petersaville.net

Gerards Open Letter

2010-09-23T01:29:00.001-07:00

Deejay Sav I’ve just been reading an article in the Australian online
after hearing Alan Jones on 2GB talk to a former local newspaper owner Gerard
Thompson. Apparently at the urging of "several people" in the community he
has penned an open letter to Mr Oakeshott, Mr Thompson, who are these “faceless people”?
Is there any possib...ility that like you they are Nationals supporters or even
members?

Mr Thompson planned to at least a 1000 copies of his letter
printed and distribute it across the Port Macquarie and Wauchope business
community to "let people know the truth". How about letting us know who is funding it
your letter printing, The Nationals?

Your former news paper could have been mistaken for a
National Party news letter wrapped up with advertising and once the state and
federal seats went independent it lost its relevance. Could this be an exercise in cashing in on
Oakeshott’s 26 minutes of fame to make Mr Thompson relevant in the community
again?

Monday on abc

2010-06-07T03:11:00.001-07:00

FEDERAL police have launched an investigation into Google and some of its employees for collecting private information while taking photographs for the Street View service.

It was revealed last month the web giant's Street View cars had collected data from personal Wi-Fi networks while taking photographs in countries including Australia. Google last month admitted it had "mistakenly" collected fragments of data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks as its Street View cars drove past houses.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland today revealed he had referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police.

"I note there has been some complaints voiced, and understandably voiced, by the public in respect to practices that have been reported involving allegations that some information may have been obtained by staff of Google travelling around streets," Mr McClelland said.

"On Friday the Attorney-General's Department did refer those allegations and those reports to the Australian Federal Police."

My View Point

Ok, firstly, if you leave your network unsecured your asking for trouble as far as I am concerned its like leaving your front door open with your valuables in full view. Its been common practice for street tags (graffiti) to show up pointing out where someone has tracked an unsecured network. The issue is that google could have legitimately been looking for public hotspots and this data would have been useful for business people to know where they can get access to wifi. OK sure if you believe that, there is this nice coat hanger shaped bridge with fantastic views of Sydney harbor I can sell you!!

So what was google up to, basically it had wfifi sniffers out whilst it was looking and again this is legitimate if your marking public hotspots but once you move past the entry point of the network and then have access to the internal network thats when you have access to the data, remember data is intellectual property and money is derived from such so it pays to keep it secure!!!

IPAD working wonders already in hospitality

I recently had the pleasure of a trip to sydney learn about a new software product we are supporting at work. Its a point of sale system designed and developed by a company in Sydney who's founding programmer now lives in Long Flat NSW.

I raised an idea that perhaps developing the software to work on the ipod touch and the ipad would be a good idea so that waiters could use the ipods or the ipads for taking orders. We see something similar at the Scottish restaurant with the golden arches, there becomes a line up and the staff head out and take orders using a PDA worth over 1300 dollars running windows mobile and Newpos HOT. The IPOD retails in the 8gb format wifi only at about 300 dollars that means its 1000 dollars less. The ipad is around 600 dollars less.

A Sydney restaurant has decided to according to AFP An Australian restaurant has ditched printed menus and now hands diners the latest tech-craze, Apple's touchscreen iPad computer, from which to choose and order their meals.

Risking damaging wine spills and customers taking an iPad 'to go', the Global Mundo Tapas eatery at the Rydges Hotel in North Sydney introduced its new menus three days ago -- within a week of the iPad's Australian release.

And as I thought someone has set up the menus and pos software for the ipad with an application developed ahead of the tactile device's launch allows diners at the 50-seat restaurant to browse the menu -- complete with photographs and tasting notes -- with a flick of a finger.

Order a steak and the application asks how you would like the meat cooked, and placing your order can be done with the press of a button. Planned features include pop-up boxes that will suggest wines to match meals, and stock-control mechanisms to delete sold-out items from the menu.

But this is technology that future tech enthusiastic fast foodies were going to see in a couple of years build into their tables

BILL SHOCK – New tech New BILLs to scare and financially destroy you

A warning is out for people to be careful about data packs on mobile phones and the new IPADS make sure you get data packs that don't continue to bill you were mb after you go over your cap, whilst prepaid tends to be an expensive option in someways as its often higher priced that post paid usages but I've already seen people get massive bills from data packs.

New laptop could become Panda food….

2008-11-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

Nah seriously, we have to man items made of plastic these days and imagine a laptop made of fire retardant bamboo. Yes, whilst some of the first light bulbs had bamboo filaments the circuits on this baby are not bamboo.

The case is clad with a nice plantation grown bamboo, apparently making the laptop environmentally friendly cause it reduces the amount of plastics used on the case and means that the case is biodegradable. Lol

Free paint program for the kids

2008-11-15T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well open source software is expanding and today I today I thought I would point out a good package for the kids called TUX paint, names after the linux penguin this multiplatform kids graphics package is TUX paint, with various addons this powerful but easy to use paint package allows kids to show off their creative talents. Its also one of the packages I have sene in use at primary schools on the computers.

XBOX'er put back in the box

2008-11-14T05:52:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has taken a new tack in the war against piracy by banning users who try to connect to the Xbox Live server using a modified Xbox 360. Shame that, the old xbox generation 1 they did the sae so someone set up their own network of gae servers. Will it happen again?
At present gamers the world over who have tampered with their machine are logging on to find a message telling them they've been banned from the server. Te reason for this is that they are deemed by Microsoft to have breached the terms and conditions of use or EUA – end user agreement.

Nab glitch Nabs peoples money

2008-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I mean what do you do when you go to the bank and find your money is not there, apparently due to a glitch many of the National Australia Bank (NAB) customers were singing for their supper because it left them waiting for their pay packets after a software error caused electronic transactions to be delayed.
NAB spokeswoman Luisa Ford said the IT problem had been rectified by staff in Melbourne working since last night and some payments had already been processed successfully.
Retail and business customers were both affected by the glitch, i could imagine the sinking feeling that many people had not seeing income in their accounts. It would have had me freak out i can tell you.

bill shock

2008-07-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

“Bill shock” is a term that is being bandied about around the IT and telecommunications traps, infact the ACCC are warning users of the IPHONE and 3G content phones to be mindful that data on third generation networks are charged differently to standard voice and text. Things that eat up data charges are email, web, video calls, voip, song, video and ringtone downloads, positioning and mapping software and other applications. So whilst you might have a great voice and text package which is affordable you may find data is not included, usually the data charges are charged differently.

But its not only the mobile phone that creates bill shock, these ring tone websites, advertisements and more that you see on the net often trick people to send a request for one ring tone and then the user finds out they have subscribed to something that eats away at their prepaid credit or adds massive charges onto their phone bill.

But its not only phones effected with “bill shock” some internet providers irth their packages start charging per megabyte after the initial monthly block of data is exhausted. Often users spending say 29.95 for 200mb find themselves with a massive bill at the end of the month cause just downloading the windows updates in a month chews up anywhere between 200 to 400mb per month.

But recently we have seen services launched on the net that chew up data, online radio and tv stations can use up data. Its good to know that responsible providers of this great content are showing disclaimers and warnings at the beginning of accessing this content to alert users of the possibilities that this content usage could be a costly exercise if they are not on the right internet plan.

nokia n6110

2008-07-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Tony Delroys program and he was talking to “the gadget guy” about mobile phones and I rang up and added my two cents worth. The discussion on mobile phones and mobile phone gps was interesting to say the least. Nokia charge for their NAVTEQ GPS system, which is a real pain you need to pay about 100+ dollars per year for the voice prompts and map updates, interesting to note that this is indeed about the average someone who used their tom tom or navman extensively would be paying to update it each year. Whilst quick to point out the nokia phones have this feature he brushed over the nokia navigator (actually I had to ring in and raise it) the navigator is designed for people that use GPS a lot its cheaper than the more expensive N70 and N95. It costs about 500+ to buy outright, the only issue is that Telsra in their infinite wisdom have not included this on their next g network. But more fool them as optus roll out the 3g network why wouldn't you look at this phone.

The maps are upgraded by the route66 mapping service, and yes occasionally they are out dated but most of the time is pretty cool for navigating your way around. I was not confident about traveling in sydney but when i got this phone I was happy to do it. The other thing to note is the speed alert on the phone it tells me when i go over the speed limit and that is a bonus

Crap on the keyboard

2008-07-13T04:02:00.001-07:00

Keyboards are dirty objects at the best of times and the University of Washington as part of a research project, have found that high levels of fecal coliform, the bacteria found in fecal matter, was found on keyboards at the two busiest computer areas on campus.
This styudy comes amid a general growing awareness of the nasty things we pass around on shared surfaces such as gym benches, telephones and grocery-cart handles. This high lights the reasons for keeping public keyboards clean and the reason why disposable keyboard covers are now being used in hospitals.
My advice buy yourself drag dictate or naturally speaking and talk to pc lol

My god you have a huge disk!!!

2008-07-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well data storage explodes in august as Seagate rolls out a big drive, the 1.5 terabyte drive this August. Seagate is at pains to point out its the single largest hard drive capacity bump in the last 50 years. Ok now for those who say I will never fill it!!! I say bull dust, you'll fill it with more crap that you can poke and iso-linear circuit at. The new drive apparently will use four platters to cram the scale-tipping new raw capacity into a drive everyone will want in their home server. The price of this scary piece of technology has not been released yet but you can be assured they will start of sizable and come down The drive spins at 7,200RPM and the 3Gb/s SATA I interface has a sustained data rate of up to 120MB/s.

bloatware

2008-07-12T07:08:00.001-07:00

In further proove that Microsoft's Vista operating system is Bloatware compared to its nearest competitor the free Ubuntu Linux which is nice and compact in comparision when it comes to updates and running space. Microsoft has released a 56mb update to update the dictionary of all things and according to microsoft the words "Friendster," "Klum," "Nazr," "Obama," and "Racicot" are not recognized when you check the spelling in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008. So downloading the update of a whole 56mb will fix this well sort off. The English IT website theregister.co.uk put this to the test and discovered it still didn't identify the words correctly...

thats fast

2008-07-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

A new ultrafast optical switch on a chip could help speed up the internet in Australia by more than 6,000 per cent, say researchers from the University of Sydney. The researchers say that the new chips will increase switching to 64 times faster than anything that's happening in Telstra's networks. The optical switch apparently will eliminate of one of the bottlenecks in Australia's internet infrastructure.
Essentially the new switch replaces electrical switches that are used to convert optical signals to a spread of electrical signals that are then redirected to various destinations.
The optical switch consists of a specially-designed thumbnail-sized piece of glass wafer with wires etched into it. If you think of the internet as a big rail network and this switch as the points it means it can direct traffic onto diffierent rails in only pico seconds meaning that it can switch on and off at a rate of one million million times per second.

Optus brings us the Iphone

2008-07-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well considering I'm not off contract on any of my telephone providers yet and optus only have ones side of Wauchope covered with either GSM and 3G coverage I cannot say I will running with a hop skip and a jump to my local Optus world for an Iphone. Shame that because if the coverage was the same as Telstra's I'd be giving the T the flick and going Optus. But fans wanting the new Iphone can atlast rejoice in the splendor that is Optus Ipone pricing for 3G pre-paid and contract plans just days after Telstra revealed its own iPhone retail pricing.
Post-paid Optus customers can obtain the 8GB iPhone for $0 upfront on a $79 'yes' iPhone 3G cap. Pre-paid users can buy the 8GB model for $729 and choose any of the current pre-paid call offers. I'm still asking myself do I need an Iphone, nah not really....

Silent music festival doesn't drown out the noise of snogging

2008-07-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last week on the Mike Welsh drive show on 2CC in Canberra we spoke about wireless headphones as an aside to what we were going to discuss. We looked at how the wireless headphone has evolved from an infra-red style base station unit now to a Bluetooth based unit on a PAN (Personal Area Network).

I was reminded by my friend Michael (a 2CC Listener) that the Bluetooth PAN based headphones now also have a number of other applications that could provide normally noisy venues, ventures, events or other activities to coexist in the cities of tomorrow as space for housing and entertainment becomes a premium.

“Silent clubbing” or “silent discos” are becoming a popular event in some cities, at the moment just a trendy thing to go to but they could become the club of the future. As the price of the headphones reduce they could be covered in the cover charge, either to buy or hire for the night. The Dj instead of pumping out into 2.4kw sounds systems could be pumping out 2.4watts of Bluetooth RF to his fans in the club as they bop around like sweaty penguins on acid.

You could go an see your favourite rap group Sweet FA as they make Sweet FA noise and don't annoy the neighbors. The silent disco or PAN music events have the abilities to provide a more personal event for people as they can tailor the noise or volume levels to themselves. The only issues are hiding noises from someone snogging in the dunnies won't be so easy as there is no loud music to drown that noise out.

cable cut

2008-06-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Telstra is again angry after its fibre at Kempsey was slashed in the third such vandal attack on the lines in two years. According to ABC Online, up to 10,000 people lost broadband, landline and mobile phone services when a fibre-optic cable under the Kempsey railway bridge was slashed. The issue is that these senseless acts put many peoples lives at risk as telecommunications such as a basic phone can mean the difference between life and death if its not working correctly. Telstra were going to put the cable underground after the last attack but it appears not an option because the of the make up of the river bed. The issue is that this cable feeds most of the coast from the tweed to Kempsey, if they loose it due to vandalism many businesses are effected. Whilst there is some back up bandwidth available it cannot carry everything TELSTRA needs to carry so some services miss out. These vandals as far as I am concerned are no better than hackers, virus producers and any other sort of vandal. Heavy fines and gaol terms apply to those found guilty of damaging telecommunications infrastructure. I'm afraid IP based CCTV may the best way of protecting this cable in the future.

Stories for ABC tasmania

2008-06-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

Wild parties the google earth way!!!

Google Earth is apparently a hit with British teenagers looking for an impromptu party. According to the British Telegraph, teenagers in Britain are using google earth to locate outdoor swimming and meet up with their friends and other people for late-night dips and parties.

The news internet craze, known as "dipping", involves the teenagers and other people using pictures from Google Earth to identify homes that have large outdoor pools then using social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo to spread the word and meet up for impromptu swims and parties.

Apparently, some british residents have arrived home after holidays to find their back yards absolutely trashed. According to police the youngsters are so game that residents had been woken up to find them using their pools.

This behavior is very similar to the internet social craze known as flash mobbing.

New web browser here with a bang

The New browser from Mozilla, Firefox 3, was launched with a world record attempt called "Download day" hhitting the14 million download mark. The company hoped for 5 million downloads in a World Record attempt however it ended up with over 8 million downloads in a 24 hour window. But less than 72 hours after Firefox 3 downloads are over 14 million.

Time to get with video conferencing happening.

More skype users now using video than ever before it seems, with the price of a basic webcam dropping to around 50 dollars Australian people are taking the options to video conference for both business and domestic reasons. With the average household now connected to the Internet on a 512k connection or higher video conferencing has never been a more affordable option.

So what do you need? A webcam will generally set you back about 50 to 100 dollars. Remember the better the resolution the better the picture quality. You need a microphone or a headset. I tend to recommend a headset as it will pick up the sound better than a conventional microphone.

Then finally a piece of software, skype would probably be the best at this stage, it nice and clear and has its own codecs that provide superior compression for video and audio.

Then of course you need a decent Internet connection, we are talking broadband of some sort, 256 is ok but it will be jerky and may break up you need atleast 512k if not faster.

its not my fault but my computer just doesn't care

2008-05-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

The Microsoft CEO Ducks as eggs look for face to land on

2008-05-20T01:53:00.001-07:00

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had to run for cover during a presentation he was giving at a university after an irate student stood up, shouted abuse and hurled three eggs at him. "Give back the money of the taxpayers!" he yelled, before launching three eggs at the stunned Microsoft boss.The incident, which was captured on video, took place at Budapest's Corvinus University on Monday. Which no doubt will land on youtube shortly
The student, studying IT was removed from the lecture theater by university security.

SP3 has its issues

2008-05-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

The third and possible final service pack for windows xp has seemly been quite bug free until now, but users that have installed it via the windows update are reporting issues, the latest glitch in Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) causes problems with the remote desktop access feature of Windows Home Server. Apparently, users using Windows Home Server, Microsoft's home storage and local networking server, report that SP3 is cutting off their access to the server from their PCs.
Users also reported that XP SP3 put some AMD-based PCs into endless reboots. Eventually, the problem was identified as affecting certain Hewlett-Packard PCs, and Microsoft posted information for fixing it on the Web.

Soul sells its Soul to TPG

2008-02-10T02:49:00.000-08:00

In what could see SP Telemedia selling its SOUL to the devil, its been announced that TPG and SP Telemedia (SOUL) will merge in a deal worth $250 million.

This will make combined group will have one of the largest DSLAM networks in Australia and one of Australia's most profitable telecommunications companies in terms of profit margin. This means SP Telemedia and TPG networks will be combined allowingopportunities to increase network traffic, bundle and cross-sell both companies products and reduce expenditure as its customer base expands.

TPG were already offering the best priced ADSL 2 product complete with IPTV products not availalbe on any other provider.

ADSL2

2008-02-10T02:38:00.001-08:00

According to CNET, Telstra has officially switched on over 900 ADSL2+ exchanges, amid allegations of spin by the telco over its decision to back down on the issue of regulation. A further 370 exchanges will be switched on within seven working days, with some locations including Alice Springs getting the speed bump within the next two days. BigPond users in newly ADSL2+ enabled areas will need to move to more expensive plans to access the higher speed services, which will see up to 2.4 million users now able to access broadband speeds of up to a theoretical maximum of 20Mbps.

burnout legends - PSP melts to boys leg

2008-02-10T02:15:00.000-08:00

Sony says there is nothing wrong with the quality of its PSP after one of the handheld games consoles overheated in a 12-year-old boy's pocket in the United States, leaving him with second-degree burns to the leg. According to Sony it is investigating the issue but it is believed to be an isolated issue.

The boy was ironically had been playing burn out legends and then placed the game in his pocked, The device started to heat up spontaneously caught fire and melted on to his leg while at school in the Detroit, Michigan suburb of Farmington Hills when the handheld gaming device in his pocket spontaneously caught fire and melted on to his leg.

Police confirmed that the PSP had overheated and the boy claims the PSP wasn't turned on when the incident occurred.

SINCE WE LAST SPOKE NETSCAPE DIED!!!

2008-02-10T01:38:00.000-08:00

In a deal between AOL (the owners of Netscape) and Microsoft over what software it will be able to use as its default web browser for its clients it seems that one of the webs original web browsers was the sacrificial lamb given in the process of settling the dispute. Support for the browser has been dwindling and now a decision has been reached to remove all support for the browser, leaving it official a dead product.

Microsoft and Netscape have indeed been bitter rivals since Microsoft launched its internet explorer product in the late 1990's, Netscape has been around since 1994 and it moved into a place originally held by Mosiac.

Vista days already numbered, windows 7 already talked about

2008-01-29T01:05:00.000-08:00

Microsoft’s most controversial operating system ever has been Windows Vista, seemingly suffering from more bugs than a cockroach farm. Its been plagued by poor performance, incompatible software, missing hardware drivers and more issues. Microsoft are set to release its Service Pack 1 for Vista in a hope to straighten out the bugs

Whispers about the next version, currently codenamed Windows 7, have started growing a bit louder. Computer experts certainly suggest that if you are happy with your Windows XP computer, there is no reason to race out and update.

Many businesses have loaded XP instead onto new computers originally pre-loaded with Vista just to maintain their ‘standard operating environments’, most of which in the world of business are years behind what cutting edge consumers would use.

However, be warned if you buy a new computer will get a vista machine. Although some providers are still making machines with Windows XP available but these are far and few between.

Preventative maintenance, is it important?

2008-01-29T00:32:00.000-08:00

Taking care of your investment is important, preventative maintenance is making sure your computer lives the full length of its useful life. Dust is hazardous to your pc and over its life it will indeed attract a lot of it, the main reason why dust is hazardous as it also traps moisture and thus allows components to short out.

The other difficulty dusty causes is that it cakes around heat sinks and blocks the flow of air This means that the processor can over heat and other electronic components could burn out. As the processor heats up it slows down to cut back on the amount of heat it produces. Keeping the processor heatsink free of dust means the computer runs at its peak speed.

So what do we need to do in preventative maintenance, firstly make sure all vents are free from dust, get a can of compressed air from an electronics store and then open the case and blast the lightly any dust out of the machine being careful not to touch any of the components

Then once the case is closed up wipe it down with a moist cloth or use moist towels, to remove any dirt build up on the case. Make sure you vacuum out the area where your computer will be sitting to remove dust. That will be sucked into the freshly cleaned computer.

Just keeping the machine clean should assist in keeping the computer working for a long time as well as keeping ti running at a fast speed.

Sega finally makes a move

2008-01-28T02:41:00.000-08:00

We were wondering sometime why SEGA had re-copyrighted its mega drive and other consoles, well it appears previous foes are working together. Games that used to be available on the Megadrive and dreamcast systems are being release on the WII by Nintendo.

New Vista and XP service packs

2008-01-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

Microsoft released both XP service pack 3 and Vista service Pack 1 release candidate for download. A release candidate is a software package that has been prepared for release as the final product but they are not quite sure if its ready yet for commercial release. Its another stage in the beta testing, thousands of people are downloading the packs to test. Microsoft are warning people that they should deploy the RC1 on their systems if it has mission critical data. They should wait for the full product release. However, RC1 for XP seems to repair several running speed issues. One thing I discovered with the vista service pack was that several programs that I could not run on successfully without error now work.

Security alert: 'Valentine's Day' Storm gives love a bad name

2008-01-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

The latest storm worm is delivering Valentine’s Day themed executable names as attachments – for example ‘withlove.exe’ -- in e-mail messages straight from the heart with subjects such as “I would dream” and “Memories of you”.
Amanda Conroy (PC World Australia (online))

Slap corey

2008-01-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

Australian’s have always been good at taking the proverbial pee out of a specific event, often its how we deal with strong emotions such as grief and anger, we as Australian’s can often make light of or express dark macabre humor at such things. Websites like blogs and youtube allow us to express ourselves in written or video form and pod casting allows anyone to be journalists.

However, one thing that Australian’s are good at is parody, sarcasm and wit and often this shows in the form of full website developments. In recent weeks there has been an out pouring of anger, disapproval, disgust and just plain outrage of the actions of a 16 year old boy who set up a street party in the Melbourne suburbs. Brisbane based design group Vivo has responded to that by designing a simple website called www.slapcorey.com where Australian’s can take there frustrations out on an avatar of the boy in question. At the time of writing this article nearly half a million Australians had visited the site and slapped Corey.

Microsoft developing stressful software

2008-01-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

Since the term Human Resources was first uttered into today’s corporate world, employers have been thinking of ways they can squeeze the most out of their employees in terms of efficiency and productivity. The concerns are of course that in by doing such they tend in effect reduce efficiency and productivity cause the business gets its staff so highly strung they end up with more stressed staff.

Call centre environments are indeed one area where this seems to occur the most, employers monitor incoming call rates, length the operator is on the call and the eventual outcome and even listen into the calls. Time away from the desk is also monitored to the second.

Outbound call centers are indeed stressful environments as the agent is technically invading someone’s personal time by calling them at home and is often met with great hostility. This makes it difficult for companies recruit staff, thus call centres like these tend to move over seas into lower social economic countries where the staff are expendable.

Sure staff need to be checked up on to make sure they are not breaching company guidelines, laws or safety obligations but how much snooping is a positive thing and how much actually detracts from the business. If an employee feels trusted and supported will he or she perform better than employee always under the thumb and constantly pushed for better results?

It now appears that Microsoft is developing software that may help employers to monitor the productivity, competence and physical well-being of employees while sitting at a distance. The software is so sophisticate that it will even reveal when an employee is stressed or frustrated by reading heartbeat and facial expressions.

Given what we have been discussing in this article is it any wonder that civil liberties groups and privacy lawyers are criticising this type of software technology and strongly voicing concerns that it may lead to employees’ dismissal on the basis of a computers assessment of their physiological state.

mac os out

2007-10-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

The fifth edition of OS X called Leopard following in the big cat names has quite a few notable new features. These features include Core Animation features.
The new OS X is a mixture of open-source and closed-source software and is much different to Windows, which still relies on a decade-old registry file system. OSX gives mac users many of the same features Linux users will be familiar with but also the stability and security that has become an Apple trademark.
These updates come at a price, as the system requirements cause support for everything before 800 MHz Power PC processors to be dropped. . However, when compared to the systems requirements of Vista, support for the previous few generations of computers seems generous.

The High Tech Farm

2007-10-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Even farms will not be able to escape the high tech revolution with a network of electronic sensors, currently under development by the CSIRO, which could one day allow farmers to monitor every hectare of pasture and every animal using a laptop on the farmhouse veranda. The system could promise to boost the profitability of farming by providing reliable information for the smarter use of land and stock.

Also under development is the animal sensor, a solar-powered unit the size of a mobile phone battery and attached with a collar, would record the location of the stock using GPS navigation and motion detectors could also show if a cow was walking, running, resting, grazing or ruminating. A Series of other detectors could monitor the animal's health or its weight, which determines when it is ready for market.

Similarly, soil sensors would collect and transmit data on temperature, sunlight, plant characteristics and soil moisture - all of which inform farmers about when and where to move their animals.

The difference between a gaming machine and a business machine

2007-10-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

A business machine, a computer that is for word processing, spread sheets, databases tends to be of a lower spec than a gamming machine. Gaming machines needs additional hardware like Hi Spec Video cards with hi powered graphics processors and memory dedicated to the video card. Also the sound card often is a 5.1 surround sound where as the standard business machine does tend to have only 2.1 sound.

Many people get into trouble when they buy games and try to run them on a system that does not have the specifications for the game.

I have a simple plan I run by since gamming machines tend to be more expensive than business or workhorse machines, if you want a gamming machine buy a games console.

No so wacky website, but its fun anyway. Whilst we are talking games how about a stack of free to play online games. All you need is a web browser, internet access and the adobe flash player installed www.folash-games.net has thousands of games.

Parents start to freak out as Christmas approaches!

2007-10-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

As like all toy industries, Australia's billion-dollar videogame industry is gearing up for its biggest Christmas ever!!!! The three major players, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony will be launching a host of new titles and revamping three of the six major game consoles to capture the market.

Some of the alterations will be consoles that are faster or store more data, some come in different colours or sizes. It appears that many console manufactures are also creating significant price cut to their consoles to attract a bigger market share.

It also appears that videogames are also attracting new audiences, mainly because of family-friendly and interactive games, the winning console, they say, is not necessarily the one you might expect.

Nintendo’s WII which promotes exercise could be the winning console this time around.

Its not just mp3 music sharing sites under fire!

2007-10-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

A website offering sheet music which was from mostly from long dead composers was threatened with legal action recently and shut down. The International Music Score Library Project was taken offline by its founder

Let me guess your gun got a General Protection Fault or a blue Screen of death.

2007-10-22T05:32:00.000-07:00

South African Military authorities are investigating how nine soldiers were killed and 15 injured during a training exercises, when one of the countries most sophisticated an anti-aircraft gun went out of control. Theories seem to indicate a software glitch or a small explosion might have caused the gun to malfunction, causing it to begin "wildly swinging" as it sprayed 15-20 high-explosive 0.5kg 35mm cannon shells. The weapon discharged a burst of shells lasting one-eighth of a second before it ran out of ammo and fell silent.
The gun is designed to target to automatically target aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles and fire when they come into range. The weapon is capable of operating, and even reloading, without human intervention. This accident has now sparked a major review of these guns in South Africa.

Skype to work with 3 to launch a mobile phone product in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Sweden and United Kingdom.

2007-10-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

It would appears that 3 and Skype are working together on a new product to make Skype completely mobile but the details are indeed sketchy. Whilst it appears that neither company is willing to release details before the official launch it However, information technologists are confirming that it is probably one of the most radical steps forward in operator thinking and will mobilise internet calls for a mass market. The handset will be the first that Skype is having manufactured itself, and will be easier to use than existing mobile phone models that support Skype, according sources.

Makin' Bacn

2007-10-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

Heard of bacn!!!

First it was SPAM! Now, there is BACN Not what you eat for breakfast, but it is what you find in your email inbox that is a legitimate email, but not really worth viewing. There are stacks of these emails that land in our inboxes each day, like messages from communities, social networking sites, news groups and other web things you have joined that simply notify you of updates or a new friend, that is bacn.

Its unfortunate that bacn can add up in your inbox, but several services offer you the option to opt out of receiving emails. It is usually as simple as visiting your preferences or account settings page.

Latest Microsoft Software bug has been created on a Mac!

2007-10-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Well one can expect that a day after Microsoft has released a patch the next day there will be some kind of exploit and this time it’s a cracker. Not only has it got a few people perplexed but it does seem that it could have been created on shock horror a Macintosh!!!
According to website information week (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202401683) Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-060, issued on Tuesday, identifies a Word memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3, Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3, and Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac that could allow code to be executed by a remote attacker.
According to the team at Symantec "We tried using various combinations of Word versions, patches and languages, and in each case (with the exception of Office 2007) opening the document would cause Word to crash," said Orla Cox, a Symantec Security Response engineer, in a blog post. "After taking a closer look, we could see that the document contained shell code and three other pieces of malware. What was interesting about the document was that it wasn't in OLE format, meaning that it wasn't a standard Microsoft Office document. After some investigation we determined that the document had actually been created using Word for Macintosh."

Hard Drives

2007-10-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

Hard drives, the pit falls of such, edited and expanded upon from an original article called Wonderous Hard Drives by James Walsh

But the advance of technology over the years has forced the computer hard drive to change form and speed. Today, all consumers, be it a personal user or a commercial enterprise, use the hard drive in some form or the other. In 1989, Disklabs launched an initiative to educate the consumer about the hard drive.

Good hard drives should be:
• Physically robust
• Large storage space
• Reliable
• Lends itself to archiving
• Easily accessible – can be easily recycled and sold by vendors
• Equipped with inbuilt cooling systems of ventilation

The hard drive has the following disavantages:
• Has a finite lifespan of three—five years but can be stretched to six-eight years with proper maintenance and usage
• Prone to data loss as it is highly susceptible to temperature variations, movement and dust or bacteria
• Prone to virus attacks and man-made disasters of terrorism
• Lends itself to data loss through electrical spikes

The hard drive has the following physical characteristics
• Fragile disk interior with magnetic glass platters which are capable of spinning at high speeds
• Interior disk is composed of micro electron particles which are charged with electricity

The hard drive suffers from many disadvantages and require the user to undertake optimal care and maintenance of the drive. In Many cases the drive simply stops spinning or functioning due to an external natural or man-made disaster, or due to information overload. This usually happens in the case of old used hard drives which slow down after three years of prolonged use. It could also happen when the user uses recycled drives which already contain residual data and are often unable to save further data. Another reason could also be due to surface contamination. This could occur due to temperature variations including overexposure to light, heat and humidity. Research reveals that the drive’s magnetic layers simply dissolve in high level of heat or humidity. Sometimes, the drive stops spinning due to overheating. The user has to practice caution lest the tips of the magnetic platters collide causing a head disk crash.

Hard drives can also fail when there is a controller failure. This occurs when a hard drive experiences controller failure when an error message flashes across the computer screen during computer booting or in earlier versions of windows some times you get the BSOD or the blue screen of death.

Controller failures commonly occur when:
• CMOS battery fails
• Accidental user intervention leading to the saving of incorrect data in the CMOS setup
• Adaptor is not firmly plugged into electrical slot
• Hard drive or the motherboard corrupts or is damaged
• Due to non- connectivity or non-installation of the hard disk drive
• Hard disk drive cable wires have been twisted and broken
• Master Boot Record or the partition tables in the driver become distorted or bent out of shape
• Due to improper connection of the IDE drive
• When the IDE drives i.e. the twin master and slave drive, are incompatible with each other

The user has to commit themselves to undertake proper maintenance routines to guarantee the longevity and optimal functioning of the hard drive. With Laptop hard drives certainly radical movement could cause problems, this is including scratches, jars and pushes thatcould ruin a hard drive’s ability to save. This means that proper location care becomes extremely vital.

The look after your hard drive the user should:
• Avoid holidaying with your hard drive
• Try not to expose the drive to extreme heat, light and humidity
• Keep the drive away from pets to avoid urination and chewing
• Avoid prolonged usage of the drive
• Try to constantly cool the hard drive by keeping it below high-speed fans
• Always keep the hard drive dust-free by dusting it with a soft and dry tissue cloth.
• Always run Scandisk and Defrag computer applications periodically to clean the internal magnetic structure of the drive. In addition, the two applications check for errors – logical and software errors.
• Defragment your hard drive once a month to avoid hard drive failures and for easy data access.
• Installation of good virus protection programs to prevent hard drive failures from virus contamination

Google is ten yearts old

2007-09-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

Google is celebrating its birthday as it was born 10 years ago and from its birth as the Google Internet search engine it has grown into the electronic center of human knowledge by indexing billions of web pages as well as images, books and videos.
On September 15, 1997 Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two 24 year-old Stanford University students, registered the domain name of "google.com." The word is a variation of 'googol,' which refers to the number 10 to the power of 100, a term popularized by US mathematician Edward Kasner. Page and Brin incorporated Google one year later, on September 7, 1998, in a household garage in northern California.

Wifi Hackers Paradise

2007-09-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

This week a number of computer security experts have been warning about the growing popularity of wi-fi Internet connections and the fact it could be providing more opportunities for hackers. A spate of hacking incidents were reported to police in the central Queensland city of Rockhampton recently and one security firm is concerned that wi-fi users risk identity theft without robust security in place.
With Wi-fi networking there is a risk of an attacker using a WI-FI Internet service for free and potentially hiding their identity when they perform illegal activity using the network connection and possibly seeing a companies confidential information.
A company is also responsible for any action that is committed on their network connection so providing proper security is also the companies duty of care for its customers and other users of the internet.

voip wifi phones

2007-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Voip eating into the budgets of telcos even further as WIFI handsets enter onto the market big time and now there is no need to be anchored to your personal computer these days if you want to make free or low-cost voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls.
Its amazing to see the number of WiFi VoIP portable handsets reaching the market that can make calls directly via the internet. The only draw back is that you have to be within range of a WiFi network or hotspot, but with these increasing all over the country (whilst not like mobile coverage) it could see cheap calls easily made almost anywhere in a CBD. The idea is that you can use the phones in any home, office or fast food outlet that has wireless networking set up.
The manufactures of the handsets say that you can also use it in a WiFi hotspot at an airport, internet cafe, or hotel, although most of those places want to charge you for using their facilities, which does rather wipe out the point of using VoIP to make freebie or significantly cheaper phone calls via voip or the skype. Don’t go throwing your mobile out just yet as the voip WIFI phones won't connect to anything when it's out of WiFi range, typically 20-40 metres.

Facebook causing lost hours of productivity

2007-09-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

The English equivalent of the Actu called the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged employers to allow staff to continue to access social networking sites at work. They say that Simply cracking down on the use of new web tools like Facebook is not a sensible solution to a problem which is only going to get bigger and whilst employers are within their rights to forbid staff from using sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo in work time, a total ban is an over-reaction.
The TUC feels that it is unreasonable for employers to try to stop staff from having a life outside work, just because they cannot get their heads around the technology and its better to invest a little time in working out sensible conduct guidelines so that there do not need to be any nasty surprises for staff or employers.

No you can't tell the GPS to go away, as tom tom releases a GPS you can give voice commands to

2007-09-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

GPS manufacturer TomTom is introducing a new top-of-the-range model product line-up with the TomTom GO 920 T that will also accept voice recognition commands. The 4GB satnav will come with preinstalled maps covering Europe and North America but shortly after there will be an Australian version released.
The new device from TomTom's called the GO 920 T features a voice-recognition function to allow the users to enter destination instructions rather than having to punch in commands on the device's touchscreen.
Sadly, it doesn't sound as though there's the capability to tell the new TomTom that you know perfectly well that you should have taken the last turn, thanks very much, but you will be able to go your own way, recording your own driving instructions for routes.
Nokia earlier this year released its base model GPS phone called the Nokia N6110 Navigator, which I have been testing myself over the past few months, whilst it’s a little clunky it is an effective means for traveling easily. Whilst its navigation facility does not accept voice commands it does accept voice commands for accessing its telephone databases and other items on the phone.

Internet filters available for download

2007-09-02T03:56:00.000-07:00

Whilst there has indeed been a lot of talk about the filters provided by the government, they do serve a purposed and a great one, they make people think about safge internet practices and get people talking. Even if their effectiveness has been called into question by the 16 year old hacking past them.

The government has provided three specific web filters that do different things, I am using the second filter mentioned cause it does everything I need on the pcs on my network. Only Safe eyes works on both windows and mac operating systems. However, if your wanting to control the kids usage right down the amount of data they consume on your internet connection, then obviously integard is the best option

Integard v1.04
Integard is an internet content filter that blocks inappropriate content, monitors chat and supports multiple user profiles. It provides state-of-the-art blocking accuracy through dynamic page analysis and a continuously updated database of known websites.
It has configurable sensitivity, time and data limits, user-defined allowed and blocked lists and protects personal information such as family names, home address and phone numbers.
Integard blocks peer-to-peer file-sharing programs, and supports remote administration using a browser. The software also provides email alerts when suspicious or inappropriate content is detected including possible internet predators. View detailed and summary reports via a web browser from the next room, or across town at your office.
Optenet Web Filter PC 9.6
Optenet allows you to create individual profiles and set personal lists that allow or block access to specific sites. It uses Intelligent Content Analysis to filter accurately and adapts itself to the dynamic nature of the Internet.
Its online unblocking system will take care of any over-filtering error within ten short minutes and the reporting function will make supervision of internet activity a breeze.
Optenet comes with a default configuration but can be easily and intuitively personalised.
Safe Eyes (available for PC and Apple Mac)
Safe Eyes makes it easy to block or monitor access to objectionable online material. You can set profiles for multiple users within a household, view usage reports by user and receive instant alerts when access to inappropriate content is attempted.
With daily updates to its filtering, your parental controls are always up-to-date. Safe Eyes stores all of its settings on secure servers so your children can be protected regardless of which computer they use in your house.
Safe eyes comes with default settings, but can be individually customised by the user. It is available for PC and Mac.

Linux desktops on offer to SME’s

2007-09-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

In what could make Microsoft Shudder, HP and Red Hat have announced a new low-cost Linux desktop bundle for small and medium businesses in Australia. With news released just recently that HP will sell its AMD-based Compaq dx2250 PC pre-loaded with Red Hat's Enterprise Linux 5 desktop.
This is scene as one of the first bitg pushes to get desktop linux into SME’s around Australia.
Whilst Dell is offering in other countries desktops pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux ,it is yet to announce the Linux option for Australian customers.
Pricing begins at $600 and the PC is available now through HP resellers and Red Hat will offer different levels of support for its operating system.

filter hacked by 16 year old

2007-08-27T04:38:00.000-07:00

Last week a 16-year-old Melbourne teenager has described to a Melbourne newspaper how he managed to bypass the new federal government porn filter designed to protect families from such material. The 16 year old boy has described a Federal Government computer filter against pornography as useless.
The Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says this of course will be investigated.

Matsushita-made batteries could bust open Nokia cell phones

2007-08-19T04:48:00.001-07:00

Lithium-ion batteries are giving more than just laptop makers constant headaches. Cell phone goliath Nokia today issued a product advisory for the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery warning consumers that the device could potentially experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge.

As the cells in mobile phone batteries are smaller than those found in laptops, the risks are the same. Nokia told Engadget that the batteries will “overheat, expand, and pop out of the phone (due to the expansion of the battery).” The Finnish company said that no serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. The estimated 46 million BL-5C batteries at fault are manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been approximately 100 incidents of overheating reported globally. Nokia said that is working closely with Matsushita and will be cooperating with relevant authorities to investigate this situation.

Nokia is offering that all customers with affected BL-5C devices a replacement BL-5C battery free of charge. For a full list of affected phones and a form to check via product identification number, see Nokia’s website.

Battery recalls are a familiar thing for laptop makers, as over 10 million lithium ion laptop batteries have been recalled worldwide since last year. A long list of computer manufacturers has felt the effects of the defective batteries, including Sony, Dell, Apple, Lenovo and Toshiba.

Interestingly, Matsushita said in late 2006 that was mass producing improved lithium ion battery technology that safeguards against overheating. It is unclear if the BL-5C batteries incorporate this anti-overheating technology.

“When any supplier has a problem, it creates concern for the technology itself. The challenge that we must meet is to reassure the public that Lithium-ion batteries are safe,” said Michael Buckner, senior manager for Panasonic's Energy Solutions Lab, in an interview with DailyTech. “Safety has always been the number one priority at Panasonic. The incidents last year just reconfirmed that we need to maintain safety first in our designs.”

Break open the bubbly because the spinning media is 25 years old!!!

2007-08-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

On August 17, 1982, an assembly line in a suburb of Hanover, Germany began manufacturing the laser-encoded palm-sized discs.

There is some argument on what was the very first CD ever pressed, according to Phillips it was ABBA's The Visitors. However, the first commercially available CD was Dire Straits Brothers In Arms and in Australia the very first CD was Whispering Jack by John Farnham in 1986.

However, the CD has evolved into much newer formats as the outlook for the Compact Disc looks like it will be life extinct within the next 10 years. Audio CDs are rapidly being replaced with digital music players, CD-ROMs have been scrapped for the higher capacity DVD-ROM format, and rewritable CD sales are on a decline.

A 21 year old Australian man who allegedly uploaded to the internet a pirated copy of The Simpsons Movie could face up to five years in prison.

2007-08-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

According to authorities the recording of films in Australian cinemas is increasing with police attending several reported incidents of camcording across three states in the last six weeks. But what is more troubling is that with mobile phones becoming more sophisticated with high resolution cameras and sound recording built in, people are using mobiles to record the movies and then upload the “screener” to the internet.

It appears the “screener” was recorded in a cinema in the western suburbs of Sydney on Thursday 26th July and with in hours of it being recorded was up online this meant the movie was first identified on the Internet by the film's publisher Twentieth Century Fox within hours of its Australian premiere.

With the film released in Australian before the USA it mean hundreds of US connected Simpsons fans logged on and watched before the film had its first screening in the United States depriving the movies makers of revenue.

Computers have big carbon outputs!

2007-08-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

The first audit of the carbon output of Australia's IT systems details that IT and communications used by the commercial sector put out the same carbon emmitions with the aviation and steel industries as an atmospheric polluter.

A study by the Australian Computer Society has revealed that the use of information and communications technology by Australian businesses produced 7.94 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005. Desktops are among the biggest contributors to IT's carbon footprint as many machines are never turned off.

Skype users were effected by a major issue last Thursday night our time is still causing problems for business users?

2007-08-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

A programme called Skype is a very popular instant messaging and voice over internet protocol program used by millions all over the world. However, a major software glitch on Thursday night Australian left 220 million customers around the world hanging on the line after it took down its network.
Skype is owned by the internet auction giant eBay. Ebay bought Skype to allow its customers to talk for free between the seller and buyer and others to use VOIP services. Network Engineers working for Ebay’s Skype division are indeed at a loss as to why the problem had crashed its network and has struggled to resolve the issue. The fault left millions of Skype users (including me) around the world unable to log into the service on Thursday night.
A large number of small businesses around the world have become reliant on Skype. Many of these business took the mistake of cancelling traditional fixed-line telephony packages so when they were been hit by the Skype network fault. Meant, these businesses were left high and dry with no contact.
Although, skype has now corrected the problem, many of the small business’s are asking for compensation for the lack of access to the skype network. The fix took over 24 hours to roll out world wide. Whilst it appears users will not abandon the skype platform they may be a little more careful on how much they rely on VOIP platforms exclusively for communications.

No news on service pack 1 for vista or SP3 for Windows Xp

2007-08-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of speculation that Vista Service Pack 1 is not to far away but Microsoft has confirmed that it has alpha versions for both Vista SP1 and the long-delayed Windows XP Service Pack 3 to small, invitation-only groups of testers. However, both Service Packs are due out now early in 2008 but if you know where to look you can find Windows XP SP3. However, I suggest users think twice about going and grabbing it as lets face it Microsoft is trying to debug the bug fix, this means SP3 could be more buggier than a roach farm, so what till Microsoft have got most of the bugs out of the bug fix and release it publicly.

Patches for Vista

2007-08-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

People running Microsoft’s newest domestic and commercial operating system called Windows Vista are cheering as last week Microsoft released a pair of Windows Vista. However, the updates are only available at the windows vista site and Microsoft have not said when it will begin pushing them to users via Windows Update.

One of the updates is said to be a performance booster for the new operating system, which will indeed be an important as a lot of reporters have been complaining about the slowness or sluggishness of the operating system on some hardware.

The other patch is said to be for reliability issues and also provides several fixes intended to resolve compatibility glitches between the operating system and third-party video drivers.

To compete against the free office suits like Open Office and 602software suite Microsoft takes the bold step and offers its old bread and butter for

2007-08-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

Microsoft works suite the oldest Microsoft application suite still in production will loose its price tag and be paid for by the displaying of advertising to its users. It’s a bold move on Microsoft’s part but the winner of course is the user. Apparently, the ad-funded version comes in the wake of customer and partner demand to make productivity apps more affordable. Microsoft is said to be extremely interested in ad-supported software in poorer markets around the world.

Second life expands, to the point where it gets the attention of the churches?

2007-08-05T04:39:00.001-07:00

In what could be a turn up for the book or should I say books, it appears that some of the more modern thinking churches are turning their attention to lost souls in the realm of second life. According to a leading Christian publication the digital world can also be considered a “mission world”

According to the publication its thought that many people are expressing themselves through Second Life avatars may be expressing their need for a higher level of understanding and a spiritual order. If this be the case then maybe the churches should not ignore the possibility of responding to such a need.

Whist some of the forward thinking churches are embracing the chance to rescue the lost souls of second life, it appears that the media is from the outside realm is entering the second life to attempt to either coax some people out of the second life realm and back into the real world or continue to push their products in both realms. This includes the ABC which has set up a trial island in this new second life. According to ABC online the “ABC Island in Second Life is a dynamic and distinctively Australian destination providing visitors with opportunities to design, create and showcase objects, discover a hidden underground music club, listen to Indigenous stories, wander round an environmentally friendly eco house, experience ABC audio and video in a social environment and attend live screenings and concerts. Join ABC Friends to keep up to date with ABC Island events.”

To find out more have a look at http://www.abc.net.au/services/secondlife/

ABC On Second Life

2007-08-05T04:22:00.001-07:00

Second life expands, to the point where it gets the attention of the churches?

In what could be a turn up for the book or should I say books, it appears that some of the more modern thinking churches are turning their attention to lost souls in the realm of second life. According to a leading Christian publication the digital world can also be considered a “mission world”

According to the publication its thought that many people are expressing themselves through Second Life avatars may be expressing their need for a higher level of understanding and a spiritual order. If this be the case then maybe the churches should not ignore the possibility of responding to such a need.

Whist some of the forward thinking churches are embracing the chance to rescue the lost souls of second life, it appears that the media is from the outside realm is entering the second life to attempt to either coax some people out of the second life realm and back into the real world or continue to push their products in both realms. This includes the ABC which has set up a trial island in this new second life. According to ABC online the “ABC Island in Second Life is a dynamic and distinctively Australian destination providing visitors with opportunities to design, create and showcase objects, discover a hidden underground music club, listen to Indigenous stories, wander round an environmentally friendly eco house, experience ABC audio and video in a social environment and attend live screenings and concerts. Join ABC Friends to keep up to date with ABC Island events.”

To find out more have a look at http://www.abc.net.au/services/secondlife/

Youtube will add anti piracy facilities to protect it from showing commercial material.

2007-07-30T02:09:00.000-07:00

It could mean no more Stephen Colbert and John Stewart clips after the landmark Viacom V Google case will see the internet search engine giant introduce a commercial content filter Google says the new filter will be up and running the end of the year of the year.

Unfortunately, unless you have Pay TV the only way here in Australian you would have seen Stephen Colbert is on youtube so Viacom could be cutting their nose of a little bit.

Myspace takes a few pointers from FaceBook

2007-07-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

Myspace has become polluted by spammers and in attempt to stop bulletins about almost anything being posted. Myspace removed their entire bulletin database recently and then set up additional security protocols. To post a bulletin now you have to type in a special code displayed on the screen hidden in a graphic, if it matches the graphic your allowed to publish your post. However, FACEBOOK has additional security features that myspace is still lacking FACEBOOK makes the go through this same security procedure to post on walls and request friends to join your friend list. It also keeps all details private users until the user becomes friends with someone or joins a special network of people who have something in common.

The most watched piece of video on the internet

2007-07-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

What is it , well your going to love this it’s a segment called the Dramatic Chipmunk which you can see on youtube, in one month it has been viewed by the massive number of 2,153,889 internet users. People can see the Dramatic Chipmunk at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw or just by searching Dramatic Chipmunk at youtube.com you can also see the creativity of some other people that have put the chipmunk into other scenes such as James Bond, The Thing and a 1935 Western

People still cranky Telstra for selling non compatible Vista Hardware – NextG Modem

2007-07-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

People wanting to use the Telstra Next G network for broadband who are using the Microsoft Operating System Vista have been extremely frustrated as the modem and the software just simply won’t work together. That is up until now.

Whilst the actual Telstra software still is incompatible with Vista and won’t allow you to connect to the Next G network, the new modem drivers that the manufacturer has made allows the user to connect via a manual connection so there is some light at the end of the broadband tunnel. Due to customer demand the manufacturer, a company called maxom created a work around for customers to use the Next G Network with windows Vista. You can download instructions and the new drivers for the Telstra Next G Turbo Modem at http://www.maxon.com.au/udocuments/minimax-guide-for-vista.pdf

Instant messaging invades the office

2007-07-24T16:22:00.001-07:00

Many businesses are starting to embrace the instant messaging technologies to hopefully speed up inter office communications. However, by introducing IM into office there are probably several draw backs.

The biggest concern is that it will reduce the number of times people get up and walk around the office as they can instantly communicate with co-workers via the computer. Its more effective than email as with email you often do not get an instant response and with IM you can see if the person you need to talk to is at their desk as the program shows the persons status. But one of the biggest business issues is that often what is sent around on an instant messaging program is not committed to company records. So a an operational command should not be given over instant messaging. Companies are creating their own versions of instant messaging software. The good thing about instant messaging is it allows companies with interspersed staff across many geographical locations to work in a virtual office or indeed work from home and still be instant contact with others in the office via IM and the features it brings like VIOP and Video conferencing.

Sim cards and the ease of buying them

2007-07-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Recently since the current the latest terrorism attack in the UK, Australian Law enforcements authorites are expressing concern on how easy it to purchase a prepaid sim card. The concerns are that Pre-paid sim cards tend to involved in numerous crimes, from cyber bullying, harassment, right through to communication for the organization of felonies and of course terrorism. The problem is that a mobile phone prepaid simcard cannot be tracked as easily as someone on a plan can be.

So What is a SIM Card, well it stands for Subscriber Identity Module. It is a portable memory chip used in some models of cellular telephones. The SIM card makes it easy to switch to a new phone by simply sliding the SIM out of the old phone and into the new one. The SIM holds personal identity information, cell phone number, phone book, text messages and other data. It can be thought of as a mini hard disk that automatically activates the phone into which it is inserted.
In NSW when purchasing a mobile phone simcard you already have to present a photo ID and that information is recorded, however, a ramp up of the amount of ID you need to provide is coming. Under the new arrangements, Mobile phone SIM card buyers would have to a passport or birth certificate - the same "100-point" identity check required to open a bank account. State and territory police have proposed the move following discussions at the federal inquiry into the future impact of serious organized crime on Australian society.
My View: With cyber harassment and via sms and phone calls coming from these prepaid phones most of the time, I think perhaps we should have a reverse telephone directory that members of the public can look up so if they receive a phone call they can find out exactly who it is. If people don’t want to be on the directory then they should go onto a plan.

Our politicians are courting the myspace and facebook generation

2007-07-22T04:11:00.000-07:00

Both the current commonwealth government and opposition have myspace websites to encourage the younger or the more net switched on generation to join the voting revolution. Whilst in Australia voting is compulsory in America its not and politicians have to push the proverbial leaky barrel up a hill to get voters inspired enough to come out and vote on polling day so staying connected to a new batch of voters is very important and web based campaigning is becoming important for all politicians around the world.
In Australia, just like the USA the web is used as tool for political announcements, speech replays and the biggest use of websites now is attracting political donations.

Pop goes the laptop as Toshiba recalls 10,000 alptop batteries made by Sony.

2007-07-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

Pop goes the laptop as Toshiba recalls 10,000 alptop batteries made by Sony.

Sony is again recalling laptop batteries as after one of its customers, Toshiba, recalled 10,000 laptop battery packs. Toshiba says that the batteries are a fire risk after three of its laptops made on December 3, 2005 caught fire in the last 10 months.
According to the company its thought only 5,100 units of the 10,000 packs are potentially thought to be a danger but the laptop manufacturer Toshiba has decided it is better to be safe side. Toshiba has a good name in the IT community and appears to be making this step to protect such in the future, this type of action is always appreciated by consumers.
During the last 12 months Sony recalled 9.6 million suspect PC batteries as their was a suspected risk that they could catch fire from overheating. It is said to have cost Sony $418 million but this latest recall should not make a financial dent.

Outlook express woes

2007-07-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

A listener Karen emailed me with an outlook express problem, her problem would seem to be a very simple one where her antivirus program is possibly attaching a text file report. But email seems to be one of the biggest complaints of problems with any internet user. These days its so vital and we need to make sure it works.

Outlook express is the mostly used internet email reader in the world, mainly because its preinstalled along with Windows XP. It successor Windows Mail will of course carry on the tradition.

One of the biggest frustrations for users of both these programs is the failure of the program to download big emails at times, these are emails with attachments of large sizes. This usually occurs with customers on dial up or broadband speeds of less than 1.5mb or wireless internet customers where packet loss can occur.

The problem: outlook express downloads all emails and then sends the command to server to delete the directory of emails on the server once they are all collected. However, a lot of other email programs actually delete the emails of the server 1 at a time, these are slower but fail to suffer from the same problem as outlook express.

The cure or remedy: Primarily the best solution to research a better email client, I always recommend thunderbird or any of the open source products like Eudora. However, senders of email need to understand that if they send emails of over about 1 megabyte they could cause serious grief to the receiver.

stories off the web for monday

2007-06-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Microsoft changes Vista over Google anger

Posted Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:45pm AEST

Microsoft says it will modify its new Vista operating system to address Google's charge that it is rigged to give its desktop search software an unfair edge over rivals.

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith says the changes were worked out in an agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and state attorneys general monitoring Microsoft's adherence to a 2002 antitrust decree.

"We're pleased we were able to reach an agreement with all the states and the Justice Department that addresses their concerns so that everyone can move forward," he said.

Vista users will be able to set desktop search programs by Google or other competitors as preferred default options and be given more ways to launch programs made by others than Microsoft.

California-based Google and other makers of rival desktop search software will get information explaining how to automatically give their programs higher priority in Vista than the built-in Microsoft program.

Late last year, Google filed a complaint that Vista was designed to give an unfair advantage to Microsoft's desktop search feature.

Google makes a free desktop search program that competes with the one Microsoft built into Vista.

Desktop search software enables users to scour their computers for stored information or files using key words such as names.

"Microsoft believes that Google's complaint is without merit," DOJ and state attorneys wrote in court documents explaining the agreement.

"Nevertheless, Microsoft worked with [us] in a spirit of cooperation to resolve any issues the complaint may raise."

Microsoft expects a test version of modified Vista computer code to be available by the end of the year.

US officials wrote that they were "collectively satisfied" that the solutions promised by Microsoft address Google's concerns regarding desktop search.

The Washington-based software giant is bound by a decree barring it from stifling competing software with its operating system, which is used on approximately 90 per cent of the world's computers.

Extradited Copyright Infringer Sentenced to 51 Months
The leader of one of an Internet software piracy group was sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
Grant Gross, IDG News Service

The leader of one of the oldest and most widely recognized Internet software piracy groups was sentenced Friday to 51 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Hew Raymond Griffiths, 44, was extradited to the U.S. from Australia in February, and in April, he pleaded guilty to two copyright-related charges in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. Griffiths, a British national, was the long-time leader of the DrinkOrDie software piracy network and an elder in the underground Internet piracy community, known as the warez scene, the DOJ said.

He faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a US$500,000 fine for the charges.

Griffiths "became one of the most notorious leaders of the underground Internet piracy community by orchestrating the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in copyrighted material," Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general at the DOJ, said in a statement.

Griffiths had fought extradition for almost three years, and he was held in an Australian detention center during that time. His extradition was one of the first for a copyright offense, the DOJ said in a press release.

"Whether committed with a gun or a keyboard -- theft is theft," U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. "And, for those inclined to steal Intellectual Property here, or from half-way around the world, they are on notice that we can and will reach them."

DrinkOrDie was founded in Russia in 1993 and expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. The group was dismantled by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in December 2001, with more than 70 raids conducted in the U.S. and five other countries, the U.K., Finland, Norway, Sweden and Australia.

The operation targeting DrinkOrDie has resulted in more than 30 felony convictions in the U.S. and 11 convictions elsewhere, the DOJ said.

The DOJ estimated that DrinkOrDie was responsible for the reproduction and distribution of more than $50 million worth of pirated software, movies, games and music.

In a 1999 interview, Griffiths said he ran DrinkOrDie's day-to-day operations and controlled access to more than 20 top warez servers worldwide. He said then he would never be caught.

DrinkOrDie specialized in cracking software codes and distributing the cracked versions over the Internet. The group distributed software from large companies such as Microsoft Corp., Adobe Systems Inc. and Symantec Corp., as well as smaller software vendors, the DOJ said. The group used encryption and other security measures to hide their activities from police.

AUSTAR selects Nortel to provide WiMAX to regional Australia
21/06/2007 By: Georgia Fekete
Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. AUSTAR selects Nortel to provide WiMAX to regional Australia Following several months of competitive trials, AUSTAR United Communications Limited (AUN) said that they had selected NYSE listed Nortel as the preferred vendor for its proposed WiMAX broadband network in regional Australia. The firm noted that the arrangements were still subject to final negotiations.

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AUSTAR said the WiMAX network would provide regional Australians with a real alternative for local broadband access services at comparatively low costs.

CEO John Porter said that Nortel had established itself as a global leader in the future of WiMAX.

"They've committed tremendous resources to the research and development of the technology worldwide and as a company they're responsive and flexible in meeting the customer's needs," he added.

"We're excited about working with Nortel as we look to provide Australians with not only a real alternative, but one that is the future of broadband in Australia."

Mr Porter said that AUSTAR's low-cost network could be rolled out relatively quickly with Nortel's WiMAX technology.

"This would come at a cost-per-megabit and performance advantage that reflects a substantial improvement on the comparable costs, speed and quality of 3G mobile broadband offerings," he said.

"Through our licensed spectrum and the 802.16e technology, AUSTAR is now in a position to deliver not only a fixed wireless broadband, but importantly a world-class, inter-operable and mobile WiMAX."

The group noted that Nortel was working with Intel and other major global vendors to create a WiMAX ecosystem to meet the market's needs.

The firm said that Nortel was also conducting WiMAX trials and completing network deployments around the world, notably in Taiwan, Australia, Japan, USA, Germany, Canada, Greece, Russia and Mexico.

YouTube goes local in 9 countries Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. PDF Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Print Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. E-mail
By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Not only has YouTube decided to launch 9 new local, country specific sites, but is offering YouTube in 7 new languages, as Google reinforces YouTube as the world's best video sharing site, wherever you live.

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YouTube users in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK now have access to country specific versions of YouTube, available in local languages and featuring local content, with the original US site still available to those who still want to search through US video content.

The sites aren't fully localized yet, but are in 'stage one'. This first stage does see each site fully translated into their respective languages, but the complete localization of country-specific video clips, along with country-specific video rankings, comments and more is still being finalized.

Once complete, the new YouTube sites will allow users in each country to "share and create videos in their local language, discover the most popular and relevant videos in their markets, and connect with other local users".

Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO of YouTube, said in a statement that "Video is universal and allows people around the world to communicate and exchange ideas. With our announcement today we are expanding upon our already global platform to make it even more relevant for our local communities".

Hurley continued by saying that "YouTube will now be more accessible and interesting to a worldwide audience, and we look forward to rolling out in other countries in the months to come."

YouTube's other co-founder, Steve Chen, also the CTO, said that: "From the beginning, we have been totally focused on creating an incredible YouTube user experience and service. We're really excited to now offer that same great service to a global community, by bringing them local sites that not only promote their communities but speak their language."

A posting at Google's official blog states that: "In response to many requests, each new site is fully translated and localized for each country including content (Featured Videos, Director Videos, Promotions), as well as the interfaces, search, user support, and such community features as video ratings, sharing, and content flagging".

The blog entry continues that: "And these new localized versions are built using Google search technology, so you can quickly find more of what you want to see. Perhaps best of all, you can continue to use youtube.com, or move to one of these localized sites -- and switch seamlessly between the two. Happy creating, viewing and sharing!"

YouTube's new expansion plans are happening despite the $1 billion lawsuit Google and YouTube received from Viacom in March, over allegations of copyright infringements with video clips that YouTube users were uploading to the service.

To try and avoid similar lawsuits as YouTube fights the Viacom action, YouTube has signed a range of deals with European media organizations so their content can legally appear in YouTube's collection.

Deals that YouTube highlighted in their statement have been struck with the BBC, France 24, the Spanish Antena 3 and Cuatro TV, the Portuguese RTP, the Dutch VPRO and NPO; European football clubs such as Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Barcelona FC and Real Madrid; and non-profit organizations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, UNHCR and Medecins du Monde.

YouTube advises that the new sites have launched on the following local domains: www.youtube.com.br, www.youtube.fr, www.youtube.ie, it.youtube.com, www.youtube.jp, www.youtube.nl, www.youtube.pl, www.youtube.es, and www.youtube.co.uk.

IBM aims to take social networking to businesses Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. PDF Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Print Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. E-mail
By Stan Beer
Wednesday, 20 June 2007

IPTV offered by ISPs

2007-06-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

ISPs that do not use Telstra Wholesale infrastructure are looking to offer bigger plans at less cost to the customer

At least one of the big players has broken the trend of steering away from high volume plans by announcing a 150GB ADSL2+ plan for just $70/month, plus it has begun trialling its IPTV solution.

A local Port Macquarie is also investigating IPTV offerings but it’s a while off even if they do say its coming soon.

Free Hotspots set to open around the country.

2007-06-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Free Hotspots set to open around the country.

Internet hotspots are well known to be widely available in Australia where you can access internet on your wireless laptop for a fee at a café, Scottish hamburger joint or other public area like and airport or train station. However, in an attempt to stimulate local economies a few local government organizations and chambers of commerce are evaluating and planning on installing wireless hotspots in their local towns that allow free access.

In a national first by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy its providing free internet access is now available across the streets, parks, restaurants and offices of Perth’s western CBD which aims to provide anyone within the CBD short-term access to the internet at no cost via wireless-enabled laptop computer or PDA

Wimax, 3G HSPA or Fibre?

2007-06-13T04:54:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a research into the into the Wimax broadband. It is certainly being rolled out across many countries as a legitimate broadband service. It appears its purely economy of scale that is pushing the use of such technology in rural areas. Broadband via FTTN – fibre to the node or FTTR fibre to the residence is of course an expensive option much more than rolling out a series of towers. However, FTTN and FTTR provides more secure, stable and faster provision of services. Wireless services no matter what type it is, can be effected by interference from weather conditions, other signals and atmospherics. Packet loss can also be significant issues with any wireless technology.

Most new developments are installing fibre, here in Port Macquarie the new residential town that is developing at the gateway into Port Macquarie called Sovereign Hills will have fibre to the residence supplies by one ISP locally here in Port Macquarie, this ISP has also run fibre right through the CBD of Port Macquarie. Professor Smarr recently indicated that copper infrastructure is capable for maybe another factor of 10, on broadband speeds... But it's not going to go to 1000 megabits or a gigabyte per second, where most of the action is right now, will the Wimax provide such speeds as well, probably not.

However, from what we are hearing the WiMax technologies compared with the current 3G High Speed Packet Access technologies being rolled out it appears to fail in providing truly mobile applications, 3G wins out there, but where the WiMax wins is on point to point wireless for example a house having an external on the roof of a building.

WiMAX on the other hand faces a number of challenges. Mobile WiMAX standards are still under evaluation. The capex for deploying WiMAX is upto 5-10 times higher than HSDPA because the size of mobile WiMax cells is upto 16 times smaller than the cells in an HSPA system, which would necessitate a larger number of base stations to cover the same geography. (Credit paragraph to http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=166108)

WiMax is currently under evaluation for use in many countries including India.

Good google, bad google, buying google!

2007-06-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

In the last 12 months google has made massive amounts of acquisitions, so much so companies are in deed wondering if they will be the next company google buys. The search engine is on a quest to rule the technology world. Just this week google announced it was buying a photo-sharing Web site called Panoramio and confirmed the acquisition of security software vendor GreenBorder Technologies.

Google is said to be in talks to purchase an online RSS feeds site and software called Feedburner for US$100 million. Google last year paid US$1.65 billion for YouTube and US$3.1 billion for DoubleClick.

Google is working on several product lines, but most prominently is an online office suit that is free which is going to put a dint in Microsoft’s office suit.

But one piece of google software is a little concerning to the authorities is called Google earth it’s a technology that allows people to look at anywhere on earth in reasonable resolution. However , not in real time. In the recent news it was revealed that terrorists recently arrested by authorities planning a strike against JFK airport were consulting maps and google earth. Questions are being raised should this technology be freely available to the general public.

Follow up on story on ABC North Coast:

2007-05-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

Follow up on story on ABC North Coast:

We all tend to get scared when we hear about the stories of kids getting into trouble online. Parents need to realize that keeping a good dialogue with your child about their technology usage is the best tool for protecting your child. It how you manage the dialogue and discussion with your child is how well you will be able achieve safe usage of technology. Its true that there are many programs and software packages that restrict sites and offer parental controls but in all essence they only block between 60 to 80 percent of material if that. The internet is a great educational tool but unfortunately all sorts of information can be accessed and its important to realize that no longer do personal computers have a monopoly on internet access, mobile phones, PDA’s and other devices offer access to email, web, instant messaging and even video conferencing.

Putting it into perspective it should be pointed that whilst there have been some highly publicized cases of exploitation involving the Internet, but that doesn’t mean that every child will experience major problems. The vast majority of people who use the Internet do not get into serious trouble. However, I think we all have been confronted with material that is disturbing or inappropriate on the internet at some stage during our time on line. There are steps parents can take to provide a level of shielding for their children from such material, but it’s almost impossible to completely avoid all inappropriate material.

There are ten basic safety rules that parents need to impress on their children

1.I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.

2. I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.

3. I will never agree to get together with someone I “meet” online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.

4.I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.

5.I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the service provider.

6.I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.

7.I will not give out my Internet password to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents.

8.I will check with my parents before downloading or installing software or doing anything that could possibly hurt our computer or jeopardize my family’s privacy

9.I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.

10.I will help my parents understand how to have fun and learn things online and teach them things about the Internet, computers and other technology.

Parents should also take an interest in technology if you have trouble understanding it, get your children to explain it or teach you what they have learn at school you’ll find it helps cement the knowledge the child has learnt at school but also makes the child feel good they are able to share their knowledge with their parents and “teach dad or mum a thing or two”. Its also important to note that if a child does come to you and tell you they are concerned about something online, that it is very important that the parent handles the matter appropriately in such a way that the child will in the future feel comfortable with reporting other issues they may come across.

But another important thing is to have a contract for responsible family use of the computer and you can download a base template from http://safekids.com/family-contract-for-online-safety/ and then sit down and discuss the pros and cons of the contract system and set consequences for breaches on both sides for both parents and children. Often you will find children respond in a positive way for having these guidelines set. But most of all whilst children should be given some privacy, many computer experts and child psychologists recommend having the computer in a public place in the house, the lounge room or another area that people walk through regularly.

As I said in the radio interview, we can install content blocking software but it really not the best protection over all protection. Parental controls and internet filtering software unfortunately, really only works if you have a good discussion with your child about internet safety and explain why the software is require and that you continue to have good dialogue with your children about internet safety.

Scientists concerned about wifi

2007-04-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

A British Scientist who runs a British committee on mobile phone safety, said children should be monitored when using laptops. Prof Lawrie Challis’s warning came amid public concern over wi-fi emissions. The concern is that on the lap when using wi-fi, people could be about 2cm from the transmitter, receiving comparable exposure to that from a mobile phone. The issues surround the problem of wi-fi radiation that could potentially cause to the electrical signals within a person's brain and nervous system.

New telstra network

2007-04-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

Telstra says it has invested $1.5 billion in what will be the largest integrated fixed line and wireless Internet system in the world.

Australia’s largest telecommunications company is moving towards a full IP driven network that will allow telco to handle over 3 Billion calls a second via voice over ip technology. The Next IP network technology works with its Next G mobile network and will be rolled out reaching 95 per cent of Australian businesses. The network will have a core operating speed of 92 tetrabytes per second. This could also have a number of environmental positives as full screen quality high definition video conferencing could be a reality.

Ten Commandments for kids using the computer at home

2007-04-27T02:16:00.000-07:00

Kids Rules for Online Safety

1.	I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.
2.	I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
3.	I will never agree to get together with someone I “meet” online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
4.	I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
5.	I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the service provider.
6.	I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
7.	I will not give out my Internet password to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents.
8.	I will check with my parents before downloading or installing software or doing anything that could possibly hurt our computer or jeopardize my family’s privacy
9.	I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.
10.	I will help my parents understand how to have fun and learn things online and teach them things about the Internet, computers and other technology.

Source: www.kidsafe.com

Solid State Drive Techology rolls out

2007-04-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

A number of laptops have been released with the availability of SSD (solid-state drive) technology. This is aimed at enhancing the durability and performance laptop machines.

As opposed to the traditional HDD (hard disk drive), which relies on spinning discs and read/write heads, the SSD is a flash-based drive that requires no moving parts. As such, it can withstand twice as much force as an HDD when dropped.

100 laptops really cost 175 but still cheap for the 3rd world

2007-04-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

A few years ago Cambridge university formed an idea of One Laptop Per Child or the One Hundred dollar US laptop for every child in the third world. But these days the unit would cost $175 American. The unit is a green plastic low-power, lightweight computer that can withstand a torrential rainstorm, work in bright sunlight, and be powered by kids who are willing to wind cranks or yank cords to keep it running.

The laptop project is expected to move from dream to reality this September and will hopefully be in the hands of 1 billion children between ages 6 and 16 in developing countries, with production ramping up to 400,000 units per month by the end of this year, for a total of 3 million in the first production wave .

The unit has a small, high-resolution screen that swivels to turn into a tablet. A number of buttons also control functions on the laptop but most notably is the sliding button that turns the backlight off, which allows users to save energy or take the laptop outside and use it in bright sunlight. Also on the unit is on either side 2-inch-long plastic rabbit ears that flip up to increase its wireless range.

Powering the unit the laptop can plug into an electrical outlet, or users can yank on its pull charger, crank a handle, or sit in bright sunlight with a flexible solar panel. The string pull charge, on display yesterday, means about six minutes of pulling for an hour to use the device in its low-power e-book mode, with no backlight.

This laptop will provide access to the internet world wide and allow educational advantages to all members of the population.

Downloading tracks keeps music industry ticking

2007-04-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

It was long ago feared that the recording industry would suffer from downloads but it seems that downloads are turning out to be sweet music to the ears of record company executives. According to information from record industry peak bodies dgital sales poured nearly $28 million into the nation’s music industry last year compared with $8 million in 2005. This is said to be fueled buy the introduction of pay per download websites and broadband But something quite amazing is that almost half of digital sales come from mobile phone-based revenues, which includes full track downloads and realtones but not mono or polyphonic ringtones.

It appears the days of the CD single are almost over as many shops are just installing download KIOSKs and this has seen the CD Single sales nose dive more than 40 per cent.

Tell the truth Telstra!

2007-04-15T00:45:00.000-07:00

Telstra competitors this week are attempting to match Telstra in its PR war against regulation by themselves launching a new website and campaign called "Tell the Truth Telstra". The site is also known as T4 The companies involved are AAPT, Austar, iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Powertel, Primus Telecom, Telarus, TransACT, WestNet and and are vowing to "set the record straight about communications services in this country and the central role of competition in satisfying consumer demand." However, one telco has decided to remain outside this group and go it alone, Optus is the second biggest telco in Australia and has recently just raised its prices on products it obtains through Telstra wholesale..

Bloggers may get a code of conduct to follow.

2007-04-15T00:44:00.001-07:00

Web 2.0 pioneer Tim O' Reilly and Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales have proposed a draft code of conduct for the blogosphere to clean up the actions of some blogger publishers. This draft code of conduct if they can get anyone to adopt it suggests posters to the blog should not be allowed to leave anonymous comments. The code also defines what sort of content should be posted to the blog and specifies what is unacceptable blog content which is defined as anything included or linked to that which is used to 'abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others'.

The code of practice also spells out details on libellous material, infringement of copyright or trademark, and violations of privacy.

Politicians might be interested in this draft code as for some time politicians have been having trouble understanding the blogosphere and the fact that there is no real journalistic code of conduct for on the record or off the record comments.

British population doing a lot of WILF’ing

2007-04-15T00:43:00.000-07:00

According to an online survey British Internet users are likely to spend an average of two days a month surfing the web with no particular task in mind. The process is called -- short for what was I looking for?, According to the study more than two thirds of Britons admit to wilfing and a quarter spend 30 percent or more of their time on the Internet surfing without any purpose. Apparently, men are bigger wilfers than women, with shopping websites the biggest distractions.

This process of wasting time on the internet can also have major downturn or loss of productivity for many british companies and if its happening in the UK, one can only imagine what is happing in other countries.

Bug Patches

2007-04-15T00:42:00.000-07:00

Microsoft have released no less than six fixes that including one for a critical bug in Windows Vista. Five of these six bugs have been given the critical rating and its believed the sixth bug is rated important. The majority of the patches are for the windows operating system (XP) and the last patch is for a critical flaw in Microsoft Content Management Server. Microsoft also released in this batch of patches an emergency patch for an .ANI vulnerability that was being heavily exploited by hackers.

The patches cover a critical flaw in Microsoft Content Management Server that could enable remote code execution; a critical vulnerability in the Universal Plug and Play that could enable remote code execution, and a critical flaw in Microsoft Agent that could enable remote code execution.

over 100 Million sold

2007-04-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Apple claims its sold over 100 million iPods and is claiming the iconic device as the fastest-selling music player ever. However, the IPOD could just be like the Biro is to ball point pens just because it was really the first mp3 player to be mass marketed to millions of people world wide. The iPod was first sold in November 2001. Since then Apple has introduced over 10 models including a match box sized iPod shuffle

Ipod claimed to have saved soldiers life

2007-04-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

If you believe this story then American Solders could have IPODS as body armour

An Ipod apparently took a bullet and is claimed to have saved the life of an American soldier whilst in Iraq. Kevin Garrard, who is a soldier in the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq. Apparently, was shot in the chest by an insurgent with an AK-47 at very close range. According to experts, the bullet of this caliber shot at close range would normally pierce through normal body armor. However, its said that Kevin's Ipod gave its life for its owner. The bullet struck the iPod and slowed down the projectile enough that his body armor stopped the hot lead from piercing his chest

However, the Soldier has rebuked the claims that the IPOD saved his life he says he was wearing upgraded body armour, but hard core IPOD fans seem to still think it was the IPOD. We are waiting for the mythbusters episode on this one.

Google Air Brushes History

2007-04-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

In the United States, aCongressional subcommittee is asking Google Inc. to explain why it had engaged in "airbrushing history" as it seemed in its google earth & google maps software that it had replaced post-Hurricane Katrina satellite imagery with images of the region as it existed before the storm destroyed neighborhoods, uprooted trees and dashed bridges.

Swapping the post-Katrina images, which showed the damage that remains more than a year after the storm, for others showing an idyllic city has annoyed many locals. This is a cause of great concern to many as google earth and maps are used for accuracy in many industries as they have grown to utilize this product in its everyday operations.

Apple & Apple finally get along

2007-04-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

According to the Reuters news agency - Apple Inc. and the music label EMI Group are working to announce a plans that could involve putting the entire Beatles music catalogue online.

At present none of the Beatles catalogue can be downloaded via legitimate online music services. This news comes just after the settlement in February of a long-running trademark dispute between Apple Inc., which recently cleared away the hurdles for selling the Fab Four's songs via the iTunes online music store.

Bootcamp for macs

2007-03-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

Mac users are wondering why people would want to by Microsoft Windows Vista is now usable on Intel-based Apple computers, Now that a new piece of software called Boot Camp has been released.

Boot Camp still in Beta lets users with Intel-based Macs install Windows alongside Mac OS X. Apple says that the new Mac OS X, Leopard will contain a fully-fledged version of Boot Camp.

Yahoo takes on google with email services

2007-03-31T01:54:00.000-07:00

Yahoo is offering currently 1 gigabyte for its free mail service and 2GB for its premium fee-based service but its competitors Gmail offers more than 2.5GB of storage, and Windows Live Hotmail offers 2GB for free. This has Yahoo rethinking its email storage for customers.

Yahoo has over 250 million users and its Yahoo Mail service is the largest global e-mail provider. But Yahoo has decided to roll out globally in May 2007 unlimited storage space for email for their customers.

Dell Promises Linux on Desktop and Laptop PCs

2007-03-31T01:52:00.000-07:00

Last year Dell conducted a survey asking customers and prospective customers if they would machines with linux installed they apparently received 100,000 responses and more than 70 percent of the respondents said they would want a Dell PC with Linux for both home and office use.

This has one of the worlds largest internet sales based PC manaufacturers buzzing and Dell has announcement of plans to pre-install and support Linux could encourage more widespread use of Linux PCs by small businesses as well as home consumers.

Microsoft releases preview of mobile browser

2007-03-31T01:50:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Released a new web browser for mobile computers or mobile phones last week aimed at making surfing the Internet on wireless devices as convenient and feature-rich as browsing on a PC.

Not yet commercially available the product is code-named Deepfish and Microsoft have a preview of the technology is available at their website. Microsoft's Live Labs Web site.

Microsoft is interested in making the browsing experience on mobile devices much more easy and pleasurable for internet users.

Other Telco’s working to install high speed mobile data solutions to combat the NextG product from Telstra.

2007-03-31T01:49:00.000-07:00

Optus will be installing a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) standard which Optus's rivals Telstra and Hutchison (which operates the "3" brand) have already adopted for their own networks. Vodafone, which shares Optus's network, is also on the same path.

The Telco says that the new HSDPA will cover 55 percent of the Australian population and plans to expand the reach to 96 percent over the next three years from June 2007.

This should allow customers of the telco to experience download speeds between 500Kbps to 1.5Mbps and a possible maximum of 3.6Mbps. Currently customers only receive speeds of up to 384Kbps.

Optus Network Fault.

2007-03-31T01:48:00.000-07:00

Optus is exploring the cause of mysterious fault in its network, which allowed some customers to hear the content of other peoples phone calls.

It was suggested that the fault was limited to the Optus pre-paid mobile service, however, since there is really no real difference to the network these customers subscribe to it apparent has been appearing across their GSM network.

Reports of the fault first appeared in detail on the Whirlpool website..

Some phone customers had to demonstrate the issue to Optus before the company would look into the problem, this is fair enough as telecommunications companies get numerous calls from users asking them to look into issues which often are user error.

Youtube seems to be the place for pranksters to post videos

2007-03-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

UK Police & London Underground officials have taken a very dim view of the stunt and asked police to find and caution the man who placed on youtube a video of him skiing down a 30 foot escalator. Police also fear world wide copycat attempts of the video and hope no one will replicate it as there is a serious concern of injury. The youtube video has been viewed over 120,000 times on YouTube.

Police around the world have managed to prosecute numberous idiots that have conducted stunts such as speeding in cars and filming their speedo speed to base jumpers recording their jumps. All by downloading the video evidence handed to them on a plate by the perpetrators uploading the videos to youtube.

Kid gets bitten by ATM

2007-03-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Apparently, a nine year old child in Florida learnt that you don't mess with ATMs after getting her hand caught in an Orange County cash machine. The machine in a shopping centre has been dubbed the Orange County carnivore cash machine

You can view a chilling video report online (http://www.wsmv.com/video/11253025/detail.html). Apparently it was a four-hour terror ordeal as firefighters battled to free her hand from the machine.

Correction: tasmanian nights storie - remote control invented by Adler no Astor

2007-03-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Full story BBC world

Robert Adler, a US inventor best known for the creation of the couch potato's dream device, the TV remote control, has died at the age of 93.

He received an Emmy award in 1997 for the 1956 invention jointly with fellow engineer Eugene Polley.

Adler earned more than 180 US patents throughout his 58-year career.

His widow Ingrid said the remote was not his favourite invention, that he rarely watched television and was "more of a reader".

"He was a man who would dream in the night and wake up and say: 'I just solved a problem,'" she told the Associated Press news agency.

"He was always thinking science."

Adler began working for electronics corporation Zenith in 1941 and stayed at the company until a merger in 1999.

Zenith produced the first remote control device, attached to the TV by a cord, in 1950.

Later wireless devices communicated with the TV by flashing at photo cells in the TV, but these were affected by sunlight.

Adler's contribution was to create a device which used ultrasonic signals.

He was also known for his work on military communications equipment during World War II, and is considered a pioneer in surface acoustic wave technology, essential for modern-day TV sets.

Like baked Apples – How about a macbook?

2007-03-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

Like baked Apples – How about a macbook?
Welcome to the next episode of The Laptop Infernos, a MacBook user has reported that his laptop came close to burning his house down after the battery exploded and burst into flames. The less than a year old MacBook, that was charging spontaneously ignited at about three in the morning while the user and his girlfriend were sleeping. (Check out the link for pics of the damage). It could spark another recall but I tend to think this is just an isolated incident

America survives computer dooms day, when it failed to be a problem.

2007-03-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

America survived the onslaught of Daylight Saving Time (DST) being introduced on Sunday 3 weeks a head of schedule. Concerns were issued when Microsoft announced that computers would need to download a patch to correct the time or the end user would have to change the clock themselves.

Computers become more energy effiencent

2007-03-14T04:11:00.000-07:00

Information technology companies are realizing that the hardware they produce are contributing to the greenhouse effect by consuming great amounts of power. Its been recently documented that a computer server plus the air conditioning to keep it cool. This week one of the world’s largest computer manufacturers Hewlett Packard has announced it is moving to next level of Energy Star Compliance. HP has entered the market with these new PC’s and hardware a few steps ahead of the USA Environmental Protection Agency's deadline to implement new energy-efficient specs for PCs. The USA EPA announced a new Energy Star 4.0 hardware standard.
HP claims they are also offering along with the energy effiencient machines, "80 percent efficient" power supplies.

Microsoft Security Woes

2007-03-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Security has always been Microsoft's biggest issue. Despite the wild claims that the new operating system Vista is much more secure than other operating systems. It appears the much anticipated Windows Live OneCare has been ranked at the bottom in a group of 17 anti-virus programmes.

According to security websites a number of tests put Windows Live OneCare lacking in the fight against thousands of worms, viruses, Trojan horses and other malware.