This is the final Tech Talk Radio for 2006. The holiday season is upon us and we’re are about to hang their headphones up for the last time this year but before we go, it's time to take a look at the year in review. And what a year it’s been. 2006 would have to go down as a turning point for Telstra. What with T3, Next G, and the FTTN fiasco, this surely can only get better for Australia’s incumbent telco, And because it's Christmas, there's no better time to talk about the PS3 and Zune!

Website of the week:

Gadget of the week:

As we reported a few weeks ago on Tech Talk Radio, Rupert Murdoch rattled the Australian Federal Governments cage telling it that Broadband in Australia is well below the standards set in Asia and the United States, and billions needed to be spent to bring it up to par with the rest of the world. Well, its seems that the dust is far from settling. When Helen Coonan was asked was Rupert Murdoch wrong when he said the quality of broadband services in Australia is a disgrace she responded…

"Well I don't think it reflects the competition that's taken place over the last few months and the exponential rollout of broadband, largely with government subsidies. We've already spent about a billion dollars on upgrading communications and have another $600 million now on the table with a tender process in place to enable the difficult areas in rural and regional Australia to be served by broadband, with Telstra or indeed other operators being able to bid for it."

And last week it was TELSTRA chief executive Sol Trujillo’s turn, when he conceded that Australian broadband speeds are a disgrace. Graeme Samuel from the ACCC added his 5 cents to the argument and told Telstra to stop blaming them for poor broadband in Australia.
 
Also on today's show, more on the current developments with Telstra, the ACCC and Coonan - from an ACCC perspective, Britain OKs Radio Transmitters for iPods, 2000 Year Old Computer sheds new light on ancient geeks, Hackers target VOIP, New AMD chips target heavy users, Vista debuts at big end of town, Warner to offer movies to burn, and a story held over from last week – LCD prices sets to fall.

Website of the week: Take a break! A site for plannng and booking your holiday within Australia

Gadget of the week: Petwatch feeds pets automatically

It’s now under a month to the day when the big man dress in red and white descends the chimney to spread good will and hopefully lots of techy presents under the Christmas tree, and then we’re all on holidays again. Flying is the easiest, and quite often the cheapest way to travel this large country of ours, so we thought who better to tell us all about the latest aviation news the retired Qantas pilot Mark Mayer. A travel item that’s fairly high in the cabin baggage stakes is the laptop computer, and with all the exploding batteries of late, we’ll find out what the official word is.

Also our regular US team member Lidija Davis joins us from the heart of Silicon Valley in Sunny California to tell us all the goings on in the tech world there, and today we speak of SEO or search engine optimization from a Google perspective – that’s web stuff for those who don’t have a clue about what I’m talking about, and a frightening new precedent set down in the US legal system about online plagiarism and slander – or is the liable…

Website of the week: http://www.retrothing.com/

Gadget of the week: TrackStick GPS Data Logger

Rupert Murdoch rattled the Federal Governments cage last week telling it that Broadband in Australia is well below the standards set in Asia and the United States.

Only in the last week or so, Telstra has opened up ADSL1 to it’s full potential of up to 8MBs for downloads. The big question that comes to mind is why has it taken so long, a question that will no doubt remain a secret. And speaking of secrets, TELSTRA and the competition watchdog are attempting to keep pivotal documents about an aborted deal to deliver high-speed broadband out of public sight in a crucial hearing about access to Telstra's network. What’s all this about then? Finally we’re starting to see some data rate increases across Australia’s broadband networks, but is it too little to late, and what about rural consumers living beyond the DSL range – their alternative at the moment is Telstra’s next G or satellite, but at what price? And ADSL2 is finally hitting the streets, primarily driven by competition. Here comes the new divide of the modern era – the digital divide.

If you’ve ever been to Melbourne, chances are you’ve driven on toll-ways operated by Citylink. The e-tag technology used on toll-ways like Citylink in and Around Australia is cutting edge. There’s been lot’s of misinformation surrounding just how it all works, until now, when in just a few moments we’ll welcome Tom Bueker – manager of tolling and traffic systems infrastructure with Transurban. Also on today’s show Suspected phishing gang arrested in Europe and US, Malware writers attempt to plant malicious code in Wikipedia and Doctor Ron tells us How to Revive a Wet Mobile Phone.

Website of the week: www.roadtraffic-technology.com

Gadget of the week: Microsoft's Zune play now released

If there’s one thing that that will always be a part of school life, it’s the school bully. We’ve all come across them in our time, and I’m sure you can still put a name to at least one from primary or secondary school. Tonight on Tech Talk Radio, we’re going to take a look at the impact of technology in the lives of our kids. The internet, mobile phones, SMS, Instant messaging and social networking sites such as myspace are now well and truly part of their world. This surely raises serious questions for parents, teachers, students, law enforcement and law makers alike. The most insidious of all scenarios is that bully has now become faceless, timeless, and more traumatic for the victim than ever before. Are parents aware of the pranks that their children are subject to or are perpetrating on others? Are they aware of the consequences of their children’s behavior in the online world?
Joining the panel this evening is senior constable Susan McLean from Victoria Police. Susan is based in Doncaster and is the youth resources officer for the Melbourne municipality of Manningham, Manningham comprises 8 or so suburbs to the east of the city and what would be considered to be a fairly affluent community.

Susan pointed us to the following sites for more information for parents and students:
Net Alert - Australia's Internet Safety Advisory Body
Net Smartz (US) - Keeping Kids and teens safer on the internet
iSafe America (US) - i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress

Telstra had quite a busy week last week leaving all their key media releases to last Friday, announcing the launch of their ADSL2+ packages, along with a new business only broadband service. The British scientist who developed the world wide web fears he’s created a monster, Vista and Office 2007 on track for a January Retail Release, and Universal signs up for Zune

Website of the week: The Reputation Defender (monitors activity of your children on-line)

Gadget of the week: DAS Keyboard / Booney Dolls

Ever wanted to build your own website and been discouraged by the technicalities of where to have your site hosted? Do the terms php, asp, and html run shivers up your spine? Tonight we’ll try and way-lay some of those fears when we welcome Thomas Robinson to the Tech Talk Radio Studios. Thomas represent Australia’s largest web hosting company, Web Central, which currently boasts around 80,000 customers, including the likes of Qantas and Telstra. We’ll take a look at current trends in the market place, the technologies available, and credit card gateways, as well as database and email management. And hopefully by the end of the show, you’ll know you POP from your SMTP at least.
 
Also Tonight, Youtube makes mobile plans, local politician Clem Newton-Brown turns to Youtube for electioneering, ANY attempt by internet service providers to favour some online services or restrict others to come under scrutiny of the competition regulator, Lidija Davis tells us what's happening in Palo Alto, California. Powertel put’s the heat on Telstra with the launch of it’s ADSL2+ network, and the Windows Vista journey is about to reach the end of the beginning, with the official launch date of November 30 announced for the simultaneous launch of Office 2007 and the business version of Windows Vista and prices.

Website of the week: Browsershots is a free online platform that allows you to see a screenshot of how your site looks in these browsers:

Linux: Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, Konqueror 3.5, Opera 9.0
Mac: Safari 2.0
Windows: MSIE 5.0, MSIE 5.5, MSIE 6.0, MSIE 7.0

Gadget of the week: NTT DoCoMo's new 3D Display: NTT DoCoMo announced last month that it has co-developed a portable, seven-inch 3D display system that can project 3D images without special glasses, and from an offset viewing angle.

It’s been a rather interesting week this week as worlds largest software developer, Microsoft, positions itself to roll out Vista, the windows XP replacement operating system, and the all new Office 2007 suite of applications. Last week both IE7 and Firefox two went online and was downloaded by millions of keen users all round the world – or was it? If you had your auto updates on for either of these applications, chances are they’re on your PC right now.
 
Also Tonight, We’ll take a look at the pros and cons of the new IE7, Microsoft launch new Vista upgrade incentive. Is Vodaphone about to bail out of the Australia’s Mobile market after 12 years, a next Gen update, Senator Coonan  announces a Review of local content obligations for regional radio, Google launches a new customisable search engine for other websites, and we take a look at the relationship between infertility in males and Mobile phones. All that and more on Australia’s Tech Talk Radio

Website of the week: http://www.econsultant.com/web2/
Web 2.0 directory

Gadget of the week: The most expensive mobile phone in the world

Well, you’d have to have been living under a rock not to know about Span, the scourge of the internet. Unsolicited electronic mail is being sent to recipients at an alarming rate, and growing. According to a recently released report, the incidence of spam mail has once again careened out of control, jumping 6.9% in June to a massive 64.8% of all emails sent in June 2006. There have been many theories about how to rid the world of ever increasing problem, some practical, some fanciful, and some downright ludicrous, but the Australian Government, through the Australian Communications and Media Authority, is trying to make a difference.  In the ACMA's first annual report released on October the 19th Registering the world’s first legislative code of practice for internet and email service providers was one of the highlights. In an important test case for the 2003 Spam Act, ACMA completed its first prosecution under the Act in the Federal Court in Perth. Bruce Matthews heads the Australian Governments Anti Spam team and he is our studio guest this today.

Also Tonight:

More and more people are escaping workaday reality by starting a new life in virtual reality. In 3D virtual worlds on the internet, you can create your own body and personality, meet virtual friends and carry out everyday activities. One online society, called Second Life, now has more than 1 million residents logging in around the world. But what are the risks? Social commentators are warning that some addicts of the virtual world run the risk of being trapped in a fantasy of cyber perfection. Also tonight, Microsoft Launch IE7, Apple shipped infected iPods, and a slamming report on Apple from Australia’s foremost consumer group Choice. We're also going to launch our new Tech Talk Web service! There’s website and gadget of the week and don’t forget the oddspot.

Website of the week: Popularity Dialler

Gadget of the week: Radio Controlled Shocking Battle Tanks!!

Tired of listening to the gabbling marketing dweebs down the hall? Fed up with your micro-managing incompetent boss? Have co-workers that are smarter than you? Challenge them all to a game of RC shocking laser tag, beat them, and then become the office legend you've always wanted to be.

How does it work? Simple. Each set comes with two R/C controllers and two tanks on different radio frequencies. Simply turn them on and try to shoot your opponents tank with your infra-red cannon. The tanks move forwards, backwards left and right just like any other tank. Each time you successfully hit your opponents tank, they will receive a shock from their controller. Winning a match requires five successive hits to your opponents tank. LEDs built into the tanks indicate the score. Handy wrist straps are built into each controller so that when you shock your boss and he freaks out and drops his controller, it won't hit the floor!

Features:
• Two remote controlled battled tanks with infra red guns
• Two control units with built in shocking function and speakers
• A direct hit on the tank shocks the driver via the control unit
• Indicator lights show when you have been hit. Five strikes and you're out
• Battle sound effects for added excitemen
• Two shock levels (wimp and tough guy) are available. How brave do you feel?
• Requires 6AA and 6AAA batteries (included!)

Warning: The Product Emits An Electric Shock. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for those under the age of 14. This is a novelty item, not a toy. May interfere with electrical devices such as pacemakers.

The smoke and mirrors seem to have put away this week as the fog clears on Next G. Media ownership and T3 have now taken the headlines in the main stream media so tonight a full panel will briefly discuss the technical side of Next G, how it works, and why. Also in the offering this week is Intel’s new Wimax technology. Nortel, the company who rolled out Telstra’s CDMA network Nortel claims that its mimo (multiple input multiple output) technology will enable operators to deliver video-grade content for as little as one-tenth the cost per bit of current 3G wireless networks, and "can deliver three times the speed and twice the subscriber capacity with greater range and building penetration in urban areas compared to non-mimo WiMAX solutions." Confused?  Stay tuned

Farmers sit on the fence over 3 G technologies. If you’ve had enough of telemarketers, Dr Ron has found a practical solution and somewhat unique scenario to get your own back and we hear a real-life example. Telstra is doing deals with movie studios and the BBC to provide content on Next Gen, Vista allows users to reinstall their expensive software acquisitions just once, Optus launch a new Satellite, and Vista limitations are becoming apparent.

Website of the week: www.led-live.com

Gadget of the week #1: Mosquito Click

Too often we find that our nights are spoilt by mosquitoes. Itchiness resulting from bites persists for a long time and if we give in to temptation to scratch, we end up with skin irritations that can be more serious than the initial bite. To eliminate these effects, a small and very practical device called the Mosquito-Click was invented.

Gadget of the week #2: Miniature fuel cell toy car and hydrogen refueling station

Well what a week in technology, or if you believe Australia’s incumbent and largest Telco’s CEO, Sol Trujillo , the 6 of Oct 2006 will change the life of Australians forever. Quite a bold statement by ant stretch of the imagination. No it wasn’t an act of terrorism or the death of a noted individual, The phone company just increased the data rate of its mobile phone network… hardly what you’d call earth shattering news but this is what Telsta’s top boss announced to the waiting media in Sydney last Friday despite the deluge of water cascading from the ceilings of venues on not one, but two occasions. The briefing on the company's progress was interrupted two and half hours into a day-long presentation when a light bulb exploded and set off a large fire sprinkler. Hundreds of analysts fled the room at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, grabbing their laptops, phones and notes, but many were soaked in the spray, including Mr Trujillo.  Some skeptics may call this Karma but it didn’t seem to dampen Sol’s enthusiasm.

Let’s take a look at the timing of this momentous occasion, it was the Friday preceeding the Monday when the launch of T3, the sale of the final parcel of Federal Government owned shares, was announced.  Sol said the day had been planned for over a year, but it was originally planned for December, and moved forward.

The Sunday prior to the Monday launch of T3 saw what we call in the business a road block on mainstream and Cable TV. Here, Telstra chose to air a two minute advertisement at the same time on each station between 8:50 pm and 9:10 pm selling the virtues of it’s new 850Mhz 3rg Generation phone network, in effect making it almost impossible to miss if you had the telly on, except if you were watching one of the government broadcasters. We’ll have a highlights package later in the show… just in case you missed it, or daylight saving got the better of you.

Not to be upstaged the week, the Senate enquiry into media ownership blew up in all out brew-ha-ha amongst coalition politicians. The outspoken Barnaby Joyce was in fine form.

Also Tonight

Microsoft’s new operating software Vista comes bundled with bigger and better anti piracy incentives. Printing your boarding pass at home soon to become a reality, the Do not call tender nears, meaning those pesky telemarketers days are nearing and end, and Optus launch a new 3G ad campaign,

Website of the week: elijournals.com

Get FREE tips, tricks, and timesaving techniques, designed to increase your productivity and expertise with the software applications you use each day—delivered to your email inbox.Each Tip is short, quick, and easy to read. Written by our expert editors, your tips will make you more productive right away. One tip could save you hours of time and effort, and be just the solution you need!

Gadget of the week: FMP3 Watch incorporates music player

Thanko engineers have managed to come up with the new FMP3 Watch which is equipped with an integrated MP3 player. You can choose from 512MB and 1GB models, depending on the amount of music that you carry along each time you leave the house. Supported audio formats include MP3 and WMA. The built-in FM radio comes in handy when you've run out of songs to listen to. There is no need to purchase any batteries for the FMP3 Watch as it is recharged via USB. Prices for the FMP3 Watch ranges anywhere between 113 Euros to 148 Euros. You've got to admit that listening to your music with a pair of headphone wires stuck to your timepiece will make you look rather daft, even if you're from Mars. Thanko could have done better by including Bluetooth connectivity for a wireless solution.

Justin Dunlop, Mac Guru returns to the tech talk radio studios to share his knowledge about the new mac OS, and gadgets, not to mention how well windows runs on his mac!

Justin has probably been collecting Apple Computer hardware since the day he started using them in 1980. Since then he has accumulated a large amount, and is quickly running out of space in his store room...

Also tonight Telstra’s at it again with more anti consumer behaviour as payphones hit the news again, Microsoft patch ie ahead of schedule only to find Powererpoint problems. Symantec are feeling the heat from Microsoft, Microsoft versus FairUse4WM test case for Digital Rights Management, and Apple quick with bug fix for latest iTunes.

Website of the week: http://jumpcut.com/
Editi your movies online with the follow benefits:
- Upload your own photos, video and audio
- Create and publish your own movies
- Grab and store shared media to use in your movies
- Share your movies with friends
- Embed your movies into a blog, MySpace, etc.
- Create your public profile
- Connect with people whose movies you like
- Post comments on movies and people
- Remix other people's movies

Gadget of the week: New batteries could oust lithium-ion

Zinc Matrix Power recently introduced its new rechargeable battery technology which is based on silver-zinc instead of lithium-ion that is pervasive in most rechargeable batteries today at the Intel Developers Forum. There are several advantages of the new batteries over current technology, including being safer, a much longer battery life, and more environmentally friendly as these battery cells are easy to recycle and reused. These new silver-zinc batteries will be available to manufacturers for evaluation and testing purposes early next year. Do you reckon Sony will start knocking on Zinc Matrix Power's doors in order to avoid the recent debacle concerning its range of exploding batteries?

There’s been some confusion in recent times about the new range of possibilities we have when it comes to mobile communications. There’s the new HSDPA or High Speed Downlink Packet Access which is being rolled out with the 3G or 3rd Generation mobile phone technology, in particular the 3G 850 network. Throw in to the mix television beamed directly to our mobile devices. It seems that will be here very soon as the tests for DVB-H have now been completed and we’re about to see a new bout of spectrum auctions for those media barons keen to invest in this new medium. But what are we going to see and what are we going to be looking at? And don’t think this with mobile phone technology because that’s just what it isn’t. Confused? Your not the only one. Tonight the panel will discuss where we’re at with HSDPA and DVB-H. Also Tonight....

More exploits for poor old IE, Packet sniffer causes divorce, A new web browser is now available that promises to protect  the privacy of internet surfers from “hostile governments” or “data thieves” , Senator Coonan expands ABC radio with 6 million listeners to benefit, and Vista in the firing line before it’s even on the market.

Website of the week: The Ninja Text Generator

Gadget of the week: The Remember Ring™ utilizes patent pending Hot Spot™ technology to deliver a reminder that it's "That time of the year again!"

Forty years after Captain Kirk and Crew zoomed off at warp speed to the final frontier, Star Trek returns to TV in the US this week with an extensive digital face-lift, Back on earth, Broadband in Australia reaches 3.5 million, Telstra goes schools on line rental, and the ACC warns over “missed call” spam. Graeme tells us about new hard drives, Telstra's new mobile for kids, Australian broadband hits 3.5 million and New exploits for IE and Firefox as will as Apples Quicktime. And lots more.

Website of the week: Fakename Generator.... for when the telemarketers get the better of you.

Gadget of the week: Mobe Charger - For those occasions when you need a bit of extra spark!

Tonight Peter Watson, Chief security Advisor - Microsoft Australia joins us in the Tech Talk Radio Studio. Vista and Office 2007 are just months away from general release, and we thought it timely to take a look at security and how thing may or may not have changed.

Peter's Microsoft bio reads:

Peter Watson is the Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft Australia, reporting directly to the country General Manager. Peter has worked within the computer security and control field for the last seventeen years. Peter performs the role of “trusted advisor” to some of Australia's and Asia Pacific's leading organisations, advising on trends and events in the broader security marketplace. His comprehensive security knowledge encompasses the life cycle of security from requirements, strategy, policy, standards through to architecture design, implementation and out-tasked management. Peter is extremely adept at assisting organisations in determining the value and benefits of security from a business perspective. A number of Australia's leading organisations have used Peter's security models to assist them in enacting security programs that are not only business risk driven but operationally achievable.

Also tonight, we'll revisit some of the more notable viruses and trojans that have caused havoc in the online world, Telstra are keeping up with the Jones's when it comes to those annoying caller tones, SpiralFrog free music gains momentum and Microsoft sees plenty of room for the growth in the digital player market.

Website of the week: Nomination from Alan Eade – resident TTR Ambulance Paramedic www.sja.org.uk/ifirstaid

Gadget of the week: YapperNut’s YapperMous

Voice over IP or  using a conventional telephone to make phone calls over the internet is gaining momentum at a rapid rate. Combine this technology, with very competitive mobile communications, and no wonder consumers in Australia are moving away from the traditional fixed line telephone. Tonight we’ll take a look at the new VOIP offerings from some providers and look at the hardware required. Also tonight, Vista is scheduled for launch early next year, and you can now pre order the Operating System through several organizations, but some early adapters say it’s way too expensive. Optus and Elders team up for Broadband connect, Mobile phones can’t keep secrets, We thought we had plenty of Sharks in Australia when it came to broadband providers, but Verizon raises the bar in the United States, Microsoft admits to a music hack for it’s Digital Rights Management, Samsung heralds the arrival of 4G Mobile phone technology and the browser wars hot up with Firefox 2 beta and IE7 release candidate 1 now available for download.  

Website of the week:In the spirit of improving communications with web site publishers, Google has launched a new website called Webmaster Central.

Gadget of the week: GENERATION iPod has a new fashion accessory - hi-tech backpacks that can function as the control centres of their increasingly digital lifestyles.

JOHN HOWARD: "We propose to offer to both retail and institutional investors in the order of $8 billion of stock in the Company. The sale will take place in October and November of this year."

Mark Mayer returns to the Tech Talk Radio studios to talk about Aviation.

We have Frappr Updates, Streaming updates, (yes we’re streaming again tonight)  AOL has announced it will offer movies from four major Hollywood studios for downloading on its new internet video service  Virgin Blue is about to become only the third airline in the world to offer live television on its flights, Microsoft puts up first IE7 release candidate and what is this T3 thing anyway?

Website of the week: http://popurls.com/ This is a daily collection of current, topical and interesting links.

Gadget of the week: The World’s Most Incredible Swiss-Army Knife!

Now if you’re the proud owner of a domain in the Australian name space .au, you’re no doubt aware that the going rate is about $45 for two years. Recently Tech Talk Radio was amongst many who received a rather official looking document soliciting $225 registration for the same name from a company called Domains Australia. Only because I was aware of the going rates, I stopped to read the fine print. The domain they wanted me to register was a .net.au instead of the .com.au. As a sweetener for the extortion offer they offered an MP3 Player. I was so infuriated by such a clever deception that I chose to ring the number on the extortion note – oh I mean official invoice, to find the number just ring out. Now it’s hit the mainstream media with the Australia’s peak internet name authority, auDA rolling up the sleeves to tackle Domains Australia.

Also today, the planets are in line for a shake up as our solar system grows at a rapid pace.

Payphones go VOIP, Telstra and Bigpond update their image, AOL goes after spammer’s gold, Crazy John and Melbourne IT join forces, and DVD's get ready for production runs of one! All that and more on Australia’s Tech Talk Radio.

Website of the week: www.wohba.com
Gadget of the week: The Dualjack is able to turn any standard power outlet into a telephone jack. It is compatible with both corded and cordless phones, answering machines, fax machines, PC mdoems, TiVo devices, and even VoIP adapters. You can also communicate between Dualjack extension units as if an intercom system is in place - all you need to do is to pick up the phone connected to any extension and press any number followed by the # key. The Dualjack costs $89.95 a pop and saves you the trouble of installing another phone jack by yourself.

Who said a day in politics was a long time? Well the same could certainly be said about technology. The compounding issues with Telstra and the Australian Consumer watch dog. The ACCC, have made for interesting times for the Australian Federal Government as the announcement for the sale of the remainder of Australia’s dominant 51% government owned Telco looms ever closer. To be or not to be, perhaps the most famous soliloquy in literature, in which these words reflect the state of desperation in which Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, finds himself as he contemplates suicide, could easily equate to Australian Prime minister John Howard’s dilemma where “to sell or not to sell Telstra” is shaping up to be a major issue in the run to the next poll a little over a year away and which may result in political suicide if the wrong decision is made.

Also tonight Telstra’s top Dog, Sol Trujillo gets a $2.1m bonus which, in the face of his antagonistic behavior of recent times, one might ask why?

Senator Coonan, Australia’s minister for Communications Information technology and the Arts says Labor’s spokesman Stephen Conroy is missing the point on broadband in Australia, Apple completes its transition to Intel, and Microsoft patches only 12 security threats to its stable of products.

Website of the week: The Age - Technology Tips from Fairfax Digital
Gadget of the week: The Virtual Laser Keyboard uses both infrared and laser technology to generate an invisible field and project a full-size virtual QWERTY keyboard onto any surface.

As we move more and more into the digital age, traditional communications such as analogue tv and radio are being steamrolled in the rush to go digital. It seems that if it isn’t digital then it isn’t good, well that’s what the ‘powers that be’ would have us believe…And who are these people anyway? Senator Coonan? Bill Gates, or maybe Steve Jobs? Some of the benefits of analogue broadcasting and norrow casting have by far greater benefits than that of digital, so why the push? The Australian Federal Government stands to earn millions, if not billions of dollars in spectrum sales as they compact what used to be once service per channel into many services per channel. Media tycoons also stand to increase their revenue as digital encoding or encyryption means you need a key to unlock the content on their broadcast services reguardless of how it’s broadcast.  Competition in our ‘connected global community’ will hopefully keep the moguls in line

Another digital transformation occurred last week which passed relatively un-noticed by the mainstream media, and one which should have received more attention than it did. In the wee small hours of Tuesday
August the first, Victoria Police turned off their analogue communications system in Melbourne which on the whole seems relatively harmless. What no one has told us is the pros and cons of the new Motorolla digital radio network to which vicpol now subscribe. Will public safety be an issue? And what of the safety of police members? The panel will reveal all later in the show.

Also tonight  How far can you shine a light? A couple of metres? A couple of kilometers? …  How about 167 km. Chris Long and Mike Groth spanned a 167 km path between Mount Barrow's South peak and Mount Wellington in Tasmania with audio modulated light beams. This was the culmination of about 35 years of intermittent experiments by the two, initially individually and later in association. We just had to as why? Also the Census is back,  Telstra is in the news, Coonan’s reforms are causing a ruckus, and Australia is becoming a test ground for new media!

Chris Long's website: www.bluehaze.com.au/modlight/
Our Gadeget of the week can be found here.

Everybody’s heard about it, some swear by it and others – we’ll they’re just terrified of it. Shopping online has traditionally been left to the geeks and die hard net junkies… until now. More and more people around the world are signing up to organizations such as ebay and using facilities like paypal to buy and sell new and used goods online. So we thought it high time to set the record straight and put everything you’ve heard into perspective, because these type of institutions are here to stay.

Also tonight Senator Coonan gets tough with the phone companies and reminds them what the Customer Service Guarantee is and increases the renumeration to us the poor customers who get stuffed about by these large organisations, The Tech Talk Radio Frappr community is growing strong after just two weeks in existence. Microsoft’s Zune (their equivalent to apples ipod) to become the new Xbox, but it may take 5 years. And ‘Man in the Middle’ attacks – the latest way the scammers are try to get your money. They’re real time, and happened to Citibank just last week.  All that and more on Australia’s Tech Talk Radio.

We ask the question, are all batteries the same? Have you walked down the isle in the local supermarket or tech store in quest of a battery for the digital camera or your small torch and wondered what the differences were between the brands? Well, there’s plenty so tonight we’ll find out when Bryan Ackerly joins the panel to discuss the pro’s and cons of the leading brands - In particular - the penlight or double AA batteries. We’ll look at the differences between Heavy and light loads, Carbon vs Alkaline vs Lithium, as well as the rechargeable NiMH / NiCd. -Storage and self discharge, and more importantly Purchase cost vs Cost per hour.

Also tonight, the price of plasma tv set is plunging, Trojan warnings for Google and myspace as well as virus warnings for Microsofts powerpoint.

Bryan's battery website: www.users.bigpond.net.au/vk3yng/batteries/aa_battery_comparison.htm

Tonight we take a thorough look at the new Cross Media Ownership laws and the new Media Framework for Australia as anounced last week by Senator Helen Coonan, and what it means for you and me.

The Australian Financial Review reports: Media reform is relative in Australia, where fear of offending media barons paralyses governments and leads to poor policies that short change consumers.

John Hartigan, News Ltd CEO, on ABC's radio in Sydney: It was not about consumer protection, it is about industry protection.

Media buyer Harold Mitchell, told The Financial Review: The government's intended changes appear to give the existing players some protection, at least into the foreseeable future and that this was a good thing...and

Foxtel CEO Kim Williams said  It's just more of the same old protectionism for the free-to-air networks who have done nothing for digital rollout in Australia and can't be relied upon for the future.

Well we haven’t seen a shake up like this in mainstream electronic media since the labour government last changed the laws back in 1987. Senator Helen Coonan unveiled John Howard’s New Media Framework which has consumers as the winners of this far sighted approach.  From first appearances this bill seems to meet that objective, but there are still many old dogs, that need to be taught new tricks.

Tonight on TTR we’re going to have a look at what this New Media Framework means to you and me, because the clock turn off of analogue TV is now only a few years away. If you’re in the market to replace or upgrade your existing TV or VCR, tonight is must hear radio.

Pod wars are imminent with the software giant Microsoft about to flex its muscles and try and remove apple’s ipod form the dominant portable music device in time for Christmas this year. Tonight we’ll see what’s up bills sleeve.

Also, Digital rights management is everywhere now from the watermark on the TV set to the ipod 5 plays and your out dilemma, so we thought it timely to discuss the pros and cons of these systems and how it affects the day to day use of home electronic equipment and attitudes towards copyright infringement.

As well, the attitude towards rolling out new technology in high speed internet is typified by local ISP Netspace’s sit on the fence policy, Paris has grand wifi plans and the Queensland cops move into the 21st century with their new Law enforcement assistance program called QPrime, which replaces more than 230 different IT systems.

Joining the panel this evening Paul Ramsbottom, Managing Director, Advanced Solutions International

Paul’s business helps the not for profit sector manage its members, communications and fundraising through leading software and training. Some of the organizations Paul deals with include CPA Australia, The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, The Australian Physiotherapy Association,  The Australian Medical Association, The Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland, The Cancer Council Victoria and Australian Bush Heritage Fund just to name a f