Happy hump day, a term I just learned was coined in the 1950s. You’re not here for a history lesson, so let’s just stick to tech news.
1. Meta forced to sell Giphy
Two and a half years after gulping down Giphy, Facebook’s parent company Meta is being forced to spit the gif-sharing company back up. The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has ruled that that Meta’s purchase of Giphy was anticompetitive — reaffirming an earlier decision from June. Meta spent $US400 on the deal back in 2020.
2. New iPads just dropped
Saving everyone the agony of a six-hour-long presentation (and a 3 am AEDT wakeup), Apple overnight quietly announced a colourful new 10th-generation iPad with a relocated selfie camera and a sixth-generation iPad Pro upgraded with the company’s M2 chip that debuted in MacBooks earlier this year. The 10th generation iPad now features the same “all-screen” design as the iPad Pro, the iPad Air and the iPad Mini. Apple also refreshed its TV range.
#TakeNote of some exciting Apple news. Tap below to watch now on YouTube.
— Apple (@Apple) October 18, 2022
3. Vinomofo latest cyberattack victim
Wine dealer Vinomofo is the latest Australian company to be targeted by a cyberattack, with The Guardian reporting that names, dates of birth, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and genders of customers is at risk as a result. The report notes Vinomofo as having about 500,000 people on its books, but it’s not clear if all were exposed. Vinomofo in an email told customers it does not hold identity or financial data such as passports, driver’s licences or credit cards/bank details.
4. Telstra outage plagues calls
Yesterday, many Telstra customers were unable to make calls after an outage rendered its 4G services useless. The telco has been super scant on the detail of what happened, telling Gizmodo Australia the issue was fixed and services were progressively coming back online. Telstra also made the one (1) tweet about the outage, which gave no diagnosis or analysis of what the issue was exactly, or what caused it.
⚠️ Just letting you know, an issue affecting some of our mobile customers making calls this morning has been fixed and services are progressively coming back online
📱 Data and texts are working fine
💗 We know it’s not the best start to Tuesday, but thanks for your patience
— Telstra (@Telstra) October 17, 2022
5. Robots made from frogs cells
The ABC is reporting that scientists overseas have developed self-powered robots that are made from living frog cells and replicated through artificial intelligence. A xenobot is basically a “micro-biological robot” and they measure about half a millimetre in length. Xenobots have many medical applications, but mainly they can help scientists to understand how cells function. This will help them learn more about various human diseases.
BONUS ITEM: The next Sims game has been announced, titled Project Rene, but it will likely be retitled as The Sims 5 or just The Sims. Either way, keen.
Officially announced the “next generation of The Sims” (The Sims 5 lol) is in super early stages of development… SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/DS72cvNnyG
— Kayla (@lilsimsie) October 18, 2022
See you tomorrow.