Technogaze

It was Radiothon week and Mark, Michael, Raena and Josh Re:membered JOY along with Craig and Luke.

On the Tech front, a specially crafted text message has been able to crash any iOS device. The bug, in a widely used Apple library, also affects OS X and the Apple watch.

Our tin foil crinkled loudly when we heard that a National Face Recognition System was to be setup as a joint project between various law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, Interpol has chastised Australia as not supplying biometric data when requested. Citing disparate law enforcement agencies and multiple instances of red tape as a major blocker.

Android Auto, finally made it to its first production vehicle and Google I/O produced a slew a announcements. Amongst them the next iteration of Android – M. Incorporating fine grained app permissions as well as Doze mode.

The Kiwis are using the net to crowdsource finalists for a potential flag redesign should the upcoming referendum vote in favour of a flag change.

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In this episode, the old gang are back together, with Ranea joining Michael and Mark from across the ditch via the wonders of fibre optic cable.  We started off with LG’s latest prototype screen, a 1mm thick, 55″ panel that weighs in at just 1.8kg, and sticks to the wall via a magnetic backing.

Uber made local news this week, pushing back against the Australian Tax Office’s stipulation that Uber drivers must charge GST like all other taxi drivers.  Some news for the aviation buffs as well, with a hacker declaring he has been able to gain access to the flight control systems of 20 different airliners while on-board.

Fernando and Behnaz joined us in the studio to talk about their research into video conferencing, focussing on the physical context, and determining whether we adjust our conversation based on our surrounds and the types of technology being used.

And finally, we had a go at Facebook’s “internet.org” campaign, and some timely (but non-legal!) advice for anyone who may be accused of downloading the Dallas Buyers Club illegally.

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On this show, Mark returned to the helm while Michael pushed the all-important buttons, and Jason made his way all the way down from Sydney to bring you the latest in tech.  We kicked off with musings on Windows 10, the history of versions, the latest features, and no less than 7 editions that will be made available for Windows vNext.

News of extraordinary numbers of Australians taking up Netflix surfaced during the week, placing it above industry stalwart Foxtel, only to be corrected; the numbers were a minor embellishment from an overzealous research company.

We did a rumours-round-up of the upcoming iPhone, and discussed failings of Russian Siri, which seems to consider the Russian word for “gay” as profanity. We also touched on Samsung’s latest watch offering, and the latest DDoS vector, aimed at home Internet routers.

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Mark, Michael and Craig were lured into the studio this week on the promise of Raspberry Pie – Ice Cream optional. Their hips, however, were thankful when they found out it was the sub-$50 Raspberry Pi computer and not the dessert. Moving into the business world, the board on a computer can now be used as a thin client. Extending the concept of small, Microsoft spoke about the Nano Server at its annual Build developer conference. A variant of the next iteration of Windows Server, it will feature a small footprint, making it suitable for cloud deployment.

Tesla are leveraging their knowledge in batteries by releasing a line of batteries intended for home and business use to augment power from renewable energy sources. Advances in battery technology using aluminium will decrease charging time and extend the life of batteries. Don’t hop in the car just yet to go buy one as it’s likely to be a decade before these batteries are commercially available.

Journalist Ben Grubb has been victorious in getting access to his mobile data metadata from Telstra, after the Privacy Commissioner ruled in his favour – 688 days after he made his request. Telstra are likely to appeal this ruling.

Some people might not like the new Apple Watch, but one user who is blind and deaf thinks that it’s haptic feedback is a boon as she is able to navigate by the taps that she feels on her wrist.

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In the studio this week was Michael, Nicole & Luke talking about Apple’s quarterly results and initial feedback on the watch, as it started shipping. Tattoos and Qantas are issues.

Traditional logistic methods are being challenged with a new drone capable of reforesting 1 billion trees a year and Amazon piloting deliveries to your car boot. Sweden’s Uppsala University is releasing DNA mapped sequences under Open Source licensing to make this information available to the scientific community.

Using every opportunity to enforce it’s anti-Gay laws, Russia has accused Apple of promoting Gay Propaganda when it included U2’s album in last years iTunes update. The cover of the album featured the bands drummer and son embracing, shirtless.

Backlash from the gaming community forced Valve to shutdown it’s Mods store. This was an attempt to monetise mods by selling them on their store and splitting revenue between the mod & game developer and Valve. They voluntarily shut down the store after 4 days of protest.

Wheelchair bound 73yo Stephen Hawking displayed a sense of humour when asked about Zayn Malik leaving One Direction.

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It was a jam packed show this week with Michael, Nicole & Donna looking at the fallout from Google changing the behaviour of their search engine to promote mobile friendly websites. This only applies if you are searching from your mobile device and rankings remain unchanged from desktops and tablets. Meanwhile a zero day vulnerability in iOS can crash any device that is within radio range of a malicious WiFi Access Point.

We had Rune in the studio to find out more about National Youth Week. We asked her how young people are using technology and we got some insights in how the next generation are likely to relate to and use Technology.

Marvel Comics have revealed that X-Men character IceMan is gay in their latest edition with a story line that brings a young Bobby Drake into the future to reveal his story.

Meanwhile Twitter, who has admitted at being slow to combat harassment, has introduced new rules and tools to combat online bullying. Unfortunately this came too late for Jack Monroe, who as a prominent foodie and LGBTIQ identity was harassed after her support of the Greens and has abandoned the platform.

Our Ausdroidist, Jason Murray, joined us on the phone to talk about the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Changes to Android Wear were made this last week and we looked at some it’s new features.

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Michael, Nicole & Josh were in the studio this week looking at the Apple watch, as it just went on pre-order. App makers for the watch were releasing new software with a number focused on health.

Robotics is an emerging technology, with drones being a very visible part of it. A new drone from Canada has some interesting features including the ability to fly a route under control and then let the operator ttweak its path, so that if you are shooting video or stills you end up with the perfect result.

Apple and Microsoft have just released new iterations of their portable devices with the lightweight

MacbokPro being criticised for it’s lack of ports – with its headphone jack and a single USB-C port for power and anything else you wish to use it with. The Surface 3 drops the need to run Windows RT  with its Intel processor running proper Windows and has generally be well received.

Jawbone have released an NFC equipped fitness tracker that you can use instead on your credit card and Ikea is rolling out smart furniture that will wirelessly recharge your phone.

However, nothing prepared us for the soft 3D printed bunny.

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The resume button was pressed and Technogaze booted back On Air at it’s new time of 5pm on Saturdays. Michael, Nicole and Donna were eager to launch into Techdrive – with this year’s goal to buy a new Transmitter.

As usual there was a lot to talk about. With .com power being applied in Indiana to force changes to a new law that allowed discrimination against members of the LGBTIQ community. Specifically the changes remove the right to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation/and or gender identity – regardless of your religious beliefs. A similar law in Arkansas has been held up, when its Governor refused to proclaim it.

In Australia the Senate passed the Mandatory Data Retention Legislation with dissent coming from Independents and the Greens. Protection of Journalistic metadata exists in name only, despite assurances from senior politicians and Malcolm Turnbull kindly offered advice on how to avoid having your metadata captured by the new laws.

Netflix launched in Australia and New Zealand, prompting its competitors to launch or relaunch similar offerings. Netflix customers on iiNET and Optus will be happy with the un-metering of the traffic. The same cannot be said of all the other non-Netflix customers on those ISPs who saw the performance of the network overall drop as thousands flocked to the new streaming service.

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In this – the final episode for 2014 – Michael and Mark discussed Tim Cook’s substantial contribution to a campaign promoting GLBTIQ acceptance in the Southern US states of Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi.  Popular photo sharing app Intagram performed what has now been dubbed the “Instagram Rapture” – disabling millions of accounts that were deemed to be fake or spam (Justin Bieber alone lost 3.5 million followers as a result).

Rumours are swirling around that the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (estimated to be worth USD $20bn) is gearing up to begin manufacturing its very own gaming console, to take on Microsoft’s XBox and Sony’s Playstation ecosystems.  Sony has decided to stand up to the hacking and threats of terrorist acts over the release of its recent movie “The Interview” – with select cinemas across the US deciding to screen the movie afterall, and a further online release on Google, Microsoft and Sony movie services.

Back in the land down under, the Australian government, in an effort to understand the impact of its proposed data retention laws, has released a questionaire to ISPs, requiring them to complete a response in 14 business days.

And finally, the French are up in arms over use of the acronym “LOL”, declaring that full word phrases such as “mort de rire” are best use of the language of romance.

Tune in next week as it’s our final week before a three month break!

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Donna returned this week with Mark and Michael and fellow JOYster Jono. News was in the News with Google removing all links to Spanish newspapers from its News site to comply with a recent law that forces aggregators to pay if they display text from a newspaper.  New dating app Scissr expands the availability of options for Lesbians wishing to connect with other women.

The Sony Pictures hack continues to make news, with threats of violence against the screening of the movie The Interview behind the cancellation of its release. The US Government is officially pointing the finger at North Korea and news sources continue to report on details of leaked documents. Sands Casino in Las vegas was also attacked earlier this year by Iranian hacktivists following anti-Iran remarks by the the Casino’s CEO.

Microsoft is now accepting Bitcoin to top up your Microsoft Wallet and the NBN has reached new agreements with Telstra and Optus to take ownership of existing copper and cable infrastructure instead of scrapping it.  Telstra is also in the running to maintain these networks on an ongoing basis.

The Technogaze team wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

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