Good morning, it’s Thursday and the first day of the month, which means we’ve got a packed list of what’s streaming in December for you to sink your teeth into. After you’ve found your new TV obsession, we’ve got five bits of tech news for you to ease into Summer with.
1. Spotify wrapped is here
Sorry Apple Music fans, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for insufferable Spotify users — it’s time for Spotify Wrapped. Spotify Wrapped is the music streaming service’s analysis and greatest hits playlist of your individual listening habits, compiling each person’s top artists, songs, podcasts, and genres all into a neat little slideshow right in your Spotify app. While Apple Music has finally caught up and released its version this year, called Replay, Spotify Wrapped came first, and this year it’s even spawned a spinoff, Instafest, which compiles your listening habits into an individualised music festival.
2. What’s a pair of CEOs called? Wrong answers only
In a very unpredictable, yet predictable, twist to the Apple vs Elon Musk stoush, Mr Twitter visited the iPhone maker’s California HQ. We don’t know what the pair of CEOs discussed, but it likely has something to do with Mr Apple’s ability to remove the Twitter app from his company’s app store for good. Regardless, the below tweet is a little more reasonable than the one suggesting to ‘go to war’.
Thanks @tim_cook for taking me around Apple’s beautiful HQ pic.twitter.com/xjo4g306gR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 30, 2022
3. Europe goes HAM on bitcoin
The European Central Bank has declared bitcoin is on “an artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance”, and that was before the collapse of FTX. In a blog post made overnight, titled ‘Bitcoin’s last stand’, the ECB said bitcoin is rarely used for legal transactions and that “Big Bitcoin investors have the strongest incentives to keep the euphoria going”. The Bank also cautioned that regulation shouldn’t be taken as approval. The whole post is the word equivalent of a chef’s kiss.
4. SF votes to give cop robots explosives (and permission to kill)
In the near future, police in San Francisco may be able to deploy robots armed with explosives and instruct them to kill a human being. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to approve a policy that would give the city’s police department permission to use remotely piloted robots to use lethal force in certain situations, specifically “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and officers cannot subdue the threat after using alternative force options or de-escalation tactics.” The policy isn’t a done deal yet, though. It must pass a second vote.
5. China’s social media ‘liking’ crackdown
Chinese officials will begin cracking down on internet users liking social media posts that are deemed illegal or harmful amidst nationwide protests against China’s zero-COVID policy. The new set of guidelines on social media set to take effect on December 15 and take aim at likes in addition to comments and posts. The new regulation stipulates that Chinese social media sites verify the real identities of all users and score them based on likes and comments, with low-scoring users dubbed “dishonest” and placed on blocklists.
BONUS ITEM: We…we did it.
Watch the key moments ▶️https://t.co/QbHDanaw9X
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 30, 2022
Enjoy the rest of your day.