Good morning. Let’s get stuck into it.
1. E-scooter data failings flagged by Australian Automobile Association
The Australian Automobile Association has raised the flag on e-scooter safety, more specifically, on the data failings surrounding e-scooters and the unknowns about them. “Media organisations have reported numerous e-scooter deaths in recent years, but national road toll figures – updated monthly by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) – do not accurately reflect these tragedies,” the AAA said. For example, in NSW and Victoria, e-scooter riders are flagged as motorcyclists, while in Western Australia and the ACT, they’re flagged as “other”. “This data inconsistency is symptomatic of Australia’s broader data reporting problems, as they relate to transport safety,” the AAA added.
2. EU industry chief warns Apple over App Store changes
ItNews reports that the European Union’s Industry Chief Thierry Breton has warned Apple over proposed changes to its App Store, in response to the Union’s incoming Digital Markets Act that will see the iOS platform open up to third-party app stores. Over the weekend, Spotify claimed that Apple’s proposed changes were unfair, as they introduced supposedly exorbitant fees. Now, Breton has commented: “The DMA will open the gates of the internet to competition so that digital markets are fair and open. Change is already happening. As from March 7, we will assess companies’ proposals, with the feedback of third parties… … “If the proposed solutions are not good enough, we will not hesitate to take strong action.”
3. Australian VR company to partner with… Los Angeles SWAT?
Australian VR company xReality is partnering with the Los Angeles Police SWAT team to train employees in ‘high stress’ situations, particularly to do with active shooter scenarios and hostage rescues. xReality’s system will be offered to the police force freely during a trial period, with the Australian company hoping that they will become a paying customer. “We are looking forward to extensive testing of Operator XR with our team over the coming three months, this trial will help us understand how technology can complement our current training programs,” LAPD SWAT’s Martin Bech said.
4. Amazon and iRobot scrap acquisition
Amazon’s acquisition of robotic vacuum company iRobot is no more. In a statement, Amazon said that the acquisition “has no path to regulatory approval in the European Union,” and claimed that this would be a loss for consumers, competition, and innovation. “We’re believers in the future of consumer robotics in the home and have always been fans of iRobot’s products, which delight consumers and solve problems in ways that improve their lives,” Amazon SVP and General Counsel David Zapolsky said. The acquisition was set to cost $US1.4 billion, but the EU was swift to block the deal.
5. New head of Blizzard amid layoffs
Blizzard Entertainment has announced a new president, shortly after parent company Microsoft announced 1,900 layoffs across it and its sister companies. Johanna Faries is taking the top job – she’s a former executive from Activision (the company Blizzard merged with in 2008) and the NFL. “Though my official first day with you all is February 5, I want to let you know immediately that it is an honour to join you next week in this new capacity. I do so humbly and in awe of all that Blizzard has stood for and delivered to the world for over thirty years. Today also brings some mixed emotions. The loss of talented teammates in recent days is hard to hold side-by-side with the immense excitement I feel about joining Blizzard – and building on the momentum you’ve created for Blizzard’s next chapter,” Faries said in a statement to the company.
BONUS ITEM: Now that’s a storage type that I have not seen in a long time.
Japan will no longer require floppy disks for submitting some official documents https://t.co/adk65GPKeU pic.twitter.com/QyFBe78U7o
— Engadget (@engadget) January 29, 2024
Have a lovely day.