Episode 330 – Aussie Tech Heads Shownotes

posted in: Show Notes

GLENN’S SHOWNOTES

Microsoft cagey on Office for iPad

Talk has circulated for more than a year that Microsoft wants to bring native versions of its most profitable product to the hot-selling iPad, which one analyst estimates could generate $US2.5 billion in extra revenue for Microsoft per year,

would it remove an incentive to buying Windows-based tablets?
the risk for Microsoft is that putting Office on the iPad takes away one of the key advantages of its own Surface and other Windows tablets, that already run Office natively.

Windows not as profitable as Office but still key component of Microsoft strategy.

Asked  at a conference when he would be able to use Excel on his iPad, DelBene (head of Microsoft’s Office unit)  instead pointed the questioner toward Microsoft’s own Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets and urged him to use Web-based versions of Office apps


Aussie internet access prices fall for fifth year

 

  • The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found internet access prices have fallen for the fifth consecutive year,
  • down 2.7 percent in the past year
  • and noted noted the price decline was the smallest in the last half-decade.
  • ACCC also  indicating it is being vigilant about anti-competitive practices by network operators.
  • It observed network operators are already using network management, which possibly includes speed discrimination in favour of voice, and against peer-to-peer traffic.
  • report found in areas of lower population density, competition was marginal to non-existent, with Telstra the only carrier available in many areas.
  • Mobile wireless, and not fixed line internet, remained the dominant form of internet connectivity.
  • Australia has around 12 million active internet subscribers, and mobile wireless broadband accounted for 49 percent of all connections, compared to 38 percent for DSL.
  • numbers in the range of 24 Mbps to 100 Mbps grew 46 percent, while those subscribers choosing services capable of in excess of 100 Mbps were up 139 percent.

 


Hacker raids ABC

 

  • An attacker has hacked into the ABC
  • dumped almost 45,000 user email addresses and hashed passwords following a broadcast of an interview with radical Dutch politician Geert Wilders
  • targeted the 2010 program “Making Australia Happy” and exposed users who registered with the program’s website.
  • ABC would contact the 45,000 affected users.
  • The hacker claiming responsibility said the attack was in response to an interview broadcast on the ABC’s Latelineprogram with the right-wing Wilders. The attacker claimed the ABC gave Wilders “a platform to spread hate”.
  • This breach originated at an overseas location and an activist has claimed responsibility for it.

Geert Wilders


 

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 10

 

  • Microsoft released Internet Explorer 10 to millions of new users
  • now becomes available for the 700 million or so users of Windows 7.
  • MS said IE 10 is 20 percent faster at downloading sites than its predecessor IE 9 and allows for touch-screen commands.
  • IE 10 running on Windows 8 received generally good reviews, and has been hailed as the best version of Internet Explorer yet, but it has not been considered decisively superior to Chrome or Firefox.
  • mobile browser market, Safari is the runaway leader with 61 percent, while Google’s Android browser has 21 percent. (but isn’t there more andriod than apples????)

 


Doctor Who at the Cinema

A special screening of the opening two episodes of Series 6 is to take place across Australia and New Zealand onThursday 14th March, the BBC has announced.

In a world-first multiple cinema screening for Doctor Who, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon will be shown at selected Event Cinemas, Greater Union and Birch, Carroll & Coyle Cinemas, and Village Cinemas across the two countries, starting at 7pm on the day

Tickets for the high-definition big-screen showings can be bought online at Event Cinemas or Village Cinemas .


Legendary newsman Peter Harvey gravely ill in hospital as he battles cancer

Harvey, 68, announced in October that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.


SHAYNE’S SHOWNOTES

 

Perth gamer caught in cyber crime raid

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/top-stories/perth-gamer-caught-in-cyber-crime-raid/story-e6frg12l-1226583778880

A PERTH man’s house has been raided by police after he allegedly tried to sell a prototype of Microsoft’s new Xbox gaming console on the internet.
According to website www.thetechgame.com, the man, who goes by the names “superDaE”, tried auctioning off a Durango development kit on Ebay.
The new Xbox is expected to be launched in time for Christmas this year.
“Technology Crime Investigation unit is currently conducting a multi-jurisdictional investigation into computer-related offences,” a WA Police spokesman said.
“A search warrant was conducted Tuesday the 19th of February 2013 in relation to this investigation where items were seized.”
The spokesman could not confirm whether the FBI was involved.
But superDaE tweeted “police raided me” and mentioned having “an FBI agent and 7-8 police in your house”.

“I don’t even have bank cards to buy or pay for a lawyer or a phone,” he tweeted.
He also published the search warrant online.
“I find it hilarious how the warrant only really mentions “Microsoft”, “eBay”, “Paypal”,” he wrote.

Meet ownCloud 5, The Open Source Dropbox

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/24/meet-owncloud-5-the-open-source-dropbox/
ownCloud is a free software suite, written in PHP, that provides file storage, synchronization, and sharing. It provides the same basic features of Dropbox or Box.net. It also provides a whole lot more.
ownCloud was started three years ago when Frank Karlitschek wanted a free software alternative to proprietary solutions.
The core ownCloud offering is file storage and synchronization. You also get optional contacts and calendar synchronization, if you want to use it. As an open source application, you can install it on any computer you control.
nterestingly, ownCloud can be connected to third-party storage like Dropbox or Google Drive or even an FTP server.

HP lets loose Android-based Slate 7 tablet starting at $169

http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9237093/HP_lets_loose_Android_based_Slate_7_tablet_starting_at_169?mm_ref=http://www.mahaweb.com/iphone_aus.php?newsone=207&premium=0&version=300&user=iphone&iphone_id=09f3eba72a0b1f18ae66598d972fbdaa63ff6f1e&page=custom
Hewlett-Packard is reentering the consumer tablet market with the Slate 7, an Android-based device with a 7-inch screen that will start at US$169.
The Slate 7 runs Android 4.1, also known as Jellybean, and has a dual-core processor based on ARM’s Cortex-A9 design. It will start shipping in the U.S. in April, HP said. It didn’t provide availability details for other countries.
This will be HP’s first tablet based on Google’s Android OS. HP quit the consumer tablet market in 2011 when it killed off its WebOS-based TouchPad, but it’s now back to take another swing.
HP already offers tablets and hybrids running Windows 8, including the ElitePad 900, that are aimed primarily at business users. Rumors of HP developing an Android device emerged earlier this month. The company has also adopted Google’s Chromebook OS for its low-power laptops.
At $169, the tablet has a competitive price. It’s lower than Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, which also runs a dual-core Cortex-A9 processor and is priced at around $199 on Amazon.
The Slate 7 weighs 368 grams and provides speedy access to Google services, HP said. Other features include a 3-megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front. The tablet has 8GB of storage, expandable with an SD card slot, and Wi-Fi capabilities. The display shows images at 1024-by-600 pixel resolution.
HP announced the product at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, Spain. Earlier Sunday, Samsung announced a Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet running Android 4.1.

Samsung launches Android-based media center HomeSync

http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9237091/Samsung_launches_Android_based_media_center_HomeSync?mm_ref=http://www.mahaweb.com/iphone_aus.php?newsone=207&premium=0&version=300&user=iphone&iphone_id=09f3eba72a0b1f18ae66598d972fbdaa63ff6f1e&page=custom
Samsung Electronics has introduced the Android-based HomeSync media center, which can be used to watch movies, play games and also provide private and shared storage.
The HomeSync is Samsung’s latest big bet, according to the company. The box is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, has 1TB of hard drive storage and is based on the “Jelly Bean” version of Google’s Android operating system.
Users can download games and video content from both Google Play and Samsung Apps. Content, including 1080p home movies and photos, can also be streamed wirelessly from a smartphone or tablet to a TV.
Supported video formats include MPEG-4, WMV 7 and 8 and DivX, the company said in a blog post.
Android-based devices with NFC can be connected by being placed near the HomeSync. Thereafter images, music and other files will be automatically uploaded. HomeSync can handle up to eight users, and they can have up to six devices each. The uploaded content can be shared with others, or stored in an encrypted and password-protected private area.
Up to four IP cameras can be connected to HomeSync, as well, allowing users to remotely monitor their home and receive alarm notifications.
The HomeSync will be available from April in a few countries at first and then expand globally, according to the blog post. No international price was given, but Samsung Sweden said it will retail for $500 including local VAT.

Oscar Award for Best Documentary goes to Searching for Sugar Man film shot on Apple iPhone

http://www.news.com.au/technology/smartphones/oscar-award-for-best-documentary-goes-to-searching-for-sugar-man-film-shot-on-apple-iphone/story-fn6vihic-1226585415801
THE FIRST Oscar-nominated feature film shot on an Apple iPhone has claimed an Academy Award and its app developer could not be happier.
The $1.99 app, 8mm Vintage Camera, became the first linked to the Academy Awards after Searching for Sugar Man claimed the Oscar for Best Documentary.

The Swedish and British documentary following two men searching for a 1970s musician was partially shot on an Apple iPhone with Nexvio’s 8mm app after the production ran out of money.
Director Malik Bendjelloul said the final shots captured on an iPhone were “almost as good” as the rest of the footage, shot on Super 8 film.
Nexvio president Hongyu Chi told News Ltd he watched the Oscars telecast to cheer on the film, and was “excited” by the result.
“(The) 8mm (app) has been used by a lot of indie musicians in their music videos but (now it has) been used in a feature film – an Oscar-winning film,” Mr Chi said.
“That’s a surprising and thrilling experience for us.”
Despite the accolades, the price of the 8mm Vintage Camera app was unchanged in Apple’s App Store yesterday, though its description was changed to reveal its new Academy Award ties.

Gates, Zuckerberg urge kids to code

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/gates-zuckerberg-urge-kids-to-code/story-e6frgakx-1226586509066
MICROSOFT chairman Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter creator Jack Dorsey are among the tech celebrities in a new video to promote the teaching and learning of computer coding in schools.
Titled What most schools don’t teach, the video released online begins with Zuckerberg, Gates and other tech icons recalling how they got their start in coding.
For some, it was in sixth grade. For others, such as Ruchi Sanghvi, Facebook’s first female engineer, it happened in college.
Running less than six minutes, the video promotes Code.org, a non-profit foundation created last year to boost computer programming education.
“The first time I actually had something come up and say ‘hello world,’ and I made a computer do that, that was just astonishing,” recalls Gabe Newell, president of video game studio Valve.
But it’s not just tech leaders promoting programming in the video. Chris Bosh, a Miami Heat basketballer, says about coding: “I know it can be intimidating, a lot of things are intimidating, but, you know, what isn’t?”
Code.org was founded by tech entrepreneur Hadi Partovi, an early investor in Facebook, Dropbox and the holiday rental site Airbnb.
The organisation aims to address a problem often cited by tech companies – not enough computer science graduates to fill a growing number of programming jobs.
The group laments that many schools don’t even offer classes in programming.
“Our policy is literally to hire as many talented engineers as we can find,” Zuckerberg says in the video.
“The whole limit of the system is there just aren’t enough people who are trained and have these skills today.”

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