Good morning. It’s Thursday, and this morning Google revealed its worst-kept secret, the Pixel 8 (which we’ll dive into below), but there are other bits of tech news to get up to speed on. Let’s get cracking.
1. 700,000 Victorian homes now eligible for NBN fibre upgrade
550,000 homes in Greater Melbourne and 150,000 homes in regional Victoria are now eligible for an NBN upgrade to Fibre to the Premises from slower copper-powered Fibre to the Node internet. By 2025, NBN Co expects that 1.3 million homes in the state will be eligible for an internet upgrade, as part of a $2.4 billion investment from the Australian government, and a $550 million investment from the Victorian government, through the Connecting Victoria program.
2. Microsoft tight-lipped about zero days exploit
As reported by Tech Crunch, Microsoft has released patches addressing zero-day vulnerabilities, which exploited software vulnerabilities in products from companies like Apple, Mozilla, and Google with spyware, however, the tech giant isn’t saying how its products may have been exposed. “When reached for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson declined to say if its products had been exploited in the wild, or if the company has the ability to know,” Tech Crunch reported. Patches for Skype, Teams, and the Edge browser addressing the vulnerabilities are available now.
3. Disney VFX artists successfully vote to unionise
A unit of VFX artists at Walt Disney Pictures has successfully voted to unionise in the U.S. Variety reports that the vote with the National Labor Relations Board—a necessary major step in the official formation of a union in the U.S.—was a unanimous 13-0 in favour of unionising the 18-member group, whose work has appeared on recent Disney blockbusters such as the live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. The news comes just weeks after a group of Marvel Studios VFX staffers became the first unit of solely VFX workers to vote in favour of unionisation with IATSE, likewise seeking similar protections and benefits already found in other areas of movie production.
4. Google’s big event
This morning, Google officially revealed the Pixel 8, the Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel Watch 2, new colours for the Pixel Buds Pro, and a bunch of improvements for Android OS and Google’s AI on its phones. You can catch up on everything announced in our wrap-up of the Made By Google event.
Say hello to the latest additions to our Pixel portfolio: #Pixel8 and 8 Pro. Powered by the new Google Tensor G3, these phones have even better cameras and more AI capabilities,¹ with all the things you already love about Pixel devices. #MadeByGoogle pic.twitter.com/pRhwYZo1xN
— Google (@Google) October 4, 2023
5. Bed bugs invade Paris
The city of lights is beset by bed bugs. Sightings of the tiny urban pest in public places throughout Paris have apparently increased as of late, and officials are calling for aggressive action to curtail the menace in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics. People have spotted bed bugs along the city’s public transit and at the Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, with some posting videos of their encounters on social media, Reuters reported over the weekend. The situation has gotten so bad that Transport Minister Clement Beaune is set to hold a meeting with public transport operators this week to discuss the issue. City hall officials have called for the federal government to create a task force to stamp out the bugs.
BONUS ITEM: Oh boy, I sure do love a Gundam.
ARCHAX, a ‘Gundam’-like robot, was developed over the past two years by Tsubame Industries and they hope to sell five units for $3 million each https://t.co/aqHvd4mHG9 pic.twitter.com/jQCd1EHzKy
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 2, 2023
Have a lovely day.