Good morning, and a happy Friday to you. It’s just today, and then a weekend. For now, let’s get caught up on the news in tech.
1. Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar steps down
Co-chief executive of Atlassian Scott Farquhar has stepped down, with responsibilities falling on co-founder Mike Cannon Brookes to push the company forward, particularly to “capitalise on its strengths in the AI era”, as reported by The Australian. “While it’s a difficult decision to step away, I do so knowing Atlassian is exceptionally positioned to take hold of the massive opportunities at its feet. We have a strong leadership team, and great momentum around cloud, enterprise, and now, AI,” Farquhar said, stepping away from the role to spend more time with family and to pursue philanthropy. Farquhar will now be a “special advisor” to Atlassian, and remain on the board.
💙 @scottfarkas 👊🏻 Mate. Thank you. It’s been one hell of a ride. Couldn’t be prouder. https://t.co/tRhassk4wj pic.twitter.com/9aWQKLD5P3
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢🇦🇺 (@mcannonbrookes) April 25, 2024
2. eSafety’s X battle set for May
iTnews reports that a Federal Court hearing will take place on May 10 on arguments surrounding Twitter’s (X’s) retention of 65 posts that the Australian eSafety Commissioner ordered to be taken down, with the Commission arguing that the posts were still accessible to Australians via VPNs, despite being geoblocked in Australia. In basic terms, X faces a $782,500 per day fine for every day since April 16 if the court decides that geofencing does not equal a takedown.
3. Low Earth Orbit satellites may bridge digital divide
InnovationAus reports that the Federal Government’s Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOSat) Working Group has argued in its report that such technologies offer “several key technical advantages” over other technologies, and could potentially help to improve the digital divide particularly for First Nations communities. However, high costs at the moment make the technology an expensive solution for many communities. Such communities may also remain too thin in numbers to be commercially viable for satellite operators, the report noted.
4. TikTok banned in the US
US President Joe Biden has signed the bill that bans TikTok in the U.S., with the social media app ordered to be sold within the next 270 days, or be banned entirely. While the ban will have no effect in Australia, the Australian general manager of the app’s advertising division Brett Armstrong has flagged support for the app in the U.S. in an interview with the Australian Financial Review. “There’s no reason for TikTok to be banned,” Armstrong said. “There’s no evidence of any concerns and that’s why we’re focused on [TikTok’s contributions] here.”
5. Microsoft OEM up, hardware down
Via The Verge, Microsoft’s OEM business saw 11 per cent revenue growth on top of this time last year, with the company hoping its focus on “AI PCs” will see the division continue to grow. Xbox hardware is down by 31 per cent, however, Xbox content and services (services such as Game Pass) is up by 62 per cent. Microsoft’s device division, encompassing the Surface range of products, is down 17 per cent, and company wide, Microsoft’s revenue is up 17 per cent (income up by 20 per cent).
BONUS ITEM: We’re back to CatPosting in the bonus item.
— no context memes (@weirddalle) April 25, 2024