The UK Cabinet Office has warned that internet services may be slower during the 17 days, and that users could even experience drop outs and data rationing because of an unusual amount of traffic during “peak time”.

“It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games or in very severe cases there may be drop outs due to an increased number of people accessing the internet,” the report warned.

“In addition, ISPs may introduce data caps during peak times to try and spread the loading and give a more equal service to their entire customer base.”

The report did also note that no ISP in the UK has confirmed that they will be rationing data usage.

But it also appears that companies are not ready with potential internet problems. Talking to The Guardian newspaper, Kathryn Hurt from MWB Business Exchange said, “A lot of businesses have still not prepared for the enormous risks presented by the London Games”

“There’s been a lot of discussion about traffic hotspots, but very little about potential internet traffic problems. The risk is that home workers are unable to work effectively due to over-capacity.”

As with every event of a large magnitude, telephone networks might also experience slowness during “peak times”, but the Games organisers have set up additional mobile capacity and coverage to reduce the strain on those networks. But of course, they can only go so far – so, just don’t expect some of your messages and calls going through.

NBN Illustration about the two satellites (Image: NBN Co/via @JuliaGillard)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy have announced that NBN Co has reached an agreement to buy two satellites to allow fast broadband service to rural and remote parts of the service.

The deal, worth $620 million, was awarded to Loral. They will be designed and developed in California, and will be launched in 2015 – with the first to be launched in Q1, and the second launched in Q2. They will be Ka-band and will push out 100Gbps speed.

Conroy has said in a press conference that the new satellite service will improve from the “fairly average” service provided currently, and says that it will connect those who need satellite the same speed those in metro areas receive today. He also adds that those who are in the fibre network will not be getting access to those services.

Conroy also answered questions about why an Australian company was not selected to the deal. “There are only five companies in the world that can build these satellites,” he said, adding three of them are in the US and two in Europe.

NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley, also present, refused to reveal any unsuccessful bidders.

The announcement also means that the NBN will expand to Australia’s outlying territories, including the Norfolk, Cocos and Christmas Islands.

“We are honored to be a part of the Australian government’s initiative to provide universal broadband service to all of its citizens,” John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral, said in a statement. “Today, access to the internet is crucial for education, safety, and economic development.”

Until then, however, the NBN is using an Interim Satellite Service to provide broadband service to rural and outlying areas in Australia. The speeds are up to 6Mbps, and more than 2500 premises have already been connected to the service.

There haven’t been any names for the new satellites – though, one journalist asked if they would be named “Julia” and “Kevin”. So, if you have any suggestions, I bet Julia will love to hear them.

Now you can battle the Dark Lord himself (Image: LucasFilm/Microsoft/Supplied)

Kinect Star Wars has now a release date. The new game in the massive franchise, allowing fans to experience the entire universe (apparently), will go on sale on April 5 for AU$69.95 – two days after it goes on sale in the US on April 3. After the jump, you can see some gameplay footage and gallery of new images for the upcoming game.

Podracing on Kinect Star Wars

The game features five dynamic modes – Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off, and Duels of Fate; and all five are essentially all mini-games attracting to different types of people. For instance, the Dance Off mode is a Star Wars-branded Dance Central, while Jedi Destiny is more a typical story game. Duels of Fate, which was also announced, lets you pretend to be a Jedi and fight against the Dark Side – so if your into that, feel free to get the game.

Microsoft will also sell limited edition for AU$549 that will include the game, a White Kinect unit, and a themed unit and controller. In addition, the Limited Edition will give you an exclusive C-3PO character for Dance Mode.

Yes, I know. I don’t get it either.

To be honest, I personally don’t really care much for Star Wars – I know, a total nerd who doesn’t like Star Wars; and maybe should have consulted any of my friends about anything about the series before writing this post. But, if you want to play it and/or a massive fan, feel free.

Gallery, trailer and some gameplay footage can be found below.

Google’s popular Chrome browser is now heading to Android with the launch of Chrome for Android beta for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This means, you can now experience the same speed and simplicity of the browser on your phone or tablet.

While the version for your smartphone looks almost like the native browser on Android ICS, the tablet version is more like its desktop counterpart – including having the tabs on the top. Despite the stylistic changes, the browser includes many privacy tools – including Incognito mode if you wanted to do a bit more private browsing on your tablet or phone.

Other new features include easy bookmark syncing between your phone/tablet with your computer, so all your favourite sites are present no matter where you are; and you can even open tabs you left open on your computer – so if you had to leave when you’re seeing live coverage of something, you can switch to your phone or tablet to continue seeing it.

It is now available on the Android Market – and again, only for ICS sadly and only for selected countries (which also include Australia, so don’t worry, you can use it).

As if Google Chrome OS wasn’t irrelevant enough, Google has today announced a beta for Google Chrome on Android. It’s only available in select countries, which includes Australia, and only works on Android 4.0, or Ice-Cream Sandwich.

The browser looks similar to the default Android browser on Android phones, and looks very much like desktop Chrome on tablets. The benefits include syncing your bookmarks and tabs between the desktop version and a new, very cool cards-style tab interface. Other than that, it is still very similar, at least in my experience on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, to the default browser.

This could very well mean the end for Google Chrome OS and Chromebooks, with an Android OS being much more powerful than a web-only OS and also the fact that Chromebooks haven’t sold very well anyway.

If you want to give the Chrome Beta a test-run you can download it here for your ICS Android phone or tablet. In my experience I’ve seen slight glitches with web pages, but they will likely be fixed when the browser goes out of beta. It’ll also be interesting to see whether Chrome for Android will be updated at the same time, or at least as regularly, as the desktop version. Release video after the break.

Canon has announced a new camera joining the PowerShot line with the SX260 HS. It promises to deliver stunning image quality, even at a distance, thanks to its 20x optical zoom – a big feat for a camera at that size.

It has a 12.1-megapixel lens that is optimal, apparently, for low-light shooting; and also records in 1080p HD video. Other features include GPS geotagging, elevation information to help you plot exactly where you took the photos, and high-speed burst shooting at 10.3 frames per second. It will ship in March for a pricetag of US$349.99.

No word on Australian availability. Galley is below.

Canon PowerShot ELPH 320 HS

The PowerShot line is about to be expanded with the new announcement of the ELPH 530 HS and the ELPH 320 HS by Canon today. The three new cameras promise powerful optical zoom, Wi-Fi functionality  and excellent image quality despite being in a pocketable size.

The ELPH 530 HS and 320 HS will both have Wi-Fi functionality which allow users to upload images and videos instantly to its iMAGE GATEWAY service, which will then cross post them to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The ELPH 530 HS will also include a 12x optical zoom; a 10 megapixel CMOS sensor lens that can also take 1080p video; and a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen display to navigate. It is expected to be out in black or white for an estimated retail price of US$349.99. It ships in April.

The ELPH 320 HS, however, has a 16.1-megapixel CMOS sensor with 5x optical zoom and records 1080p HD video. It also comes with a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen; and comes in four different colours (black, silver, blye and red). The digital camera will be out with a price tag of US$279.99 and ships in March.

No word on Australian availability with both.

Canon has announced a brand new sporty digital camera. Called the PowerShot D20 digital camera, it is being touted as a sturdy camera for extreme sports or for trekking outdoors. Canon claims that this camera is waterproof, shock proof and freeze proof – and can easily switch to different modes at ease even with gloves.

Because, that’s a big feature that everyone wants.

The camera features a 12.1-megapixel lens with a 5x optical zoom and can record in 1080p full HD. It also includes a 3.0-inch LCD screen, GPS capabilities for geotagging, and includes wind reduction technology to capture audio even in breezy conditions.

Canon is touting a May 2012 shipping date with a price tag of US$349.99. No word on Australian availability.

I’ve seen my fair share of horrible PowerPoint presentations, and I’ve noticed that they tend to follow common trends. So, I’ve decided to compile what I see from these very bad (and often nightmarish) presentations with my very own knowledge of how I design presentations to give you a guide on the 5 Things To Do when you make are making presentation in PowerPoint.

Also, while it is not included, don’t use WordArt. I’ll tear your presentation to shreds if you do use WordArt.

Above image: Ryan Vaarsi/Flickr (Creative Commons)

1. Make it readable

The biggest thing in PowerPoint faux pas is that you have made it hard to read. Either by making the size of the text too small that no one can see, or making the text and background colours clash that make it impossible to read.

If you are typography nerd, then you would know something about the “Classic Scale”. This makes the readability of your PowerPoint smoother and not awkward. Headings should be the biggest of whatever point from the scale you start at, then the next one down for your dot points.You should stop at 24, because that will most likely be the smallest size when looking far away. Remember, if you can see it close up, and its below 24, then it will most likely not be seen by people far away.

Also, keep your titles and text consistent on each slide. Don’t make one slide’s heading appear big in one slide and smaller in others. They should be all the same. Though, you can slightly deviate from it. Also, key thing – maintain one or two fonts on your presentation. Don’t switch from the Calibri to Arial to Georgia to Wingdings in the same presentation.

For backgrounds, remember yin and yang. If you use a light background, use dark or black colour for text. If you have a dark background, use white or light colour for text. The text needs to stand out from the background.

Also, when in doubt. Keep it simple!

2. Don’t put your ENTIRE speech

Another common faux pas I have seen from people’s PowerPoint presentations is the simple copy and paste job from their speech. Your speech should be on palm cards or in Presenter View (see below), not up on your presentation. The key for a successful presentation is that you are interacting with the audience, not interacting with the screen.

Your PowerPoint is to summarise what you are going to say. However, don’t make the presentation too wordy – because they’ll focus on the screen and not on you; and don’t simply read dot points. The main idea is that these points are the main points that you are talking about. The finer details are in your speech – so they’ll stay focus on you to hear those.

Look at what you see above. It’s simple, and summarise the main points – especially in comparing the two formats of Web Video. It is also not what you see below (and yes, I have seen people do this before).

3. If it’s too long for words, summarise with images

The old saying goes “A picture tells a thousand words” – and in PowerPoint presentations, it holds true. If you can’t summarise something in text, use a picture. They quickly sum up your point to your audience without a wordy explanation. Graphics also are helpful when you are trying to convey something complex.

They can also be used to inject a bit of humour into your speech to keep it a bit interesting (and awake). Take, for instance, these two Ignite speeches. Both use images to highlight their points and keep their audience interested, despite being boring and/or geeky topics to talk about in public.

However, don’t expect to use funny images on the internet if you have to present it to your boss. I don’t think he’ll like seeing Wikipedia’s unofficial mascot, or the Megaflicks logo.

4. Don’t make it too distracting

While it’s great to use images and custom animations – there are several ways they could be distracting. One is simply splurge a bunch of images at the same time, and placing them on top of each other with no clear focus on where your eye should look at. DON’T DO THAT!

Also, don’t make everything a custom animation, where text or images move up, down or in a random part of the screen. From personal experience, I cringe when I see people do that. It’s essentially prolonging the torture of me sitting there waiting for you to move on.

Below is simply the very definition of distracting.

A simple fade on an object – which should be set to “on click”, which we will get to in a moment – will suffice. It means that they will appear at the same time and appear relevant to whatever you are talking about.

5. Use Presenter Tools

One of the best presentations I’ve seen from people are when they have this handy tool (and, of course, combining the tips). This is like a fancier version of simply pressing the left and right keys on the keyboard; but there is one good reason why you should get this. It makes you sound a bit more professional and puts you in control on how the slides move.

Having another person to move the slides, especially one who doesn’t know what to do, is annoying as the person can move to a slide prematurely. Also, again, you have more control on how each slide shows up, making it flow with your speech. And if you are the one in control of the slides, you have more freedom to move around and not simply moving to and from the computer to transition to the new slide or new animation.

Speaking of which, another tool you should use is PowerPoint’s Presenter View – you can find it under the “Slide Show” Tab under the “Monitors” section. This will let you see your current slide, notes and what’s coming up easily. You just need to make sure that you have it set up where the projector shows the PowerPoint slides and your laptop screen shows Presenter View. It’s a great way to keep track of your presentation.

Extra 1: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

In order to make a good presentation, your speech should be timed with your presentation. So, you should do a dry run to see what works and what does not – and this will let you know what to add, remove or alter before your live performance. As well, timing is important. Keep it short – maybe around 5 minutes if you are doing a short presentation.

We all get nervous, but just keep practicing over and over again in front of your friends – if they allow you to. You don’t have to be the best public speaker in the world to present well, you just need some confidence in what you are saying. And as many say, practice makes perfect.

Extra 2: Don’t copy Wikipedia

Also, don’t copy from Wikipedia. I know this is one of the most obvious things, but DON’T COPY FROM WIKIPEDIA. Do some research once in your own life (via Google or, if you’re weird, Bing), rather than relying on a bunch of editors who managed to make this as their own unofficial mascot (but, I bet 4chan and/or Reddit are proud of them).

Though, if you must – just remove the links. It does make it look obvious. Also, don’t copy big chunks and paste that into your presentation – that is why we have introduced Presenter Mode. You can simply read off that and make yourself sound smart.

Do you have your own tips on how to make a good presentation? We want to hear them. Send them in the comments below.

So, last Sunday was a pretty windy and humid day. The 33-degree day saw a number of homes blacked out, and (as usual) problems on our public transport network. Well, turns out, it also managed to shut down BigPond connectivity for 3 days – and still ongoing.

Wait, you may be wondering why I have this problem yet managed to produce this post? Well, I have two internet connections – the BigPond Cable is used as a backup connection just in case the ADSL line goes down (and of course, it has a lower download limit since it is a backup connection). As well, it was also convenient because I have a Foxtel subscription – which is also down after the blackout.

A simple power outage does not take down entire cable connection for this long, unless something big happened. But still, I’m getting the same answer from BigPond suport. I’m getting the same answer from Foxtel support. They are waiting for the power company to restore power to their system.

And I was stuck in in long queues. I’m assuming this is a big problem in Melbourne, or somewhere in my area. But hey, I haven’t heard a peep about it on Whirlpool – and it could be because no one on BigPond can actually express their problem.

They say they will hopefully get power again by the end of today.

At least, it’s a bit reassuring that Telstra, like all of us, still has to wait for a power technician to show up.

Update: Okay, so Telstra has clarified it is a “localised fault” that just affects my area. It’s still a pain in the butt to not have connectivity for three days.

Spying on players in order to get personal data, no wonder Facebook and Zynga need each other. A former ex-Zynga staff member has opened up an IAmA Reddit post, revealing both the good and the not-so-good bits of the company.

“No, this isn’t payback, or about a grudge. This is just word from someone who’s seen what this industry is capable of doing,” he writes explaining his motivation to do so.

So, what did the former employee reveal?

• Zynga hires contractors and “treats them like second citizen employees, they almost have no feedback or say on their work schedule… they are [also] NOT welcome to company events, they are openly excluded from them. Yet they want them to work twice as hard as regular full timers.”
• They spy on their players, “getting intimate gaming data, their habits, their networks and how to effectively monetize given X”. Also revealed was to skew gameplay in order to profit.
• Worst things on the office? “Color Wars”, which was a company ‘cheerleading’ event apparently; and their walls covered with old memes. If you need an image – “Just imagine a bunch of noobs in /b/ mass bukkakeing your workspace with old memes.” Good luck getting that image out of your head.
• “If you can’t buy em, clone em.” He even reveals that the core technology for FarmVille was bought. Though, he does point out that MafiaWars2 was “homegrown”. Also, to any developer, “Lawyer up” and “resist the urge to get bought out”.
• What are some of the good things? “An awesome chowhall for food. 2 meals a day. Arcade machines all over the campus. Living in the carcass of the old SEGA building. Brogrammers committing bad XML and pretending to be programmers. (entertainment value) Designers and Artists committing bad XML. (moar entertainment value)”
• All the best coders are flagged for Farmville, and all the crap games are “shipped to India, to die. Zynga India is ‘maintenance’”.

So, if you do find anything else interesting, do post in in the comments.

A threat of a crackdown “like China” by India has forced Google and Facebook to remove content that were deemed offensive to religions in the country. The threat comes after a lawsuit by one person claiming that both companies were violating Indian law.

The decision came after a lawsuit by a Muslim petitioner, Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi; with the court asking all 21 sites listed in the case to file a report within 15 days of content removed.

“The review team has looked at the content and disabled this content from the local domains of search, YouTube and Blogger,” Google spokeswoman Paroma Chaudhry told the Reuters news agency.

The law in question makes content providers responsible for all content that users upload, and they have only 36 hours to take down offensive material if there was a complaint. This was the basis of another successful lawsuit brought by a Hindu petitioner in the High Court. Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Yahoo are seeking to appeal the decision.

The Indian Government has been supportive of the move to seek Google, Facebook and others to remove content that are deemed objectionable to religious sentiments.

As Reuters have also pointed out:

While civil rights groups have opposed the new laws, politicians say posting offensive images in a socially conservative country, which has a history of violence between religious groups, presents a danger to the public.

India does have a history of religious conflicts, the last major was in 2008 that saw over 20 killed and 12,000 displaced because of riots. And obviously, they have a right to maintain stability in the country as, after all, a country of over one billion people with all different religious backgrounds can create some instability based on religion.

However, while the Indian Government want to see this implemented by companies, it is realistically impossible to monitor what is uploaded to their servers. The only move they can do is simply be reactive to what is happening, not proactive. It sort of echos the copyright lobby groups who, in SOPA, to make Google responsible to what searches come up or what appears on YouTube that is copyright infringing.

But it also does have a frightening impact on what you can and cannot say. While we can obviously identify what is highly intolerant comments, there are some areas where this can be abused. I mean, take the recent example of a Christian teacher in Perth going to ACMA over a simple 7.30 sketch by Clarke and Dawe. The teacher was offended by this, saying it vilified Christians:

Dawe: A lot of them must realise the damage they are doing?
Clarke: Oh, they do. A lot of them are Christians.
Dawe: So there would be a lot of guilt?
Clarke: A lot of guilt. A lot of denial.
Dawe: Look what they are doing to the asylum seekers.
Clarke: Perfect example. Perfect example.
Dawe: So they’d be blaming each other too, I’d imagine.
Clarke: Blaming everybody. I mean you can’t get anybody to admit to owning up to anything in the whole place.

If you saw the clip, and thank God for ACMA’s finding, it was not offensive to – as ACMA puts it – “an ordinary, reasonable viewer”.

It’s a very fine line, one that any decision should not go too far.

Image: Sudhamshu/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Train Trapper

This app is nothing short of the best Melbourne public transport app. It is fast to load and picks the closest station to your current location and presents you with a list of which train will depart when, and to where. This is extremely handy when you are roaming around the city, wander into a train station and want to catch the next train without any hassle which we had plenty of experience doing during CES.

This app also displays whether the train is cancelled or delayed and a short explanation as to what happened. Unlike the Metlink, featured later, it is really easy to read and interpret allowing for easy commuting around the Melbourne Rail network.

You can download it for free here: http://tgau.co/traintrapper 

Metlink

This app, put nicely has a horrible UX (user experience). It is just horrible. It just feels overcomplicated, is ‘thick’ menu wise and looks like something made by an amateur. In terms of functionality, it is pretty good at telling you when a bus is leaving, when a train will arrive and so on. Though that is about it. I have tried using its Journey planner many a time, only for it to produce the most incomprehensible, unreadable, irrelevant garbage.  So please, for the love of God, don’t use this app for anything other than an interactive timetable!

Though, do note that this app is still in beta so fingers crossed this Metlink work on this app and improve it to something a little more usable.

You can download the app for free here: http://tgau.co/metlinkapp

Metro Trains Mobile Site

Breaking the unwritten rules of an app wrap-up, this is actually a mobile website. There is nothing new here but this is where you go for an overview of the status of the Metro train network. Basically, the website only contains one useful webpage, which is the summary page so I can’t blab on here too much. This website also links to the Metlink app; an online timetable; a news page; and a 404 page. How nice of them.

Unlike Metlink, Metro have done quite a nice job with this website, making it also very readable and interpretable on the move. This is something I can see coming in handy in a time of chaos and confusion.

You can access the website here: http://m.metrotrains.com.au/

Tram Hunter

This is an app, which I have played with, but haven’t used on the go. Like Train Trapper, it is able to detect nearby stops (well as far as I know), browse by tram route, search for stops, and view stops on a map.

I am not a regular tram commuter so I don’t think I will ever clock up much experience with this app. though from playing with it, it is able to tell you when the next tram will leave, where and at which stop. This app is on par with the Train Trapper app in terms of design and functionality. I decided to include this because a friend recommended it to me, and I can see it being useful for some commuters.

You can download the app for free here: http://tgau.co/tramhunter

So that is it for my public transport apps. It is a little disappointing that both Metlink and Metro Trains haven’t been able to produce something that I am happy to use and able to commit to. Then again, when has the government done anything properly that they haven’t been forced to do… NBN… Sigh. Anyway, hope this helps!

Since Windows 95, Microsoft has included the Start button, a button that opened a list of Applications and Folder shortcuts, in each new version of Windows. While there have been changes, such as the change from the word “Start” to a Windows ‘orb,’ the main functions of the menu have remained the same.

But it now looks like the famous button and menu is on the chopping block thanks to leaked screenshots on PCBeta, a Chinese website which says they’ve been leaked a near-final “Consumer Beta.” Instead of the ‘orb’ seen in Windows Vista and Windows 7, Microsoft will now use a ‘hot-corner’ to open a menu, but the menu will still not be the Start menu seen in Windows 7.

It would be a massive change, but the button never really fit in with the Developer Preview, so maybe it’s for the best.

On another note, why the hell is the Consumer Preview still using the same Aero as in Windows 7 and Vista? If Microsoft wants to switch to Metro, they might as well fully switch.

The Samsung GALAXY Nexus (Image: Samsung/supplied)

The flagship phone for Ice Cream Sandwich – Android 4.0 – is on our review desk. However, does it live up to the hype what Google and Samsung have produced, or will it fall flat like many Android phones? Plus, is ICS an improvement to the Android ecosystem?

Terence Huynh reviews.

Design & Features

As we may have noticed, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a slim touchscreen phone – not as slim as the Motorola RAZR, but is pocketable. The phone also features a unique curve, mainly because of the 4.65-inch curved Super AMOLED display. Speaking of the display, the colour reproduction is good and are vibrant (and it should, especially since it is considered the flagship phone for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich). The phone also features a dual core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM; and 16GB storage that is not expandable via a microSD card.

As well, you have the standard headphone jack and a microUSB port at the bottom; a volume rocker at the left side; and power button on the right. You also have a camera – 5 megapixel that can record 1080p video – with a LED light at the back; in addition to a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera.

The body, typical of Samsung’s high-end smartphones, is perfection. It is beautifully designed. However, playing with the phone longer than anticipated, I started comparing it to the other phones I had to review, and the phones I previously reviewed – and it has a problem.

The body feels bland. It’s perfectly designed, but just doesn’t excite me as much – and it’s because of the colour, or lack thereof.

After playing around with the Nokia N9, you do sort of miss the bright and screaming colours of magenta and blue (I did have the Black version to review, but I did also play around with the two colours).The shade of black and/or grey and a mesh pattern at the back of the phone just gets boring when you see it on every single phone.To be fair, it’s not Samsung’s fault. Every single phone manufacturer is guilty of simply sticking to a monochromatic colour scheme.

Being the flagship phone of Android by Google, it does have to add hardware features that developers will be (hopefully) using for their apps. This phone includes Near Field Communication (NFC) and is one of the few phones that supports Mobile High-Defintion Link (MHL) – where you can connect the phone (via microUSB) to your HDTV. It is also sort of a way to reproduce 1080p content since the phone lacks a microHDMI port.

The Camera

The camera touts “zero shutter lag”, and the claim does stand up. The photo is taken and saved instantly when you press the on-screen button to shoot. However, while it does have continuous auto focus – meaning, it will constantly readjust to make sure the image is mostly clear -  you can get a bit of blurriness in the photo. It also comes with a panorama mode, so you can take 360 degree shots at ease.

In all honesty, the photos could have come out better. The camera’s weak spots are in low-light conditions. The flash when doing close-ups over-saturates, and does kind of make a person look like he or she has jaundice. Not a great look.

But the big improvement has to be the interface. It’s clean, simple and the settings are not hidden through menu, after menu. It has been a bit simplified, and stripped down to the basic features of zoom, changing the white balance, turning off or on the flash and changing the quality of the photos. It doesn’t have the weird oddities such as effects – like HTC has done; but who cares about the effects. All of us want simple snapshots.

Ice Cream Sandwich also lets you have quick access to the camera in the lock screen. So now, you’ll never miss a moment.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Now, let’s get straight to the main business – it is currently (at the time of writing) the only smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that is available in Australia. Combined with the dual-core processor, it runs smoothly in comparison to the heavily customised versions from manufacturers – I still have bad nightmares from Motorola’s MOTOBLUR.

It pretty much takes Honeycomb and slaps it onto a smartphone. However, ICS ditches all physical buttons on the front of the phone, instead relying on the static buttons on the bottom of the screen – representing back, home and a way to see currently running applications. Also new to ICS is the ability to now close apps in the background, a new data usage manager, screenshot capture and the ability to create folders. Widgets now are in its own tab with the Apps menu, and like Honeycomb, you can now resize them.

But those are considered minor to Google. It is touting two things – Android Beam and Face Unlock. Unfortunately, we couldn’t test Android Beam since we don’t have another phone with us on our review desk that has NFC, but its a new way to share contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, apps, etc without using the cumbersome pairing process of Bluetooth.

Face Unlock, however, isn’t all that great either. The ads somewhat blemish the uselessness of this feature. In fact, Google admits that it is “less secure than a pattern, PIN or password”. So why put it in there? Because simply, iOS and Windows Phone 7 doesn’t have it. To its credit, it managed to unlock my face instantly – after tying to get it to angle correctly in the circle so many times; but it didn’t work in different lighting conditions (it could be because parts of the face were obscured). So, if I was you, I’ll stick with the traditional pattern or PIN.

However, back to ICS – in its purest form, it is brilliant. Perfectly designed (and as a typography nerd, the font Roboto looks really good for the display) and its complexities mostly simplified, it is the best version of Android yet – despite the gimmick known as Face Unlock.

Conclusions

Calling this phone the best Android phone might be a bit over-the-top, but definitely is one of the better smartphones in the market – if you ignore the gimmicks. The camera does let it down a bit, but most of the hardware doesn’t. The processor makes ICS run smoothly; and ICS itself makes me want to convert to an Android fanboy simply because of its design.

But of course, Samsung will create a better version for its Galaxy line, like every other manufacturer – so I’ll be eagerly awaiting what manufacturers will release with ICS at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

SITE NEWS: Oh look what has returned. After a few months of tinkering and finding a new approach, we have brought back our own link shortner URL – tgau.co.

We’ve decided to ditch our old internal system for a more better approach using bit.ly’s own custom domain feature, which is free for all to use. Plus, this has an added bonus of letting us use it on anything that supports bit.ly.

So, if you look at the bottom of the post, you’ll see a link shortened URL with tgau.co, rather than bitly.com or any of its sister domains.

Enjoy using it!

Facebook files an IPO, we learn Zynga makes 12 percent of its revenue, and Anonymous manages to swipe a recording about them from the FBI? Wow, and we thought Sony’s security was lax. All this and more on TECHGEEK Weekly.

Stewart is away this week, so Terence, Chris and Tom are joined by the wonderful (and often replacing Stewart whenever he isn’t on the podcast) Harley McEvoy.

Don’t forget to listen and subscribe!

You may be wondering why this was late on schedule. Well, we had some technical issues with CDN. It’s all fixed now. Sorry for the problems. – Terence

DOWNLOAD MP3

SUBSCRIBE via iTunes
SUBSCRIBE via RSS

Show Notes

The Top Stories

Facebook files IPO, wants to raise $5 billion

Facebook Goes Public: Surprising Facts Learned From IPO Paperwork

Zynga made up 12% of Facebook’s revenue in 2011

Zuckerberg will take a $1 annual salary starting next year

Facebook Javascript API Goes Down, Taking Down Likes, Comments And Apps With It

Howard Stringer to leave Sony CEO role, promotes Kazuo Hirai

Remember that rumoured February iPad 3 event? Make it March

Anonymous gain access to FBI and Scotland Yard hacking call

Pwnage Playtime

GAME looks to offload Australian stores after Christmas disaster in UK

Minecraft Will Never Be Finished

Nintendo Announces Online Gaming Network

Tom’s Stockings (1)

Exetel founder John Linton has passed away, after having a stroke. Linton was known for his opinions on technology and the ISP industry. His family has asked those to donate to his favourite charity – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Micron CEO Dead At 51

Microsoft’s head of Windows Phone developer experience, Brandon Watson, leaves for Amazon

In Other News

Microsoft’s terrible ‘Gmail Man’ video becomes official, attacks Gmail’s ‘lack of privacy’

Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’ video details Skype plans, Windows 8 integration, and hardware support

Apple: Piper’s Munster Finds More Evidence TV Coming Soon

Feds: Megaupload user files may be deleted starting Thursday

Megaupload data to get two-week extension

Google must pay $660,000 for offering Google Maps for free

Is This the First BlackBerry 10 Phone? [PIC]

WiFi Kindle Touch gets its passport, now available internationally

Tom’s Stockings (2)

The latest update of Skype (version 5.8) for Windows is now available. The update, while fixing some bugs, also brings several key new features – including full HD video calling, Facebook video calling and group desktop sharing. Some, however, require you to have Skype Premium. You can download the latest version on its website.

Tweets by Scott Browning, marketing director for JB Hi Fi, has noted that the company has plans to release the app for its JB Hi Fi NOW streaming service “by the end of March” and has confirmed that it will allow users to download songs on their mobile devices for offline use.

Panasonic has announced that it will post a $10 billion annual loss – a record – for the year, blaming restructure changes and writedowns. As well, Sony and Sharp are expected to post heavy losses as all three are trying to fix their TV business.

Apple has finally pulled the delta update for Mac OS X 10.7.3, a release that was supposed to fix bugs and other problems but instead caused major problems to some users, such as the CUI errors and other application issues. Instead of downloading the smaller delta update, users are now made to download the combined update, meaning a bigger download of 1.34GB, almost double the original update’s size of 730.6MB

While the issues weren’t happening to everyone, a large number of users had OS-breaking problems, including myself. If you don’t want to risk anything, you should always wait a week after an update until the all-clear is given. And while this update is probably safe, you might want to wait if you’ve got important work to do.

The reasoning is that Sony wants you to use the same ID on all services, such as Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited (not available in Australia yet), and PlayMemories Online.

Why they would add the word ‘Entertainment,” I don’t know. Maybe Sony Network was taken? All I can hope is that Sony Entertainment Network doesn’t also get compromised and actually has some good security systems in place.

UK gaming retailer GAME looks likely to be pulling out of the Australian market, after striking a deal with its creditors to save the company from bankruptcy due to poor Christmas sales which includes plans to sell its overseas stores.

The deal allows GAME to continue lending, albeit within a lower limit. In return, the company has to provide an updated plan that will be approved by the lenders. The plan also includes a review of overseas operations – which could suggest the company could be looking for a buyer for its international assets to keep its UK stores afloat.

The company has 664 international stores – including 115 stores in Australia.

The company has reportedly been struggling due to the rise of online stores in the UK as sales during the Christmas holiday shopping season fell 15 percent. It has already announced it will be making a £18 million loss, and closing 60 of its 610 stores across the UK and Ireland by 2013. This is on top of the 39 stores it closed last year.

The struggle has also seen EA spooked. CEO John Riccitiello has noted during an investor call that he was concern of a “major European retail partner” – with many in the gaming press assuming it was Game.

The latest update of Skype (version 5.8) for Windows is now available. The update, while fixing some bugs, also brings several key new features – including full HD video calling, Facebook video calling and group desktop sharing.

The full HD video is currently supported by one camera – the Logitech C920 webcam. This is because the encoding is done inside the camera, rather than Skype. So, if you want to stream yourself in full HD, you now can – provided that you have at least 2Mbps download/upload speed.

Group desktop sharing means that you can now share a document, image or whatever is on your desktop instantly to a group conversation. This feature, however, will be available only to those with Skype Premium. Facebook video calling is also a big thing, meaning that you can now communicate to your friend even if they haven’t got Skype installed. In order to start a video call with a person on Facebook, you select the person you want and click “video call”.

Other new improvements include a Push-to-Talk feature, integration with the Bing Toolbar and hiding offline Facebook contacts.

You can read the full list via Skype’s blog.

Not only does Google offer perfectly fine privacy policies, with the claims of this video false (Google AdSense does analyse emails, but in no way is it done or seen by employees), but their Google Apps that you pay for, just like paying for Office 365, have no ads. It’s comparing a free service to a paid service. And Google could easily be the best company to hold your data, with new ways to free it, such as in Google Takeout, where you can export almost all of your data and go somewhere else.

Also, never mind the fact that free Hotmail users probably have the same privacy in regards to ads as free Gmail users, but Microsoft would never let that get in the way of a good story now, would they? Neither would a number of other media outlets.

Either way, the video is below, and if you want some real facts about Gmail and Google, read their blog post. And remember, don’t listening to misinformed people and competitors. They probably just want a page view.

Update: Also, Microsoft also has personalised advertising. So does Facebook. And you can Opt-out to Google and Microsoft’s personalised advertising at any time. Just Google it.

Image: Tom Solari/TECHGEEK.com.au

Facebook is going public. The social networking site has filed its hotly anticipated (and much rumoured) IPO, with the company seeking to raise $5 billion from selling its shares on the stock market. The company, however, has not listed when it will sell those shares, nor has it released any initial price on those shares.

The company also plans to sell Class A stock – which will entitle holders one vote. However, there will be Class B stock – allowing holders ten votes per share. So, we can expect Facebook’s own executives will take hold of Class B stock to maintain some control over the direction of the company.

However, there are juicy tidbits coming from Facebook’s own filing – including announcing that there were 845 million active users on the site, 250 million photos uploaded every day, and 2.7 billion likes and comments across the site per day. The company also announced that it has made $3.7 billion – with 84 percent just on advertising revenue.

You can read the entire IPO filing below.

Exetel founder John Linton has passed away from an “intensive stroke” after having lunch yesterday. The news was communicated by the company on his blog by his son James Linton, adding that the company plans to continue.

Linton started Exetel as a consultancy company in the 1990s, before it shifted to become an ISP. Linton is also known for his own opinions on the ISP industry, regularly publishing on a blog to customers of Exetel and those who donated to his endangered wild life protection fund.

We have copied the full text, via a Whirlpool poster:

Yesterday my dad was doing what he liked doing best. Eating at a nice restaurant, drinking nice wines , and talking about the state of the telecommunications market in Australia, and the various companies that make this up.

At lunch he suffered what was thought to be a mild stroke, and was immediately taken to St Vincents hospital. He was conscious in the ambulance, responding to their questions, but when he got to the hospital he had trouble breathing and they needed to put him into a medically induced coma and put him on a ventilator to help him breathe. Unfortunately it turned out to be a very intensive stroke and there was nothing the doctors could do, without killing him in an operation or leaving him severely brain damaged. So last night, with most of my family present, his ventilator was turned off and a few hours later he passed away peacefully.

This is the saddest day of my life, I have lost my dad, my mentor, my boss, and one of my best friends.

However dad would not want us fussing over him, he would want to know what we have sold, which was actually one of the last things I said to him. He would also want Exetel to go on as he had planned for it to. He put in a place a strategic plan, so we need to move on as he had wanted us to, and remember him for the great man he was.

If any of you feel like buying my mum and family flowers, I would ask that you instead make a donation to his favourite charity, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; http://www.rspb.org.uk/

James Linton

Our thoughts are with his family.

Image: ITNews