The Helpdesk

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

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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 

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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...
  

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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 

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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. 

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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

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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."

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