Tech Stream

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…

We start Tech Stream #36 with the French and German governments warning internet users in Europe to avoid using Microsoft’s popular web browser.

Internet Explorer comes as default with most PCs running Windows. Its thought that China-based cyber-spies and hackers attacked Google and other large companies by exploiting security flaws in the older version 6 of the browser which is still installed on many user’s and organisations PCs.

Dr Mark Gregory, senior lecturer in Electrical and Computer Engineering at RMIT University told Phillip Kafcaloudes on Radio Australia Today that the widespread use of Internet Explorer makes it vulnerable to these kind of attacks. And writer and futurist Mark Pesce told Kate O’Toole from Hack on Triple J that people using Internet Explorer should upgrade their browser to version 8.

ABC News online also reported this week that the Australian government has started ramping up its “cyber defences”.

In what could be shaping up to be the biggest technology story of the year Internet giant Google is threatening to shut down its operations in China.  The company explained their reasons for this in a post on their official blog entitled “A New Approach to China”.

Karon Snowdon initially filed the report from Tech Stream on our current affairs program Connect Asia, where a full transcript is available.  China played down Google’s threat but the US has called on Beijing to conduct a thorough and transparent review of cyber intrusions against the internet giant. Linda Mottram covered this angle on Connect Asia this morning.

So what happens if Google does pull out of China, and what would it mean to Baidu, the largest website in the country? This article in the Wall Street Journal attempts to answer some of those questions.

We then turn our attention to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held recently in Las Vegas.  Tech Expert Peter Marks from Radio National Breakfast gives us his impressions of the key technology on display.  And Angus Kidman from lifehacker.com.au tells Susan Hill why he’s wary of the hype around 3D TVs.

Want to know more about 3D TV? Try this article from PC Mag “3D TV: The Four Things You Need to Know“.

Finally we get to chat with Morris Miselowski, a business futurist who often comes into Radio Australia Today to talk about the latest technology.  He’s brought his crystal ball into the Tech Stream this week and will give us a glimpse into the most exciting tech trends, gadgets and ideas for 2010… and beyond.