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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out 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...

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.  -...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jack Dorsey is desperate for celebrity parties.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out 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...

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.  -...

 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...

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...