Global tech

No, you didn’t imagine it – Google did crash yesterday, and it’s a reminder of how central it now is to modern life

- August 11, 2022 2 MIN READ

On Wednesday, reports began emerging Google was down. Google down for thousands of users – Downdetector https://t.co/jQYLzHdjNC pic.twitter.com/TIbcYrtImU — Reuters (@Reuters) August 9, 2022 While it has since returned, it once again highlights our dependence on technology service providers and shows how reliant many people are on a single operator for daily functions. There are… Read more »

cat on robot vacuum cleaner
Global tech

Amazon’s $2.45 billion play for iRobot – and a map inside your home – raises privacy questions

- August 10, 2022 4 MIN READ

Less than two weeks after the announcement of its acquisition of US healthcare company One Medical, Amazon is continuing its expansion with a US$1.7 billion offer for iRobot, the manufacturer of Roomba automated vacuum cleaners. The acquisition will bolster Amazon’s line of smart home products and add to the retail giant’s vast store of consumer… Read more »

Global tech

Book publishers v the Internet Archive: why the world’s biggest online library is in a legal fight over digital lending

- July 21, 2022 4 MIN READ

Earlier this month, the Internet Archive asked a US court to end a lawsuit filed against it by four large book publishers. The Internet Archive is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1996 that lends digital copies of books, music, movies and other digitised content to the public. It aims to support people with print disabilities,… Read more »

food delivery courier
Global tech

Guilt, shame, dissatisfaction: a 5-year study of the gig economy reveals a broken business model

- July 13, 2022 4 MIN READ

The gig economy is in trouble. Rideshare drivers are cancelling in droves. Wait times for food delivery are ballooning out and driver shortages are leading to food waste. So, what’s going on? To find out more, I interviewed 30 Melbourne gig workers who worked as rideshare drivers, food deliverers or for task-based platforms such as… Read more »

Global tech

Why Uber signed a gig economy deal with the Transport Workers’ Union

- June 30, 2022 3 MIN READ

Uber Australia has struck a historic agreement with the Transport Workers’ Union – a statement of principles that re-regulate work in the Australian rideshare and food delivery industry. This is a major shift to industrial relations in the gig economy. Uber and its rival platforms have largely treated their workforce as independent contractors, not employees… Read more »

Global tech

The family of a gig economy rider killed delivering food will receive workers comp in a landmark ruling that he was an employee

- June 23, 2022 3 MIN READ

A landmark decision by the NSW government disputes resolution body, the Personal Injury Commission, with see the family of a food delivery rider killed in a traffic accident in 2020 receive $830,000 in compensation after food company and its insurer accepted liability for his death. Xiaojun Chen, 43, died in September 2020 after his bike… Read more »

Colette Grgic, Head of Startup BD, AWS at the Startups in the Web3 World segment at AWS ANZ Summit 2022
Global tech

“We’re rethinking everything”: How Web3 is helping startups disrupt existing models and create the impossible

- June 9, 2022 4 MIN READ

Whether you’re just stepping into Web3, or you’ve been busy paving roads for a while now, there’s no denying that it’s a vast and often confusing place to be. “We are literally rethinking everything from the ground up,” Colette Grgic, Head of Startup Ecosystem, AU & NZ  for AWS said at the recent Startups in… Read more »

Global tech

BILLIONAIRES BICKER: Elon Musk’s now having a war of words with Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar over working from home

- June 3, 2022 2 MIN READ

Twitter pugilist Elon Musk has a new war to fight on the micro-blogging site he’s buying. After ordering his executives back into the office for a “minimum” of 40 hours a week via email, Musk followed up with an all staff email saying “If you don’t show up, we’ll assume you’ve resigned”. Taking a dig… Read more »

Uber
Global tech

Uber cops $26 million fine after admitting it misled more than 2 million Australians over its cancellation fee

- April 26, 2022 2 MIN READ

Ridesharing company Uber has admitted it misled customers when it warned them of additional fees for cancelling trips and has agreed to wear a $26 million fine following action by consumer watchdog the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission. Uber has admitted that it breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading statements in… Read more »

Jack Nicholson in The Shining
Global tech

Booking site Trivago whacked with $44.7 million fine over misleading consumers about cheap hotel rates

- April 23, 2022 2 MIN READ

Hotel comparison site Trivago has been hit with $44.7 million in penalties by the Federal Court, misleading representations about hotel room rates on its website and in television advertising, in proceedings brought by the ACCC. The fine brings to an end a four-year legal battle against the Nasdaq-listed German tech company, launched by consumer watchdog the… Read more »

Jack Nicholson in The Shining
Global tech

Ghost in the machine: The psychology behind why people behave so badly on dating apps

- March 24, 2022 3 MIN READ

There’s no doubt that online dating and dating apps have transformed the way we initiate, form and end romantic relationships. We might also question whether the convenience of these apps has encouraged us to behave differently than we would in “real life”. More specifically, do mobile dating apps breed bad or antisocial behaviour? If you… Read more »