Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ Australia’
Tech Stream 053
21 May 2010
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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.
Tech Stream 052
14 May 2010
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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.
Tech Stream 051 – NBN, Clean Technology and the Webby Awards
7 May 2010
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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.
Tech Stream 050 – 3DTV health concerns and the NZ Web Harvest
30 April 2010
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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.
Tech Stream 048
16 April 2010
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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 046
31 March 2010
The game Fallout 3 which was initially refused classification, and therefor banned in Australia until it was modified. It wasn’t banned because of excessive violence but because of the “realistic visual representations of drugs” [source]. (Image from Flickr by Tom Francis)
Today’s Tech Stream radio program features a debate on the proposed introduction of an R18+ rating for video games in Australia. And as you’ll hear, many gamers and people in the industry support an adult rating, saying it brings us in line with other countries, allows adult gamers to play the games that want, as they were made and will help parents make better choices about the games they buy for their kids. Conversely others are worried it could mean more violent games finding their way onto shelves and then into the hands of children.
It’s a complicated issue, but one that is starting to heat up here in Australia. You can listen to this program via the MP3 link above or take the jump for more information.
Tech Stream 045 – Women in IT and Technology Special
26 March 2010
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Image by Alexander Hans from Flickr.
We celebrate pioneering women who have chosen careers in IT and technology related fields this week in the Tech Stream. The inspiration for this program came when I discovered that this Wednesday just gone, March 24th, was Ada Lovelace Day. Ada, the daughter of Lord Byron, who was born in England in 1815. She is often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer and is credited with actually writing the first description of a computer and of software. On Wednesday bloggers from around the world took to their keyboards, to share their stories of women who, like Ada Lovelace, have made their mark in fields that is still largely dominated by men.
In our own program today we meet three women who are an inspiration to those around them. They are passionate about encouraging more women into science and technology fields, but as you’ll hear they’re concerned that the number of young women attracted to working in these industries is in decline.
Follow the MP3 link above to hear the full program 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 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.
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.
