Observations by Jonar Nader » Arabic Technology

Did people dare to fly at Y2K?

Jonar Nader — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:37:39 +0000

Governments around the world wanted to stop all flights fifteen minutes before midnight. They also stopped all trains and other automatic systems for fear that the Y2K bug might cause havoc. Jonar explains the reasons behind those strategies. Jonar Nader speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

What was the Y2K bug all about?

Jonar Nader — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:33:26 +0000

The Y2K Millennium Bug caused a lot of concern. What was the panic all about? What were the contingencies? This was a world-first, and as such, no one had any experience in how to handle this technical hiccup. Jonar Nader speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

Technology, passports, & terrorism

Jonar Nader — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:25:17 +0000

How secure are Australian Passports? How are terrorists likely to abuse any loopholes in passports? Are the checkpoint strong enough to catch anyone with a fake passport? Jonar Nader speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

Satellite technology breaks new ground

Jonar Nader — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:17:45 +0000

In the good old days, all satellite signals had to come to earth and then be relayed to other satellites. Now, it is possible to communicate directly from one satellite to the next. What is the significance of this transformation? Jonar also discusses the new aeroplanes that can fly without a pilot. Would you be game to be a passenger on such a flight? Jonar Nader speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

How AMD competes with Intel

Jonar Nader — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:53:15 +0000

What are the prospects for electronic cash and smart cards? What was Apple doing in the lead-up to Mac OS? What was Intel doing to keep AMD at bay? In this 1993 broadcast, you can hear about the technology of the day. It all sounds very familiar. Jonar Nader speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

Blogs and bloggers

Jonar Nader — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:09:04 +0000

What is the culture of web bloggers? How did blogging start and where is it now? Are bloggers now influential? Are they challenging mainstream media. What about the range of cultures and laws that a blogger has to consider within cyberspace? What about defamation, and who is responsible? Jonar speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

How safe are passwords?

Jonar Nader — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:06:04 +0000

Are your passwords safe? Even if you have nothing to hide, what would happen if someone stole your identity and ruined your good name? With ID theft being one of the fastest growing crimes, how vulnerable are you? Jonar speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

Exploring new technology

Jonar Nader — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:56:41 +0000

For a long time, we have not seen anything new in high-technology. Products have become smaller and better, but rarely is there something earth-shatteringly new. Things change, but what can we say is a big-deal these days? Jonar disputes the idea that we, in this modern world, are enjoying great inventions. Some Apple products are mentioned. Jonar tells us how he defines good technology. Jonar speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

Inventing the future

Jonar Nader — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:44:04 +0000

What can we expect from technology and technologists in the future? People seem to think that technologists and scientists are able to solve most problems, so long as they have sufficient funds. The conversation starts with the light bulb: this device was hailed as one of the greatest inventions of all time. Yet now, society is learning that light bulbs are hugely inefficient in terms of energy consumption. Jonar Nader discusses the processes of invention and discovery, and how most inventions were discovered by accident. Examples are given, including the accidental discovery of Super Glue and how fingerprints were captured. Jonar speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.

ICANN proposes changes to the Internet

Jonar Nader — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:21:38 +0000

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) started in 1998 by the US Government. ICANN designed the architecture for the Internet. Now it is proposing a whole new set of designs to cope with foreign languages. Jonar Nader believes that there are deeper reasons for the suggested changes. Jonar speaks with Walkley-Award winning journalist Ghassan Nakhoul. To listen to an excerpt from the radio broadcast, click on the green arrow below. This broadcast is spoken in Arabic.