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Archive
Posts from 2004 to 2017. This was a personal blog during a fairly chaotic decade in independent publishing — some of it tech commentary, some of it Australia, some of it ephemera. It’s kept here in full for anyone who arrives via an old link.
Current writing lives at SiliconANGLE.
OMG Qantas To Offer Infight Internet, Power
Who ever thought that Qantas might become a world-leading airline? OK, so I’m typing this from the Qantas Domestic Terminal at Perth Airport on free WiFi, but as Engadget reports, starting next year Qantas is going to offer Wifi + Power on A380’s and refitted 747s. Touchwood it’s the entire 747 fleet given about half […]
Cockups, Corrections…and today I’m having a happy day
A fair bit of feedback on some recent posts. It reminded me that going on a puritanical save the world by highlighting wrongs binge isn’t always a good thing, people in glass houses etc… Matt Mullenweg I found an email from Matt Mullenweg in my spam box re the post on WordPress and the crackdown […]
So Australian ISP’s are going to charge of uploads, so lets talk upload speeds.
News.com.au reports that Optus is joining Telstra in adding uploads to monthly cap limits, and that others may also start counting uploads. As much as I despise the Australian ISP industry for having caps to start with, when in the US ISP’s are mostly all you can eat concerns, it does make sense that if […]
Windows Vista Speech Recognition
This is hilarious (via FSJ)
J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield
Apparently it’s a NY based monster flick. What ever it is, the trailer is pretty damn cool.
The Simpsons Do World of Warcraft
(via CrunchGear)
Internet Access: Intercontinental Burswood
I should probably start recording these for my own future reference. Internet Access: Intercontinental Burswood (Perth) 55c / minute, Max $29 per day.
Design Challenge
I’ve long since known that the template I’m running here at duncanriley.com isn’t up to scratch, I’ve tried implementing another template but that lasted about 2 days; it was simply an abject failure. I need a new template. One that is fairly unique. I want a 3 column setup with a very unique header and […]
I’m Getting Old
Silicon User on the History of the Compact Disc I’m old enough to remember LP’s being on sale but I never owned a record player. At that time LP’s were half a music store, the other half were cassettes. My first Hi-Fi/ Music system was a twin cassette tape system that allowed recording from one […]
Parallels Is Very Cool
I was preparing to write a negative piece about Parallels, but for some reason it fixed itself this morning with a fresh boot. Confluence is a treat and it’s dead easy to use. The screen shot says it all (click for bigger version). Proudly posted from a Mac with Windows Live Writer 🙂
Mac Day 2: It Just Works
Day 2 as a Mac user and there is nothing much more to report. Thanks to those who left comments on the last post, particularly pointing to the Logitech Cam Drivers, the Cam is now working. Everything is working fine. Perhaps the only odd thing is getting use to having so many Windows open, on […]
Stephanie and ABC Bias
I heard a women by the name of Stephanie, a single mother on welfare on ABC 720am Perth this morning. Her complaint was that she was being screwed over by the Government because she is being forced to find 15 hours of paid work. Stephanie is a single mother with 3 teenage children who apparently volunteers […]
I’m A Convert To The Jesus Phone
Wow, wow and wow! Now if only it came in 3G, but wow anyway. Apple – iPhone – A Guided Tour – Medium
How To Deal With Iran The Australian Way: Tell Them To F*ck Off
It’s times like this I’m immensely proud to be Australian: Aussies Repelled 5 gunboats (smh.com.au) The Australian Defence Force says up to five Iranian gunboats tried to capture Australian sailors in the Persian Gulf in December 2004… The BBC reported earlier today that Iranian naval forces tried to capture the boarding team, but were repelled […]
Big Brother Causes Outrage in Mexico
Aye-curumba! Big Brother says sorry to Mexico | NEWS.com.au Ditching muck at the Mexican flag was pretty bad, I can remember commenting on it while watching Friday Night Games last week. It’s not nearly as bad though as Andrew suggesting that the “Aussies” in the house should be saved from eviction in response to the all male eviction round, […]
Free WiFi in the Perth CBD
Great news for those in Perth: the resources sector has launched a free WiFi network in the Perth CBD. More details in my post at Perthnorg. I know where my hotel will be located next time I’m up 🙂
Tornado Videos
I think I’ve mentioned this site before: tornadovideos.net. If you’re like me and you liked Twister and the whole concept of Tornado chasing, it’s a great site. The latest video below. Touch wood in some respects, given I live in Australia’s “Tornado Alley”, I’m just hoping we don’t get one this year, last year a […]
Free Wifi @ Perth Airport
Now here’s a pleasant change, free WiFi in Western Australia! WiFi is now free in the Qantas Domestic terminal at Perth Airpoirt…least I’ve connected to it for free. Download speed is around 500kps, not super fast but usable. The start of a bigger trend perhaps? We can only hope. I’m looking forward to getting online […]
Safari On Windows
Apples Safari browser is now available on Windows. I’m under whelmed so far. Yes it’s quick, but it doesn’t support Aero in Vista. And then there is the font rendering. WTF? Chris Pirillo tells me on Flickr that it’s something to do with settings so I’ll have to play with it some more but the […]
A Leader Who Gets Climate Change
Czech President Vaclav Klaus: The environmentalist paradigm of thinking is absolutely static. They neglect the fact that both nature and human society are in a process of permanent change, that there is and has been no ideal state of the world as regards natural conditions, climate, distribution of species on earth, etc. They neglect the […]