Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ iphone’
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.
Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009
8 December 2009
The puzzle game Blakely Van De Buckle’s Brass Cabaret being played in the Independent Gamers Exhibition at GCAP 2009. The game was produced by Powderkeg Entertainment.
I’m spending the beginning of this week at a gaming conference and expo in Melbourne. Game Connect: Asia Pacific (GCAP) is organised by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) and is an opportunity for people working in the gaming and interactive entertainment industry to network, share some new ideas and discuss some of the issues they’re facing. There has also been a focus on serious games, with education and health featuring heavily as themes on day one.
The GDAA Industry Awards took place at the end of day two and not surprisingly the runway smash Flight Control picked up a string of awards including “Best Game”. Firemint’s popular game for the iPhone and iPod Touch mobile platform has been downloaded from the iTunes App Store more than 1.5 million times. The President of the GDAA, Tom Crago, noted that “Flight Control has been a phenomenal success and has really been responsible for the creation of an entire new genre on iPhone. We’re very proud that this title was developed in Australia”. Heroes Over Europe from Transmission Games (which is no longer operating having closed down in October) also picked up three awards, including “Best Console Title”.
The Tech Stream program on Friday will be devoted to gaming and coverage of Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2009. Make sure you tune in, or subscribe to the podcast to hear it. In the meantime Mike Bantick has some good coverage over at iTWire, including an overview of the event and a story on the student produced games on show at GCAP.
I’ve also been asking people at the conference what their favourite game of 2009 was. What’s yours?
Tech Stream 031
18 September 2009
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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.
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.
Location based mobile applications
26 March 2009
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The iPhone 3G launched officially in Indonesia last week. Smartphone uptake has been on the rise in the country, with many people opting for the latest Blackberry devices, which have a strong suite of SMS and IM tools. But the iPhone’s success could be driven by its ability to know where you are.
Anyone who has been to the capital Jakarta knows how difficult it is to navigate the complex, overcrowded road network. It is a city of over 15 million residents and traveling to meet up with friends can be a grueling, frustrating affair.
Mark Hanusz is from Equinox Application Development, based in Jakarta. The company is developing location based applications for mobile phones. I spoke with him about these applications, including one called Transjakarta (pictured above) for use on public transport. You can hear the interview via the MP3 link at the top of this story.
Tech Stream 005
20 March 2009
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Technology journalist Adam Turner joins us in the Tech Stream to talk about impostors on Twitter and updates for the iPhone; Bajo from ABC TV’s Good Game reviews the Watchmen video game; we take a world-wide-web history lesson and meet Paul Miller from the schoolofeverything.com.
You can listen to the full program with the MP3 link above or the links on the right.
The School of Everything interview comes courtesy of Future Tense from ABC Radio National. A full interview is online. The History of the Web is from The Buzz and although the audio is no longer available for download you can can read a transcript. It was produced by Craig Liddell.