ISP iiNet has ceased offering NBN Interim Satellite plans to new customers, saying that the sheer number of users meant the service was “almost unusable” in peak periods. [ + ]

Microsoft is abandoning the major elements of its infamous 'stack ranking' system of employee evaluation, a system that critics claim stifled innovation at the company. [ + ]

Daniel Scheltinga discusses how to reduce churn in your customer service team by focusing on people, process and technology. [ + ]

Orders by a French court for Google to filter salacious images of Max Mosley from search results will be an inconvenience for the company but may have worse implications for smaller web firms. [ + ]

Three directors have been appointed to NBN Co’s board: Internode founder Simon Hackett, one-time NBN head of construction Patrick Flannigan and Telstra alumni Justin Milne. [ + ]

Optus is offering its subscribers free calls and SMS to the Philippines in the wake of typhoon Haiyan, and is helping provide emergency satellite phones for affected areas. [ + ]

Will big data - the collecting of vast amounts of data about nearly everything - finally help us predict the future? Humanity's cognitive biases may prevent big data from making accurate predictions, Elizabeth Rudd writes. [ + ]

UXC Connect, the ICT infrastructure and services division of UXC, has secured a $20m deal to provide a range of services to government organisation Melbourne Water. [ + ]

Hackers have stolen more than $1 million dollars' worth of bitcoins from an Australian bitcoin wallet service, according to the operator of the service. [ + ]

NBN Co has appointed ex-Telstra executive Greg Adcock to the position of chief operating officer, making Adcock the third Telstra alum to be given a senior role at NBN Co in the last six weeks. [ + ]

Older Australians are using the internet nearly as often as teenagers, but a lack of awareness about cybercrime risk is leaving them vulnerable to fraud. [ + ]

Business leaders may be starting to give the IT function more credit as a font of innovation, and CIOs are being given more input at the executive level, a survey suggests. [ + ]

Australia is a popular target for online banking malware, iOS phishing sites and command and control attacks, according to research from Trend Micro. [ + ]

Amdocs will buy Celcite for $136m in a bid to broaden the network management software and services it can offer to its telecom service provider customers. [ + ]

The government has launched a review into the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) project, claiming poor take-up rates to date among Australian clinicians. [ + ]