Weekly Wrap – Page 108

04 August 201305 August 2013

Weekly Wrap 165: Distractions and decisions, of a sort

If there was a unifying theme for my week Monday 29 July to Sunday 4 August 2013, it was Distraction.

I distracted myself with the Nokia Lumia 925 / Windows Phone 8 trial. While I’m getting some useful real-world experience of the two products, it’s probably not going to generate any revenue, and it soaked up a lot of my time. I distracted myself even further by fiddling around with video editing.

I was distracted by delayed trains on Thursday night, sadly due to a death on the railway line at Mt Druitt, which meant I didn’t get back to Wentworth Falls until 0100 the following day.

I was distracted by Telstra’s changes to mobile broadband allowances — apparently they’ve now dropped the maximum data allowance they’ll provision to a mobile phone to a mere 9GB a month, so I was living the scenario I wrote about recently — and I had to trek to Penrith on Saturday to buy another device or risk being sodomised by their 10c/megabyte over-run charges.

And finally, today I was distracted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd finally deciding to call the election for 7 September — which means I’m distracting myself even more.

Articles

So you call yourself a geek?, ZDNet Australia, 29 July 2013. There was quite a bit of reaction to this column, possibly for the wrong reasons.

Podcasts

I produced a brief announcement for The 9pm Election.

Media Appearances

On Thursday, Channel TEN’s The Project recorded some of my comments about geoblocking, but they have not been aired yet.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

[Update Monday 5 August 2013, 2155 AEST: This section has been changed to reflect the unfolding reality.]

On Monday I’ll write a ZDNet Australia column, making up for the one I’d intended to write on Friday, and then rum some errands to Katoomba.

On Tuesday I’ll write for Technology Spectator, work on revenue-generation for The 9pm Election, and complete episode 3 of the Corrupted Nerds: Conversations podcast, amongst other things.

On Wednesday I’ll head to Sydney for some of the Check Point Experience, an event hosted by security vendor Check Point. Thursday will be another Sydney trip for a medical appointment and a few other bits and pieces. And Friday will be a day of podcast production,I hope.

The weekend is currently unplanned.

[Photo: Attack-class patrol boat HMAS Advance (P83) (click to embiggen photo), formerly of the Royal Australian Navy, now with the Australian National Maritime Museum, photographed on Sydney Harbour on 1 August 2013.]

28 July 2013

Weekly Wrap 164: A turn-around, with Finnish jelly beans

My week Monday 22 to Sunday 28 July 2013 was initially as unproductive as the previous two, but Thursday marked a turning-point. Thank the gods. No details.

Articles

Will McAfee’s hacking hyperbole hatchet job kill the trillion-dollar myth?, ZDNet Australia, 27 July 2013. Earlier today I posted links to my previous articles on dodgy cyberstats.

Podcasts

None, but I did plenty of behind-the-scenes work on the Corrupted Nerds website, including settling on Cryout Creations’ Mantra theme for WordPress as the design framework.

This fixed a very, very annoying bug that I’d encountered in some other themes that broke the RSS feeds in Blubrry’s PowerPress Podcasting Plugin for WordPress, and that in turn meant that I couldn’t add the podcasts to Apple’s iTunes store.

Having removed that roadblock, I’ll be able to add more material to Corrupted Nerds very soon — including two new episodes in the coming week.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

On Thursday I attended the Sydney launch of the Nokia Lumia 925 smartphone at Simmer on the Bay, Walsh Bay, Sydney. There was food and drink, obviously, plus a showbag with: Nokia-branded jelly beans; Nokia Lumia-branded playing cards, each of which was an advert for a Windows Phone 8 application, including a QR code to download same; and a Nokia-branded pen. I have been loaned a Lumia 925 to play with for a while, and it’s my intention to try to use it as my primary phone for the whole of next week, so I can give Windows Phone 8 a fair trial. Wish me luck.

The Week Ahead

On Monday I’ll complete a catch-up edition of my ZDNet Australia column, The Full Tilt, with something that’ll probably annoy quite a few people who call themselves geeks, and then spending the afternoon in Katoomba. Somewhere in there I’ll fire up that Nokia Lumia 925.

On Tuesday I’ll write a piece for Technology Spectator, one that’s been on the back burner for a while, and completing a new episode of Corrupted Nerds: Conversations podcast. The forecast is for a rainy day, so that’s perfect.

On Wednesday morning I’ll head into Sydney to attend a media event with Vodafone Australia at 1030, then the rest of the week becomes some what flexible — although I know it include a medical appointment in Sydney, another column for ZDNet Australia and some planning.

The weekend is currently unplanned.

[Photo: Glimpse of Sydney Central, being a view of the clock tower at Sydney’s Central station, taken early one winter morning from the Metro Sydney Central hotel.]

28 July 2013

There is no Weekly Wrap 163

My week Monday 15 to Sunday 21 July 2013 is not being recorded here. In any event, no media objects were produced, so there’s nothing of importance to link to.

14 July 2013

Weekly Wrap 162: A dog, a pause, and an invisible cat

My week Monday 8 to Sunday 14 July 2013 was a continuation of my distinct slow-down, for reasons explained previously.

I still haven’t decided whether I’ll write about that any further. For now, I’ll just say that there’s been suitable initial progress on that front. Many thanks to the people — friends, colleagues and strangers alike — who’ve been in touch.

Meanwhile, as usual, here’s the media-related things I’ve done this week. Not that there were many.

Podcasts

None.

Articles

Microsoft sucked into ever-growing NSA vortex: who’s next?, ZDNet Australia, 13 July 2013.

Media Appearances

On Monday, I spoke about NSA and spying on Channel TEN’s The Project.

Corporate Largesse

None. Well, there was some on offer, but I declined. I have heard rumour which suggest that I made the wrong decision.

The Week Ahead

The theme for the coming week is “assessment”. I’ll be be running through the various areas of my life to see where I’m up to, what issues I should perhaps address, and what the possibilities for the future might be. Personal stuff, including my health. Work, both media-related and otherwise. All sorts of stuff. I haven’t done that for a while. I’ve just been cruising along.

In between, I’ll be writing for Technology Spectator and ZDNet Australia, and perhaps some others. I’ll also post another episode of the Corrupted Nerds podcast, fix some problems with the website, and sketch out my ideas for making that a sustainable project.

On Thursday I’ll be down in Sydney for a medical appointment and lunch with a friend. Whether I’ll be staying in Sydney longer than that remains to be decided.

[Photo: Sunday night in the village, being the near-deserted Station Street, Wentworth Falls, earlier this evening.]

11 July 2013

Weekly Wrap 161: The black dog and the prodigal umbrella

My week Monday 1 to Sunday 7 July 2013 was another complicated one, as already explained. That’s why this post is very late, of course.

Once I’d gotten the bigger chunks of work out of the way, I pulled the pace back a bit — which I think you’ll agree was sensible.

I was also pleased to see the return of the prodigal umbrella. The excellent umbrella I was given by Verizon Business in Singapore had been left at a noodle bar months ago — but the owners remembered it and me. We were reunited last Wednesday. Also, pho was served.

Podcasts

None.

Articles

UNSW helps close cloud computing’s can of (legal) worms, CSO Online, 3 July 2013.
The 10 Commandments of Data Sovereignty, CSO Online, 3 July 2013.
ATO’s clunky E-tax for Mac highlights cultural problems, ZDNet Australia, 5 July 2013.

Media Appearances

On Friday, I was interviewed for a segment on Channel TEN’s The Project. However it didn’t air until Monday 8 July, so it’ll get its own blog post shortly, and be included in next week’s wrap.
On Sunday I was a guest on Reckoner episode three, as already explained.

Corporate Largesse

On Tuesday I attended the launch of the University of New South Wales’ report Data Sovereignty and the Cloud — A Board and Executive Officers’ Guide at the Sydney offices of law firm Baker & McKenzie. Refreshments were served.

The Week Ahead

It’s almost over, so I’ll just mention that I’ll be writing for ZDNet Australia tomorrow, Friday, and I’ll be returning to the Blue Mountains on Sunday, probably.

[Photo: Sydney Harbour, viewed through a dirty window in the AMP Tower, photographed on 2 July 2013.]

30 June 201311 July 2013

Weekly Wrap 160: Black dog, black sky and more NSA

My week Monday 24 to Sunday 30 June 2013 was rather complicated, at least emotionally.

As will be explained ~~tomorrow~~ on ~~Tuesday~~ Thursday.

Nevertheless, I managed to create some media objects along the way. And here they are.

Podcasts

I’m very pleased to have launched my new podcast and website, Corrupted Nerds.

Corrupted Nerds: Conversations 1, a conversation with Eugene Kaspersky, founder and CEO of Kaspersky Lab. If we’re going to be accurate, then this was really published in the previous week. But I forgot. So sue me.
Corrupted Nerds: Extra 1, being Senator Brett Mason’s “corrupted nerds” speech in the Australian Senate from 21 August 2012, which inspired the title. This was published last week too.
Corrupted Nerds: Conversations 2, a chat with Sean Richmond, senior technology consultant from Sophos Australia and New Zealand, about personalised malware, defense in depth, and why advanced persistent threats (APTs) and cyberwar are over-hyped.

I have yet to arrange any funding for this podcast, so I’ll be seeking that soon — and I’d be more than happy to hear your suggestions.

Articles

Remember the NSA? Snooping is the real story, Crikey, 25 June 2013, in which I point out that the global hunt for Edward Snowden is in fact a distracting narrative.
Beyond Conroy: Australia’s future internet politics, ZDNet Australia, 28 June 2013, in which I look at the issues that will need to be tackled by any future Australian communications minister.
Schneier joins EFF board in wake of NSA scandal, CSO Online, 28 June 2013. Bruce Schneier’s EFF move sends a powerful message.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

Since Saturday 8 June I’ve been using Vodafone’s new 4G network while in Sydney, and their existing 3G network while in the Blue Mountains, with a Samsung Galaxy S4 handset that they’ve loaned me. ~~I’ll be writing about my experiences on Monday.~~ [Update 2 July 2013: I’ve just posted my write-up of my experiences. Yeah, it’s Tuesday.

The Week Ahead

The new financial year starts on Monday, so I daresay the morning will be full of administrivia. I’ll then be heading down to Sydney, because…

On Tuesday morning I’m attending a discussion on data sovereignty and the cloud, hosted by data centre firm NEXTDC, along with financial services company Aon and law firm Baker & McKenzie. That will be followed at the same event by the launch of the University of New South Wales’ report Data Sovereignty and the Cloud — A Board and Executive Officers’ Guide. I’ll be reporting this for someone, but as yet I don’t know who that will be.

I’ll be in Sydney again later in the week, probably Thursday, for a medical appointment, but that’s not confirmed yet. When it is, I’ll arrange my writing and media production schedule around that. There’s definitely stories to write for ZDNet Australia and CSO Online, plus an episode of Corrupted Nerds, and there’ll certainly be things that pop up along the way.

And then the weekend is unplanned.

[Photo: Sydney under the clouds, photographed from the Rydges Camperdown hotel in Sydney on 25 June 2013.]