Singles Day a hit for Alibaba
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has generated $US1bn in revenue in just 85 seconds, thanks to its popular ‘Singles Day’. Customers spent a total of $US30.8bn over the 24-hour spree, up 27% from last year. The informal holiday (trademarked by Alibaba) has become an online shopping extravaganza in recent years, with retailers offering sales to encourage customers “to upgrade their everyday lifestyle”, according to Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang. Singles Day is popular among young Chinese people that celebrate their pride in being single.
Girls who game more likely to pursue STEM
Young girls who play video games are three times more likely to end up studying STEM subjects, according to new research from the University of Surrey. The study found that girls between the ages of 13 and 14 who played video games for over nine hours a week were significantly more likely to pursue STEM degrees upon reaching university. Such correlation was not found for boys who identified as gamers.
Microsoft launches traineeship program
Global computing giant Microsoft has partnered with TAFE, MEGT and Prodigy Learning to launch a new traineeship program aimed at developing the next generation of ICT talent in Australia. The program will combine a Certificate IV in Information Technology Networking with paid work experience. Trainees will work 38-hour weeks and will have to spend one full day a week at TAFE for training. A pilot for the traineeship will commence in February 2019, with 150 spots available.
iPhones and ‘ghost touch’
In yet another example of Apple acknowledging problems with the functionality of its products, the company is now offering free display repairs for iPhone X owners who have encountered problems with ‘ghost touch’. The issue at question involves the phone either not responding correctly to touch or responding without even being touched. Apple admitted the problem is the result of “a component failure”. The issue also impacts 13-inch MacBook Pros.
