Category: Blog

This morning on 2UE with Steve Price, caller Dave asked me for a rugged phone that could survive the smash, bash and wallops of everyday use. There was one I viewed recently, but I couldn’t remember the exact name of it. Thanks to the alert folk at a certain PR agency, I have the name of the phone. It is the Samsung B2700, which according the blurb on the Samsung website is “a robust anti-shock coating and an IP54 rating against dust and water”. There you go Dave, hope it helps. For more info on the unit, go here.

A report out by market research company IDC has found that piracy rates of software in Australia has dropped 2 percent, from 28 percent last year.

Now before we start patting ourselves on the back about how honest we’re becoming, I don’t know if it’s peoples’ conscience at play here, or maybe a more practical reason for the decline.

I remember four years ago getting a letter from the anti-piracy folk who said we were running pirated management software on one of our computers. A disgruntled employee had told them this was the case, and to be honest, we had no idea. It took us a while to hunt down the item they were talking about, and as soon as we found it after an internal audit, we kicked it to touch.

But here’s the thing. We knew we had to find some legitimate software, but realised it might cost the earth. However, after roaming the net we found some open source software that meet some of our needs. To fill in the gaps that the open source gear couldn’t accommodate, we spent about $2,000 on licenses. In the end, it turned out it was not a very expensive exercise. And, I think you will find this is one of the main reasons people have decided to go legit – it no longer as prohibitive on their bottom line as it once was.

Of course, there is the “we’re getting more honest” argument to fall back on.

After watching the recent series of Underbelly, which was set in the 1970s, you forget how good the criminals had it back in the day. None of the state police forces worked in tandem, there were no databases, and DNA evidence wasn’t even on the radar.

Today, being a criminal must be hard work – not just to earn a dollar but to stay one step ahead of the law. Think about it – there are street cameras everywhere; there is a DNA database that is being added to every day; there are new ways of tracing criminal activity; databases are shared by a mere click of the button; and the Internet can get a criminal’s ugly mug to millions of people in a matter of seconds.

Take William Stewart for instance, who has become a bit of a folk hero in New Zealand over the past few weeks. This guy, if he wants to stay free, would not want his face plastered all over the Internet. Now he has, not one, but two Facebook pages dedicated to his exploits and some wily entrepreneur has started selling Billy the Hunted One t-shirts online.

Dont’ get me wrong, I’m not that naïve to think that criminals haven’t also moved with the times and are using technology to help their cause, too. They can track police scanners, use mobile phones to talk to each other, and, especially in the case of cybercrime, have found fresh fields to do what they do.

However, I can’t help but feel that technology has given law enforcement more help than the criminal. Here’s hoping it continues.