Tech Talk by a Kiwi
Tech Ramblings
How digital media stores have changed our behaviour
Apr 13th
I still buy lots of physical media. However, my collection of games bought off Steam currently is large enough that the backups/installers for the games I have actually taken time to download fill an entire 2 terabyte drive. There are games associated with my Steam account that I haven’t ever downloaded yet. I still have countless boxed editions of games going back to the early 1990s, and for rare occasions I still buy boxed games when I think the game warrants it. Nearly always the Collectors Edition. But I also have the Steam versions of many boxed games I have purchased. So some games I have paid for several times. Why?
Why IE9, Windows Phone 7 and Windows can’t replace my Chrome, Android, Google Apps combination
Apr 12th
I have a very serious admission to make.
I used IE9 today for the first time in … well …
I don’t think I’ve ever opened it before and actually looked at it. I might throw the URL to google chrome into the run box, start the download and then close the browser. But I don’t think I’ve ever actually paid it attention before.
I looked at the interface of IE9 for the first time today, had a play with using the browser. Purely on aesthetic alone I deem it to be…..
Privacy On the Web
Mar 16th
Remember, anything you post on a website belonging to someone other than you becomes their property. Read the terms of service and the privacy policy for the sites you use to see just how much permission you have given them to do as they please with your information. If you are not comfortable with that, then don’t post it to those sites.
WinRT is coming. That’s not a bad thing.
Feb 25th
Personally I’m kind of looking forward to WinRT and Windows 8. I doubt I’ll ever buy Windows 8 unless it comes bundled on some future computer I buy instead of build. (Likely a laptop.) But consider that its the first real step to finally unifying the various Windows platform’s APIs into a single code base. Eventually, the same software you run on your desktop will run on your laptop, netbook, ultrabook, tablet and cellphone.
My digital lifestyle and why I am so excited for your future
Aug 12th
A discussion about my current state of technology, and my Digital Lifestyle. I talk about why I love riding the cutting edge of technology and how I am starting to see friends and family get to the place today that I was four years ago. That excites me because I know what is ahead for them and how amazing that will be for them.
Microsoft still losing big online
Jul 24th
Microsoft has gone from one of the most influential companies in the IT world, to just another vendor. You get their Windows, Office and Server platforms and stick an XBOX under the TV. But outside of those four divisions within Microsoft, most people completely ignore the company. Everyone knows Bing exists, but when was the…
Google Plus – Its not Facebook
Jul 16th
To help friends and family and anyone else get to grips with Google Plus, I wanted to share with you a little bit about the mind set of using Google Plus. In this post I argue the case that you shouldn’t use Google Plus expecting it to be anything at all like Facebook or Twitter or any other network you have used in the past. It is something totally new that builds on the best of the past. To ease the shock, I discuss a little about circles and also how permissions work. I like to articles and posts that will help you set up your Google Plus environment the way you want it. Even one that describes how to create a stream that somewhat emulates the Facebook News Feed.
No, I haven’t become anti-Nokia
Feb 10th
Recently a friend suggested I have become “anti-Nokia” but I’d really like to set the record straight on that. What follows is a long discourse on why I gave up on Nokia and what I think their biggest failure is when it comes to guys like myself. This is from someone that has been using Nokia phones since 1995 and been loyal to the Symbian platform since 2001. This is why I gave up on Nokia and Symbian.
MS SBS – Getting too complex?
Dec 3rd
Is Microsoft Small Business Server becoming too complex as its feature set grows? What are some possible ways of mitigating the effect without compromising on capability?

Google Plus Adds Games, Gives Away Your Private Info
Aug 13th
Posted by Steve in Commentary
2 comments
Google Plus has now got Games support. Great. Except that one of the permissions games can ask for (and often get) is for a list of all the people you interact with across all Google sites, apps and web properties. Not just those limited to solely on Google Plus. This bothers me a HUGE amount.