Show us your Telstra deal, Optus tells NBN Co
The nation's number two telco Optus today said it wanted to see the detail of Telstra's $11 billion deal with the National Broadband Network Company, so it could ensure its customers would be treated no different by the fledgling fibre monopoly than those of Telstra.
400,000 iPhones: Telstra’s Apple lovefest
With both Optus and VHA experiencing problems with their mobile networks over the past several years, at Telstra it may be a case of making smartphone hay while the sun shines -- if numbers disclosed by the telco's chief executive at its half-yearly results briefing session this morning are to be believed.
Will HP’s TouchPad launch in Australia?
Overnight in the US, HP unveiled its answer to Apple's iPad; a new tablet based on the WebOS operating system it acquired with Palm. But it remains unclear whether the device will launch in Australia -- with its WebOS predecessors never having made it down under, and no details on local availability having been confirmed as yet.
Conroy eviscerates Economist’s “right-wing dogma”
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has delivered a contemptuous riposte to the research arm of global financial magazine The Economist, describing a report produced by the organisation on Labor's flagship National Broadband Network project as "right-wing dogma".
Progress? Telstra agrees NBN “commercial terms”
The nation's largest telco Telstra this morning revealed it had "provisionally agreed" key commercial terms core to its agreement with NBN Co, which will see its fixed-line broadband customers and some infrastructure progressively moved into the fledgling company as the National Broadband Network is rolled out over the next decade.
CSC core to $55.7m Defence eHealth project
The Department of Defence this morning unveiled plans to build a $55.7 million electronic health system to maintain records about armed forces personnel, commissioning IT services companies CSC and Oakton to assist it with the work.
Aussie gaming industry went south in 2010
Independent market research has recorded a 16 per cent drop in sales for Australia's games and entertainment industry in 2010, compared with the previous year.
Redundancies hit iiNet management
Just a week after it claimed it was in pole position to take advantage of the National Broadband Network, and in the middle of "its biggest advertising campaign ever", iiNet has confirmed it recently conducted a round of redundancies that predominantly hit its head office workforce.
Nintendo 3DS to hit Australia March 31
Nintendo last night announced that it would start selling its flagship handheld 3DS console in Australia on March 31 for $349.95, bringing 3D viewing technology to the gaming market for the first time.
“Fat” Internode’s plan changes a “joke”, claims Linton
The outspoken chief executive of broadband provider Exetel has blasted a series of plan changes by rival Internode yesterday as a "joke of an announcement", claiming the move represented "desperation" in the face of Telstra's recent attempt to win back market share in broadband.
Internode snips broadband plan range
National broadband provider Internode today announced it would massively simplify its broadband plans on offer, cutting out 60 of its 78 plans.
FOXTEL comes to Telstra’s T-Box
The pay TV service operated by joint venture FOXTEL will be available through Telstra's T-box media centre, as a result of an agreement announced today by the two companies.
Dump NBN for underground power, says Langbroek
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland, John-Paul Langbroek, is calling on the Federal Government to re-consider the roll-out of the National Broadband Network and to prioritise underground power instead.
Oakton boosting offshore recruitment
Local IT services Oakton today revealed it was planning to hire 50 per cent of the new staff to join its ranks over the next six months in India; a move that comes as the company has reduced its headcount in its home state of Victoria over the past year.
Vodafone confirms Nexus S for Australia
Mobile telco VHA tonight confirmed it would be bringing Google's Nexus S handset to Australia, although the date of the local launch and any pricing details remain under wraps for now.
“Sensible & pragmatic”: MS on open source policy
The company that many consider to be the poster child for proprietary software has publicly welcomed a significant new Federal Government policy which will require departments and agencies to evaluate open source software wherever possible, describing it as "sensible and pragmatic".
Thodey to deliver Mobile World Congress keynote
Telstra chief executive David Thodey has confirmed plans to deliver a keynote address at the mobile industry's flagship Mobile World Congress confab in Spain next week, in coalition with partner Amdocs.
Could Hulu come to Australia?
Could popular US video streaming site Hulu finally allow Australians onto its hallowed platform, after years of region-blocking the nation’s IP addresses? Yes, says the Sydney Morning Herald.
Brisbane gamer challenges Korean StarCraft scene
Brisbane-based StarCraft II professional gamer Andrew Pender has announced he will take on the high-level Korean professional StarCraft scene.
Photos: NBN Co network termination units
Regular Delimiter reader and all-round telco commentator Michael Wyres was at a NBN Co briefing this week and took these shots of the company’s internal and external network termination units, which will be installed in homes and businesses. Michael has kindly supplied us with the shots, but we recommend you visit his excellent blog for a fuller explanation of how everything works.
Telstra loses Far North Qld link
The nation's largest telco Telstra this morning revealed it had lost a key network link in Far North Queensland and would suffer some disruption to emergency services calls, as telcos in general continue to struggle with a trail of destruction in the state left in the path of Tropical Cyclone Yasi.
iiNet’s IPv6 is on its way too
National broadband provider iiNet today said it was well advanced in its planning for the expected Internet Protocol version 4 address global shortage, and the shift to version 6 of the long-lived protocol.
HP GETS BUILDING: New datacentre revealed
HP announced today its multi-million dollar investment to build a new data centre in Western Sydney, in a press conference attended by Senator Stephen Conroy.
No internet “kill switch” for Australia, says Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this morning said the Australian Government wouldn't take the sort of action its counterpart in Egypt has over the past week, in attempting to block communication between protesters in the country by shutting down all access to the internet.
Miser Internode is hoarding IPv4 addresses
Internode is ready to battle what is expected to be a global shortage of Internet Protocol version 4 addresses during 2011.
By 2015, Australians will have 2.4 mobile devices each
Networking giant Cisco has predicted Australians will have 2.4 mobile devices each and a five-fold increased mobile speed connection by 2015.
Australians love the Pirate Bay, warns AFACT
The Australian organisation tasked with protecting the copyright of film and television studios locally has warned the nation has a love affair with BitTorrent haven the Pirate Bay and other sites which allow files to be traded online through peer to peer file sharing technologies.
Brisbane taps Azure as Microsoft pushes cloud
Microsoft has revealed Brisbane City Council as the first Australian public sector customer of its flagship Windows Azure platform, in a response to the Federal Government's cloud computing discussion paper released earlier this month.
Austar CIO leaves stable base behind
The long-time chief information officer of Austar has flagged his departure from the company's Australian operations for a role in Europe with its parent company Liberty Global, with his shoes being filled by two senior IT executives with a decade each of experience at the pay TV operator.
Open source policy pleases Red Hat, Linux Australia
Open source organisations Red Hat and Linux Australia have both welcomed the Federal Government's revised approach to dealing with open source software, which will see a more active approach taken to the technology than that used in the past.
iPads feature in ACT Health tablet trial
ACT Health this week revealed it's investigating the potential use of tablet devices in Canberra Hospital, an initiative which will involve examining Apple's hyped iPad device and other platforms.
Scrap the NBN to pay for floods: 28 percent say “Yes”
Scrapping or postponing the National Broadband Network rollout is Australians' most preferred mean of funding the flood relief program in Queensland and Victoria, according to a new poll, with some 28 percent of more than a thousand respondents polled in favour of such a move.
Legal threat: Cudo warns deals aggregator site
Australian 'deal of the day' site Cudo has sent local group buying aggregation site Buyii a letter claiming it is infringing its copyright by listing its deals and logo alongside those of rivals.
Free Wi-Fi hits more Sydney ferries
The New South Wales Government has extended its provision of free Wi-Fi access on Sydney ferries to cover a total of 13 vessels, in the wake of a trial last year which had seen more than 140,000 people logging on to the network initially set up on the Manly Ferry.
Hackett exits iiNet’s Top Geek poll; appointed judge
Internode managing director Simon Hackett has made a graceful exit from a competition being held by rival broadband provider iiNet to find Australia's 'Top Geek', accepting an invitation to help judge the winner instead of potentially taking out the top prize himself.
Ballarat wins Linux.conf.au 2012 bid
A year after its unsuccessful bid to host Australia's flagship Linux conference in 2011, a team representing the regional Victorian centre of Ballarat has won the right to host Linux.conf.au in early 2012.
NBN: Conroy blasts ‘ignorant & dangerous’ Abbott
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has delivered a verbal double barrel shotgun blast in the direction of Tony Abbott, claiming the Opposition Leader has displayed a "woeful ignorance" regarding Labor's vaunted National Broadband Network project.
Data#3 flags profit upgrade
Diversified IT products and services group Data#3 this week revealed it was expected to boost its profit before tax by 50 to 60 per cent for the first half of its financial year.
NBN: Abbott slams “interactive gambling” waste
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has again called for the Federal Government's National Broadband Network project to be scrapped, claiming Queensland residents suffering in the wake of the state's catastrophic floods would rather have transport infrastructure rebuilt than the "interactive gambling" that he said the NBN would offer.
IT’S MANDATORY: Govt forces open source option
The Federal Government has dramatically changed its position on the use of open source software by departments and agencies in Canberra, publishing a policy today that mandates the consideration of such options in any technology purchase.
Macquarie Telecom bursts into cloud market
Enterprise-focused telco Macquarie Telecom today launched its cloud computing play in the Australian market, joining a throng of competitors to have entered the space over the past year.
HTC loses high-profile local exec Petts
Smartphone giant HTC has lost its highest-profile Australian executive to Motorola, just weeks before the flagship Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, at which the company is expected to make further announcements about new handsets to arrive in 2011.
Australian spam goes on holiday
Australia's spam rate has fallen by more than 15 per cent since July 2010, and it's now 1.3 percentage point below the average 78.6 per cent registered globally by Symantec.
CA buys Sydney company Torokina
Global software giant CA Technologies yesterday revealed it had acquired a Sydney startup, Torokina Networks, which specialises in providing fault, several level and performance management technologies and services to support the implementation of next-generation mobile networks.
UniSA feels comfortable with PeopleSoft
The University of South Australia expects to save $2.5 million over the next five years, by deploying an upgraded version of Oracle's PeopleSoft to run its online student management system.
Google Australia finds its Leeder
Google Australia & New Zealand this afternoon revealed it has appointed Nick Leeder as its new managing director, after having tracked down candidates over the past three months.
Queensland Health kicks off iPad trial
Queensland Health this week revealed it was running a trial of Apple's hyped iPad tablet, deploying the device within its administrative employees -- although tests with clinical staff have not yet kicked off.
Foster’s loses CIO Leyden
Less than two years after being appointed to his role, and with an expected demerger of the brewer's beer and wine businesses on the cards, Foster's chief information officer Andrew Leyden has reportedly left his job for pastures unknown.
New ASUS Eee PC hits Australia mid-Feb
The portable computer market has come a long way since ASUS kicked off the netbook revolution in 2007, and some are predicting tablets will do much to take their place over the next several years. But ASUS, for one, is still pushing the netbook form factor to the max.
NetApp snipes at EMC storage launch
NetApp Australia's most senior technical head has taken a number of potshots at the company's arch-rival EMC, in a blog post published after a major launch by EMC last week of a slew of new products and features.
Office format war: AGIMO faces horde of critics
The Federal Government's peak IT strategy group has been forced to defend its decision to standardise the public sector on a Microsoft-focused office document standard, as online commentators used the weekend to slam the group for what they saw as a lack of vision regarding rival open standards.
Treasury flags VoIP upgrade
The Federal Department of the Treasury has gone to market for a supplier to replace its existing PABX with a Voice over Internet telephony (VOIP) system.
Vodafone “pleased” with network fix progress
Mobile telco VHA this morning said it was pleased with the progress it had made in resolving customer complaints about its Vodafone brand, in reaction to the publication of a 30 page report by critic website Vodafail.com overnight, which details a raft of customer complaints about the telco.
Telstra confirms Ericsson deal talks
The nation's largest telco Telstra this morning confirmed it was in talks with Swedish networking giant Ericsson, which built its flagship Next G mobile network, for a major network expansion project reportedly worth $473 million.
We’re open: AGIMO denies Microsoft bias
The Federal Government's peak technology strategy group has denied a significant new policy guiding desktop software use would hamper employee productivity through locking down desktops and restrict public sector use of alternative desktop software such as Firefox or Open Office.
Epic Vodafail: 30 page report smashes Vodafone
Vodafone accountability website Vodafail today opened up a new and dramatic front in its ongoing war against struggling mobile telco VHA, dumping a 30 page report on its head that the site claimed documented a history of failures, both technical and human, over the past few months.
Spreets: Yesterday, today and the future
When Yahoo!7 informed the media there would have been a significant announcement on Thursday morning, there was no suspicion that a $40 million dollar acquisition was about to take place.
Yahoo!7 buys Spreets for $40m
Yahoo!7 has snapped up Australian group buying site Spreets for an amount reported to be a cool $40 million just 12 months after the site launched to provide the local market with similar functionality as multi-billion-dollar US titan Groupon.
After 43 years, Telstra loses COO Rocca
43-year Telstra veteran and current chief operations officer Michael Rocca has resigned from Telstra, the telco revealed today, and will be replaced with IBM executive and former head of Big Blue's Global Services joint venture in Australia, Brendon Riley.
Dell won’t talk Australian mobiles, tablets
Internationally, giant PC manufacturer Dell is expanding into Android-based smartphones and tablets left and right. But, at a press conference in Sydney yesterday, the company locally remained unable to confirm when the incoming wave of Dell devices would hit Australian shores.
Fed Govt to maintain locked-down desktops
The Federal Government's peak technology strategy group has published a significant new policy that lays out common standards for deploying new desktop PC and laptop enviroments for the entire public sector in Canberra. However, workers frustrated with their lack of control over their work computer may not find much to like in the document.
You’re history, Salesforce.com tells Microsoft
The Australian division of software as a service giant Salesforce.com yesterday issued a tough statement in response to Microsoft's attempt to muscle in on its online CRM turf, describing Redmond's solutions as "a snapshot of history" rather than a modern application.
Health departments shun official iPad trials
Consumers love it. Business professionals in a wide range of fields love it. Politicians (hello, Mr Turnbull) love it. Even babies love it. And increasingly, doctors and other medical professionals love it. But six months after the iPad launched in Australia and with the hyped Apple tablet selling like hotcakes, Australia’s health departments don’t yet appear to be that interested in the device.
Scrap the NBN, says Abbott; Qld needs the money
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called for the National Broadband Network project to be scrapped and its capital funding allocated instead to the reconstruction effort in the wake of the disastrous floods in Queensland and perhaps Victoria.
Fujitsu toasts cloud SAP deal
Fujitsu this morning revealed its push into the local cloud computing market was starting to bear fruit, with local beverage giant Frucor contracting the IT services giant to provide it with a cloud computing-based implementation of a SAP platform.
Online CRM battle: Microsoft Australia declares war
Microsoft's global war against software rivals Salesforce.com and Oracle flared up dramatically on Australian shores this morning, as the company launched the software as a service version of its popular Dynamics CRM suite locally with a slew of partners and its first customer, in addition to an aggressive pricing scheme.
NSW Education appoints new CIO
The NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) this morning confirmed it had appointed Victorian public servant Stephen Loquet as its new chief information officer.
vividwireless revamps broadband plans
Wireless telco vividwireless has unveiled minor changes to its broadband plan range, boosting download quotas across the board and bundling voice services into its offering.
Aussie manufacturing ramped thru NBN deals
The National Broadband Network Company has inked a trio of small contracts with local equipment companies, in a move that industry minister Kim Carr today claimed would create four hundred Australian jobs.
Knowledge database Quora lures Australians
International use of the site has exploded over the past few months as the social knowledge sharing site has gone viral, and Australians have not proven immune to its charm, as the nation slowly works out how Quora's innovative knowledge database can be used Down Under.
AAPT chief backs Queensland facilities
AAPT chief executive Paul Broad has defended the ability of his company’s infrastructure to weather natural disasters, after it appeared to be one of the few telcos to have its actual datacentres under threat this week by Queensland’s rising floodwaters, although many lost key portions of their fixed or wireless telecommunications infrastructure.
Sacked: VHA gives rogue staff cold shoulder
Mobile giant VHA has sacked a number of staff over a high-profile alleged security breach over the past few weeks with respect to its Vodafone brand that saw customer information compromised, and referred the matter to the New South Wales Police.
The big update: Telco networks in Queensland
Telecommunication companies are currently struggling to restore their services in flooded Queensland territory, as access to damaged exchange sites is still denied and power outages prevent networks from operating.
Immigration inks $107 million CSC renewal
CSC has picked up a $107 million contract renewal deal with the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), in a move that will see the technology services giant continue to provide the department with mainframe and mid-range services for another two years.
Active Directory, AAPT the culprit in Ray White outage
Real estate giant Ray White has clarified that it was actually an inability for its Active Directory installation to communicate with the rest of the world which has taken down its email systems this week during the Queensland floods -- courtesy of an AAPT outage at its facility in the Riverside building in Brisbane.
Telstra locked out of hundreds of Qld exchanges
Telstra has been temporarily locked out of 262 of its telephone exchanges throughout Queensland, according to a bulletin issued yesterday to its wholesale customers, with exchanges in areas such as Edison, Ipswitch and Fortitude Valley actually at risk of power loss or the facilities themselves being flooded.
Microsoft Australia picks new government chief
Microsoft Australia this morning revealed its health chief Michael Gration had been promoted to lead its local public sector business, following the promotion of incumbent Pip Marlow to lead the local company as a whole.
Money not a problem as Jellema tries to fix email
Tjoos co-founder and Australian startup luminary Bart Jellema this week revealed he's in the throes of forming his next technology startup. But don't ask the entrepreneur for its revenue model -- he says it's not an issue.
Ray White’s email goes down in the floods …but just the Exchange portion
Real estate giant Ray White has this week received a graphic demonstration of the benefits of switching to cloud-hosted email, with the Microsoft Exchange portion of its staff email systems appearing to have been taken out by Queensland's floods; and the Google Apps portion it's migrating to remaining up.
AAPT: Multiple Brisbane co-lo sites “under threat”
Telco giant AAPT this afternoon revealed a number of its Brisbane-based co-location hosting sites were in danger of being affected by rising floodwaters in the capital, in the wake of news this morning that it had powered down one site in Eagle Street.
ASG inks SAP deal as cloud hovers
Local IT services group ASG today announced it had signed a SAP-related contract with CITIC Pacific Mining, in a win which the Perth-headquartered company hailed as its entrance into the local cloud computing race.
Colin Jacobs, you bastion of common sense
Call us crazy, but here at Delimiter we’re not normally enamoured of the coverage that Australia’s TV networks give the technology sector. Frankly, they normally don’t understand what they’re talking about — and who can blame them? It’s not their area of expertise. That’s why we’ve come to love the appearances by Electronic Frontiers Australia chair Colin Jacobs on shows like the 7PM Project.
Video: Domenic Carosa talks web startups, investment
Domenic Carosa is currently one of the most active investors in early stage Australian technology companies — particularly web startups. His Future Capital Development Fund has invested in eight startups and is looking for more. We’ve reported on a few of those investments — CheapHotels, MyGuestList and Imorial and EventArch — and we’re sure there are more to come.
POWERED DOWN: Flood takes out AAPT datacentre
The Queensland floods have claimed their first datacentre victim, with AAPT's facility at 167 Eagle St in Brisbane confirmed to have powered down. And a number of other facilities may be about to follow it, as the statewide disaster continues to hit technology providers where it hurts.
Technology giants evac Brisvegas as floods rise
A number of major Australian technology companies were yesterday forced to evacuate Brisbane staff from their premises as rising flood waters threatened the city's central business district.
Around 2,000 Telstra staff left the company's Brisbane facilities, with the location of its headquarters in the city particuarly being an issue.
Gillard must develop strategic IT plan, says analyst
Independent analyst firm Ovum has called on the Gillard government to publish a multi-year IT Strategic plan, claiming the state's public sector needed a new list of priorities following the knife-edge election, which resulted in a minority Labor Government.
Oh dear: Longhaus outs 2010 bloopers reel
We’re big fans of Queensland-based analyst firm Longhaus here at Delimiter — and especially their stellar Longhaus TV offering which brings an entertaining and informative video spin to Australia’s technology sector. However, as everyone who has spent any time filming video knows, there are always plenty of screwed up takes before the perfect one hits
Australians using just 15 percent of broadband quota
Australians use only 15 percent of their monthly broadband quota, on average, according to a report by Sydney-based telecommunications analyst firm Market Clarity released this week.
Fibre broadband speeds pointless, claims Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday claimed there was no evidence that there was any benefit to end users from getting access to broadband speeds higher than currently available under existing ADSL2+ technology.
Netregistry backs Gerry Harvey’s GST war
Local hosting and domain name specialist NetRegistry has backed the Gerry Harvey-fronted push for a level tax playing field between Australian and international retailers, saying the issue was affecting its massive local small to medium business customer base.
auDA passes on Groupon domain scandal
Australia's domain name regulator late last week said the scuffle between US online coupon giant Groupon and local imitator Scoopon was out of its jurisdiction, because the Australian company had registered the "Groupon" business name in Australia as well as the local domain name associated with it.
Spat continues: Gartner rejects AIIA’s “squatter’s logic”
The high-profile falling out between a Gartner analyst and the Australian Information Industry Association continued late last week, with further shots being fired in the battle between the pair in public on a blog hosted by the analyst firm.
Vodafone investigates reported security breach
Mobile telco VHA this afternoon said it was investigating an alleged breach of its security which has reportedly seen customers' personal information -- including details of who they called and when -- made available to some individuals who have gained password access to its internal customer database for its Vodafone brand.
Video: Complete Quigley press conference
This 35 minute video constitutes the complete press conference which NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley held at NBN Co's headquarters in Sydney on 7 January 2011.
Vic opt-out block no big deal, says NBN chief
NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley isn't fazed by the Victorian Government's decision to reject the 'opt-out' policy which would have seen every premise in the state receive fast broadband by default, noting today Australians could make their own decision to sign up to his company's planned new network or not.
AGIMO drafts cloud computing strategy
The word 'Government' has virtually been a taboo subject within local cloud computing circles for the past decade, with most agreeing the public sector was too security-conscious to consider hosting data in what it has traditionally seen as risky environments. But all that may be about to change.
Quigley faces down Alcatel bribery questions
NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley has mounted a good-humoured defence against claims he and his chief financial officer could have contributed to a poor management culture at their previous employer Alcatel, which US regulators have linked to corruption in the company’s South American subsidiaries.
CES 2011: Which tablets and phones will hit Australia?
Companies like HTC, Samsung, LG, ASUS, Acer, Sony Ericsson, Lenovo and Dell have all announced new products at CES; but so far none of the companies have confirmed plans to launch their new products in Australia. When Delimiter asked the local representatives of the multinational technology giants this week asking for any local pricing or launch details, the almost universal response was: "It's too early to know", with local plans not yet having been finalised.
Amazon’s Android Appstore is US-only
Web services and e-commerce giant Amazon has limited its mobile app store launched overnight to use by United States customers only, and has placed tax restrictions on international developers selling their software through the new platform.
IP war: AIIA tries to “enlighten” Gartner
Australia's peak technology industry group has published a strongly worded rejection of a controversial blog post by a senior Gartner analyst, arguing it needed to correct a number of "misrepresentations" and "enlighten" the researcher as to the group's true intentions with respect to intellectual property rights in government.
9,000 get on the Vodafone class action bus
Local law firm Piper Alderman today claimed to have collected the details of some 9,000 customers who were interested in taking part in a class action lawsuit against mobile telco VHA over its troubled Vodafone network hiccups over the past few months.
Stevens back from the dead as Boreham quits
Global technology giant IBM this afternoon confirmed its Australia/New Zealand managing director Glenn Boreham had resigned and would be replaced by Andrew Stevens, a top-level executive who has maintained a low profile since his controversial days integrating the consulting business of PriceWaterhouseCoopers earlier last decade.
Groupon rails against Aussie ‘domain squatters’
US coupon giant Groupon has intensified its lawsuit and war of words against local rival Scoopon, publicly accusing the smaller site of “domain squatting” its Australian domain name and stealing its trademark.
We’ll fix the network, promises Vodafone
Mobile telco VHA has pledged to implement a series of rolling upgrades this year to the network of its troubled Vodafone brand, following a series of outages and problems in 2010 that bought the company a tsunami of customer complaints.
ON HOLD: WA slams brakes on shared services
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has hit the pause button on one critical aspect of the state's Shared Corporate Services project, pending a further review into what the Liberal leader described as "teething problems".
Flight Control maker buys Puzzle Quest studio
Two of Australia's most well-known niche video gaming studios are set to merge their operations, with the acquisition of Infinite Interactive by fellow Melbourne development house Firemint.
GST issue ‘not about the internet’, claims Harvey
Billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey today said the debate about foreign retailers not being forced to collect GST on some Australian purchases had been misconstrued to be a battle between companies like his Harvey Norman empire and the internet.
Marlow takes Microsoft Australia reins
Microsoft has promoted local executive Pip Marlow to a role leading its Australian subsidiary, in the wake of the departure of its former local chief Tracey Fellows to Asia-Pacific responsibilities.
2010 Whirlpool survey focuses on the NBN
Australia’s most controversial and perhaps largest internet forum has just opened the doors of its flagship annual survey, which will poll readers throughout January on their broadband purchasing habits and general opinion about the telecommunications market in general. And the focus in 2010? The National Broadband Network.
Please explain Alcatel bribes, Turnbull tells Quigley
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has demanded an explanation from the chief executive and chief financial officers of the National Broadband Network Company over the bribery scandal which has engulfed their former employer and now key equipment supplier, French networking giant Alcatel-Lucent.
It’s policy: Victoria rejects NBN opt-out
Victoria’s new technology minister has confirmed the state’s new Coalition Government does not support the introduction of Labor’s preferred ‘opt-out’ model for the National Broadband Network, in a move that will force residents to actively choose to receive fibre infrastructure when the rollout hits their neighbourhood.
Face to face: Vodafail’s Brimo meets VHA chief
Over just a few short weeks his nascent website has become a focal point for customers angered by problems in the mobile networks of telco giant VHA, with his name has been splashed across Australia's mass media. Now Vodafail founder Adam Brimo has taken his complaints directly to the top of the corporate telco ladder.
Law firm considers Vodafone class action
Australian law firm Piper Alderman is calling for angry customers to register their interest in participating in a class action law suit against Vodafone, following the mobile telco’s recent spate of outages and technical glitches that has left some with a temporarily degraded level of service.
Merry Christmas from Delimiter
We wanted to wish all of Delimiter's readers, partners, customers and Australia's technology sector in general a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and to thank you for all your support in our first year of operation. It's been a blast -- and if early indications are any guide, 2011 will be even bigger and better
Macquarie IT academics protest cuts
A number of senior academic staff within Macquarie University’s computer science department have contacted students directly to warn them of budget cuts that they claim will affect the quality of education at the institution in 2011.
ACCC spurs Dell to action on warranties
It may be Christmas, but that doesn't mean the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is in a giving mood.
ACCC suffers initial setback in TPG case
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been dealt in a blow in its lawsuit against national broadband provider TPG over the company's $29.99 'Unlimited' ADSL2+ plan, with the judge in the case denying the regulator's application to freeze TPG's advertisments until the case is finalised.
One day later, Health confirms $109m IBM renewal
Just 24 hours after publicly denying it had renewed its long-running comprehensive IT outsourcing arrangement with technology behemoth IBM, the Federal Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) has reversed its statement and confirmed the arrangement.
Telstra loses enterprise chief Caesar
Telstra today revealed the head of its Enterprise & Government division, Nerida Caesar, would leave the company, with her role to be temporarily filled by the telco's wholesale chief Paul Geason.
Commentators pan ‘uncompetitive’ NBN plan
A number of Australia's most senior business and economics commentators have opened fire on Labor's flagship National Broadband Network project, claiming NBN Co's corporate plan released on Monday was based on flawed assumptions and demonstrated the project would wind back competition in the telecommunications sector.
Google staff to get free Nexus S handsets
There have always been perks to working for much-hyped global technology giant Google. Great food, 20 percent time to work on your own projects and an incredibly relaxed but innovative and work environment.
Samsung Galaxy S owners getting Froyo shortly
Australian owners of Samsung's Galaxy S handset will be receiving the Android 2.2 (Froyo) update over the air to their devices shortly, if they haven't already, according to the South Korean electronics giant.
Gartner launches all-out war on ‘self-interested’ AIIA
One of Gartner Australia's most senior analysts has launched a flagrant attack on the technology industry's peak representative group in a strongly worded blog post taking the group to task for its "misleading, illogical or demonstratably wrong" position on governments releasing intellectual property rights to their suppliers.
Plan now or be a NBN “dinosaur”, AIIA tells business
Australia's peak technology industry representative body has told Australian businesses to start preparing for the onset of the National Broadband Network or risk being left behind, in the wake of the release yesterday of NBN Co's business plan outlining the next several decades' work ahead for the project.
Internode warns: New PoI model could consolidate ISP industry
Simon Hackett on Sunday published a strident critique of the large number of Points of Interconnect (PoIs) model being promulgated by Australia’s larger telcos, instead backing NBN Co’s own minimalist vision. But what does the Internode chief think of the new model outlined by the Government yesterday, which mandates a number somewhere in between?
NBN: Abbott rejects “video entertainment system”
The Federal Opposition Leader has once again taken an axe to Labor’s National Broadband Network project, claiming it wasn’t worth spending government money on a telecommunications upgrade which would primarily be used to fuel the nation’s passion for high-end video and gaming content.
Gigabit fibre for ~ $150/month: NBN Co plan revealed
The Federal Government this morning released the long-awaited corporate plan outlining how NBN Co plans to build and operate its planned fibre network over the next decade and more, including tantalising details such as the promise of a uniform national wholesale price for 1Gbps fibre broadband for close to $150 per month.
Many PoI NBN model “insane”, says Hackett
National broadband provider Internode has published a strongly worded argument in favour of NBN Co's existing model for connecting internet service providers to its future fibre network, backing the incumbent minimalist structure which would see just 14 so-called Points of Interconnect located around the nation, and calling rival proposals "insane".
What will the Govt do after iiNet’s BitTorrent case?
The Federal Government has distanced itself from a report that it was waiting for the outcome of the high-profile court case between iiNet and a number of movie and TV studios before seeking to overhaul online copyright laws dealing with illegal file-sharing by Australians.
Conroy to release NBN Co plan Monday
The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has confirmed plans to release the National Broadband Network Company's long-awaited business plan for public viewing from Monday.
Rodriguez exits as NSW cans CIO role
Reclusive New South Wales whole of government chief information officer Emmanuel Rodriguez (pictured) will leave his post on the wings of a wide-ranging restructure within the State Government which will see his office devolved into the Department of Technology, Services and Administration super-agency.
An unusual entrance at Pollenizer’s Christmas party
Web startup consultancy and seed fund Pollenizer last night held its Christmas party on the balcony above its Surry Hills, Sydney offices, in coalition with the Silicon Beach community of local tech startups. At one stage, co-founder Mick Liubinskas makes an unusual entrance, introduced by the company's other co-founder, Phil Morle.
ATO brings Linux users in from the cold
The Australian Taxation Office has taken a critical step towards long-awaited support for Linux users of its online services, revealing today it had released a new version of its AUSkey authentication software that supported the minority operating system.
ACCC sues TPG over $29.99 ‘Unlimited’ plan
The national competition regulator today dragged national broadband provider TPG into the Federal Court, claiming its $29.95 'Unlimited' ADSL2+ plan actually cost a great deal more.
WikiLeak: Aussie intelligence “hard pressed” on cybersecurity in 2008
According to WikiLeaks cables published by The Age newspaper this week, in 2008 one of Australia's peak intelligence organisations was concerned that the national intelligence community was "hard pressed" to understand the full extent of the cybersecurity threat.
NAB glitches validate core banking overhaul: Clyne
National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne today said the bank's recent spate of embarassing IT outages, which left thousands of customers without access to their money had confirmed the bank's strategy of overhauling its core banking platform was the right one.
HP unveils private cloud model in Australia
As expected, global technology giant HP this morning unveiled its private cloud model for the Australian market, revealing it had been working on the platform locally for some six months and that it was planning to release the names of its first customers early in the new year.
iiNet enters mobile market … but you’ll need your own phone
iiNet yesterday launched a range of mobile phone plans, allowing existing customers of its broadband offerings to bundle mobile services into their bill. But there's just one catch; customers will need to bring their own phone.
Apple claws back position in Aussie PC market
Iconic technology giant Apple has inched its way back into the top five list of Australia's personal computer and laptop vendors, bumping out Lenovo in the third quarter of 2010 with its new line-up of MacBooks and iMacs.
Internode expands Adelaide datacentre
National broadband provider Internode has announced a $1.4 million investment in its Adelaide datacentre, additionally promising energy efficiency upgrades for the facility.
Federal Police charges Victorian ‘hacker’
The Australian Federal Police has arrested a 33-year-old man from Hampton Park in Victoria, claiming he hacked into more than 90 internet accounts.
Two more for cashed-up Carosa
Local web 2.0 investment house Future Capital Development Fund (FCDF) today revealed it had ploughed money into two more niche Australian websites, with chief executive Domenic Carosa billing the internet as being ready for a revolution based on real profits.
iiNet Labs fathers BoB Lite
National broadband company iiNet has extended its popular BoB integrated ADSL router product line with what it has billed as the first product to come out of its new in-house development labs -- a younger sibling dubbed BoB Lite.
Telstra LTE trial hits 149Mbps with Huawei
Telstra and Huawei have achieved downlink and uplink speeds significantly exceeding the throughputs seen on current mobile technology, in a trial of the Chinese vendor's Long-Term Evolution hardware.
UniSA, RACV deploy NEC IP telephony
Nearly 40 thousand additional people will be serviced by NEC Australia's voice and data solutions next year, with the subsidiary of the Japanese IT giant adding two new local contracts to its portfolio over the past several weeks.
New Qld shadow attacks OneSchool ‘delay’
Queensland's new Shadow ICT Minister Scott Emerson has slammed the state's Labor government this week for what he claimed were delays in Education Queensland's ongoing OneSchool project.
Windows Live on the cards for BigPond email
The nation's biggest telco Telstra is considering dumping the email, blogging, photos and online storage platforms used by customers of its BigPond internet service provider division and migrating customers to Microsoft's Windows Live platform.
Bevan’s bouncing baby boy: NEXTDC lists today
Bevan Slattery’s new datacentre venture NEXTDC today listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, with investors ploughing bids into the market at prices as high at $1.60, representing a substantial premium on the price paid by those who bought into its prospectus over the past several months — a single gold $1 coin.
Attorneys-General delay R18+ game decision
Australia’s Federal and State Attorneys-General have further postponed reaching a decision on whether to introduce a R18+ classification for video games in Australia, according to the gaming industry’s peak representative body.
Android triples Aussie market share in 3 months
Just 12 months ago, Apple's burgeoning mobile phone business could do no wrong in Australia. Fresh from the local launch of the iPhone 3GS and with a market share ranking that was speedily catching up to the likes of Nokia and Research in Motion's BlackBerry in the smartphone market, Apple was on track to conquer the world. What a difference a year can make.
Video: Aussie Tapulous co-founder tells his story
In this video published by the ANZA Technology Network, Australian entrepreneur Andrew Lacy gives a keynote speech at an ANZA event held at Silicon Valley Bank in the US. Lacy tells the ‘story’ of the success of his company Tapulous — from being founded in February 2008 to being acquired by Disney in July this year. The company makes iPhone games and has had several hits, including Tap Tap Revenge.
Pollenizer raises $500k seed fund
Australian startup incubator Pollenizer yesterday revealed it had raised half a million dollars for a new seed fund that it would use to invest small amounts between $10,000 and $100,000 in Australian technology startups.
“Red tape”: Industry group slams Victoria’s opt-in NBN
Australia's peak technology industry representative group has sharply criticised Victoria's new Coalition Government for its apparent decision to reject an 'opt-out' approach to rolling out the National Broadband Network in the state in favour of requiring residents and businesses to 'opt-in'.
HP joins Australian private cloud race
Global technology giant HP has signalled its intention to strongly enter the Australian market for private cloud services, in the wake of prior moves by competitors Telstra, Optus, CSC and Fujitsu.
Huawei flags high-end Android play Down Under
Nobody could accuse Chinese telecommunications vendor Huawei of not being ambitious. After winning a number of significant deals with Australian telcos over the past half-decade since it entered Australia, the company this week flagged plans to establish itself as a consumer brand Down Under in its own right.
Doug Campbell retires again
NBN Tasmania chairman Doug Campbell has announced his decision to return to retirement following an 18 month hiatus leading the National Broadband Network project in the Apple Isle.
Australian web hosts wouldn’t host WikiLeaks
It’s been dumped by Amazon and mirrored across the globe as it attempts to spread its whistleblowing message to the masses. But would any web hosting company in Australia consent to play host to Wikileaks? The answer, so far, appears to be “probably not”.
Google Nexus S skips Australia
This morning Google unveiled the Nexus S, the latest in its self-branded line-up of Android phones, and the first device globally to ship with the new 2.3 'Gingerbread' version of its operating system. The caveat? The search giant has no plans so far to launch the device in Australia.
Windows Phone 7 hearts Crownies
In this video, Telstra hosts a meetup for locals who will be reviewing a Windows Phone 7 handset -- specifically the HTC 7 Mozart.
16 weeks later, Optus launches terabyte plans
Almost four months after iiNet and others shook up the market with what were dubbed Australia's first terabyte broadband plans, the nation's second-largest telco has come to the party, updating its offerings to bring it into the terabyte league.
Get nicked, Conroy: Baillieu rejects opt-out NBN
The new Coalition State Government in Victoria has given its clearest signal yet that it will reject the 'opt-out' model for the National Broadband Network rollout in the state, meaning residents will need to actively choose to receive fibre when it hits their neighbourhood.
AGIMO debates ICT services panel
The Federal Government's peak IT strategy agency has already kicked off whole of government procurement initiatives in areas like desktop PC hardware, software and telecommunications. Now it's turned its eye to ICT services.
AGC undergoes wide-ranging IT overhaul
Perth-based fabrication, construction and services company AGC has gone through an extensive overhaul of its technology infrastructure over the past year that has seen — among other things — a number of Windows 95 PCs finally phased out and the latest network, storage, datacentre, desktop and telephony technology installed.
Google Wi-Fi breach ‘inadvertent’, say police
The Australian Federal Police has dropped any case against Google over its high-profile blunder in collecting Wi-Fi data with its Street View cars, noting the data collection may have been "inadvertent" rather than a deliberate privacy breach.
Federal Govt supports R18+ game rating
Julia Gillard's Labor Federal Government today revealed it would support the introduction of an R18+ classification for video games at the upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general on this Friday 10 December.
Seven wants all of Engin
With an existing majority shareholding in the company and a number of executives on its board, the Seven Network already has a pretty firm grip on internet telephony and broadband player Engin. But now the company has signalled it wants more.
$90 million payday: Aussie startup sells RetailMeNot
Melbourne based internet startup Stateless Systems has sold its RetailMeNot site to emerging US online media player WhaleShark Media for an amount close to $90 million.
Microsoft bumps Fellows to Asia-Pac role
Microsoft has promoted Tracey Fellows, the long running chief of its Australian division to run its Asia-Pacific operation; but without immediately clarifying the identity of the executive's successor or whether a direct replacement would be appointed.
RailCorp’s IT projects $41m over budget
NSW public transport agency RailCorp is facing fresh allegations of problems within its IT department, with the state's auditor-general publishing a report today detailing extensive delays in the delivery of IT projects and cost overruns amounting to $41.4 million.
Federal Parliament deploys Windows Vista
Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 7 has been out for more than a year, but Australia's Federal Parliament revealed this week that it will ignore the release in the short term and is instead in the process of upgrading to its much-maligned predecessor, Windows Vista.
Video game violence link inconclusive, finds Govt
The Federal Government today released a report finding current research into the effects of violent video games on aggression levels of those who play them is "contested and inconclusive".
APRA warning shows cloud maturity: Salesforce.com
A long-time proponent of cloud computing has hailed a warning by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority about the technology as evidence of its maturity and growing adoption — rather than as a potential problem for the nation’s financial sector.
ViewSonic’s Android tablets to hit Australia January
ViewSonic will start selling its 7" and 10" ViewPad tablet devices in Australia in January 2011, the company revealed this morning, although the US display giant has not yet secured any distribution arrangements with local telcos.
Will Victoria’s Coalition Govt back NBN opt-out?
Victoria's Coalition Government-Elect has given tantalising signs that its support for the National Broadband Network rollout in the state will not be as complete as that of its Labor predecessor.
Full video: Gillard + Conroy on Telstra separation
In this video published by the Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, accompanied by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Leader of the House of Representative for Labor Anthony Albanese, discuss Labor’s parliamentary victory on broadband.
Three weeks late, Telstra unveils Galaxy Tab pricing
Almost three weeks after its rivals launched Samsung's hyped Galaxy Tab Android tablet on Australian shores, the nation's biggest telco Telstra has come to the party, launching the same device on a range of monthly plans.
Trujillo gone, Telstra chops Brightstar pie
One of the most contentious relics of the Trujillo era at Telstra has been partially put out with the garbage, with the news this morning that the telco had sliced a large piece of the pie out of its long-running relationship with handsets wholesaler Brightstar.
Who are Australia’s richest technologists?
We've always loved the annual rich list published by Fairfax magaxine Business Review Weekly. It's like gossip for the absolute top end of town. Each year you get to gloat as you see how family millionaires' fortunes fell a little this year on the rankings, and enjoy the success of young guns rising to the top on the back of their own effort.
Xenophon demands uniform NBN pricing
It's only been a matter of days since independent Senator Nick Xenophon forced the Federal Government into a corner over one piece of legislation pertaining to the National Broadband Network; now he's flagged plans to do it again.
Telco reform bill passes Senate
Labor's controversial legislation to break up Telstra and restructure the telecommunications sector was approved in the Senate this afternoon, in a long-awaited move that the Federal Government has been pushing for for more than a year.
Photos: Fujitsu opens Perth datacentre with sake for all
IT services giant Fujitsu this week opened what it billed as the nation's most advanced datacentre in Perth, signing up Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest as a key customer. The facility comprises 8000 square metres of tier three datacentre space, with three main general data halls and three smaller halls for companies requiring dedicated private suites.
NBN Co plan “thoroughly inadequate”, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled the summary of NBN Co's business plan released today as being "thoroughly inadequate" and lacking in financial detail.
ViewSonic brings Android tablets down under
US display giant ViewSonic has unveiled plans to shortly bring its 7" and 10" ViewPad tablet devices to Australia, inviting journalists to a launch event next week in Sydney.
NBN Co business case summary: Available now from your local dealer (that’s us)
As per Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s pledge this afternoon, the Office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has sent us a copy of NBN Co’s business case. We’re still digesting what it all means, but in the meantime, you can download it here in all it’s 1.08MB PDF glory.
Xenophon deal secures NBN business plan summary
After a week of fiery debate in the Senate and facing the prospect of its telecommunications industry restructuring bill being delayed, the Federal Government has agreed to release a summary of the business plan delivered to it several weeks ago by the National Broadband Network Company to clear its legislative path.
PWC review spurs Qld shared services revamp
The Queensland State Government yesterday announced a substantial restructure of its technology shared services arrangements in the wake of an extensive report by consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers into its troubled Queensland Health payroll systems implementation and other problem-plagued projects.
Centrelink issues $500m+ telco tender
Welfare agency Centrelink has kicked off a gigantic purchasing effort which will see it consolidate a number of telecommunications contracts into a number of overarching deals expected to be worth in excess of $500 million in total.
Greens strike deal to prevent NBN Co privatisation
The Greens have struck a deal with Labor to support Labor's contentious legislation to restructure the telecommunications industry, on the basis that provisions be included to make it difficult to privatise NBN Co.
IBM retains Westpac outsourcing throne
This morning top-tier bank Westpac revealed it would renew its comprehensive technology outsourcing contract with IBM for a further five years, with the bank's technology chief Bob McKinnon (pictured) stating the relationship had improved greatly in recent years.
Future Fund snubs Telstra
Telstra's shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of three resolutions at its annual general meeting on Friday. The only problem? The company's largest shareholder, the Federal Government's Future Fund, issued a protest vote against all three.
Will Finance split AGIMO in two?
One of the key questions which Ian Reinecke was commissioned to answer in his review of how successful the Federal Government has been in implementing the recommendations stemming from the Gershon review was what the future of the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO).
“It’s a shocker”: Telstra board faces shareholders
Telstra's board and senior management today faced down a series of shareholders angry about the company's dwindling share price, with one accusing the beleaguered telco of having suffered "ten years of failure" in terms of its management and another branding the situation "a shocker".
Turnbull rails against parliamentary NBN blockage
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused several of the independents and Greens MP Adam Bandt of irresponsibility for their decision not to support his private member's bill designed to increase transparency of the National Broadband Network and force the Government to conduct a cost/benefit analysis.
Reinecke gives Gershon qualified approval
Ian Reinecke has issued the Federal Government what could best be described as a series of 'B' or 'C' grades in his report card on how well it has implemented the recommendations of British efficiency expert Sir Peter Gershon into its use of technology.
Why Ray White, Flight Centredumped Exchange for Google
Google this morning fired a broadside directly into the good ship Microsoft, claiming victory over the email platforms of several large Australian companies -- Flight Centre and Ray White. But why did the pair choose to dump their incumbent Outlook Exchange platforms and 'go Google'?
Has Ray White gone Google?
Speculation is this morning running rampant that Google will announce real estate giant Ray White has implemented the search giant's flagship Google Apps suite, after Ray White staff posted their jubilation at "going Google" online this morning.
Gizmodo vs the Australian Family Association: R18+ games rating
Kids aren't imbeciles, people -- they know the difference between fantasy and real life. At the moment, it's many adults who are living in a fantasy world with respect to video games -- our youngsters have a great deal more common sense and need less policing than people give them credit for.
iPad influx: Curtin Uni flooded with “hundreds”
Like Macquarie University in Sydney, Western Australia’s Curtin University has also been swamped with iPads, with chief information officer Peter Nikoletatos yesterday stating between 300 and 400 of the tablets had made their way into university staff hands since Apple launched the iPad in Australia in May.
Gartner Symposium 2010: Photos
Gartner is the international behemoth of technology analyst firms -- its every word held as gospel by the global teeming legions of chief information officers and IT managers. And every year Gartner's mecca is its Symposium conference series, which travels the globe accompanied by scores of analysts and research directors. This week the event hit Sydney. How many magic quadrants can you count?
Photos: Conroy enjoying himself at NBN launch
Last week, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy attended an event held by Nextgen Networks in Mulgrave, Victoria, to mark the halfway point in the completion of the National Broadband Network Regional Backbone Blackspots Program, which is seeing fibre rolled out in remote locations around Australia.
VCE Coalition adds NBN Co notch to its belt
The cloud infrastructure consortium which counts VMware, Cisco and EMC as its members has added yet another major Australian company to its growing list of conquests, revealing yesterday that NBN Co had inked a contract with lead supplier Cisco to kit out its datacentre to the tune of $9.5 million over the next three years.
Greens, independents demand NBN Co business plan
The Greens and key independent MPs have requested that Communications Minister Stephen Conroy table the business plan which has been delivered to the Government by NBN Co.
Filter gets a new date: Mid-2013
Legislation supporting Labor's mandatory internet filtering project may not hit parliament until mid-2013, according to advice provided to Stephen Conroy by his department -- a timeframe which may make it an issue in the next election.
Nokia Australia gets real Aussie as chief
Finnish mobile phone giant has appointed an executive with a strong Australian background to replace its current local managing director Emile Baak, who will return to his roots in Europe.
Cisco picks up EnergyAustralia deal
Cisco might have have only launched its Connected Grid range of solutions focused on the electricity sector in May 2010, but the global networking giant has already picked up a large deal locally to supply NSW utility EnergyAustralia.
Rebel telco alliance backs Turnbull’s NBN bill
The splinter group of telcos concerned about Labor's National Broadband Network project has backed Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbulll's legislation to inject more transparency into the project, in an open letter to the Federal independent and Green MPs who will ultimately decide its fate.
Financial regulator issues dire cloud warning
One of Australia's main financial regulators has issued a blunt general warning to the entire financial services sector regarding cloud computing services, warning that the "innocuous" nature of such services could mask hidden concerns about offshoring.
OECD report: Conroy fires back
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning claimed a report released over the weekend by the global Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) backed his arguments regarding Labor's National Broadband Network project. Now it's Stephen Conroy's turn to do the same.
Flight Centre goes Google
Google has nabbed another major corporate customer of its Apps suite in the form of airfare booking specialist Flight Centre, as debate continues to rage within Australia's technology sector about whether the search giant's Gmail suite measures up to Microsoft's dominant Outlook/Exchange offering.
Vic iPad rollout a positive, says iSOFT
One of the world's largest e-health vendors, Australia-based iSOFT, has welcomed an election policy which could see iPads rolled out to every doctor in Victoria's public hospitals, flagging strong organic adoption of the Apple tablets and noting their potential to impact positively on long-term hospital problems such as scheduling across the health ecosystem.
OECD somewhat critical of NBN approach
The global Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has handed the Federal Government's flagship National Broadband Network project a mixed report card in its latest detailed examination of Australia's economic health.
NBN Co picks Global Switch for datacentre
NBN Co has picked one of Global Switch's mammoth facility in Pyrmont, Sydney -- one Australia's largest datacentres -- to house much of its infrastructure on a long-term basis.
Optus a closed shop on NBN
The nation's number two telco Optus yesterday again refused to disclose what the outcome of any ongoing discussions with the National Broadband Network Company might be -- or when it might commence a trial of retail services with the company.
Melbourne Uni students ‘strongly’ prefer Gmail
The University of Melbourne has picked Gmail for its new student email platform, after polls of students indicated a "strong" preference for the Google offering over the alternative Live@EDU platform, despite the popularity of the Microsoft offering amongst university IT administrators around the nation.
Vodafone includes voice in Galaxy Tab pricing
National mobile carrier Vodafone this afternoon released pricing details for Samsung's hyped Galaxy Tab Android tablet, noting the device would go on sale online and in stores from tomorrow, Friday 12 November, and including a voice calling option.
Microsoft wins UTS as Gmail falters
The University of Technology Sydney has picked Microsoft's Live@EDU as its new hosted student email platform, in a move which further locks Google's Gmail offering out of Australia's education sector.
Telstra follows Dell with internal IdeaStorm
Salesforce.com yesterday revealed Telstra had for the past year been using its Ideas software as a service application to bubble the best staff ideas to the top inside the telco, in a deployment similar to Dell's popular IdeaStorm global website.
Management the key for Victorian iPad rollout
Analyst firm Gartner yesterday questioned whether Victoria's Labor party had properly analysed what management tools and supporting infrastructure it will need if it wins the upcoming state election and is required to deliver on its promise this week to roll out Apple iPads to every public hospital doctor state-wide.
Froyo-based Milestone 2 lands in December
Motorola is set to ratchet up the competition in Australia for high-end smartphones based on version 2.2 (Froyo) of the Android operating system, announcing today that its latest Milestone 2 device would be available through Vodafone and Optus in December.
Thanks a million; now let’s party
Now, there’s a common saying in startup circles that most new businesses fail within the first year — and most of the rest fail within the next three years. Well, today is the day that we can announce that we’re going to buck that trend. We’ve survived the first year intact — and Delimiter is here to stay.
HP investigates Foxteq scandal
Technology giant Hewlett-Packard today said it was looking into reports that conditions for workers at the Rydalmere, Sydney factory operated by its partners Foxteq and Weststaff.
AN IPAD FOR EVERY DOCTOR:Victorian Labor promises
Victorian Premier John Brumby yesterday promised every doctor in the state's public hospital system would be issued with an Apple iPad if his incumbent Labor Government was returned to power in the state's upcoming election.
Dead and buried: Tasmania’s NBN joint venture
Some 18 months after it was first proposed and after a year of uncertainty about its legal structure, the various parties involved in the stillborn Tasmanian National Broadband Network joint venture with Aurora Energy have walked away from the idea.
$80m splash: Carr fills up VC engines
The Federal Government has injected $80 million into four Australian venture capital funds, with the aim of stimulating innovation and accelerating commercialisation in early stage Australian companies.
Telstra promises GPL fix, if necessary
The nation's largest telco Telstra has promised to fix any open source licensing issues associated with its new batch of branded products, in response to developer claims that its T-Hub and T-Box products weren't compliant with the terms of the popular GNU General Public License.
Now Optus launches resistive Android tablet
Fresh on the heels of Telstra's launch of its own self-branded Android tablet device, Optus has confirmed it will launch a similar tablet at a price point $20 cheaper than Telstra.
Samsung Galaxy Tab pricing: What we know
Today sees the Australian launch of the tablet device which global gadget blog Engadget has labelled "the first true competitor to Apple's iPad" -- Samsung's Galaxy Tab. But what information is currently available about how much the Android tablet will cost Australians? The answer: Not much.
Telstra violating open source licence, claims developer
Telstra could be about to receive an avalanche of complaints from the global open source software community, after a local developer accused the company over the weekend of violating the terms of the popular GNU General Public License in its T-Hub, T-Box and potentially T-Touch Tab products.
Growing Atlassian still looking for CTO
Atlassian this week flagged plans to hire an additional 40 staff members in Sydney and more around the world. But six months after it started looking, the rapidly expanding Australian software group has not been able to fill a key vacant role -- for a vice president of engineering.
Gartner urges immediate corporate iPad action
As corporate adoption of Apple's iPad tablet continues to ratchet up to lightspeed, analyst firm Gartner has issued a sharp warning to chief executives to grab the iPad opportunity now and discuss the device's "disruptive" capabilities with their chief information officers and other divisions of their organisations.
Centrelink to refresh x86 server fleet
Giant welfare agency Centrelink has flagged its intentions to upgrade and expand its mid-range server fleet based on the x86 architecture, in a move that may place incumbent supplier Hewlett-Packard at risk.
Borders’ Kobo 2 to hit Australia before Christmas
Local book retailer REDGroup Retail today confirmed plans to offer the next generation of its Kobo eBook reader devices in Australia before Christmas, as well as an expansion in its eBook line-up that will see several major publishers add their titles to its library.
Apple Australia opens iBookstore floodgates
Up until now, the Australian version of Apple's eBook marketplace, the iBookstore, has been fairly sparsely populated. But today it appears as if the company has added half a dozen major new publishers to its catalogue in a major move.
AFP’s Avaya loyalty is up for grabs
Four years ago, as the IP telephony revolution hit full steam in Australia's organisations and the battle between giants like Cisco, Avaya and Nortel gathered pace, the Australian Federal Police was one of the strongest champions for the Avaya cause.
‘Keen’ NAB joins global cloud alliance
National Australia Bank has become the latest Australian banking giant to flag an interest in the emerging cloud computing space, joining a global alliance of customers and vendors last week to help steer data centre requirements for the cloud.
Analysis: Who’s running Google Australia?
Over the past month Google has taken a triple hit to its Australian management team, losing its local managing director Karim Temsamani to its US headquarters, as well as suffering the resignations of its first local employee, YouTube chief Kate Vale, and its most high-profile engineer, Lars Rasmussen.
Tasmania flags telco contract overhaul
The Tasmanian State Government has lifted the lid on a major overhaul of the way it buys voice and mobile telecommunications services, in an initiative which could see other providers take more of the telco spending pie it currently mainly allocates to Telstra.
Dumped Qantas CIO finds Leighton home
High-profile technology executive Jamila Gordon has landed on her feet after losing her position as Qantas chief information officer earlier this year, picking up the equivalent role at project management and contracting giant Leighton Holdings.
St George launches first Android banking app
iPad and iPhone apps are currently all the rage amongst Australia's largest banks -- but Westpac subsidiary St George late last week bucked the trend by launching what it said was the first mobile banking application in Australia to focus on the emerging Android platform.
Photos: Vodafone goes Android crazy
When local mobile carrier VHA invited us last week to visit them at a special launch for the "Android man", we didn't quite know what the company was talking about. It turns out the Android man is just that -- a massive Android mascot which has been travelling around Sydney.
Google exodus: Lars Rasmussen + Kate Vale gone
Search giant Google appears to have suffered several high-profile local departures, with both its first Australian employee and current local head of YouTube Kate Vale and its engineering chief and Google Maps and Wave co-founder Lars Rasmussen signalling they had left the company.
Neuromancing the stone: Ludlam’s OzLog war
Technologists and civil libertarians remained riveted to their computer screens right around Australia today as the intimate details of one of the Federal Government's most secretive projects came to light, inch by painful inch, in a tense exchange in a low-profile Senate committee late on a Friday afternoon.
OzLog unveiled: Senate lays data retention bare
A flood of new information emerged this afternoon in Federal Parliament about the controversial and secretive proposal by the Attorney-General's Department (AGD) to force internet service providers to store a wealth of information pertaining to Australians' emails and telephone calls.
Privacy Commissioner still won’t talk OzLog
Federal Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim wouldn't disclose the details of any discussions his office had had with the Attorney-General's Department over its controversial data retention proposal, under questioning on the matter in a Senate enquiry into online privacy today.
Google grilled in privacy enquiry
Google today faced a public grilling from Australian senators in a privacy enquiry in Canberra today, with questions on topics ranging from its high-profile blunder in collecting Wi-Fi data with its Street View cars, to whether it uses "cookies" and whether it monitors the PCs of its employees to prevent data leakage.
No UXC buyout for now
Diversified Australian IT services group UXC has decided to continue as an independent company for now, after deciding not to accept offers from parts or the whole of its business from similar companies and private equity firms.
NBN Co’s $400m Big Kahuna Burger goes to Nokia
The National Broadband Network Company has awarded an extensive contract to Nokia Siemens Networks which will see the Finnish networking giant supply up to $400 million worth of optical transmission equipment to the national fibre rollout over the next ten years.
Middle manager bloodbath as Telstra cuts 950
The nation's largest telco Telstra has flagged plans to cut a further 950 staff as part of the latest stage in a dramatic company-wide simplification strategy being driven by chief executive David Thodey, stating most of those affected will be executives and middle managers in capital cities.
Video: Melbourne startup RedBubble
In this video, Techfluff.tv talks to Melbourne-based startup RedBubble for The Next Web’s Melbourne Silicon Beach series on local technology startups. RedBubble is a successful Australian startup which has built an online marketplace for artists.
Turnbull’s amendments hit furious Conroy
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed the cost of the Coalition's cooperation in getting Labor's wide-ranging telecommunications legislation through the Federal Parliament: A handful of amendments aimed at protecting both Telstra and Australian consumers.
Mac Uni adopts hundreds of iPads
Macquarie University this week revealed it had already deployed "hundreds" of iPads to meet staff demand for the hyped Apple tablet -- just a scant few months after the device launched in Australia in late May this year.
Delimiter is hiring for a news journalist
I just wanted to make you aware that Delimiter currently has a position open for a graduate journalist to join the company and work from our offices in Sydney.
Ericsson’s Christmas cuts become a habit
For the second time in three years, Swedish networking giant Ericsson has outlined plans to make substantial cuts to its Australian workforce just before the Christmas holiday period begins.
Qantas lounges go exclusively Apple
Tough luck if you're a Windows 7 fan. The nation's largest airline Qantas yesterday announced it would go Apple-only in its frequent flyer lounges around Australia, giving travellers access to "the latest generation Macs" in a national rollout.
Telstra’s Android tablet unveiled: Just $299
It's no Apple iPad. But for the price Telstra will charge for it, it might not have to be. Yesterday Telstra detailed for the first time the complete specifications and pricing of its new T-Touch Tab Android tablet device, which it will start selling in Australia on November 2.
HTC’s update “nightmare”: Desires finally get Froyo
Six months after Google first released the 2.2 or 'Froyo' version of its mobile operating system, HTC has made the update available to Australian owners of its flagship HTC Desire handset – through its website, if not directly over the air.
Jealous VHA keeps Desire HD to itself
Mobile telco Vodafone Hutchison Australia tonight gave several indications it wasn't willing to let its flagship HTC Desire HD handset be used on other carriers' networks, confirming it would have exclusive Australian distribution “forever” and that it would not offer an outright purchase price for the device.
Corporate Express deploys Cisco’s UCS
Business support specialist Corporate Express has deployed Cisco’s Unified Computing System combined server and network infrastructure as it continues on its journey to implementing 100 percent virtualisation and private cloud computing within its operations.
IT sector? Australia doesn’t need it,claims Reserve Bank
Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has waded into the debate about whether Australia needs a strong home-grown IT sector, claiming the nation hasn't been disadvantaged by failing to grow one since the dot com bubble burst a decade ago.
Turnbull’s NBN transparency bill hits parliament
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tabled in parliament his brief piece of legislation designed to force the Government into disclosing key financial details of its flagship National Broadband Network project and conducting a cost/benefit analysis into its construction.
Video: Gillard hits YouTube for NBN legislation
After watching this video, we're convinced that Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard really does not know what she is talking about when she's referencing the National Broadband Network. Does anyone else get the sense she's reading from a script but not deeply understanding many of the concepts she's discussing?
Unisys confirms Qantas baggage systems win
IT services giant Unisys has confirmed it has won a lengthy deal to provide new baggage tracking systems for Qantas, after the pair’s relationship in a trial system was outed by the airline in July.
Telstra the problem, claims Blizzard on Aussie servers
Video gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment has reportedly labelled Telstra as the biggest roadblock in its way to setting up dedicated Australian servers for its popular World of Warcraft and StarCraft II games.
Aussie cloud computing market has no ‘leader’: Ovum
Australia's market for cloud computing services so far lacks a “dominant leader”, according to one local analyst – and the title could be anyone's as the market starts to pick up pace.
Cisco refreshes Flip camera line
New handheld video cameras in the popular Flip line acquired by Cisco in March last year will hit Australia in early November, the company announced this week.
PayPal founder invests in Xero
PayPal founder and superstar investor Peter Thiel has laid down NZ$4 million to buy into New Zealand-based web 2.0 accountancy play Xero, in a move that will also see Thiel join Xero’s US advisory board.
ASG makes Progress in SAP push
Australian IT services group ASP has further delivered on its promise to bulk up its in-house expertise in the technology of Germany’s biggest software giant, adding local SAP specialist Progress Pacific to its gleaming chest of acquisitions.
Datacom core to Lockheed’s ATO deal
Trans-Tasman IT services company Datacom today revealed it would play a key role in helping Lockheed Martin service a mammoth $283 million desktop services deal with the Australian Taxation Office inked this year.
Coalition tiptoes around Telstra break-up bill
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday said the Coalition would oppose parts of Labor’s controversial legislation to restructure the telecommunicatons sector and break up Telstra – but would welcome other sections that it found logical.
Telstra partners with Accenture on cloud
Telstra has inked a three-year partnership deal with Accenture which will see the two technology giants work together to deliver cloud computing services to large Australian organisations, dividing up responsibilities between them according to their respective competencies.
ACCC mulls regulating Telstra’s DSL
The National Broadband Network is on its way and legislation supporting the separation of Telstra's retail arm from its other assets has been tabled. But don't think the Australian Competition and Consumer Commisison has finished with the Big T just yet.
VHA reveals: Massive 3G network expansion
Mobile telco VHA has unveiled a giant expansion of its consolidated 3G mobile network, including the construction of a new network using the same 850MHz spectrum that Telstra has made popular with its rival Next G offering.
New MacBooks Air are already in Australia
Iconic technology vendor Apple overnight unveiled a host of new products, including new models of its MacBook Air laptop, which are available in Australia starting from today.
Telstra bill hits parliament, supported by … Telstra
Labor has reintroduced its controversial telecommunications industry overhaul legislation back into parliament, backed by heavy-hitting statements about the bill's necessity by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Telstra itself.
NSW Govt can’t guarantee IT security
NSW's auditor-general Peter Achterstraat today rubbished the State Government's IT security procedures in a new report, saying the state could not guarantee to its residents that it was keeping their information secure and away from prying eyes.
Tassie NBN JV: Conroy to meet with Bartlett
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy tonight said he would be meeting with Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett very shortly to discuss the commercial structure of the NBN in the state, amid criticism from the Opposition about the fact that a planned joint venture with State Government-owned utility Aurora Energy has not eventuated.
Conroy’s dept is not working on the filter
The year-long delay which Stephen Conroy has introduced before the planned implementation of the Federal Government's mandatory internet filter project has had a dramatic impact on the activities of the Communications Minister's Department.
University of Canberra rolls out Windows 7
The University of Canberra has joined the list of Australian organisations dumping their legacy Windows XP environments and upgrading to Windows 7, completing a 900-seat rollout in August to its student PCs that also included an upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007.
Stop delaying the NBN, Conroy tells Turnbull
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has issued a pointed response to Malcolm Turnbull's demand for more transparency on the National Broadband Network project, claiming his shadow was only interested in delaying the flagship Labor initiative.
Turnbull files private members’ bill for NBN transparency
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull today revealed he had garnered Coalition support for a private member's bill that would force Labor to disclose key financial details of its flagship National Broadband Network project and conduct a cost/benefit analysis into its construction.
Nokia N8 goes for $749 on all carriers
Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia this morning revealed it would sell its flagship N8 handset through all of Australia's three major mobile telcos for $749 up-front from 1 November.
Virtualisation and private cloud: What’s the difference?
What’s the difference between advanced virtualisation and the incoming wave of private cloud computing solutions? That’s the question a number of readers were asking themselves last week after top-tier bank Westpac revealed it had in the past year deployed its own private cloud.
Foxtel on Xbox 360 starts at $20 a month
Foxtel today unveiled the pricing and content breadth of what is slated to be yet another internet television and video on demand play aimed at Australian consumers, with much of the pay TV operator's content to be available for the price of $20 per month through Microsoft's Xbox 360 console starting from November.
Faster Telstra mobile modem hits the masses
Telstra today started selling its upgraded mobile broadband modem to the wider consumer market, after several months of offering the device -- and its theoretical network speeds of up to 42Mbps -- to big business customers and the government sector.
If only all telco ads were this awesome
Someone at Telstra is an anime fan, and so are we. That's why we're loving the telco's new ads for its Next G mobile network. Nobody's paying Delimiter to say this or to embed these ads in our site. But our opinion is: Telstra's Japanime influence kicks the crap out of Optus' lame penguin fetish.
Photos: IBM’s datacentre in a shipping container hits Australia
Last week IBM launched its Portable Modular Data Centre solution in Australia. The unit is basically a self-contained datacentre located in a mobile shipping container. Prices range from US$700,000 to US$3 million, with site preparation and installation services not included. The launch follows similar product offerings by rivals such as Sun Microsystems (now owned by Oracle) in Australia over the past few years.
Adam Internet joins terabyte party
Adelaide-based Adam Internet has become the latest internet service provider to offer its customers a broadband plan with a terabyte or more of download quota included.
Got a startup idea? Startmate’s got the money
Those who complain that Australia's internet startup sector lacks the venture capital it needs to get off the ground might need to eat their words: A new seed fund dubbed 'Startmate' just opened its doors and is looking to dole out funding packages and mentoring.
Photos: Gillard launches IBM R&D lab
Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning launched a new global research & development lab which IBM has created at the University of Melbourne, partnering with the State and Federal Governments to create 150 new jobs at the facility over the next five years.
Brisbane commits to fibre rollout
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman today reportedly confirmed the city would roll out fibre broadband to homes around the city, in a move that sparked a mixed reaction from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
Gillard launches IBM R&D lab in Melbourne
Prime Minister Julia Gillard this morning launched a new global research & development lab which IBM has created at the University of Melbourne, partnering with the State and Federal Governments to create 150 new jobs at the facility over the next five years.
Audit details: WA Health’s decade of IT failure
Western Australia's Auditor-General has delivered a damning report of decade-long efforts by the state's health department to replace its ailing patient administration system, finding allocated funds had not been spent and a replacement was unlikely to be implemented until at least 2014 in the city and 2018 in the bush.
SEEK loses one of the Bassats
Paul Bassat co-founded online employment site SEEK as a self-admitted “cash-strapped startup” back in 1997. Today the executive announced he would resign his post as joint-SEEK CEO at the end of the 2011 financial year, leaving his brother Andrew and fellow multi-millionaire in charge.
Just what is NBN Co doing right now?
Speaking at a conference in Melbourne, NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley today provided a comprehensive overview of the fledgling fibre startup's current activities -- ranging from ongoing discussions with all players in the industry to the practicalities of rolling out a National Broadband Network.
Telstra adds Mozy backup to T-Suite
Telstra announced today that small to medium businesses would have access to EMC's Mozy Pro remote backup solution through its software as a service T-Suite platform.
“NBN or nothing” is a false dichotomy, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has lambasted the justification behind Labor's National Broadband Network project as featuring a series of false dichotomies between a glorious fibre future and a world where Australians are starved for broadband.
Gillard: Filter is a “moral question”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday took the high ground in defending Labor's mandatory internet filtering project, describing the issue of how to ensure Australians didn't get access to the wrong content as a “moral question”.
iiNet deploys a million Zimbra mailboxes
iiNet announced a deal signed with Vmware whereby Australia's second largest ISP has chosen Vmware's Zimbra Collaboration Suite for cloud based email platform and purchased a million plus Zimbra mailboxes.
Westpac deploys VCE private cloud
Top-tier Australian bank Westpac this afternoon revealed it had over the past year deployed its own private cloud computing facility within its operations, working closely with the VMWare, Cisco and EMC cloud consortium to do so.
Offshore cloud not an issue, claims NetSuite CEO
The flambuoyant chief executive of software as a service player NetSuite yesterday claimed his company's Australian customer base wasn't phased by the fact that its datacentres are hosted in the United States, in a visit to Sydney in which he also commented on the impact of the National Broadband Network.