TGIF. Wanna just jump straight to it?
1. T-Mobile investigating ‘unauthorised activity’
Starting in the U.S. today and telco T-Mobile may be the first big data breach casualty of 2023, with the company investigating ‘unauthorised activity’ that could affect 37 million accounts. That’s around 10 million more people than in the whole of Australia. While this is very hyper-American, as we all saw with Optus, a breach of this magnitude is severe. In a statement, the telco said that no passwords, payment card information, social security numbers, government ID numbers or other financial account information were compromised. Some basic customer information was obtained, however, including name, billing address, email, phone number, date of birth, account number, and information such as the number of lines on the account and service plan features.
2. Foam board bird sells for $140K
In stupid news, a floor statue featuring Twitter’s blue bird logo sold for $US100,000 (around $140,000) in an auction of more than 600 office items the company’s new overlord, Elon Musk, decided it no longer needed. The blue bird statue raked in 4,000 times its $US25 opening bid, becoming the highest-grossing item of the fire sale. At 46 inches wide x 41 inches tall x 12 inches deep, the statue doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special. Bidders obviously disagreed and went to war over the statue, with the sale price increasing by about $100,000 in the last hour of the auction. It’s not clear what the statue’s made of, though at least one reporter covering Twitter tweeted that it was made of flimsy foam board.
This Twitter bird thing someone apparently bid $100k for — it’s made out of foam board lol (materials were not listed in the auction description). Was never on display in the office, save for a few events. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/Lz4HyUoJLL
— Kali Hays (@HaysKali) January 18, 2023
3. Greener passenger aeroplanes
NASA will invest $US425 million (around $590 million) to help Boeing develop a demonstrator aircraft for its Transonic Truss-Braced Wing design, which the space agency hopes will improve the fuel efficiency of commercial aviation. NASA officials said a flight test of the aircraft is planned for 2028. News followed Sydney-based Dovetail Aviation yesterday walking away with a $3 million grant from the federal government to work on retrofitting planes to be instead electric-propulsion machines. Watch this (air) space, it’s going to be a banger in 2023.
4. An actual Uber EV
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an Uber car (like an actual car made by Uber) might be on its way. The exclusive report says that Uber is working with automakers (they didn’t say which ones) to design lower-cost electric vehicles. The words came from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who reportedly added that the vehicles would be optimised for city use, ferrying passengers and deliveries. It’s all part of Uber’s efforts to electrify its fleet.
@gizmodoau EV Ubers are a dime a dozen in the U.S., but they’re slowly becoming a thing in Australia #uber #electriccar #lasvegas
5. More Apple news
Apple has continued its news drop this week, which started with the new MacBook Pros, followed by the launch of its new HomePod, and culminating today with updates to Apple Maps in Australia. The updates see the addition of Apple Maps’ 3D cities experience in Sydney and Melbourne, but the highlight for us is the brilliant update to Cycle Navigation, making it the best way to help you get around on a bike. We’re excited for this one.
BONUS ITEM: Unlike the rock art these protestors are trying to protect, this artwork has a plastic shield covering it.
Have a great weekend.