Tech Talk Radio is a two-hour technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

 produced in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is hosted by Andrew McColm, with regular appearances by panelists "Dr Ron", Graeme Callaghan, Justin Dunlop and Leena Van Deventer.

The Tech Talk Radio team discusses topical issues from mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s, computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

s and IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 developments to unusual gadgets and off-beat technology humour.

The show is produced weekly at the Whitehorse/Boroondara Community Radio Station, 3WBC

3WBC

3WBC FM is a local radio station in Melbourne, Australia with a frequency of 94.1 MHz. The station is operated under licence byWhitehorse-Boroondara Community FM Radio Incorporated. It often involves local school students in its programs and is developing a larger audience...

, in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

's eastern suburbs. Tech Talk Radio goes "live to air

Live radio

Live radio is radio broadcast without delay. Before the days of television, audiences listened to live dramas, comedies, quiz shows, and concerts on the radio much the same way that they now do on TV. Most talk radio is live radio where people can speak about their opinions/lives....

" on Monday nights at 8pm local time. The show is then distributed to other radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s around Australia and a podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 is also made available.

The Panel

The regular host of Tech Talk Radio is Andrew McColm. He is also the Executive Producer and has been involved in television and radio broadcasting for all his professional life. McColm also has regular appearances on ABC Local Radio

ABC Local Radio

ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites...

 in Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, talking technology with Carol Whitelock http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/content/s1855629.htm.

The enigmatic "Dr Ron" is a long-time friend and colleague of Andrew McColm. Dr Ron has worked in the IT and telecommunications industries for many years, and is presently employed by the Victorian Government. Dr Ron has also featured on radio programmes like Brett deHoedt's Hootville (on Melbourne's former 3AK

3AK

3AK is the call sign of SEN 1116 and earlier the on-air name of a former Melbourne talk-back radio and music station, which, in 2003, leased its licence to sports network SEN 1116...

 1116, and podcast) and ABC Radio National's Perspective http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/ with Sue Clark and Paul Barclay.

Graeme Callaghan joined The Panel in 2006 and is a regular on the programme. Callaghan is a PC

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 expert and specialises in networking and Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 systems. He works for a Melbourne company providing IT support and maintenance to small businesses.

Justin Dunlop featured as a guest up until 2008, when he replaced Mark Diggins as a regular panelist. Dunlop is employed full-time by the Victorian Government and has been an Apple Mac enthusiast for over 20 years. He regularly features as a guest on other technology podcasts such as the "Retro MacCast".

Leena Van Deventer was a guest panelist towards the end of 2010, and has featured in most episodes in 2011. Van Deventer is a freelance games reviewer and was previously the Indie Games Section Editor at Resolution Magazine http://resolution-magazine.co.uk/. She also co-hosts GamePlayPodcast http://gameplaypodcast.com/.

Tech Talk Radio has three overseas contributors, who are friends and colleagues of The Panel. Lidija Davis is an Australian who moved to Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...

 in December 2005, and has worked in the media industry for 19 years. Matthew Robinson is an Australian who moved to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 in 2000, and works in the finance sector conducting software and licensing audits for the Danish government. Mark Diggins, a former Tech Talk Radio panelist, works as a telecommunications network engineer in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and is currently involved in the rollout of HSDPA telephone networks

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access is an enhanced 3G mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access family, also dubbed 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity...

. On the 19 November 2007 episode it was revealed that Diggins would be journeying to the United States for work, and would not feature as a panelist in 2008.

Show history

The first episode went to air on 29 November 2004. Since then, a number of guests and panelists have come and gone, but Andrew McColm has remained the programme's host since day one.
The first podcast was made available on 27 June 2005.

On 23 October 2006, the 100th episode was produced.

On 15 October 2007, the 150th episode was celebrated, although this was in fact episode 151.

On 4 October 2010, the 300th episode was celebrated, although this was in fact the 306th episode to be broadcast.

On 6 December 2010, the final episode of the year was broadcast live

Outside broadcasting

Outside broadcasting is the electronic field production of television or radio programmes from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera and microphone signals come into the production truck for processing, recording and possibly transmission...

 from Sofia's Family Restaurant in Burwood East

Burwood East, Victoria

Burwood East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 17 km east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. The suburb is bounded by Springvale Road to the east, by Middleborough Road to the west, by Eley Road and Hawthorn Road...

.

A new show has been produced live and released every week since November 2004, except for a Summer Series for the Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 periods from 2005 through 2010. These Summer Series programmes showcase highlights of the previous 12 months, while McColm and The Panel take Christmas holidays and time away from production.

Regular guests

Tech Talk Radio has all-manner of guests from week to week, usually experts who enlighten and entertain in their field of expertise. Business associates, personal friends of The Panel and Industry Experts have all featured as guests.

In 2006, Bruce Matthews from the Australian Communications and Media Authority

Australian Communications and Media Authority

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio...

 spoke about the Australian Government's anti-spam initiative; Peter Watson, chief of security for Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 Australia, spoke about issues with on-line security and software development; and Thomas Robinson from WebCentral spoke about professional internet hosting and website development.

In 2007, guests included Justin Dunlop (expert in Apple Mac systems); Michel Lawrence, a professional digital photographer; and James Farmer of WordPress

WordPress

WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL. It is often customized into a content management system . It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1...

 fame. Freelance technology journalist Adam Turner - who writes for The Age

The Age

The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...

, ITWire and other publications - also commenced a weekly segment entitled "View from the Couch", discussing issues and challenges faced by enthusiasts in the digital living room. Turner also comes into the studio every few months.

In 2008, Jason Stirling from call-centre leader Genesys featured a number of times as a guest; Rico Malvar, Microsoft MD of Research was also interviewed by The Panel; as well as Georgia Simmons from the Telstra Foundation.

In 2009, cyber-safety expert Susan McLean was invited onto the programme to talk about the Australian Government's controversial Net Filter trial

Internet censorship in Australia

Internet censorship in Australia currently consists of a regulatory regime under which the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the power to enforce content restrictions on Internet content hosted within Australia, and maintain a "black-list" of overseas websites which is then...

, and safety of children on-line.

In 2010, guests have included David Glover from Microsoft talking about the release of Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...

; Tim Cincotta from on-line restaurant start-up 'takeout.com.au' ; and Sandrina Branton from BMC Software.

The most popular guest on Tech Talk Radio is regarded as Mark Mayer, retired Qantas

Qantas

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...

 pilot who talks with The Panel about technology in aviation. Mayer is invited in to Tech Talk Radio once every few months and always attracts a large audience and high number of feedback questions. Mayer's last appearance on the program was on 15 June 2009, discussing the role of technology in a recent aircraft disaster: the loss of Air France Flight 447

Air France Flight 447

Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...

.

In 2010, Jason Oakley became a casual guest presenter, joining The Panel live via Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

.

Audience participation

Listeners are encouraged to email The Panel, or communicate using an IRC-style chat room. Listeners can also contribute to the programme by accessing the Tech Talk Radio Web Forum http://forum.techtalkradio.com.au/. Listeners' dilemmas and feedback are often read out at the start of each show, providing positive feedback and technical assistance as well as entertaining discussion of issues reported by listeners.

Current on-air and feedback addresses are available on the Tech Talk Radio website http://www.techtalkradio.com.au/.

There is also a map on the popular Frappr website http://www.frappr.com/techtalkcommunity that allows listeners to "pin" their location for everyone to see.

External links

• Tech Talk Radio official website
• Andrew McColm's site - McBlog
• Dr Ron's site - The Surgery
• Gadgets on the go and Shiny things - Adam Turner's Fairfax blogs
• Lidija Davis' site - Madlid
• Jason Oakley's podcast site - aka WauloK
• Leena Van Deventer's site - Grass Is Leena
• /rant - Tech Talk Radio's site to submit rants