Episode 504 – Aussie Tech Heads Shownotes

posted in: Show Notes

 

Apple pushing out OS Sierra update automatically

the update will download on users’ computers in the background beginning this week – if a user has automatic downloads enabled in their preferences.

the upgrade will be pushed to computers, users will be alerted and must then initiate the install manually.

The download would not occur should a user’s computer be unable to handle the 5G of space needed or if an older computer is not equipped to integrate the upgrade.

Image result for sierra auto download


Microsoft Band removed from sale

the company has removed all references to Band devices from its online store.

also removed the Band software development kit. According to ZDNet, Microsoft may have disbanded the team that was working on a version of Windows 10 for the band several months ago.

The Band 2 went on sale on 12 November in Australia for $379. The device is also sold at Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and Rebel Sport.

We remain committed to supporting our Microsoft Band 2 customers through Microsoft Stores and our customer support channels and will continue to invest in the Microsoft Health platform, which is open to all hardware and apps partners across Windows, iOS, and Android devices,” the spokesperson said.

Image result for microsoft band


Vodafone to scrap 2G next year

Launched in 1993, the network spectrum now carries just 0.07 percent of Vodafone’s data traffic and two percent of voice traffic. The telco said about 180,000 active handsets were currently on the 2G network.

Vodafone said the 2G spectrum would be repurposed to ease some of the load on its 4G network, which handles 76 percent of its data traffic.

Telstra will turn off its 2G network by the end of 2016, with Optus to stop 2G in April 2017.

Image result for 2g shutdown


Google to launch Cloud Platform in Australia

launch an Australian region for its Google Cloud Platform (GCP) as part of its mission “to power businesses around the world”.

Google will launch three availability zones in Sydney,

Not all Google regions boast all services, and the company has not yet revealed which services will go live in Sydney.

Image result for google cloud network


Listening to the music of Turing’s computer

The earliest known recording of music produced by a computer – a machine operated by Alan Turing,- has finally been made to sound exactly as it did 65 years ago.

t was captured by the BBC in the Autumn of 1951 during a visit to the University of Manchester, where the Ferranti Mark 1 – the world’s first commercially available general purpose computer – was based.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37507707

The Ferranti Mark 1 may not have been the first computer to have played music – that distinction, it’s been widely claimed, went to an Australian machine called CSIRAC that played The Colonel Bogey March some months before. But no recording has ever surfaced.

Alan Turing (right) and colleagues working on the Ferranti Mark I Computer, 1951


MILO

Smoking Samsung phone prompts US plane evacuation

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/mobiles/smoking-samsung-phone-prompts-us-plane-evacuation-20161006-grw71m.html

An overheating, smoking Samsung smartphone has forced the evacuation of a Southwest Airlines jet that was preparing to take off in the US, with reports indicating the phone was a new Galaxy Note7 issued as a replacement following a global recall.

The incident raises fresh trouble for the Korean phone-maker, which was forced to to make the recall last month because of overheating batteries.

_____________________________________

Waves of relief after launch of NBN Co’s Sky Muster II satellite

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/waves-of-relief-after-launch-of-nbn-cos-sky-muster-ii-satellite-20161004-grup3h.html

After a 24-hour launch delay, the National Broadband Network’s second satellite has been successfully deployed and will soon begin providing broadband services to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in rural and remote Australia.

The Sky Muster II satellite was carried aloft on board an Ariane 5 rocket decorated with the photos of 700 Australians, winners of NBN’s “blast your face into space” contest.3

_____________________________________________

Twitter: A Chinese firm could buy the company in the coming wave of cross-border tech acquisitions

As the financial media speculates about Twitter being acquired by Salesforce, Alphabet (formerly Google) or even Apple, companies outside the Californian tech scene have received little attention as potential suitors.

_______________________________________________________________

EXCLUSIVE: FOXTEL PLAY LAUNCHING HD IN EARLY 2017

http://eftm.com.au/2016/10/exclusive-foxtel-play-launching-hd-in-early-2017-32227

With the news of Presto’s demise today, and the relaunch of Foxtel Play there’s been one problem raised with me today – “that’s no good because it’s not in HD”.  Tonight I spoke with Director of Corporate Affairs at Foxtel Bruce Meagher.

When asked directly if and when HD was coming Meagher told EFTM “It’s definitely in the product pipeline”…

“I haven’t got a specific date, but sometime early in 2017 we’d be launching HD for all of those on demand and IP delivered services.”

Additionally he confirmed the “mini’ set-top box for Foxtel Play access was coming “We’ll also introduce our own puk device, a small mini box that will be cheap to buy and that you can plug into a television to get access to the service”

_______________________________________________________

Oombrella: the smart umbrella that knows more than you do

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/wearables-the-brolly-that-knows-more-than-you-do-20160927-grpeyp.html

How would you like an umbrella that lets you know if you leave it behind? The Oombrella will send an alert to your phone if you walk off without it.

This feature is a useful idea, but what’s even more exciting is that this umbrella also works as a portable weather station. There are four sensors embedded in the handle, collecting temperature, pressure, humidity, and light when you’re out in the weather.

_________________________________________________

2Aussie networks shoot themselves in the foot (again) with the death of Presto

Foxtel is the big winner in killing off Presto, which was born from the squabbling between Seven and Nine.

This town was never big enough for three all-you-can-eat 1subscription video services in Netflix, Presto and Stan – let alone four if you count long-suffering Quickflix. Australia’s subscription video pioneer, Quickflix looks set to emerge from administration under new ownership but Presto is disappearing for good in January as pay TV giant Foxtel buys out Presto’s co-owner Seven West Media and migrates customers over to the Foxtel Play streaming service.

___________________________________________________

Netflix Catalogue: Now With 50 Per Cent Fewer Movies And TV Shows

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/10/netflix-catalogue-now-with-50-per-cent-fewer-movies-and-tv-shows/

While Netflix has made news recently with its plan to make 50 per cent of its content original, its library of titles has gotten that much smaller in the past few years.

Streaming blog Exstreamist claims to have sources who used to work for the world’s largest streaming service. They estimate Netflix’s catalogue in 2012 contained “close to 11,000 movies and TV shows”. Using data pulled from uNoGs the site found that the current library has about 5300 titles in the US, and around 2700 in Australia.

While the increasing focus on original content has certainly played a part in Netflix’s shrinking selection, studios and producers have also been less willing to work with the company. But even if Netflix was able to get every film they could possibly ask for, the costly original projects would probably make that infeasible. The Get Down alone reportedly cost $US120 million ($156 million).

Netflix claims that it will have released 600 hours of original content by the end of 2016. It would take 25 days of viewing to get through all of that. As long as it keeps making shows and films people actually want to watch, this is fine. But those who want more of a variety may find themselves dusting off the oldtorrent app once again.

 

Leave a Reply