Simon Griffiths Blog

I have just finished an update to my other site. tad.tw is a mobile phone site that gives all the Brisbane train times on a mobile phone, that can be operated by one hand as you are walking along. I have just added ABC TV times so that you can check the TV too as your commuting. Check out the news too. I actually like the single line versions! 

ABC in Australia have just announced their version of the iPlayer, doing pretty much the same thing. Sign up for it at http://www.abc.net.au/playback/

I have just written a comment on an article about Green IT, published at IT-Director.com. I thought it would be worth sharing here too……

I work for a supplier of products to the ICT industry in Australia, B&R Data Systems (I mention their name to justify myself writing this at work). We are currently looking at our environmental policies, and to be honest are finding it really hard to work out what we can do.

To give you an example of our problems, there are at least 6 different initiatives we can sign up to. Probably 2 of them really are applicable to what we do, the others we can just do. On top of that we have the issue of economics. If we make a green product we have to go through a rigorous assessment procedure, and offset product carbon costs. This is going to cost us which we obviously need to pass on to the customer. We are left with the problem, if we do this will we gain market share from the increased \’marketability\’ of green products, or will we actually lose market share because our products will become more expensive?

Essentially we are left in confusion. We can do the right thing, but will it wreck or market, or we can do nothing.

I would be interested in your comments. Let me, and other similar manufacturers know. Would you pay extra for a carbon neutral, or a known amount of carbon production. If so how much extra would you pay? I have seen figures of up to 15%, but would you really do that?

As datacentre operators, you are faced with the same problems as us suppliers. If you buy equipment 15% more expensively, you will need to pass on that cost. This would probably represent  only a few percent of your costs, but would your customers go for it?

Please let me know, as I think this issue is one that we need to solve together, not in an atmosphere of competition and suspicion of profiteering.

Another rant I’m afraid. Maybe I should use appropriate tags

<rant>

I have an iiNet VOIP account which I swapped to recently. I have spent about 2 months going from one tech support to another trying to convince them that I have set it up right and that something just wasn’t working. Eventually I spoke to Belkin the router manufacturer and they confirmed that it was just broken and gave me a ref number to quote iiNet.

Up until that point everything was fine but long winded, but today I phoned them up, was again asked to go through the same stuff, and told rather shortly that if the next router didn’t work I should go elsewhere! Not sure that is great customer service! Not only have I had a faulty router for 2 months, had to wait for hours on the phone in their queue, but I’m then basically told that it’s my fault!

End of rant

</rant>

If you haven’t seen overlay.tv yet, take a look. You can overlay video off YouTube with info and embed it in your blog.

This is a great tool for all you marketers out there (like me). If you are looking at fashion brands you could video you shows then add tags so that people can just click on them and buy them online.

I’ll try to get one up in the next few days so you can see what I mean.

I have just had a look at IE8 and how to implement activities. I was hoping for microformats or data detectors within IE8, but what do we get instead? Proprietary code that just looks like the start of the browser wars 2.0.

What are you think MS? On the one hand you finally develop a browser that looks like it is standard compliant, then you go and add in your own custom tags!!! When will you learn!!????

I have a wireless network which I encrypt using WPA, and my Wii connects to that. I have also just bought a wireless sensor bar. When I was thinking about this, although a lot of this technology will be infra red, at some point there must surely be a radio signal going from the Wii to the controller. If this is the case is using my Wii opening up a hole in my otherwise well protected network?

It’s not that I’m worried about having any sensitive data on my network, but it just seems odd that this may be a hole for those that do!

I have just had a thought. Those USB dongles that you can now get from the phone companies. If you could get those without the USB and with Wifi. Now that I’d buy!

The closest I can see to it is Virgin’s broadband modem, but that is plugged in, and has VOIP and all sorts of other things built in.

YOu might be saying at this point, what about the battery size. But I’m sure if there are Wifi phones now, this can be done, and to be honest I don’t think you’d need that much charge. Maybe an hour or two at most until you get to a desk.

I have a problem. As a proud owner of an iPod Touch I would really like to be able to use the email and web browsing when I’m out and about. I have a phone, and an account that lets me connect to the net. I can even connect my laptop to it via bluetooth, but why isn’t these a simple device that will take the bluetooth signal, convert it to Wifi, so that my iPod can connect to it? It must be possible, as my laptop will do it, but I don’t really want to have to lug that around just to use the iPod!?

If you don’t know about multifactor ID, it usually involves your account number and

• Something you know – like your password
• Something you own -  like  a security token

Verisign and Ebay have been distribution tokens for some time, with a total cost of a big $7.50. These generate a 6 digit number that changes every 30 seconds. The long and the short of it is that even key stroke loggers would only have 30 secs to get into your bank account before the number changes, and if you are already in it, presumably that would not be allowed. Unlike a password which can just be read, using this system would require you to be physically burgled, or a fishing scam that you were suckered into, to get your bank details.

ITNews is reporting that Verisign are trying to get this system into Australian banks. Lets put pressure on them from the consumers to help improve our security.