September 3rd, 2010
SMH reports today that the Sony e-reader has reached Australia, to be launched next week.
The smallest e-reader Pocket Edition features a touch screen, and infrared sensors to read finger swipes. This device sells for $229, around $76 more than Amazon’s cheapest Kindle e-reader. It also features higher-contrast electronic ink display (16 shades of gray), is smaller in size, but still has a comparatively large screen.
The bigger models, called the Daily Edition (not able to be purchased in Australia) and the Touch Edition, have also been upgraded. The Touch Edition will cost $299, and will have a longer battery life than the previous model.
Both the Touch and Pocket Editions are easy to use, and read from. However, a major disadvantage is that 3G cannot be used for downloading, so users will have to sync their e-books via USB.
Tags: battery life, e-book, Kindle, Sony e-reader
Posted in Expansion to Australia, Sony, e-reader | No Comments »
August 26th, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald published an article on 17 August 2010, reporting that Microsoft is encouraging customers to cease using Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) and upgrade to the newer version, IE8, immediately. Microsoft is insistent that customers do so, to the extent that it is making the recommendation that customers upgrade to competitors browers.
When asked why, Microsoft says “IE6 is a nine-year-old web browser and doesn’t sufficiently protect users from the latest security threats. Microsoft is urging customers to upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer so that they are not leaving themselves vulnerable.”
Consumers appear to be of the mindset, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, however security threats have changed and browsers need to be upgraded.
Tags: IE6, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, upgrade
Posted in Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft, browsers | No Comments »
August 5th, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald reports today that Ric Richardson, owner of Uniloc, who won a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Microsoft for the use of his patent, only to face the horror of having the decision overturned, is launching further lawsuits against Sony America, McAfee Security, Activision (maker of video games), and Quark, Borland Software and Aspyr Media (software makers).
Mr Richardson contends that his patent has stood up to legal scrutiny, so he is taking these new lawsuits on principle. However, if succesful, the damages awarded will be given to charity.
Richardson, patented the technology designed to deter software piracy in the early 1990’s, and the proceedings against Microsoft have been ongoing since 2003. And yes, Uniloc is appealing the Microsoft decision to overthrow its lawsuit, by alleging bias from the Judge.
Stay tuned, this saga will be interesting…..
Tags: Microsoft, patent, technology, Uniloc
Posted in Uniloc, controversy, technology | No Comments »
July 29th, 2010
The Masterchef finalists are going all out to help Telstra attract iPhone buyers, in preparation for the iPhone’s official sale date on Friday, by cooking up Apple-inspired treats to attract the Apple fans.
To help customers from having to line up in the strangely cold weather in Sydney overnight, Vodafone and 3 will allow people to register their iPhone 4 purchase at the George Street Vodafone store from 10pm today. Customers have also begun queueing at the Optus store on George St.
Click here to access the best iPhone plans.
Tags: apple, iphone, Optus, Telstra
Posted in Apple Mac, Online Sales, iphone, smartphone | No Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
The internet has allowed makers and suppliers of ‘legal highs’ which may contain illicit substances, to sell their goods directly to the public online.
Sydney Morning Herald today reports that Australian Customs faces new problems with emerging technology, as it is difficult to monitor, and exposes a potentially wider section of the public to drugs. Some of the pills are simply caffeine-based, whereas others contain ingredients such as ephedrine, one of the precursors of methamphetamine. They are sent through the post and Customs said “many packages are opened and assessed each day”, but not every package can be opened.
Customs does not have the legal authority to shut down online sites selling the drugs but has forced some of the websites to include import restrictions warnings.
Tags: Australia, contact customers, internet, party pills, privacy
Posted in Australian Customs, controversy, illicit substances, party pills | No Comments »
July 15th, 2010
Continuing faulty antenna issues with the iPhone 4 may lead to a product recall, an embarrassing event for Apple, which may have costs of up to $1.5 billion USD. It is harder to put a price on the cost to Apple’s reputation.
Consumer Reports stated that it could not recommend the iPhone, due to the antenna, which, if the device is held a particular way, substantially cuts the phone’s reception resulting in “signal loss issues”.
This result was upheld by Engadgets, who in their own testing, found that the iPhone 4’s dropped calls and experienced low data rates at a much higher frequency than other phones. Engadget’s full review of the iPhone 4 is here.
Consumer Reports blog contains further detail as to why the iPhone 3 is preferable to the latest model.
Tags: apple, iphone, iPhone 4, recall, technology
Posted in Apple Mac, E-mail & the internet, iphone, smartphone, technology | No Comments »
July 10th, 2010
30 Days of Feel-good Fitness is an initiative designed to get more people active, demonstrate the impact this has on their mood and raise funds for the Black Dog Institute.
Take up the challenge to get moving for just 20 minutes a day, for the entire month of September, 2010. Why?
- To improve your mood, give you more energy and improve your overall health & well-being.
- To show your support for people with depression and their famillies.
One in five Australians will experience some form of mental illness within a 12-month period and almost half of all Australians have experienced a mental disorder at some time in their lifetime. This is your chance to make a difference, both to your own mood and the mood of others.
Click here to sign up now!
Tags: 30daysfitness.com.au, depression
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 9th, 2010
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has no plans to back down from the plans to develop the controversial web filter in Australia.
However, there may be some modifications to the original proposal by the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy.
”I understand that there’s a set of…technical concerns about internet speed, and also concerns that somehow this accidentally doesn’t move into taking away legitimate use of the internet,” said Ms Gillard.
The legislation to introduce the web filter is unlikely to be introduced before the election.
To view the full article, click here.
Tags: internet censorship, web filter
Posted in Julia Gillard, controversy, web filter | No Comments »
July 5th, 2010
A complaint from anti-gaming establishments is that clubs which install arcade games are encouraging children to be gamblers at an early stage, thereby ‘grooming’ them to be problem gamblers as adults.
Independent senator Nick Xenaphon is encouraging the federal government to take action on this point, as there is no legislation handling it in the meantime. Mr Xenaphon believes that while parents play the pokies inside a club, the kids are getting the same ‘training’ on arcade games not far away.
The Productivity Commission appears to be in agreement with Mr Xenaphon, in its report on gambling which states that “minors should not…be exposed to gambling areas within venues”. Unfortunately, the report did not continue on to make further recommendations about fixing this problem.
To read the full article, click here.
Tags: arcade games, new technology, privacy
Posted in E-mail & the internet, children, gaming, technology | No Comments »
June 25th, 2010
For a limited time until the end of June, we are discounting selected models of the world’s most secure flash drive, the IronKey. Click here for more information on the sale.
There is no better device for durability and secure data storage, so do not miss out.
Tags: Australia, end of financial year, Ironkey
Posted in Ironkey, OPMC, Online Sales | No Comments »
