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Oonagh Reidy

Mac Mini-Me: Apple Packs Intel Core i5 Punch $699

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Mac has gone mini. Packing the same punch as its MacBook Air big brother, Apple’s new mini boasts dual-core Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics or a quad-core Core i7 server (3 options).And at just 19.7 cm square and 3.6 cm thin, it lives up to its name with a compact aluminium design, making it an ideal office partner.

Running on Mac’s new Lion X OS, features include: new Multi-Touch gestures, system-wide support for full screen apps as well as Mission Control, giving users an “innovative view of everything” running on a Mac.
Mini’s Thunderbolt I/O allowing connection to peripheral devices and RAID arrays through a single cable, and iLife apps for multimedia management. 

 “Ulta fast” Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an impressive four USB ports (two more than MacBook Air) are all standard on mini desktop.  
 With three configuration choices as above, other options include up to 8GBs of memory, a faster 7200 RPM hard drive and a 256GB solid state drive. 
 However, in a departure from previous models, mini lacks a disc drive, so not ideal if watching DVD’s is your thing. However,  hook it up to a PC, laptop, or MacBook Air SuperDrive and away you go. 
 “The new Mac mini delivers up to twice the processor and graphics performance of the previous generation in the same amazingly compact and efficient aluminium design,” Apple said yesterday. 
 Mini prices start at AUD$699 inc GST and hit stores from today. 
 “Mac mini delivers the speed and expandability that makes it perfect for the desktop, living room or office,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. 
 “With faster processors, more powerful graphics and Thunderbolt in an incredibly compact, aluminium design, the new Mac mini is more versatile than ever.” 
 The desktop is the industry’s greenest, Apple claims, and meets standards like Energy Star 5.2, has a highly recyclable aluminium enclosure and PVC-free components.
 

Several other options are also available. 

For more information on specs and configurations visit www.apple.com/au/macmini/features.html.

Wii U: No Way Cry Critics

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The widespread rejection of the Wii U comes as a surprise to Nintendo who says it has to be played to be understood.


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Shares in Nintendo have slid deeper every day – 10 per cent in total – since the 6.2 inch touch screen tablet gaming device, the Wii U, was launched at E3 Expo on Tuesday, to somewhat mixed reactions.

Wii U also has a 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analogue Circle Pads a microphone, stereo speakers and “removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the game world,” Nintendo says.

Analysts are doubting whether the device can cope against full multimedia tablets like the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab, although some gaming reviewers on the other hand appear enamoured, although admitting it is a completely different type of gaming experience.

“What is an iPad doing in my game control?” one gamer was heard uttering at the Computex demo event.

“How is holding up another, smaller screen in front of your big TV screen any better,” another critic cried in an online forum.

Screen Digest’s Piers Harding-Rolls thinks Wii U may confuse people with its “complex vision”. “I don’t believe that this proposition is as mainstream as the original Wii,” he said, because Wii had a “more simple message”.

And the reaction has also left Nintendo scratching its head, with CEO  admitting “it’s very strange.”

“Honestly speaking, the reaction to (Tuesday’s) presentation and what I heard from people I met and the mood of the convention did not chime at all with what happened in the stock market,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview on Wednesday.

 

Strange indeed. However, one must not forget that the launch of the original Wii was also met with mixed reaction and went on to be a gaming sensation, creating a whole new category which Microsoft Kinect among others looked to replicate.

$36B NBN To Make Oz Digital Powerhouse But Its A Costly Business

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Australia will be an online force to be reckoned with by 2020, CeBIT conference was told today.


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And it will place down under at the cutting edge of the digital age in 10 years, the minister for Communications and Broadband believes.

And it’s all thanks to the NBN, the $36bn Federal government project bringing high speed broadband to the nation which has just announced a further spend of $60 million plus, part of which will involve $23.8m for buillding of ‘digital communities’ and ‘hubs’ in each of the 40 communities to receive NBN services.

Senator Stephen Conroy, minister for Broadband and Communications was at the CeBIT conference today launching the National Digital Economy Strategy, which he says will help boost the economy and maintain global competitiveness.

It will also transform Oz into an e powerhouse and put us on a global ranking among the top 5 OECD countries in the portion of businesses using online opportunities as well as households that are connected to broadband.

Teleworking is also to become prevalent and at least 12 per cent of Australians may work away from the traditional workplace. Business will also harness the high speed internet to drive productivity improvements and expand their customer base.

But it’s not just business that the NBN will boost. There are tangible social wellbeing benefits – including better access to health and education services, Senator Conroy believes, announcing the allocation of $3.5m for a trial of in-home telehealth services for Australians with diabetes living in Townsville.

90 per cent of high priority consumers will be able to access individual electronic health records and by 2020, 25 per cent of all specialists will be delivering telehealth consultations to remote patients.

The majority of Australian households and businesses will have access to smart technology to better manage their energy use.

“Building the NBN is a key step towards that vision, which has as one of its goals Australia being among the top five OECD countries by 2020 when it comes to the percentage of households connected to broadband at home,” Senator Conroy said.

“By connecting to high-speed broadband, households will benefit through savings generated from time-saving activities such as telecommuting for remote work and study and improved access to business and job opportunities, health, education, social and government services.”

The Federal government is also to provide $12.4m to a Digital Enterprises initiative to SMB’s and not-for-profits “fully utilise” the broadband network in the 40 NBN installed communities.

CeBIT technology conference opened in Sydney today.

NakedOffice Exposes Dirt OZ Top Co’s

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The claws are out for dodgy employers in OZ as staff reveal what its really like to work in some of Aussie’s top companies.


Image credit: Virgin

Telcos and retailers including Dick Smith, Optus and iiNet are all shown up on the website NakedOffice in which present and past staff expose company’s management culture and what they’re really like to work for.

Here’s the lowdown on some of the best comments:

Working for telco Optus sounds like something straight out of a HR “how to'” handbook, if this anonymous posting is to be believed:

“I had a truly great experience at Optus, just working in the call centre as sales support. Sadly the department was offshored, but dammmnnn they had an awesome culture and fabulous people working for them. We were always supported and encouraged, reward and recognition…”

Another also said the telco was “a place to learn and prosper.”

But fellow telco iiNet was less friendly to work for, apparently.

“I left iiNet due to the lack of further technical education opportunities, frustration with managements lack of technical knowledge and lack of advancement opportunities for people who were technical minded and not located in Perth,” wrote an ex- customer service rep.

Telstra was a mixed bag with sneers from staff saying it was “company that treats its employees, suppliers, contractors and customers with contempt” and “many unethical sales and business practices being undertaken” to “a very positive experience.”

Retailer Dick Smith was also blasted by one anonymous commenter, who described it as “one of the most frustrating, dysfunctional work environments I have ever encountered. Employee initiative is actively discouraged.

 

“Longstanding problems go unrecognised and unresolved by management, even when there are obvious simple solutions.”

Ouch.

Another said it is “pretty relaxing at my workplace except near Christmas where the place goes crazy…Woolworths used to be a great company to work for. Fabulous managers and friendly workmates.

“But unfortunate that’s all changed over the last three years.”

Samsung Dodge Apple Ban Bullet ‘Upgrades’ Galaxy S II

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As the Galaxy Tab 10.1 row between Apple and Samsung looks to be resolved in Australia today, Samsung have sidestepped the ban of its Galaxy S II in Holland…by giving it a makeover.


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Phone wars: Samsung V Apple

The upgrades to the Galaxy S II smartphone will mean it will be on sale “shortly,’ a spokesperson for the company confirmed yesterday, although failed to specify exactly when.

Apple are accusing Samsung of stealing ten patent technologies used on iPhone, which it claims the Koreans copied for its Galaxy handset, released in Australia earlier this year.

The Dutch court ruled in August, only one patents was violated however – EP 2059868 which relates to camera technology (portable electronic device for photo management) and how users scroll thorugh photos.

The 4.3″ Galaxy S II has 8Mp camera, 1.2GHz dual core processor, and Super AMOLED screen technology and seen as a major threat to the reign of iPhone 4 (and the iPhone 4S, when released).

Samsung’s Galaxy S and Ace was also included in the ban which extended across several Europe countries including UK, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland.

The judge did however, allow Samsung’s a  grace period to address the infringement, which ends tomorrow, October 14 – the same day the iPhone 4S goes on sale in US and Australia.

“We’ve fixed the technological problem and upgraded products to address the issue. They will be shortly available for sale,” Samsung spokesman James Chung said.

 

Read Shock Decision: Samsung Galaxy S II Banned In Europe

So look out Europe, the 4.3″ Super AMOLED handset on Android Gingerbread 2.3 may be hitting town, after all.

Later today, Australia will also find out whether the Honeycomb Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be sold here or not.

Nintendo: Wii U Captures Netflix, Amazon, YouTube

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Its all about content. Nintendo is playing catch up to Playstation and Xbox bringing video content streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus and YouTube service to its new Wii U GamePad console.
Wii U announced yesterday at the La event has a 6.2″ controller with bells and whistles including Near Field Communications, social networking capabilities with Miiverse, and can even be used as a remote control for other devices.


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The new content partnerships were announced at E3 earlier today.

Read: Nintendo’s Wii U: A Tablet, Social Network & Yesterday’s Tech

Fearful Samsung Backs Off iPhone Ban

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Samsung has decided not to seek an injunction against the iPhone 4S on home turf following ‘public relations’ concerns. Korean media yesterday reported Samsung has decided against taking further legal action against foe Apple, which would have seen the Korean giant apply to courts to ban iPhone 4S from sale, following its released there last Friday.


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An iPhone 4S cake baked by Telstra especially for the cult launch.

It appears the rival Galaxy S II creator is afraid of provoking the ire of Apple fans eager to get their mitts on the device.

However, one of the main telcos, SK Telecom, began selling the device at midnight Friday although it appears just 100 customers placed pre-orders with the South Korean mobile operator for Apple’s latest cult 4S smartphone.

Korea Telecom, another telco, also held a big event for its 8am launch with queues of Koreans lining up for the 4S, according to reports. Samsung’s Galaxy S II was one of the biggest selling smartphones in its native Korea, when launched earlier this year.

“We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea,” a senior Samsung executive told The Chosunilbo.

And it looks like Samsung have made a wise move (I mean, who in their right minds would come between Apple fans and their iPhone’s?!).

Apple and Samsung are currently embroiled in a messy legal battle here in Australia over iPhones’s and Galaxy Tab’s, where Samsung is still seeking to ban the device, claiming Apple is infringing on mobile 3G patents.

 

On Friday last, Samsung was refused access to Apple’s contracts with telcos Telstra, Vodafone and Optus after demanding to view them in order to prove its claim that Apple were being paid subsidies on sales of iPhone here, which it said was crucial to proving its case.

The South Korean’s are also pursuing similar action in France, Italy, and Japan. A Dutch court has already refused Samsung application for injunction against Apple iPhone ban.

‘De-Friend’: You’ve Been Facebook Dumped

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There’s a new way to find out who’s not your friend: a clever tool called Unfriend Finder, which will notify you the minute someone de-friends you on Facebook.


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Breaking up with friends is hard to do.

Unfriend Finder once installed to your Facebook account syncs your friends list, so it can immediately identify if a ‘friend’ boots you off his or her Facebook account.

Users get a ‘-1’ or ‘+1’ that comes up via your FB notification, when someone adds or deletes you.

But it also alerts you to other potential friends’ sneaky activities – like when someone deletes you after you send a friend request through or when friends activate or deactivate profiles.

The clever tool has been downloaded 42 million times already and translated in 58 languages, and has been ‘liked’ by Facebook users more than 150,000 times.

Unfriend Finder is compatible with Firefox, IE, Chrome and Safari and is easily installed via GreaseMonkey and is free to download.

 

There are also others similar apps including SyncMyFriends available on Facebook.

As Windows 8 Open..Samsung Nab IT Guru

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Third time lucky for Samsung as they recruit a new IT boss who has held senior roles in Cisco, Olympus.


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Samsung Australia has announced the appointment of Todd Lynton as Director of its IT Division, replacing Tony Ignatavicius.

The appointment is effective immediately.

Tech veteran Todd brings with him a wealth of over 20 years of IT Product Management and Marketing experience, his new employer said today.

Lynton was Cisco’s Managing Director (ANZ) of Consumer Products, and also worked at Panasonic, Polaroid and launched Olympus in Australia.

Most recently, he was Country Manager for Fitbit (ANZ and Singapore), a fitness tech company, and this latest role sees him back among one of the biggest technology brands in Oz.

As head of Samsung’s IT division, Lynton will be responsible for leading the IT Product teams across Notebook, Print, Digital Imaging, Monitor and Storage and setting the direction for IT retail strategy.

Lynton said his appointment was timely considering the imminent launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 later this month, which Samsung are releasing a slew of new devices on, and may breath some life into the flat notebook category.

“It’s a great time to be joining the Samsung IT division, especially with the upcoming launch of the ATIV Windows 8 Smart PCs range – which will seek to offer a unique set of services and content experiences.

“Key to our success will be our commitment to driving the value proposition and awareness of the digital convergence experiences that Samsung offer.”

Online Sales Up, But Slowing

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Internet sales rise February but growth is slowing, according to NAB.
Australia’s Internet retail sales grew 19% in February – the weakest growth rate since May last year – according to the latest NAB Online Retail Sales Index.

February web sales fell almost 10% compared to January, where a massive increase of almost 30% was recorded.

NAB Online Retail Sales Index measured 193 points in February – down from 202 points in January.

There were declines in online sales across all categories, particularly in the ‘online auctions sites like eBay, department stores like Myer, fashion, cosmetics.

For the twelve months to February 2013, Aussies spent $13.1 billion online, and now accounts for almost 6% of all sales.

This slump was also in contrast to recent trends, where the month of February has been broadly in line with the level recorded in January.

However, the rate of growth for online sales remains well in excess of that of the traditional retail sector, Nab said today.

In January, traditional sales increased by 4.2% compared to same time 2012, but when seasonal factors are included, this rate was softer, at 2.9%.

NAB did not say if it thinks the lower growth in online retail will continue into 2013.