft has called on all governments to standardise regulations on hacking penalties, particularly state based hacking, in the lead up to the Paris International Health Summit. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Australian Covid tech update: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-victoria-and-act-to-link-up-contact-tracing-systems-555867  

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Justin Hendry from iTnews reports, NSW, Victoria and the ACT will pilot a data exchange that allows health officials to share contact tracing data, including from airline manifests, across state and territory borders.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                In the future, the exchange – which will take the form of a software-as-a-service solution – could also link up with the Australian Immunisation Register to provide a “relevant vaccine status”.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Announced on Friday, the data sharing system was recommended by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, who said, “All it does is open up a communication pathway between the digital system in one state or territory and the digital system in another, and also – where appropriate – Commonwealth government databases just for contact tracing information.”

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Airbnb lost 1.4million users over no bigotry rule

                                                                                                                Airbnb has announced 1,4 million users were banned from the platform, after they did not agree to the following: 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                I agree to treat everyone in the Airbnb community—regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age—with respect, and without judgment or bias.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The ban applies to both hosts and potential guests, using the service. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://gizmodo.com/airbnb-says-it-turned-away-1-4-million-people-who-refus-1845666129

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Who’s paying for Parler?
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.wsj.com/articles/parler-backed-by-mercer-family-makes-play-for-conservatives-mad-at-facebook-twitter-11605382430

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                • The WSJ revealed Rebekah Mercer is an investor in Parler, the fast-growing consverative social media app. Who are the Mercers? 
                                                                                                                • The Mercer family have previously bankrolled Breitbart News, giving Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos their first prominent gigs. They also backed Cambridge Analytica. 
                                                                                                                • Since we first spoke about Parler two weeks ago, the site has grown from 3 to 10 million users. Still a drop in the bucket compared to the numbers on Twitter and Facebook

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                At least 3 state sponsored attacks against Covid vaccine companies. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-says-three-apts-have-targeted-seven-covid-19-vaccine-makers/

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                • Microsoft says it detected three state-sponsored hacking operations (also known as APTs) that have launched cyber-attacks on at least seven prominent companies involved in COVID-19 vaccines research and treatments.
                                                                                                                • Microsoft traced the attacks back to one threat actor in Russia and two North Korean hacking groups.
                                                                                                                • Microsoft has called on all governments to standardise regulations on hacking penalties, particularly state based hacking, in the lead up to the Paris International Health Summit. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Australian Covid tech update: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-victoria-and-act-to-link-up-contact-tracing-systems-555867  

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Justin Hendry from iTnews reports, NSW, Victoria and the ACT will pilot a data exchange that allows health officials to share contact tracing data, including from airline manifests, across state and territory borders.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                In the future, the exchange – which will take the form of a software-as-a-service solution – could also link up with the Australian Immunisation Register to provide a “relevant vaccine status”.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Announced on Friday, the data sharing system was recommended by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, who said, “All it does is open up a communication pathway between the digital system in one state or territory and the digital system in another, and also – where appropriate – Commonwealth government databases just for contact tracing information.”

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Airbnb lost 1.4million users over no bigotry rule

                                                                                                                Airbnb has announced 1,4 million users were banned from the platform, after they did not agree to the following: 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                I agree to treat everyone in the Airbnb community—regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age—with respect, and without judgment or bias.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                The ban applies to both hosts and potential guests, using the service. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://gizmodo.com/airbnb-says-it-turned-away-1-4-million-people-who-refus-1845666129

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                ---

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Telstra Wants To Buy The NBN Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:41:09 GMT 8:01 889768c4-c13a-4f19-aff2-94fa4bcc00b8 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/telstrawantstobuythenbn 889768c4-c13a-4f19-aff2-94fa4bcc00b8 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 telstrawantstobuythenbn full 21 Some Follow Up From Yesterday: 

                                                                                                                Google Photos Just Made the Case for Breaking Up Big Tech

                                                                                                                • Will Oremus writes “it’s a galling bait-and-switch and an object lesson in anticompetitive behavior by a Big Tech firm. The unlimited free storage offer was arguably Google Photos’ top selling point, one that few, if any, competing providers could match. The company was likely willing to lose money on its service in exchange for the photos’ value in training its A.I. systems and for the value of keeping users in its broader software ecosystem.
                                                                                                                • Now that Google has lured more than 1 billion users to the service, making it an integral part of their digital lives (not to mention a huge hassle to switch), that original selling point is gone.
                                                                                                                • The losers are all the rival photo apps that Google Photos crushed on its way to the top, including startups such as Everpix, Loom, and Picturelife. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Telstra restructured to buy the NBN? 

                                                                                                                Telstra splits itself up as potential NBN sale looms

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                In an interview with the Fin Review, Telstra CEO Andy Penn said:  "...the government's policy has always stated that the NBN could not be owned by a vertically integrated operator, so InfraCo would have to be demerged effectively," 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                One other point from yesterday’s announcement is Telstra wants to become an electricity company.  Andy Penn says they are applying for the necessary licences to sell power to consumers in the coming weeks. Telstra has an experienced energy team & is already heavily involved in the renewable energy sector "We already underwrite projects that generate enough renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes, and we provide standby power that enables more renewable energy to be absorbed into the energy grid,” Penn said.  

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Meanwhile, Facebook also makes the case to break up big tech, as it copies the features of two of its rivals 

                                                                                                                Facebook's Snapchat-like 'Vanish Mode' feature arrives on Messenger and Instagram

                                                                                                                Facebook is introducing Vanish Mode, ephemeral messages that disappear - and rolling the feature to Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The feature is similar to Snapchat’s current messaging. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Instagram adds dedicated sections for shopping and Reels

                                                                                                                Instagram is also getting a redesign to highlight Reels, the company’s pixel for pixel remake of TikTok. A dedicated shopping tab is also coming to Instagram 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                And Facebook says it will not de-platform Steve Bannon, after Bannon called for the beheading of two government officials on Youtube. 

                                                                                                                Lots of Apple News Today

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Big Sur is out today 

                                                                                                                Here are the best new features in macOS 11 Big Sur

                                                                                                                Apple servers aren’t coping

                                                                                                                https://twitter.com/jamesthomson/status/1327011947972354051

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Meanwhile Apple execs talk M1 chip 

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Some Follow Up From Yesterday: 

                                                                                                                Google Photos Just Made the Case for Breaking Up Big Tech

                                                                                                                • Will Oremus writes “it’s a galling bait-and-switch and an object lesson in anticompetitive behavior by a Big Tech firm. The unlimited free storage offer was arguably Google Photos’ top selling point, one that few, if any, competing providers could match. The company was likely willing to lose money on its service in exchange for the photos’ value in training its A.I. systems and for the value of keeping users in its broader software ecosystem.
                                                                                                                • Now that Google has lured more than 1 billion users to the service, making it an integral part of their digital lives (not to mention a huge hassle to switch), that original selling point is gone.
                                                                                                                • The losers are all the rival photo apps that Google Photos crushed on its way to the top, including startups such as Everpix, Loom, and Picturelife. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Telstra restructured to buy the NBN? 

                                                                                                                Telstra splits itself up as potential NBN sale looms

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                In an interview with the Fin Review, Telstra CEO Andy Penn said:  "...the government's policy has always stated that the NBN could not be owned by a vertically integrated operator, so InfraCo would have to be demerged effectively," 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                One other point from yesterday’s announcement is Telstra wants to become an electricity company.  Andy Penn says they are applying for the necessary licences to sell power to consumers in the coming weeks. Telstra has an experienced energy team & is already heavily involved in the renewable energy sector "We already underwrite projects that generate enough renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes, and we provide standby power that enables more renewable energy to be absorbed into the energy grid,” Penn said.  

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Meanwhile, Facebook also makes the case to break up big tech, as it copies the features of two of its rivals 

                                                                                                                Facebook's Snapchat-like 'Vanish Mode' feature arrives on Messenger and Instagram

                                                                                                                Facebook is introducing Vanish Mode, ephemeral messages that disappear - and rolling the feature to Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The feature is similar to Snapchat’s current messaging. 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Instagram adds dedicated sections for shopping and Reels

                                                                                                                Instagram is also getting a redesign to highlight Reels, the company’s pixel for pixel remake of TikTok. A dedicated shopping tab is also coming to Instagram 

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                And Facebook says it will not de-platform Steve Bannon, after Bannon called for the beheading of two government officials on Youtube. 

                                                                                                                Lots of Apple News Today

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Big Sur is out today 

                                                                                                                Here are the best new features in macOS 11 Big Sur

                                                                                                                Apple servers aren’t coping

                                                                                                                https://twitter.com/jamesthomson/status/1327011947972354051

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Meanwhile Apple execs talk M1 chip 

                                                                                                                Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                ]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2020 02:59:58 GMT 9:07 ae34971a-723d-4734-ad97-5651d7042adc false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/telstrarestructurebiggestsinceprivatisation ae34971a-723d-4734-ad97-5651d7042adc 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 telstrarestructurebiggestsinceprivatisation full 21 Telstra Restructure
                                                                                                                • Telstra has proposed a major restructure of its operations, splitting itself into three legal entities. 
                                                                                                                • David Swan at The Australian writes “The three components of the structure will be InfraCo Fixed, which would own and operate Telstra’s fixed line assets; InfraCo Towers, which would own the fixed wireless assets like towers in Telstra’s mobile network, and ServeCo, which would “own the active parts of the network, including the radio access network and spectrum assets”.
                                                                                                                • The proposed restructure is scheduled to be completed by December 2021. The three business units will operate under the parent company Telstra Group.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Non-paywalled: 

                                                                                                                • CEO Andrew Penn called the restructure Telstra’s “biggest since privatisation” and said it would involve extensive consultation with staff, regulators, unions and other interested parties.

                                                                                                                https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telstra-plans-to-split-into-three-subsidiaries-555788 

                                                                                                                • They also might start selling electricity to consumers: Andy Penn says they are applying for the necessary licences in the coming weeks. Telstra has an experienced energy team & is already heavily involved in the renewable energy sector “"We already underwrite projects that generate enough renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes, and we provide standby power that enables more renewable energy to be absorbed into the energy grid,” Penn said.  

                                                                                                                Trump administration forgets to ban TikTok 

                                                                                                                https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21559677/tiktok-cfius-court-petition-ban-deadline

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                • TikTok has filed a petition in a US Court of Appeals calling for a review of actions by the Trump administration’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States The reason, according to the company, is that it hasn’t heard from the committee in weeks about an imminent deadline for parent company ByteDance to sell off US assets over national security concerns.
                                                                                                                • It seems that Trump’s demands on TikTok were more motivated by headlines than any real policy, and 
                                                                                                                • The committee set the deadline of November 12th for TikTok to divest itself of “any tangible or intangible assets or property, wherever located, used to enable or support ByteDance’s operation of the TikTok application in the United States.” TikTok says it applied for a 30-day extension that was allowed for in the CFIUS’ order, but hasn’t received any communication on the matter
                                                                                                                • The firm is in the process is of establishing TikTok Global in partnership with Oracle and Walmart, which President Trump approved in September. But the deal was never sanctioned by the Chinese government, and it’s been in limbo ever since.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                Singles Day

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/alibaba-s-singles-day-sales-soar-to-103b-but-shares-slump-on-crackdown-20201112-p56dtt.html 

                                                                                                                • the world's biggest sales event wrapped up yesterday. Singles’ day sales on...

                                                                                                                  ---

                                                                                                                  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                  ]]> Telstra Restructure
                                                                                                                  • Telstra has proposed a major restructure of its operations, splitting itself into three legal entities. 
                                                                                                                  • David Swan at The Australian writes “The three components of the structure will be InfraCo Fixed, which would own and operate Telstra’s fixed line assets; InfraCo Towers, which would own the fixed wireless assets like towers in Telstra’s mobile network, and ServeCo, which would “own the active parts of the network, including the radio access network and spectrum assets”.
                                                                                                                  • The proposed restructure is scheduled to be completed by December 2021. The three business units will operate under the parent company Telstra Group.

                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  Non-paywalled: 

                                                                                                                  • CEO Andrew Penn called the restructure Telstra’s “biggest since privatisation” and said it would involve extensive consultation with staff, regulators, unions and other interested parties.

                                                                                                                  https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telstra-plans-to-split-into-three-subsidiaries-555788 

                                                                                                                  • They also might start selling electricity to consumers: Andy Penn says they are applying for the necessary licences in the coming weeks. Telstra has an experienced energy team & is already heavily involved in the renewable energy sector “"We already underwrite projects that generate enough renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes, and we provide standby power that enables more renewable energy to be absorbed into the energy grid,” Penn said.  

                                                                                                                  Trump administration forgets to ban TikTok 

                                                                                                                  https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21559677/tiktok-cfius-court-petition-ban-deadline

                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  • TikTok has filed a petition in a US Court of Appeals calling for a review of actions by the Trump administration’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States The reason, according to the company, is that it hasn’t heard from the committee in weeks about an imminent deadline for parent company ByteDance to sell off US assets over national security concerns.
                                                                                                                  • It seems that Trump’s demands on TikTok were more motivated by headlines than any real policy, and 
                                                                                                                  • The committee set the deadline of November 12th for TikTok to divest itself of “any tangible or intangible assets or property, wherever located, used to enable or support ByteDance’s operation of the TikTok application in the United States.” TikTok says it applied for a 30-day extension that was allowed for in the CFIUS’ order, but hasn’t received any communication on the matter
                                                                                                                  • The firm is in the process is of establishing TikTok Global in partnership with Oracle and Walmart, which President Trump approved in September. But the deal was never sanctioned by the Chinese government, and it’s been in limbo ever since.

                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  Singles Day

                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/alibaba-s-singles-day-sales-soar-to-103b-but-shares-slump-on-crackdown-20201112-p56dtt.html 

                                                                                                                  • the world's biggest sales event wrapped up yesterday. Singles’ day sales on...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Apple Announces New Macs Without Intel Inside Episode Wed, 11 Nov 2020 02:00:16 GMT 10:54 0acfdf46-c8b4-486a-a467-631aa5d75f07 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/appleannouncesnewmacswithoutintelinsideepisode 0acfdf46-c8b4-486a-a467-631aa5d75f07 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 appleannouncesnewmacswithoutintelinsideepisode Apple Announces new M1 chip, and New Macs - https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21558095/apple-silicon-m1-chip-arm-macs-soc-charge-power-efficiency-mobile-processor?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4 - The new chips offer better battery life and up to ... full Apple Announces new M1 chip, and New Macs
                                                                                                                    • https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21558095/apple-silicon-m1-chip-arm-macs-soc-charge-power-efficiency-mobile-processor?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
                                                                                                                    • The new chips offer better battery life and up to 3 times the performance of “the best selling Windows laptop” 
                                                                                                                    • Also the ability to run iPad and iPhone apps on a Mac, with Big Sur, coming tomorrow. 
                                                                                                                    • Macs updated are the Macbook Air, the 13” Macbook Pro, and the Mac mini 
                                                                                                                    • Not a lot differentiates the Macbook Air and Pro, they’re pretty much the same specs, but the Pro has a fan, which will allow more sustained high power performance. 
                                                                                                                    • A fanless Air is the most compelling computer in the line up for me. 
                                                                                                                    • Mac mini also updated - I’d expect new iMacs and 16” Pro in the new year
                                                                                                                    • One disappointment, both laptops still have the janky 720p Webcam, but Apple says the machine learning chip will improve performance. 
                                                                                                                    • PC guy John Hodgman made a brief appearance 

                                                                                                                    EU Accuses Amazon of Breaching AntiTrust Rules 

                                                                                                                    • https://www.ft.com/content/4908995d-5ba4-4e14-a863-bcb8858e8bd2
                                                                                                                    • The EU files antitrust charges against Amazon, citing concerns over the company operating as both a marketplace and a retailer
                                                                                                                    • The EU has hit Amazon with formal antitrust charges over its treatment of the 150,000 European merchants selling goods through its website.
                                                                                                                    • Margrethe Vestager, who oversees the EU’s competition policy, outlined two sets of concerns against the world’s dominant online retailer. - Amazon has used non-public data from its website to advantage its own products & Amazon gives preferential treatment to marketplace sellers who pay for specific services
                                                                                                                    • After a year-long probe, the European Commission reached the preliminary view that Amazon breached EU competition rules by using non-public data it gathers on sales on its website to boost its own-label products and services.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    Parler, a Right Wing Twitter Clone, has topped the App Store since election day

                                                                                                                    • https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/9/21557219/parler-conservative-app-download-new-users-moderation-bias
                                                                                                                    • It is currently the #1 free app in the iOS App Store, up from #1,023 on November 2nd. It’s also #1 in the Google Play rankings, up from #486 the previous week. 
                                                                                                                    • The app has been downloaded approximately 3.6 million times in the US so far, per SensorTower.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    Reviews of the PS5 are coming In

                                                                                                                    • And surprise! They read exactly like the Xbox Series X Reviews
                                                                                                                    • Much Better load times from a faster SSD
                                                                                                                    • Completely silent under load
                                                                                                                    • Where the consoles diverge: 
                                                                                                                    • Reviewers miss the “quick resume” feature of the Xbox
                                                                                                                    • The dual shock controller is excellent, with some interesting new haptic features
                                                                                                                    • And Sony has one tentpole exclusive, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - which is getting universally good reviews - sitting on 85% on Metacritic 
                                                                                                                    • The Verge has a good explainer on ray-tracing 

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Apple Announces new M1 chip, and New Macs
                                                                                                                    • https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21558095/apple-silicon-m1-chip-arm-macs-soc-charge-power-efficiency-mobile-processor?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
                                                                                                                    • The new chips offer better battery life and up to 3 times the performance of “the best selling Windows laptop” 
                                                                                                                    • Also the ability to run iPad and iPhone apps on a Mac, with Big Sur, coming tomorrow. 
                                                                                                                    • Macs updated are the Macbook Air, the 13” Macbook Pro, and the Mac mini 
                                                                                                                    • Not a lot differentiates the Macbook Air and Pro, they’re pretty much the same specs, but the Pro has a fan, which will allow more sustained high power performance. 
                                                                                                                    • A fanless Air is the most compelling computer in the line up for me. 
                                                                                                                    • Mac mini also updated - I’d expect new iMacs and 16” Pro in the new year
                                                                                                                    • One disappointment, both laptops still have the janky 720p Webcam, but Apple says the machine learning chip will improve performance. 
                                                                                                                    • PC guy John Hodgman made a brief appearance 

                                                                                                                    EU Accuses Amazon of Breaching AntiTrust Rules 

                                                                                                                    • https://www.ft.com/content/4908995d-5ba4-4e14-a863-bcb8858e8bd2
                                                                                                                    • The EU files antitrust charges against Amazon, citing concerns over the company operating as both a marketplace and a retailer
                                                                                                                    • The EU has hit Amazon with formal antitrust charges over its treatment of the 150,000 European merchants selling goods through its website.
                                                                                                                    • Margrethe Vestager, who oversees the EU’s competition policy, outlined two sets of concerns against the world’s dominant online retailer. - Amazon has used non-public data from its website to advantage its own products & Amazon gives preferential treatment to marketplace sellers who pay for specific services
                                                                                                                    • After a year-long probe, the European Commission reached the preliminary view that Amazon breached EU competition rules by using non-public data it gathers on sales on its website to boost its own-label products and services.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    Parler, a Right Wing Twitter Clone, has topped the App Store since election day

                                                                                                                    • https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/9/21557219/parler-conservative-app-download-new-users-moderation-bias
                                                                                                                    • It is currently the #1 free app in the iOS App Store, up from #1,023 on November 2nd. It’s also #1 in the Google Play rankings, up from #486 the previous week. 
                                                                                                                    • The app has been downloaded approximately 3.6 million times in the US so far, per SensorTower.

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    Reviews of the PS5 are coming In

                                                                                                                    • And surprise! They read exactly like the Xbox Series X Reviews
                                                                                                                    • Much Better load times from a faster SSD
                                                                                                                    • Completely silent under load
                                                                                                                    • Where the consoles diverge: 
                                                                                                                    • Reviewers miss the “quick resume” feature of the Xbox
                                                                                                                    • The dual shock controller is excellent, with some interesting new haptic features
                                                                                                                    • And Sony has one tentpole exclusive, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - which is getting universally good reviews - sitting on 85% on Metacritic 
                                                                                                                    • The Verge has a good explainer on ray-tracing 

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> COVID Vaccine? Sell $ZOOM! Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:50:17 GMT 8:26 7e2cc73e-631e-43af-a11f-e8423b04f950 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/covidvaccine-sell-zoom- 7e2cc73e-631e-43af-a11f-e8423b04f950 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 covidvaccine-sell-zoom- full 19 Vaccine news hurts tech stock

                                                                                                                    Zoom's share price may have peaked. Tech crunch reports, "Stock markets worldwide are soaring on news that a vaccine candidate is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, and could start coming to market in a matter of months. But while the euphoria is helping sectors that have taken punishment during COVID-19, not all companies are catching the same updraft."

                                                                                                                    Stock gainers today:

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Carnival Cruises: +40%

                                                                                                                    Royal Caribbean: +31%

                                                                                                                    Host Hotels: +30%

                                                                                                                    Wynn Resorts: +29%

                                                                                                                    Marriott: +22%

                                                                                                                    United Airlines +24%

                                                                                                                    Expedia: +22%

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Stock decliners today:

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Amazon: -5%

                                                                                                                    Domino's Pizza: -7%

                                                                                                                    Netflix: -9%

                                                                                                                    Docusign: -11%

                                                                                                                    Zoom: -17%

                                                                                                                    Etsy: -20%

                                                                                                                    Peloton: -23%

                                                                                                                    This is just one random day of activities that no one will remember, but it could mark the start of the post-covid optimism. Where we will see what consumer behaviours stick, and which ones we immediately drop. 

                                                                                                                    iPhone Max and Mini reviews hit

                                                                                                                    Joanna Stern is my favourtie consumer tech reviewer, and her video at the Wall Street Journal is great as always. 

                                                                                                                    You can see why the arrival of the iPhone 12 Mini—a phone sized to fit the appendages you actually hold it with—is such an anatomically historical event.

                                                                                                                    Meanhwhile, the Verge is blown away by the camera in the Max, but they question if the device is just too damn big to carry. 

                                                                                                                    The Verge's Nilay Patel believes the iPhone 12 Pro Max has "the best smartphone camera you can get," noting that photos shot on the device "are generally less noisy" than those shot on the...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Vaccine news hurts tech stock

                                                                                                                    Zoom's share price may have peaked. Tech crunch reports, "Stock markets worldwide are soaring on news that a vaccine candidate is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, and could start coming to market in a matter of months. But while the euphoria is helping sectors that have taken punishment during COVID-19, not all companies are catching the same updraft."

                                                                                                                    Stock gainers today:

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Carnival Cruises: +40%

                                                                                                                    Royal Caribbean: +31%

                                                                                                                    Host Hotels: +30%

                                                                                                                    Wynn Resorts: +29%

                                                                                                                    Marriott: +22%

                                                                                                                    United Airlines +24%

                                                                                                                    Expedia: +22%

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Stock decliners today:

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Amazon: -5%

                                                                                                                    Domino's Pizza: -7%

                                                                                                                    Netflix: -9%

                                                                                                                    Docusign: -11%

                                                                                                                    Zoom: -17%

                                                                                                                    Etsy: -20%

                                                                                                                    Peloton: -23%

                                                                                                                    This is just one random day of activities that no one will remember, but it could mark the start of the post-covid optimism. Where we will see what consumer behaviours stick, and which ones we immediately drop. 

                                                                                                                    iPhone Max and Mini reviews hit

                                                                                                                    Joanna Stern is my favourtie consumer tech reviewer, and her video at the Wall Street Journal is great as always. 

                                                                                                                    You can see why the arrival of the iPhone 12 Mini—a phone sized to fit the appendages you actually hold it with—is such an anatomically historical event.

                                                                                                                    Meanhwhile, the Verge is blown away by the camera in the Max, but they question if the device is just too damn big to carry. 

                                                                                                                    The Verge's Nilay Patel believes the iPhone 12 Pro Max has "the best smartphone camera you can get," noting that photos shot on the device "are generally less noisy" than those shot on the...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Mon, 09 Nov 2020 02:56:49 GMT 10:57 0b03ea15-c376-4fcf-9d42-5d294dd3cfa8 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/itsalloverbarthetantrums 0b03ea15-c376-4fcf-9d42-5d294dd3cfa8 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 itsalloverbarthetantrums full 18 What Biden's Victory Means For Tech

                                                                                                                    Antitrust: Antitrust legisilation has been bubbling away for a year now against Google, Facebook and Amazon, the dominate players in their respective fields. Democract attorney generals have yet to show their hand and join republican lawmakers in their suit, perhaps waiting for a Biden victory. Expect a lot of movement on the antitrust front following Biden's inauguration. 

                                                                                                                    The Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based tech trade group, expects Biden to rescind a series of immigration-related executive orders issued by Trump. In addition, the group expects Biden to revise the nonimmigrant visa programs to better match labor market demand.

                                                                                                                    And many articles are hoping for a more adult relationship with China, looking to end the trade war and focus on the big picture, rather than individual companies like Huawei and TikTok.

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, Trump will lose his "newsworthy" Twitter protections in January. Twitter had to introduce its policy of refusing to ban politicians in response to President Trump's use of the platform. Once Biden is sworn in Twitter can ban Trump like any everyday user.

                                                                                                                    https://www.engadget.com/president-trump-to-lose-twitter-protection-once-biden-sworn-in-214451930.html?guccounter=1

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify hints at a paid podcast model 

                                                                                                                    The survey describes at least four possible subscription podcast plans, ranging from $3 to $8 per month. The cheapest plan would include “access to exclusive interviews and episodes,” but would still include ads. The most expensive plan would include access to “high quality original content,” early access to some episodes, and no platform-inserted ads. None of these plans would include access to Spotify’s premium music subscription.

                                                                                                                    A spokesperson for Spotify indicated that the survey should not be taken as concrete product plans.

                                                                                                                    While this feels like an inevitable move from the company, after the major acquisition of Gimlet last year, it seems odd that Spotify would charge for podcasts only 

                                                                                                                    I would assume their exclusive podcasts would be bundled into a Spotify premium sub, and ad supported podcasts are played ad-free

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Apple was looking to acquire podcast company Wondery - creators of “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death,”. Wondery is one of the largest independent podcasting studios and networks, reaching a monthly audience of more than 8 million people, according to Podtrac, an industry measurement firm.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Windows 10, iOS, Chrome, and many others fall at China's top hacking contest

                                                                                                                    Many of today's top software programs have been hacked using new and never-before-seen exploits at this year's edition of the Tianfu Cup — China's largest and most prestigious hacking competition.

                                                                                                                    Held in the city of Chengdu, in central China, the third edition of the Tianfu Cup ended earlier today.

                                                                                                                    Many mature and hard targets have been pwned on this year's contest, organizers said today. Successful exploits were confirmed against:

                                                                                                                    iOS 14 running on an iPhone 11 Pro

                                                                                                                    Samsung Galaxy S20

                                                                                                                    Windows 10 v2004 (April 2020 edition)

                                                                                                                    Ubuntu

                                                                                                                    Chrome

                                                                                                                    Safari

                                                                                                                    Firefox

                                                                                                                    Adobe PDF...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> What Biden's Victory Means For Tech

                                                                                                                    Antitrust: Antitrust legisilation has been bubbling away for a year now against Google, Facebook and Amazon, the dominate players in their respective fields. Democract attorney generals have yet to show their hand and join republican lawmakers in their suit, perhaps waiting for a Biden victory. Expect a lot of movement on the antitrust front following Biden's inauguration. 

                                                                                                                    The Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based tech trade group, expects Biden to rescind a series of immigration-related executive orders issued by Trump. In addition, the group expects Biden to revise the nonimmigrant visa programs to better match labor market demand.

                                                                                                                    And many articles are hoping for a more adult relationship with China, looking to end the trade war and focus on the big picture, rather than individual companies like Huawei and TikTok.

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, Trump will lose his "newsworthy" Twitter protections in January. Twitter had to introduce its policy of refusing to ban politicians in response to President Trump's use of the platform. Once Biden is sworn in Twitter can ban Trump like any everyday user.

                                                                                                                    https://www.engadget.com/president-trump-to-lose-twitter-protection-once-biden-sworn-in-214451930.html?guccounter=1

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify hints at a paid podcast model 

                                                                                                                    The survey describes at least four possible subscription podcast plans, ranging from $3 to $8 per month. The cheapest plan would include “access to exclusive interviews and episodes,” but would still include ads. The most expensive plan would include access to “high quality original content,” early access to some episodes, and no platform-inserted ads. None of these plans would include access to Spotify’s premium music subscription.

                                                                                                                    A spokesperson for Spotify indicated that the survey should not be taken as concrete product plans.

                                                                                                                    While this feels like an inevitable move from the company, after the major acquisition of Gimlet last year, it seems odd that Spotify would charge for podcasts only 

                                                                                                                    I would assume their exclusive podcasts would be bundled into a Spotify premium sub, and ad supported podcasts are played ad-free

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Apple was looking to acquire podcast company Wondery - creators of “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death,”. Wondery is one of the largest independent podcasting studios and networks, reaching a monthly audience of more than 8 million people, according to Podtrac, an industry measurement firm.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Windows 10, iOS, Chrome, and many others fall at China's top hacking contest

                                                                                                                    Many of today's top software programs have been hacked using new and never-before-seen exploits at this year's edition of the Tianfu Cup — China's largest and most prestigious hacking competition.

                                                                                                                    Held in the city of Chengdu, in central China, the third edition of the Tianfu Cup ended earlier today.

                                                                                                                    Many mature and hard targets have been pwned on this year's contest, organizers said today. Successful exploits were confirmed against:

                                                                                                                    iOS 14 running on an iPhone 11 Pro

                                                                                                                    Samsung Galaxy S20

                                                                                                                    Windows 10 v2004 (April 2020 edition)

                                                                                                                    Ubuntu

                                                                                                                    Chrome

                                                                                                                    Safari

                                                                                                                    Firefox

                                                                                                                    Adobe PDF...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Another Day Of Chaos Online Fri, 06 Nov 2020 03:06:41 GMT 9:40 43d7ba09-f55e-4112-bf62-ef35ec13cf87 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/anotherdayofchaosonline 43d7ba09-f55e-4112-bf62-ef35ec13cf87 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 anotherdayofchaosonline A public Facebook group pushing false claims about voter fraud and Democrats trying to “steal” the U.S. election rapidly swelled to more than 325,000 members on Thursday, a day after it was created. Adding 1,000 new members every 10 secondshttps://www... full 17 A public Facebook group pushing false claims about voter fraud and Democrats trying to “steal” the U.S. election rapidly swelled to more than 325,000 members on Thursday, a day after it was created. Adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds

                                                                                                                    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-social-media-stopthestea/facebook-group-pushing-false-claim-of-stolen-u-s-election-rapidly-gains-325000-members-idUKKBN27L2DA

                                                                                                                    Facebook has since shut the group down:

                                                                                                                    https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzx8q/a-gop-linked-stop-the-count-facebook-group-is-gaining-thousands-of-members-a-minute

                                                                                                                    However, when new members join they are asked if they have signed up for updates from a companion website, “in the event that social media censors this group.” So the group couldve just moved to Telegram or Whatsapp 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Following on from yesterday, Facebook is no longer allowing Trump and friends to fraudulently claim states on the platform

                                                                                                                    https://www.engadget.com/how-social-media-is-handling-2020-presidential-election-223643220.html

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Staying with Facebook, Buzzfeed reveals the company has an internal measurement on "Violence And Incitement Trends" - as expected, the number has jumped since the election 

                                                                                                                    The internal metric, which has not previously been reported, had been at around a score of 400 on Oct. 31. It rose to a 24-hour average of nearly 580 as of Thursday morning (US time)

                                                                                                                    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-internal-metric-violence-incitement-rising-vote

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And while Twitter and Facebook continue to push back on misinformation, Youtube is ignoring some blantant lies in live streaming channels. 

                                                                                                                    https://www.platformer.news/p/how-youtube-got-played-on-election

                                                                                                                    Conservative pundit Steven Crowder got 3.5 million views on a 5-hour live stream in which he promoted various debunked voter fraud claims, Kevin Roose noted at the New York Times.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Although, credit where it's due, Youtube has just removed a video in which former Trump aide Steve Bannon called for the beheading of Anthony Fauci and the head of the FBI. 

                                                                                                                    Bannon said their heads should be put on spikes at either end of the whitehouse, as a warning to other officials to "get with the program" 

                                                                                                                    https://www.newsweek.com/steve-bannon-kicked-off-twitter-beheading-fauci-video-1545301

                                                                                                                    Twitter has suspended Bannon's Twitter account, following the incident. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And if you really want to see all the lies, misinformation and outright fraud at the moment, Buzzfeed has a great running tally:

                                                                                                                    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/election-rumors-debunked

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And for those who missed it, Trump again announced victory if you "count the legal votes" 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Lets turn to happier news... 

                                                                                                                    DJI has announced the Mavic Mini 2, bringing 4k cameras to its smallest...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> A public Facebook group pushing false claims about voter fraud and Democrats trying to “steal” the U.S. election rapidly swelled to more than 325,000 members on Thursday, a day after it was created. Adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds

                                                                                                                    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-social-media-stopthestea/facebook-group-pushing-false-claim-of-stolen-u-s-election-rapidly-gains-325000-members-idUKKBN27L2DA

                                                                                                                    Facebook has since shut the group down:

                                                                                                                    https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzx8q/a-gop-linked-stop-the-count-facebook-group-is-gaining-thousands-of-members-a-minute

                                                                                                                    However, when new members join they are asked if they have signed up for updates from a companion website, “in the event that social media censors this group.” So the group couldve just moved to Telegram or Whatsapp 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Following on from yesterday, Facebook is no longer allowing Trump and friends to fraudulently claim states on the platform

                                                                                                                    https://www.engadget.com/how-social-media-is-handling-2020-presidential-election-223643220.html

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Staying with Facebook, Buzzfeed reveals the company has an internal measurement on "Violence And Incitement Trends" - as expected, the number has jumped since the election 

                                                                                                                    The internal metric, which has not previously been reported, had been at around a score of 400 on Oct. 31. It rose to a 24-hour average of nearly 580 as of Thursday morning (US time)

                                                                                                                    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-internal-metric-violence-incitement-rising-vote

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And while Twitter and Facebook continue to push back on misinformation, Youtube is ignoring some blantant lies in live streaming channels. 

                                                                                                                    https://www.platformer.news/p/how-youtube-got-played-on-election

                                                                                                                    Conservative pundit Steven Crowder got 3.5 million views on a 5-hour live stream in which he promoted various debunked voter fraud claims, Kevin Roose noted at the New York Times.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Although, credit where it's due, Youtube has just removed a video in which former Trump aide Steve Bannon called for the beheading of Anthony Fauci and the head of the FBI. 

                                                                                                                    Bannon said their heads should be put on spikes at either end of the whitehouse, as a warning to other officials to "get with the program" 

                                                                                                                    https://www.newsweek.com/steve-bannon-kicked-off-twitter-beheading-fauci-video-1545301

                                                                                                                    Twitter has suspended Bannon's Twitter account, following the incident. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And if you really want to see all the lies, misinformation and outright fraud at the moment, Buzzfeed has a great running tally:

                                                                                                                    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/election-rumors-debunked

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    And for those who missed it, Trump again announced victory if you "count the legal votes" 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Lets turn to happier news... 

                                                                                                                    DJI has announced the Mavic Mini 2, bringing 4k cameras to its smallest...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2020 03:15:10 GMT 7:24 78d584a0-ff4e-470b-b9c5-d90c7f8c4a1b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/trumpteststwittersmisinformationguidelines 78d584a0-ff4e-470b-b9c5-d90c7f8c4a1b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 trumpteststwittersmisinformationguidelines Social Media struggles with Misinformation on Election DayTech companies are trying to curb a surge in US election misinformation, with President Donald Trump and his allies taking to social media to falsely claim victory and make unsupported allegati... full Social Media struggles with Misinformation on Election Day

                                                                                                                    Tech companies are trying to curb a surge in US election misinformation, with President Donald Trump and his allies taking to social media to falsely claim victory and make unsupported allegations of voter fraud.

                                                                                                                    Twitter and Facebook are in the bizarre position of marking Trump's updates on his "victory" as false and misleading, reminding his followers that votes are still being counted. 

                                                                                                                    Margaret O’Mara has a great editorial in The New York Times 

                                                                                                                    "These are important changes, but they are tweaks, not overhauls, and they point to an uncomfortable truth. These networks are operating as designed. The core features that make social media so alluring also make it a particularly effective political rage machine."

                                                                                                                    https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/wrv7kdHPVcKjdVnHyZ65

                                                                                                                    Facebook Inc. has clarified its rules and said it won’t flag President Trump or any other individual who declares victory for a candidate in battleground states before votes are counted.

                                                                                                                    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/technology/what-if-facebook-is-the-real-silent-majority.html

                                                                                                                    And if you're wondering why the polls were once again so wrong, Kevin Roose suggests you look at Facebook engagement over phone polls - and looking at that data, yesterday's results were pretty accurately predicted 

                                                                                                                    it appeared Facebook and Twitter might have overlooked the deluge of disinformation targeting Spanish-speaking Americans. Spanish-language accounts with huge followings falsely said that Mr. Trump had secured an early victory, that social media was censoring his win and that Mr. Biden was cheating.

                                                                                                                    All the tech legislation results

                                                                                                                    Proposition 22 was easily approved by California voters, meaning that gig workers for apps like Lyft, Uber, and Doordash will not become employees of those companies. Instead they will remain independent contractors.

                                                                                                                    The “Consumer Personal Information Law and Agency Initiative,” a.k.a Proposition 24, also passed, adding more privacy protections for the state’s consumers. The proposition calls for creating a new enforcement agency for the state’s privacy laws, expanding the types of information that consumers can opt out of sharing with advertisers, and shifting the state “do not sell” provision to “do not sell and share.” 

                                                                                                                    Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly said yes to Question 1, “Amend the Right to Repair Law,” which will give car owners and independent mechanics greater access to wireless vehicle data. A similar law had passed in Massachusetts in 2013 that required diagnostic data to be shared with independent mechanics, but it did not cover wireless data, which has become more common in the seven years since. This law aimed to fill in that gap. Its passage is a blow to the auto manufacturers that lobbied for a no vote. They argued that this change would not give them enough time to protect cars’ security systems against hacking. 

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Social Media struggles with Misinformation on Election Day

                                                                                                                    Tech companies are trying to curb a surge in US election misinformation, with President Donald Trump and his allies taking to social media to falsely claim victory and make unsupported allegations of voter fraud.

                                                                                                                    Twitter and Facebook are in the bizarre position of marking Trump's updates on his "victory" as false and misleading, reminding his followers that votes are still being counted. 

                                                                                                                    Margaret O’Mara has a great editorial in The New York Times 

                                                                                                                    "These are important changes, but they are tweaks, not overhauls, and they point to an uncomfortable truth. These networks are operating as designed. The core features that make social media so alluring also make it a particularly effective political rage machine."

                                                                                                                    https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/wrv7kdHPVcKjdVnHyZ65

                                                                                                                    Facebook Inc. has clarified its rules and said it won’t flag President Trump or any other individual who declares victory for a candidate in battleground states before votes are counted.

                                                                                                                    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/technology/what-if-facebook-is-the-real-silent-majority.html

                                                                                                                    And if you're wondering why the polls were once again so wrong, Kevin Roose suggests you look at Facebook engagement over phone polls - and looking at that data, yesterday's results were pretty accurately predicted 

                                                                                                                    it appeared Facebook and Twitter might have overlooked the deluge of disinformation targeting Spanish-speaking Americans. Spanish-language accounts with huge followings falsely said that Mr. Trump had secured an early victory, that social media was censoring his win and that Mr. Biden was cheating.

                                                                                                                    All the tech legislation results

                                                                                                                    Proposition 22 was easily approved by California voters, meaning that gig workers for apps like Lyft, Uber, and Doordash will not become employees of those companies. Instead they will remain independent contractors.

                                                                                                                    The “Consumer Personal Information Law and Agency Initiative,” a.k.a Proposition 24, also passed, adding more privacy protections for the state’s consumers. The proposition calls for creating a new enforcement agency for the state’s privacy laws, expanding the types of information that consumers can opt out of sharing with advertisers, and shifting the state “do not sell” provision to “do not sell and share.” 

                                                                                                                    Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly said yes to Question 1, “Amend the Right to Repair Law,” which will give car owners and independent mechanics greater access to wireless vehicle data. A similar law had passed in Massachusetts in 2013 that required diagnostic data to be shared with independent mechanics, but it did not cover wireless data, which has become more common in the seven years since. This law aimed to fill in that gap. Its passage is a blow to the auto manufacturers that lobbied for a no vote. They argued that this change would not give them enough time to protect cars’ security systems against hacking. 

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Everything is Awesome Wed, 04 Nov 2020 01:44:02 GMT 9:28 175a9ac1-fac8-4602-916f-99dfd7aae605 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/everythingisawesome 175a9ac1-fac8-4602-916f-99dfd7aae605 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 everythingisawesome full 15 Evrything is Awesome! 

                                                                                                                    The LEGO Group created Light Brick Studio as an in-house game development studio, which went on to develop the popular and critically acclaimed Builder’s Journey, available now in Apple Arcade. Lego is spinning out Light Brick Studio to form an independent compny, Venture Beat reports, the new startup will further explore the future of digital play.

                                                                                                                    The spin-out collaboration between The LEGO Group and LEGO Ventures is the first of its kind, enabling Light Brick Studio – its two founders Karsten Lund and Mads Prahm – to independently explore new digital play spaces within the LEGO® Idea, on the basis of an investment by LEGO Ventures.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Apple Sends Out Event Invites to One More Thing

                                                                                                                    Apple has sent out invitations to tech journalists for One More Thing this year, it's final virtual press event of the season

                                                                                                                    We're expected to see ARM Macs and the release of the latest version of macOS, Big Sur. 

                                                                                                                    It is traditional to overly examine Apple invitations for clues, the funniest I've seen is that the invitation kind of looks like the spinning beachball of death... 

                                                                                                                    According to AppleInsider: Current speculation points to a form of MacBook Pro, possibly a refined version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. There has been some suggestion of multiple MacBook models, as well as a MacBook Air, while a 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro using the technology may wait until 2021.

                                                                                                                    Airtags and new AirPods Studio are also a possibility. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify Streaming is coming to Apple Watch 

                                                                                                                    Spotify has begun beta testing streaming on Apple Watch, according to 9to5 Mac

                                                                                                                    Multiple users have shared they are seeing the feature show up on their wearables, after the feature was beta tested in September

                                                                                                                    Until now, you could stream Apple Music, as well as a few fitness and podcasting apps, but not Spotify on an Apple Watch. Apple has provided a third party streaming API for over a year now, so the limitation wasn't technical, and seemed more to do with Apple and Spotify's ongoing war. 

                                                                                                                    Spotify allows playback on Fitbit and Samsung watches. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    The Adorable Raspberry Pi 400 should be your kid's first computer

                                                                                                                    According to The Verge: The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the Raspberry Pi 400, a compact keyboard with an ARM-based computer built in. Just plug it into a TV or monitor using one of its two micro HDMI ports, insert a microSD card, attach a power cord and mouse, and you’ve got yourself a basic computer for day-to-day tasks, coding, or media playback. It’s available starting today as a standalone machine for $70 or in a bundle including a mouse, power supply, microSD card, HDMI cable, and beginner’s guide for $100. Prices are USD

                                                                                                                    This is wonderful, and even though I already have a Raspberry Pi doing nothing in my tech closet, I'm incredibly tempted to buy this for my kid

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Evrything is Awesome! 

                                                                                                                    The LEGO Group created Light Brick Studio as an in-house game development studio, which went on to develop the popular and critically acclaimed Builder’s Journey, available now in Apple Arcade. Lego is spinning out Light Brick Studio to form an independent compny, Venture Beat reports, the new startup will further explore the future of digital play.

                                                                                                                    The spin-out collaboration between The LEGO Group and LEGO Ventures is the first of its kind, enabling Light Brick Studio – its two founders Karsten Lund and Mads Prahm – to independently explore new digital play spaces within the LEGO® Idea, on the basis of an investment by LEGO Ventures.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Apple Sends Out Event Invites to One More Thing

                                                                                                                    Apple has sent out invitations to tech journalists for One More Thing this year, it's final virtual press event of the season

                                                                                                                    We're expected to see ARM Macs and the release of the latest version of macOS, Big Sur. 

                                                                                                                    It is traditional to overly examine Apple invitations for clues, the funniest I've seen is that the invitation kind of looks like the spinning beachball of death... 

                                                                                                                    According to AppleInsider: Current speculation points to a form of MacBook Pro, possibly a refined version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. There has been some suggestion of multiple MacBook models, as well as a MacBook Air, while a 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro using the technology may wait until 2021.

                                                                                                                    Airtags and new AirPods Studio are also a possibility. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify Streaming is coming to Apple Watch 

                                                                                                                    Spotify has begun beta testing streaming on Apple Watch, according to 9to5 Mac

                                                                                                                    Multiple users have shared they are seeing the feature show up on their wearables, after the feature was beta tested in September

                                                                                                                    Until now, you could stream Apple Music, as well as a few fitness and podcasting apps, but not Spotify on an Apple Watch. Apple has provided a third party streaming API for over a year now, so the limitation wasn't technical, and seemed more to do with Apple and Spotify's ongoing war. 

                                                                                                                    Spotify allows playback on Fitbit and Samsung watches. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    The Adorable Raspberry Pi 400 should be your kid's first computer

                                                                                                                    According to The Verge: The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the Raspberry Pi 400, a compact keyboard with an ARM-based computer built in. Just plug it into a TV or monitor using one of its two micro HDMI ports, insert a microSD card, attach a power cord and mouse, and you’ve got yourself a basic computer for day-to-day tasks, coding, or media playback. It’s available starting today as a standalone machine for $70 or in a bundle including a mouse, power supply, microSD card, HDMI cable, and beginner’s guide for $100. Prices are USD

                                                                                                                    This is wonderful, and even though I already have a Raspberry Pi doing nothing in my tech closet, I'm incredibly tempted to buy this for my kid

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Trump The Centre Of Misinformation On Social Media Mon, 02 Nov 2020 02:56:27 GMT 7:34 31758e6a-f123-4968-b2a8-b9c7c026c278 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/trumpthecentreofmisinformationonsocialmedia 31758e6a-f123-4968-b2a8-b9c7c026c278 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 trumpthecentreofmisinformationonsocialmedia full 14 Washington Post has two stories on Trump and Social Media
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    "A study released Thursday by the Election Integrity Partnership found that just 20 conservative, pro-Trump Twitter accounts — including the president’s own @realDonaldTrump — were the original source of one-fifth of retweets pushing misleading narratives about voting.

                                                                                                                    A recent Cornell University study, meanwhile, concluded that Trump was also the “largest driver” of misinformation in the public conversation about the coronavirus during the first half of 2020. The researchers found that nearly 40 percent of articles containing misinformation about the virus mentioned him, including articles about false cures and blaming China for the disease."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, a report by the Post shows that quote: "In the final months of the presidential campaign, prominent associates of President Trump and conservative groups with vast online followings have flirted with, and frequently crossed, the boundaries set forth by Facebook about the repeated sharing of misinformation."

                                                                                                                    From a pro-Trump super PAC to the president’s eldest son, however, these users have received few penalties, according to an examination of several months of posts and ad spending, as well as internal company documents. In certain cases, their accounts have been protected against more severe enforcement because of concern about the perception of anti-conservative bias, said current and former Facebook employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Metadata Laws review

                                                                                                                    Cam Wilson, writing for Gizmodo, says "Australia’s metadata retentions laws are making it too easy for too many people to access Australian’s data without warrant, according to a review of the controversial scheme."

                                                                                                                    "The Committee recommended removing loopholes and updating definitions to limit access of metadata in Australia.

                                                                                                                    When the law was first passed in 2015, there were just 21 agencies who were allowed to access it -- a number that Peter Dutton wouldn't mind increasing.

                                                                                                                    But since then, more than 100 agencies — including local councils and even the RSPCA — have accessed the data, sometimes for minor legal offences.

                                                                                                                    This is due to a loophole that allowed data to be released to more agencies if it was authorised.

                                                                                                                    In response, the Committee suggested setting a "serious offence" threshold for accessing the data under the scheme."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Rumour: Government considering watering down it's Facebook/Google Regulations 

                                                                                                                    The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting "the federal government is considering weakening new rules designed to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers, following fierce lobbying and threats from the tech giants to leave the Australian market.

                                                                                                                    "Google and Facebook have aggressively lobbied the government to change core elements of a draft news media bargaining code being created by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that both companies have described as "unworkable". The new code will force the tech giants to strike commercial deals with news publishers."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Washington Post has two stories on Trump and Social Media
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    "A study released Thursday by the Election Integrity Partnership found that just 20 conservative, pro-Trump Twitter accounts — including the president’s own @realDonaldTrump — were the original source of one-fifth of retweets pushing misleading narratives about voting.

                                                                                                                    A recent Cornell University study, meanwhile, concluded that Trump was also the “largest driver” of misinformation in the public conversation about the coronavirus during the first half of 2020. The researchers found that nearly 40 percent of articles containing misinformation about the virus mentioned him, including articles about false cures and blaming China for the disease."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Meanwhile, a report by the Post shows that quote: "In the final months of the presidential campaign, prominent associates of President Trump and conservative groups with vast online followings have flirted with, and frequently crossed, the boundaries set forth by Facebook about the repeated sharing of misinformation."

                                                                                                                    From a pro-Trump super PAC to the president’s eldest son, however, these users have received few penalties, according to an examination of several months of posts and ad spending, as well as internal company documents. In certain cases, their accounts have been protected against more severe enforcement because of concern about the perception of anti-conservative bias, said current and former Facebook employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Metadata Laws review

                                                                                                                    Cam Wilson, writing for Gizmodo, says "Australia’s metadata retentions laws are making it too easy for too many people to access Australian’s data without warrant, according to a review of the controversial scheme."

                                                                                                                    "The Committee recommended removing loopholes and updating definitions to limit access of metadata in Australia.

                                                                                                                    When the law was first passed in 2015, there were just 21 agencies who were allowed to access it -- a number that Peter Dutton wouldn't mind increasing.

                                                                                                                    But since then, more than 100 agencies — including local councils and even the RSPCA — have accessed the data, sometimes for minor legal offences.

                                                                                                                    This is due to a loophole that allowed data to be released to more agencies if it was authorised.

                                                                                                                    In response, the Committee suggested setting a "serious offence" threshold for accessing the data under the scheme."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Rumour: Government considering watering down it's Facebook/Google Regulations 

                                                                                                                    The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting "the federal government is considering weakening new rules designed to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers, following fierce lobbying and threats from the tech giants to leave the Australian market.

                                                                                                                    "Google and Facebook have aggressively lobbied the government to change core elements of a draft news media bargaining code being created by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that both companies have described as "unworkable". The new code will force the tech giants to strike commercial deals with news publishers."

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter Earnings Fri, 30 Oct 2020 03:21:04 GMT 11:06 7b4331d5-52d2-4e34-abc1-427cc0535371 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/google-apple-facebookandtwitterearnings 7b4331d5-52d2-4e34-abc1-427cc0535371 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 google-apple-facebookandtwitterearnings Apple EarningsApple Inc. AAPL 3.71% benefited from a significant uptick in sales of laptops and iPads due to the pandemic, even as quarterly iPhone sales fell from a year earlier after a delay in the launch of the company’s flagship new smartphone.iP... full 13 Apple Earnings

                                                                                                                    Apple Inc. AAPL 3.71% benefited from a significant uptick in sales of laptops and iPads due to the pandemic, even as quarterly iPhone sales fell from a year earlier after a delay in the launch of the company’s flagship new smartphone.

                                                                                                                    iPhone sales down 28% yoy - 

                                                                                                                    Before the pandemic, the bright spot of Apple’s business had been its services unit, which had more than doubled in fiscal 2019 compared with five years earlier. It rose 16% in the most recent quarter to $14.5 billion.

                                                                                                                    Google Earnings

                                                                                                                    Google’s parent company Alphabet announced that it earned net income of $7 billion on revenues of $40.5 billion for the quarter ending September 30. That revenue figure is a gain of 20 percent year-over-year.

                                                                                                                    “We had a strong quarter, consistent with the broader online environment,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said. “It’s also a testament to the deep investments we’ve made in AI and other technologies, to deliver services that people turn to for help, in moments big and small.”

                                                                                                                    83.4 percent of Google’s revenues were derived from advertising.

                                                                                                                    Amazon

                                                                                                                    Even without Prime Day, Amazon had a blockbuster quarter. Its net income nearly tripled from this time last year, as retail store closures and coronavirus restrictions encouraged people to spend big online. In its earnings report today, Amazon said it made $6.33 billion in net income, up from $2.13 billion during the same quarter a year earlier.

                                                                                                                    Amazon’s “other” category, which mostly covers the company’s advertising business, was up 51% to $5.4 billion in revenue.

                                                                                                                    Facebook 

                                                                                                                    Revenue in the three months ended in September rose to $21.47 billion, yielding EPS of $2.71.

                                                                                                                    Daily average users rose to 1.82 billion, while monthly average users rose to 2.74 billion. That compares to increases of 12% for each of DAUs and MAUs in the prior quarter.

                                                                                                                    Twitter

                                                                                                                    Twitter beat out analyst expectations on revenue and net income; However, Wall Street was stuck on Twitter’s user user figures, which showed minimal growth and sent shares lower in after-market trading. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify

                                                                                                                    The streaming service had added 6 million subscribers in Q3 to achieve a total 144 million paying customers across 320 million active users, but fell short on both sales and earnings, driving the stock lower.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    COVIDSafe Panel

                                                                                                                    Some of the leading researchers who have been srutinising the CovidSafe app appeared on a panel yesterday. 

                                                                                                                    Consensus was that the app hadn't proven incredibly effective, there had been some bug fixes but they still havent seen the server code and that fact it wasn't developed alongside the state-based contact tracers was a major downfall. Also discussed if we should be scrapping it and moving to the Google-Apple framework. And raised concerns about all those QR codes you've been scanning 

                                                                                                                    Graham Greenleaf, professor of...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Apple Earnings

                                                                                                                    Apple Inc. AAPL 3.71% benefited from a significant uptick in sales of laptops and iPads due to the pandemic, even as quarterly iPhone sales fell from a year earlier after a delay in the launch of the company’s flagship new smartphone.

                                                                                                                    iPhone sales down 28% yoy - 

                                                                                                                    Before the pandemic, the bright spot of Apple’s business had been its services unit, which had more than doubled in fiscal 2019 compared with five years earlier. It rose 16% in the most recent quarter to $14.5 billion.

                                                                                                                    Google Earnings

                                                                                                                    Google’s parent company Alphabet announced that it earned net income of $7 billion on revenues of $40.5 billion for the quarter ending September 30. That revenue figure is a gain of 20 percent year-over-year.

                                                                                                                    “We had a strong quarter, consistent with the broader online environment,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said. “It’s also a testament to the deep investments we’ve made in AI and other technologies, to deliver services that people turn to for help, in moments big and small.”

                                                                                                                    83.4 percent of Google’s revenues were derived from advertising.

                                                                                                                    Amazon

                                                                                                                    Even without Prime Day, Amazon had a blockbuster quarter. Its net income nearly tripled from this time last year, as retail store closures and coronavirus restrictions encouraged people to spend big online. In its earnings report today, Amazon said it made $6.33 billion in net income, up from $2.13 billion during the same quarter a year earlier.

                                                                                                                    Amazon’s “other” category, which mostly covers the company’s advertising business, was up 51% to $5.4 billion in revenue.

                                                                                                                    Facebook 

                                                                                                                    Revenue in the three months ended in September rose to $21.47 billion, yielding EPS of $2.71.

                                                                                                                    Daily average users rose to 1.82 billion, while monthly average users rose to 2.74 billion. That compares to increases of 12% for each of DAUs and MAUs in the prior quarter.

                                                                                                                    Twitter

                                                                                                                    Twitter beat out analyst expectations on revenue and net income; However, Wall Street was stuck on Twitter’s user user figures, which showed minimal growth and sent shares lower in after-market trading. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Spotify

                                                                                                                    The streaming service had added 6 million subscribers in Q3 to achieve a total 144 million paying customers across 320 million active users, but fell short on both sales and earnings, driving the stock lower.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    COVIDSafe Panel

                                                                                                                    Some of the leading researchers who have been srutinising the CovidSafe app appeared on a panel yesterday. 

                                                                                                                    Consensus was that the app hadn't proven incredibly effective, there had been some bug fixes but they still havent seen the server code and that fact it wasn't developed alongside the state-based contact tracers was a major downfall. Also discussed if we should be scrapping it and moving to the Google-Apple framework. And raised concerns about all those QR codes you've been scanning 

                                                                                                                    Graham Greenleaf, professor of...

                                                                                                                    ---

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                                                                                                                    ]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2020 03:23:35 GMT 11:13 f50dc82d-89f7-4b7f-bb29-29b18d1ff5a4 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/jackdorseysimpressiveisobeard f50dc82d-89f7-4b7f-bb29-29b18d1ff5a4 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 jackdorseysimpressiveisobeard full 12 Big Tech Section 230 Hearings

                                                                                                                    First to a story we flagged yesterday & Jack Dorsey left his wood cabin to join the meetings... 

                                                                                                                    the ceos of twitter, facebook & google have appeared at US Senate Committee hearing this morning. It was nominally about Section 230 a 1996 statute that grants internet platforms broad legal immunity for user-generated content while allowing them to moderate that content without fear of taking on liability. Wired reports, the hearing, however, was mostly an opportunity for Republicans on the committee to berate Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for supposedly discriminating against conservative users—especially conservative user number one, Donald Trump

                                                                                                                    Republicans continually mispronounced Sundar Pichai's name, the ceo of one of the US most valuable companies 

                                                                                                                    NyTimes 

                                                                                                                    "“Mr. Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas asked.

                                                                                                                    Mr. Dorsey bore the brunt of questions, with Republicans asking him almost four dozen times about alleged “censorship” of conservative politicians and media outlets. He was asked 58 questions in total, more than the 49 for Mr. Zuckerberg and 22 for Mr. Pichai, according to the Times tally.

                                                                                                                    Spotify Defends Joe Rogan...

                                                                                                                    According to Jane Lytvynenko of Buzzfeed: 

                                                                                                                    In public, Spotify is staying quiet about an appearance by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones yesterday on its flagship podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, despite banning Jones' own podcast last year. But in an internal email sent from a top executive, the company is defending the booking.

                                                                                                                    Horacio Gutierrez, the company’s chief legal officer and head of global affairs, wrote to team managers on Oct. 28 about the episode of Joe Rogan's podcast that featured an interview with Jones and podcast host Tim Dillon.

                                                                                                                    On his guest appearance, Jones played videos that had been banned from youtube

                                                                                                                    and Rogan said kids are "getting polio from taking vaccines" after Alex Jones spreads conspiracy that Bill Gates is trafficking vaccines that get 100% of people sick. He also denied climate change and spread disproven conspiracies about Joe Biden

                                                                                                                    Spotify signed Joe Rogan for an exclusive $100m podcasting deal 

                                                                                                                    Gig Economy companies spend $200m on Prop 22

                                                                                                                    Gig economy companies are campaigning hard against something called proposition 22 in the US. according to the wall street journal: 

                                                                                                                    Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. are spending tens of millions of dollars and flooding voters with messages in a neck-and-neck battle to preserve their current business model in California.

                                                                                                                    Spending nearly $200 million to persuade voters to approve a ballot measure that would exempt them from a new state law requiring businesses to reclassify contract workers as employees. That amount, the most ever raised for a California ballot question, according to Ballotpedia, suggests how pivotal the vote will be for companies reliant on a labor model in which workers are summoned at the touch of an app.

                                                                                                                    On the other side unions argue, companies have flourished on the backs of gig workers without providing them the protections that most employees receive. 

                                                                                                                    If voters reject the Proposition 22 measure, the companies would...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Big Tech Section 230 Hearings

                                                                                                                    First to a story we flagged yesterday & Jack Dorsey left his wood cabin to join the meetings... 

                                                                                                                    the ceos of twitter, facebook & google have appeared at US Senate Committee hearing this morning. It was nominally about Section 230 a 1996 statute that grants internet platforms broad legal immunity for user-generated content while allowing them to moderate that content without fear of taking on liability. Wired reports, the hearing, however, was mostly an opportunity for Republicans on the committee to berate Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for supposedly discriminating against conservative users—especially conservative user number one, Donald Trump

                                                                                                                    Republicans continually mispronounced Sundar Pichai's name, the ceo of one of the US most valuable companies 

                                                                                                                    NyTimes 

                                                                                                                    "“Mr. Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas asked.

                                                                                                                    Mr. Dorsey bore the brunt of questions, with Republicans asking him almost four dozen times about alleged “censorship” of conservative politicians and media outlets. He was asked 58 questions in total, more than the 49 for Mr. Zuckerberg and 22 for Mr. Pichai, according to the Times tally.

                                                                                                                    Spotify Defends Joe Rogan...

                                                                                                                    According to Jane Lytvynenko of Buzzfeed: 

                                                                                                                    In public, Spotify is staying quiet about an appearance by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones yesterday on its flagship podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, despite banning Jones' own podcast last year. But in an internal email sent from a top executive, the company is defending the booking.

                                                                                                                    Horacio Gutierrez, the company’s chief legal officer and head of global affairs, wrote to team managers on Oct. 28 about the episode of Joe Rogan's podcast that featured an interview with Jones and podcast host Tim Dillon.

                                                                                                                    On his guest appearance, Jones played videos that had been banned from youtube

                                                                                                                    and Rogan said kids are "getting polio from taking vaccines" after Alex Jones spreads conspiracy that Bill Gates is trafficking vaccines that get 100% of people sick. He also denied climate change and spread disproven conspiracies about Joe Biden

                                                                                                                    Spotify signed Joe Rogan for an exclusive $100m podcasting deal 

                                                                                                                    Gig Economy companies spend $200m on Prop 22

                                                                                                                    Gig economy companies are campaigning hard against something called proposition 22 in the US. according to the wall street journal: 

                                                                                                                    Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. are spending tens of millions of dollars and flooding voters with messages in a neck-and-neck battle to preserve their current business model in California.

                                                                                                                    Spending nearly $200 million to persuade voters to approve a ballot measure that would exempt them from a new state law requiring businesses to reclassify contract workers as employees. That amount, the most ever raised for a California ballot question, according to Ballotpedia, suggests how pivotal the vote will be for companies reliant on a labor model in which workers are summoned at the touch of an app.

                                                                                                                    On the other side unions argue, companies have flourished on the backs of gig workers without providing them the protections that most employees receive. 

                                                                                                                    If voters reject the Proposition 22 measure, the companies would...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> A Good Day for Satya Wed, 28 Oct 2020 02:41:42 GMT 9:15 961810ce-9bf3-43c9-94da-545180c5343a false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/agooddayforsatya 961810ce-9bf3-43c9-94da-545180c5343a 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 agooddayforsatya full 11 Microsoft has a great quarter

                                                                                                                    From The Verge: 

                                                                                                                    Microsoft posted the first quarter of its 2021 financial results today, reporting revenue of $37 billion and a net income of $14 billion. Revenue is up 12 percent, and net income has increased by 30 percent. The Verge reports, While the ongoing pandemic continues to force many to work remotely during an economic downturn, Microsoft is benefiting from the shift in the way people are now working, playing games more, and connecting to others through videoconferencing.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Cloud services are the biggest boost to Microsoft’s revenues from the pandemic shift in behavior. Both Office commercial and consumer are up, with Office 365 Commercial revenue growth up by 21 percent. Server products and cloud services revenue has also increased 22 percent as more businesses rely on cloud services for remote working. Azure revenue itself grew 48 percent.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    The biggest news here from a consumer point of view is that Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers have also increased to 45.3 million. That’s a jump of 27 percent year-over-year, and likely thanks to Microsoft’s renewed focus on consumers with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams earlier this year.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    AMD had a monster quarter

                                                                                                                    For the third quarter of 2020, AMD reported $2.8B in revenue, a 56% jump over the same quarter a year ago. As a result, AMD has once again set new revenue records for the company, posting both their best Q3 ever, and their best single quarter period. Driving this was further growth in both of AMD’s major segments, with everything from consumer CPU sales to EPYC and semi-custom sales reported as being on the rise.

                                                                                                                    And everything is looking positive for future growth, with both Xbox and PS5 using AMD in their next generation consoles.

                                                                                                                    AMD and Xilinx have hugely different product portfolios and are focused on different markets with a few exceptions. That is a good thing when it comes to acquisitions and I believe the two companies are complementary.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    AMD is focused on high-performance CPUs and GPUs for PCs and datacenter servers and SoCs for game consoles and notebooks. Xilinx is focused on high-performance FPGAs, SoCs for datacenter (including SmartNICs), communications, automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense markets.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Not earnings, but sticking with business, you'll soon be able to Buy stuff on TikTok

                                                                                                                    Sarah Perez of Techcrunch explains: 

                                                                                                                    TikTok is further investing in social commerce with today’s announcement of a new global partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify. The deal aims to make it easier for Shopify’s over 1 million merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience and drive sales. The partnership will eventually expand to include other in-app shopping features, as well, the companies said.

                                                                                                                    At launch, the agreement allows Shopify merchants to create, run and optimize their TikTok marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify dashboard by installing the new TikTok channel app from the Shopify App Store. Once installed, merchants will have access to the key functions from the TikTok For Business Ads Manager at their disposal.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Earlier this year Facebook announced its big social commerce play. to buy stuff through FB, Insta and now whatsapp. Builds on strong marketing tools & means you don't have to exit the app to buy something. 

                                                                                                                    Live stream shopping, which is big in China, also likely to be see we see more...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Microsoft has a great quarter

                                                                                                                    From The Verge: 

                                                                                                                    Microsoft posted the first quarter of its 2021 financial results today, reporting revenue of $37 billion and a net income of $14 billion. Revenue is up 12 percent, and net income has increased by 30 percent. The Verge reports, While the ongoing pandemic continues to force many to work remotely during an economic downturn, Microsoft is benefiting from the shift in the way people are now working, playing games more, and connecting to others through videoconferencing.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Cloud services are the biggest boost to Microsoft’s revenues from the pandemic shift in behavior. Both Office commercial and consumer are up, with Office 365 Commercial revenue growth up by 21 percent. Server products and cloud services revenue has also increased 22 percent as more businesses rely on cloud services for remote working. Azure revenue itself grew 48 percent.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    The biggest news here from a consumer point of view is that Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers have also increased to 45.3 million. That’s a jump of 27 percent year-over-year, and likely thanks to Microsoft’s renewed focus on consumers with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams earlier this year.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    AMD had a monster quarter

                                                                                                                    For the third quarter of 2020, AMD reported $2.8B in revenue, a 56% jump over the same quarter a year ago. As a result, AMD has once again set new revenue records for the company, posting both their best Q3 ever, and their best single quarter period. Driving this was further growth in both of AMD’s major segments, with everything from consumer CPU sales to EPYC and semi-custom sales reported as being on the rise.

                                                                                                                    And everything is looking positive for future growth, with both Xbox and PS5 using AMD in their next generation consoles.

                                                                                                                    AMD and Xilinx have hugely different product portfolios and are focused on different markets with a few exceptions. That is a good thing when it comes to acquisitions and I believe the two companies are complementary.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    AMD is focused on high-performance CPUs and GPUs for PCs and datacenter servers and SoCs for game consoles and notebooks. Xilinx is focused on high-performance FPGAs, SoCs for datacenter (including SmartNICs), communications, automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense markets.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Not earnings, but sticking with business, you'll soon be able to Buy stuff on TikTok

                                                                                                                    Sarah Perez of Techcrunch explains: 

                                                                                                                    TikTok is further investing in social commerce with today’s announcement of a new global partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify. The deal aims to make it easier for Shopify’s over 1 million merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience and drive sales. The partnership will eventually expand to include other in-app shopping features, as well, the companies said.

                                                                                                                    At launch, the agreement allows Shopify merchants to create, run and optimize their TikTok marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify dashboard by installing the new TikTok channel app from the Shopify App Store. Once installed, merchants will have access to the key functions from the TikTok For Business Ads Manager at their disposal.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Earlier this year Facebook announced its big social commerce play. to buy stuff through FB, Insta and now whatsapp. Builds on strong marketing tools & means you don't have to exit the app to buy something. 

                                                                                                                    Live stream shopping, which is big in China, also likely to be see we see more...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> COVIDSafe has a 0.06% Success Rate Tue, 27 Oct 2020 02:54:27 GMT 8:51 ed28f498-01aa-4277-8b6c-fd7722127136 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/covidsafehasa0.06-successrate ed28f498-01aa-4277-8b6c-fd7722127136 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 covidsafehasa0.06-successrate full 10 Facebook announced the launch of cloud gaming, making it possible for its web and Android users to try out free-to-play games without leaving the social network. 

                                                                                                                    It's available on Facebook's desktop website and Android app but not to iOS due to Apple’s “arbitrary” policies. The exclusion of Apple devices from Facebook cloud gaming is the latest shot fired in a long-running feud between the companies.

                                                                                                                    Are these games any good? 

                                                                                                                    App store rules? 

                                                                                                                    & Facebook keeping users inside its ecosystem. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Just 17 people found with covidsafe that wouldn't have been found otherwise

                                                                                                                    But given Australia had recorded 27,520 cases of COVID-19 and uncovered hundreds of thousands of close contacts, the app was clearly ineffective.

                                                                                                                    0.06%

                                                                                                                    Priya Dev is a technologist, data scientist and researcher in digital assets at the Australian National University’s College of Business and Economics. She was recently booted off a university panel on the app for being too critical. Yesterday she wrote a blistering editiorial for the Financial Review:

                                                                                                                    When I was removed from a university panel discussion about the COVIDSafe contact-tracing app, it brought to my mind the folktale The Emperor’s New Clothes, a story of profit and pride.

                                                                                                                    The story is of an emperor who is conned into purchasing an imaginary suit that only worthy people can see. Everyone maintains the illusion of the emperor’s suit because speaking the truth would reveal them to be fools.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Melbourne Startup Linktree has raised $15 million AUD 

                                                                                                                    Natasha Gillezeau of AFR reports: 

                                                                                                                    Linktree's founders created the platform as a side hustle to their digital agency Bolster in 2016, to solve their clients' problems finding a quick way of funnelling their social media followers towards different parts of their internet presence.

                                                                                                                    A lot of people would say 'build it with scale from the start', but I think the way we went about building it made us focus so much on the product, Mr Zaccaria said.

                                                                                                                    We added bit by bit, solved problems and really tested it, rather than trying to move too quickly and use marketing to drive growth in a way that wouldn't have been sustainable.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    New Airpods! 

                                                                                                                    Bloomberg is paywalled, so from The Verge: 

                                                                                                                    According to the report, Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro could ditch the stem that has been a hallmark of the AirPods’ design since their introduction in 2016. They’ll reportedly still feature noise-cancellation, but with a design that’s more similar to the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus, or Google’s Pixel Buds. Fitting everything into a smaller housing has been a challenge for the company, Bloomberg reports, meaning this design could change.

                                                                                                                    The...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Facebook announced the launch of cloud gaming, making it possible for its web and Android users to try out free-to-play games without leaving the social network. 

                                                                                                                    It's available on Facebook's desktop website and Android app but not to iOS due to Apple’s “arbitrary” policies. The exclusion of Apple devices from Facebook cloud gaming is the latest shot fired in a long-running feud between the companies.

                                                                                                                    Are these games any good? 

                                                                                                                    App store rules? 

                                                                                                                    & Facebook keeping users inside its ecosystem. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Just 17 people found with covidsafe that wouldn't have been found otherwise

                                                                                                                    But given Australia had recorded 27,520 cases of COVID-19 and uncovered hundreds of thousands of close contacts, the app was clearly ineffective.

                                                                                                                    0.06%

                                                                                                                    Priya Dev is a technologist, data scientist and researcher in digital assets at the Australian National University’s College of Business and Economics. She was recently booted off a university panel on the app for being too critical. Yesterday she wrote a blistering editiorial for the Financial Review:

                                                                                                                    When I was removed from a university panel discussion about the COVIDSafe contact-tracing app, it brought to my mind the folktale The Emperor’s New Clothes, a story of profit and pride.

                                                                                                                    The story is of an emperor who is conned into purchasing an imaginary suit that only worthy people can see. Everyone maintains the illusion of the emperor’s suit because speaking the truth would reveal them to be fools.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Melbourne Startup Linktree has raised $15 million AUD 

                                                                                                                    Natasha Gillezeau of AFR reports: 

                                                                                                                    Linktree's founders created the platform as a side hustle to their digital agency Bolster in 2016, to solve their clients' problems finding a quick way of funnelling their social media followers towards different parts of their internet presence.

                                                                                                                    A lot of people would say 'build it with scale from the start', but I think the way we went about building it made us focus so much on the product, Mr Zaccaria said.

                                                                                                                    We added bit by bit, solved problems and really tested it, rather than trying to move too quickly and use marketing to drive growth in a way that wouldn't have been sustainable.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    New Airpods! 

                                                                                                                    Bloomberg is paywalled, so from The Verge: 

                                                                                                                    According to the report, Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro could ditch the stem that has been a hallmark of the AirPods’ design since their introduction in 2016. They’ll reportedly still feature noise-cancellation, but with a design that’s more similar to the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus, or Google’s Pixel Buds. Fitting everything into a smaller housing has been a challenge for the company, Bloomberg reports, meaning this design could change.

                                                                                                                    The...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Facebook Prepares For The Worst Mon, 26 Oct 2020 04:05:02 GMT 9:30 4d14d2b1-b375-4fa1-8531-05156ab3e9f2 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookpreparesfortheworst 4d14d2b1-b375-4fa1-8531-05156ab3e9f2 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookpreparesfortheworst A busy weekend at Facebook,firstly, the social media giant is upset with academics who are seeking to study the platform without its permission.Facebook is demanding that a New York University research project stop collecting data about its political... full 9 A busy weekend at Facebook,

                                                                                                                    firstly, the social media giant is upset with academics who are seeking to study the platform without its permission.

                                                                                                                    Facebook is demanding that a New York University research project stop collecting data about its political-ad-targeting practices.

                                                                                                                    The dispute involves the NYU Ad Observatory, a project launched last month by the university’s engineering school that has recruited more than 6,500 volunteers to use a specially designed browser extension to collect data about the political ads Facebook shows them.

                                                                                                                    Facebook says the project violates its T&Cs - that prohibit bulk data collection from its site. 

                                                                                                                    While preparing for a post election shitshow 

                                                                                                                    The WSJ reports Facebook is considering releasing new tools following the US election to turn down the heat. 

                                                                                                                    Previously used in countries including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the tools could alter what tens of millions of Americans see when they log onto the platform, diminishing their exposure to sensationalism, calls to violence and misinformation

                                                                                                                    The emergency measures include slowing the spread of viral content and lowering the bar for suppressing potentially inflammatory posts,

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Github removes youtube-dl

                                                                                                                    the very popular command line project allowed users to download full quality youtube, iview, 

                                                                                                                    gtihub is owned by microsoft 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Where's my self driving car? 

                                                                                                                    The Verge reports, Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta is here, and it looks scary as hell 

                                                                                                                    last week Tesla released a beta, or test version, of what it calls a “Full Self Driving” software upgrade to an undisclosed number of “expert, careful” drivers. What could go wrong? 

                                                                                                                    The U.S. auto safety regulator said its heeping an eye on the program. “NHTSA has been briefed on Tesla’s new feature, which represents an expansion of its existing driver assistance system. . The agency will monitor the new technology closely and will not hesitate to take action to protect (the) public against unreasonable risks to safety,”

                                                                                                                    The riskis that Tesla’s customers will ignore the company’s warnings and not supervise it. Humans are very bad at passively monitoring something 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Video games help soldiers with PTSD

                                                                                                                    The huge marine holding a cherry red Nintendo DS just killed me...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> A busy weekend at Facebook,

                                                                                                                    firstly, the social media giant is upset with academics who are seeking to study the platform without its permission.

                                                                                                                    Facebook is demanding that a New York University research project stop collecting data about its political-ad-targeting practices.

                                                                                                                    The dispute involves the NYU Ad Observatory, a project launched last month by the university’s engineering school that has recruited more than 6,500 volunteers to use a specially designed browser extension to collect data about the political ads Facebook shows them.

                                                                                                                    Facebook says the project violates its T&Cs - that prohibit bulk data collection from its site. 

                                                                                                                    While preparing for a post election shitshow 

                                                                                                                    The WSJ reports Facebook is considering releasing new tools following the US election to turn down the heat. 

                                                                                                                    Previously used in countries including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the tools could alter what tens of millions of Americans see when they log onto the platform, diminishing their exposure to sensationalism, calls to violence and misinformation

                                                                                                                    The emergency measures include slowing the spread of viral content and lowering the bar for suppressing potentially inflammatory posts,

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Github removes youtube-dl

                                                                                                                    the very popular command line project allowed users to download full quality youtube, iview, 

                                                                                                                    gtihub is owned by microsoft 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Where's my self driving car? 

                                                                                                                    The Verge reports, Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta is here, and it looks scary as hell 

                                                                                                                    last week Tesla released a beta, or test version, of what it calls a “Full Self Driving” software upgrade to an undisclosed number of “expert, careful” drivers. What could go wrong? 

                                                                                                                    The U.S. auto safety regulator said its heeping an eye on the program. “NHTSA has been briefed on Tesla’s new feature, which represents an expansion of its existing driver assistance system. . The agency will monitor the new technology closely and will not hesitate to take action to protect (the) public against unreasonable risks to safety,”

                                                                                                                    The riskis that Tesla’s customers will ignore the company’s warnings and not supervise it. Humans are very bad at passively monitoring something 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Video games help soldiers with PTSD

                                                                                                                    The huge marine holding a cherry red Nintendo DS just killed me...

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Quibi Is Dead, Long Live Essential Baby! Thu, 22 Oct 2020 03:31:19 GMT 10:56 75b55bc7-c07f-4bd7-b5d4-334b8eedb42b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/quibiisdead-longliveessentialbaby- 75b55bc7-c07f-4bd7-b5d4-334b8eedb42b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 quibiisdead-longliveessentialbaby- full 8 We weren't the only ones watching AOC on Twitch yesterday - the NY congresswoman clocked up over 400k views on Twitch, making her video the 3rd most streamed event in Twitch's history 

                                                                                                                    The stream peaked at 439,000 views, making it the third-highest-viewed single stream in Twitch history. The all-time record is Ninja's, when he teamed up with Drake and Travis Scott in a game of Fortnite. Viewership ranged from 300,000 to 400,000 for most of the stream.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    In sad news, parenting forum Essential Baby is being shut down after twenty years

                                                                                                                    I find this really sad - so many of my friends are people i made on forums in the early oughts 

                                                                                                                    the fact that 20 years of advice could disappear at the end of the week is really troubling. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    ASX debuts for ecom companies 

                                                                                                                    Adore Beauty and MyDeal listing on ASX today and tomorrow. 

                                                                                                                    18 months ago ecommerce companies were valued at EBIDTA - now these businesses are being valued at a multiple of revenue 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Pour one out for Quibi, the video platform you never heard of

                                                                                                                    A team of writers at the Wall Street Journal are reporting "Quibi Holdings LLC is shutting down, according to people familiar with the matter, a crash landing for a once-highflying entertainment startup that attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood and had looked to revolutionise how people consume entertainment.

                                                                                                                    What the hell was Quibi? Besides the terrible name, it was a short clip video service. The technology "break through" was how the video played in both landscape and vertical...

                                                                                                                    because of this, it touted itself as the first "true mobile first" video experience, which seemed laughable, as tiktok and youtube and instagram were pretty damn mobile already

                                                                                                                    Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman have confirmed the news in a medium post

                                                                                                                    And yet, Quibi is not succeeding. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing.

                                                                                                                    Unfortunately, we will never know but we suspect it’s been a combination of the two. The circumstances of launching during a pandemic is something we could have never imagined but other businesses have faced these unprecedented challenges and have found their way through it. We were not able to do so.

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> We weren't the only ones watching AOC on Twitch yesterday - the NY congresswoman clocked up over 400k views on Twitch, making her video the 3rd most streamed event in Twitch's history 

                                                                                                                    The stream peaked at 439,000 views, making it the third-highest-viewed single stream in Twitch history. The all-time record is Ninja's, when he teamed up with Drake and Travis Scott in a game of Fortnite. Viewership ranged from 300,000 to 400,000 for most of the stream.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    In sad news, parenting forum Essential Baby is being shut down after twenty years

                                                                                                                    I find this really sad - so many of my friends are people i made on forums in the early oughts 

                                                                                                                    the fact that 20 years of advice could disappear at the end of the week is really troubling. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    ASX debuts for ecom companies 

                                                                                                                    Adore Beauty and MyDeal listing on ASX today and tomorrow. 

                                                                                                                    18 months ago ecommerce companies were valued at EBIDTA - now these businesses are being valued at a multiple of revenue 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Pour one out for Quibi, the video platform you never heard of

                                                                                                                    A team of writers at the Wall Street Journal are reporting "Quibi Holdings LLC is shutting down, according to people familiar with the matter, a crash landing for a once-highflying entertainment startup that attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood and had looked to revolutionise how people consume entertainment.

                                                                                                                    What the hell was Quibi? Besides the terrible name, it was a short clip video service. The technology "break through" was how the video played in both landscape and vertical...

                                                                                                                    because of this, it touted itself as the first "true mobile first" video experience, which seemed laughable, as tiktok and youtube and instagram were pretty damn mobile already

                                                                                                                    Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman have confirmed the news in a medium post

                                                                                                                    And yet, Quibi is not succeeding. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing.

                                                                                                                    Unfortunately, we will never know but we suspect it’s been a combination of the two. The circumstances of launching during a pandemic is something we could have never imagined but other businesses have faced these unprecedented challenges and have found their way through it. We were not able to do so.

                                                                                                                    ---

                                                                                                                    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                    ]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2020 03:34:42 GMT 10:23 b4ca91fd-ecf3-4a62-920e-ecd02cdaa8ed false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/heygoogle-whatsthedefinitionofanti-trust- b4ca91fd-ecf3-4a62-920e-ecd02cdaa8ed 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 heygoogle-whatsthedefinitionofanti-trust- First big development in the case to break up big tech - The Justice Department filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google uses anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising busi... full 7 First big development in the case to break up big tech
                                                                                                                    • The Justice Department filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google uses anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising business, illegally stifling potential competition.
                                                                                                                    • It's the biggest anti-trust case since Microsoft back in 1998
                                                                                                                    • Joining the feds are attorneys general from 11 states. Interestingly, all states are republicaan Conspicuously absent from that group are dozens more AGs comprising a bipartisan coalition of nearly every top state prosecutor in the country that has been investigating the company on antitrust grounds for more than a year.
                                                                                                                    • That doesn't mean the other AGs oppose bringing antitrust action against Google. The remaining states may want to move ahead with separate legal actions and join the case later, DOJ officials told reporters Tuesday, and the agency doesn't take their sitting out the initial filing as "non-support."
                                                                                                                    • Google says the Justice Department's lawsuit alleging competitive abuses is "deeply flawed" and would fail to help consumers.
                                                                                                                    • From Google's blog:
                                                                                                                    • We understand that with our success comes scrutiny, but we stand by our position. American antitrust law is designed to promote innovation and help consumers, not tilt the playing field in favor of particular competitors or make it harder for people to get the services they want. We’re confident that a court will conclude that this suit doesn’t square with either the facts or the law. 

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Photoshop 21 includes a mind melting neural filters, allowing you to adjust the lighting, age, mood of a person in a photo

                                                                                                                    • Some of this was expected, as modern phones already include lightning changes -but the adjustability here is nuts 
                                                                                                                    • Tweet
                                                                                                                    • Premiere Pro
                                                                                                                    • Automatic speech-to-text caption generation in 12 languages, including translation.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Earnings day! Snap and Netflix report earnings

                                                                                                                    • Netflix experienced explosive growth during the first half of the year. It wasn't expected to match that growth this quarter, when lockdowns lifted and after new competitive services had launched, but analysts were still expecting it to meet expectations of at least 3.3 million net new global subscribers.
                                                                                                                    • So while more people are joining and binging Netflix, the company is still spending crazy amounts of money to acquire new users, including their amazing new Europe studio designed to pump out content across a bunch of languages
                                                                                                                    • Criminal is the beta test of this studio 
                                                                                                                    • Meanwhile, Snap's stock price shot up by more than 23% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company posted Q3 results that beat analyst estimates. 
                                                                                                                    • Advertisers are back! From Snap "As businesses adapted and began to look for opportunities to increase their marketing budgets in Q3, we were pleased to see existing advertisers resume and even increase their budgets, as well as new advertisers allocate spend to drive real business...

                                                                                                                      ---

                                                                                                                      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                      ]]> First big development in the case to break up big tech
                                                                                                                      • The Justice Department filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google uses anticompetitive tactics to preserve a monopoly for its flagship search engine and related advertising business, illegally stifling potential competition.
                                                                                                                      • It's the biggest anti-trust case since Microsoft back in 1998
                                                                                                                      • Joining the feds are attorneys general from 11 states. Interestingly, all states are republicaan Conspicuously absent from that group are dozens more AGs comprising a bipartisan coalition of nearly every top state prosecutor in the country that has been investigating the company on antitrust grounds for more than a year.
                                                                                                                      • That doesn't mean the other AGs oppose bringing antitrust action against Google. The remaining states may want to move ahead with separate legal actions and join the case later, DOJ officials told reporters Tuesday, and the agency doesn't take their sitting out the initial filing as "non-support."
                                                                                                                      • Google says the Justice Department's lawsuit alleging competitive abuses is "deeply flawed" and would fail to help consumers.
                                                                                                                      • From Google's blog:
                                                                                                                      • We understand that with our success comes scrutiny, but we stand by our position. American antitrust law is designed to promote innovation and help consumers, not tilt the playing field in favor of particular competitors or make it harder for people to get the services they want. We’re confident that a court will conclude that this suit doesn’t square with either the facts or the law. 

                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                      Photoshop 21 includes a mind melting neural filters, allowing you to adjust the lighting, age, mood of a person in a photo

                                                                                                                      • Some of this was expected, as modern phones already include lightning changes -but the adjustability here is nuts 
                                                                                                                      • Tweet
                                                                                                                      • Premiere Pro
                                                                                                                      • Automatic speech-to-text caption generation in 12 languages, including translation.

                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                      Earnings day! Snap and Netflix report earnings

                                                                                                                      • Netflix experienced explosive growth during the first half of the year. It wasn't expected to match that growth this quarter, when lockdowns lifted and after new competitive services had launched, but analysts were still expecting it to meet expectations of at least 3.3 million net new global subscribers.
                                                                                                                      • So while more people are joining and binging Netflix, the company is still spending crazy amounts of money to acquire new users, including their amazing new Europe studio designed to pump out content across a bunch of languages
                                                                                                                      • Criminal is the beta test of this studio 
                                                                                                                      • Meanwhile, Snap's stock price shot up by more than 23% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company posted Q3 results that beat analyst estimates. 
                                                                                                                      • Advertisers are back! From Snap "As businesses adapted and began to look for opportunities to increase their marketing budgets in Q3, we were pleased to see existing advertisers resume and even increase their budgets, as well as new advertisers allocate spend to drive real business...

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> An E-Commerce Boom In Australia Tue, 20 Oct 2020 03:24:23 GMT 11:45 ab380204-2dde-4c4e-b029-15502185be7d false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/ane-commerceboominaustralia ab380204-2dde-4c4e-b029-15502185be7d 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 ane-commerceboominaustralia full 6 Here's a novel solution to our dependence on Facebook's apps... 

                                                                                                                        The Guardian has picked up a new proposal that the ABC aught to run its own social media platform. 

                                                                                                                        A publicly funded social network run by the ABC has been floated as one possible response if Facebook and Google limit services in Australia when the mandatory news code becomes law this year. To which Google and Facebook have threatened to limit their services. 

                                                                                                                        The proposal for a platform hosted by the ABC is among a raft of risk mitigation proposals in a report commissioned by the Centre for Responsible Technology, “Tech-Xit: Can Australia survive without Google and Facebook?”

                                                                                                                        It should be noted that this report is from an independent think tank, and not the ABC itself. 

                                                                                                                        My thoughts: as if you'd want to go anywhere near this mess and the problems that plague social media networks. But interesting to ask, is social media a utility? I mean then you just Have Nextdoor, which is all missing cats and what do I do about these cockroaches.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Ben Thompson breaks down the response of Twitter and Facebook to the NY Post Story

                                                                                                                        Last week, The NY Post ran a story on Hunter Biden, 

                                                                                                                        On the face of it, Twitter's reaction seemed stronger, but in a 4000 word blog post, Ben Thompson of Stratechery argues they did more bad than good. 

                                                                                                                        The story was so flimsy it was rejected by Fox News, but Ben thinks the social media response has created a Streisand effect, bringing more people to the story 

                                                                                                                        He compares it to "hillary's emails" where the substance of the story is far less important than it being run as snackable headlines

                                                                                                                        For a short version, try https://dithering.fm/

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        E commerce boom in COVID times

                                                                                                                        Guess which was the busiest ecommerce month of the year? 

                                                                                                                        Some stats: X was the biggest month in Australia’s online shopping history, up over 85 per cent nationally and up 170 per cent in Victoria year-over-year.

                                                                                                                        That's nearly 10 % higher than the 2019 pre-Christmas peak, 31 days from mid-November to mid-December last year. 

                                                                                                                        Between April and the end of August, Australia Post has delivered over 2 million passes on 53 days. For the same period the year prior, didn’t have a single day of 2 million parcels. 

                                                                                                                        Two speed market - winners & losers. Travel - a loser, grocery, beauty Home & garden all winners 

                                                                                                                        Anyone that had digital and Service level agreements in place with their partners to scale up 

                                                                                                                        there's nearly 1 million new households shopping online, and that behaviour is expected to stick 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Internet of things killing the NBN? 

                                                                                                                        John Davidson of the Australian Financial Review shares a telsyte report about the surge in IoT purchases as Australians spend more time at home 

                                                                                                                        Looks like Australians are nesting with tech, spending up on internet connected light globes, doorbells and security cameras, as well as smart speakers

                                                                                                                        Comments from the reports author in the article suggest Australians on a "low NBN plan" may feel the strain on their network with all these new devices. 

                                                                                                                        While I agree the NBN sucks, I think the average 25/5 is fine for IOT, and the problem may be your router. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> Here's a novel solution to our dependence on Facebook's apps... 

                                                                                                                        The Guardian has picked up a new proposal that the ABC aught to run its own social media platform. 

                                                                                                                        A publicly funded social network run by the ABC has been floated as one possible response if Facebook and Google limit services in Australia when the mandatory news code becomes law this year. To which Google and Facebook have threatened to limit their services. 

                                                                                                                        The proposal for a platform hosted by the ABC is among a raft of risk mitigation proposals in a report commissioned by the Centre for Responsible Technology, “Tech-Xit: Can Australia survive without Google and Facebook?”

                                                                                                                        It should be noted that this report is from an independent think tank, and not the ABC itself. 

                                                                                                                        My thoughts: as if you'd want to go anywhere near this mess and the problems that plague social media networks. But interesting to ask, is social media a utility? I mean then you just Have Nextdoor, which is all missing cats and what do I do about these cockroaches.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Ben Thompson breaks down the response of Twitter and Facebook to the NY Post Story

                                                                                                                        Last week, The NY Post ran a story on Hunter Biden, 

                                                                                                                        On the face of it, Twitter's reaction seemed stronger, but in a 4000 word blog post, Ben Thompson of Stratechery argues they did more bad than good. 

                                                                                                                        The story was so flimsy it was rejected by Fox News, but Ben thinks the social media response has created a Streisand effect, bringing more people to the story 

                                                                                                                        He compares it to "hillary's emails" where the substance of the story is far less important than it being run as snackable headlines

                                                                                                                        For a short version, try https://dithering.fm/

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        E commerce boom in COVID times

                                                                                                                        Guess which was the busiest ecommerce month of the year? 

                                                                                                                        Some stats: X was the biggest month in Australia’s online shopping history, up over 85 per cent nationally and up 170 per cent in Victoria year-over-year.

                                                                                                                        That's nearly 10 % higher than the 2019 pre-Christmas peak, 31 days from mid-November to mid-December last year. 

                                                                                                                        Between April and the end of August, Australia Post has delivered over 2 million passes on 53 days. For the same period the year prior, didn’t have a single day of 2 million parcels. 

                                                                                                                        Two speed market - winners & losers. Travel - a loser, grocery, beauty Home & garden all winners 

                                                                                                                        Anyone that had digital and Service level agreements in place with their partners to scale up 

                                                                                                                        there's nearly 1 million new households shopping online, and that behaviour is expected to stick 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Internet of things killing the NBN? 

                                                                                                                        John Davidson of the Australian Financial Review shares a telsyte report about the surge in IoT purchases as Australians spend more time at home 

                                                                                                                        Looks like Australians are nesting with tech, spending up on internet connected light globes, doorbells and security cameras, as well as smart speakers

                                                                                                                        Comments from the reports author in the article suggest Australians on a "low NBN plan" may feel the strain on their network with all these new devices. 

                                                                                                                        While I agree the NBN sucks, I think the average 25/5 is fine for IOT, and the problem may be your router. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> Facebook Bans Election Ads While Apple Prepares a November Surprise Mon, 19 Oct 2020 03:24:15 GMT 10:27 47b1a70f-fed3-48d3-a595-2de7c3648cb3 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/facebookbanselectionadswhileapplepreparesanovembersurprise 47b1a70f-fed3-48d3-a595-2de7c3648cb3 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 facebookbanselectionadswhileapplepreparesanovembersurprise The Guardian reportsA total of 2.2m ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the upcoming US presidential election, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communicatio... full 5 The Guardian reports

                                                                                                                        A total of 2.2m ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the upcoming US presidential election, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg has said. warnings were posted on 150m examples of false information posted online,

                                                                                                                        Facebook has been increasing its efforts to avoid a repeat of events leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, when its network was used by Russia for voter manipulation. The US election is 15 days away, so four years well spent? 

                                                                                                                        Once again, stopping ads is good, but it's the individual posts and groups that go viral. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom today announced the development of The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to measure how disinformation travels across social media platforms over time.

                                                                                                                        a custom web browser designed by The Markup to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed, and which online communities those users are encouraged to join. Initially, the browser will be implemented to glean data from Facebook and YouTube.

                                                                                                                        A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people will be paid to install the custom web browser on their desktops, which allows them to share real-time data directly from their Facebook and YouTube accounts with The Markup. 

                                                                                                                        “Social media platforms are the broadcasting networks of the 21st century,” said The Markup’s editor-in-chief, Julia Angwin. “They dictate what news the public consumes with black box algorithms designed to maximize profits at the expense of truth and transparency.

                                                                                                                        I would sign up for the plugin myself if it were available to the public

                                                                                                                        You're going to have to log-in to watch ABC iview 

                                                                                                                        Over at The SMH, Zoe Samios reports, ABC sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans are confidential, said the broadcaster intends to make password-protected access compulsory from mid- next year.

                                                                                                                        The commercial broadcasters do this so they know who you are, and show you ads related to your demographic and beahviour. 

                                                                                                                        The play here seems to be about personalising the Iview platform, These logins create a profile that allows broadcasters to tailor the types of programs and films that appear on the app to a person's interests. It also gives a broadcaster access to personal data, so may raise privacy concerns. 

                                                                                                                        TPG is launching a low cost mobile brand called Felix that looks set to compete with Belong, Telstra's low cost alternative. 

                                                                                                                        ... we don't know the prices yet... But TPG says it will increase comeptition in the market. 

                                                                                                                        The TPG-Vodafone merger was finalised in July. It was originally held up over concerns the deal would reduce competition. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The products announced at the last Apple event havent even shipped yet, and there's already rumours of the next Apple event. 

                                                                                                                        This event, slated for November 17, is expected to see the introduction of ARM based computers - Apple promised an Arm Mac before Christmas. This will see the company moving away from intel in some of its line up. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The big question amongst my nerd friends - which Mac first? The highest selling computer in the line up, the Macbook Air, or the lowest selling, the Mac Mini. There are good arguemtns for both 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Finally, someone has come up with a use for smart lights. 

                                                                                                                        Zilzie, near Rockhampton in Queensland, is using colourful lightas to safely guide hatching turtles to the sea. It's bloody adorbale and well worth clicking through. 

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Guardian reports

                                                                                                                        A total of 2.2m ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the upcoming US presidential election, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg has said. warnings were posted on 150m examples of false information posted online,

                                                                                                                        Facebook has been increasing its efforts to avoid a repeat of events leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, when its network was used by Russia for voter manipulation. The US election is 15 days away, so four years well spent? 

                                                                                                                        Once again, stopping ads is good, but it's the individual posts and groups that go viral. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom today announced the development of The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to measure how disinformation travels across social media platforms over time.

                                                                                                                        a custom web browser designed by The Markup to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed, and which online communities those users are encouraged to join. Initially, the browser will be implemented to glean data from Facebook and YouTube.

                                                                                                                        A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people will be paid to install the custom web browser on their desktops, which allows them to share real-time data directly from their Facebook and YouTube accounts with The Markup. 

                                                                                                                        “Social media platforms are the broadcasting networks of the 21st century,” said The Markup’s editor-in-chief, Julia Angwin. “They dictate what news the public consumes with black box algorithms designed to maximize profits at the expense of truth and transparency.

                                                                                                                        I would sign up for the plugin myself if it were available to the public

                                                                                                                        You're going to have to log-in to watch ABC iview 

                                                                                                                        Over at The SMH, Zoe Samios reports, ABC sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans are confidential, said the broadcaster intends to make password-protected access compulsory from mid- next year.

                                                                                                                        The commercial broadcasters do this so they know who you are, and show you ads related to your demographic and beahviour. 

                                                                                                                        The play here seems to be about personalising the Iview platform, These logins create a profile that allows broadcasters to tailor the types of programs and films that appear on the app to a person's interests. It also gives a broadcaster access to personal data, so may raise privacy concerns. 

                                                                                                                        TPG is launching a low cost mobile brand called Felix that looks set to compete with Belong, Telstra's low cost alternative. 

                                                                                                                        ... we don't know the prices yet... But TPG says it will increase comeptition in the market. 

                                                                                                                        The TPG-Vodafone merger was finalised in July. It was originally held up over concerns the deal would reduce competition. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The products announced at the last Apple event havent even shipped yet, and there's already rumours of the next Apple event. 

                                                                                                                        This event, slated for November 17, is expected to see the introduction of ARM based computers - Apple promised an Arm Mac before Christmas. This will see the company moving away from intel in some of its line up. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        The big question amongst my nerd friends - which Mac first? The highest selling computer in the line up, the Macbook Air, or the lowest selling, the Mac Mini. There are good arguemtns for both 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Finally, someone has come up with a use for smart lights. 

                                                                                                                        Zilzie, near Rockhampton in Queensland, is using colourful lightas to safely guide hatching turtles to the sea. It's bloody adorbale and well worth clicking through. 

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk - Revenge Porn Legislation Enters NSW Parliament Fri, 16 Oct 2020 03:21:11 GMT 8:49 3866f524-e416-4a39-96ee-e96acbdfc56b false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesk-revengepornlegislationentersnswparliament 3866f524-e416-4a39-96ee-e96acbdfc56b 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesk-revengepornlegislationentersnswparliament full 4 Revenge Porn Legislation Debated in NSW Parliament

                                                                                                                        At ZDNET, Asha Barbaschow reports "New South Wales Attorney General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman on Wednesday introduced legislation to state Parliament with the aim of offering further protections for victims of the distribution of non-consensual intimate images and videos online, colloquially known as "revenge porn".

                                                                                                                        Under the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, victims of intimate image abuse would have the same court protections as other sexual assault complainants. Judicial officers would also have greater powers to order images and recordings be destroyed

                                                                                                                        More protections for victims: who'll be able to give evidence remotely, in a closed court and have their privacy protected. 

                                                                                                                        Citing the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Speakman said there were 296 charges for intimate image offences between July 2018 and June 2019, and 420 charges laid between July 2019 and June this year.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Youtube has joined the Qanon Ban Party, in the lead up to the US election 

                                                                                                                        YouTube said Thursday that it would no longer allow content that targets individuals and groups with conspiracy theories, specifically QAnon and its antecedent, "pizzagate."

                                                                                                                        YouTube’s move to rid the platform of QAnon content follows similar recent changes by other social media platforms. In July, Twitter removed QAnon accounts and restricted QAnon content. Last week, Facebook said it would remove groups, pages and Instagram accounts that identified with QAnon.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Meanwhile, across the pond Facebook is clamping down on a far right political party, Advance NZ

                                                                                                                        a Facebook spokeswoman said the party was deplatformed after it repeatedly breached the social media site's misinformation policies.

                                                                                                                        The party's leader Te Kahika holds a number of controversial views, including that Covid-19 was a bioweapon designed to be used on civilians around the world.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Friday Review Round Up

                                                                                                                        pretty much everyone except me shared their Pixel 4a and 5 reviews 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Anula Keenan of Finder reviews the Fitbit Versa

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Tim Biggs at SMH went hands on with the Xbox Series X

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        My man Daniel Vooks got his Mario Kart early 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> Revenge Porn Legislation Debated in NSW Parliament

                                                                                                                        At ZDNET, Asha Barbaschow reports "New South Wales Attorney General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman on Wednesday introduced legislation to state Parliament with the aim of offering further protections for victims of the distribution of non-consensual intimate images and videos online, colloquially known as "revenge porn".

                                                                                                                        Under the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, victims of intimate image abuse would have the same court protections as other sexual assault complainants. Judicial officers would also have greater powers to order images and recordings be destroyed

                                                                                                                        More protections for victims: who'll be able to give evidence remotely, in a closed court and have their privacy protected. 

                                                                                                                        Citing the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Speakman said there were 296 charges for intimate image offences between July 2018 and June 2019, and 420 charges laid between July 2019 and June this year.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Youtube has joined the Qanon Ban Party, in the lead up to the US election 

                                                                                                                        YouTube said Thursday that it would no longer allow content that targets individuals and groups with conspiracy theories, specifically QAnon and its antecedent, "pizzagate."

                                                                                                                        YouTube’s move to rid the platform of QAnon content follows similar recent changes by other social media platforms. In July, Twitter removed QAnon accounts and restricted QAnon content. Last week, Facebook said it would remove groups, pages and Instagram accounts that identified with QAnon.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Meanwhile, across the pond Facebook is clamping down on a far right political party, Advance NZ

                                                                                                                        a Facebook spokeswoman said the party was deplatformed after it repeatedly breached the social media site's misinformation policies.

                                                                                                                        The party's leader Te Kahika holds a number of controversial views, including that Covid-19 was a bioweapon designed to be used on civilians around the world.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Friday Review Round Up

                                                                                                                        pretty much everyone except me shared their Pixel 4a and 5 reviews 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Anula Keenan of Finder reviews the Fitbit Versa

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Tim Biggs at SMH went hands on with the Xbox Series X

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        My man Daniel Vooks got his Mario Kart early 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk - Is Spotify Out-Innovating Apple with Podcasts? Thu, 15 Oct 2020 03:34:05 GMT 11:57 179f02da-3c02-482e-b71c-d997c15bcbdd false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesk-isspotifyout-innovatingapplewithpodcasts- 179f02da-3c02-482e-b71c-d997c15bcbdd 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesk-isspotifyout-innovatingapplewithpodcasts- full 3 Up Bank 

                                                                                                                        I've been taking a look into how our banking apps might change in the future. They have been getting smarter, but mostly your app is still a record of your transactions. but There's are soem cool things you can come up with once you start to connect apps together and automate things. 

                                                                                                                        Up are working on an API that will enable payments and transfers on behalf of users. 

                                                                                                                        These examples are somewhere off in the future... Eg a fitness tracking app could recognise when you ride your bike to work instead of taking the tram and the API tells your bank to transfer the unused tram fare to a savings account. 

                                                                                                                        Or the rules could trigger "some crazy mash up of investing and spending" so every time you buy a burger at McDonalds, the app rounds up your spending to invest a small amount into a fractional share of the fast food company. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Spotify has announced a new way for podcasters to blend real, honest to goodness music, with podcasts.

                                                                                                                        Using Anchor, a podcast creation tool that Spotify purchased - i wanna say late last year? i was in the before times, whenever it was

                                                                                                                        the new shows will be available only to Spotify Premium subscribers, not users on the free ad-supported tier

                                                                                                                        Becaause of the limited reach, this really is for podcasters who want to live within Spotify's walled garden, but if you've ever wanted to host your own love-song dedications porgram, or create a series on your favourite artist, have at it 

                                                                                                                        this concept is something i wrote about back in 2013! I wanted apple to do it then cos they were the only company with a music service and a podcast service... 

                                                                                                                        this is slightly different, i wanted client side - ie: mix my fave pods with my 5 star songs - which spotify already do with My Daily Drive

                                                                                                                        Spotify is out-innovating Apple in the podcast space

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Dropbox goes 'Virtual first' for remote working 

                                                                                                                        Dropbox announced yesterday its a 'virtual first' company. What's that mean? 

                                                                                                                        remote work is the primary experience for workers. It's a policy and set of rules that will clear up the ambiguity around a hyrbid remote-office setup. 

                                                                                                                        Introduce non-linear workdays by setting core collaboration hours (9am - 1pm). Outside of these hours employees can run their own schedule. 

                                                                                                                        Offices will be turned into 'hubs' - for meeting up, not for daily work. 

                                                                                                                        I'd say we are still earlier in the remote work experiment and many households haven't had a proper experience, if they've been performing childcare etc. 

                                                                                                                        Ever going back to the office? I think policies are one thing and how humans actually behave will be another... 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Microsoft AI for Image captions

                                                                                                                        Microsoft is often forgotten when talking about AI, because their tech is mainly used in the background, server side - rather than obvious consumer facing products like Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa, but the company is the quiet acheiver, kicking goals with transcription (now available in office 365, and now with Image captioning

                                                                                                                        Why does it matter? Not only does image capturing improve search - but think about this, when was the last time you captioned an image on Twitter or Facebook? 

                                                                                                                        I never remember to, which means my posts are not accessible by visually impaired users. If Microsoft can license...

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> Up Bank 

                                                                                                                        I've been taking a look into how our banking apps might change in the future. They have been getting smarter, but mostly your app is still a record of your transactions. but There's are soem cool things you can come up with once you start to connect apps together and automate things. 

                                                                                                                        Up are working on an API that will enable payments and transfers on behalf of users. 

                                                                                                                        These examples are somewhere off in the future... Eg a fitness tracking app could recognise when you ride your bike to work instead of taking the tram and the API tells your bank to transfer the unused tram fare to a savings account. 

                                                                                                                        Or the rules could trigger "some crazy mash up of investing and spending" so every time you buy a burger at McDonalds, the app rounds up your spending to invest a small amount into a fractional share of the fast food company. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Spotify has announced a new way for podcasters to blend real, honest to goodness music, with podcasts.

                                                                                                                        Using Anchor, a podcast creation tool that Spotify purchased - i wanna say late last year? i was in the before times, whenever it was

                                                                                                                        the new shows will be available only to Spotify Premium subscribers, not users on the free ad-supported tier

                                                                                                                        Becaause of the limited reach, this really is for podcasters who want to live within Spotify's walled garden, but if you've ever wanted to host your own love-song dedications porgram, or create a series on your favourite artist, have at it 

                                                                                                                        this concept is something i wrote about back in 2013! I wanted apple to do it then cos they were the only company with a music service and a podcast service... 

                                                                                                                        this is slightly different, i wanted client side - ie: mix my fave pods with my 5 star songs - which spotify already do with My Daily Drive

                                                                                                                        Spotify is out-innovating Apple in the podcast space

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Dropbox goes 'Virtual first' for remote working 

                                                                                                                        Dropbox announced yesterday its a 'virtual first' company. What's that mean? 

                                                                                                                        remote work is the primary experience for workers. It's a policy and set of rules that will clear up the ambiguity around a hyrbid remote-office setup. 

                                                                                                                        Introduce non-linear workdays by setting core collaboration hours (9am - 1pm). Outside of these hours employees can run their own schedule. 

                                                                                                                        Offices will be turned into 'hubs' - for meeting up, not for daily work. 

                                                                                                                        I'd say we are still earlier in the remote work experiment and many households haven't had a proper experience, if they've been performing childcare etc. 

                                                                                                                        Ever going back to the office? I think policies are one thing and how humans actually behave will be another... 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Microsoft AI for Image captions

                                                                                                                        Microsoft is often forgotten when talking about AI, because their tech is mainly used in the background, server side - rather than obvious consumer facing products like Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa, but the company is the quiet acheiver, kicking goals with transcription (now available in office 365, and now with Image captioning

                                                                                                                        Why does it matter? Not only does image capturing improve search - but think about this, when was the last time you captioned an image on Twitter or Facebook? 

                                                                                                                        I never remember to, which means my posts are not accessible by visually impaired users. If Microsoft can license...

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk - Four New 5G iPhones Wed, 14 Oct 2020 04:20:20 GMT 10:50 5c668c57-3738-4341-80f5-f3bbec6b68bc false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesk-fournew5giphones 5c668c57-3738-4341-80f5-f3bbec6b68bc 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesk-fournew5giphones full 2 Apple Event 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro
                                                                                                                        • Mini is a new form factor thank god - lots of pretty colours
                                                                                                                        • New Ceramic glass 
                                                                                                                        • MagSafe - a whole bunch of new accessories 
                                                                                                                        • Pro video is insane, 10bit Dolby vision HDR 
                                                                                                                        • Also new HomePod mini - intercom is cute - no support for Spotify. 
                                                                                                                        • No headphones or charging cable in the box 
                                                                                                                        • Combo Touch ID / power button from the new iPad Air didn’t make it to the iPhone this year.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Apple simultaneously talked up and downplayed 5g

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        • Australian pricing:
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 mini A$1199
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 A$1349
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 Pro A$1699
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 Pro Max $1849
                                                                                                                        • HomePod mini is A$149

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Will Australian telcos work with 5G bands? 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Facebook is growing up, just in time? *gestures at everything* 

                                                                                                                        • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-12/facebook-to-ban-posts-that-deny-holocaust-in-reversal-of-policy 
                                                                                                                        • https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/13/facebook-bans-anti-vax-ads.html
                                                                                                                        • https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/13/facebook-vaccine-ads-ban 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Staying with Facebook, Messenger has been updated with better integration with Instagram, making it harder for the doj to break up the company?

                                                                                                                        • Looks like Facebook kids - i.e. fugly
                                                                                                                        • https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/13/messengers-latest-update-brings-new-features-cross-app-communication-with-instagram/

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> Apple Event 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro
                                                                                                                        • Mini is a new form factor thank god - lots of pretty colours
                                                                                                                        • New Ceramic glass 
                                                                                                                        • MagSafe - a whole bunch of new accessories 
                                                                                                                        • Pro video is insane, 10bit Dolby vision HDR 
                                                                                                                        • Also new HomePod mini - intercom is cute - no support for Spotify. 
                                                                                                                        • No headphones or charging cable in the box 
                                                                                                                        • Combo Touch ID / power button from the new iPad Air didn’t make it to the iPhone this year.

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Apple simultaneously talked up and downplayed 5g

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        • Australian pricing:
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 mini A$1199
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 A$1349
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 Pro A$1699
                                                                                                                        • iPhone 12 Pro Max $1849
                                                                                                                        • HomePod mini is A$149

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Will Australian telcos work with 5G bands? 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Facebook is growing up, just in time? *gestures at everything* 

                                                                                                                        • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-12/facebook-to-ban-posts-that-deny-holocaust-in-reversal-of-policy 
                                                                                                                        • https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/13/facebook-bans-anti-vax-ads.html
                                                                                                                        • https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/13/facebook-vaccine-ads-ban 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        Staying with Facebook, Messenger has been updated with better integration with Instagram, making it harder for the doj to break up the company?

                                                                                                                        • Looks like Facebook kids - i.e. fugly
                                                                                                                        • https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/13/messengers-latest-update-brings-new-features-cross-app-communication-with-instagram/

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk - Tinder and Twitter Trouble Tue, 13 Oct 2020 04:44:55 GMT 8:05 2acca1f1-09fc-46bf-98f3-1b63a4c531ad false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesk-tinderandtwittertrouble 2acca1f1-09fc-46bf-98f3-1b63a4c531ad 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesk-tinderandtwittertrouble full 1 4 Corners on Tinder

                                                                                                                        A joint investigation between Triple J and Four Corners has revealed Tinder has not done enough to protect users on its dating app from sexual assault. Specifically alleged offenders 'unmatching' from their victims to erase their digital trail. and Tinder's reporting process has repeatedly failed victims. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/tinder-dating-app-helps-sexual-predators-hide-four-corners/12722732?nw=0

                                                                                                                        https://iview.abc.net.au/show/four-corners/series/2020/video/NC2003H036S00

                                                                                                                        https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-13/tinder-rapist-glenn-hartland-used-fake-profiles-to-lure-women/12742670

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        And be careful what you tweet

                                                                                                                        https://twitter.com/joanna_horton/status/1315569921871364096

                                                                                                                        A tweet from a greens member has blown up in the lead up to the Queensland State Election.

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> 4 Corners on Tinder

                                                                                                                        A joint investigation between Triple J and Four Corners has revealed Tinder has not done enough to protect users on its dating app from sexual assault. Specifically alleged offenders 'unmatching' from their victims to erase their digital trail. and Tinder's reporting process has repeatedly failed victims. 

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/tinder-dating-app-helps-sexual-predators-hide-four-corners/12722732?nw=0

                                                                                                                        https://iview.abc.net.au/show/four-corners/series/2020/video/NC2003H036S00

                                                                                                                        https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-13/tinder-rapist-glenn-hartland-used-fake-profiles-to-lure-women/12742670

                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                        And be careful what you tweet

                                                                                                                        https://twitter.com/joanna_horton/status/1315569921871364096

                                                                                                                        A tweet from a greens member has blown up in the lead up to the Queensland State Election.

                                                                                                                        ---

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]> The Helpdesk Trailer Wed, 07 Oct 2020 03:35:59 GMT 0:36 f92c757e-63c2-481f-8c7a-14babf270c52 false https://play.acast.com/s/the-helpdesk/thehelpdesktrailer f92c757e-63c2-481f-8c7a-14babf270c52 3276215a-23a8-4b04-bbfd-c0f7c71c7b64 thehelpdesktrailer Launching October 13 wherever you get your podcasts full

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]>

                                                                                                                        Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

                                                                                                                        ]]>