Good morning, and a happy Friday to you. TGIF. Let’s get into the tech news.
1. NSW reconsiders digital voting
ItNews is reporting that the NSW electoral commission is looking to restart digital voting. The state government has launched a request for information, which may lead into a formal tender and the development of internet voting. The state electoral commission wants to “ascertain the availability, suitability and viability of a potential internet voting solution for use by electors who are blind or have low vision at the NSW state general election in 2027”.
2. $147 million for hydrogen hubs
InnovationAus is reporting that $147million has been issued to two hydrogen energy hubs in Australia – $70 million for the Bell Bay hydrogen hub, and $77 million for the Pilbara hub. The grants have been issued with the intention of supporting hydrogen exports. These are the final two grants to be offered under the Regional Hydrogen Hubs program.
3. Intel EU battle takes a turn
Reuters is reporting that Intel has been given a boost in its battle against European Union regulators. “The court should confirm that the Commission erred in applying the AEC test with respect to HP and Lenovo,” Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union Advocate General Laila Medina said in a non-binding statement. The antitrust battle covers Intel allegedly giving rebates to computer makers, thwarting chipmaking rival AMD. The AEC test considers to what extent competitors can still equally compete within a market, despite the rebates.
4. AI not helping Bing gain users
Bloomberg is reporting that Microsofts search engine Bing hasn’t grown its userbase much since the introduction of AI features. According to stats fromvdata analytics company StatCounter, the Bing search engine dominated just 3.4 per cent of the international search market – just one point up since AI feautess started to roll out.
5. Apple Watch to drop Blood Oxygen features in the US
Wrapping up today with the latest from the Apple Watch debarkle in the U.S.. AP is reporting that, in order to comply with a patent dispute with healthtech company Masimo, Apple will simply disable blood oxygen features on the Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2. The new watches were barred from sale yesterday in the U.S., with this latest action being taken to comply with a court order.
BONUS ITEM: In case you missed one of our favourite features of the Samsung Galaxy S24.
Have a lovely day.