Life & Technology

Steve asked me if I’d played much of the Rock Band: Beatles game, and I have. Given it a good go. I like being the drummer – brings the Ringo out in me! Graphics are Ok for this game, but what I really like is the music, which is outstanding. The publisher has really got this right.

Also mentioned was the Star Wars Jedi Training Tower. This is a bit pricey at $249, but the technology in it is really amazing. It uses brainwaves and wireless technology to move a ball up and down a little tower. You REALLY have to concentrate hard to make it work. As Steve said, so what? Well, what it does do is help you improve your concentration.

Had a few calls this morning with regard to the iPhone. John wanted to know if the Next G network would kick in if he left the ‘burbs and his 3G connection behind. Most iPhones should be synced up to both networks, but the only way to truly know is if you go to the Apple store and see if you SIM card is connected.

Dan was wondering if there was any way he could get his iPhone to sync with his PC without going through iTunes. Unfortunately not. There is some ripping software that can convert files so they can be downloaded. I will try and find the name of it and post it on here.

Another John was saying how he turned off his firewall in order to get his emails because they stopped coming through. This sounds like it could be a malware problem and he should run some security software through it. It is a very dangerous thing to turn off your firewall – a whole range of nasties could get in. Sure, you can switch it back on again after getting your emails, but it doesn’t take much to get a trojan in there.

Strange that a story out of the UK about Australia caught my eye this morning. It might have been reported before, but I haven’t seen it. According to The Register website Australia is considering adopting a code that would require ISP providers to contact, or even disconnect, customers with infected computers.

It is estimated that there are about 100,000 zombie computers in Australia. These are computers that, unbeknown to their owners, have malicious malware or spyware on them, and send out approximately 10,000 spam emails a day.

On the face of this, this is a good idea. It would encourage people to get decent security software and run it once a week to clean up their computer, and therefore reduce the risk of a computer becoming a zombie.
There are a couple of problems though. First is the cost. Some are worried that it might be cost too much. ISPs can block clients, but it can be expensive.

Then, there is the issue of privacy and the rule of thumb that is to be applied by the ISP. Do they have the right to disconnect you? And how ‘infected’ must a computer be before an ISP takes action? Who decides on infection rates? Or is it a case of the ISP looking out for the good of everyone else? And do they have that right?

It’ll be interesting to see what the outcome is. I can see both sides, and would certainly love a reduction in the amount of spam I get. Luckily most of mine goes straight into my junk folder, but I know that some people have it a lot worse than me. As I have stated a lot over the past couple of months, probably a good idea to get a decent security software solution anyway.

News out of Senator Stephen Conroy’s office confirms what we all know was coming sooner or later, and that is the Federal Government is hell-bent on splitting up the communications leviathan.

In one form or another Telstra has been the major player in Australia’s telecommunications industry from day one. Sure, there has been competition for both landlines and mobile/broadband, but everybody knows that it has always had a commercial advantage due to its large infrastructure that was already in place when 33 percent of the company was privatised in 1997. With the government ownership now down to 17 percent, it has decided that it’s time to put the company on an even more even keel.

Of course Telstra will not be happy about this split up, and you think the likes of Optus and Vodafone will be more than happy with the current state of play. And why wouldn’t the latter be particularly happy after playing on an uneven field for so long.

Splitting the business into both retail and wholesale businesses, in theory, should be better for the consumer. Suddenly the “buying” power, or features of Telstra, have shrunk. Sure, they’ll still have most 3G coverage for your mobile, but further on down the track when it comes to reinvesting in infrastructure, there won’t be so much money in the kitty. And this is where it should even out to a level playing field. It will take some time before the infrastructure will need replacing, but when it does, maybe it just won’t be Telstra that will be able to say they have “more coverage” than any other carrier.

As a word of note, I remember a good 10 years ago or more New Zealand privatised their power companies, with the then National (read: Liberal) government saying it would lead to more competitive pricing. It didn’t. It ended up like the petrol bowser prices – one would put their prices up, then the other would “match” it. Same thing could happen with the Telcos, but only time will give us the answer.