Digest - Tuesday the 22nd of November 2016

NAS/Topline XMAS Closure Details

Where has 2016 gone?  It's incredible to think that it is nearly XMAS again.

The team at NAS/Topline would like to sincerely thank you for your continued custom and trust that you have a safe and relaxing holiday period.

All NAS/Topline Branches (Cairns, Warana, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Newcastle & Ballarat) will close at Midday on Friday the 23rd of December 2016 and will re-open on Tuesday the 3rd of January 2017.

Blustream Training Recap

Approximately 40 NAS customers attended our Blustream training sessions in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast late last month.  The very informative sessions covered HDMI distribution topics including:  Updates on HDMI 2.0, HDBaseT and HDMI over IP.

There was universal agreement that Toby's sessions were very informative and that the time taken to attend was well spent.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended.  Whilst our courses are complimentary we do recognise that your time is precious and we very much appreciate your attendance.

Sunshine Coast Blustream Training Thursday the 20th of October from 5pm - 7pm.

NAS/Kingray Specials still available

Our NAS/Kingray XMAS has come early specials are still current and are selling well.  Contact your NAS/Topline sales rep for fantastic offers on:

• Kingray KMD24FSTP shielded economy wideband masthead amplifier with KPS06 PSU.
• Kingray MHW35F Edge Series wideband masthead amplifier with PSK06 PSU.
• Kingray MHV25F Edge Series VHF masthead amplifier with PSK06 PSU.
• Kingray MDA15V masthead distribution amplifier with PSK06 PSU.
• Kingray KDA20 plug in back of set amplifier.
• Kingray KPL6P RG6 connector (does not require a crimp or compression tool). Comes with bonus cable stripper.

Optus partners with NAS Australia to resell SatSleeve

NAS Australia has partnered with Optus to expand the distribution of the SatSleeve product range into regional and remote parts of Australia through its extensive customer network
SatSleeve Brochure

Paul Sheridan, Vice President of Optus Satellite said, “This relationship will give regional customers immediate access to the technology that will help them stay in touch in remote locations.

“Satellite communication is now accessible to everyone, from travelers to farmers, and through NAS’s extensive ‘reach’ into regional and remote parts of Australia, and access to the extensive customer base of VAST end-users, we can now deliver communication solutions to more parts of Australia than ever before.”

John Kimbell, Managing Director, NAS said, “NAS Australia is proud to work with Optus Satellite to expand remote and regional distribution of the SatSleeve. Our partnership with Optus Satellite dates back to the Optus Aurora project in 1998 and has been highly regarded by the NAS team for close to two decades.

“We look forward to the continuation of our mutually beneficial relationship with Australia’s leading satellite provider.”

The SatSleeve was launched in 2013 and pioneered ‘bring-your-own device’ in the satellite industry. Users can access voice, SMS and data services with the sleeve, providing there is a direct line of sight between the device and the satellite.

The new SatSleeve models use WiFi (rather than Bluetooth) to connect with the smartphone and are controlled through the all new, free SatSleeve Hotspot app. WiFi connectivity means Bluetooth accessories such as vehicle hands-free systems and headsets can now be used when making satellite calls.

Optus Satellite has the largest fleet of satellites in Australia and New Zealand and with line of sight, provides coverage across 100 per cent of Australia.

Should your require any further information about purchasing a SatSleeve model please contact Eddie Moss on 07 3015 8700 or email eddie@nasaustralia.com.au

News Articles

NAS Australia in the news

The above-mentioned SatSleeve announcement received quite a bit of coverage in on-line technology publications, including:

Satnews

Satellite Today

Itwire

Arnet

Satellite Evolution

FTA TV

ABC is changing to HD

"ABC main channel is making the transition to (HD) HIGH DEFINITION on December 6th 2016. Viewers with HD compatible TVs (with MPEG-4 functionality) will be able to experience ABC in spectacular HD, including this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks." The complete article and FAQ's can be accessed here

Freeview TV Streaming App to launch in November

"Freeview have announced a new app that will offer live streaming of over 15 free-to-air TV channels."

"In what Freeview is calling a world first, the Freeview FV app will bring together live programming from ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and Ten."

"Some programming unique to regional areas will not be offered on the new app. Regional networks WIN and Prime exited Freeview in 2012 and 2014, respectively." The complete article can be accessed here.

IoT

A Glance at Top Trends in Smart Home Technology

Lisa Montgomery from Electronic House takes a look at innovative developments at the recent Cedia Expo in Dallas and lists 10 developments to keep an eye on.  The article can be accessed here.

Stickers emerge as EU's weapon against dud IoT security

"The European Commission is readying a push to get companies to produce labels that reveal the security baked into internet-of-things things."

"The labelling effort is part of a broader push to drive companies to better handle security controls and privacy data in the notoriously insecure and leaky devices."  The article can be accessed here.

How one rent-a-botnet army of cameras, DVRs caused Internet chaos

"Welcome to the Internet of Evil Things. The attack that disrupted much of the Internet on October 21 is still being teased apart by investigators, but evidence thus far points to multiple "botnets" of Internet-connected gadgets being responsible for blocking access to the Domain Name Service (DNS) infrastructure at DNS provider Dyn. Most of these botnets—coordinated armies of compromised devices that sent malicious network traffic to their targets—were controlled by Mirai, a self-spreading malware for Internet of Things (IoT) devices." The complete article can be accessed here.

ARM: Hold my beer, we'll install patches for your crappy IoT gear for you

"ARM TechCon Processor designer ARM will squirt security fixes directly into internet-connected gadgets to hopefully keep them defended from hackers."

"Manufacturers of Internet-of-Things gizmos and other embedded products have complained that updating gear in the field is too much hard work. That means devices are rarely patched when security bugs are found, clearing the way for hackers to hijack vulnerable hardware to spy on people, flood websites offline, and cause other havoc."

"So ARM has come up with mbed Cloud, a software-as-a-service platform that securely communicates with firmware in devices to install fixes and feature updates. Product makers pay to remotely manage all their sold kit. Crucially, they pay for what they use – whether it's pushing updates, or connecting millions of units, and so on." The complete article can be accessed here.

Smarthome

Cheers to an All-In-One Basement Brewery and Home Theater

Here's a shout out to all lovers of home automation and beer!

"When Kal Wallner, 47, decided to create a home brewery in his unfinished Ottawa, Canada, basement, he looked to buy commercial-grade equipment that would ensure his brews were food safe and contaminant-free. But his search came up short." The complete article can be accessed here.

Pay TV

Foxtel rejigs products to compete against streaming services Stan, Netflix, Presto

Foxtel will start offering no-contract and equipment-free packages from December to better compete against subscription streaming services like Stan, Netflix and Presto (of which they are a part owner of with Seven West Media), in a bid to attract more customers from "the bottom end of the market". The complete article can be accessed here.

AT&T-Time Warner may signal start of new media industry consolidation

"The tie-up of AT&T and Time Warner, bringing together one of the country's largest wireless and pay TV providers and cable networks like HBO, CNN and TBS, could kick off a new round of industry consolidation amid massive changes in how people watch TV." The article can be accessed here.

Retail

JB Hi-Fi just paid $870 million cash for The Good Guys

"Australian electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has acquired home appliance chain The Good Guys for $870 million cash."

"The Good Guys’ 101 stores will take the total JB Hi-FI network to 295 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Each brand will be retained with its own support offices and go-to-market strategies, although JB Hi-Fi cited $15 to $20 million net synergies per year." The complete article can be accessed here.

Amazon Australia expansion set to shake up JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman

"A major shake-up is looming in the retail sector as the giant online retailer Amazon has its sights set on the Australian market with JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman the ones with the most to fear." The article can be accessed here.

Economy

Reserve Bank assistant governor Christopher Kent delivers upbeat verdict on post-mining boom economy

"Turn that frown upside down."

"Australia is more than three-quarters of the way through the decline in mining investment which has knocked the stuffing out of economic growth for several years, according to Reserve Bank assistant governor (economic) Christopher Kent."

"In an upbeat speech delivered in Sydney on Tuesday morning, Dr Kent repeatedly stated that recent economic growth had been stronger than the Reserve Bank had anticipated." The article can be accessed here.

Goldman Sachs has upgraded its outlook for Australia

"Goldman Sachs thinks that Australia’s economy “has moved through an important transition point” that will lead to faster economic growth and a higher Australian dollar in the period ahead."

"And it could see the RBA lift interest rates as soon as the second half of next year."

“We have upgraded our economic growth forecasts for Australia and now forecast economic growth will average 2.8% in 2017, 2.9% in 2018, 3.0% in 2019 and 3.3% in 2020,” said Tim Toohey, Andrew Boak and Bill Zu, Goldman’s Australian economics team.

"Reflective of stronger economic growth, Goldman also lifted its AUD/USD forecasts over the next three, six and 12 months to 78 cents, 77 cents and 75 cents respectively."

"Previously it saw the Aussie trading at 75 cents, 73 cents and 72 cents over the same time horizon." The article can be accessed here.

Development

Regional casino and resort under consideration by Queensland government

"Confidential discussions are being organised as the state government investigates whether a new casino will be created in regional Queensland."

"Cities such as Cairns, Rockhampton, Townsville, Mackay and the Gold and Sunshine coasts could meet the criteria." The article can be accessed here.

Brisbane apartments sales slow, prices fall

"Apartment construction and demand have started to slow in Brisbane, property consultants Urbis say."

"Several developers have paused developments and apartment sales have fallen again in the June quarter for the third consecutive quarter, the lowest volume since early 2014."

"Importantly, apartment sale prices had also been steadily decreasing since the end of last year, particularly with two-bedroom units."

"The weighted average sales price for the June quarter was $578,580. This was a decrease of $17,084 since the March quarter with the weighted average sales price decreasing consistently since the December 2015 quarter, Urbis said."

"New development launches have also declined." The article can be accessed here.

Technology

Telco wars: Vodafone steps up fight with Telstra over national roaming

"VODAFONE has stepped up its war against Telstra in the debate around regulating national roaming services and Australian customers, particularly those outside major cities, are caught in the crossfire."

"The hostilities come in the wake of the ACCC announcing it will revisit the issue of whether the consumer watchdog needs to mandate and set prices for the amount dominant telcos, mainly Telstra, charge other service providers to use its infrastructure to provide mobile service to all Australians."

"Vodafone wants to see the ACCC pull Australia in line with other western countries including Canada, the US and New Zealand which have all introduced regulated inter-carrier roaming." The article can be accessed here.

Consumers want ACCC to monitor broadband speeds, industry doesn't

"Consumer expectations are too high when it comes to broadband speeds, particularly for the national broadband network, leading to an increase in complaints about slow data speeds, according to the telco industry."

"However, rather than introduce an independent speed monitoring service, industry wants to create guidelines so consumers have more realistic expectations. And NBN Co has warned it would be far too expensive to provide minimum speeds all the time."  The article can be accessed here.

Crusty Cat 5e/6 cables just magically sped up to 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps

"Thank you, IEEE, for approving the 802.3bz standard and faster ethernet on old wires."

"The IEEE has approved the specification covering 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps Ethernet, 802.3bz."

"In particular, the approval signifies that the work item still incomplete at the end of 2015, the interface between the Media Access Control (MAC) and the physical (PHY) layers has been completed."

"Last December, NBase-T Alliance leader Peter Jones explained to El Reg that the group wanted 802.3bz to provide connectivity to the latest-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi kit without replacing existing Cat 5e/6 cabling." The article can be accessed here.

Nokia touts latest breakthrough in achieving mega fast internet speeds

"IMAGINE being able to download the entire Game of Thrones series in high definition in less than one second."

"That promise just got a considerable step closer to becoming a reality after researchers carried out successful field trials of a new data-transmission technique that can deliver speeds of one terabit per second (Tbps) over fibre optic cables."

"To put that into perspective, Google’s high-speed fibre internet service Google Fibre promises speeds of one gigabit per second (1Gbps). Although not available yet, 1Gbps is also touted as the top speed potential of the NBN’s fibre-to-the-premises connections."

"The speed achieved by researchers in the recent trials is 1000 times faster." The article can be accessed here.

University of Sydney’s Dr Patrick Neumann gets green-light for new prototype testing on International Space Station

"AUSTRALIA is set to be boosted back into the space race — and to the edges of the solar system — through a new thruster that promises a giant leap in efficiency." The article can be accessed here.

NBN

Waves of relief after launch of NBN Co's Sky Muster II satellite

"After a 24-hour launch delay, the National Broadband Network's second satellite has been successfully deployed and will soon begin providing broadband services to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in rural and remote Australia."

"The launch vehicle took off from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana in South America at 7.30am AEDT. The event was observed by NBN executives and board members in both Kourou and at the offices of the satellite's manufacturer, Space Systems Loral (SSL), in Palo Alto near San Francisco."

"The Australian payload was released 28 minutes into the flight, before a tense 7 minute wait for mission control to obtain what is called the initial acquisition of signal. Only then did the champagne corks pop."

"The new satellite joins another one the company launched last year. When Sky Muster II comes on stream in about six months it will allow NBN to expand its capacity to provide high speed internet to what will eventually be more than 400,000 Australian homes and businesses in remote parts of the country." The article can be accessed here.

NBN: Third of Australians apathetic about getting connected, research shows

"The rollout of the National Broadband Network continues, with NBN Co (that's the company building the NBN, and yes, it's confusing) patting itself on the back recently having hit the target of having a third of the country ready, with quarterly revenues hitting $181 million. That's worth celebrating, no?"

"Turns out a large quantity of Australians are largely blasé about the whole deal. Research from finder.com.au found that of the Australians who don't currently have a connection, 31 per cent aren't fussed about getting one. Thirteen per cent haven't even bothered to check and 7 per cent don't even know how to check when the NBN might be coming to their homes." The article can be accessed here.