Good morning. It’s Tuesday, January 10 and here are five things headlining tech news in Australia today.
1. The ozone layer is on track for a total recovery
When it comes to the health of our environment, it can often feel like everything is falling apart. But a recent assessment from the United Nations environment program offers a rare bit of relief: The ozone layer is on track for a full recovery by 2066. The Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect our ozone signed in 1987, has been a success, declared the U.N.-backed scientific panel in a report first released in October 2022 and formally presented this morning at the American Meteorological Society meeting.
Good climate news: The ozone layer is on track to recover within 4 decades.
The healing of the Earth’s invisible shield is an inspirational example of how the world can come together to address global challenges like the climate crisis.
More from @WMO: https://t.co/Dh0h8kkPnY pic.twitter.com/J9YdEj7kbg
— United Nations (@UN) January 9, 2023
2. China’s Mars mission seems to be struggling
China’s Zhurong rover went into hibernation mode in May 2022 to avoid the harsh winter season on Mars, but communication issues, both with the rover and orbiter, suggest something’s now very wrong with the mission. The six-wheeled Martian rover was scheduled to wake up in late December, but it hasn’t been heard from since entering into its scheduled hibernation mode, unnamed sources told the South China Morning Post, as first reported by SpaceNews.
3. The creators of the Stem Player want you to forget about that whole Kanye thing
Kano, the company behind the $US200 (about $AUD278) Stem Player that was once the only way to buy Ye’s Donda 2 album, is back with a de-Ye-tified version of the device, as well as a new Stem Projector that promises to offer the same remixing tricks for videos, but minus the problematic connection to a celebrity now best known for anti-semitic rants.
— KANO (@TeamKano) October 25, 2022
4. YouTube rolls out new partner program for Shorts
YouTube’s TikTok competitor Shorts will soon begin rolling out its new partner program. Starting on February 1, 2023, Shorts creators will be able to earn money for ads placed in the Shorts feed. YouTube Shorts has been a massively successful extension of the YouTube platform and has come to be quite the TikTok rival. Monetising creators will keep about 45 per cent of their allocated revenue, regardless if music was used or not (if music is used, revenue will be split between the creator of the Short and the song), however there are a few variables at play.
5. Windows 7 is officially dead
Unfortunately, it is true. Windows 7 is officially dead. Microsoft stopped support for the operating system today, with users encouraged to move onto Windows 10 or the newer Windows 11. This includes security update support; to make sure your computer isn’t exploited by bad actors, switch to a newer operating system.
BONUS ITEM: I couldn’t imagine a more cursed baby gift if I tried.
easily the most cursed baby thing we’ve been given in his 15 months on earth pic.twitter.com/i6mmYNXVTj
— Michael Whitney (@michaelwhitney) January 9, 2023
Have a wonderful day.