internet of things – Page 2

14 December 201415 December 2014

Weekly Wrap 236: Summer and swirling water

My week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 December 2014 was decent enough, though everything in the latter part of the week was rearranged as it went along. Planning. Why bother?

Since this post is already rather late getting online, I’ll stick to the facts, ma’am. Well, I’ll make one observation: Summer seems to have arrived.

Podcasts

“The 9pm Personal Brand Enhancement Journey”, being The 9pm Edict episode 33. It’s nearly an hour long and contains, um, special sounds. I’ve also launched The 9pm Summer Scrounge subscriber drive, but there’ll be more about that tomorrow.

Articles

All aboard the internet of things infosec hype train, ZDNet Australia, 11 December 2014.

5at5

It was a full week for 5at5, more or less, at least in the sense that five editions went out. Tuesday morning (being the one that was meant to go out on Friday), Tuesday evening, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You might want to subscribe so you receive them all. Eventually.

Media Appearances

On Wednesday, I spoke about the future of jobs on ABC 720 Perth.

Corporate Largesse

On Tuesday, I went to Symantec’s end-of-year lunch at Aria Restaurant in Sydney. The food and wine was as wonderful as always. I had the oysters, the barramundi, the cheese, and the things that came afterwards.

The Week Ahead

By the time you see this, most of Monday will have already happened — despite the date on the post. Monday is mostly about catching up on many, many loose ends.

On Tuesday, I’ll be writing for Crikey, and then catching the train to Sydney to run a few errands and then drop in to the ABC at Ultimo to do spot for ABC 720 Perth. That’s at 1730 AEDT / 1430 AWST, and this will be regular thing every Tuesday afternoon across summer. I’m toying with the idea of staying in Sydney overnight. Make me an offer.

On Wednesday, I’ll be starting work on a server migration. On Thursday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet Australia. Friday is as yet unplanned. Much of the weekend is unplanned too, although I’ll be doing the bulk of the server migration at some unpleasant hour in that period.

[Photo: The ferry departs, a rather heavily processed photo of the wake left by a ferry departing Circular Quay in Sydney on 8 December 2014.]

21 November 201421 November 2014

Talking exposed webcams on 1395 FIVEaa

Australian news outlets ran stories today about a Russian website that shows live video cameras that haven’t been properly protected, and I ended up talking about it with Will Goodings on Adelaide radio 1395 FIVEaa.

I disagreed with the Fairfax story, which called the Russian site “Online IP net surveillance cameras of the world” the result of “hacking”. For me, hacking implies some sort of technical trick. But I did point out that unprotected devices on the internet are not new. The Shodan search engine shows all manner of exposed devices.

The audio includes a subsequent guest on the program, Con Kosmidis from Alpha Security Systems, who amplified some of my points, and a small rant from Mr Goodings.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.7MB)

01 June 2014

Weekly Wrap 208: Mysterious productivity as winter arrives

I don’t want to jinx this, but my week of Monday 26 May to Sunday 1 June 2014 was yet another productive one. That makes it seven or eight solid weeks in a row. This pleases me. I jut wish I knew why it was happening, so I can make sure it keeps on happening.

That said, I haven’t had much of a social life in there. Maybe that needs to change. But for the time being, well, as the proverb says, “Make hay while this sun shines.”

Podcasts

“The 9pm Caltrain”, being episode 25 of The 9pm Edict. It’s also available on SoundCloud.

Articles

To win the cloud, remember George Westinghouse, ZDNet Australia, 27 May 2014. This is based on thoughts triggered by Zach Nelson, chief executive officer of NetSuite, when we were talking to him in San Jose in May.
Cash in by cleaning up the Internet of Messy Things, ZDNet Australia, 30 May 2014.

Media Appearances

On Wednesday I spoke about Wikipedia and self-diagnosis of medical problems on 1395 FIVEaa Adelaide.
On Thursday we recorded this week’s Download This Show, on which I spoke about Facebook, and Apple versus Android, and stuff.
Download This Show also spawned a video, in which I spoke about Apple versus Android.
On Thursday evening I spoke about Facebook’s audio snooping on Channel TEN’s The Project.
On Saturday, very early, I spoke about various internet security issues on ABC Radio Overnights across Australia.

5at5

Another full week this week. But why don’t you subscribe to 5at5, and then I don’t need to keep telling you about it.

5at5 number 54, 26 May 2013.
5at5 number 55, 26 May 2013.
5at5 number 56, 28 May 2013.
5at5 number 57, 29 May 2013.
5at5 number 58, 30 May 2013.

Geekery

I refurbished the website for my until-now-dormant business Skank Media, intending it to be an umbrella for my various media projects. I’ve integrated payment processor Stripe as well as membership management service Memberful. Both were completely painless, and now you can subcribe to The 9pm Edict or make a one-off tip.

Corporate Largesse

On Thursday I went to the launch of Kaspersky Lab’s new product, Kaspersky Security for Virtualization Light Agent, namely a dinner at the ECQ Bar at the Pullman Quay Grand Hotel, Circular Quay. There was food and drink, of course, and we were all given a Kaspersky-branded coffee mug, pen and hard-backed notebook, plus the mandatory USB memory stick containing the media assets. I got back to my hotel through the magic of Kapersky’s Cabcharge account.

The Week Ahead

On Monday I’ll be working on an ebook project, and on Tuesday I’ll be writing about whatever Apple announces and then planning out the rest of June.

The exact order of play for the rest of the week will depend on cashflows, but it’ll include writing something for ZDNet Australia, finishing off the ebook, sorting out online sales for same, and finding some more revenue for my podcasts for June.

The weekend is a long one, for the Queen’s Birthday, so I will probably be in Sydney, though I’m open to suggestions.

[Photo: Departing Sydney Central on the 1621 to Lithgow , photographed on 30 May 2014 through the train window.]

12 May 2014

Weekly Wrap 205: Productivity reigns again, bringing joy

My week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 May 2014 was another productive one again, which is a pleasant happenstance.

Articles

No invasion of privacy law under current government: Information Commissioner, ZDNet Australia, 8 May 2014.
Dropbox drops the security notification ball, again, ZDNet Australia, 8 May 2014.

Podcasts

The resurrection of The 9pm Edict has continued to be delayed by the continuing self-satire of the Australian government and my own busy schedule. Once it had overflowed its original allocated slot in my work plan, it’s had to wait until everything more time-critical is out of the way. We’ve nearly reached that point.

Media Appearances

On Monday I spoke about digital privacy on ABC 891 Adelaide.
Also on Monday, I spoke about internet security on 2SER’s “The Wire”.
On Tuesday I spoke about digital metadata on 3RRR’s “Spoke”.
Also on Tuesday, I spoke about mobile app privacy on radio 2MFM.
On Wednesday I spoke about online theft on 1395 FIVEaa Adelaide.

5at5

Only two this week. But why don’t you subscribe to 5at5, and then I don’t need to keep telling you about it.

5at5 number 46, 8 May 2013.
5at5 number 47, 9 May 2013.

Corporate Largesse

On Monday I covered the iappANZ Gilbert + Tobin Privacy Breakfast Debate, held at the offices of law firm Gilbert + Tobin. Breakfast was provided.
On Wednesday I went to the launch of new research on security and the Internet of Things by AVG Technologies. This was done over lunch at the Bentley Restaurant & Bar at Sydney’s Radisson Blu Hotel. I had the pork cheek with garlic and yoghurt purÃ©e, radicchio and jamon, and the Moreton Bay bugs and snapper in seafood broth plus a side of vegetables.
On Friday night I went to the Optus IT Journalism Awards (the “Lizzies”) at Luna Park, where there was of course food and much wine. The sponsors were Optus, Watterson Marketing Communication, Epson and NEC Australia.
On Saturday I began an expedition to the United States to cover NetSuite’s SuiteWorld conference in San Jose. They’re covering flights, transport, accommodation, and quite a bit of food and drink, as well as various extra-curricular activities. I’ll provide the full list in the next Weekly Wrap once it’s all over.

The Week Ahead

As I write this, it’s already Monday in Australia, but it’s still Sunday morning here in San Francisco. This afternoon NetSuite is taking us on a tour of the Sonoma Valley, visiting the Cline and Gloria Ferrer wineries, then returning to San Francisco for pre-dinner drinks and “a special surprise guest” at Cafe Tosca in North Beach and dinner at the Americano Restaurant.

On Monday we make the journey to San Jose, with a meet-and-and-greet cocktail party in the evening. SuiteWorld proper then runs Tuesday to Thursday, with the evening events including dinner at the Thomas Fogarty Winery on Tuesday and the conference party on Wednesday.

On Friday I plan to catch the Caltrain back to San Francisco, recording part of the next episode of The 9pm Edict en route. My schedule is then open through to Sunday night, when I catch a late evening flight back to Sydney.

[Photo: Touchdown San Francisco, the view from United Airlines flight UA870 as it was about to touch down at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Saturday 10 May 2014.]

01 March 2014

Talking the Apple Car rumours on 1395 FIVEaa

The fact that Apple is in further talks with electric car manufacturer Tesla has triggered rumours that an Apple Car might be on the way. Orly?

Presenter Will Goodings grabbed hold of Joshua Dowling, motoring editor for the News Limited mastheads, and your truly to talk it through on Adelaide radio station 1395 FIVEaa on Wednesday 19 February.

Dowling’s explanation of global auto industry issues was excellent, so I’ve included his comments in the audio here.

I’ve then skipped over a bunch of adverts before getting to my contribution — which mentioned smart cars, the internet of things, the potential for surveillance, and the risk of hacking all these things.

I also spoke about Gartner’s prediction that by 2020 there’ll be 50 billion objects connected to the internet. Yes, the smart rice cooker got a mention, as did the hacking of the smart TV.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.3MB)

01 March 201401 March 2014

Talking Internet of Things on ABC Gold Coast

ABC logo The fact that a bunch of technology journalists had gathered on the Gold Coast to discuss the latest tech trends caught the interest of the local ABC radio station. This conversation from Wednesday 19 February is the result.

Presenter Nicole Dyer and I ended up talking about the Internet of Things — and of course I mentioned the internet refrigerator and the internet rice cooker — smart cars, smart air conditioning, smart TVs and how they can be hacked. It’s a more lighthearted approach to some topics that I’ve discussed more seriously elsewhere.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.8MB)