Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ Culture’
Tech Stream 035 – Year in Review
18 December 2009
Listen and download: MP3
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 032
25 September 2009
Listen and download: MP3
The Screen Worlds exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, ACMI. You can see the giant, white Lara Croft mentioned in this week’s program.
In the Tech Stream this week we’re looking at the use of social media and internet communications technology to connect virtual and physical spaces: from art galleries to government forums. We’ll also meet Yiying Lu, creator of the iconic Twitter “Fail Whale”, whose first solo exhibition also includes augmented reality technology. And come for a guided tour of a new exhibit at ACMI, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, which has videogames as a major focus. Download or stream the program via the MP3 link above or find out more after the jump.
Tech Stream 027
21 August 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Photo and vinylville stencil by vieeART from Flickr.
We’re joined in the Tech Stream this week by the author of Music 2.0 Gerd Leonhard. He’s a futurist who focuses on trends in technology, media and content. Gerd has some very interesting ideas about the ways we’ll be accessing and sharing music online. We’ll also be tweeting aliens and the latest technology news from the week. More after the jump, or just jump right into the program with the MP3 above.
Tech Stream 022
17 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
The fictitious babel fish. An image form the BBC TV production of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Its a special Tech Stream program this week with a focus on language translation. We’re not quite at the stage yet where we can put a babel fish in our ears and understand every language on the planet, but we’re making some smaller breakthroughs online which are making communications across languages or access to international web content a lot easier. Listen with the MP3 link above or find out more after the jump…
Serious Games
11 June 2009
Listen and download: MP3
A serious game is computer or video game that is designed primarily for a purpose other than entertainment. And the X Media Lab in Sydney is holding Australia’s first ever conference on Serious Games this week. It kicks off tomorrow (Friday) and I had a chance to speak with two of the conference participants:
Noah Falstein, who is often referred to as the ‘father of serious games’. Noah has worked for Dreamworks Interactive among many other places and is a Board Member of the Serious Games Summit in the United States and President of The Inspiracy.
And Dr Ian Bogost a videogame designer, critic, and researcher. He’s an Associate Professor at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and Founding Partner of Persuasive Games.
I spoke with both men separately about serious games and general trends in interactive entertainment. They have some truly fascinating things to say. To listen just follow the MP3 at the top of this post.
Good Game on ABC TV are currently running an initiative with Screen Australia to develop a serious game. More about it here.
The future of copyright in a digital age
29 May 2009
Phillip Adams interviews Lawrence Lessig, author of Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. Lessig says says that in this digital age where young people’s culture is the media, they are being criminalised because copyright laws haven’t kept up with digital technology and the way it’s being used. You can download the MP3 radio interview and there is more on the Late Night Live website.
There are some great resources on copyright and fair use at the Centre for Social Media including the video below:
Wiki Wars
25 March 2009
Was pavlova invented in New Zealand or Australia? Is Daffy Duck a dad? What genre is Nickelback? Pop rock? Soft rock? Post grunge? Or as one user suggested, buttrock?
These are just some of the wars going on amongst Wikipedia editors. We all know the site’s gimmick, anyone can change almost anything. But what are the practical implications of that? And how is it policed? Turns out Wikipedia isn’t as free love as it looks.
Juliette O’Brien and Michael Atkin from Triple J’s Hack radio program investigated. Take a listen (link to MP3 file).
