Cars
Vodafone refarms 3G spectrum in Australia and staff in New Zealand

(Image: Asha McLean/ZDNet)
Vodafone is shifting around spectrum and jobs in its Australasian operations.
Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) will be refarming its 2100Mhz spectrum from 3G operations to 4G in certain areas of New South Wales, with work due to commence on March 18.
The telco said the other mainland states will follow throughout the year, with the NSW-enclaved Australian Capital Territory already shifted across.
Vodafone customers that have devices relying solely on a 2100Mhz 3G connection will need to use another handset.
“This upgrade work will ensure the 4G network gets a capacity boost, so more of our customers can use their data to stream their favourite content or use social media, while still keeping our 3G network strong,” Vodafone general manager of Access Delivery Networks Tom Joynson said.
“Once the work is complete in each state, we will be delivering even better service to more than 90 percent of Vodafone’s mobile subscribers across Australian metro areas.”
Telstra completed a similar switch in September last year, and provided a list of its handsets [PDF] impacted — including such classics as Blackberry Curve 9320, HTC Windows Phone 8S, phones by the Sony Ericsson brand, and a number of Microsoft Lumias.
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, the NZ Herald is reporting that Vodafone New Zealand has offered all of its staff, other than call centre and retail staff, voluntary redundancy.
AAP reports that the telco is creating a new operating model that it has yet to finalise, so the number and types of jobs to go are still up in the air.
In September, Vodafone NZ reported a NZ$7.7 million drop in profit to NZ$39 million, which the telco said was due to one-off advisor costs for a potential IPO, as well as foreign exchange losses.
Revenue was up by NZ$5.1 million to NZ$2 billion off the back of increasing mobile customer numbers. Vodafone NZ said it added 92,000 customers over the last 12 months while rivals Spark gained 58,000 and 2degrees lost 27,000 customers.
As for the Vodafone joint venture in Australia, VHA last month reported its revenue had increased 5.5 percent year on year to AU$3.65 billion for the year to December 31, and its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped by 13.4 percent to AU$1.1 billion.
The company, however, continued to fail to post a net profit, but it did reduce its net loss by 30 percent to AU$124 million.
CEO Iñaki Berroeta said the company had spent AU$1.3 billion during the year to handle the increases in data being used, and to get its network ready for 5G. The spend included constructing 180 new mobile sites and upgrading 850 existing sites.
Vodafone Australia and TPG are currently waiting to hear back from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the proposed merger of the two companies.
After delaying its decision previously due to a lack of information, the consumer watchdog has left the date for its decision hanging.
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Vodafone Australia EBITDA tops AU$1b but continues to post net loss
Net loss for the company down by almost a third to AU$124 million.
Chorus trials 10Gbps broadband
Chorus gigabit broadband customers in Auckland and Wellington can apply to be among the first to trial a new 10Gbps-speed service.
Vodafone trials long distance drone flight tech on 4G networks (TechRepublic)
The network lets users monitor drone flights up to 120 meters above grown and identify nearby drones while managing them separately.
Cars
How To Use PS5’s Screen Reader Accessibility Feature (And Why You Might Want To)

The Screen Reader is one of the many features available in the PlayStation 5’s accessibility suite. In a nutshell, it’s a digital narrator that can automatically parse and read out any text that appears on screen while using a PS5. This means that Screen Reader can also provide audible instructions for the general operation of your PS5 console, which is another useful reason to turn it on.
Activating your PS5’s Screen Reader is as simple as flipping a switch in the console’s settings.
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From the PS5 Home screen, open the Settings menu.
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Open the Accessibility options.
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Open the Screen Reader tab.
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Activate the Enable Screen Reader toggle.
From the Screen Reader options menu, you can also control the rate at which the narrator speaks, whether it uses a masculine or feminine voice, and the volume of the narration. Additionally, while the default language of the Screen Reader is set to whatever your console’s language is, the Screen Reader has full support for 12 different languages. The supported languages include Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Finally, you can use your controller to start and stop the narration midway. Press the PS and Triangle buttons together to pause and play the narration or press the PS and R1 buttons to start the narration over from the beginning. If you ever get tired of hearing the narrator or you have enabled it accidentally, you can always toggle it back off from the Screen Reader options menu.
Cars
5 Emergency Tools You Should Always Keep In Your Car

You probably remember at least one time in your childhood when your parents’ car needed a jump from a neighbor using jumper cables. In recent years, however, jump starter batteries that you can keep inside your car have become cheaper and more prevalent, and they’re now a must-have for your vehicle. The upside to having a portable battery you can jump your car with is obvious — you don’t need to rely on another vehicle or willing driver to bring your car back to life. This is especially crucial if you’re in an isolated area or it’s the middle of the night.
Jump starter batteries have a few caveats, as they are more expensive than cables, take up slightly more space, and, most importantly, you need to remember to keep them charged. However, their benefits outweigh these slight inconveniences, and it’s worth buying a good one even if they can get a little pricey.
This jump starter battery from DeWalt retails at $182, but it comes with everything you need. That includes LED lights to see your engine in the dark, an alarm if you’re not connecting to your battery correctly, a power bank to charge your phone, and even an air compressor. Plus, it’s also built to work in cold weather.
Cars
5 Workflow Generative AI Tools That Could Soon Help Make Your Job Easier

While Bing Chat may have gotten a lot of attention, it isn’t the only Microsoft product that has had its functionality enhanced by the addition of AI. Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates AI across the Microsoft 365 suite, allowing it to pull information from multiple sources and significantly improve your productivity.
Copilot can now be used for creative purposes in Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, Teams, and even Viva Engage. It can be used to write, edit and otherwise generate documents, reports, presentations, emails, questions, messages, and more. Furthermore, with its integration into Excel, Copilot can also be used as a powerful data analysis tool, giving you deep insights into your data in response to simply-worded questions, even generating models and visualizations as needed.
These implementations significantly increase the capabilities of each of the Microsoft 365 programs they have been added to. However, what really sets Copilot apart from many other implementations of generative AI is its ability to draw information from across Microsoft 365 and combine it for whatever you may require. This feature is called Business Chat and allows you to pull information from multiple sources, such as your email, calendar, and chats, all at once. You can have it generate updates, overviews, reports, and more so you can stay up to speed while keeping your team similarly informed.
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