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 reporting to CEO Tim Cook, building on more than two decades of innovation, service, and leadership at Apple” - Apple has been rumoured, on and off, to be making a car since 2014 - The development, named Project Titan, was rumoured to be shelved back in 2016  - In August 2018, Apple rehired Tesla engineer Doug Field, leading to speculation that Apple was again exploring a car option. - Imagine a car with all the style and cache of Tesla, without the bugs…  Facebook  Facebook Takes A Stand Against Myanmar Coup - After failing to stem the hate speech and misinformation that fueled a genocide in Myanmar, Facebook now says it plans to take proactive content moderation steps following a military coup taking place in the country. - In an internal message posted late on Monday and viewed by BuzzFeed News, Rafael Frankel, a director of public policy in the Asia-Pacific region, told employees that the social network was watching the “volatile situation” in Myanmar “with grave concern” and outlined a series of measures to crack down on people who used it to spread misinformation or threaten violence. - Tech companies rarely get a second chance at preventing genocide, so good on you facebook. T