Tech Stream
Archive for the ‘ Pacific’ Category
Tech Stream 048
16 April 2010
Listen and download: MP3
One of the many sessions taking place at The Internet Show in Melbourne, Australia this week.
This week in the Tech Stream we take time to talk about the gentle art of doing business online in 2010. We’ll meet some of the speaker from the recent Internet Show in Melbourne who tell us about the strategies being adopted by businesses to drive sales on the web, and analyze the behaviour of their customers. We’ll also spend some time talking about how the rise of Facebook and Twitter is impacting on companies and brands.
We’ll revisit a news story from last week about the possibility that Bebo could be sold off or shut down by their parent company AOL. It was very popular in New Zealand and the Pacific for a while, so what happens to all of the contacts, photos, videos and personal information people have stored there if it closes.
There’s an update on new measures being introduced in South Korea to try and curb the rising number of citizens addicted to the internet; and Bajo joins as with a review of the open world game Just Cause 2. Hear the program from the link above or read on for details.
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 041
26 February 2010
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E-Waste: Discarded PC cases in a dump in Guiyu, China. Photo by Bert Van Dijk from Flickr.
In the Tech Stream this week we look at a new UN report into the management of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) in developing countries. We also hear from two sides of the nanotechnology debate. Do we really understand the implications of the developments in this science, and are the proper regulations in place? There’s more on mobile telco Digicel’s expansion in the Pacific with its new license to operate in French Polynesia… and finally Bajo reviews the film-noir video game Heavy Rain. More details after the jump or follow the MP3 link above to start listening to the program.
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…
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.
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.
Tech Stream 030
11 September 2009
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The Beatles Rock Band Game (MTV/Harmonix)
Everything is Fab in the Tech Stream this week. We’re in Port Moresby for PacInet 2009, a Pacific internet conference; all the latest on the week’s iPod and iTunes updates from Apple; and Bajo straps on his little plastic guitar for a review of the highly anticipated Beatles Rock Band video game. Listen via the MP3 link above or keep jumping for more details…
Tech Stream 029
4 September 2009
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Photo from Flickr by John Johnston.
In the Tech Stream this week we ask whether internet addiction is a clinical disorder; the lowdown on Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 from Blizzard’s annual conference; how new undersea cable networks in the Pacific could deliver high-speed, affordable broadband internet to the region; and look at how the goings on in Australian parliament are being documented and shared in a way that enhances our experience of democracy. Jump straight into the program with the MP3 link above or read on for more details.
A Pacific Superhighway
4 September 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Undersea internet telecommunications cables, managed by Tata Communications. The full map is online here.
Internet access in the Pacific is frustrating slow and expensive. This is mainly due to most of the internet traffic being routed through satellites. But that is set to change. A new undersea fiber-optic cable, part of SPIN, South pacific Information Network, should provide internet users in French Polynesia and New Caledonia, as well as the countries in between, with high-speed, affordable broadband. I spoke about the new network with Remi Galasso, CEO of SPIN SA.
We also caught up with Simon Cooper from Tata Communications this week. We spoke about how Guam was turning into a telecommunications hot-spot, with multiple undersea internet cables connecting it to Asia and Australia. Their communications network played a big part in picking up the internet traffic in the region during the recent typhoon near Taiwan which affected some other undersea cables supplying telecommunications into the region.
You can hear both Simon Cooper and Remi Galasso in the MP3 link at the top of this blog post. We’ve had stories on these undersea internet cables in the Pacific in Tech Stream #25 and also back in March this year.
