Elections in the air or legislating cyberspace?
We may be about to have an election as Howard, Rudd & Co vie for
MySpace, but did you know that the Federal Government is planning to have blogging on legislation?
The government has proposed to put up a site to enable individuals to comment on proposed new or changed laws. The aim is to promote a more interactive approach to policy development, via an official web site.
One of the problems to be addressed is how to ensure that comments are from individuals and not lobby groups. (Extracted from The Australian IT section 14/8/07)
I&I presumes that provided the problems can be overcome this initiative is likely to be implemented no matter who wins the next election – both sides seem to want to be with IT! But how many true individuals will bother?
Scaring the pants off you when backing up isn’t enough
Most companies rely on computers and the latest technology to record, manage and control their operational activities, from the most mundane things to vital aspects such as accounts, client data, product information and stock levels. But the big question is, “what happens when your systems go down”?
For many companies the answer is that they have taken backups and these are safely stored off site, so it should be easy to get things going again. However, i3net member Partner IT, who specialise in this area, state that the theory is often far from the practice.
Tom Galeski of Partner IT said, “We deal with these issues every day and what we see will scare the pants off any business manager. Typically even if the data backup is recent and intact, you often find that the operating systems are no longer compatible and it can take weeks to get a company up and running again. The cost of lost business can kill a company. The tragedy is that it is all preventable if people would follow some very simple rules.”
The next i3net members meeting on Wednesday 10 October will discuss the important subject of operational data security and continuity of operations.
The i3net was formed several years ago in response to a need to promote awareness of the high-technology innovation base within the Illawarra.
For further information go to: www.i3net.com.au
Contact via: media@i3net.com.au
Efficiently attacking global warming
Energy efficiency for power plants, cars or homes is the easiest way to slow global warming in a long-term investment shift that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
A UN report about climate investments, outlined to a meeting in Vienna of 1,000 delegates from 158 nations, also said emissions of greenhouse gases could be curbed more cheaply in developing nations than in rich states in coming decades.
Details are at http://www.industrysearch.com.au/news/viewrecord.aspx?id=27848 (extracted from AusIMM newsletter 3/9/07)
I&I comment: If every bit helps then maybe Smart Meters are an option for the developed world (see story below)
Smart meters – an electric idea! Or when to put the Dishwasher on?
Homes and businesses across the EnergyAustralia network have been offered free smart meters to cut electricity use and costs. An investigation by EnergyAustralia showed an average domestic saving of about $45 a year, so businesses and large users of electricity stand to make much bigger savings.
About 15% of the electricity network is used for only 1% of the time. That's almost $1.5 billion worth of electrical equipment only being used on three or four days a year. In 10 years that's expected to increase to 20%. The Smart Meters come into play to increase the overall efficiency of the network.
EnergyAustralia MD George Maltabarow says the new meters give customers more control over electricity costs by measuring how much electricity is used every 30 minutes compared to the old style meters that measure use every three months.
An investigation by EnergyAustralia of the customers already using the smart meter showed 72 per cent were actively making changes to their electricity usage. The survey also indicated 85 per cent were better off under time-based pricing compared to the standard domestic tariff.
Households pay different amounts for electricity based on when they use it. They pay 27.6 cents per kWh during peak hour, 9.7 cents per kWh during shoulder period and 5.6 cents per kWh during off-peak hours.
Off-peak hours account for 82 per cent of the time, so customers could shift non-essential energy use to outside peak hour times to save energy. For example, Maltabarow says households can save an average of $30 a year by turning on the dishwasher before they go to bed rather than after dinner.
It's hoped that smart meters and time based pricing will encourage customers to switch some of their electricity use outside peak times to help even out electricity consumption and make the electricity network more efficient.
Some 100,000 homes and businesses are using smart meters, says EnergyAustralia, which has launched a $20 million program to encourage the rest of its 1.5 million customers to sign up for a free meter and installation. (From Report in EnvironmentalManagementNews.net on 10/9/07)
I&I wonders when other electricity suppliers will do this.
Don’t like smelly bins – then suck your pipes (but don’t inhale like Clinton)
Narbonne, a city in France is pioneering automatic, underground waste collection. Narbonne has started construction of collection terminal, to be part of an underground network.
The system, that will serve 650 homes, will have 62 collection points linked to a network of pipes some 1.5 km long. The waste streams, divided into three fractions (packaging, papers/card and non-recyclable residual waste) will be stored underground, then periodically sucked through the underground system.
The system - from Swedish company Envac, is under vacuum and completely closed, this eliminates nuisance from smells. Envac has already installed about one hundred units, including Barcelona (Spain), the historic centre of Copenhagen (Denmark) and the airport at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). (From Resource Recovery Forum www.resourcesnotwaste.org)
Mustering old phones into the forest
Mobile phone recycling will assist in planting 75,000 native trees to restore and protect the environment, including repairing landscapes damaged from Cyclone Larry in Queensland and protecting the habitat of the endangered cassowary.
MobileMuster, in partnership with Landcare Australia, collected 75,000 mobile phones as part of its “Old Trees, New Trees” program in June. The ‘Old Phones, New Trees’ campaign will deliver a three-fold benefit to the environment. It has diverted 75,000 mobile phones from landfill, helped conserve natural habitats and helped plant 75,000 trees, which are urgently needed across the country.
For those people who didn’t get a chance to hand in their old mobiles, batteries and accessories for recycling during the campaign, they can still recycle them at any one of the 1900 collection points across Australia.
MobileMuster drop-off points include Nokia Care Centres, mobile phone retailers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Crazy Johns, Fone Zone, Allphones as well as participating local councils, ANZ, Sydney Credit Union and Cartridge World branches.
To locate your nearest MobileMuster drop-off point visit www.mobilemuster.com.au or call 1300 730 070. (Information from Buy Recycled Business Alliance)
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