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21 November, 2013

In a move that will be hailed both as in the interest of preparing children for the workforce and as a commercial creep into the school yard, Microsoft has won the right to be featured in the Queensland's high school curriculum. From next year, students in 275 high schools will be able to gain credit toward their leaving certificates for completing units from the Microsoft IT Academy’s suite of 400 online courses. However, the vocational skills delivered by vendor courses should not be confused with the “deeper computational thinking” needed to pursue careers in computer science and engineering,

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/it-pro/business-it/microsoft-wins-spot-in-school-curriculum-20131120-hv3n3.html

The union representing Telstra field staff says the telco's copper-wire network is "beyond repair" and "an absolute disgrace", casting new doubts over the federal government's plans to use it to deliver faster broadband in its mixed-technology national broadband network (NBN).

http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/telstras-copper-is-nearly-beyond-repair-and-an-absolute-disgrace-union-20131120-hv3mp.html

LG's G Flex smartphone magically heals itself - even after a knife attack, and sitting on to flatten.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/lgs-g-flex-smartphone-magically-heals-itself--even-after-a-knife-attack-20131121-2xwv6.html

For the first time this summer cricket fans watching matches on mobile devices will have to pay data streaming fees, because the sport no longer has a mobile network broadcasting partner. Watching for one hour at a download speed of three megabits per second would use up 1.3 gigabytes of data. But watching for one hour at much slower speeds, and therefore a lower quality, would use about a tenth of that, or 150 megabytes of data.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/cricket-fans-now-face-mobile-data-fees-20131121-2xwwh.html

Google's chief internet evangelist, Vint Cerf, suggests that privacy is a fairly new development that may not be sustainable. "Privacy may actually be an anomaly," Cerf said at an FTC event yesterday while taking questions. Elaborating, he explained that privacy wasn't even guaranteed a few decades ago: he used to live in a small town without home phones where the postmaster saw who everyone was getting mail from. "In a town of 3,000 people there is no privacy. Everybody knows what everybody is doing."

http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/20/5125922/vint-cerf-google-internet-evangelist-says-privacy-may-be-anomaly

GOOGLE'S new KitKat Android operating system has escalated a telco war in the US over Near Field Communication and there are security questions surrounding its lower memory use.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/analysts-chew-into-google-android-kitkat/story-e6frgakx-1226765081012

20 November, 2013

The U.S. government believes that some scary people are using bitcoin. But here’s another scary prospect: If the government goes overboard with a hard-line approach on bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies, it may merely push them overseas, where they will surely flourish outside of its control.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/bitcoin_hearing/

SOPA rides again: USA’s secret TPP treaty outlaws phone jailbreaks and unlocking, introduces crazy copyright law

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/171223-sopa-rides-again-usas-secret-tpp-treaty-outlaws-phone-jailbreaks-and-unlocking-introduces-crazy-copyright-law

Not a month goes by without security researchers finding new malicious apps on Google Play. According to BitDefender, more than one percent of 420,000+ analyzed apps offered on Google’s official Android store are repackaged versions of legitimate apps. In the long run, their existence hurts the users, the legitimate developers, and Google’s reputation in general.

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15976

Australians making the most of E3 visa opportunities in the US. Australians dreaming of working in the technology sector in the US have the country’s immigration policy firmly on their side. Visa restrictions for Australians seeking work are now so loose that American companies cannot seem to hire enough Australian talent.

http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/australians-making-the-most-of-e3-visa-opportunities-in-the-us-20131118-hv3hy.html

Optus has started a fixed wireless broadband trial in four capital cities to see whether a reliable 4G signal can replace fixed broadband connections in urban areas. Optus expects the fixed wireless service would be priced similarly to its other fixed products and offer download speeds of about 12 megabits per second, which was comparable to a fast ADSL connection.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/optus-to-revive-fixed-wireless-broadband-20131120-2xu6r.html