Fairfax Tech Talk Column

Significant dollars are spent on market research and statistical services across this nation. With over 14,000 people employed in the sector it is worth over $3 Billion (US$50 Billion worldwide). While I don’t propose that we should shut down this industry, we can gain a small insight into what is happening in every home and business across the nation by looking at one piece of information. Google search data. With the notable exception of the Census, most market research takes a sampl ..

My kids have one major issue at Christmas time. You would think it would be a time of excitement and presents and family gatherings but the pressure on my kids to get a good present for their dad is immense. When you have an individual that has technology as their only passion then buying a tech gift would seem like the obvious solution. Unfortunately for my kids they know I already have the latest cool gadgets so it makes it a bit tough. I am not Robinson Crusoe though so I thought a Te ..

I was very excited this week. Back in the old days (pre-pandemic) I used to visit six different aged care facilities on a monthly basis and perform poetry and talk to the residents about technology. COVID-19 put a stop to that but with the easing of restrictions this week, I was allowed to start visiting residents again. The only requirement the facilities asked for was proof of my flu vaccination for this year. I had a few options. I could look through my paper records to try and f ..

Australia is a popular place to visit for backpackers of the world. For those of us that live here, that makes perfect sense. Australians are welcoming and generous and relaxed. Just as importantly, it is relatively easy for backpackers to secure some work, particularly as part of harvest crews on farms across the nation. At any given point in time, we typically see over 200,000 backpackers in our country. As with so many aspects of our society at the moment, this year is a little differ ..