Life & Technology – 2GB 10th May, 2015

This week was privacy awareness week, an initiative designed to make people – well – more aware of their digital privacy. We got some research from Trend Micro and there’s actually some scary numbers in there. 41% of mobile users don’t use a password or pin to protect their smartphone. Considering that most of us are permanently signed into apps such as Facebook, Twitter and our email – apps that can often contain sensitivity personal information – it’s actually a bit shocking. If you’re listening and don’t have a PIN on your phone, please put on a PIN on your phone. It might mean you’re spending a few more seconds unlocking it, but it will make you a lot safer. Click here for a few more tips and tricks on improving your digital privacy.

 

I had the pleasure of having a chat with Guy Kawasaki this week – Apple's former chief evangelist. While at Apple, he spread "the good news" of the Mac, but now how's working on a project called Canva. Canva is a free to use design tool that's available right in your browser! As a former Apple staff member, Guy has a pretty interesting take on the Apple Watch and said that he's in two minds about it: on one hand, it's doing what your phone does, on the other, it does it in a more convenient way. 

 

Everyone has a different opinion of how much time we should spent online – kids often think they're entitled to much internet usage than their parents think is acceptable. This week at CeBIT I discovered a very cool Aussie start-up called Humbuzz who wants to help parents manage their children's online activity. David Britt, Humbuzz's co-founder, said he came up with the idea to solve a problem in his own life: his two teenage sons were using the internet too much. If it sounds like you've got the same problem, David is looking for families to help test Humbuzz, so visit Humbuzz.com.au if you want to sign up for the beta.

 

Windows 10 is coming this Winter, but that’s not all Microsoft has in store for us this year. Office 2016 will follow it in the spring, and be available for free to all Office 365 subscribers. Microsoft is again focussing on the cloud, and adding in some really cool features into its desktop applications. My favourite is real-time collaboration. With Word 2016, multiple people will be able to work on the same document at once, anywhere in the world. This is already available in the online version of Office, as well as apps like Google Docs, but it’s the first time we’ve seen something like this in a desktop application.

 

Following a public vote that received over 5000 submissions, Telstra has revealed the next 50 locations due to receive public Wi-Fi hotspots as part of its "Wi-Fi nation" initiative. Hobart, Bendigo, Adelaide and Brisbane were among the most requested areas, although the list included regional townships such as Shepparton, Dubbo and Bega. Click here for the whole list.

 

If you listened to the show this week and got excited about all the innovation happening in Australia at the money – and If you're interested in reading more about Australian tech, click here for a round up of some very cool home-grown gadgets.