Tag: nbn

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My NBN interview on 3RRR

For those of you who missed it, here’s the audio of my interview about the National Broadband Network earlier this morning with Radio 3RRR in Melbourne.

Presenters Michael Williams, Fee B-Squared and Sam Pang wanted to focus on the money. Is $43 billion worth it? Will the NBN make money? Are people afraid of spending this much because they don’t understand the technology? It runs for 5 min 57 sec.

If the player thingy immediately below doesn’t work here’s a direct link to the audio file.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:57 — 6.8MB)

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Mark Scott: NBN will re-shape everything

Crikey logo

Mark Scott, Managing Director of the ABC, used his Annual Media Studies Lecture at La Trobe University to explain how the government’s proposed National Broadband Network will change the entire media landscape. Television, music, newspapers, the journalism — the lot. Crikey published the entire text of the speech. It’s worth a read. Twice.

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NBN: Everyone’s got an opinion

Crikey logo

RuddNet Day 3. The armchair-expert “network engineers” who infest Whirlpool, people who’ve never built a network more complex than the one linking their porn stash to the TV, are suddenly spouting off about national-scale infrastructure not just there but everywhere. Pity their friends.

So began the article I wrote for Crikey on Thursday 9 April.

As John Safran once said, thanks to the internet, “We can all now chip in and pool our ignorance.” The Dunning-Kruger Effect operates full force. As always.

And nowhere was that ignorance better represented than on Twitter.

I’m such a hypocrite. I’ve previously slagged off journalists for simply copying comments from Twitter without adding any value. And this piece is, essentially, a summary of what’s been said on Twitter. Oh dear. Anyway, you too can be a journalist by following the same technique. The Crikey piece explains how.

You can use Twitter Search to find every tweet mentioning “nbn”. But for a richer experience, the much prettier Twitterfall lets you view an animated twitterstream, pearls of wisdom dropping as Manna from Heaven.

Just imagine. With the NBN it won’t just be typed words, you’ll be able to see and hear all this in living colour and surround sound. Ah, $43 billion…

I’ll probably have a summary of some of the better commentary when I return to work mode on Tuesday.

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NBN featured on A Series of Tubes, oddly enough

On this week’s A Series of Tubes podcast I quite naturally spoke about the National Broadband Network proposal. Richard Chirgwin also interviewed m.net Research Director Dr Marisa Maio Mackay about what’s changing the way we use mobile data services. Sorry about the late notice, but I’ve actually been having a relaxing time away over Easter in my Sekrit Eyrie.

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Episode 43! Full Moon! Cnuts and NBN questions please!

Cnut of the Week graphic

Yes, yes, yes. It’s Thursday. Yes, there’s a Stilgherrian Live tonight at 9.30pm Sydney time. And yes, it’s time to start nominating people or things for “Cnut of the Week”.

Remember the rules. We’re looking for people, organisations or other entities who are futile trying to hold back the tide of change. It has to be something in the news in the last week, and you have to explain yourself. Nominees have to be not merely doing bad things, but failing to notice or adapt to the change around them.

As always, nominations close at 8.30pm Sydney time sharp, and you must nominate on the website to count. Who do you nominate, and why?

I’ll also be doing a backgrounder and Q&A on Australia’s proposed National Broadband Network, so add your questions and comments for that too.