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The ACCC is asking government to give it powers that'll force Google into offering a browser choice screen on Australian Android devices, similar to what Google is forced to do in Europe. They want to do this because Google has a 94% market share for internet search in Australia, which is bad because it "reduces the likelihood that innovative services are developed and are able to reach consumers and businesses", "is likely to result in lower quality search services or search services with undesirable features" and means "less diversity in the search engine business models offered to consumers". Would be awesome to have more competition in this market, so people come up with better or different wants to find stuff online. Good luck ACCC.
Nvidia has been trying to give Softbank US$40b and buy Arm off the Japanese conglomerate, but red tape has clogged things up. Things got worse for Nvidia today as the European Commission opened a "formal probe into the deal". According to Anandtech, "the EC's concerns hinge around the fact that Arm is an IP supplier for both NVIDIA and its competitors. Which has led the EC to be concerned about whether NVIDIA would use its ownership of Arm to limit or otherwise degrade competitors' access to Arm's IP" - a bit of a big deal considering how much stuff these days uses Arm based chips. It's unlikely the deal will be done by March as Nvidia recently told investors recently as it'll probably take a loooong time for the Europeans to decide if Nvidia's plans for Arm are legit.
Professionals Australia surveyed 957 women STEM workers and found that they are "regularly underpaid, underrepresented and unsupported". 40% of the respondents said "they do not receive equal compensation for equal work, while more than half reported direct discrimination because of their gender". Even worse, "more than a third of women surveyed said they had been sexually harassed during their employment". Say what you will about diversity quotas or goals to reach 50/50 male and female STEM workforces, sexual harassment, getting paid less than men for equal work and gender discrimination is just not acceptable in 2021, we are better than that.
In news that really shouldn't be news, iFixit has discovered that the new MacBook Pros have a semi-removable battery. Sure, it's not "removable" in the sense you just unclip it from the bottom and slide a new one in (I haven't seen a laptop with that capability in years), but as iFixit explains, the batteries have pull tabs for the adhesive and are not trapped under the logic board. Remove the bottom plate, remove the trackpad from the top plate, pull the tabs and the battery can be removed safely and new ones stuck in. Makes DIY battery replacements possible once again.
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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.