Ten things that I have learnt from travelling

The ten things that I have learnt from travelling as far as making the journey safe, hassle free and rewarding are:
1. Always have a supply of toilet paper on you at all times.
2. Always travel with a torch that fits in your mouth so your hands are free.
3.Always have a few $US dollars available in various denominations.
5. In countries where security and Armies are present carry a packet of cigarettes with you to give away.
6. If you are carrying a money or passport pouch on you, always wear it under your clothing under one of your armpits.
7. Always travel with a frisbee. They make great plates and cutting boards and is the best way to break the ice with strangers. Masai Warriors are mean frisbee throwers!
8. Always carry a sewing needle and make sure you have some dacron thread. It will hold anything together.
9. Learn pig latin or arpy darpy or similar for those countries where you are hassled by Touts and tell them you are from Kiribati or some other small South Pacific Island and you don't speak English. Works a treat.
10. Always have a sense of humour where ever you go and don't take yourself too seriously. It is the Australian way and makes us the best travellers in the world

Ten prophecies for the digital millennium

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Graeme Philipson
December 9, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/biztech/ten-prophecies-for-the-digital-millennium/2008/12/09/1228584755498.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

A summary of the main trends in IT, from the rise of the supernet
to the threat posed by intelligent machines.

Recently I was asked to speak at a conference about what's going to happen in IT predictions in the next 10 years. It's always hard to tell the future, but here goes anyway - 10 predictions, in no particular order. I have mentioned most of these ideas in various columns during the past year or two. So treat this, my last column for the year, as sort of a summary of what I believe to be the trends in IT as we near the end of the first decade of the digital millennium.

1. The internet will become the "supernet"

The internet has been around since 1969, but it's only 15 years since it has become the web - easy to use, easy to navigate, with billions of web pages and billions of users.

We have already reached the point at which most devices connected to the internet are mobile - phones, cars, even household appliances. That trend will continue, with the move to "embedded computing", where the internet links objects as well as general-purpose computers.

2. The decline of the PC

This is a consequence of the first prediction. PCs will not die - indeed, they will become massively more powerful, but they will become only one of many types of computing device. Mobile phones and "thin clients" will be much more popular ways of connecting to the supernet.

3. The rise of software as a service

Again, a consequence of the rise of other types of computing device. Data and processing and applications are moving off fixed computers - or even mobile computers - and on to the web.

This is increasingly being called "cloud computing" as all processing takes place in the "cloud" that is the internet. An important example is the craze for "software as a service", in which applications reside elsewhere and are accessed through a web browser.

4. The decline of copyright

Regular readers of this column will know this is a hobbyhorse of mine. Copyright and most intellectual property laws are now an anachronism. Attempts by record companies and film studios and book publishers to stop people copying digital media are doomed to failure.

Technology is forcing big changes to business models.

5. The greening of IT

Computers contribute about as much to carbon emissions as do aircraft - about 2per cent of the world's total. Many users and vendors are working out clever ways to reduce this figure - virtualisation, data centre consolidation, thin clients and telecommuting. All worthy stuff. But the real greening of IT comes when the power of information systems is harnessed to increase efficiencies throughout the organisation, in logistics, in manufacturing and in power distribution. IT is also an integral part of the carbon footprint monitoring and measuring process.

6. The threat from intelligent machines

Look up "The Singularity" in Wikipedia or somewhere. The term, invented by American writers Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil, refers to the time in the near future when machines become more intelligent than humans and start replicating themselves. Who then will be the dominant life form on the planet?

7. Increased importance of technology for the aged

The population is ageing. The proportion of people disabled by the illnesses of old age is growing rapidly. Digital technology has a big role to play in helping people live independently and in keeping them out of expensive and soulless institutions.

The rise of so-called "e-health" is a big trend in this direction - use of technology to remotely monitor people's vital signs, to provide diagnoses at a distance and to supplement communications systems.

8. The decline of IT as a speciality

A hundred years ago it seems someone predicted that if telephony job opportunities continued to grow at the same rate, within a generation everybody in the world would be a telephone operator. Well, with automatic dialling, everyone is. Somebody else once predicted a similar thing about computer programmers. Today we all program computers, by the very act of using them. There are fewer specialists, but many more generalists.

9. The death of newspapers

Newspapers as we know them are in decline. Are you reading this in hard copy or online? Around the world, newspapers are shutting down or moving to the web. Blogs are replacing the mainstream media.

The profession of journalism, and the way we consume media and get our news, is being transformed. I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, but there's no doubt it's happening.

10. The growth of internet TV

TV is going digital. At the same time, internet bandwidth is quickly increasing, and most of the data it carries is video.

Many kids simply don't watch TV any more - they download stuff. All sorts of people are offering all sorts of video content on the net, from legitimate TV stations seeking another distribution medium to amateurs on YouTube and elsewhere.

The existing pay TV model of expensive content over a proprietary distribution medium has only a few years left. And "free-to-air" will become "free-to-internet".

Call me at the end of 2018 to see how all this has panned out. And do have a Merry Christmas.

Weekend Australian Magazine's 20 best songs poll results

Readers were asked to vote for the greatest Australian songs of the past two decades, as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations. They asked 20 top musicians and industry players to pick their favourites.
Here are the results. Do you agree? The Church was my first choice and I am sure Paul Kelly would be there as well.

TOP OF THE POPS: 1988-2008
1. Under the Milky Way (1988) – The Church
2. Into Temptation (1988) – Crowded House
3. The Ship Song (1990) – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
4. Berlin Chair (1994) – You Am I
5. Distant Sun (1993) – Crowded House
6. Never Tear Us Apart (1988) – INXS
7. These Days (1999) – Powderfinger
8. Fall at Your Feet (1991) – Crowded House
9. No Aphrodisiac (1997) – The Whitlams
10. One Crowded Hour (2006) – Augie March
11. Blow up the Pokies (1999) – The Whitlams
12. Weather With You (1991) – Crowded House
13. Private Universe (1993) – Crowded House
14. Touch (1988) – Noiseworks
15. The Special Two (2005) – Missy Higgins
16. Better Be Home Soon (1998) – Crowded House
17. Straight Lines (2007) – Silverchair
18. Special (2006) – Gisele Scales
19. Are You Gonna be my Girl? (2003) – Jet
20. Thunderstruck (1990) – ACDC

My ten least favourite words or phrases

1. Aspirational: Code for saying something but in reality doing nothing.
2. Collateral damage: accidental killing of innocent victims in war. Carnage.
3. Youse
4. whatevah
5. yeahright
6. bitch slap
7. pimp yah
   

Kerry J's Ten aural assault words/phrases

1. Utilise
2. Love youse all
   
3. Zipper
4. Cool (kewl)
5. Like
6. Pedagogy
7. The cutting edge
8. Disambiguate
9. Ipodophile
10. Iteration
    

Top Ten Live Albums

1. Allman Brothers Band: Live at the Fillmore East.
2. Lou Reed: Rock'n'Roll Animal
3. Bob Dylan: Before the flood.
4. Woodstock: Various artist.
5. Get yer ya ya's out: Rolling Stones.
6. Derek and the Dominos: Live at the Fillmore East.
7. Talking Heads: Stop making sense.
8. Cream: Live Cream Vol 1.
9. Neil Young: Rust never sleeps
10. Paul Kelly: Paul Kelly Live.
    

Top Ten Irritations of late

1. LG remote controls that my 84 year old mother is trying to master.
2. The cost of broadband.
3. Alexander Downer's voice.
4. Alexander Downer's condescending attitude.
5. The Channel 7 AFL footy coverage.
6. John Howards recklessness and desperation to hold on to power.
7. Holier than thou Kevin Rudd.
8. The price of vegetables.
9. Four cornered garlic weed growing in my garden.
10. Ants in the kitchen cupboard.