By Barney on July 3, 2009
I’ve been listening to Triple J recently, and generally on my way home, I listen to the Hack radio program.
This week they have been talking about what it is to be a man as part of Man Week.
There are a number of issues and opinions that many people consider about what it means to be a man. Everyone has their own opinions and ideas, and I have my own as well. I’m not really wanting to share my opinions with you, as some of them may not be too your liking.
Hack is a very good little radio program, however I would love to see it turned into something a little longer. Maybe an hour long show rather than the 30 minute show that it currently is. Just my humble opinion.
Posted in Random | Tagged hack, radio |
By Barney on July 2, 2009
I would love to get my hands on a Google Android mobile phone. Unfortunately it won’t be any time soon unless someone is willing to let me test drive an Android phone.
So the Android is Google’s take to the phone market. It is a phone operating system created by the developers at Google. As you are well aware, Google is trying to infiltrate all of our lives in one way or another, whether it is using and internet search, email (GMail), RSS reader (Google Reader), internet browser (Chrome), and now the Android operating system.
However, it is an open source project, so that is one reason that I am interested in seeing how it performs. I am led to believe that being open source means that people can investigate how it runs, and find out whether Google has installed any backdoors, or sends information to itself about how the phone is used. I’m not aware of that, but only because I haven’t really had much time to investigate.
One of the first phones in Australia to come with the Android operating system is the Samsung Galaxy. I would love to get my hands on that phone, even if only for a week.
So if anyone out there is willing to lend me their phone, or even have Samsung provide me with a test phone, I would be more than happy to provide a review about it after the test period. So if anyone out there reading this works for Samsung, can you pull me a favour and get a trial version of the Samsung Galaxy please.
Posted in Feelings | Tagged android, google, mobile, phone |
By Barney on June 29, 2009
Why do I have to live in Australia? I live in a place where we are the furthest from the internet hubs of America and Europe, and to make matters worse, we have fairly slow broadband internet connections, with undersized usage limits.
We currently pay $45AUD (or $36USD) per month for our internet connection, which I would call a fairly average plan within suburban Australia. It has a 10GB download limit, and a speed cap of 512kbps.
Now if I go and look at an equivalent priced American internet service provider (I’m struggling to find anything remotely in the same price range), I found a $35USD plan for California from AT&T. The plan includes a down speed of 6.0Mbps and up of 768kbps. I’m not sure if there is a cap on downloads, but I would jump at a plan like that in a heart beat here in Australia.
We are just so far behind the game when it comes to broadband internet, it just isn’t funny anymore.
The federal government has proposed, and budgeted for the National Broadband Network following the failed tender process for the construction of the network. The Government proposes that the network will provide 100Mbps internet connections to almost 90% of residential homes within Australia. It is proposed that the network will provide fibro optic internet directly to the residential property. Such an ambitious feat for the current government. It won’t be fully constructed for eight (8) years, however, they will be starting construction in Tasmania in the next few months.
What I find ridiculous, is the fact that there is no plan, no business plan created, BUT they are asking regular tax paying Australians to help finance a project privately, that has no business plan behind it. Now my tax dollars are already financing it, plus they want me to invest more, yeah right.
I don’t quite think they have thought it out properly yet, not sure if they actually will, only time will tell.
What are your ideas about this scale of network being constructed?
Posted in Feelings | Tagged broadband, connection, internet |
By Barney on June 25, 2009
I’ve see Sydney from both the air, and the ground, and it is just one of the most unpleasant cities to live in.
I know I haven’t really experienced other cities fully, but what I have seen of other cities is that they are just so much more exciting than Sydney is.
The Opera House at Sunset. Photo by Blently
There are only two attractions worth mentioning in Sydney anymore, the Harbour Bridge, and the Sydney Opera House. Now I can think so one or two positions where you can put both of those icons in the same photo, and say you have seen all that Sydney has to offer in less than 5 seconds. Just look at the photo to the right. Both are even in the same photo, although you have to travel at the right time of day/night to get photos like these. They are just amazing.
I find that it is photos like these that attract people to Sydney, and when they arrive, they find that they can’t reproduce the same effect that the photos have in them. So annoying, and false advertising in my humble opinion. Maybe I’m just a pessimist as some people have called me.
The Harbour Bridge under lights. Photo by apdk
The public transport is so poor and confusing, travelling in comfort on public transport means you can only use it at certain times of the day, and they are very short as well. Sydney just isn’t a place that I would want to attend as a tourist. I haven’t travelled on public transport in overseas cities, something I must do, but it just seems to be so much easier and quicker than that run in Sydney.
I know I am sick of living in Sydney, and can’t wait to actually move away, not sure where to though. Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth at the moment, maybe somewhere overseas. Only time will tell.
Based on Richard Ackland’s SMH Article.
Posted in Feelings | Tagged drab, sydney |
By Barney on June 22, 2009
Someone is finally standing up against the iPhone and iPod craze going around at the moment.
Jon Lech Johansen is finally taking on Apple and their DRM encryption for songs bought from the iTunes store. He is otherwise known as DVD Jon for being the first person to crack DVD encryption, he did it at just 15 years of age.
His new company, doubleTwist, is tackling Apple head on. They produced an advertisement for the software which allows users to use the music they have purchased from the iTunes store, to be used on any non-Apple audio devices. This advertisement poster was placed on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station entrance located adjacent to the Apple store in San Fransisco.
Now from history, Apple has been a major advertiser on BART trains and stations.
Jon finds is suspicious that his ad was taken down the day after it was placed, and say “It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here… I’m sure our ad will conveniently be back up after WWDC ends [on Friday, June 12th].”
I’m not sure if it is still up, I’m sure it is, unfortunately I can’t be there to see, but I wish the best of luck to Jon and the doubleTwist team.
I’m looking for your thoughts now, do you think that Apple has said they want the ad removed, or was it really removed to being too black/white? Let us know your thoughts, feelings and ideas about the situation and circumstances.
Based upon an Asher Moses SMH article.
Posted in Feelings | Tagged advertising, apple |
