Not quite all the news that’s fit to print… just a selection of tech news stories that grabbed my attention.
In Tech News Today, I muse over news stories from the past 24 hours that catch my attention.
Pixels: Not just an awful Adam Sandler movie
Overnight, Google announced the Pixel 10 series of phones, plus a new Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds 2a… and I’ve written about those on this very site, including my own thoughts, which you can check out here:
Alex’s Quick Thoughts:
See above, if that wasn’t obvious.
HMD vs Nudity: Round One
Google isn’t the only one with a new phone to sell, though HMD’s take is – like a lot of HMD’s offerings – a little different.
The $799 HMD Fuse’s big selling point is that it includes a subscription to a service that claims it’ll block all nudity – not just outright “adult material”, but nudity, period – from phones, in order to protect younger users of phones.
Over at Pickr, Leigh Stark has a rundown on the phone and why that kind of approach is… problematic.
Alex’s Quick Thoughts:
While HMD didn’t share the Fuse details with me for whatever reason, I very much agree with Leigh’s take; nudity is not always automatically tied to sexuality and even for those parents who do want that kind of service, the fact that there’s an ongoing subscription cost and a lack of notifications is highly problematic in terms of ongoing discussions around these issues with your offspring.
I’m also reminded of a situation many moons ago when I was working for a specific publication where we were sent some internet filtering software that claimed to block out 99.99% of nudity (or words to that effect).
It failed to do so often, but also blocked out some shades of the colour pink, and anything Anne Geddes related. Maybe that last bit was a positive point, actually…
Can you trust your Travel eSIM?
The use of eSIMs, especially travel eSIMs might bring more risks with them than you’d think, with one study highlighting how traffic through them is often routed through foreign telecommunications networks (beyond those used within those countries) without the user’s knowledge.
Alex’s Quick Thoughts:
This isn’t good – one of the big benefits of eSIM when travelling is that they’re easy to set up and provide a more secure way to get online rather than relying on sketchy public Wi-Fi.
That’s only true if you can trust the eSIM providers to be transparent about your data and where it goes, though I guess it does open up a doorway for a brand to be fully transparent that way and sell itself as an ethical brand.
Any eSIM providers out there care to make that claim? Drop me a line…
Apple now offers self-service repair in Canada
Apple’s own in-house repairs are on the pricier side, and if you’re not near an Apple store or authorised reseller, in larger countries they can be a pain to access. Apple’s announced that its self-service repair program, which makes tools, parts and manuals available for those happy to fix their own devices is now live in Canada.
Alex’s Quick Thoughts:
Still waiting on this one to launch in Australia.
I get the feeling that, Australian Consumer Law being what it is, I’ll be waiting a while.
What will life be like in the year 2000?
OK, this one doesn’t count as “News”, strictly speaking, given it dates from 1966.
But it’s still a fascinating (but not that happy, be warned) little clip to end on, no?
Alex’s Quick Thoughts:
1966 was a while back… but then again, so was 2000.
Yes, I’m experimenting with a format. Let me know your thoughts below!
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