This Saturday from 3.10 pm I’ll be discussing tech with John Cadogan on Radio 2UE as the stand in for regular guest Trevor Long who’s in the US for the Consumer Electronics Show.
We’ll be taking calls on the Open Line, 13 13 32 or tweet to @paulwallbank while we’re on air. 2UE can be heard online or on 954 AM in the Sydney region.
Some of the things we’ll be covering include the following which we’ll be covering after John speaks to Trevor Long in Las Vegas.
R18 + video games
An adult’s only rating category for computer games has come into effect across Australia. The new R18+ will make it illegal for people under 18 to hire, buy or view any games given the rating, while it will be illegal for retailers to sell R18+ games without the new markings.
The new laws bring computer games into line with the classification system for films and other material and make Australia more consistent with international standards.
Google is working on an X phone
Google is working with Motorola on a handset code-named ‘X Phone’ that’s aimed at grabbing market share from Apple and Samsung.
Google acquired Motorola in May 2012 for $US 12.5 billion to bolster its portfolio as its Android operating system competes with Apple and Samsung.
It’s believed that the handset will feature an imaging and gesture-recognition software developer. The new handset is due out next year.
The first civil lawsuit against Instagram
A Californian Instagram user has levelled breach of contract and other claims against the company.
The lawsuit, filed by Finkelstein and Krinsk, says that customers who do not agree with Instagrams terms can cancel their profile, but they then forfeit their rights to photos they had previously shared on the service.
Instagram, which allows people to add filters and effects to photos and share them easily on the Internet, was acquired by Facebook earlier this year for $US 715 million.
It announced its revised terms of service last week and also announced its mandatory arbitration clause that forces users to waive their rights to participate in a class action lawsuit except under very limited circumstances.
Easing of restriction on Internet use on flights
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved an application process for airlines to obtain broadband Internet licenses aboard their planes. Previously airlines have been granted permission on an ad-hoc basis.
Airlines need the FCC’s permission to tap into satellite airwaves while in flight so that passengers can connect to the Internet.
They also need permission from the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees the safety of inflight Internet systems.
The death of Netbooks
Netbooks have been overtaken by tablet computers and vendors are seeking to push more expensive items to their customers.
The Internet’s TCP/IP language celebrates its 30th birthday
Known as ‘flag day’ January 1, 1983 was the first time that the Us Department of Defence-commissioned ‘Arpanet network’ fully switched to use the Internet protocol suite communications system.
It began as a military project in the U.S in the late 1960’s and it paved the way for the arrival of the World Wide Web.
Summer sales of mobile phones are creating e-waste stockpiles
Over a third of Australians have bought or will consider buying a new mobile phone over Christmas and the summer sales.
This is contributing to the 22 million old mobile phones in Australia.
If these 22 million phones were recycled, they would divert nearly 120 tonnes of plastic from landfill.
Four out of 10 Australians have two or more old mobile phones lying around the home father dust.
Mobile Muster is the official recycling scheme of mobile phones.
You can drop your mobile phone off at a Mobile Muster Collection Point or pick up a reply-paid environment at any Australia Post store and post it in.
Your views, comments or questions are welcome so don’t be shy about calling in on 13 13 32 and Trevor Long will be back next week.