Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ Online’
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…
Virtual Concerns in China and Australia
3 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Inhabitants of Second Life, spending time on ABC Island. Image from Flickr by Gary Hayes.
We were augmenting our realities last week, adding layers of virtual information and computer generated objects to the real world around us. But this week we’re digging deeper on a couple of stories involving online virtual worlds – places like Second Life – and games like World of Warcraft.
It seemed that Australia’s proposed ISP-level internet filtering regime could impact upon “unclassified” virtual spaces and internet games. And some new laws were introduced in China this week aimed at stopping the flow of virtual money into the real world economy. Initial reports suggested that it might effect the practice of gold-farming in games like WoW, but it seems that’s not quite the case.
For more on both of these issues I spoke with David Holloway, editor of Metaverse Journal, a virtual worlds news site. He kicked off with his thoughts on China’s new policy toward virtual currency and you can hear our entire conversation from the MP3 link at the top of this story. There’s also more after the jump…
Cracks appear in China’s Green Dam
16 June 2009
It seems having the most sophisticated internet filtering and blocking system in the world is simply not enough for the authorities in China. Now they are seeking to implement a more thorough and universal solution at the user-end which they say is aimed at blocking access to pornographic and violence-oriented websites. But of course it’s being viewed, both inside and outside China, as a bid at mass censorship and a threat to personal privacy. More after the jump…
Tech Stream 016
5 June 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Electronic waste waiting to be recycled. Photo from Flickr by Eric Dykstra.
We’re marking World Environment Day in the Tech Stream this week. Jeff Angel, Executive Director of the Total Environment Centre tells us about Australia’s new electronic waste recycling scheme. Janet Leslie from Canon Australia explains their e-waste initiatives and ‘green’ calculators. And Elanto Wijayono from Green Map Indonesia introduces us to Open Green Maps – a set of online tools to help communities map natural, cultural and sustainable resources in their area.
But we kick off the program with the blocking of websites like Twitter and Flickr in China this week. Thursday was the 20th anniversary of the Chinese military’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. Myself and Steve Holland from Connect Asia speak with a local Twitter user as well as Jeremy Goldkorn from Danwei.org and Beijing-based technology observer Kaiser Kuo. Radio Australia News Online also has a great feature on the anniversary. Lastly, technology journalist Adam Turner has the lowdown on Google Wave.
The entire program can be heard from the MP3 link at the top, and you can subscribe to the podcast with the link on the right. Feel free to leave a comment below on any of the content in the Tech Stream this week.
Cyber Security – Enemy in the net
29 May 2009
There was an excellent program on internet security by Stan Corey on Background Briefing this week. You can download the MP3 from this link and visit their site for all the details and transcript.
We know there are criminals using the net, and also that hackers can infiltrate anyone’s computer. At the government level it’s not only a murky worry, but has become a battle for who will monitor it all and how we will fight cyberwars. And not everything you hear is true.
Tech Stream 014
22 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Photo from Flickr by Jose Roberto.
We’ve got our head in the clouds this week in the Tech Stream. There’s a buzz around the term “cloud computing” and I lost count how many times it was mentioned at CeBIT Australia 2009 last week in Sydney. I spoke with two local businesses on the exhibition floor about how they’re providing solutions for those wishing to work “in the cloud” and luckily they both offered to explain what the term “cloud computing” actually means.
The Future of Conferences
15 May 2009
The Future Tense program this week have been looking at the changing nature of conferences:
The word ‘conference’ is synonymous with bad food, hard chairs and boring speakers. At least it is for many of us. But it doesn’t have to be that way and, in fact, it’s already changing. We speak with three conferencing professionals about conferences past and future and the way the industry is adapting to meet changing consumer expectations.
You can listen and download the audio from the program or read the transcript.
CeBIT: NZ wins FullCodePress Competition
13 May 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Haydn Thomsen from the NZ “Codeblacks” web development team, accepting their prize for their winning website.
The New Zealand team has beaten Australia in the second FullCodePress competition at CeBIT Australia 2009. They built a fully functional website in under 24 hours for the Rainbow Youth, a not-for-profit organisation based in Auckland. I had a chance to speak with the team, representatives from Rainbow Youth and also one of the NZ organizers Mike Brown. You can listen to with the MP3 link at the top of this story.
The best thing is that the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre in NSW also get to keep the website built for them by the Australian team. It will go online soon but you can have a look at it for a short time here and also at the winning build for Rainbow Youth. And the competition was documented online at FullCodePress.com
Life Matters: To Tweet or not to Tweet
8 May 2009
The Life Matters program this morning had an interesting discussion, and some talkback too, on the growing interest and media attention given to social network tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. One of their guests was Iggy Pintado, a former marketing manager with IBM, and a self professed Super-Connector. He’s also the author of the book Connection Generation which argues that “connection determines our place in society and business – and if you’re not online you’re off the scene”. His dad and son also join in! You can follow the conversation as it evolved on twitter (using the #lm tag) or download the audio from this link, or the Life Matters website.
The Internet of things
1 May 2009
What if the computer in your car could communicate with the computer at your local garage and without any interaction from you book the vehicle in for a service or repairs when required? What if at the same time it could book you a replacement hire car and have it delivered to your house? This kind of interaction between computers, without our intervention, forms part of what is likely to become known as “the internet of things”. Future Tense takes up the story this week and asks whether we about to witness a new phase for the internet? An internet where objects, not people, communicate.
You can download the story as an MP3 with this link or subscribe (as I do) to Future Tense and have all their programs delivered straight to your computer and media player.
