I’ll continue to feature the latest technology news stories via our @ratechstream twitter feed, and if you come across anything interesting you would like to share get in touch through twitter.

On air we are replacing the program with Julie Rigg’s Movietime which is produced by ABC Radio National.

Cheers!

Ryan Egan (producer/presenter, Tech Stream)

In this afternoon’s program, a special repeat from late March looking at some of the challenges faced by women working in IT and computer related industries.  You can find out more about our guests and listen to the original audio in the Tech Stream 045 blog post.

Next week, the privacy paradox:  how the internet and social media is dramatically changing our notions of privacy.  This program was produced by Ian Townsend and originally aired on Radio National’s Background Briefing on May 16th.  A full version and a transcript is available on their website.

Feel free to leave any comments about either program below, or if there is something technology-related that you would like us to cover in the future, I’d love to hear it!

The Chrome browser: Google’s secret weapon in it’s expanding empire. (Flickr: Ken Lee)

In the Tech Stream this week: recognition for Australia’s pioneers and innovators in science and technology; how smart-phones and social media are changing the way news is gathered and shared; behind Google’s Chrome browser and their plans for our televisions; You Tube turns five… and Bajo reviews the sprawling Wild West adventure Red Dead Redemption.  Take the jump to find out more, or listen now via the MP3 link above.

Our first guests were recently honoured at the 2010 ATSE Clunies Ross Awards.  The annual Awards for the ATSE (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering) Clunies Ross Foundation recognise those who have devoted themselves to the application of science and technology for the economic, social or environmental benefit of Australia.   We speak with:

Professor Tim St Pierre, School of Physics, University of Western Australia.  For 25 years, Tim St Pierre has researched the magnetic properties of iron in biology and medicine. He’s developed a unique method of measuring damaging iron deposits in the liver caused by diseases such as thalassaemia.

Dr Neil Weste, Director and Founder, NHEW R&D, Sydney.  Dr Weste shared his award with Dr David Skellern, CEO of National ICT Australia (NICTA).   More information on their work in wireless technology with Radiata Communications can be found in this recent story from Radio Australia’s Innovations program.

We then turn our attention to the rise of the Mojo – the mobile journalist.  There is no doubt (to me anyway) that mobile technology and social media are changing the way that news is gathered and reported… and also how it is consumed.   Its a trend that Stephen Quinn, Associate Professor of Journalism at Deakin University, has been following closely. You can read his book – MOJO, Mobile Journalism in the Asian Region – in full via this PDF link, and Stephen Quinn also keeps a blog at http://globalmojo.org/

Have you tried Google’s Chrome browser? Didn’t know they had their own? Well according to then its in use now by 70 million people worldwide, although it still lags far behind Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.   Chrome is playing an ever larger role in Google’s strategy for mobile and TV too, although it’s lead UI (user-interface) designer Glen Murphy tells us that they built it because they weren’t satisfied with the browsing experience offered by the market leaders.    Glen Murphy is an Australian now living the geek’s dream in Silicon Valley.  He spoke recently with Lifehacker too, where he discussed the Chrome web application store, announced recently at the Google IO developers conference.

After a quick birthday greeting for You Tube, which turns 5 this month, we finish the program with Bajo from Good Game on ABC TV, who gives us his impressions Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, a sprawling wild west adventure which rewards the player who forges their own path.

Tech Stream takes a break from regular programming for a couple of weeks, so stay tuned for some special repeats, and feel free to leave you comments below!

Is using a mobile phone like this actually safer than we think? (Flickr: André Hengst, aka Vectrus)

In the Tech Stream this week we’ll revisit the privacy and safety debate around the use of social networking websites like Facebook; hear about new research into the link between mobile phone use and cancer; get the inside picture on internet censorship in China; and while we all love the TV program Good Game, are games… good? Listen to the radio program via the MP3 link above, or read on for more information.

Experts who studied almost 13,000 mobile phone users over 10 years, hoping to find out whether the devices cause brain tumors, say their research gave no clear answer.  The Interphone – an interview-based, case-control study of mobile phone use in adults – is the largest epidemiological study into mobile phones and cancer so far.  It was coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and carried out in 13 countries, including Australia.  Geraldine Coutts speaks about the results with Bruce Armstrong, a Professor of Public health at the University of Sydney, and an Australian lead author on the paper.  A full transcript is available in the Pacific Beat website.   There’s more on ABC News Online and on the 7:30 Report.

Police in Australia are urging teenagers to remove their profile pictures and personal details from Facebook after a man was charged with the murder of a young Sydney woman last week.   The young woman had met the man through Facebook.  Peter Marks, technology Editor for ABC Radio National Breakfast, joins Fran Kelly to discuss some of the latest concerns around online safety and privacy on social networking websites like Facebook.   More details on this story can also be found on ABC News Online.

Are we getting the full picture when it comes to the use of the internet in China? We catch up with Kaiser Kuo, a Beijing-based columnist and a commentator on technology and politics.  He visited Australia recently and wanted to dispel some of the myths around internet censorship in the world’s most populous nation.   He tells Ali Benton that the internet is blossoming and fast becoming a “fully fledged sphere” of Chinese life.  This interview first appeared in ABC Radio National Breakfast.   Kaiser Kuo also appeared on our ABC TV discussion program Q&A earlier this month.  More information about him is on their website.

We finish by talking about whether games are good for us, individually or as a society. Tom Chatfield thinks they are.  He’s the Arts & Books editor at Prospect magazine in the UK, and the author of Fun, Inc: Why Games are the 21st Century’s Most Serious Business.   He tells Richard Aidy that video and computer games are already big business and are only going to become more important in our lives, whether we like it or not.   The full interview with Tom Chatfield is available from the Life Matters website.

As a bonus, Hex from Good Game sent me this great TED video featuring Jane McGonigal to share with you, in which she argues that gaming can make a better world… have a look and let me know what you think in the comments below:

Yes, I was looking at this for work! The online interactive cyberpunk comic Nawlz.

In the Tech Stream this week we meet the Australian artist behind the interactive web comic which picked up a coveted Webby Award last week; and a new dawn for the internet, with the release of the first Internationalized Domain Names.  Read on for more information, or take the aural jump via the MP3 link above.

Nawlz.com is the winner of the 2010 Webby Award for Net Art.  The artist behind the interactive online comic is Stu Campbell, who chats with us about the inspiration behind his futuristic world and speculates on the future of digital fiction.

Jawbone.tv have produced a making-of video for the project with Stu which is definitely worth a watch if you want to know more about the production process of Nawlz. Part one is below:

Our final guest in the Tech Stream this week is Tina Dam, Senior Director of the Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) program at ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.   Tina tells us about the historic changes that will now allow non-ASCII characters (like those used for Arabic or Chinese) to be used for web addresses.  The first countries to adopt the new system are Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.  Some countries in Asia, including China, will also come on board soon.

And you can keep up with the latest technology news from around the world by following our Tech Stream twitter feed @tech_stream …which is also a great way to get in touch and stay up to date with the content of the program.

Nasturtium Droplet. An example of nature inspiring innovation. (Flickr: Kevin Krejci)

In the Tech Stream this week – behind the long awaited study into the implementation of a national broadband network (NBN) in Australia, which suggests the government can build the infrastructure without Telstra, and deliver it to more people for less than was thought; we also take a look at the clean and green technologies that are getting investors excited… and the part nanotechnology is playing in their development; plus the big winners in this year’s Academy Awards for websites, the Webbys…  Find out via the MP3 link above, or read on for more information.

We start with Samantha Hawley’s reports into the long awaited implementation study into Australia’s super fast national broadband network which was released on Thursday.   This originally aired in our PM program last night, and more information and background can be found in this story – Study Backs NBN Plan – on ABC News Online.

We then hear from Senator Stephen Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, speaking with Alexandra Kirk about the study. The minister’s press release is here, and the full implementation study is also online.

For a different view on the study, check out Stilgherrian‘s article today on The Drum: NBN: Analysts Miss The Point.

We then turn our attention to clean technologies and speak with two of the participants from this week’s Sir Mark Oliphant “Cleantech Science and Solutions” conference.   Joining us is John O’Brien, founder and Managing Director of Australian CleanTech. John is also a member of the South Australian Premier’s Climate Change Council. And Tim Harper, founder of Cientifica, a nanotechnology information and forecasting company.

The keynote at the conference was given by Professor Eric Isaacs, Chief of the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, who spoke with Fran Kelly on ABC Radio National Breakfast this week as well. You can hear the interview here.

Finally we touch base with Simon Goodrich, a semi-regular contributor in the Tech Stream, who tell us about the results of this year’s Webby Awards, a showcase of the best of the web.   Simon is the Webby International Ambassador for Australia, on top of his work at AIMIA and for his own company Portable.

The full list of winners can be found here, and congratulations to local company 99 designs for picking up a People’s Voice award… and also to Melbourne’s Stu Campbell for his Webby Award winning interactive comic nawlz.com

The headline of a story on 3D colour televisions in Australia, published in Radio Television & Hobbies, 1958. Image from twitter, posted by @iBleeter.

In the Tech Stream this week we take a look at the health concerns associated with new 3D televisions which have just gone on sale in Australia. We’ll also find out why websites are being harvested in New Zealand; discuss whether regulation is the answer to stamping out racism online; and Hex from Good Game joins us for a review of the role-playing adventure game Torchlight. Take the plunge with the MP3 link above or read on for more information.

We start with the news of the week, and then hear why the National Library of New Zealand is taking a snapshot of that country’s internet this month.  Their web manager Courtney Johnston explains that its all part of an ongoing effor to preserve their social and cultural history.   The New Zealand Web Harvest 2010 takes place from May 12th to 25th.

Bronwyn Herbert then has a report looking at whether regulation is needed to reduce the amount of racist content online.  This story first aired in our AM program. A full transcript and list of guests can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s2884336.htm

It seems German scientists have created a three dimensional invisibility cloak.  The researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have hidden a bump on a gold plate using “metamaterials”.  Jennifer Macey reports that this metamaterial could be used to cloak an object.  This story first aired on our program The World Today and more details are available on ABC News Online.

We then turn our attention to 3D televisions which a range of manufacturers are starting to introduce into the market.  Some of these, however,carry health warnings about dizziness, convulsions and disorientation caused by their use.  Kerrin Binnie’s reports on these concern around 3D TVs, and a full transcript of the story is also available on ABC News Online.  In February Mark Pesce wrote about the health issues associated with use of 3D TVs and the lack of thorough testing from manufacturers in this story on ABC The Drum- Unleashed.

Sydney based technology writer and professional blogger Neerav Bhatt has had a play with a couple of  TVs featuring a 3D function. He tell us that their high price tag (both for the sets themselves and the glasses) and a lack of 3D content make them an unattractive prospect, never mind any health risks associated with their prolonged use.

I mentioned in our chat that the State of Origin Rugby could be broadcast in 3D in Sydney and you can read more about that here.   Neerav does regular technology reviews on his blog: http://www.bhatt.id.au/blog/

Finally we catch up with Hex – Stephanie Bendixsen – from ABC TV’s Good Game program, for a review of the PC/Mac game Torchlight, which is produced by Runic Games.

Many students in Australia and elsewhere now have their own laptop for use at home and in the classroom. (Flickr: Christy Tvarok Green)

How is the use of technology changing the way we think about education, and what are some of the new ways we can foster productive and co-operative  learning environments through the use of computers?  What will the classroom of the future look like? We’ll tackle these questions and more in the Tech Stream this week with a special program focusing on education and digital technology.  Follow the MP3 link above to listen to or download the radio program, or read on for more information.

Our guests this week were taking part in a conference organized by the Australian Council for Computers in Education. ACEC2010 – the Australian Computers in Education Conference is a biennial event which this year took place in Melbourne. The theme was Digital Diversity, focusing on how “styles of learning and thinking offers us new pathways for building the right knowledge and skills to adapt to constant change.”

Joining us in the Tech Stream are:

Silvia Martinez, President of Generation Yes.

Alan November, author and international leader in education technology. He’s the founder of November Learning.

Helen Otway, assistant principal at Manor Lakes P-12 Specialist College, a school in the south west of Melbourne.  She also runs an education focused blog.

Michelle Selinger, Director of Education Practice in the Asia Pacific region for Cisco.

Chris Rogers, a professor of Engineering  at Tufts University in the United States.

Andy Penman, a primary school teacher who showed us some of the interactive whiteboards from Team Board Australia.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to speak with Chris Betcher, another keynote speaker at the conference.  He’s the co-author of “The Interactive Whiteboard Revolution”, a book and online community focused on the effective use of interactive technology in schools.  You can read more from Chris though at his blog – chrisbetcher.com – which also includes some of his thoughts and experiences from ACEC2010.

We spoke with Michelle in the program about a project called the “Hole In The Wall”.  A few years ago a computer scientist in India installed a computer, connected to the internet, into the wall of his office, facing out into a poor slum area. The kids there were of course immediately attracted to it.   With no training, and very little previous experience, they soon knew how to use the mouse and keyboard and start surfing the web.  The story of Dr Sugata Mitra and his experiment can be found in this interview from Businessweek in 2000 and this PBS’ Frontline: World video story.

And for a glimpse into some emerging technology trends in education you can download the 2010 Horizon report from Australian Policy Online.

I’m keen to hear your thoughts on this program, especially in regards to the use of interactive whiteboards in classrooms, the rollout of one-to-one laptop programs in schools and any of the other ideas explored in the Tech Stream this week.  You can leave a comment below.

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.

Our first guest is Sandra Hanchard, senior analyst at Experian Hitwise.  You can more of her analysis of the reasons for Bebo’s decline at in her blog post from April 9th.

We then spend some time at The Internet Show which took place this week in Melbourne, Australia. The event focused on how to do business online.   I spoke to three of the speakers from the event:  Peeyoosh Chandra, Planning Director – Digital at DDB Group; Sam Saltis, founder and Managing Director of BWired; and Rene Hermes, VP Marketing at Coremedia.

Stefanie March from our Asia Pacific and Connect Asia programs then reports on the rise of how the South Korean government is introducing new measures to try and curb the rising number of citizens addicted to the internet.  It comes as a couple whose three-month-old daughter died of malnutrition while they were raising a virtual child in an online game go on trial on charges of negligent homicide. The case has not only prompted action from the South Korean government, but also reignited debate as to whether internet addiction can reduce a person’s culpability for committing a crime.  Full details of speakers and a transcript are on the Connect Asia website.

The government in South Korea has also ordered a crackdown on games being played by under 18s at night. The Financial Times reports that:

“The country’s culture ministry yesterday ordered the operators of the MapleStory, Mabinogi and Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds games to block access by users under 18 between midnight and 8am by September. Other games would follow suit later.” Link.

We finish with Bajo from Good Game on ABC TV who is drops in to review Just Cause 2 by swedish developer Avalanche Studios and Eidos Interactive.

A prototype Mesh Potato, developed as part of the Village Telco Project. (Flickr: Shuttleworth Foundation.)

In the Tech Stream this week we go hands-on with the new Apple iPad; learn about a low cost, community operated phone system, built on wi-fi networks, which is being trialled in East Timor; And we join Kratos on his ultra-violent rampage through mythical Ancient Greece in God of War 3.  Follow the MP3 link above to hear the program or read on for more details.

We start with the technology news of the week, including a story about AOL’s plans to either sell or shutdown the social networking website Bebo.  America Online bought the company for $850 million just two years ago, but it’s been struggling to compete against the world conquering Facebook.  Bebo had around 40 million users at time of sale, most of them in the UK.  But many young people in New Zealand and the Pacific also embraced the platform. The number of people using Bebo has now dropped to around 12 million, versus Facebook’s 460 million.  Stuff.co.nz covered the story from a NZ perspective, and Pete Cashmore from Mashable wrote for CNN about how to create an $850 million fad, like Bebo.

Our first guest in the Tech Stream is David Rowe, who joins us to share his experience in East Timor with the Village Telco Project. It is “an initiative to assemble and/or develop the cheapest, easiest-to-setup, easiest-to-manage, scalable, standards-based, wireless local do-it-yourself telephone company toolkit in the world”.  There’s more information about it on their website: http://www.villagetelco.org/

Technology journalist Adam Turner got his Apple iPad this week, and so we got him in to review the device.   He has also reviewed it on his Gadgets On The Go blog for The Age.   In other local coverage this week the ABC’s Media Watch program asks Will The Tablet Cure Newspapers’ Ills?  Jennifer Dudley Nicholson gives her Top 10 iPad disappointments and magical moments.   And Apple has announced details about the 4.0 firmware for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad which adds functionality like multitasking but could limit the way apps are made by third party developers. News.com.au covers the changes well today.

We finish with Bajo from ABC TV’s Good Game, and a review of God of War 3 for the PS3.

Are you a Bebo user? What would you do if it was shutdown?  Would you buy an iPad, or are you sick of hearing about it?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the program, so leave a comment below.