TGIF. Let’s just get straight to it, eh?
1. Uber will now pack and deliver your groceries
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that more than 500 Coles supermarkets around Australia will start selling goods on Uber Eats. Under the terms of the deal, Coles’ customers will be able to place their orders via Uber Eats and have their groceries delivered within an hour. The operation kicks off with 40 stores in Melbourne and involves gig economy workers going into stores to pick and pack customers’ groceries from the shelves. While that’s great for the consumer, as the SMH points out, the arrangement will see gig-economy workers who don’t have worker’s rights, such as access to a minimum wage, performing key tasks for one of the country’s largest companies. With MilkRun now closed, it’s a timely move from the companies.
2. BRB off to work for NBN Co
Over to iTnews now and if you’ve ever wondered what the average salary for someone working for NBN Co is, they’ve done the work for you. The info came via a response to Questions on Notice during Senate Estimates, sort of. NBN Co was asked for the “average” wage of an NBN worker, but chose to provide a median number instead. NBN Co’s median salary at the start of this year was $147,511, the average, however, iTnews said, can be worked out for the last financial year, and comes in at $140,958.
3. Your stress shows in how you move your mouse, apparently
In relatable news, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a model that detects workplace stress just by how people type and move their computer mouse. This might enable employees to prevent chronic stress early on. According to the researchers, people who are stressed move the mouse pointer more often and less precisely. They also make more mistakes when typing. The ETH researchers reckon their model could one day enable employees to prevent chronic stress in the office early on.
4. No iPhone SE (again)
This year has seen leakers saying the new Apple iPhone SE would be scrapped, then walking that back, and now reasserting that it’s not coming after all, at least for a while. It’s a lot of back-and-forth for what’s not even the best phone Apple makes. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the source behind these reports and the one to blame for this game of rumour ping-pong, now says the iPhone SE 4 will not debut this or even next year after all. In January, Kuo reported that Apple was scrapping the SE 4 to focus on developing a 5G modem for its in-house processor. Then in February, Kuo retracted that to say that Apple would actually proceed with another version of the “low-cost” iPhone to get that modem out to market. If you’re holding out for the SE, may we interest you in Samsung’s A54 instead?
5. TikTok ban not enough
Following the ban of TikTok on all Australian government devices, privacy experts are highlighting that the app could still access information held on those devices if public servants and politicians continue to use the app on their personal mobile devices. The info came via a report from The Guardian, who spoke to a legal academic from the University of New South Wales. Although this is scary, the academic highlighted it isn’t just something unique to TikTok and that all social media apps have the ability to do the same. Read more about it here.
BONUS ITEM: Today on things that’ll give you anxiety…
Have a wonderful weekend, folks.