This is more of an enquiry than claim: is Soundbuzz the backbone of BigPond Music? I just read a post over at TechCrunch claiming that Motorola has acquired Soundbuzz. It mentions that Soundbuzz has partnerships with Hutchison 3, Motorola, Airtel, SingTel, M1, Optus Zoo, Telstra/ BigPond Music and Microsoft.

When does everyone think the Apple iPhone will available in Australia, or more accurately, Asia Pacific? I have my bets on late 2008/early 2009.

As most technophiles will already know, Steve Jobs - Apple’s CEO - is reluctant of a 3G model at this point due to problems with the battery-life. He doesn’t want to sacrifice any of the iPhone functionality by supplying a limited battery-life. Well, I don’t think they will release the iPhone to Asia Pacific unless it is a 3G model. What’s the point?

It has been said that people place too much importance on the ‘term’ - 3G. Most really don’t get the most out of what it offers to what can it possibly matter? Well, truth is, Asia Pacific hosts some of the worlds largest 3G networks. I believe 2.5 (GSM or EDGE) would be taking a step backward.

Who will win?

Next question, who will win the contract for the iPhone here in Australia? I have my money - not literally - on Vodafone. I believe, from a branding/marketing perspective the two companies align better than the anticipated Telstra/Apple partnership. After all, Telstra has always been rather Apple-unfriendly.

We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.

Today marks the day of ‘posting random, statistic-driven images on the Pajago.com blog’. I think it should be marked as a public holiday! What do you think?

I made a couple of neat discoveries today; both at adsl2exchanges.com.au. First is a tool that allows you to see where the RIM’s ( Remote Integrated Multiplexer) in your area are located and how many available ports there are; the other, a heat-map of likely ADSL2+ speeds within your area. I believe both are quite reliant on user-interaction - a good way to go about things provided the information is moderated.

To view the RIM searcher, go to the left sidebar and click ’suburb’ view. Do what it asks to locate the suburb in question. You will see a Google Map littered with heat-blobs. Click on each and it tells you the RIM’s name and status. The Telstra exchanges are also marked by a little upside down tear-drop looking icon.

The speed heat-map can be found under ’states’ at the left sidebar. The more user-generated input here, the more robust the tool becomes. Very neat tool.

Go check it out.

PJG

This is slightly old news but it is the first I have heard about it. Accounting software firm, 2Clix that attempted to sue ISP discussion forum Whirlpool has gone into administration.

As they say, ‘what goes around, comes around’.

According to ITWire “after receiving a barrage of criticism on Whirlpool in posts from disaffected users, 2Clix, also known as Platinum One business solutions, lodged a $150,000 lawsuit against Simon Wright, founder of Whirlpool, in September. The lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn after an outcry from many quarters including online watchdog Electronic Frontiers Australia”.

Apparently wages have gone unpaid and 2Clix have appointed accounting firm (ironic) Worrells to manage the administration.

So, the government awards OpEl (Optus and Elder’s joint-venture) $1-billion of tax-payers moolah? How can this be right? I ask you -how?

OpEl oozes suspicion. I see it as being mostly backed by Optus, hence the heap of cash they are throwing into their 99% coverage WiMAX-inferior-compared-to-NextG network. As far as I can see, it’s necessary to fill that gap between 98.8% (Telstra NextG’s current range) 100% so all Australians are equal. And in saying that, it’s not just the coverage that is important it’s the quality of the service. With the internet becoming the beast it is today people need broadband. WiMAX is still in the dark-ages.

My greatest concern with WiMAX (as much as the M stand for microwave -retro) is where are the suppliers coming from? I hear that WiMAX has 2% market share. Why the hell would Nokia, Ericsson, et al bother changing their production to suit such a small-fish technology. It’s akin to films being released as VHS still -things have progressed… It’s a niche technology -simple.

Pajago

The battle between Telstra and G9 continues. Below is a table, released on the Now We Are Talking website shows the strengths of Telstra and weaknesses of the G9 plan. Let’s substantiate on each of these claims:

Engineering flaws

• G9 propose Sub-loop unbundling (SLU) which enables other carriers to interconnect with Telstra’s customer access network at any point between the exchange and the customer premises.
• SLU dismantles Telstra’s network - Telstra will be required to go out and physically cut the copper wire from its network and connect it to the competitor’s node that could see service disruptions and a host of potential technical difficulties.
• This type of SLU has never been done anywhere in the world because it doesn’t work.
• Responsibility for maintaining end-to-end service quality is not considered: how would failures be detected and who would be responsible for fixing them?Read what the Communication Workers Union of Australia has to say about SLU (www.cepu.asn.au)

… Read the rest of this article at NWAT (nowwearetalking.com.au)

Looking at this hoo-har from a logistical point-of-view; G9 doesn’t have the work-force, experience nor vision to be feasible. The required work-force and experience -especially- can not just be manufacturer overnight.

If G9 is favoured, which it has been so far, bye-bye to so many millions of dollars that will be NZ and Singapore bound.

Pajago