Tech Stream
Archive for July, 2009
Tech Stream 024
31 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
An excellent explanation of what social networking is online, made by commoncraft.com.
In the Tech Stream this week we take a little look at social networking websites and trends in South-East Asia. From one of the longest running, Friendster, to the newest kid on the block, a Cambodian service called AngkorOne. Plus we get the lowdown on social networks in Vietnam and Indonesia. Listen with the MP3 link above or read on for more…
What now for Friendster?
31 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
I had a chance this week to speak with Richard Kimber, the Australian-based CEO of one of the longest running social networking site on the web Friendster.com. We spoke about social networking trends in Asia; why Friendster made the physical move into the region and he also confirmed that the recent rumours on Tech Crunch were true: Friendster was looking for a buyer interested in purchasing the company or some of its assets. You can hear the full interview with the MP3 link at the top of this post, or read on for more.
A home grown social-network for all Cambodians
31 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
AngkorOne.com is a new web-portal and social networking website in Cambodia which is hoping to attract Khmer language speakers from around the world, and maybe even challenge the dominance of Western services like Facebook. But unlike some of its competitors it’s also focused on social-outreach programs and supporting Cambodia’s tourism industry.
The founder and CEO of AngkorOne is Steven Path. He was born in Cambodia but moved to the United States at the age of 7. He has returned to his country of birth and is excited by the opportunities in his fast-growing, youthful nation.
Follow the MP3 link above to listen to our chat, or ‘right-click’ and ’save link’ to download the audio. Thanks to Alex Khun from our Khmer language service at Radio Australia for organising this interview.
Tech Stream 023
24 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Mobile money, Google vs Microsoft and gaming in the Wild West. Its a mixed bag in the Tech Stream this week. You can listen to the full program with the MP3 link above or read more after the jump…
Tech Stream 022
17 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
The fictitious babel fish. An image form the BBC TV production of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Its a special Tech Stream program this week with a focus on language translation. We’re not quite at the stage yet where we can put a babel fish in our ears and understand every language on the planet, but we’re making some smaller breakthroughs online which are making communications across languages or access to international web content a lot easier. Listen with the MP3 link above or find out more after the jump…
Moon Landing
17 July 2009
As you can imagine there’s an incredible amount of overage online for the anniversary of the first lunar landing. On the 20th of July 1969 Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind and 40 years on its the perfect time to discover more about that incredible event.
ABC Science have a wonderful resource of stories and programs devoted to the moon landing. You can find them all at abc.net.au/science/moon and Radio Australia has a special feature online on the latest space-race in Asia at radioaustralianews.net.au
The Smithsonian and NASA themselves are of course covering the anniversary, the latter has a feature on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and newly restored HD footage of the first step (much better than the youtube version above!). The Guardian UK also has excellent coverage, as does the BBC with their special report on the moon landing and access to their archives. And CNN Tech has a story on how private firms are getting ready to offer flights into space. A new frontier indeed.
Gaming in the Wild West
17 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
While frontier America has proved a successful setting for many films and TV series, it hasn’t been that popular with gamers or games studios. It’s been often seen as a risk to set a game in the Wild West, and an easier proposition to use space, fantasy or specific historic battlegrounds, like those in WWII.
Bajo from Good Game on ABC TV joins us this week to chat about why this is, and whether we’re likely to see more games set in the Wild West in the future. A lot of people are getting excited about the release of open-world Western Red Dead Redemption from Rockstar Games, but this week we step into the boots of the McCall Brothers for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood a first-person shooter (FPS) from Ubisoft for the PC and consoles. Use the MP3 link above to listen.
Tech Stream 021
10 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
With more smartphones featuring GPS, maps and navigation applications what does the future hold for dedicated sat-nav devices? Photo from Flickr by tripu.
We hit the wide open road in the Tech Stream this week with some of the latest GPS satellite navigation applications for mobile phones.
Technology journalist Adam Turner has had a chance to try an Australian sat-nav mobile maps application for the iPhone called Sygic (you can read a full review on his blog). But it seems we shouldn’t be throwing out our dedicated sat-nav devices just yet.
Plus we ask, what exactly is GPS and where did it come from? We have an expert in the field with us to answer our questions: Professor Chris Rizos, Head of the School of Surveying & Spatial Information Systems at the University of New South Wales. You can also read more about GPS – the Global Positioning System – on ABC Science Online.
We also briefly mention the news about Google launching its own PC operating system called Chrome OS. Details are still sketchy but the company has posted this FAQ and blog-post about it.
And finally to gaming and EA’s Sims 3 – the latest in the world’s most successful computer games series. Bajo from Good Game on ABC TV in Australia reviews it for us and says its strongest selling point is the way if fosters an active online community who can use the game to create their own content, including videos.
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!
Tech Stream 020
3 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Micro-USB connectors, already in use for charging some mobile phones, are set to become a standard for all.
We heard back in February that the worldwide mobile industry had at last decided on the connection format for a universal charger compatible with all mobile phones. Its good news for you and me because we don’t have to keep an assortment of chargers on hand, or get a new type when we upgrade our phone. But its even better news for the environment, with less of this kind of electronic waste finding its way into landfill.
That’s coming up in the Tech Stream today, plus the future of e-books and publishing in the digital age… and the intersection between virtual and real economies. Full details after the jump.
Virtual Concerns in China and Australia
3 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Inhabitants of Second Life, spending time on ABC Island. Image from Flickr by Gary Hayes.
We were augmenting our realities last week, adding layers of virtual information and computer generated objects to the real world around us. But this week we’re digging deeper on a couple of stories involving online virtual worlds – places like Second Life – and games like World of Warcraft.
It seemed that Australia’s proposed ISP-level internet filtering regime could impact upon “unclassified” virtual spaces and internet games. And some new laws were introduced in China this week aimed at stopping the flow of virtual money into the real world economy. Initial reports suggested that it might effect the practice of gold-farming in games like WoW, but it seems that’s not quite the case.
For more on both of these issues I spoke with David Holloway, editor of Metaverse Journal, a virtual worlds news site. He kicked off with his thoughts on China’s new policy toward virtual currency and you can hear our entire conversation from the MP3 link at the top of this story. There’s also more after the jump…