Tech Stream
Archive for the ‘ Online’ Category
Tech Stream 043
12 March 2010
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A new type of solar module promising greater efficiency and reduced costs. Image from Technique Solar.
This week in the Tech Stream, the latest on the National Broadband Network in Australia. We’ll find out why there is opposition to the government’s plan to split Telstra, which it argues is essential to creating a more level playing field. A new undersea internet cable is being built to link New Zealand and the US, but could it also connect countries in the Pacific along the way?
We’ll shine a light on new solar panels, developed in Australia, that promise to be more efficient and cheaper to produce than current technology. And an update on the Mariposa botnet and calls for computer manufacturers to be held responsible for selling products vulnerable to attacks from cyber criminals. Finally Bajo joins us with a review of the multiplayer-focused war-game Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Full details after the jump, or follow the MP3 link above to hear the program.
Tech Stream 042
5 March 2010
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USB ports – Photo from Flickr by Philippa Willitts.
This week in the Tech Stream we’ll find out whether “Green IT” is still the buzz phrase for business that it was 12 months ago and look at moves by one company in Asia to convert internet cable landing stations into next generation data centres. These will be capable of satisfying a growing demand for high bandwidth content in the region. Plus we road-test the latest USB3 enabled technology; and Bajo from Good Game looks at why we don’t finish our video games and what developers are doing to keep us hooked. Plus all the latest technology news from the week, just click the MP3 link at the top of this story to listen or read on after the jump for more details.
Tech Stream 040
19 February 2010
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Phones on display in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress. Photo by Jon Jordan from Flickr.
We head to Barcelona, Spain, this week for the GSM Mobile World Congress. We’ll find out why Google and Microsoft captured all the headlines and check out the handsets likely to make an impact in Asia. We also ask why Al Jazeera wants you to mashup their video content and test-run the web game the whole family can’t play – Chatroulette. It’s so hot right now. Plus the Multimedia Content Bill in Indonesia that has the country’s bloggers and media activists crying “censorship!” …and Hex returns with a review of Bioshock 2. More details after the jump or dive right in with the MP3 link above.
Tech Stream 039
12 February 2010
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The ABC’s iPhone application. News bulletin delivered over the internet via a 3G mobile network. An example of IPTV technology in use.
TV delivered via the internet is growing in popularity, especially in Asia. Telcos, media organisations and content owners are getting on board with IPTV services to augment or replace traditional broadcasting. But what challenges are they face with the roll out of these services and are they want the consumer really wants? We’ll find out more about IPTV in the Tech Stream today.
Also, staying safe online, the annual campaign to teach “cyber smarts”; an update on the One Laptop Per Child initiative in the Pacific; and Hex joins us from Good Game on ABC TV to review the fantasy action game Bayonetta. Jump straight into the Tech Stream via the MP3 link above or read on for more details…
More technology news from the week
12 February 2010
There was plenty of technology news this week which we ran out of time to cover in the radio program. There was the story about the Queensland gamer who will have to pay Nintendo AU$1.5million in damages (negotiated in an out of court settlement) after illegally copying one of its games and uploading it to the internet. More in this article from ABC News and this story from ABC Radio’s PM program: Nintendo fan pays dearly for illegal sharing. It got plenty of coverage outside Australia too with some people wondering whether the punishment fitted the crime.
You may have heard us chatting on RA Today this morning about the latest social networking tool from Google which they are incorporating into their Gmail system. It’s called Buzz and it’s created some quite negative buzz online, with concerns that it violates user’s privacy. More details on the service in plenty of articles online, like this one from CNET. ZDNET Asia reports that Google announced some changes to it on Thursday which will make it easier to hide their details from public view.
And government websites in Australia came under attack this week from internet protest group Anonymous. Their assault, dubbed comically “Operation Titstorm”, featured a co-ordinated DDoS attack on the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s homepage. The parliamentary website was also crippled for over an hour. Anonymous are angry at the federal government’s plan to introduce a mandatory internet filter this year which would block access to sites, like those containing certain types of pornography or illegal activities, that are deemed to have been “refused-classification” in Australia. Hungry Beast covered this in a program segment on ABC TV this week: How To Wage Titstorm and more details on this story are here on ABC News Online.
At almost the same time Stephen Conroy, the minister responsible for implementing the ISP level filter, was having meetings with Google to ask them to censor content on You Tube. The SMH reported that Google said that it “had a bias in favour of freedom of expression in everything it did” and that “YouTube has clear policies about what content is not allowed, for example hate speech and pornography, and we enforce these, but we can’t give any assurances that we would voluntarily remove all Refused Classification content from YouTube”. Senator Conroy defended making the request, saying “in Australia, these are our laws and we’d like you to apply our laws”. Needless to say this story made headlines across the world.
For more technology news remember to follow our Tech Stream twitter feed. And let us know about any stories you find that might be of interest to cover here or in the radio program. You can email me at techstream (at) radioaustralia.net.au
Tech Stream 038
5 February 2010
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A classic old 14.4k modem from the early ’90s. Image from Flickr by Richard Masoner.
Very few people know how the internet developed in Australia and that the research-focused network that gave birth to it is still going strong today. We’ll find out more in the Tech Stream this week. Plus the fallout from the film industry losing their case against a major internet service provider whose customers downloaded pirated movies and television programs. For more details on the program read on or listen now via the MP3 link above.
Apple introduces us to the iPad
28 January 2010
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iPad image from apple.com.au
At least a few of the rumours were true: Apple did indeed unveil their latest portable device today. It’s not called the iSlate or the iTablet though. It’s not being billed as an eBook reader either, although it does do that. It might even give the Amazon Kindle a run for its money. It’s the latest in a fairly unsuccessful line of tablet PCs but it almost needs a catergory of its own. Its called, simply, the iPad. That’s a picture of it above. And yes, it’s like a hotted-up version of the iPod Touch. Or big iPhone without the phone. It’s coming in March and it could signal a huge change in the way we think about portable devices and even personal computing in general.
Technology journalist and keen Apple-watcher Danny Gorog joined me earlier today to chat about this flashy new gadget, follow the MP3 link above to hear our conversation. Or read on for a summary of some of the more interesting media coverage.
Tech Stream 036
22 January 2010
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Flowers lay on a sign at the entrance to Google’s China headquarters in Beijing’s university district. Photo by Josh Chin from Flickr.
We’ll be looking forward, on this the first Tech Stream radio program of 2010, at the gadgets, technology trends and ideas set to dominate over the next twelve months. We also wrap up some of the news around Google rethinking its strategy in China, which may involve it pulling out of the country altogether, and find out why governments in Europe are advising their citizens to abandon Microsoft’s popular web browser. Follow the MP3 link above to hear the program or continue on for more…
Tech Stream 035 – Year in Review
18 December 2009
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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 033
2 October 2009
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Triple J’s Unearthed.com, a community music site for Australian independent artists and their fans.
In the Tech Stream this week we look at some of the new tools available to music fans and artists to help them discover or share their music online. Soundcloud, RCRD LBL, We Are Hunted and Triple J Unearthed (pictured) are all featured. We also dig deeper into some of the issues around music file-sharing, free content, online promotion and streaming services. The MP3 link at the top of this post has the audio, or take the jump for more information.
