I somehow didn't know this, but popular animated GIF repository Giphy is owned by Facebook. The reason I know this is because the UK's equivalent of the ACCC has "provisionally found that Facebook's takeover of Giphy will negatively impact competition between social media platforms". They reckon that a "reduction in the choice or quality of these GIFs could significantly affect how people use these sites and whether or not they switch to a different platform", which would be an issue for competition in the social media market because "Facebook's ownership of Giphy could lead it to deny other platforms access to its GIFs". The regulator is threatening to force Facebook to sell Giphy if their suspicions are confirmed.
Got a weird message lately saying you missed a call, a message was left and a dodgy URL popped in at the end? That's a symptom someone you know got hit with FluBot - a piece of malware going around Android phones that spreads to other Android phones by spamming people in your contact list, making it really hard for telcos to crack down on as the messages are coming from legit accounts. Clicking the link takes you to what appears to be a courier service or a telco, but to find out more about the message that's been left, you need to install an app. I can hear your internal alarm bells ringing from here, but for heaps of people the fear of missing a parcel or an important voicemail takes over and the dodgy app gets installed.
Apple has been pissed off with Corellium for a long time and sued them saying that Corellium's software that allow security researchers to test their 0-days and vulns in a virtual machine or emulator infringes on their copyright. That lawsuit just got shitcanned as the two parties came to a settlement, just a week out from the case hitting public court. Interestingly, the settlement doesn't stop Corellium continuing to sell its product, so I'm not sure what Corellium conceded to make Apple change its mind. I reckon it's because Apple is copping intense heat over the CSAM stuff and it would look even worse for Apple if they decided to fight a security vendor trying to make Apple's software safer. Plus, maybe, Corellium actually didn't do anything wrong and Apple knew it.
Two years ago I visited Telstra's museum in an old Hawthorn telephone exchange and absolutely loved it. Got to nerd out looking at all this telecommunications history, like old payphones, ADSL equipment and the actual switching mechanism for the the copper phone lines. It closed down not long after I visited, but for good reason - a renovation! I forgot about it until it was mentioned in The Sizzle's Slack channel today and to my delight it looks like work is going along nicely. It'll be rebranded the National Communications Museum and it has a staff and a board and what looks like a decent amount of funding. Something to look forward to in 2022.
📻 I Like Your Old Remix Better Than Your New Remix - Regurgitator
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.