# In This Issue

- ANU lecturer punished for criticising COVIDSafe at the demand of a BCG consultant

- First court hearing between Apple and Epic takes place over Zoom, with Microsoft backing Epic

- TikTok lays out its futile argument for why banning it in the USA is a Bad Thing

- Windows 95 is 25 years old today and I miss it

- Cheap SanDisk endurance microSD, iTunes/App Store gift cards, AirPods 2, Life is Strange for PS4, NewsHosting usenet, Bose Frames, Bose QC35II & Echo Dot bundle, Boost Mobile SIM, Amazon Echo Plus & Hue smart bulb bundle

# News

#### ANU lecturer punished for criticising COVIDSafe at the demand of a BCG consultant

Australian National University lecturer Dr Priya Dev was set to moderate a panel discussing the COVIDSafe app featuring Boston Consulting Group (aka BCG, who consulted on COVIDSafe) project leader Chris Davern and Clayton Utz special counsel Matthew Baldwin, but was removed from the panel after writing a relatively non-controversial opinion piece arguing for COVIDSafe to use the Google and Apple framework for contact tracing. ANU has since admitted "Dr Dev’s academic freedom may have been impacted by these decisions" and confirmed that "discussions were held" with Chris Davern regarding removing Dr Dev as the panel moderator. Basically this weenie consultant was afraid of criticism, had a sook to ANU saying to get rid of the moderator that dared challenge his work and ANU bent over for him. Weak. As. Piss.

#### First court hearing between Apple and Epic takes place over Zoom, with Microsoft backing Epic

Epic and Apple had a Zoom chat in front of a judge today in the first hearing of their legal fight. The issue at hand today was whether Apple should be able to revoke Epic's developer credentials from Apple's platforms, meaning Epic can't support the Unreal Engine game SDK on Apple's platforms. The judge hasn't decided yet, but said she thinks Apple "overreached" with salting the Earth for Epic, but Epic brought it upon themselves provoking Apple with Fortnite. Meanwhile, Microsoft backed Epic's efforts to not be banned from Apple's dev platforms, saying the Unreal Engine is "critical technology for numerous game creators, including Microsoft" and "if Unreal Engine cannot support games for iOS or macOS, Microsoft would be required to choose between abandoning its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing to develop new games".

#### TikTok lays out its futile argument for why banning it in the USA is a Bad Thing

TikTok is suing the US government over Trump's executive order banning the app unless its sold to a US company. According to TikTok's blog post, the government ignored its evidence that it doesn't share US data back to its Chinese overlord, didn't follow due process in enacting such a ban (something about emergency powers first, then the ban) and reckons the law can't apply to them because they're not a telco just an app. TikTok go on to argue that even if they are sold off to a US company like Microsoft or Oracle (lol fuck me if Oracle buy TikTok...) the executive order is so vague the government could still shut it all down.

# Not News

#### Windows 95 is 25 years old today and I miss it

Can you believe 25 years have passed since Windows 95 went on sale? I think some of you reading this aren't even 25 years old! I remember the huge buzz around it as a 10 year old into computers. I even got my dad to take me to the midnight launch at Maribyrnong Harvey Norman where we lined up to be among the first to buy it and get a special prize (which I think was a mouse pad and a free copy of the Plus pack that have you a few games, Internet Explorer and wallpapers). I was blessed to have a CD-ROM in my PC and asked the sales person for the CD version instead of the version with 100 or something 3.5" floppies. I had no idea Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry starred in an "hour-long cyber sitcom all about Windows 95". It’s fucking terrible.

# Bargains

- SanDisk high endurance 128GB microSD card - $32.18 from Amazon

- 15% off iTunes/App Store gift cards at Woolworths starting tomorrow

- Apple AirPods 2 with charging case - $199 at Australia Post (can get Officeworks to price match down to $189.05)

- Life is Strange: Season Pass or Life is Strange: Before the Storm Deluxe Edition for the PS4 - $5.19/$7.59 on the PlayStation Store

- NewsHosting unlimited usenet plan - US$20 for a year

- Bose Frames (bone conduction headphone sunglasses) in various sizes and styles - $229 at JB Hi-Fi

- Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones plus an Amazon Echo Dot 3rd-gen - $347 from Amazon

- Boost Mobile 240GB data & unlimited calls/SMS 12-month SIM - $270 from Boost

- Amazon Echo Plus (2nd-gen) & Phillips Hue Smart Bulb - $99 at JB Hi-Fi

🎶 Youwanner - The Fall

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