Tech Stream

Tech Stream 044

19 March 2010

Listen and download: MP3

The Martin Jetpack, developed in New Zealand. Photo from Flickr. Strong men not included.

This week in the Tech Stream, the futuristic transport we’ve all been dreaming about is here: JETPACKS!  We’ll meet a New Zealand man who says he’s turned his childhood fantasy (and mine) into a legal, almost affordable aircraft for one.  We’ll also find out how to use our laptop to measure, map and even predict earthquakes. And Twitter expands into richer geo-location services and spreads our conversations across the web… but is it innovating or just playing catch-up?

Follow the MP3 link above to start listening, or take the jump to find out more.

We start the program with a look at the Quake Catcher Network.  Put simply you can install software on your laptop or home computer which will turn the device into a seismic monitor, able to capture information about tremors or earthquakes in your area.  Your computer needs to be connected to the internet and have either an accelerometer inside, or a USB one attached.   For more on this we’re joined by Elizabeth Cochran, Assistant Professor of Seismology, Department of Earth Sciences University of California, Riverside.    There’s also an interactive google map available showing latest data gathered from the network.

Most of the buzz at the SXSW Interactive event in Austin Texas this week was about geo location social network applications like Foursquare.  But there was also plenty of news about Twitter.  We’re hearing that yes, it is likely to come to China.  Twitter creator Jack Dorsey says it still may be some time before the the service is fully available in the country, but that it will happen.   Twitter’s CEO also says that the social media website isn’t for sale… at least for the next two years.   I thought we should focus though on their announcement of the @anywhere service.  You can read more about it in their blog.   Details are still sketchy but for more on it, and recent online trends, we meet up with prolific twitter user Laurel Papworth, an online community strategist and social media commentator. You can follow her here on twitter.

We end the Tech Stream with a story about JETPACKS! (sorry, you have to use capitals!) New Zealand biochemist Glen Martin says he’s turned his childhood fantasy of a jetpack into a legal aircraft which runs on unleaded petrol. He’s speaking with Fran Kelly from ABC Radio National Breakfast.  Check out the video below for more on the Martin Jetpack.