After the last couple of weeks, this week is relatively quiet in technology news.

The fallout from the E3 Media and business conference continues, as does the news and advancements in the iPhone market place.

iUsers beware

Wii shows its power

Aunty goes online

Wii are the champions

Australia getting faster

Letters being sent home

Monday 14th July 2008 - 18th July 2008

iUsers beware

With the introduction of the iPhone as well as other new mobile phones able to download data off the internet at high speeds the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ACCC, is warning consumers to watch what they do with the new phones and keep a close eye on their phone bills.

Due to the fact that if a user uses more than their allocated downloads per month they will be billed at massive rates if they continue to download things using their phones, and the mobile phone providers will not contact the users to inform them they are about to over spend.

Source ZDNet

Comment

When the iPhone was released and all 3 carriers in Australia released their pricing structures I found Optus was the cheapest and offered the best download allowances. Even so if you continue to use the iPhone, or any other mobile phone able to use the internet or emails, you always have to be aware that if you go over your allowance of data for the month you will be charged at a high rate, usually $1 per megabyte.

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Wii shows its power

A launch game for the XBox 360 will shortly be making its way to the Nintendo Wii.

Most games that appear on the Wii console, after they have been on the market, usually come from the Playstation 2, a console that is close to the Wii in terms of graphics ability. However a high definition game that was on the XBox 360 will be making the jump to the lower powered Nintendo Wii later this year.

Dead Rising is a game where you play a photo journalist dropped into a shopping centre over run with Zombies, where you must rescue people and survive to be rescued your self.

The game is slated for release in time for Christmas.

Source Gamespot

Comment

As surprising as it is for a XBox 360 to make the jump to the Wii, it is not surprising to see the graphics being toned down, and the number of characters on screen also taking a cut.

Dead rising was known for being a tough game, no doubt on the Wii it will be a little bit easier, and take advantage of the Wii's motion sensitive controls.

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Aunty goes online

This week the ABC in Australia launched their brand new online service that will allow people to watch their shows on the internet.

The new service allows people to watch any one of 6 new channels they have set up on the internet that cover a range of topics including news, children programming and popular shows from ABC 1 and 2.

The BBC, which has a similar service, has praised the ABC for setting up the service and noted the low set up costs.

You can see the site at abc.net.au

Source ZDNet

Comment

The ABC recommends people with fast broadband connections, at least 1.5Mb/s, use the site to get the most out of the service.

You should also take note that watching TV shows over the internet will use up your month downloads, but it will allow you to watch shows when ever you want.

iView is currently in a beta stage and is bound to have a few problems, but it shows the willingness for our TV stations to embrace the internet as a way of getting their shows to people for free.

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Wii are the champions

The Nintendo Wii is now officially the fastest growing, and number one home console in the world.

Last week details of the console sales for the US and Japan were released, this week it was Australia's turn, with the Wii becoming the first console to sell more than half a million units in less than 84 weeks, the previous fastest selling consoles were the Nintendo DS and Playstation 2 which took 107 weeks to reach the target.

Source Gamespot

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The Nintendo Wii has proved extremely popular with all age groups due to the ease of use and family friendly games.

The sale of half a million consoles in Australia is a major surprise in less than 2 years since the console was released and with the small population of the country.

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Australia getting faster

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that for the first time the number of house holds with broadband internet access is greater than the number with dial up access.

The ABS has found 43% of Australian house holds have broadband internet access against 20% with dial up access.

The last time the ABS looked into internet speeds in the home, 2004-05, they found only 16% had broadband speeds.

The report said "A reduction in the cost of broadband services over time is also likely to be a factor associated with the greater take-up of broadband in recent years,".

Source The Australian

Comment

With more than half the population of Australia having access to the internet at home it is no surprise that most businesses are starting to get an online presence.

With nearly 50% of homes on broadband internet access you will no doubt see more media companies start providing services that will take advantage of the faster access, at the detriment to the people who only have small download limits for the month.

Always be careful when you are getting faster internet connections that you are also getting more downloads for the month, other wise you could end up paying a lot of extra usage fees.

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Letters being sent home

Internet service providers in the UK are now sending letters to their customers who have been caught downloading music and movies illegally in an attempt to slow the use of peer to peer file sharing service such as Lime Wire and Kazaa.

The UK ISPs originally were not going to send letters to their customers but the UK government informed them that if they didn't they would legislate the need for the letters to be sent out.

it is alleged that the illegal sharing of movies and music in the UK is costing the UK industry millions in lost revenue each year.

Source Reuters

Comment

I am always surprised by the endless battle between the public and the music and movie industries.

Since the era of the mix tape, through Napster and now the latest generation of peer to peer file sharing networks, the industries have always tried to enforce their copyright laws, and their customers, usually trying something different, try and find a way to circumvent the law.

Threats of lawsuits and closing down file sharing networks might seem like a good idea to the people running the industries affect by pirating but it just enforces the feeling that they are taking advantage of the general public.

When organisations have embraced peer to peer networks, as some media companies have started to do, they find they can be a success and even sell advertising based on the fact they are getting the eye balls they want.

The world of technology has moved further forward and only the smart media organisations will continue into the future. 

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