Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ apple’
Tech Stream 047
9 April 2010
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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.
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 037
29 January 2010
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2010. The Future: so close you can almost smell it. Image from plan59.com.
This week in the Tech Stream: Apple unveil their latest, “must-have” device – the iPad. Technology journalist Danny Gorog joins us with all the details. The full interview with Danny and links to some of the other media coverage is in our blog post from yesterday.
We also crack open our crystal balls, with another look at the top technology trends and ideas for this year and into the next decade and beyond. We’ll hear from Stephen Prentice, VP and fellow at Gartner, the technology research and advisory company.
And finally Bajo from Good Game on ABC TV returns to forecast the video games trends and releases we’ll be talking about and playing in the year ahead.
Follow the MP3 link above to hear the full program, or subscribe to the podcast or our twitter feed by following the links to the right.
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 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 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 017
12 June 2009
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A WiMAX USB dongle. Photo from Flickr by Hirotomo Oi
In the Tech Stream this week we get serious about our games. The Good Game team return from the E3 games expo with news of motion sensor technology which could allow us to throw away our controllers; and we’re joined by “Serious Games” experts Noah Falstein and Dr Ian Bogost who are in Australia for a conference on Serious Games in Sydney. You can listen to their full interview on a previous post.
We also look at the rollout of WiMAX wireless broadband in Fiji and Papua new Guinea… and tech-journo Danny Gorog join us with the lowdown on the new iPhone 3Gs and OS3.0 mobile operating system which was announced at Apple’s WWDC on Monday.
You can listen to the full Tech Stream program with the MP3 link above or the “Listen Now” link on the right. Feel free to comment on any of these stories or suggest something we can follow up in future programs. You can also subscribe to the podcast too!
Tech Stream 011
1 May 2009
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Voxopop’s audio message boards are popular with people learning English.
In the Tech Stream this week, Firemint’s Robert Murray talks about their mobile game Flight Control which is a #1 worldwide hit; discover a social-networking discussion site Voxopop.com which allows people to start audio-based forums and has been taken up by English language learners across the world; Danny Gorog takes us under the hood of the Kindle 2 eBook reader; we learn how to reduce the impact our PCs have on the environment; and the increasing popularity of shanzhai phones in China.
You can listen to the full Tech Stream program with the MP3 link above or the “Listen Now” link on the right. Feel free to comment on any of these stories or suggest something we can follow up in future programs. You can also subscribe to the podcast too!
A runway hit
30 April 2009
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They got game: the Firemint team in their Richmond studio.
An Australian game developer has an unexpected hit on its hands. The company, Firemint, is based in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, and has been producing games for mobiles and other platforms for the past decade. But it was while on a Christmas break from the office that their CEO Robert Murray and his wife Alexandra hit on the idea for Flight Control, a simple but very addictive game for the iPhone and iPod-Touch.
It’s become a worldwide hit and some in the media have speculated that around half a million people have downloaded the game. Firemint are keeping the exact figure under wraps but Rob was happy to talk more about the success of Flight Control and share his thoughts on the future of mobile gaming.
You can listen to our chat via the MP3 link above or have this and all the audio in the Tech Stream delivered straight to your computer or portable media player by subscribing to our podcast.
Tech Stream 003
6 March 2009
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In the Tech Stream radio and podcast program this week we chat with Danny Gorog about new Apple desktops and the Safari browser; think about green technology with sustainability expert Tony Hodgson; join Kate Sawrey from Triple J’s Hack behind the scenes with Aussie indie games companies; and Georgia Webster gives us the lowdown on textonyms. Use the MP3 link in this story or to the right to hear the full program.
We ran out of time to cover the rumours overnight about Youtube being blocked in China, and the announcement that the Beatles are coming to your gaming console in September. But apparently we can report that ninety-five percent of mobile phones in hospitals are infected with at least one kind of bacteria. Gross!
