Episode 167

posted in: Show Notes

GLENN’S SHOWNOTES

Skype 4.2 Beta for Windows – includes Skype Access, call transfer and more – Skype Blogs
share.skype.com/sites/en/2009/12/skype_4_2_beta_fo…
Skype 4.2 Beta for Windows – includes Skype Access, call transfer and more

Skype Access – pay by the minute for WiFi access using your Skype Credit with a single click.

Call transfer

A little thing – but an important for many of you who use Skype in a small business environment. With Skype 4.2 Beta, you can transfer calls to one of your Skype contacts free of charge, or to a landline or mobile at our standard low rates. Many of you have requested this feature, and it’s a pleasure to bring it back.

Net card fraud tops $82m: Australian Payments Clearing Association | The Australian
www.theaustralian.com.au/net-card-fraud-tops-82m-a…
Net card fraud tops $82m: Australian Payments Clearing Association

Figures from The Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) showed fraud on cheques, credit and debit cards rose from 7c in every $1000 of payments to 9c, an increase of almost 30 per cent.

The biggest contributor was an increase in fraud where the card was not present, mostly transactions over the internet. The amount of transactions on Australian cards in this category of fraud increased from $65.5 million to $82.1m in the 12 months to June.

At a loss for words? Google offers search by sight – CNN.com
edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/08/google.goggles/ind…
Google offers search by sight

The experimental search-by-sight feature, called Google Goggles, has a database of billions of images that informs its analysis of what’s been uploaded, said Vic Gundotra, Google’s vice president of engineering. It can recognize books, album covers, artwork, landmarks, places, logos, and more.

“It is our goal to be able to identify any image,” he said. “It represents our earliest efforts in the field of computer vision. You can take a picture of an item, use that picture of whatever you take as the query.”

Space elevator entrepreneurs shoot for the stars – Dec. 8, 2009
money.cnn.com/2009/12/07/smallbusiness/space_eleva…
Space elevator entrepreneurs shoot for the stars

Here’s how I usually explain it: Imagine spinning around while holding a piece of string attached to a tennis ball. The string goes taut; that’s centrifugal force. The same holds true for the rotating Earth. Put a counterweight in geosynchronous orbit, drop down a superstrong equivalent of that string and attach it at the equator. Voila! You have an elevator tether, up which you could run a freight car the size of a 747. (The car would be propelled by a laser beam — that implausible technology is a column all its own.)

The main trouble with a true space elevator is that we don’t yet have materials strong enough to build the cable. The miracle fiber known as carbon nanotubes is getting stronger by the year and is already being used for body armor. If progress continues at the current rate, we should be able to build an elevator-ready tether in a decade or so

Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs to be streamed live online – Digital Media
www.digital-media.net.au/article/Australian-Open-W…

Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs to be streamed live online The event will be streaming of the event on the Tennis Australia website using new adaptive ‘Smooth Streaming’ technology adjusts the video stream to suit the viewers’ available bandwidth without interrupting their viewing experience. The Microsoft Silverlight ‘Smooth Streaming’  technology has already been implemented with Mocrosoft’s Zune movie streaming.


MARK’S SHOWNOTES

mp3 or not – Don’t you hear it?
http://mp3ornot.com/

BBC News – Facebook faces criticism on privacy change
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8405334.stm
Facebook faces criticism on privacy change

BBC News – MP3 players face noise limits recommended by EU
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8410302.stm
MP3 players face noise limits recommended by EU

BBC News – UK trails on super-fast broadband say OECD figures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8408919.stm
UK trails on super-fast broadband say OECD figures

BBC News – Aid agencies ‘must use new tools’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8406509.stm
Aid agencies ‘must use new tools’

BBC News – In pictures: Denmark’s eco house
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8402075.stm
In pictures: Denmark’s eco house

BBC News – Apple and Nokia’s battle hots up
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8408696.stm
Apple and Nokia’s battle hots up

BBC News – Decision delayed on Meteosat team
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8404490.stm
Decision delayed on Meteosat team

Germany unveils world’s largest weather supercomputer | The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/germany-unveils-worlds-largest-weather-supercomputer/story-e6frgakx-1225809331773?from=public_rss
Germany unveils world’s largest weather supercomputer

BBC News – Battery made of paper charges up
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8401566.stm
Battery made of paper charges up

BBC News – ‘Cryo-egg’ to predict sea levels
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/8407978.stm
‘Cryo-egg’ to predict sea levels

BBC News – Facebook faces criticism on privacy change
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8405334.stm
Facebook faces criticism on privacy change

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