We take a trip down memory lane to revisit old websites and feel old, pubs and restaurants sell contact tracing information; and is it time to consider work from home dress codes?
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Tuesday, October 13, and I’m your host Alex Coop.
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What Apple, Google, and Amazon’s websites looked like in 1999 from technology
It was 1999 – the World Wide Web was still an awkward young teen trying to find its way. The public was using the internet for roughly a decade at that point, but the websites you know and love today didn’t exist back then, and what did exist – well, they looked hilariously bad. But boy did they have an identity. Mashable decided to take a trip down memory lane to revisit some of the most iconic websites of the late 90s. eBay, Amazon, AskJeeves, and AOL.com were just some of the gems that Mashable resurfaced, while pointing to some cherished archives that contain samples of internet history. A lot of sites look similar today due to our emphasis on accessibility and customer experience, which means those awkward colours and graphic placements that we know and loved when we visited eBay.com are less likely to be around today.
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Experts warn of ‘mass violation of rights’ as contact-tracing data collected in pubs sold on from technology
Contact-tracing data required by the NHS Test and Trace scheme has been harvested by tech companies on behalf of hospitality venues since they reopened in June, according to The Times. The British government says that contact tracing data can only be kept for 21 days and must not be used “for any purposes other than for NHS Test and Trace”, but The Times is reporting that some firms are selling it on. A number of data collection firms have reportedly created privacy policies that allow them to store users’ data for up to 25 years and share it with third parties. Yikes.
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And lastly, sweatpants – mmm sweatpants – are comfortable new research shows they may be holding workers back and making employers worried. Research from SHRM shows about half of people working from home don’t follow their employer’s dress code. The issue is that 80% of people wearing work clothes felt productive, compared to 70% in gym clothes and 50% of those in sleepwear. At least one expert was cited saying some employers are looking into dress codes for remote workers. People on LinkedIn are chiming in, some noting challenges when working in sweats. [LinkedIn thread]
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening.