Geek Weekly: Our top weird tech stories for 28 July 2015
Technology Decisions’ weekly wrap of IT fails, latest tech, new must-have gadgets, ‘computer says no’ moments and more.
No rate rise for you. Westpac Bank is having trouble raising property loan interest rates for investors. Apparently its computer system can’t distinguish between investors and owner-occupiers. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that it could take months to solve the problem, during which time the bank will be missing out on millions of dollars. Oh dear. Will someone please hand me a box of tissues?
Beware free Wi-Fi. A US man who was arrested on child pornography charges has had the case against him dropped due to lack of evidence in what seems to be a case of mistaken identity. The building in which he lives has shared Wi-Fi, through which someone downloaded illegal images. It seems the police arrested the wrong person and put him through hell (including splashing his name and photo all over the internet, and causing him to lose his job) before a judge finally threw the case out.
No tax refund for you. The Australian Tax Office’s computers are currently jammed up with thousands of tax returns lodged through an online portal. Fairfax media is reporting that 2000 returns are in limbo in a “suspense pool,” while a further 4000 are in an “error queue”.
Did you buy a Jeep? Fiat Chrysler has announced a recall of around 1.4 million cars and trucks after reports that researchers were able to take control of a Jeep via the internet, forcing it into a ditch. The same researchers had previously taken control of a Toyota Prius and a Ford Escape. Makes me wish I’d never sold my old 1978 Corona.
Amiga turns 30. Back in the day, anyone serious about computer graphics owned an Amiga computer. Some people still do. Well, it’s hard to believe for us oldies, but Amiga has just turned 30. Sigh. They grow up so fast. Read more about why Amigas were so good.
Robo-soccer! It’s like Pong come to life! Enjoy this video of robots playing soccer.
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