Tech Stream
Posts Tagged ‘ technology’
Tech Stream 054 – Innovation, Chrome and Redemption
28 May 2010
Listen and download: MP3
The Chrome browser: Google’s secret weapon in it’s expanding empire. (Flickr: Ken Lee)
In the Tech Stream this week: recognition for Australia’s pioneers and innovators in science and technology; how smart-phones and social media are changing the way news is gathered and shared; behind Google’s Chrome browser and their plans for our televisions; You Tube turns five… and Bajo reviews the sprawling Wild West adventure Red Dead Redemption. Take the jump to find out more, or listen now via the MP3 link above.
Tech Stream 050 – 3DTV health concerns and the NZ Web Harvest
30 April 2010
Listen and download: MP3
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 049: Education Special
24 April 2010
Listen and download: MP3
Many students in Australia and elsewhere now have their own laptop for use at home and in the classroom. (Flickr: Christy Tvarok Green)
How is the use of technology changing the way we think about education, and what are some of the new ways we can foster productive and co-operative learning environments through the use of computers? What will the classroom of the future look like? We’ll tackle these questions and more in the Tech Stream this week with a special program focusing on education and digital technology. Follow the MP3 link above to listen to or download the radio program, or read on for more information.
Tech Stream 045 – Women in IT and Technology Special
26 March 2010
Listen and download: MP3
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 042
5 March 2010
Listen and download: MP3
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.
More technology news from the week
12 February 2010
There was plenty of technology news this week which we ran out of time to cover in the radio program. There was the story about the Queensland gamer who will have to pay Nintendo AU$1.5million in damages (negotiated in an out of court settlement) after illegally copying one of its games and uploading it to the internet. More in this article from ABC News and this story from ABC Radio’s PM program: Nintendo fan pays dearly for illegal sharing. It got plenty of coverage outside Australia too with some people wondering whether the punishment fitted the crime.
You may have heard us chatting on RA Today this morning about the latest social networking tool from Google which they are incorporating into their Gmail system. It’s called Buzz and it’s created some quite negative buzz online, with concerns that it violates user’s privacy. More details on the service in plenty of articles online, like this one from CNET. ZDNET Asia reports that Google announced some changes to it on Thursday which will make it easier to hide their details from public view.
And government websites in Australia came under attack this week from internet protest group Anonymous. Their assault, dubbed comically “Operation Titstorm”, featured a co-ordinated DDoS attack on the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s homepage. The parliamentary website was also crippled for over an hour. Anonymous are angry at the federal government’s plan to introduce a mandatory internet filter this year which would block access to sites, like those containing certain types of pornography or illegal activities, that are deemed to have been “refused-classification” in Australia. Hungry Beast covered this in a program segment on ABC TV this week: How To Wage Titstorm and more details on this story are here on ABC News Online.
At almost the same time Stephen Conroy, the minister responsible for implementing the ISP level filter, was having meetings with Google to ask them to censor content on You Tube. The SMH reported that Google said that it “had a bias in favour of freedom of expression in everything it did” and that “YouTube has clear policies about what content is not allowed, for example hate speech and pornography, and we enforce these, but we can’t give any assurances that we would voluntarily remove all Refused Classification content from YouTube”. Senator Conroy defended making the request, saying “in Australia, these are our laws and we’d like you to apply our laws”. Needless to say this story made headlines across the world.
For more technology news remember to follow our Tech Stream twitter feed. And let us know about any stories you find that might be of interest to cover here or in the radio program. You can email me at techstream (at) radioaustralia.net.au
Tech Stream 037
29 January 2010
Listen and download: MP3
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 036
22 January 2010
Listen and download: MP3
Flowers lay on a sign at the entrance to Google’s China headquarters in Beijing’s university district. Photo by Josh Chin from Flickr.
We’ll be looking forward, on this the first Tech Stream radio program of 2010, at the gadgets, technology trends and ideas set to dominate over the next twelve months. We also wrap up some of the news around Google rethinking its strategy in China, which may involve it pulling out of the country altogether, and find out why governments in Europe are advising their citizens to abandon Microsoft’s popular web browser. Follow the MP3 link above to hear the program or continue on for more…
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 033
2 October 2009
Listen and download: MP3
Triple J’s Unearthed.com, a community music site for Australian independent artists and their fans.
In the Tech Stream this week we look at some of the new tools available to music fans and artists to help them discover or share their music online. Soundcloud, RCRD LBL, We Are Hunted and Triple J Unearthed (pictured) are all featured. We also dig deeper into some of the issues around music file-sharing, free content, online promotion and streaming services. The MP3 link at the top of this post has the audio, or take the jump for more information.
