Good morning, and a happy Easter long weekend to you. For now, let’s get into today’s tech news.
1. Telstra tells all on Triple Zero failure
iTnews reports that Telstra has partly directed the failure of its Triple Zero calls outage to a software failure. The 90-minute window saw calls needing to be manually transferred to the appropriate services, with 148 transfers occurring in that time, and a man sadly dying of cardiac arrest. Telstra CEO Vicki Brady also attributed the failure of the company’s backup process to the company storing the wrong alternate number for eight emergency services, stored in a secondary database for manual transfers.
2. DOJ’s antitrust case against Apple entirely refuted
Apple has refuted every claim made in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) antitrust lawsuit against it, in which the Department alleges Apple is operating a monopoly, Engadget reports. All of the allegations made against Apple, including accusations that it monopolises the software app market by imposing limitations on iOS, have been pushed back against, with the reasoning given that imposing API restrictions is just to protect user privacy and security. Rival devices and wearables were also pointed to, with the company saying that needing to develop support for all wearables and operating systems would be necessary for broader integration.
3. Meta blasted for allowing anti-trans hate to live on its platform
A report from GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has put Meta on notice, with its research showing that Meta fails to take down anti-trans content, in violation of its own policies. “As the trillion-dollar company’s revenues soar, Meta continues to lay off critical trust and safety teams and increasingly relies on ineffective AI systems for content moderation. Meta’s enforcement failures have prompted repeated rebukes and concern from the Oversight Board (the independent body that makes non-binding but precedent-setting content moderation rulings on Meta’s platforms),” GLAAD wrote. The report includes extensive examples of hateful content continuing to flourish.
4. Melting ice reportedly slowing Earth’s spin
ABC News has the story on a new report suggesting that the world’s melting ice caps could be slowing the Earth’s spin.
“Global warming is … changing the rotation of the whole Earth,” said University of California professor of geophysics Duncan Agnew, about a study on all the factors impacting the Earth’s rotation. “Because the shape of the Earth is changing, that causes the rotation to vary… … If global warming hadn’t occurred over the last 30 years, we’d be very close to a negative leap second already.”
5. X Premium users getting the company’s AI
Wrapping things up with some Musk, and X (formerly Twitter) will be giving Premium subscribers access to xAI’s ‘Grok’ AI chatbot soon, with the chatbot having previously been exclusive to Premium+ users, per Reuters.
BONUS ITEM: Of course there is.
Are you guys aware of the international obfuscated C code contest (ioccc) where entrants compete to write the most incomprehensible C code possible?https://t.co/4eAQ3aHP8R pic.twitter.com/mxpyUMWpXR
— RiscV (@MKVRiscy) March 27, 2024
Have a lovely day, and an even better long weekend!
Image: iStock