Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ abc’
Tech Stream 031
18 September 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Photo from Flickr by Martin Hopkins.
The splitting of Telstra, 3D technology in the loungeroom and does the iPhone stack up as gaming platform? It’s in the Tech Stream, program #31. Full details after the jump or get stuck straight in with the MP3 link above.
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.
Remix the ABC’s genes
1 May 2009
2009 is the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and across the world special projects and events are taking place to mark the anniversary. The ABC, here in Australia, is opening up its archival material to the Gene Pool. You can use the archives for inspiration – or adapt, recombine and remix them any way you like. Gene Pool is a collaborative project, sitting within the Pool – a social media project developed by ABC Radio National. You can also use the Pool to upload music, photos, videos, documentaries, interviews, animations and more. Anyone from around the world can take part and contribute to its ongoing evolution, and feel free to share your efforts with us here in the Tech Stream.
More stories on the 200 year anniversary since Charles Darwin’s birth can be found at ABC Radio National.
ABC Mobile
16 March 2009
The ABC (of which Radio Australia is a part) has officially launched its online mobile presence. ABC Mobile is a new website built for use on mobile phones, which had been available in beta form for some months. Only image and text is available at the moment but future versions of the site will allow audio and video streaming.
The ABC also launched new applications for iPhone and Android mobile operating systems. The apps are free but only the Android version is available to users outside Australia. I just downloaded the iPhone application which looks quite nice and you can watch vodcasts with it, including Good Game, which tonight has a special on zombies… zomg! Hopefully down the track it will be available internationally.
The ABC mobile website for your phone is at m.abc.net.au (and yes it does work internationally) and more information is online. You can also have your say and share your thoughts on the service in the forums.
Universal chargers for our gadgets
10 March 2009
Listen and download: MP3
We spoke on Friday in the Tech Stream about ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Using our gadgets and electrical devices in more sensible ways can help cut our electricity use. This saves us money and since most of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, it is also better for the planet. We can also do our bit by thinking about what kind of gadgets we buy and how we dispose of them.
Having different chargers and power adapters for our different bits of gear seems like such a giant waste. It takes energy and materials to make them, and then there are more of them to dispose of when we upgrade to the next bit of equipment that often uses a different plug! It’s also annoying when you lose one or have to travel with two or three different types of charger.
Fran Kelly from ABC Radio National Breakfast spoke with their technology editor Peter Marks about a better solution to power our gadgets. You can listen to the interview through the MP3 link above.
Update: Digital radio and the ABC
5 March 2009
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In a follow up to our story earlier this week about digital radio in Australia, we heard yesterday that the ABC plans to be on air from July. Testing of DAB+ transmission will take place in May in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. From 1 July ABC Radio will offer its five analogue services – ABC Local Radio, ABC Radio National, ABC Classic FM, ABC Newsradio and Triple J - plus internet stations DIG Music, Jazz and Country. All stations currently broadcast online of course. No word on whether domestic audiences will get Radio Australia on their digital boxes, although it seems unlikely.
Kate Dundas, acting Director of radio for the ABC ,spoke on air with Lindy Burns from 774 Melbourne about digital radio in Australia. Use the MP3 link at the top of this story to listen.
Twitter and the bushfire crisis
27 February 2009
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Everyone is talking about the online social networking application Twitter. Almost every podcast I subscribe to has mentioned it in the last two weeks. Almost every RSS feed I get or blog I visit has a story about it, sometimes a new one each day. I’ve been stopped on the stairs at work by a colleague and asked “what’s all this stuff about twitter!?” So, to me, it feels like Twitter’s time is now.
The Twitter tipping-point for people in India may have been the Mumbai attacks, and in the US it may have been the plane crash landing in the Hudson. For Australians I think we’ll look back at the devastating bushfires that ravaged communities in regional Victoria in February and know that this was the point at which we understood the value of powerful but simple communication tools of online social networks like Twitter.
CFA firefighters at the Bunyip Fire east of Melbourne. Photo taken on 11 February 2009 and posted to ABC Contribute by Mr Bettong
Ongoing coverage on ABC online has allowed people around Australia and the world to stay in touch with the events as they unfolded. But another way people in the communities affected and those elsewhere have stayed up to date and passed on information is through Twitter. Even this week, as fires again threatened homes in Victoria, the Twitter universe was buzzing with updates from 774 Melbourne, the ABC’s local radio station in the city. I spoke with Simon Brown, the station’s online editor, about how they have used their Twitter feed and the response from the community.
People across Australia and the world have donated their time, resources and money to help those affected by these bushfires. if you are interested in donating money you can do so through the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
