News, views and analysis from the A/NZ tech sector
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Hi there,
If Bird Flu and Mad Cow disease were worrying, Coronavirus, described by UK health authorities this week as a 'mild illness', is smashing all-comers as governments enforce quarantines and shut down borders.
If we thought society was being broken down by social media's fake news, COVID-19 is the proof.
It's no laughing matter, but in the screeds of hysteria and hypotheses the pandemic has triggered, this one stood out: "Climate change needs to hire coronavirus's publicist".
The tech sector has not been immune. Nervous global tech conference organisers have, justifiably, cancelled events as airlines suspend flights, borders are shut down and corporates impose travel bans. Regardless of your science or mathematics, the unknown, infectious and deadly is scary. And scary spells risky.
In Australia too, many conferences organisers have announced cancellations, postponements or a move online for their events. Others, however, are adopting a more pragmatic attitude, adopting Australian Health Protection Principal Committee advice that the threat level here is currently low and public events should proceed, with some commonsense precautions.
It’s an example of the two different tacks being taken – and the clear divide forming in wider society between those who want immediate lock-downs to keep the virus from our shores and communities, and those taking a more pragmatic science-based approach.
In other news this week:
- Secretive Clearview AI facial recognition hits Australia
- Six tips for improving the user interface on your software
- Legal fraternity finding its place among tech disruption
- Vector metering plugs in to Spark's IoT network
And we take a look at how an agricultural services provider banished paperwork, put accounts payable in its teams’ pockets and freed up time to focus on the real business of farming.
Stay safe, keep washing those hands and take whatever precautions you believe are necessary to keep yourself, your families and those around you safe.
Enjoy the read,
Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.com.au
CORONAVIRUS
Tech sector sweats Covid-19 as major events cancel
2020 the year of live streaming and webinars as organisers react to panic…
In the wake of the coronavirus, a multitude of high profile tech events have been either cancelled or postponed.
“Coronavirus adds another factor – you won’t die attending a webinar.”
FACIAL RECOGNITION
Police cop flak over facial tech
Australian law enforcement among agencies using secretive system…
A controversial AI facial recognition system which uses more than three billion photos scraped from social media sites, is reportedly being used by Australian police.
A New York Times investigation dubbed Clearview AI ‘the secretive company that might end privacy as we know it.
[Read more]
UX DESIGN
Getting UX right
It’s not a ‘nice to have’ anymore…
As businesses serve up websites, mobile apps, chatbots, SaaS and enterprise apps to customers both externally and internally, user experience design is increasingly coming to the fore.
“Adding new features to a product is relatively easy. Ensuring we’re solving the right problems is not.”
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TECH LAWYERS
Lawyers’ role in tech disruption
Is the legal profession too conservative for the fast-moving world of tech?…
If you rely strictly on the stereotypes, the business of tech and the business of law sure seem like uneasy bedfellows.
“Lawyers can have a ‘backwards-facing’ way of looking at the world.”
[Read more]
INTERNET OF THINGS
Vector adds IoT to smart metering
The emancipation of energy data…
Vector is eyeing innovations including the prospect of consumers being able to use more than one energy provider, as it connects its meters to Spark’s IoT network.
This technology is a building block and enabler to allow us to be more innovative in the way our market evolves.
[Read more]
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
More time for farming. Less time on Accounts Payable.
FarmRight now enjoys improved visibility, faster processing and a smaller AP team…
With more than 60 farms under its control across A/NZ, a specialised provider of third-party management services turned to Fuji Xerox New Zealand and Esker's AP automation software solution.
It promised to quite literally put AP in your pocket.
[Read more]
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