The remarks were made on Friday during a hearing held by the Community Affairs References Committee as part of its ongoing probe of Centrelink’s compliance program. Representatives from the agency responsible for the program that colloquially became known as robo-debt were asked if Excel spreadsheets, rather than computer systems, were being used to manually view debt files to determine and calculate refunds. “No, and yes – if I can put it in those terms,” Services Australia integrity strategy, engagement, and policy branch national manager Robert McKellar said....

She researches. She asks questions. She goes to see the products. Then, she goes away and thinks about it. Regular readers – what is wrong with you? – will know that my wife intended to upgrade from her Samsung Galaxy S20 to an S22. Because that’s what a lot of people do when they’re in the mood for a new phone. Upgrade to the latest version of the same thing....

Handelsblatt was the first to report on Monday that oil companies Oiltanking and Mabanaft, both owned by German logistics conglomerate Marquard & Bahls Group, had suffered a cyberattack that crippled their loading and unloading systems. Oiltanking had a throughput of 155 million tons in 2019, according to Handelsblatt. By Tuesday, Royal Dutch Shell said it was forced to reroute to different supply depots because of the issue. Oiltanking did not respond to requests for comment but confirmed the attack to The Stack and said they “have declared force majeure....

Local telco StarHub has been roped in to provide its 5G and IoT service offerings, the partners said in a joint statement. StarHub’s 5G standalone services and fully solar-powered outdoor Wi-Fi system already have been deployed within the NUS campus. During the two-year collaboration, they would look to tap the network to improve operational efficiencies in managing outdoor campus facilities management. Both would work to identify gaps and co-develop applications in smart campus facilities management, with live data to be pulled from sensors and consolidated for analysis....

Overall, operating revenue was up 3% to SG$7.65 billion for the half year to September 30, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was reported as SG$1.93 billion, up 1.3%, and net profit doubled to SG$954 million. A reduced amount of exceptional items against Airtel in India, which has seen a number of items raised in recent years as part of adjusted gross revenue charges from New Delhi, saw the items total recorded as SG$29 million compared to SG$371 million for the first half last year, and translated into the net profit boost....

The critical zero-day vulnerability in the Java logging library Apache Log4j enabled attackers to remotely execute code to gain access to devices and networks. And because the open-source software was embedded in a vast array of applications, services and enterprise software tools, it had the potential for widespread and long-term disruption. No wonder director of US cybersecurity and infrastructure agency CISA Jen Easterly described the vulnerability as “one of the most serious that I’ve seen in my entire career, if not the most serious”....

The Era 100 is Sonos’ first replacement speaker for the immensely popular Sonos One, considered by many to be the best smart speaker on the market. But the company isn’t positioning the Era 100 as just a replacement; the new speaker is a major upgrade in virtually all ways. Also: Best Sonos speakers: One, Arc, Beam, and more compared If you currently own a Sonos One and wondering if the Era 100 is worth the upgrade, or if you’re eyeing a new smart speaker and don’t know which of the two to buy, let this comparison guide you to making the best purchase decision....

Key improvements over the WH-1000XM4 include a simpler folding design, a better carrying case, more comfortable earpads, and Bluetooth 5.2 instead of 5.0. My ears like the WH-1000XM5 better with the ability to wear the headphones for hours on end without any discomfort. My recent flights have been heavenly as I escape into my music, podcasts, and movies with the WH-1000XM5 headset. Design and fit The retail package includes the Sony headphones, a carrying case, an airplane adapter, a 47-inch 3....

It’s unusual to find a high-end phone that’s comfortable in the hand, but that’s precisely what the 168g Xperia 5 III is. Measurements of just 68mm wide by 157 deep by 8.2mm thick mean that even I can reach right across the screen one-handed, although the smooth, shiny, reflective Gorilla Glass 6 back makes the phone somewhat slippery to hang onto. If you find the screen a stretch, Sony’s Side Sense add-on – a slide-out miniature menu – is there to help....

You might not have heard very much about these crashes, but there’s a good chance you will in the future. As the space economy takes off, our low-Earth orbit (LEO) highways are getting crowded. That raises the likelihood of collisions – and of crash landings on Earth. “Even though all of outer space might be infinite, where we put satellites are very specific regions,” astrodynamicist Moriba Jah tells ZDNET. “They’re becoming more congested....

“We are passionate about helping people overcome financial impediments through financially responsible behavior education,” Bruce McClary, NFCC senior vice president of communications, said in the press release. “We are excited to partner with StellarFi to reach more Americans who might be in financial distress, assist them to solve those problems, and ensure they can live their best lives.” The new partnership is the next step in StellarFi’s goal to make credit and financial literacy more easily accessible to the wider public....

There’s another side of the equation: picking your cloud computing footprint. Serverless is supposed to address that. You subscribe to the service, and the cloud (or service) provider will then autoscale the cluster based on the default instance types for the service. A startup that just won seed financing makes the case that serverless is more about convenience than efficiency. Sync Computing has just emerged from stealth with $6.1 million seed financing and is now offering a cloud-based Autotuner service that will introspect the logs of your Spark workload and will recommend the optimal instance footprint....

T-Mobile’s net income in Q3 came to $691 million, with diluted earnings per share of 55 cents. Total revenues increased 2% year-over-year to $19.6 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 52 cents per share on revenue of $20.18 billion. “Another quarter of amazing results shows that customers love T-Mobile’s unique combination of the best value, best network and best experience,” CEO Mike Sievert said in a statement. “With our Magenta business firing on all cylinders and our Sprint integration ahead of schedule, we are well positioned for the future — and poised to continue winning with assets and a formula for growth that is differentiated from the other wireless players....

The purchased firm supplies both the hardware and the underlying ad network that powers in-vehicle advertising, which it claims can reach 5 million riders per month. The carrier notes that this cross-section of rideshare customers encompasses several difficult demographics to reach through traditional channels. Among them are 18 to 49-year-olds, riders with household incomes over $130,000 per year, urban dwellers, and cord-cutters. Not only does T-Mobile gain access to what it apparently sees as high-value ad consumers, but it also gains an instant relationship with Octopus Interactive clients such as Audible, Fox Entertainment, Philo, and several others already running promotions across the company’s network of in-vehicle displays....

Take-Two is best known for its pair of major console and PC games publishing brands: 2K and Rockstar Games. 2K itself is most recognizable for its various sports game franchises such as NBA 2K, PGA Tour 2K, and WWE 2K, as well as AAA games like Bioshock, Borderlands, and X-Com. Meanwhile, Rockstar is one of the most successful developers in gaming today thanks to its Grand Theft Auto series and other popular titles like the Red Dead series, Midnight Club Racing, and Max Payne....

“Following the acquisitions, Telstra Purple will be able to offer professional and managed services capabilities to deliver industrial-grade wireless and fixed networks in remote and underground operations (Aqura Technologies), while expanding the potential for digital transformation services, industrial automation capabilities, digital twins, smart spaces, and operational technology cyber security (Alliance Automation),” the company said in a statement. Parting with AU$30 million for Aqura Technologies, Telstra said the company has over 90 staff in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne....

Retailers offering big savings for students These are just a few of the many discounts students can get with valid student credentials at retailers. But, the deals don’t stop there. Subscription services like Spotify, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Verizon offer discounts for college students as well. Here is a list of the six best subscription deals for students. Apple doesn’t stop with just the MacBooks; there are student discounts on iPads and iMacs so that productivity won’t stall this school year....

Many ergonomic keyboards feature a raised arc design and a semi-split key layout that works to improve your typing posture. Others have a split-body design that allows you to expand space between the keyboard halves in a custom configuration. Not all ergonomic keyboards are created equal, and what works for your co-worker or friend may not be comfortable or convenient for you. Some models have steep learning curves due to revamped designs that feature thumb-cluster keys or odd layouts designed for speed....

Netflix has the most subscribers out of any streaming service at 230.75 million subscribers in Q4 of 2022. But that doesn’t mean you have to buy into the hype. Its standard subscription price has increased by $1.50 in two years, and its premium subscription has increased by $2 in two years. Combined with this crackdown, people are looking for alternatives. In addition, you might want to leave Netflix if you’ve become frustrated with its ever-changing titles and what is added/removed from the platform monthly....

However, you can’t trust just any app to hold your most important notes and to-do lists. So instead, it is crucial to find exactly the right app that is both trustworthy and reliable, so you never have to worry again about losing your most important papers. To help you make the best notes and create streamlined to-do lists, we’ve rounded up the best note-taking apps for iPad based on pricing, reviews, features, and compatibility so you can be a master notetaker....