Fighting for the right to repair, paying the price for poor passwords: Vertical Hold Ep 339

Should companies be able to determine who can (or can’t) repair gadgets you own? What’s the price of bad password habits — and what you can do to protect yourself? Special guests Choice Australia’s Erin Turner and Media-Wize’s Anthony Caruana!

Listen!

Subscribe!

Click on any of the links below to subscribe to Vertical Hold on the podcasting platform of your choice!

This week’s show leans heavily on consumer advice, because there’s a lot going on where the worlds of technology and consumer issues collide.

We’re joined by Erin Turner from Choice to discuss the Productivity Commission’s draft paper on the “Right To Repair” — what it means, where it intersects or could assist Australian consumer law, and the many weird and wonderful things that technology companies (and, it turns out, tractor manufacturers) do that can make life considerably harder for Australian consumers!

Then it’s time for some journalist honesty. Well, we like to think that as journalists we’re honest anyway, but that includes owning up to our foibles as and when they happen. Vertical Hold’s own Adam Turner had some admissions to make in the papers this week — you can read about them here — and we’re joined by Media-Wize’s Anthony Caruana to discuss the very real effects that can happen when you get sloppy with your online security.