Smoke & Mirrors

Beware of keyloggers: digital stalking is stalking

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:54:05 GMT

Last week I was asked for advice about a person who thought that their partner was digitally tracking them through the use of keyloggers. The more I heard the more convinced I was that keylogging ...

Data flows at hackathon

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:04:00 GMT

Earlier this month The Age’s data journalism team opened the doors to Melbourne’s data community in the form of a hackathon. The aim of the event was to explore the ...

Gazing into the future

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:56:47 GMT

Global Trends 2030: Alternate Worlds is a document published by the US National Intelligence Council that “provides a framework for thinking about the future”. It is not so ...

Developer boot camp on track

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:28:54 GMT

Prepare yourself for a surge of US style developer “boot camps” which have become a companion to the start-up phenomenon. Increasingly common in San Francisco and New York, ...

Developer boot camps on track

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:28:54 GMT

Prepare yourself for a surge in the US-style developer “boot camps” that have become companions to the start-up phenomenon. Increasingly common in San Francisco and New York, ...

Intel socket decision may kill PC soul

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:01:11 GMT

For many people, part of the PC's charm was that is was possible to tailor it to your own specifications. You could upgrade or replace the mainboard alone, or the processor or ...

Size still matters in e-marketing?

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:01:12 GMT

A few weeks back gym chain Fitness First sent out a “welcome” email to lapsed members. The email was obviously a mistake and was followed up by an apology. Reactions to the spam ranged ...

Taking the snake oil out of SEO

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:01:26 GMT

Among my technology peers there are certain terms that are almost guaranteed to get some eyes vigorously rolling - such as Y2K, Web 2.0, SEO.

In website design meetings, as soon as a ...

Google's browser tough love

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 13:01:38 GMT

Those counting on Google Apps will have to let go of Internet Explorer 8.

Google’s browser support philosophy of “one version behind current” is about to come into ...

Kick-starting Australian game studios

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:01:19 GMT

Links to crowd-funding darling Kickstarter have almost become a daily occurrence in my email and social media feeds. It always seems that at least someone I know is keen for me to support some ...

Microsoft Windows 8 - all or nothing?

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:01:52 GMT

With the release of Microsoft Windows 8 late last week still fresh in our minds, some commentary by tech analyst Jeff Kagan really stood out for me.

Kagan is reported (on this site) to have ...

Tablet pricing strategies: more than meets the eye

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 23:18:23 GMT

Last week saw several tablet news announcements, some official, others not.

Microsoft’s entry into tablet computing with its Surface offering is imminent, with the Redmond software ...

Bundle of joy: winning formula tested on e-books

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:53:32 GMT

One of the fundamental design principles of the internet is its distributed and routable nature. It was designed to work around parts of the network that have been taken offline. We've seen it ...

Time to rise above the tech hype

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:55:56 GMT

I have just returned from two weeks' annual leave. My holiday involved lots of sun, the beach and no internet connection.

To my surprise, in the cafes and ice-creameries of the village ...

Canonical gets into bed with Amazon

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:49:52 GMT

The Ubuntu 12.10 operating system will be released in a few weeks and already it is making waves for all the wrong reasons. Canonical — the company behind the popular distribution of ...

Online heroes: how technologies shaped internet history

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:39:12 GMT

As the web matures, the commercialisation pattern is changing – new opportunities to make money arise while the incumbent “cash cows” become commodities and the ...

Trolls are bullies, no new laws required

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 14:01:00 GMT

Australia apparently has a troll problem. When footballers call prime ministers, attorneys-general get involved, it seems.

Originally internet “trolls” got their kicks from ...

IT professionals in the newsroom

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:01:00 GMT

Part of my role at Fairfax Media is to use my software and data management background, working with news editorial staff to create data-driven journalism.

Terms such as data-driven and ...

Patent battles are a worry for developers

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 00:03:05 GMT

The Apple versus Samsung patent battle has moved to the next stage of litigation tomfoolery with a US jury finding that Samsung has wilfully infringed on more than one of Apple’s smartphone ...

Hyper business basics

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:06:11 GMT

Last week at the Smart Services CRC partner conference (of which Fairfax Media is a participant) the keynote address was delivered by VRML co-creator Mark Pesce. The theme of the talk was ...

A new chapter for Twitter

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:28:56 GMT

Twitter is a strange beast. In my own social circles, both technical and non-technical, it is the one that causes the most debate between fans and foes. It seems that the little blue bird is a bit ...

LendInk fiasco keeps rights management issue burning

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:06:32 GMT

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a thorny issue at the best of times, often used in blunt and punishing ways against those loyal customers who, in effect, are playing by the rules in the first ...

Google lays down the law

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:01:30 GMT

One of the philosophical differences between Apple and Google in the smartphone space is where the perception of control lies.

To hijack some terminology from Eric Raymond’s ...

Fresh eyes on Linux

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:01:30 GMT

On July 16, game publisher Valve created Steam’d Penguins and formally announced their entry into development and promotion of the gaming scene for Linux.

For years there ...

RMIT to 3D rescue

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 04:10:26 GMT

RMIT recently unveiled a new project to try to improve 3D video quality and standards adoption by releasing a library of high definition, uncompressed stereoscopic videos for researchers and ...