2UE Weekend Computers, 5 January 2013

Paul Wallbank stands in for Trevor Long to talk technology, computers and the internet on Radio 2UE Weekends from 3pm this Saturday

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.

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NFC and the car key revolution

Near Field Communications (NFC) systems are more than just ways to pay bills with your smartphone, they promise to upset many industries.

Many businesses have made easy money by ‘clipping the ticket’ of the customer, new technologies like Near Field Communications and cloud computing threaten the easy profits of many organisations.

During yesterday’s 2UE Tech Talk Radio spot where Seamus Byrne and I stood in for Trevor Long, host John Cadogan raised the prospect of replacing car keys and even dashboards with smartphones equipped with Near Field Communications (NFC) systems.

Since NFC technologies appeared we’ve concentrated on the banking and payments aspects of these features but there’s far more to this technology than just smartphones replacing credit cards.

With the right software an NFC equipped smartphone, tablet computer, or even a wristwatch could replace any electronic controller – this is already happening with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled home sound systems, TV remote controllers and games consoles.

An important effect of this is that it cuts out expensive custom replacements like bespoke control units or electronic car keys.

Car keys are a good example of how what was previously a high cost profitable item becomes commodified and those business that had a nice revenue stream find new technology cuts them out.

As keys become replaced with NFC enabled devices then then the scam of with new sets of keys costing up to a thousand dollars with fat profits for everybody involved becomes redundant.

This is something we’re seeing across industries as incumbent businesses find their profitable activities disrupted by smart players using new technology.

Just as manufacturing and publishing have been dealing with these disruptions for the past two decades, it’s coming to all industries and it’s going to take smart operators to deal with the changes.

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2UE Weekend Computers, 29 December 2012

Paul Wallbank and Seamus Byrne stand in for Trevor Long to talk technology, computers and the internet on Radio 2UE Weekends.

This Saturday from 3.10 pm Seamus Byrne and myself will be standing in for regular guest Trevor Long to discuss tech with John Cadogan on Radio 2UE.

We’ll be taking calls on the Open Line, 13 13 32 or tweet to @paulwallbank while we’re on air.

Some of the things we’ll be covering include the following.

What type of smart phone?

We have the iPhone, Android and Windows phones. Which ones are better?

  • The iPhone’s been dominating for the last few years, but now  Android is overtaking it. Why’s that?
  • Microsoft are pretty late with a mobile phone, can they catch up?
  • What’s happened to the other makes like Nokia, Blackberry and Motorola?
  • So what if you don’t want a smartphone, what if you just want something to make phone calls?

Checking your phone and Internet plans

There’s was story this week about how people are spending too much on their mobile phone and Internet plans. What should people be looking at and how often should they check their plans?

Paying for stuff with your mobile

You can use your phone as a boarding pass on some airlines, now Telstra and Vodafone are looking at ways to use your mobile to pay for groceries with your mobile phone.

  • How does the system work?
  • Who takes the money?
  • Is this safe?
  • How far is this away?

Your views, comments or questions are welcome so don’t be shy about calling in.

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Standing in for Trevor Long – Updates for 2UE listeners

Listeners’ questions answered after standing in for Trevor Long on Radio 2UE

After standing in for Trevor Long on Radio 2UE’s afternoon weekends, there were a couple of callers with problems Seamus and I said we’d get back to.

These included issues with Hotmail, Android smartphones and a potential virus infection.

Internet Explorer home page hacked

Ron thought he might have a virus infection as Internet Explorer opens a junk page when he starts it.

The easiest way to check if a Windows computer is infected is the free Malware Bytes – just download and run it.

It’s also possible the computer hasn’t been infected but that settings have been messed with, Microsoft have details on how to change the opening pages on Internet Explorer.

Problems getting into Hotmail

Another Internet Explorer problem was from Peter who was finding Internet Explorer was freezing when he tries to get into Hotmail, or Outlook.com as it’s currently known.

The best solution for this is to clean out your Windows system using a tool like the free CCleaner and make sure both the computer has the latest security updates.

Strange message on Android smartphone

Sheena had a strange message on her smartphone saying “all sale”. This sounds like someone has changed the wallpaper settings for the phone and Google have the instructions for changing the background on Android phones.

The 2UE segment is a one-off while Trevor Long is away on holidays, if you’d like notice of upcoming programs, subscribe to this site’s newsfeed or put your questions to the IT Queries website.

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2UE Weekend Computers, 22 December 2012

Paul Wallbank and Seamus Byrne stand in for Trevor Long to talk technology, computers and the internet on Radio 2UE Weekends.

Seamus and I said we’d get back to listeners from the show, those answers can be found at the Standing in for Trevor Long post.

This Saturday from 3.10 pm Seamus Byrne and myself will be standing in for regular guest Trevor Long to discuss tech with John Cadogan on Radio 2UE.

We’ll be taking calls on the Open Line, 13 13 32 or tweet to @paulwallbank while we’re on air.

Some of the things we’ll be covering include;

  • Instagram and the backlash from people concerned about their lack of control over how companies like Facebook use their images.
  • A 2011 survey of American parents by Common Sense Media has found that 39 per cent of two to four-year-olds have used digital media such as smartphones and iPads. Now Fisher-Price has a line of iPad and iPod baby protectors.
  • Children are using technology almost from birth, what are the safe levels for kids using iPads and other computers?
  • Sydney bus passengers can now access mobile phone apps that let them know how far away their next bus is. We look at some of the more popular ones.
  • What are some of the gadgets that make great Christmas gifts.

Your views, comments or questions are welcome so don’t be shy about calling in.

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