it.gen.nz

Writings on technology and society from Wellington, New Zealand

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Another map of the Web

As someone who once spent a few hours wandering around the Tokyo subway, and who loves the Web, this appeals to my sense of cool :-)

posted by colin at 8:31 pm  

Thursday, July 26, 2007

How to support your own computer

Today on Radio New Zealand National I talked about supporting your own computer. A little time invested up front can save you a great deal of bafflement and frustration. And, when choosing a computer, consider ease of use!
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posted by colin at 12:20 pm  

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Codes on the Internet

Back in May I talked about cryptography, which is the science of code making and code breaking. Although we tend to think of codes as a tool of war, they are utterly necessary to e-commerce on the Internet. As always, there are some links at the end.
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posted by colin at 12:19 pm  

Thursday, July 19, 2007

A rose by any other name – how domain names work

Today on Radio New Zealand National I talked about domain names on the Internet, where they came from, what they are, how you can get one and what you should pay for one. My notes are below the split, and as usual, there are some links at the end.

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posted by colin at 1:51 pm  

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Technology and privacy

On July 12th I talked on Radio New Zealand National about privacy and the impact of technology. The take-home message is that mass privacy invasion is very much a problem of the technological age and that there are sound reasons for trying to protect your privacy. My notes are below, and there are some links at the bottom of the page.

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posted by colin at 7:27 am  

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Hooking up with old friends on the Net

Today on Radio New Zealand National I talked about the social effect the Internet is having on people wanting regain touch with old friends. The discussion covered Oldfriends, Facebook, and the dangers of looking up old lovers online. There’s a generation coming up now that knows it won’t lose touch with its friends – and there are plenty of older folk trying to find people they used to know.

As always, there are some links at the end.

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posted by colin at 7:52 pm  

Sunday, July 1, 2007

iPhone hype

iPhoneOn 28th June 2007, I talked on Radio New Zealand National about the hype around the launch of Apple’s iPhone. The bottom line: there are outrageous amounts of hype, it’s a great-looking phone, and I’d love one!

My notes for the programme are below, and so are the links I gave out.

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posted by colin at 9:37 pm  

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Submarine cables – our world is wrapped in fibre

Ever wondered how the Internet and telephone calls make their way across the oceans and around the planet? The whole world is girdled in optic fibre. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Internet, and international phone calls would all have that satellite lag.

On the 6th of June 2007, in my regular technology slot on Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon programme, I talked about the history of the cables, how they work and which cables are in use around new Zealand today. Here are the notes of my comments, although I may not have stuck to them on air! At the end of the post are some links for further reading.

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posted by colin at 3:56 pm  

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