Tech Talk Radio Rreturns for 2010 this Monday night If you have any suggestions for the 2010 series we'd love to hear from you via our feedback page. We're looking for someone who's passionate about computer games who can report on what's hot and not in the realm of online and offline gaming. So have you got what it takes?

Download and listen to the back catalogue of Tech Talk Radio. Just in case you missed one, visit the Tech Talk archive and browse nearly every show we've put to air!!

RANT RANT RANT!
If by chance something's got you all worked up this holiday season, poor service from a telco, bad or shoddy workmanship from a manufacturer or just something really stupid, then why not tell us about it at our new /rant website. We hope to launch it when we're back on air so a few rants from our listeners would be good. You can vent here - Medicare card not required!

NEW TECH TALK WEBSITE
You're also looking at our new look website! It hasn't changed much, it's just put on a few pixels around its width - like us all over the holiday break! You'll see the old and the new for a while as the roll out takes place on those cooler summer nights!

March 15 2010

When we, as consumers, sign up to a telecommunications provide for mobile voice and data, chances are they want their pound of flesh for about 24 months, which in the world of technology, is an incredibly long time. Just take a look at the handset you were using two years ago, and compare it to the gadget you’re currently using. But it’s not just the technology you hold in your hand or plug into your computer… the door swings both ways.

Have you considered the technology and service that you receive from your telco which connects you to the world? The contract you enter into with your telco is all about tying you to them, and what you’re allowed to do with the services they provide not the quality of service they provide to you. Some even go to the extent of what they call a “fair use policy” which in plain speak means they can limit or even disconnect you from their network if the feel the urge. But what happens if their service deteriorates to a point where it becomes unusable where once it was rock solid?

When Telstra turned off their CDMA network a few years back to make way for the 3rd Generation mobile network, there was quite a song and dance from both government and consumers to ensure that the new network  performed just as well, if not better than the outgoing CDMA network.

Earlier this month, Hutchison 3 switched their roaming partner from Telstra to Vodafone, a switch which certainly saves 3 Money, but at the cost of call drops to a point where the only way to use a mobile phone connected to 3 is to be stationary. If you’re driving through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, it is no longer possible to keep a call connected for any longer than a few minutes – something which until the switch, was never an issue. Maybe 3 don’t have their in call handovers working just right yet, but the chorus of anger and willingness to switch back to Telstra is starting to become hard to ignore.

So what about the contract between the phone company and you? Because 3 is a city centric carrier and does not have the reach and coverage of the incumbent, it probably won’t raise the attention of politicians or the general public, but if you’re a Hutchison 3 user, there’s not much you can do apart from churn to another carrier. After all, the contract you’re in will say nothing about the level of service they have to provide. So what’s it to be 3? If you don’t restore the network usability to what it was in quick smart time, the mass exodus will start… and we all know how hard it is to retain customers in a saturated mobile communications market. 

 This week on TTR

• Adam talks to Dlink about the new Boxee Box
• Lidija Davis talks to Dan Kaminsky about flawed DNS (below)
• Twitter takes action on spammers and scammers
  
• X-ray vision' coming soon to Nokia phones, yes you heard right – X-ray Vision,
  
• Joe Hockey praised for his filtering stance and
• The Do Not Call Register about to expire

Have a look under the About Us tab in the main nav bar. Here you can find out all about the presenters you hear on air and our guests. Under Downloads you'll find out where to listen to us as well as the current show, and under Technology, some great articles explaining new technology such as DVD formats, HD Radio, Plasma & LCD TV's and those all important codecs! Not to forget Victorian CFA Frequencies and Information.

There's SEO hints and tips along with the transcript of Lid's chat with Adam Lasnik. Also some great ways to spend your spare time like radio sport - a hit here and overseas.

A PLACE TO RELIEVE THE STRESS!!

THE MAKING OF JAMES CAMERON'S AVATAR
It's the most technically challenging film ever made, and probably the most expensive. Check out the 23 minute Making of Avatar doco and see how Pandora became a reality.

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