October 2014 – Page 2

18 October 2014

Talking voiceprint biometrics on 1395 FIVEaa

“Two of America’s biggest retail banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Wells Fargo & Co — are quietly recording the biometric details of some callers’ voices to weed out fraud,” reported Associated Press this week. The news caught the eye of Will Goodings at 1395 FIVEaa in Adelaide. I told him that the Americans are way behind Australia on this one.

All of the Big Four banks here are already using voiceprints. In the case of NAB and Westpac, since about 2009.

In fact, Australia is a world leader in voiceprint technology. In a Patch Monday podcast from March 2012, I spoke with Dr Clive Summerfield, chief executive of Auraya, who told me that Australia’s social services agency Centrelink has been using voiceprints to identify callers since 2005, and more than 95% of callers are identified this way. Voiceprints are also used by the Australian Taxation Office.

Here’s a recording of the conversation we had on air on Friday afternoon, complete with a talkback caller who followed me.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.5MB)

13 October 201414 October 2014

Weekly Wrap 227: No snow, no productivity

I am not impressed with my week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 October 2014. While I did produce a podcast, and also caught up with a friend and visited a part of Sydney that I hadn’t previously explored, it was still less productive that I’d hoped.

There are reasons. I’ll tell you about them another time. Soon.

For completely unrelated reasons, I’ve decided to run an old photo, not a new one. Exactly two years and one day ago, it was snowing at Wentworth Falls. One year and a week ago, the place was under threat from bushfires. Welcome to Australia. It’s a stupid place.

Podcasts

“The 9pm Mental Health Awareness Week”, being The 9pm Edict episode 30, 7 October 2014. It’s not actually about mental health or, indeed, awareness.

Articles

Can Ello get by on a manifesto and a smiley?, ZDNet Australia, 7 October 2014.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

There’s only one firm fixture in my week so far.

On Wednesday I’ll be in Sydney to host Data Retention: the European experience, a conversation with Privacy International’s legal director Carly Nyst. The event is being presented by Electronic Frontiers Australia in conjunction with the Australian Privacy Foundation and Privacy International. Book here.

Other than that, I have a column or two to write for ZDNet Australia, and I’ll be producing an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast, but the exact order of play is yet to be determined. Like you care.

[Photo: Waratah in the snow, photographed at Bunjaree Cottages two years ago on 12 October 2012.]

07 October 201427 January 2019

The 9pm Mental Health Awareness Week

Screenshot of HLN story on extreme drinking

Prime Minister Crusader Rabbit explains how consultation works. There’s quite a bit about Muslims and terrorism. And butt chugging at the University of Tennessee? We get to the bottom of it.

We hear how a family targeted in Sydney’s anti-terrorism raids has launched legal action and that a sword seized in another raid was just a plastic decoration.

Elephant stamps of approval go to alleged butt chugger Alexander Broughton of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Tennessee, and Tea Party activist Todd Kincannon for his unique solution to ebola.

06 October 201406 October 2014

“Politics of Social” panel at Social Media Week Sydney

Last month I took part in the discussion panel Politics of Social at Social Media Week Sydney — and here’s a video, finally.

Yes, I’m dealing with my backlog of posts.

What was this discussion all about?

Trust, authority and credibility are arguably more crucial in politics than anywhere else. Social media is now an essential part of the political process for MPs, citizens, and lobbyists, but how does that change public perception, the end results, and their impact on society? Our political experts will dissect past and present political activity to determine what the evolution of social media has achieved in political realm, and how political communications is likely to continue evolving.

Joining moderator Kate Carruthers, co-founder of Social Innovation Sydney, on 24 September 2014 were (left to right): Alex Greenwich, independent Member for Sydney in the Parliament of NSW; political sociologist Ariadne Vromen, associate professor at the University of Sydney; myself; and Steph Harmon, managing editor of Junkee at The Sound Alliance.

It was a lively discussion, and the video is over the fold, immediately below. Enjoy.

Continue reading ““Politics of Social” panel at Social Media Week Sydney”

06 October 2014

Weekly Wrap 226: Warm weather, but little productivity

These Weekly Wrap posts have fallen into disrepair, haven’t they. Well, they’re back in operation again now. Whether the missing weeks’ posts will ever appear is as yet unknown.

My week of Monday 29 September to Sunday 5 October wasn’t as productive as it could have been. That’s down to a mix of pain and depression, but I won’t belabour the point.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the warm spring weather.

Articles

I wrote my usual column for ZDNet Australia, but it won’t be appearing until Tuesday.

Media Appearances

On Tuesday I spoke about the new social network Ello on ABC Gold Coast.
I was one of the panellists on ABC Radio National’s Download This Show this week. We spoke about Ello and Australia’s new national security laws.
On Thursday I was interviewed for a student project at the University of Sydney about virtual communities, hacking and hacktivism, amongst other things. I’ll post a link to that when it appears in a few weeks.
On Friday I recorded some audio for a SEKRIT project.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

This will be the final week of my sojourn at Hurstville in Sydney’s southern suburbs. I’ve been housesitting a friend’s apartment while she was on holidays overseas. I’m going to miss the place.

Monday is officially a public holiday in New South Wales, but I’ll be starting work on an episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.

On Tuesday I’ll be planning a couple of feature stories for ZDNet Australia, planning some changes for my other little technology business, resurrecting the 5at5 daily newsletter thing, and finishing off the podcast.

The rest of the week isn’t planned out in any kind of detail yet, but there’s be a ZDNet Australia column to write, and I’ll be returning to Wentworth Falls on Friday.

[Photo: Crossing the Harbour, a not-very-scenic view from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as seen from the lower deck of a train on 3 October 2014.]

05 October 2014

Talking Ello on ABC Gold Coast

This new social network Ello has been getting so much attention it’s… annoying. I was originally going to ignore it, but I got roped into this spot for ABC Gold Coast, and then Download This Show, so I decided to write about it for ZDNet Australia — that piece will appear on Tuesday.

But… This recording is the ABC radio spot, which aired on Tuesday morning with presenter Rebecca McLaren. I think I was in a bit of a cynical mood.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.1MB)