Education Revolution

The Australian Government has promised that the majority of secondary school students will have access to a computer within the next 5 years as part of its Education Revolution strategy. The Federal Government has set aside $1.2 billion for the education revolution budget and out of this, $1.1 billion has been invested into the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund which is aiming to provide information and communication technology to students in years 9-12 over the next 5 years.

On June 12 2008, the Minster for Education, Julia Gillard confirmed that during the first round of funding 896 secondary schools across Australia would receive funding for 116,820 computers. Schools have been given grants of $1000 per computer which are being issued by the state and territory governments.

The aim of the first round of grants has been to bring down the computer to student ratio to 1:2 for schools that currently have a ratio of 1:8 or higher. In round two of the grants, the government wants to move all schools to a computer student ratio of 1:2. The Federal Government has also allocated a further $100 million to help set up fiber optic connections which would deliver high speed internet connections of up to 100 megabits per second to Australian schools.

The Federal Opposition have declared that the Education Revolution strategy as being under-funded and under-resourced. They have attacked the Federal Government for not being able to confirm when schools will be connected the high speed internet as outlined in their plans before the election.

Shadow Minister for Human Services, Helen Coonan, has said that providing students with computers without internet is like providing them with typewriters. They have also attacked the government further saying that schools and parents will have to bear the ongoing running costs for the computers such as electricity, internet connections, software and maintenance and that Australia has been conned by a "shrinking Education Revolution package".*


*Source- Liberal Party of Australia

Online advertising promotes its position

The online advertising industry has sealed its spot as an important part of the media world. A report by the International Advertising Bureau has shown that online advertising broke through the $1.5 billion barrier for the first time.

According to the report the internet advertising industry grew by 27% during the 2007/2008 financial year with search and directories leading the way by earning $706 million. Classifieds and display ads also grew over 20% each to reach a combined total of $800 million. The report states that the increase in revenue has been attributed to people spending more time on the internet as opposed to watching television with an average of 13.7 hours a week spent online next to 13.3 hours watching television.

According to IAB chief Paul Fisher, the finance sector was the biggest user of display advertising while the recruitment industry utilised classified ads the most. Mr Fisher also said, “there is still much work to be done to educate and inform the key industries that are not yet comfortable with advertising online”.*

Businesses are continuing to warm to online advertising because of its extensive reach and cost effectiveness compared to other mediums and according to the IAB online advertising and marketing is becoming an important inclusion within a company’s overall marketing strategy.

Through the use of internet technologies, companies are given the flexibility to track and view reports of their online campaigns in real time making it easier for them to see their return on investment and results and make any changes as required. This is a substantial advantage that online advertising has over other forms of advertising methods.

Fast Facts – Examples of online advertising

· Banner advertising
· Online video advertising
· Paid Search – through search engines such as Google and Yahoo
· Email advertising through newsletters and advertising on free email sites like Hotmail
· Comparison shopping sites and shopping feeds
· Pop ups


*Source- The Australian

User friendly and fashionable

Sony have released a new digital camera which is both fashionable and user friendly. The Sony DSC W120 comes in a wide range of colours including pink and has a balance between fashion and function.

The camera features a smile and face recognition system which gives the user a better chance of capturing faces and smiles in the right focus which has been designed with beginners in mind. It comes with a 7.2MP sensor, 4 x optical zoom lens and 2.5" LCD display which is good for beginners and advanced users alike.

Sony have designed the camera to be minimalistic and this is show in its size. The width of the camera is 23mm and it weighs 150g making it small enough to carry in or handbag.


Image Source - Sony

2008 Beijing Olympics fall victim to online fraud

Many people, including Australians have been hit by an online ticketing scam targeting the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The global scam has reportedly sold more than $50 million worth of fake Olympic tickets.

A Brisbane property developer lost close to $50,000 in the scam which involved a number of dummy websites such as www.beijing-tickets2008.com, www.beijingticketing.com and theonlineticketexchange.com set up to look like legitimate Olympic ticketing websites. Among those who were caught up in the scam was former NSW state opposition leader Kerry Chikarovski who lost $350 in the scam.

The Australian Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee have received thousands of complaints from consumers who have been conned and say that the websites fraudulently used the Olympic logos and trademarks to pass themselves off as being legitimate ticketing sites for the Olympic games. The International Olympic Committee has since closed down these sites and sued a number of them claiming they profited from their activities.

Alan Scott, the director of The Online Ticket Exchange, passed the blame on to suppliers saying "our suppliers have not been able to honour their commitments to us in supplying tickets for the Summer Olympics." * The Australian Olympic Committee has advised that any Olympic tickets should be purchased through the website CoSports which is the only authorised seller of Olympic tickets in the country. The Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has put images and samples on their website to show how the legitimate tickets should look like.

Australians who suspect that they may have been caught up in the scam have been urged to contact the Australian Olympic Committee.


*Source- Sydney Morning Herald
*Image- Official Beijing Olympic Website

Google will help you find your way

If you can't find your way with a street directory Google have come up with what they believe is the solution for finding your way easier. They have now introduced street view mapping to their Google mapping services which allows a user to navigate their way at street level to help them become familiar with the area they me traveling to.

The street view mapping allows user's to view 360 degree images of the streets and locations that they want to go to. They can use their computer to virtually wander through streets and towns and also view landmarks. Australia is the third country behind the United States and France to introduce street view mapping and has coverage of most of the east and west coasts of the country. Google product manager Andrew Foster has confirmed that "more of the country will be covered by street view over the coming months including the famous landmark Uluru."

Street view image from under the Sydney Harbour Bridge - Source Google

There have been privacy issued raised with this new technology and these pictures from the U.S. show what images can be caught when using street view mapping. Also in the U.S., celebrities have had their houses removed or fake addresses put in for their properties to stop fans and paparazzi searching for them and finding them. In some cases, whole streets have been removed in Hollywood to protect the privacy of the celebrities that live there.Google Australia have taken steps towards protecting people's privacy which includes an automatic blurring tool that blurs number plates and faces of people which may be caught by the cameras. User's can also have their houses removed from the street view mapping tool by going to the "help" section of Google street view maps and submitting a request.

Can we all afford this Lamborghini?

Asus computers have just released its stunning new notebook called the Asus Lamborghini VX3. This unbelievable machine has received its name sake from the car manufacturer Lamborghini but after researching this beast it has taken away so much more from the super car other than its name.


The styling and design of the notebook has been made to appeal to those who love luxury and do not want to compromise on style so much so that Asus have worded the description of the notebook to make it sound like you are purchasing the most luxurious super car available to mankind. According to Asus, the notebook has been "crafted with exquisite materials like sapphire crystal, titanium alloy and genuine leather"* which really paints a picture in your mind that you are not just buying any notebook- but the super car of notebooks.

The Lamborghini VX3 notebook is available in a black or yellow high gloss paint finish and features the Lamborghini emblem which come together to resemble the hood of a car. Asus have also implemented a leather bound finish around the keyboard with yellow stitching to emulate the fashionable interior of a Lamborghini.


There are a few features which i have found to be unique to this notebook and that is the titanium alloy hinge bar which is designed to make the hinge area of the notebook stronger. In addition to this they have also encased the webcam in a sapphire crystal surface which has been touting as being the second hardest material behind the diamond.

Some reviews have commented on the lack of performance from the battery as well as the overall power of the notebook, which seems ironic as the notebook is designed after one of the world’s most famous super car brand. I believe this notebook is targeted at consumers who are after a notebook which is more about looks and style rather than high end power and performance.

At a price tag of AUD $4999 RRP, some of us may still have to wait for a more modest car branded notebook to hit the shelves!

Watch a video of the release of the Asus Lamborghini VX3 at this years' CEBIT technology conference in Hannover, Germany.


*Source- Asus Australia
*Images- Asus Australia

A Wii bit of Exercise

A recent study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that playing the Nintendo Wii can burn up to 50% more energy than traditional sit down games such as the Sony Playstation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. The study shows that the Wii may be better for children than the sit down games, however are no substitute for real exercise or for fighting the child obesity epidemic.

According to the study, real boxing burned twice as much energy as opposed to the Wii version of boxing and real tennis burned up to 77% more calories than the Wii tennis. Compared to traditional games like the Playstation and Xbox, people playing the Nintendo Wii used roughly 2% more energy overall.

The British study found that the amount of activity brought on by playing the Nintendo Wii was not enough to be counted within a person's recommended daily exercise recommendations but more preferred over the traditional sit down games. Research has shown links with too much sitting leading to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, so further studies would need to be completed to see the long term effects that these kind of interactive games would have on health.


Nintendo Australia's public relations manger Heather Murphy confirmed that the "Nintendo Wii was not a substitute for physical activity, however a great way for people to ease into exercise or to complement what they're already doing." * The report showed that the general consensus amongst parents and children is that playing interactive games should for now be treated as a game and not exercise.

Nintendo have introduced an interactive game called Wii Fit which is setting the bench mark for healthier interactive video games.


*Source - Sydney Morning Herald
*Images- Nintendo Australia