Tech Stream
Archive for May, 2009
Tech Stream 015
29 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
In the Tech Stream this week: Dr James Chon from Swinburne University in Melbourne discussing their research breakthrough in optical disc storage. As reported on ABC News Online, the new technique uses gold nanorods and could potentially allow storage of up to 1.6 terabytes of data on a single DVD disc.
We also meet Professor John Hullet who, along with his colleagues from the University of Western Australia, invented a solution to broadband congestion called “Early Packet Discard” without which the internet as we know it would not function. They are now working on new ways to minimise delay in real-time communications online. You can also read more about their recent award on our Radio Australia program Innovations.
Simon Goodrich from Portable Content joins me for breakfast and we discuss a service called oDesk and trends in digital outsourcing in the region. And finally Bajo rockets in from Good Game on ABC TV to review the new Quake Live browser game. Fragadelic!
Cyber Security – Enemy in the net
29 May 2009
There was an excellent program on internet security by Stan Corey on Background Briefing this week. You can download the MP3 from this link and visit their site for all the details and transcript.
We know there are criminals using the net, and also that hackers can infiltrate anyone’s computer. At the government level it’s not only a murky worry, but has become a battle for who will monitor it all and how we will fight cyberwars. And not everything you hear is true.
Gaming in the browser with Quake Live
29 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Bajo from Good Game joins us in the Tech Stream this week to review the new browser game Quake Live. Its actually just the original 3D multiplayer shooter Quake 3: Arena but now playable in an internet browser. Its the latest in a series of browser games, and we’re likely to see more such games in the future. Bajo also has news on 3D Realms, the game developers responsible for the Duke Nukem series. They’re not shutting down but its now unlikely we’ll see their long awaited 3D shooter Duke Nukem Forever. Use the MP3 link at the top of the story to listen to our chat.
The future of copyright in a digital age
29 May 2009
Phillip Adams interviews Lawrence Lessig, author of Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. Lessig says says that in this digital age where young people’s culture is the media, they are being criminalised because copyright laws haven’t kept up with digital technology and the way it’s being used. You can download the MP3 radio interview and there is more on the Late Night Live website.
There are some great resources on copyright and fair use at the Centre for Social Media including the video below:
War tech: from science-fiction to battlefield reality
29 May 2009
The US Air Force Predator B, an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Serious moral and legal dilemmas are posed by the increasing use of machines to replace soldiers in battle. Michael Rowland reports from the United States for ABC News Online. Watch the video.
Tech Stream 014
22 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Photo from Flickr by Jose Roberto.
We’ve got our head in the clouds this week in the Tech Stream. There’s a buzz around the term “cloud computing” and I lost count how many times it was mentioned at CeBIT Australia 2009 last week in Sydney. I spoke with two local businesses on the exhibition floor about how they’re providing solutions for those wishing to work “in the cloud” and luckily they both offered to explain what the term “cloud computing” actually means.
Wolfram Alpha
19 May 2009
Photo from Flickr by Howzey.
What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything? Could it be 42? That is what the super-computer Deep Thought suggested in Douglas Adam’s classic book and radio series Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Funnily enough when you ask Wolfram Alpha, a brand new computational search engine the same question it also suggests the same answer: 42. Programmers having a bit of a laugh? Possibly. But based on the available data this is quite possibly the only answer within the many terabytes of data available to it. As Reuters reports:
Unlike Google (GOOG), which scans keywords in a search query and offers you thousands of ranked Web sites that might contain the information you’re looking for, Wolfram Alpha reads your question in natural language, scans its own databases, and gives you the answer.
The current questions it is very good at answering are ones that rely on this firm data and computations, but the creators think that “eventually you should be able to ask it about essentially any kind of systematic factual knowledge” and receive an answer. Its worth trying out Wolfram Alpha for yourself and let us know what you think. Here’s some fun things to ask it: what are you? whats your name? how old are you? who made you?
Tech Stream 013
15 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
In the Tech Stream this week we’re at CeBIT Australia 2009, which is a massive information and communications technology (ICT) event in Sydney. I’ve been posting, tweeting and filing audio from the conference all week, and today we catch up with Dr David Skellern from NICTA; Peter Harrison from Austrade; Geoff McQueen from Hiive Systems; the Australian and New Zealand web development teams battling in the FullCodePress competition; and finally Christoper Hire from 2ThinkNow who sums up some of the ideas and discussions that took place at CeBIT.
We’ll have more from the conference and exhibition next week as well. Thanks to all the people who helped organise interviews for me, or gave up their time to speak with me during the week.
You can listen to the full Tech Stream program with the MP3 link above or the “Listen Now” link on the right. Feel free to comment on any of these stories or suggest something we can follow up in future programs. You can also subscribe to the podcast too!
CeBIT: Webciety and Hiive
15 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
I spent a lot of time at CeBIT Australia 2009 in the Webciety area and met a lot of the teams whose web-based services were on display. Next week in the Tech Stream we’ll meet up with two of them, Travellr and Devnet, but the buzz this year was around Hiive Systems. The Australian startup won this year’s “Early Innovation” award for their service and client tracking software, Affinity. Their founder and Managing Director is Geoff McQueen and I somehow managed to drag him away from prospective clients to talk about Hiive Systems and the Webciety concept. You can listen to our chat with the MP3 link at the top of the story.
The Future of Conferences
15 May 2009
The Future Tense program this week have been looking at the changing nature of conferences:
The word ‘conference’ is synonymous with bad food, hard chairs and boring speakers. At least it is for many of us. But it doesn’t have to be that way and, in fact, it’s already changing. We speak with three conferencing professionals about conferences past and future and the way the industry is adapting to meet changing consumer expectations.
You can listen and download the audio from the program or read the transcript.
