Keeping track of the cheques and (bank) balances in government IT is a big job -- fortunately, when we asked Suzanne Tindal if she could take up the challenge, she said "Yes I Can."
Suzanne Tindal cut her teeth at ZDNet.com.au as the site's telecommunications reporter, a role that saw her break some of the biggest stories associated with the National Broadband Network process. She then turned her attention to all matters in government and corporate ICT circles. Now she's taking on the whole gamut as news editor for the site.
It sounds like the Australian Competition and Consumer commission and the Australian Communications and Media Authority is already thinking hard about what how they are going to make sure that carriers don't dupe the government out of all the lovely money it's expecting from the digital dividend spectrum auction.
It seems anger about software patents is really coming to a head.
A close eye needs to be kept on agencies' use of interception and stored communications, not only to protect citizens' privacy, but to ensure that any evidence obtained can be used.
You've got to wonder if Special Minister of State Gary Gray purposely chose the Qantas week to announce the success of the government's telepresence program.
Joshua Gans and Jerry Hausman's submission (PDF) to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Telstra's separation undertaking is interesting because of its comments about competition, but I found it even more illuminating on the subject of government goals.
The Australian Telecommunications User Group (ATUG) recently closed its doors, and this morning's news about the Internet Industry Association's (IIA) funding woes calls to question whether that organisation will have a similar fate.
While New South Wales is blowing its trumpet about making itself a place for the IT industry to settle, Victoria is still quietly pulling companies in.
We've been so worried about Telstra's market domination in Australia recently, with internet service providers concerned that the behemoth's deal with the National Broadband Network Company might provide it with secret advantages. But what about the other dominant internet force, Google?
I would hope that any government, even one with as troublesome a reputation as the late NSW Labor government, wouldn't shrink from working technology just because it was a big pile of PR doo doo.
After Microsoft confirmed a couple of weeks ago that it would have to provide the US government with data hosted in Australia were it requested to do so under the Patriot Act, I decided to talk to the government about the Patriot Act and its cloud strategy.