Consumer NZ will no longer be recommending Fitbit fitness trackers, calling their reliability into question. [ + ]

Apple's latest line of MacBook Pro notebooks replaces the function keys with a full-colour, multitouch Touch Bar interface. [ + ]

Around 77% of US government IT budgets are going towards operations and maintenance of legacy systems, but the US CIO has so far had trouble raising the funds required to replace ageing IT systems. [ + ]

After getting the nod from the ACCC last month, Vocus Communications has now completed the acquisition of Nextgen Networks, owner of one of Australia's largest fibre backhaul networks. [ + ]

Job search marketplace Hired has opened a new regional headquarters in Melbourne as part of its launch into the Australian market. [ + ]

A new Australian Research Council research and development centre has been established at Deakin University. [ + ]

Microsoft has announced new products in its Surface line of computing devices and a free Windows 10 update targeted at creative professionals. [ + ]

The CGI 2016 consumer survey has revealed that consumers want digital financial services from their financial institution. [ + ]

By 2020 more than 100m transactions will be authorised by e-signatures annually in Australia, representing one in every 10 global eSignature transactions, according to Adobe. [ + ]

If IBM had manually switched a router off and on while testing the Census system, the 9 August outage could have been prevented, the Senate inquiry into Census night has heard. [ + ]

Australian consumers feel that government organisations are providing a superior customer experience to the private sector, a survey from Ovum suggests. [ + ]

As organisations invest in developing a digital platform strategy, Gartner expects Australian IT spending to grow 2.8% next year to $85 billion. [ + ]

Iron Mountain has secured regulatory approval to sell most of its legacy Australian business, to fulfil a condition of its acquisition of Australian information management company Recall. [ + ]

Research by Telsyte reveals that the market for tablet devices has stabilised, with sales in Australia increased by 4% in the first half of 2016. [ + ]

Landing Pads specialists will be available to meet with the Australian start-up community when they visit Australia in coming weeks. [ + ]