1. Retro time! Space Invaders is 45 years old – and a new “augmented reality” version of the game has launched for Androids and iPhones
Space Invaders was first launched in Japan in April, 1978, and went to North America in November, 1978.
Wikipedia states Space Invaders is the best selling and highest grossing video game and entertainment product of all time, and was made available for every games platform and computer system imaginable, and has just been released yet again for iPhones and iPads and Androids as an “augmented reality” game.
Its creator, Taito, has joined forces with Google to create this new “immersive AR” version of the game, where you need to get outside to play the game, which presumably will keep Mums globally happy that their kids are getting some outside action, even if they are still staring at a screen while doing so.
In the game, you see the real world that is before you, through the camera, and you see giant versions of the famous space invaders characters “spawn from buildings and rooftops, hide behind structures and hover in the sky”, which you can shoot at using controls on the screen.
Obviously you score points by blowing the aliens up, special power-ups can be won, you compete with friends for the top score near their location, and you can also take an AR selfie where you look like you’re the pilot – or at least your head is – in a futuristic fighter pilot, which you can share with friends, whether on social media or otherwise.
The game is powered by Google’s ARCore and Geospatial API, using your immediate surroundings as well as nearby buildings, landscapes and other architectural elements to design engaging levels in the real world with AR and on the screen only with 3D. The immersive gameplay adapts to the player’s real world, including location, time and local weather.
You can read more at Google’s blog here, with “The Evolution of Space Invaders” by Taito Corporation filled with lots of history and great videos at the Google Arts and Culture blog here.
2. An original, factory sealed 2007 iPhone has sold at auction for US $190,372, which is just under AUD $280,000
If you have old tech in pristine or even unopened condition stored in the attic, the garage or somewhere else, it could be worth a lot of money, but only to the right collectors.
The latest news concerns a four gigabyte iPhone, which originally sold for US $499, just selling for more than 380 times that amount, US $190,372, and just under AUD $280,000 at LGC Auctions.
The 4GB model is rarer than the 8GB model because not many were made – many people thought the 8GB model with double the storage was better value, for just $100 more, with the 4GB model selling for US $499 and the 8GB model at $599.
The lot for this iPhone attracted 28 bids in total and was expected to reach a price of between US $50,000-$100,000, but reportedly smashed all previous records, with an 8GB model selling for US $39,000 in October 2022. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/sealed-2007-iphone-sells-for-39000-at-auction/, while another model sold for over US $63,000 in February this year, so the US $190,000 sale price really is a record.
In September 2007, Apple discontinued the 4GB model, and dropped the price of the 8GB model to US $399. Apple had to offer a US $100 Apple Store credit to early adopters who were naturally upset by the price falling so much. Apple launched a 16GB model for US $499 in February 2008, with all the original iPhone models discontinued in June 2008, when the iPhone 3G was released, which was the first year it was officially available in Australia.
I still have my original iPhone, although it is well used, which I purchased from someone who had imported it but was dismayed they couldn’t officially use it in Australia. I was able to “jailbreak” the device using software that hackers had created so that I could unlock it from the AT&T network in the US, and use it on the Telstra network in Australia.
3, Norton launches new “Pictionary” PDF book to warn users about the biggest scams caching people unaware
From delivery scams to tax scams, to fake offer emails, the free 12 page Phictionary book highlights the most common phishing attacks seen today, laid out in classic dictionary form. Phictionary helps you spot the tell-tale signs of phishing attacks, with Norton urging you to download a copy of the book – which I have linked at TechAdvice.Life – so you can keep the checklist close and hopefully avoid being scammed.
The following are some real-life examples from Phictionary that have been detected and blocked by Norton:
1) Account Suspension alert
A fake message addressed to an individual asking them to complete account recovery within a specific time period otherwise it will result in permanent suspension. We temporarily place your Ρaурal suspended, To restore follow instruction below. <|url|> Please complete the recovery within 2 days otherwise Ρaурal account permanently suspended. We are sorry for any inconvenience has caused. Thank you for your attention.
2) Delivery Mishap alert
A fraudulent message faking an attempted delivery designed to extract personal information from the target. Our driver attempted to deliver your shipment today but no one was home. To reschedule a new delivery date, visit: <|url|>
3) Tax Scam
A spoof message masked as a revenue or customs company. myGov: Your income return of [amount] could not be processed due to insufficient information supplied please update immediately at <|url|>
Other scams including an account information alert, account verification, a credit rating crisis, a login attempt to one of your existing accounts, a malware threat, a random offer, a scare tactic, a shipping scam, a suspicious activity scam, a tax refund (or any kind of refund scam), one of which my mother received this morning, and a toll scam.
The book also includes a list of the key recommendation for people to learn and refer to if they come across a phishing attack, and it’s well worth downloading.
4. Nokia is offering Australians the chance to recycle their old phones to be in the running to win one of two luxury holidays worth over $12,000 each
In partnership with its friends at Wander, Clean Up Australia, & MobileMuster and Freely, Nokia has decided to offer “you and three friends” the chance to head off on a four-day holiday to Kangaroo Island, SA or Scenic Rim, QLD for a jam-packed adventure. With car hire, luxury eco accommodation and daily activities, all you have to do is recycle your old mobile phone and you could win this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
The company notes people are stashing away forgotten phones in bottom drawers, with Australian households collectively hold onto more than 4.9 million broken phones, with an average of 2 unused mobile phones per household.
Despite 75% of the population being aware of the mobile phone recycling program in Australia, only 1 in 3 of us have recycled a phone in the past.
There are similar recycling schemes around the world, with these schemes ensuring the precious and rare earth metals inside these phones are properly recycled, with most phone stores able to take phones on behalf of Mobile Muster, and many supermarkets having a special bin to recycle regular batteries, smartphone batteries and smartphones themselves
In Australia, the Officeworks store, which is similar to Office Depot in the US, will accept old computers, old electronics, old smartphones, old batteries and in Australia, even old printer cartridges for safe recycling.
It’s also vitally important not to throw old phone or old lithium batteries into the trash, because they can be crushed inside of waste removal vehicles and catch fire, or catch fire at the local tip, and can be very hard to put out.
So while you’ve been able to recycle smartphones and batteries free of charge for quite some time, no-one has previously offered you the chance to win a major holiday, so if you do still have an old phone sitting in a drawer that you’re not using, check out the link at TechAdvice.Life and recycle it, and you might win!
5. The Victorian pull-out to host the Commonwealth Games has not only dashed the hopes of local athletes, but has also destroyed IT and telecommunications contracts worth millions of dollars, with hundreds of associated jobs also gone.
This is according to Computer Daily News, which notes “the search for a director of communications and digital content associated with the Games” has also ceased.
We’re told the decision will have a flow-on effect overseas where broadcasters and sporting and news websites were gearing to provide content during the event”, although if another city is found to host the games, those contracts will start up again, and communications and digital content will still need to be created from that new city.
The Commonwealth Games site is here and the official statement from the Australian Chef De Mission Petria Thomas OAM is here.
As CDN (Computer Daily News) reports, “the Director of Digital and Content was facing the mammoth task of coordinating all digital and social media channels for the games. The chosen candidate would have been responsible for delivering the customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, manage data, build audiences, produce compelling video, static and written content. Linked to that position were the marketing, communications and brand strategies.
“It’s an indication of what has been lost by the decision. Tens of millions of dollars would not only have been spent, but generated through broadcast rights, advertising and marketing. The amount of infrastructure required to broadcast the Games to Australians and other Commonwealth countries would have been massive.
“Cabling alone for IT systems, telecommunications and broadcasting would have cost a small fortune. Hardware costs such as PCs routers, mobile phones would also have been enormous. Contracts for data storage and use have disappeared as well. Digital sporting companies hoping for an audience uptick and a corresponding jump in advertising, will also be impacted.
“The global Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia have slammed the decision saying claims that it would cost Victoria $6 billion are a gross exaggeration.
“But Melbourne only stepped up because the Birmingham games had been bought forward two years after Durban pulled out as host.”
6. Microsoft still doesn’t know how China-based hackers broke into government inboxes
Microsoft says it still doesn’t know how China-backed hackers stole a key that allowed them to break into dozens of email inboxes, including those belonging to several federal government agencies.
Microsoft’s blog post said it was “a matter of ongoing investigation” how the hackers obtained a Microsoft signing key that was abused to forge authentication tokens that allowed the hackers’ access to inboxes as if they were the rightful owners.
Reports say targets included US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, State Department officials and other organisations not yet publicly revealed. Microsoft disclosed the incident last Tuesday, attributing the month-long activity to a newly discovered espionage group it calls Storm-0558, which it believes has a strong nexus to China.
7. Threads sees daily active users halve from 49 million to 23.6 million in a week
Is the shine from Mark Zuckerberg’s new Threads app looking a little threadbare?
While data analytics company QuiverQuant has pegged current Threads users at 115 million, which has seen its meteoric rise to 100 million users in little more than a week slow to a growth of an additional 15 million users in week two.
Another data analytics company called SimilarWeb has been tracking the “daily active users” of Threads, and says this figure dropped by half based on Android users, from 49 million to under 24 million, showing people are having a look, but aren’t necessarily sticking around.
An app called Clubhouse that let you listen to conversations people were having on the Internet really took off during the pandemic, but it’s no longer the golden child it once was, with Twitter taking on a similar feature called Spaces, and people no longer stuck at home, either.
Twitter use reportedly did drop by a few percent when Threads launched, but it has recovered, and it still remains the best way for people to quickly share snippets of information in real time.
The Verge has some news about Threads, noting a range of new features in the iOS version of the Threads app.
The article quotes Threads developer Cam Roth, who states the newly updated iOS app does the following:
New @threadsapp iOS updated dropped today! Check out what we’ve been hard at work cooking up 👨🍳
👓 translations!
👥 follows tab on activity feed
🔔 subscribe to unfollowed users
❤️ activity feed scrolling + loading improvements
👀 following + on thread replies page
👆 tappable reposter labels
📸 open the IG followers list
🔧 a few small crash fixes. we’re now at 0.02%
📉 🔪 more binary size cuts
🐞 a handful of other small bugs
He also states a translate button is coming, too.
So, Threads might be unravelling according to some, but Meta is adding to the thread count as quickly as it can with new features, and given Threads is yet to launch in Europe, there’s still more growth yet to come.
