Good morning, and a happy new year to you. Welcome back to 5 Things. Let’s get you caught up on today’s tech news.
1. St Vincents Health Australia suffers cyber attack
Over the Christmas period, St Vincents Health Australia suffered a cyber attack. As reported by itNews, the hospital and aged care facility operator claims that it could take some time to fully understand what was actually stolen. “Should we discover that any sensitive information has been stolen by cyber criminals, we will do all that we can to contact the impacted persons to inform them of this, give them information about the steps that they can take to protect themselves and support them through that process,” the health provider said in a statement. “The Australian government is working with St Vincent’s Health Australia and their external cyber security firm to undertake this complex work as quickly as possible,” The Australian Cyber Security Coordinator wrote in a separate statement.
2. Xiaomi wants in on electric cars
As reported by Drive, Chinese phone maker Xiaomi has just unveiled its first electric car, the ‘SU7’, claiming that it can travel 800km on a single charge, with a 0-100km/h speed of 2.78 seconds (up at Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S speeds). The company claims that it wants to be one of the top five best-selling car companies internationally, but obviously, it’s still early days for Xiaomi’s cars, so we don’t yet know what Australian availability could be like. The SU7 is, however, planned for Chinese showrooms in the first half of 2024.
3. BYD takes Tesla’s crown
Speaking of electric cars, and as reported by Bloomberg, Chinese EV maker BYD has overtaken Tesla as the best-selling electric car company in the world, successfully selling 526,409 EVs in the fourth quarter of 2023. Rapid growth put BYD among the top 10 best-selling carmakers internationally in 2023, behind the likes of Ford and Honda, with hybrid and EV sales over the year greater than the past five years combined.
4. Google settles Incognito Mode lawsuit
Also over the break, Google settled a $US5 billion lawsuit regarding Incognito Mode. As reported by AP, the settling of the lawsuit puts to rest allegations that Google spied on users with Incognito Mode enabled, brought by a 2020 class-action lawsuit that alleged Google had misled users with the private browsing mode, arguing that the tech giant would continue to use ad tracking tech for site visits. The settlement must still be approved by a federal U.S. judge.
5. US Apple Watch import ban lifted
The ban on new Apple Watches imported to the U.S. has now been lifted. As reported by the BBC, sales have resumed after the company filed an emergency appeal with U.S. authorities, with Apple releasing a software update said to avoid patent dispute claims. The claim was brought by health tech company Masimo Corporation, in regards to the blood oxygen feature, claiming that Apple had poached key staff from the company to develop similar tech. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection will now determine if the changes are significant enough to avoid the patent dispute entirely, with a decision set for January 12.
BONUS ITEM: Just like when Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain, you can expect some interesting creative liberties being taken with Steamboat Willie.
The original Mickey Mouse is now in public domain. pic.twitter.com/ceX9d7OKBj
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 1, 2024
Have a great week, and an amazing year.
Image: Xiaomi