NY Senate to 'open up'

Thanks to Twitter:

RT @JeffreyPeel RT @dalezak: Wanna see the future of politics? http://open.nysenate.gov #opengov #gov20 #g2010 - way to go NY!

New York is opening up access to state data for use by citizens. This is fantastic news!

During a number of recent presentations, I have argued that all sorts of public information should be available for use by citizens. My favourite example is the bus timetable information in Ottawa which was developed by Canadian citizens. The OC Transpo service is already second-to-none in my experience, so this adds an extra value dimension.

I am very keen to see if something similar could be developed by citizens in Canberra, especially so I could work out how to catch a bus in Palmerston via Gungahlin. But can you freely access the information?

I say more power to the people. In the meantime, mash away NY!

Australia beats US for broadband access | Australian IT

The release of this media report on Australia's international broadband standing raises some interesting issues.

While I agree that broadband penetration should be measured by households, not individual connections, there are several other issues concerning how broadband is measured.

A major problem is how 'broadband' is actually defined. The OECD still uses 'always on' with a download speed above 256kbps. Hardly broadband in the Web 2.0 era.

Synchronous (two-way) 1.5mbps is generally accepted as the minimum speed for adequate teleconferencing facilities, and this is the measure Canada adopted in the early 2000s. The ACCC's earlier reports on broadband adoption in Australia have used 200kbps or above. This measure significantly lowers the bar.

Further, the methods of collecting data are problematic. The OECD relies on 'theoretical' best speeds and advertised prices, in addition to government-produced estimates and statistics, in ranking member countries.

The Akamai 'State of the Internet' report, I understand, uses data actually collected from participating servers worldwide. The Quarter 4, 2008 report records Australia as well below both the US and Canada in terms of 'fast' broadband. To make matters worse, Palmerston via Gungahlin (see earlier post) has theoretical speeds of 1.5mbps which drop to below dial-up each evening.

Until the problems of data collection and reliability are resolved, I remain very sceptical about reports which claim Australian broadband is more accessible than in the US.

See the full article: Australia beats US for broadband access Australian IT.

Bloggers to have greater say in legislative debate | Australian IT

The article (below) in Australian IT is a promising sign of the times. The issue which we will face soon is how we educate people to operate in the new policy environment. Universities will play a major role here. I will be speaking about some of these issues at the next Public Sphere event on 21 June 2009 at Parliament House.

Article: Bloggers to have greater say in legislative debate Australian IT