Stories by: Michael Crawford

National ICT Australia (NICTA) scientists are developing advanced surveillance technologies including software algorithms to track "inappropriate behaviour" in public places.

Struggling to cope with increasing volumes of spam, Deakin University was forced to redeploy its Linux e-mail servers and implement an alternative system for e-mail security.

The Australian arm of the MySQL support network is looking for support engineers to work from home in Australia. All potential employees need is a fast internet connection and a computer.

Open source consultancy Cybersource is filing a formal complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) this week claiming Microsoft is engaging in unfair practices which is costing end users $200 million a year.

Compression algorithm newcomer MatrixView is pitching its new imaging method .Muv at the Jpeg market.

Software and hardware products that are supposed to bolster Internet security have actually made the problem worse because they are not effectively tested and are poorly implemented.

An inquiry into the potential of e-democracy in Victoria has recommended Internet broadcasting for parliament, the use of videoconferencing for parliamentary committees and the use of open source code for electronic voting kiosks.

Australia is being touted as a world leader in the adoption of grid computing standards but analysts have branded the claims vendor hype.

An "apprentice" hacker broke into the PABX system of John James Hospital in Canberra last week and made more than $5000 worth of international calls.

Open source applications, touted as a more secure Web browsing alternative than Internet Explorer - or at least as having fewer vulnerabilities, are about a lot more than grass roots marketing.

Gartner has identified instant messaging, wireless LAN, taxonomies, VoIP, software as a service, a real-time enterprise infrastructure, utility computing, grid computing, network security convergence and RFID as the top technologies for 2005.