It’s Tuesday, the last one before Christmas. Let’s get you up to speed on tech news.
1. Majority of Twitter users think Musk should step down as CEO
Starting the day over on Twitter (who could have guessed it?) and Elon Musk’s poll from Yesterday shows that a majority of Twitter users (of those that participated in the poll) think he should step down as the head of Twitter. 17,502,391 people took place in the pole that ran for 11 hours. It’s just the latest in weird controversial things that have happened since he bought Twitter in October. The website also reversed course on its controversial social media linking rule and has since introduced square profile pictures for official brands.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
2. Snot transplants are a thing
Over on the SMH and doctors in Queensland are trialling ‘snot transplants’ as a treatment for chronic nose infections. The hope is similar to that of poo transplants, in that the injection of healthy bacteria into the infected area could promote positive health, although it is still a trial.
3. Epic Games to pay $776 million in penalties and refunds
The company behind Fortnite, Epic Games, has been ordered to pay $776 million ($US550 million) in penalties for invading children’s privacy and tricking some players into buying stuff in Fortnite that they didn’t want. The FTC announced this morning that it’s the largest penalty ever assessed in the history of the regulatory agency. Epic Games wrote in response, “No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here.”
4. Carmack quits Meta
Meta’s pivot away from social media and into virtual reality has hit another snag. One of the company’s executives, John Carmack, who helped build Meta’s Oculus company as Chief Technology Officer and pioneered 3D game development with DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D, is stepping away from Meta amidst frustration over the company’s efficiency. Carmack stepped into the role of CTO for Oculus (now called Reality Labs) in 2013, and is shutting the door behind him after nearly 10 years, having served as consulting CTO since 2019.
I resigned from Meta, and my internal post got leaked to the press, resulting in some fragmented quotes. Here is the full thing: https://t.co/iUcr8TYMLD
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) December 17, 2022
5. Google’s Pixel tablet spotted on… Facebook Marketplace?
Google’s Pixel tablet isn’t supposed to come out until 2023, but we’re already seeing a supposed early unit up for grabs. This leak comes to us from Twitter, though it’s just a collection of screenshots from a Facebook Marketplace post that claims to be selling the announced-but-unreleased Google Pixel Tablet.
BONUS ITEM: Tom Cruise has a special message for Top Gun Maverick fans while performing a stunt on the set of the new Mission Impossible movie.
A special message from the set of #MissionImpossible @MissionFilm pic.twitter.com/sfnWWluLyl
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 18, 2022
Have a lovely day.