Good morning and welcome to another week. Here’s what went down in tech land over the weekend and what’s coming during the last few days of Summer.
1. Metaverse trial
First up this morning and Reuters is reporting that a Colombian court this month hosted its first legal trial in the metaverse, and now hopes to experiment again with virtual reality. Sorry to hit you with such absurdity first thing on a Monday but per the report, participants in a traffic dispute appeared as avatars in a virtual courtroom. The magistrate even wore black legal robes.
2. Magic Eraser for all
One of the Google Pixel’s best features is making its way to other devices. Magic Eraser, the ability to magically erase something from a photo, is coming to Pixel owners that have a pre-2022 phone, but also other Android devices, too, with iOS users also able to get their hands on the tool. Using AI, Magic Eraser lets you remove anything from people to objects and everything else in between. It will become available to Google One subscribers and to existing Pixel owners, with Google One subscribers also getting a handful of other editing tools as well, like a new HDR video effect, exclusive collage Styles and more.
3. More cuts at Twitter
After Elon Musk said his company was done firing people, Twitter laid off dozens of employees Saturday (U.S. time). Per a report from The Information, this is at least the eighth round of job cuts since Musk took over the social network in late October. The report notes that the cuts aim to offset a plunge in revenue following Musk’s takeover and further whittle down a staff that had shrunk by at least 70 per cent to roughly 2,000. Included in these ‘cuts’ was product manager Esther Crawford who Engadget reports as being one of the most recognisable faces at “Twitter 2.0.” Per the report, she led the company’s Twitter Blue redesign and oversaw work on its upcoming payments platform.
4. MWC kicks off in Barcelona
Mobile World Congress kicks off today in Barcelona, expecting to bring with it all kinds of announcements around handsets, what’s inside them and the networks that connect them. The four-day show is the world’s biggest and most influential meeting for the mobile tech industry. We tend to refer to it as the ‘phone show’ with CES increasingly becoming the ‘TV and other gadgets show’. So far, pre-MWC announcements have included the global availability of the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro. We’ll keep you updated with anything relevant to the Aussie market from the trade show.
5. Boost battle
Optus announced last week ‘Internet and Mobile Boost’, which essentially allows customers to boost their NBN or mobile service for a pre-defined time at a fee. But on Friday, Boost Mobile, a telco operating in Australia on the Telstra network, handed Optus a legal notice asking they cease the use of the word ‘Boost’.
BONUS ITEM: It’s before 9 am and that’s already enough internet for the day.
Have a great week ahead.