tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:51:53 +0000Technology travel reports from high speed trains, hot air balloons and about bicycles. With some thoughts on e-commerce, net business and IT education by Tom Worthington.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/noreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)Blogger2540125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-1389977912771911889Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:27:00 +00002010-03-19T16:51:53.162+11:00Government 2.0 TaskforcePublic Transportland planningNSWThe NSW Government released a discussion paper, "Sydney Towards 2036" (10 March 2010) and has invited online discussion of topics, which correspond to the document's chapters, such as "Alternative transport options". Unfortunately the discussion paper has not been integrated with the discussion forum, making citizens input difficult.The discussion paper is released as a 2.2 Mbyte PDF file. The http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/transport-for-sydney.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6454611471427304364Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:36:00 +00002010-03-19T11:14:34.428+11:00Innovation ACTCanberraANU School of Computer ScienceGreetings from the Australian National University were the College of Engineering & Computer Science is having an Industry Engagement Day. The idea is to working out how to apply the research done by universities and places like NICTA, to industry. I have some background in this having been involved in formal discipline bodies to change IT research and informa discussions leading to the the http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/university-engagement-with-industry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4136456462685272158Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:51:00 +00002010-03-18T13:52:44.190+11:00The commonly used power on/off symbol used on computers is officially the IEC 5009 standby symbol. There is a high quality open access version of the symbol in the Wikicommons. This symbol is often confused with on/off.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/onof-switch-symbol-confusion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6999792744349027031Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:07:00 +00002010-03-19T08:54:39.647+11:00digital videocomputer gamesScreen AustraliaAustralian GovernmentCanberrafilmGreetings from the Screen Australia road show. A government review of support for the screen production industry, including the Producer Offset, is due out today. But at the same time Screen Australia is seeking input on the future of the film industry. CEO Ruth Harley is speaking at a road show around Australia and today is Canberra's turn. The meeting is at the CSIRO Discovery Theatre, with http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/screen-australia-and-film-industry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2435750591325113674Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:20:00 +00002010-03-17T18:35:46.832+11:00blogGoogleGoogle BloggerGoogle is shutting down FTP support for its Blogger Blog service from 1 May 2010. However, so far I am unable to understand Google's instructions for migrating to an alternative service.The current service, which I use for two blogs, allows me to create postings using Google's Blogger software, which then posts the resulting entries to my own web site.FTP causes support problems for Google. As anhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/google-blog-ftp-shutdown.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-7420600827602940183Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:20:00 +00002010-03-16T18:29:37.886+11:00Green ITeducationGoogle Books looks like it will be very useful for finding references. As an example I was helping prepare an application for a grant to work on green ICT education. To make this look plausible, I needed a page or so of references. So I typed "green ICT education" into Google Books. This produced a list of 717 books, including at number seven, my own "Green Technology Strategies". From this and http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/green-ict-education-references.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3769029051124988491Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:57:00 +00002010-03-16T15:18:21.167+11:00Print on DemandApple iPadLuLuepubPrint on demand service Lulu.com, are encouraging self publishing authors to produce their books in the Epub format used by the Apple iPad. My Green Technology Strategies book is avialable though LuLu.com and I was already considering a Epub version. So it was timely that LuLu sent me an offer, where if I created an ePub version of my book by 3/22/10 they would offer 50% off their usual fee. http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/apple-ipad-online-ebook-tool.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-7884617707281296512Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:29:00 +00002010-03-16T13:37:27.609+11:00emergency managementEmergency Alert SystemIn the last day I have been contacted by two companies offering emergency alert services in Australia to governments, schools and companies. These are the Early Warning Network from Kerry Plowright's Look Here Pty Ltd and Emergency Contact from OnCall Messaging. These seem to have been promoted by the recent run of weather related emergencies in Australia. In theory the Australian state and http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/commercial-emergency-alert-services.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-1059473593373735640Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:20:00 +00002010-03-15T18:38:14.725+11:00mLearningmobile webMoodlee-LearningMLE-Moodle is a plug for Moodle to make it work on mobile phones. That is this extra open source software makes the Moodle Learning Management System into an m-Learning system. The standard release of Moodle seems reasonably compatible with smart phones. I have tried my Green Technology Strategies Course on both an Apple iPhone and a Google Android phone.Obviously typing a 4,000 essay would be http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/mlearning-plugin-for-moodle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4983528561877913391Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:33:00 +00002010-03-15T08:47:34.895+11:00LibrariesNSWmuseumsSydneyThe State Library of NSW has the free ONE hundred exhibition on until June 2010.This is for the centenary of the Mitchell Library. There will be something to interest everyone from a manuscript hand written by Capitan James Cook to the manuscript of Reedy River for the New Theatre production. This is not on the scale of the National Library of Australia's 2005 Treasures exhibition, but still http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/one-hundred-exhibition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-72784742471245705Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:26:00 +00002010-03-14T10:11:09.624+11:00electric bicyclebicycleMarrickville SydneySydneyFolding BicycleLooking for the Addison Road Centre in Sydney on Friday, I noticed a group of people in a brightly lit shop with electric bicycles. This turned out to be the opening of Maurice Wells' Glow Worm Bicycles store. On display were a few different models of electric as well as pedal-only bicycles. Glow Worm claim to have the lightest electric bicycles in Australia, at 18kg. The lithium 36V 10Ah batteryhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/glow-worm-bicycles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2264465250596974808Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:51:00 +00002010-03-12T10:26:50.781+11:00Green IT Strategies Coursee-Learning Course DesignAdelaideClimate ChangeGreen Course DesignebookThis is to offer a seminar on green technology, professional e-learning and e-books, Monday 19 or Tuesday 20 May in Adelaide.I am an Adjunct Lecturer at the Australian National University (ANU) and a course designer for the Australian Computer Society (ACS). I will be in Adelaide for a meeting of ACS educators at University of Adelaide. So I thought I should offer a free seminar for anyone http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/seminar-on-training-green-technologists.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6976942143173387479Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:38:00 +00002010-03-12T12:49:42.550+11:00Government ICTAustralian GovernmentACT GovernmentSenator Kate Lundy (ACT) and Senator Kim Carr (Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) announced a Supplier Advocate to Champion IT on 3 March 2010. So far there have been "Supplier Advocates" appointed for rail and steel.Recently I was asked about support for small business by an ACT Government committee on procurement. I suggested the ACT government should use the same http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/government-it-contracts-for-small.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-5983889893572229388Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:58:00 +00002010-03-11T14:33:24.634+11:00Green IT Strategies Courseamazon.comKindlee-book readerAmazon.com and Barnes & Noble have my book Green Technology Strategies available in paperback (also on the Amazon Kindle electronic Book reader). Last December I pushed the button to have LuLu distribute the book. That was supposed to take six weeks, but has taken about ten weeks. I heard no more from LuLu about it and just happened to notice the book listed on Amazon today. I don't know if it ishttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/green-technology-strategies-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6967398809831981643Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:15:00 +00002010-03-10T14:23:16.194+11:00Smart ApartmentwetlandsCanberraenvironmentThe ACT Government has invited the community to help plant native plants at the Banksia St O'Connor Wetland in Canberra, 9am - 12 noon, Sunday 14 March 2010. There is another wetland in David Street (behind the shops) across the road from City Edge, where my Smart Apartment is.*COMMUNITY PLANTING DAY*Banksia St O'Connor Wetland9am - 12Sunday 14 March 2010Bring sturdy shoes, hand tools, buckets http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/invitation-to-oconnor-wetland-planting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-452059989743981910Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:06:00 +00002010-03-12T08:35:49.766+11:00electronic health recordAustralian GovernmenthealthmHealthHealth InformaticsDr George Margelis, from Intel's Digital Health Group, talked last night in Canberra on "The Patient Journey - What role for IT?" he will be repeating this in Brisbane 17 March.Dr Margelis, showed a number of interesting before and after video segments of problems with the health system and how ICT could help. Normally I dislike company videos in presentations as they are advertisements for http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/building-australian-national-health.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4680785018795189557Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:51:00 +00002010-03-10T08:22:01.592+11:00universitiesIndiavocational educationThe Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, welcomed today's release of "Stronger, simpler, smarter ESOS: supporting international students" by Bruce Baird. This recommends improved regulation of Australia’s international education sector, support for international students, improved information improved support for for students and consumer protection mechanisms.The report is a 108 page 1.2Mbytehttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/baird-report-on-international-students.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-7606203331611876147Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:50:00 +00002010-03-08T13:02:47.726+11:00ebookKindlee-LearningAn e-reader pilot at Princeton University, using Amazon Kindle DX ebook readers, found them as readable as printed material, but a major problem was the difficulty of annotating ebooks. There is a 7 page (127 Kbytes PDF) executive summary as well as a full report available. Ironically, these reports are provided in PDF, the format the report finds the students had most difficulty annotating.In http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/princeton-university-e-reader-pilot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-5982311363779778200Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:12:00 +00002010-03-08T09:13:59.558+11:00Microsoft Office 2010open officeebookKindleepubMicrosoft Office 2010 is due for release in May. A Beta version with the new features of Word, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook, InfoPath, Excel, SharePoint Workspace, OneNote and Communicator is still available. The new version will be able to create and read document in both the Microsoft sponsored OOXML format (Office Open XML, ISO/IEC 29500:2008) and Sun sponsored ODF (OpenDocument http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/microsoft-office-2010-support-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8674894980686055946Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:55:00 +00002010-03-07T10:09:49.746+11:00Tsunamiemergency managementEmergency Alert SystemYesterday, the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, announced a Tsunami Awareness Project, and a review of the public response to tsunami warnings. These are of limited value due to a lack of detail about the review and restrictions placed on distribution of the awareness campaign materials by the Attorney."Tsunami Education and Awareness" is a CD-ROM and web site distributed by Surf Life Saving http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/australian-tsunami-awareness-review.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-5753692959897782568Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:45:00 +00002010-03-08T09:26:50.887+11:00Health InformaticsThe ACS is hosting "The Patient Journey - What role for IT?" by Dr George Margelis, Industry Development Manager, Digital Health Group Intel Australia in Canberra, 9th March 2010 (BRISBANE 17 March):"George took on the role of Industry Development Manager for Intel's new Digital Health Group in November 2005. For him it was an opportunity to take an active role in changing the way healthcare was http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/role-of-it-in-health-canberra-9-march.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8828873443237694602Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:12:00 +00002010-03-05T14:33:55.990+11:00Balmain Marketweb designSydneyFolding BicycleHad a message from Electric Velocity, who sell electric bicycles in Sydney, to say that they had changed their web pages top ASP. I blogged their electric folding bicycle after seeing it at the Balmain Markets. They commented that they get a lot of referrals from my blog posting, so could I fix the link?I get such a query every week or two from companies and government agencies. They ask why myhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/simple-web-pages-are-best.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3677274555421162948Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:48:00 +00002010-03-05T14:48:50.362+11:00Green ITsustainable developmentACSTelecommunicationsThe Telecommunications Society of Australia has announced the completion for the fourth annual Eckermann-TJA Prize. I will be encouraging my Green ICT Students, to enter the competition. This year the competition is for the best paper by university students on sustainable ICT. The top students get $5,000 and their university $10,000.... Entries will be judged on the extent to which they http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/20000-for-student-green-ict-idea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-9146254512616399450Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:47:00 +00002010-03-05T09:54:04.373+11:00ICT PolicyGreen ITIT Industry PolicyACT GovernmentI presented evidence on "Sustainable ICT Procurement" to the ACT Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee, 9:30 am yesterday, as part of an Inquiry into ACT Government Procurement.The hearing started on time, with three MLAs and about five audience members. The ACT Government is more of a town council, that a regional government. The Committee Room 1 of the Legislative assembly was smallhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/sustaining-small-ict-business-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2123183196923850132Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:34:00 +00002010-03-05T10:24:20.703+11:00Web SearchPaul Thomas (CSIRO and ANU) presented a seminar on "Information Retrieval for Real-world Tasks" at the ANU CSIT Seminar Room, N101 today. He argued that web search engines are historically related to document search systems which were sponsored by the US DARPA (TREC). The original task typically was to find a ranked list of documents relevant to a question, such as ones on smuggling plutonium outhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/03/information-retrieval-for-real-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0