Smart Office

LG Announce PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

LG Electronics has announced that it will showcase the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier in its virtual exhibition at IFA 2020, and confirmed that the product will be available in select markets in Q4 2020. The wearable purifier kills harmful germs with built-in UV-LED lights, and features high-performance replaceable filters. The purifier’s dual fans then provide … Read more

Seek’s Earnings Down 9% In ‘Weak Ad Environment’

Seek Group’s full year earnings fell by 9% in FY20 to $414.9 million as the company was impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and a weak macro environment. However, Seek was still able to achieve revenue growth of 3%. Although Seek’s revenues fell by 12% in Australia and New Zealand, it remained the market leader with … Read more

While Canton Fair Goes Online, COMPUTEX 2020 Is Cancelled

One of the largest annual trade events on the ICT and IoT industry, COMPUTEX 2020 has been cancelled, with event organisers postponing the trade fair until 2021. COMPUTEX organisers Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taipei Computer Association (TCA) cited the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as the cause for the cancellation. Previously, at the start … Read more

Barhead Offers Back To Office App

SYDNEY: Australian business software specialist Barhead is launching a workforce management application aimed at helping companies ensure the safe and efficient return of employees to the workplace as Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift. The package is built on Microsoft’s Power Platform and integrates other workplace systems, including Microsoft Teams. Barhead’s Return to Office app provides … Read more

SK cafe hires robot barista

 SEOUL: Tens of thousands of baristas have lost their jobs as a result of lockdowns during the coronavirus – and in South Korea many may be out of work permanently if a new trend takes hold.  A cafe in Daejeon is trying out robot baristas.  Lee Dong-bae, director at Vision Semicon, says robots could help … Read more

Mobile Telcos To Deliver Covid-19 Info To Billions Via SMS

SYDNEY/GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are calling on the world’s mobile telcos to help them get information on Covid-19 via the SMS text messaging service to billions of people who have no Internet access. They want all telecommunication companies worldwide to join their initiative to “help unleash the … Read more

HPE Lays COVID19 Rescue Plan

SAN FRANCISCO: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)  is using its financial services unit and asset management services to help customers balance tech investments and cash flow management during COVID-19. The company is offering more than US$2 billion in financing and cash management programs for customers struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic. HPE said the … Read more

AIIA Urges Federal Govt. To Abandon R&D Squeeze Plan

MELBOURNE: The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) is pressing the Federal Government not to make changes to the country’s research-and-development (R&D) laws. AIIA reckons the proposed changes to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Research and Development Tax Incentive) Bill 2019 would squeeze small-to-medium sized enterprises at a time when the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. “The AIIA has … Read more

FBI Cops 1200 Scam Complaints In A Single Week: Report

LANGLEY, USA: Working from home via telework could give scammers increased access via the software use to run it, the FBI has warned. After receiving 1200 coronavirus-related scam complaints in a single week in the USA, the FBI says businesses across the nation are facing high cyber-risks in the use of online telecoms platforms. Jamie … Read more

Human Rights Groups Warn Of Rights In Data Despite COVID-19

SYDNEY: About 110 human rights and civil libertarian organisations around the world have jointly called on governments to make sure they maintain human rights laws when using digital surveillance technologies to track and monitor individuals and populations in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Signatories include Amnesty International, Algorithm Watch, Australian Privacy Foundation, … Read more