Tech Stream
Archive for December, 2009
Tech Stream 035 – Year in Review
18 December 2009
Listen and download: MP3
What an incredible year to start covering technology news. I’ve heard 2009 described as being the “year of the internet”. And I’d have to agree. I spent a couple of weeks in the Solomon Islands and Japan where I lost access to the internet on my mobile and it really hit home just how important and valuable this connectivity was to me. So it’s no surprise that I’ve often been drawn to stories this year that related to how we connect with each other via the web. Sometimes this related to new mobile or PC technology. At other times it related to the underlying backbone of the network.
So in the Pacific we had more solid news about new undersea cables that could see the cost of internet access drop as speeds increase. The infrastructure isn’t yet in place though, and its still a struggle to access the kind of internet experience that most people in Australia, for example, now take for granted.
Domestically, here in Australia, we had two major announcements from the federal government – the splitting up of the country’s largest telecommunications provider, Telstra, as part of their National Broadband Network (NBN). And the government’s decision, the details of which became clearer this week, to filter banned content on the internet at an ISP level. Both of these stories are covered in the beginning of our special Year In Review program which you can listen to via the MP3 link above. Or continue reading on for more information.
Tech Stream 034
10 December 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Video game designer David Jaffe provided the keynote speech via video link at GCAP 2009
The Tech Stream program this week is focused entirely on gaming. It was recorded at the Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2009 (GCAP) conference and expo which took place in Melbourne, Australia from the 6th to the 8th of December. Follow the MP3 link above to listen or continue reading for details.
Game Connect: Jay Wilbur from Epic Games
10 December 2009
Listen and download: MP3
I had a chance, as part of the Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2009 conference, to speak with Jay Wilbur from Epic Games. Jay has been working in the industry for many years and his credits include classics like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake and Commander Keen. Jay Wilbur is now Vice President – Business Development at Epic Games. The company’s recent releases include smashes like Gears of War (pictured above) and they also provide the technology under the hood of many other companies’ games – the Unreal Engine. Follow the MP3 link above to hear Jay Wilbur talking about “middleware” and Epic’s newly release UDK (Unreal Developers Kit).
Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009
8 December 2009
The puzzle game Blakely Van De Buckle’s Brass Cabaret being played in the Independent Gamers Exhibition at GCAP 2009. The game was produced by Powderkeg Entertainment.
I’m spending the beginning of this week at a gaming conference and expo in Melbourne. Game Connect: Asia Pacific (GCAP) is organised by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) and is an opportunity for people working in the gaming and interactive entertainment industry to network, share some new ideas and discuss some of the issues they’re facing. There has also been a focus on serious games, with education and health featuring heavily as themes on day one.
The GDAA Industry Awards took place at the end of day two and not surprisingly the runway smash Flight Control picked up a string of awards including “Best Game”. Firemint’s popular game for the iPhone and iPod Touch mobile platform has been downloaded from the iTunes App Store more than 1.5 million times. The President of the GDAA, Tom Crago, noted that “Flight Control has been a phenomenal success and has really been responsible for the creation of an entire new genre on iPhone. We’re very proud that this title was developed in Australia”. Heroes Over Europe from Transmission Games (which is no longer operating having closed down in October) also picked up three awards, including “Best Console Title”.
The Tech Stream program on Friday will be devoted to gaming and coverage of Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2009. Make sure you tune in, or subscribe to the podcast to hear it. In the meantime Mike Bantick has some good coverage over at iTWire, including an overview of the event and a story on the student produced games on show at GCAP.
I’ve also been asking people at the conference what their favourite game of 2009 was. What’s yours?
