In Sunday’s segment on Sky News Australia (Weekend Edition with Tim Gilbert) we discussed why Australia doesn’t have federal elections online. We’ve had some online voting in Australia but nothing on the scale of a full federal election. Electronic voting is available in several counties around the world like Brazil and via the Internet like Estonia, but here in Australia, it’s still paper and pencil.
Why? We do the census online and our banking online so why not elections? It turns out the answer is more than the technical challenge because other countries have proved that it can be done. It comes down to trust, transparency and tradition. The AEC conducts federal elections in accordance with the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The introduction of Electronic voting would require legislative change, which is a matter for Parliament.
If you want more historic detail on why we don’t vote via the Internet, check out these resources.
GOOGLE I/O
AR Glasses
We got a sneak peek at Google’s new Augmented Reality Glasses at Google I/O. These glasses, as you can see, look nothing like the original Google Glass. They look like real glasses and in this video they are show performing real time translation. We don’t know how far off they are but this is promising – because we know Google’s translation software is very good.
Digital Assistant
Some cool changes coming our way for Google assistant devices like the Nest Hub Max.
Look and Talk:
If your Google device has a camera you just look at it – then ask a question. This is fast.
Quick Phrases:
Also the no need for Hey Google – with key phrases getting answers immediately.
Like: “What time is it?” Or “Turn on the lights.” This is all done ON DEVICE
Natural communication:
It will be more tolerant of Ums and Ahs – it will wait for you to get to the point. The future is here!
RIP IPOD (2001-2022)
After two decades the iPod is no more. Apple says it will remain available to buy “while stocks last”. iPod launched in 2001 when it could pack 1 000 tracks in your pocket. Today there are more than 90 million songs on Apple Music so it’s no wonder Apple decided that the iPod Touch is no longer viable. We discuss the various models, Nano, Shuffle, classic and why it was so popular.