Episode 064

posted in: Show Notes

GLENN'S SHOWNOTES 

John Laws : TheFortress of Irreverent Logic

John Laws Retirement Package

 http://svc028.wic002tp.server-web.com/index.htm

Laws completes final broadcast

John Laws started his final radio broadcast this morning in a customary fashion.

"Hello world, I'm John Laws".

The man known as the "Golden Tonsils" retired from radio station 2UE today after more than 50 years on the air.

Man killed after phone explosion – CNN.com
Man killed after phone explosion

 

  • Man found dead at his workplace, mobile phone battery melted in shirt pocket
  • Police, doctor say death probably caused by an explosion of phone battery
  • Phone manufacturer LG Electronics says scenario very unlikely

updates just in

A co-worker of the man, who told police that he found the 33-year-old lying dead and bleeding from the nose, has now confessed he killed the man

Kwon said that he hit the victim, surnamed Seo, while driving his excavator backwards at a stone quarry in South Korea, police told the newspaper.

"I was moving the excavator and Seo was suddently out of my sight. I ran out and saw he was lying down bleeding and his clothes on fire

Kwon had originally told the national broadcaster YTN: "He was lying on the ground and his mobile phone was still burning so I had to put the fire out."

iTWire – Young Google doodler wins MacBook Pro
Young Google doodler wins MacBook Pro

 A Victorian student is the national winner of the Doodle 4 Google: My Australia competition

In addition to having her design displayed on the Google Australia home page on Australia Day 2008, Janelle San Juan, a 12 year old student from The School of the Good Shepherd in Victoria, has won a MacBook Pro computer. The school will receive over $A10,000 worth of technology gear.

More than 2500 schools registered for the competition, and more than 10,000 entries were received.


Ninemsn bets on a celebrity fix – BizTech – Technology – brisbanetimes.com.au
Ninemsn bets on a celebrity fix

 

The service involves both parties taking part in a real-time, secure, private chatroom, facilitated by an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner.

At the conclusion of a session, a formal, written agreement can be printed, which both parties will be required to abide by.

The service is also being targeted at separating couples who are now living in different cities or countries.

The Fix is similar to gossip sites including Yahoo! America's omg! and AOL's TMZ.

Mr Thomas would not be drawn on numbers but ninemsn has told media buyers it hoped to attract 2.4 million unique browsers a month, an ambitious target given the entire ninemsn network gets 8 million a month. Ninemsn has about a quarter of the $300 million online display ad market, according to industry estimates.

The Fix aggregates all of ninemsn's entertainment-related content – including the latest news from Hollywood overnight – but with an Australian twist in the treatment of the editorial, ninemsn said

iTWire – Google competition targets teens
Google competition targets teens

 A Google-sponsored competition aims to encourage the involvement of secondary students in open source projects.

The Google Highly Open Participation Contest is not just about programming – the tasks set for contestants include coding, documentation, outreach, quality assurance, research, training, translating, and user interface work. The idea is to include as many people as possible.

All contestants merely need to complete one or more tasks in order to win a prize. Completing one first task earns a T shirt (and where would any software project be without a T shirt?), and then every three completed tasks earns $US100 in the form of American Express Gift Cheques. The maximum payout to any contestant will be $US500

The contest is now open. Tasks may be claimed until January 22 and must be completed by February 3, 2008.

Entrants must be aged at least 13, and be currently enrolled in a secondary school, high school, or pre-university program.

Get a divorce, without leaving your computer – Technology – BrisbaneTimes
Get a divorce, without leaving your computer

 An online service called Resolution Online (www.resolutiononline.com.au) has been developed to allow couples, especially those with children, to complete the final stages of their separation without being face-to-face.

The service involves both parties taking part in a real-time, secure, private chatroom, facilitated by an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner.

At the conclusion of a session, a formal, written agreement can be printed, which both parties will be required to abide by.

The service is also being targeted at separating couples who are now living in different cities or countries

Laser TV 'plasma killer' launch delayed – Technology – brisbanetimes.com.au
Laser TV 'plasma killer' launch delayed

 Laser TV was supposed to debut this Christmas and relegate the humble plasma to the scrap heap, but now it is unlikely that Australians will be able to buy one before at least 2009.

In a recent presentation to the television industry at the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference in California, Frank DeMartin, vice-president of marketing and product development at Mitsubishi Digital Electronics, said the manufacturer would make a major laser TV announcement in January at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

FastForward Blog: Laser TV – Yet another technology pipe dream?

The transistor at 60 – Technology – brisbanetimes.com.au
The transistor at 60

 DECEMBER 1947, Bells Labs scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain first revealed what would come to be known as the transistor.

They held the future in their hands – a device that would replace vacuum tubes in 10 years, and 60 years later has transformed electronics.

That first device was the size of a modern mobile phone. Right now, 2 million transistors could fit in the full stop at the end of this sentence. Intel has just released its new Penryn processors, which have up to 820 million transistors, and soon the standard inch-wide microprocessor will have 1 billion transistors.

iTWire – Aussies battered by financial attacks
Aussies battered by financial attacks

 Web and email attacks involving Australian financial institutions are increasing

THe Bankject trojen targets Australian banking customers by injecting malicious HTML into pages from genuine Internet banking sites, stealing information including passwords, credit card details and ATM PINs. These details are transmitted to the attacker, which can then sell the information on the black market or use it to carry out fraudulent transactions.

Every bank customer should have updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software on their personal computer at home to protect themselves."

Bankject apparently originates from Russia

Latest 'Net gold may rest in Asia's domain – CNN.com
Latest 'Net gold may rest in Asia's domain

Starting in December, online auctions will begin for companies vying to register on the new .Asia top-level domain registry

DotAsia is using four stages to avoid problems of the two-staged, "first come, first serve" rollout of .Eu. "There was a mad rush … sometimes (the domain winner) wasn't who had the best right to use the name, but the one who had the best technology to grab the name in the first millisecond of registration," Chung says. "We're trying to introduce a calm process to brand owners."

If two or more applicants apply with the same trademarked name, then the domain name goes to the highest bidder at auction, Chung adds.

The domain name game is looking to get even more interesting soon. Until now, the suffix of Web addresses were only written in English, but ICANN is testing non-English domains in 11 languages: Japanese, Korean, simplified and traditional Chinese, Hindi, Tamil, Greek, Arabic, Persian, Yiddish and Russian.

MARK'S SHOWNOTES

 

MySpace.com – MySpace IM – Download Free Live Chat Software for Instant Messaging

Apple Computer and Apple iPod Store Australia Buy Mac Online
BuyMac.com.au – Everything for your mac

Current.com.au

ACCC continues to crack down on electrical price fixing

 
 

By James Wells

SYDNEY: Teac is the latest local company successfully prosecuted for price fixing by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after investigations into Topfield set top boxes and Optima computers.

The ACCC recently convicted another set top box manufacturer, Topfield, of similar price-fixing charges and fined the company $297,500. The owner of the brand's Australian distributor, Jai Kemp, was also personally fined over $17,000 for his involvement in the misdemeanor.

According to the Current.com.au article, Topfield was later made to issue an apology in an attempt to alleviate its sullied reputation. Topfield's parent company, Digital Products Group received a 30 per cent reduction off the original fine due to cooperation recognised by the ACCC.

At the time, Topfield director Jai Kemp said resale price-fixing was not something he researched when setting up his company on 2003.

“When I started our wholesale and distribution side of the business in mid 2003 I was more worried about getting letter heads printed and making sure I paid the electricity bill on time. Not having a degree in business or a legal background I had no idea what resale price maintenance was – the information was not readily available in a form that was easily understood," Kemp said.

Kemp warned other businesses at the time about the risks associated with breaching the Trade Practices Act.

“It’s really important to make sure you understand the Act. We thought we were doing the right thing. It turns out that we weren’t – and for that we apologise."

Optima Computers was also prosecuted by the ACCC in December last year for resale price maintenance.

According to the Current.com.au report, products sold through The Good Guys, Retravision and Leading Edge were investigated after a complaint was made to the ACCC about alleged resale price maintenance. Optima admitted it had told two of its dealers they should top discounting and raise their prices for Optima computers to Optima's recommended retail prices. The dealers were threatened with having the supply of Optima products withheld or their dealership cancelled.

 What about Petrol Prices and Fees on Credit Cards for both customers and retailers.

BlueGobo.com | Dreamgirls (Original Broadway Production, 1981)

Coonan resigns as deputy leader | Australian IT

Coonan resigns as deputy leader

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Samantha Maiden | November 29, 2007

LIBERAL deputy Senate leader Helen Coonan has quit her post, sparking a fresh leadership contest in the party.

Outgoing finance minister Nick Minchin is expected to retain his position as Senate leader until June 30, when the new senators elected on Saturday take their place in parliament.

Senators will vote today on her replacement, which has already erupted into a three-horse race featuring former ministers George Brandis, Eric Abetz and Ian McDonald.

The Coalition retains its majority in the Senate, and the power to block Labor's legislative agenda, until next year.

A meeting of all 34 Liberal senators will determine the outcome today before the partyroom votes on the Liberal leadership.

The frontrunners are expected to be Senator Brandis, a moderate who is expected to attract strong support, and Senator Abetz, a staunch conservative.

Senator Coonan, the former communications minister, said last night she had decided to step aside to carve out new policies in Opposition and to make way for generational change.

She said she hoped to serve on the Opposition front bench.

Webjet seeks new horizons | Australian IT

Webjet seeks new horizons

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Teresa Ooi | November 29, 2007

ONLINE travel agency Webjet is on an acquisition trail after failing to take over rival travel website operator Travel.com.au.

The company said it expected to lift net profit for fiscal 2008 to between $5.7 million and $6 million ahead of its forecast $5.2 million made in August.

The revised profit guidance would be between 43 and 50 per cent higher than last year's net profit of $4 million.

Webjet told shareholders at its annual general meeting that strategic acquisitions were under intensive research.

The company bowed out of the bidding war for Travel.com after it was trumped by online accommodation agency Wotif.

The battle for Travel.com began in September, with Webjet making the first play for the agency before Wotif responded with a higher offer of $57 million, which Travel.com's board unanimously recommended shareholders accept.

Wotif has already acquired 38.8 per cent of Travel.com.

Telstra denies election role | Australian IT

Telstra denies election role

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Correspondents in Sydney | November 29, 2007

TELSTRA boss Sol Trujillo has denied the telco played any political role in the federal election campaign.

Telstra sent letters to its shareholders during the campaign criticising the coalition's telecommunications policies.

"We did not lobby our shareholders to vote against anything," he told ABC Radio today.

"What we did was inform our shareholders about what was happening in the marketplace … and be clear about our advocacy which is pro-Australia, pro-Telstra, pro-shareholder."

Mr Trujillo said Telstra would keep the pressure on the new government on telecommunications.

"At Telstra we don't hold anybody accountable, what we do is we reflect the interests of our shareholders and our customers."

Current.com.au

Federal Court fines Teac Australia $175,000 for price fixing

 
 

By James Wells

MELBOURNE: The Federal Court of Australia has imposed penalties totalling $175,000 against Teac Australia Pty Ltd for engaging in resale price maintenance after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

According to a statement issued by the ACCC, “Justice Kenny in the Mellbourne court has ordered Teac to pay $175,000 in pecuniary penalties for breaching the resale price maintenance provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974”.

Current.com.au

Sony Ericsson, Samsung top Greenpeace's electronics report

 
 
By Chris Nicholls

SYDNEY: Greenpeace has released its sixth Guide to Greener Electronics report, which placed Sony Ericsson and Samsung at the top of a class of 18 manufacturers, while Nintendo and Philips came last.

The annual report, which surveys the 18 game console, mobile phone and TV and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practices, praised Sony Ericsson for removing all PVCs from their mobile phones as of last year and setting a target of January 1 next year for removal of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and other environmentally harmful chemicals. The company scored 7.7 out of ten.

Samsung went from eighth last year to second this year, scoring the same 7.7 out of ten as Sony Ericsson after removing PVC plastic from their LCD TVs and removing most BFRs from their mobile phone circuit boards.

However, the report came down hard on Nintendo for their lack of information on recycling programs and their PVC and Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) use. The company scored zero out of a possible ten as a result.

Greenpeace said the score meant Nintendo had “infinite room for future improvement”.

Philips also scored badly, with a two out of ten score. Greenpeace marked it down for the company’s lack of a set timeline for BFRs removal and not committing to remove all PVC products from their manufacturing process. A lack of information on recycling programs held it down.

However, Philips Australia said in a statement they had worked to organise recycling programs and set a tentative 2012 date for removal of all PVC and BFRs from their products. The company claimed to have not used PVC in packaging since the mid-nineties.

Sony Blu-ray. The future of High Definition entertainment

Heralding an epic new era of home entertainment, the new Blu-ray Disc™ format promises the ultimate in High Definition 1080p video and 7.1-channel surround sound.

With Blu-ray Disc™ your whole viewing experience will be dramatically enhanced by brighter, sharper vision and crisper, clearer soundtracks. It's the best playback possible because Blu-ray Disc™ packs five times the resolution and up to *ten times more recording capacity than a same-sized DVD.

Blu-ray Disc™ is supported by most of the major film studios and music companies as well as key players in the video games industry. So this extraordinary new technology will impact the way you enjoy your home entertainment in multi-dimensional ways.

 85% of Movies Purchased in the HD Arena are purchased on BLU RAY!!!!

YouTube – WiiMote playing Half-Life 2 on a computer
WiiMote playing Half-Life 2 on a computer

YouTube – Wii Zapper Commercial – My Version
Wii Zapper Commercial – My Versio

YouTube – Parents Angry Over Wii Zapper
A new law needs to added to the world's constitution. All video games need to have non organic enemies, machines only, androids, robots etc. Not humans or animals. The hunting games on PS2, Cabala is the title, should be Photographic Hunts, capturing the best images, not KILLING.

YouTube – Wii Zapper Vs *New* Wii 2 In 1
One question, what is the fixation with shooting things, when supposedly all most humans are against war and violence. Humans on this planet make us very nervous, you teach your babies to kill. Why!!! Incidentally Nintendo was setup for non proliferation of violence, Capitalism has destroyed that dream.

 

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