Through all the news of the past several days, I’m not even mentioning the massive iCloud outage from earlier this week. Even still, we have news about Bill C-11, Freedom Mobile, a potentially massive data breach, and rockets, among other things. Here are some of the stories I found interesting.
Creators Speak Out Against Bill C-11
Bill C-11 was before the Heritage Committee this week. This bill aims to put some of the same Canadian content rules and regulations traditional broadcasters are subject to on online platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok. Many creators find this problematic, saying that forcing companies to change how they serve content in Canada will have a negative impact for all users, and may even make it harder for Creators on those platforms. The bill is well intentioned, but misses the point.
Multiple Companies In Talks to Purchase Freedom Mobile
As has been discussed before, Rogers will not be allowed to absorb Freedom Mobile If it buys Shaw, and must divest the wireless carrier. Two companies are in talks to purchase Freedom Mobile. With these negotiaions, we could see the sale of Freedom, as well as the sale of Shaw to Rogers, wrap up within a few months, if the Government approves the transactions.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/03/22/xplornet-enters-talks-to-buy-freedom-mobile/
Okta Discloses Attacker Had Physical Access to a Laptop
Not many people know the name Okta, but it is one of the biggest providers of authentication services in the corporate world, with many of the largest companies using its services. Okta has disclosed that an attacker had possession of one of its laptops for 5 days, though the company claims they were unable to access any sensitive data. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. A compromise of Okta could have significant repercussions in the security space.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/22/22990637/okta-breach-single-sign-on-lapsus-hacker-group
Mac Studio SSDs Aren’t Quite What They Seem
Over the weekend the internet blew up with stories about how the Mac Studio has storage drives that can be replaced by users, but that Apple blocks users from changing them at the software level. Ars Technica has done a deep dive on this subject, finding that the drives Apple uses are not standard parts, and that while they may share a physical interface with standard off the shelf drives, these are custom parts that don’t work. That isn’t better or worse, but at least we have an explanation as to why. This confirms that even though the Mac Studio is a desktop style computer, there are no user replaceable parts on it, which is a shame.
Oneweb Forced to use SpaceX to Launch Satellites
Oneweb is a company that aims to provide satellite internet similar to what SpaceX is doing is Starlink. The key difference being that Starlink will sell its services to internet providers instead of individual users. Oneweb, a European company, had been launching its satellites on Russian built Soyuz rockets. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Soyuz is no longer an option, and Oneweb was left without any way to launch its satellites, with very few options. The company has been forced to turn to its competitor, SpaceX, and its Falcon 9 rocket. Oneweb is now in the position of paying its competitor to launch its satellites into space. Not ideal, but the company was left with few options.
NASA’s SLS Rocket Rolls out to Launchpad
NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket has finally rolled out to its launchpad for the first time. The rocket, delayed by almost a decade and tens of billions of dollars over budget, will be the largest, most powerful rocket ever launched, until SpaceX’s starship becomes operational. This rollout is to test the ground systems. The rocket will go to the pad, get fueled, and go through an entire launch countdown except for the actual launch. It will then be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be checked again before being rolled back to the launchpad for the actual launch.
In a vacuum, the SLS is an impressive rocket, but the cost overruns, the fact that each launch looks to cost over $2 Billion USD, and the fact that it is not reusable at all makes it a tough sell. However, it’s development has been good politics in the US, and the jobs it creates is why it exists.
Microsoft to Display Watermark on Unsupported Windows 11 Installs
Microsoft is following through after testing a watermark on the screens of Windows 11 installs on hardware that is technically unsupported. This isn’t the end of the world, but is just.. not a good look from the company.
Apple Removes the Ability to Buy and Rent Movies on the Apple TV App for Android TV
Apple actually makes Apple TV apps for smart TV platforms, and until this week on Android TV users could buy and rent movies directly from the Android TV app. Now that option is gone. It seems that Apple doesn’t want to pay the 30% commission that Google takes on purchases through the Google Play Store. The irony is lost on no one.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/21/22988846/apple-tv-app-android-google-rentals-purchases