Court orders Telstra to shelve ‘Unlimited’ ads for three years
The court orders that [Telstra] be restrained for a period of three years from publishing, broadcasting, communicating and otherwise distributing; and causing the publication, broadcast, communication and distribution of [the unlimited ads],” Justice Gleeson said in the order.
Optus took the action against Telstra because it felt the advertisement was likely to mislead consumers,” an Optus spokesperson
Telstra meanwhile said it respects the court ruling, saying that it has changed the wording of the campaign by using ‘peace of mind data’ instead.
During the proceedings, Optus specifically questioned the ads containing the words “One word from Australia’s best mobile network: Unlimited”, saying that there was no qualification or explanation accompanying it.
The judge agreed, saying that Telstra falsely conveyed that it offered mobile products that were unlimited on either the data speeds, volume of data that can be downloaded at unrestricted speeds, or a user’s ability to download data without interruption or delay.
ACMA warns of fake Optus emails asking for credit card information
The email is disguised as an unpaid bill asking for credit card information, with the subject line: “We are unable to process your last payment”.
ACMA said the fake emails are “sophisticated” and use a web address similar to the real Optus website, containing a phishing link to a fake “pay your bill” page.
Fair Trading sharpens teeth for consumer-reseller disputes
The Fair Trading Legislation Amendment bill was introduced to the NSW parliament by better regulation minister Matt Kean on 8 August with the stated objective to enable the Fair Trading commissioner to resolve certain consumer claims by way of directing a retailer to repair, replace or refund a purchased item.
The commissioner’s power to make directions will be focused on goods worth between $25 and $3000.
Electronic goods issues account for a considerable portion of consumer grievances in New South Wales.
A 2016 Australian Consumer Law survey identified that 88 percent of respondents had purchased electronics goods and that 19 percent of those experienced problems. More than half of electronics buyers experiencing those problems (64 percent) reported issues related to faulty, unsafe or poor quality goods.
Well-known electronics and technology vendors and resellers also frequently appear on NSW Fair Trading’s monthly complaints register, with Samsung, Kogan, Apple and Android Enjoyed topping the most-recent June tally.
Reforms will take effect from 1 January 2019 if passed
Fortnite released on Android, coming to Samsung devices first
Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney made the announcement at the Samsung Unpacked event at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn overnight, with the caveat that Samsung Galaxy users would be the first to try it out.
“Every gamer wants to know the same thing, when is Fortnite coming to Android? Samsung Galaxy devices are the first to be invited, starting right now,” he said.
Fortnite Beta is available on Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S8, S8+, S9, S9+, Note8 and Tab S3, as well as the Note9 and TabS4 devices just unveiled by Samsung. Other devices will be invited in waves over the next few days for players with other supported phones.
The game is bypassing Google’s Play store, with players only able to download it through Epic’s new installer, available through the Fortnite website.
Foxtel taking the fight to free-to-air with plans for 4K footy
When Australia plays South Africa in November it will mark a new era of Ultra HD live broadcasts, and is already looking to the AFL.
The Ultra HD push comes as the pay TV giant continues to shift customers across from Telstra’s metropolitan HFC cables to Optus’ nationwide satellite service, as the cable networks are rolled into the NBN.
Foxtel’s access to the cable networks ends in 2023 and the majority of customers are already connected via satellite but, in an effort to fast-track this migration, its new Ultra HD broadcasts are only available to satellite customers.
to receive the new Ultra HD channel, cable customers need a satellite dish on the roof — which could incur a $100 installation fee — as well as Foxtel’s new $125 iQ4 set-top box. Unlike the iQ3, the new iQ4 only works with Foxtel’s satellite service, letting users play, pause, rewind and record 4K broadcasts.
The iQ4 can also stream Ultra HD video from the internet
Foxtel has no immediate plans to upgrade its streaming services to Ultra HD
free-to-air broadcasters are unlikely to quickly follow Foxtel’s move into Ultra HD broadcasting. ABC and SBS are already trialing the DVB-T2 standard, including 4K test broadcasts, but the greater challenge for the country’s free-to-air networks is squeezing a new 4K channel into their allotted spectrum.
“If we want the ability deliver 4K content to everybody Australia-wide, and to guarantee it works all the time, then the only way we can do that today is with satellite.” foxtel said
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Joes Podcast notes for 16/08/2018
Turnbull unveils a new bill to plant
viruses on computer devices
https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/645001/government-prepares-unveil-legislation-tackle-police-access-encrypted-comms/
The government is planning to introduce soon some legislation to help law enforcement authorities to have access to your encrypted communication products and services.
A government document states that this will have an impact of encrypted communications services and devices which are on national security and law enforcement investigations.
This will also impose obligations on both domestic and foreign companies that supply these type of services to Australia.
The cyber security and law enforcement minister, Angus Taylor, earlier this year said the government doesn’t want to undermine encryption, but legislation will require companies to take “reasonable steps” to assist law enforcement — but the government has not spelled out what those “reasonable steps” constitute in the case of end-to-end encrypted services.
The Government also said that there will also need to be obligations on industry telecommunications and technology service providers to cooperate with agencies to get access to that data.
The legislation “will not create backdoors,” the minister said. “This government is committed to no backdoors … It isn’t necessary to give law enforcement agencies access to a decryption key… unless under the sole control of its user. We simply don’t need to weaken encryption in order to get what we need.
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New Google One Storage Cloud is coming soon for everyone
https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/15/17693006/google-one-cloud-storage-plans-launch
Google One gives you more storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos.
If you already have a paid Google Drive storage plan, you’ll be automatically upgraded to Google One over the coming months. (rest of the world in coming months)
Google says it’s already moved some of its Google Drive subscribers on personal accounts over to the new Google One plans. As of today, anyone in the US can sign up with the new pricing.
A new feature will be that you’ll also be able to share your storage with up to five family members, which is a pretty useful feature, especially since you could wind up paying for far more storage than you really need. In practice, Google doesn’t actually check if the email accounts you’ve added are family members, so you can add friends or coworkers easily.
Google One plans will start at 100 GB for $1.99, 200 GB for $2.99 and 2 TB for $9.99 per month, while pricing for plans larger than 2 TB will remain the same. (Existing 1 TB Drive plans will be upgraded to 2 TB at no extra cost.)
To try out Google One. The process is simple, you just head over into your Google Drive and click on Storage, then Upgrade Storage, to bring up all the possible upgrades, its that simple.
Apple reportedly held secret meeting with app devs to push a new subscription model for apps.
https://www.techspot.com/news/75957-apple-reportedly-held-secret-meeting-app-devs-push.html
“Apple is quietly building one of the biggest subscription businesses in the world — something that’s core to the company as iPhone sales growth slows down.
Yes – This is interesting to know. Have you heard of “Subscription 2.0,” ? …well it’s been in the works since 2016.
Software companies know that the best way to get more money from consumers is to offer subscriptions for their products, rather than charging a one-off fee.
According to a report from Business Insider, Apple last year told app developers to focus on this software-as-a-service model, thereby making more money for themselves and the iPhone maker, which takes a cut of the revenue stream.
The report says that Apple held a secret meeting with around 30 developers in New York in April 2017. It reportedly encouraged them to move to subscription models so users would pay for apps “on a regular basis, putting money in for the developer on a regular schedule,” and Apple’s, of course.