Good morning, hope you’ve been keeping well. We’ve got a few pieces of tech news that might interest you, let’s dive in.
1. Government revives the Australian Interactive Games Fund
The Australian government yesterday announced its new National Cultural Policy, and the restoration of the Australian Interactive Games Fund almost a decade after being cut by the Abbott Government. It becomes the first major federal funding for the Australian games industry since the Gillard era. The new cultural policy, titled Revive, provides support to numerous creative sectors across film, television, music, literature and, yes, thank god, videogames. Per the Prime Minister himself, the policy empowers the nation’s arts and creative industries “from the gallery, to the mosh pit, to your favourite reading chair.”
2. A foldable tablet for Apple
Apple has yet to fold on the lingering image of itself as a maverick. But now that Samsung, Oppo, and Huawei are releasing plenty of foldable devices, one oft-cited analyst says that Apple will need a full year and change before it can release its first foldable device. Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known supply chain analyst who has gotten in front of Apple’s biggest announcements, tweeted early Monday that Chinese electronic parts manufacturer Suzhou Anjie Technology is contributing to some kind of foldable iPad device.
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Anjie Technology will be the new beneficiary of the all-new design foldable iPad. There may be no new iPad releases in the next 9-12 months as the iPad mini refresh is more likely to begin mass production in 1Q24.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 30, 2023
3. Merc beating Tesla at its own game
Mercedes-Benz is apparently beating Tesla at its own game as the luxury car manufacturer announced that its new car system has a level of autonomous capabilities that is higher than Tesla’s current level of self-driving. Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that its Drive Pilot system has reached SAE Level 3 automation, which is based on the industry standard SAE Levels of Driving Automation, a taxonomy published by SAE International and used to classify the ability of vehicle automation. SAE Level 3 allows the car to completely take over driving responsibilities, but may require human intervention.
4. Twitter pushes forward with ‘everything app’ plan
Another day, another headline from Mr Main Character Musk and the Twitter boss has reportedly submitted licence applications that would see the blue bird site become a payment processor. Musk was one of the men behind PayPal back in the day, so I guess it’s a space he’s familiar with. It’s all part of his plan for Twitter to be the ‘everything app‘. Le sigh. (Also, we don’t endorse the part in the tweet below that would see many more tech folks lose their jobs).
BREAKING: Elon Musk submits license applications so Twitter could become a payment processor.
I would love to see PayPal go bankrupt.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 30, 2023
5. Please listen to the AFP
The Australian Federal Police has today reminded parents that sharing photos of their child’s every move on social media is a pretty bad idea. “If you are sharing images of your children online, review your privacy settings on social media to limit the personal information being shared with others,” acting Assistant Commissioner Sirec said. “Without strong privacy settings, images shared online of their child’s first day at school or other everyday images may end up being seen by unintended audiences.” It follows the AFP over the weekend urging parents and carers to be involved in their children’s online activities, specifically online gaming, warning that predators use chat functions in gaming platforms to contact children.
BONUS ITEM: A shameless self-promotion of Gizmodo Australia’s complete guide to everything coming to streaming services next month.
Here’s everything to watch next month, you’re welcome. https://t.co/jH2HKk4Uet
— Gizmodo Australia (@GizmodoAU) January 30, 2023
See you tomorrow.