Posts Tagged ‘news’
The sky’s no limit for NewSat
Robert Gottliebsen, Management Insights
Our Management Insights interview with the chief operating officer of NewSat, Michael Hewins, is an inspiration to all those who believe small companies can succeed in the current environment if they have the right technology.
Incredible as it may seem, the low-cap Australian-listed NewSat provides the satellite communications for the US land forces in Afghanistan.
The Australian army believes that it is better to use satellites linked to China for its Afghanistan military satellite communications.
NewSat operates satellite teleports out of Adelaide and Perth and its services have been so successful in coordinating the US Afghanistan land forces that the US military wants NewSat to go the next step and extend its satellite operation from simply operating satellite communication to owning a satellite or satellites.
Remember this is a company whose shares are at 0.7 cents and has a tiny capitalisation, although it is profitable. But with the right technology, and the US military behind you, anything is possible.
And that’s why American satellite expert Michael Hewins has come to Australia to join NewSat chief executive Adrian Ballintine – to give NewSat the management clout to take the next step.
Satellite spots are not easy to obtain and NewSat has bought seven of them.
Hewins explains how a tiny company can fund a $US300 million to $US400 million satellite from Australia.
First, you need to sign up groups who will use the satellite so you have a guaranteed source of cash flow. NewSat has contracts with major satellite users who have so far agreed to spend $US239 million on NewSat’s proposed Jabiru-1, Ka-band, next generation satellite.
NewSat says Jabiru-1 will provide superior coverage over South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa plus Australia. It will be Australia’s first independently-owned commercial satellite. NewSat still needs more contracts but the demand is building so a second satellite is now in the pipeline.
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NASA officials say they are not concerned about space shuttle Discovery, despite it being hit by debris at launch
NASA officials maintain they are not concerned about space shuttle Discovery, despite video showing it being hit by chunks of debris this morning.
Discovery launched this morning at around 7.30am (Queensland time) on an 11-day mission to the International Space Station, delivering parts, equipment and the first humanoid robot to be taken to the station, which will act as its first permanent resident.
The last few moments before launch were fraught with anxiety as NASA engineers raced to fix a glitch that temporarily paralysed some ground computers, but it wasn’t enough to delay the mission further.
Space shuttle Discovery blasts off on its last mission
(Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its final space mission. Picture: AP)
IT’S the beginning of the end for NASA’s space shuttle program.
Space shuttle Discovery blasted off on its final journey into space today as the US winds down what has been a central part of its space program for three decades.
NASA’s most journeyed shuttle launched at 4.53 pm (8.53am AEDT) on an 11-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS).
When it returns next month, Discovery will be the first of the three shuttles to enter retirement.
Government review to look at media regulation
THE federal government has kicked off a review of media and communications regulation for an industry reshaped by rapid technological change.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy yesterday released draft terms of reference for the much-anticipated “convergence review” and invited interested parties to make submissions about how the regulation of telecommunications, television, radio and the internet should be updated for a digital world.
Senator Conroy is in the midst of rolling out the National Broadband Network and is yet to finalise contentious anti-siphoning rules governing the broadcast of AFL matches.
But he hopes to put together a committee of independent experts to finalise the terms of reference and formally steer the review by the end of March.
The review is expected to cover a wide range of issues, including media ownership rules, local content rules, an extension of the controversial licence fee rebates granted to commercial free-to-air networks in February, spectrum allocation and copyright issues.
The review is not expected to examine telephony, further changes to anti-siphoning or consider the role of the ABC, although the final terms of reference will be influenced by submissions, which are due by January 28.
Sophos: Don’t underestimate the bad guys
Security firm Sophos has recently returned its 2010 mid-year Security Threat Report, and whilst many things remain the same, there are plenty of new security vectors for the connected among us to deal with. And with a NBN on the horizon, there may be plenty more of us connected in the near future. iTWire sat down with Sophos AP Managing director Rob Forsyth and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Field Ops, Michael McGuinness to discuss.
If there is one thing that is clear from the latest Sophos mid-year security threat report, it is that traditional attacks on private data are still prevalent. Perhaps the vectors are shifting but figures show Spam, Phishing and Malware are still a major source of worry for security personnel world-wide.
How can this be the case? Why is it that the general public are continually fooled by Spam emails for example? And beyond these basic questions, why don’t people, armed with the knowledge of rising online fraud crimes shy away from using services such as Internet Banking?
Michael McGuiness, Sophos’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations tries to explain “A general observation that we would make is that most people will default towards convenience over security. Though people are aware that credentials could get stolen, and bank accounts compromised creating a situation, at best a huge nuisance and at worst at significant financial loss for them, they are still unwilling to go back to the point where they hand write cheques and lick stamps.”
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