As an Australian who sometimes visits Australia but doesn't live there anymore, let me tell you that when I head back home and fire up the internet I am often sorely disappointed, however not nearly surprised at all.

After a good nine months in Cambodia where the speed of my 4G mobile was faster than my ADSL speed at my parents' house in inner city Perth, I just had to laugh. I have to visit particular sites that don't chew speed to even play new slots games smoothly. From a very poor third world country to coming across to one of the most advanced English speaking first world countries (hey, a lot of Europe, particularly Scandinavia, is streaks ahead of us in most areas) you'd expect the internet speeds to be at least up to the same quality - if not faster.

Yeah, this isn't the case

I know that this is an article about the difference between the bandwidth in the USA and the bandwidth in Australia, but I feel like this is a particularly relevant point to bring up. The internet speeds and bandwidth in Australia suck.

Australia is detached (physically) from the rest of the world

This isn't news. Plus, it isn't even really that surprising. Australia is the most isolated continent on Earth (except Antarctica, which I'm sure expect slow internet due to, oh, the almost non-existent population levels). Australia is very far from the rest of the world. That's what's kept the country from getting invaded by others and starting a war. Who on Earth can be bothered going all that way to attack? Ships would take forever, and planes are too expensive. With drones becoming more prevalent this could be an issue in the future but until then... I'm losing my point here, aren't I?

To get internet to Australia there needs to be undersea cables laid for thousands and thousands of kilometres. What type of cables? How many? What's the bandwidth there? So, that means that there's a finite amount that Australia can receive to begin with without laying more (hugely expensive) cables.

Once it gets to Australia, it's another story. Let's check out the average speeds of the USA compared to Australia at the Speedtest Global Index, shall we?

Australia is currently sitting at number 56 on the list of the top 100 countries, with an average speed of 26.45Mbps. Oh, look, we're one number ahead of Kazakhstan. The US is sitting pretty at number 9 with a speed of 83.20Mbps. Unsurprisingly, Singapore is number 1 (at 166.44Mbps) and Hong Kong at number 3 (136.15Mbps), two of the most technologically advanced cities in the world (Asia), and Iceland at number 2 and 161.98Mbps, which is arguably the most technologically advanced city in Europe. Who's in front of Australia on the list? Wow! Heaps of countries you wouldn't think. Puerto Rice, Uruguay, Chile, Thailand, oh hey - there's even New Zealand at number 21 with 66.89Mbps!

New Zealand??!!

New Zealand is the island country right next door to Australia on the right hand side. Many people are not aware that New Zealand is even a place (or think it's part of Australia) unless they've met a Kiwi or have seen an advertising campaign luring them there - it's where Lord of the Rings is filmed. There is only around 1700km of ocean between New Zealand and Australia.

Why is Australia's internet so slow compared to the US if it's not just geography?

So, really, maybe the title of this article should be why is Australia's bandwidth so woeful compared to the US, or even their closest neighbour?

The answer to this is a bit of a complex riddle that originates with the history of telephony networks in both countries.

In the US, this tracks back to the beginning of telephony. In 1885 AT&T was formed. AT&T held a private monopoly in the US until 1984, when a court ordered the company to split into regional companies. AT&T was, and is, a private company. Telephony networks in the US were never government owned, always private companies.

A brief history of Australian networks

In Australia, the Telstra network was the only telephony network, a government owned and run network, until privatisation in 1997. This is important to note, because by this time internet was prevalent in all parts of Australia, running exclusively on the only network in Australia - Telstra. The privatisation also included allowing other private companies to enter the market.

Of course, the people at Telstra were clever enough to realise that the country is huge with not much "stuff" (aka infrastructure or population) in the middle - unlike the US. "Australia" really describes the coast of Australia - because there is not much else in the rest of it.

While Telstra's infrastructure was and is aging, they owned it all and it was/is the best available. Other providers couldn't compete due to the huge costs of infrastructure implementation.

Eventually, the Australian government saw the stranglehold that Telstra (still) had on the market and recognized their constituent's cries for faster internet. Thus, the NBN was proposed. The NBN or National Broadband Network, was an initiative dreamt up by the then government in 2007 to get Australian internet speeds in line with the rest of the world.

While the NBN was brilliant in theory, it's execution over the past 10 years (continuing) has been woeful. An initial estimated $15 billion cost has now blown out to $56 billion. An original fibre to the node idea changed to fibre to the premises and then again back to fibre to the premises.

Trying to find companies to implement the solution were failures. Trying to find the right technologies were failures. The interactions with Telstra inevitably favoured Telstra as they were the experts in the field. Changes in governments over the years meant changing strategies on the project. The NBN in Australia is currently a national joke.

The state of the NBN today

The NBN's statistics are confusing, some say to hide the fact that they're not living up to expectations. Many households that have connected to the NBN complain that they are receiving slower speeds as compared to their ADSL connection, too.

And it's true - in many cases connecting to the NBN is slower than using the old school ADSL. This is to do with the packages, pricing, offerings, and partnerships. Yes, in a lot of households' instances, it is better to go with the technology that has been in place for years upon years, rather than "upgrading" to the NBN.

If you do a Reddit search for NBN + joke you'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of results that you uncover. Or, if you're an Australian, mildly irritated, but not surprised. The network that was supposed to bring Australian internet speeds in line with the rest of the world has failed miserably, mainly due to changes in government, which dictates policy, combined with lack of expertise in infrastructure by the people hired to do the job - not surprising when government tenders often go for lowest cost offers to save the budget.

While the NBN is still rolling out it is already obsolete. As a first world nation, Australia is relatively slow on the uptake, particularly as it applies to government understanding of technology, requirements, and the effects of privatisation. In fact, plenty of the NBN is still that good old copper wire the telephony networks ran on back when the government owned Telstra.

Australia would do well to invest in learning about technology before they try to implement it. In comparison to Singapore, who invest heavily in tech and learning the differences are stark.

In comparison to the US, the US is light years ahead. While this is a combination of the differences in geography, policy, and privatisation, the evidence is clear. Australia has a long way to go when it comes to learning how to increase their internet speeds and it looks like this is now squarely in the hands of private companies should they wish to take on the challenge.

And I have no doubt that if one of the private companies had taken on a premise such as the NBN they would have been able to implement the system - actually, a better system - at far less of the cost of the government estimates. It remains to been seen what happens in Australia when it comes to broadband but I can only imagine they'll be trailing behind the rest of the world for some years to come.

So, forget it. I'm taking off from mum's house and heading back to Cambodia where I can stream in peace.

As the most recent statistics from OFCOM reveal, mobile phone use in the UK is now almost universal with 94% of adults owning or using a mobile (Q1 2017). Of these, 76% have a smartphone (Q1 2017), while the number of households that are ‘mobile only' has risen to 18%. Combined with this significantly greater use, the proliferation of apps that we use for everything from booking tickets to watching what we eat would seem to suggest that our reliance on our mobile devices is only going to increase.

One of the most significant changes that mobile technology has brought about is the way we pay for goods and services. There has been a rapid and significant increase in the number of people in the UK who make purchases both online and in person using a mobile phone.

This has in large part been brought about by a significant increase in the use of contactless payment cards across the UK, along with other mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, Boku, along with a burgeoning range of person-to-person (P2P) apps that enable you to instantly transfer money electronically to another individual, often without having to go through a bank.

However, while the number of contactless card payments in the UK as a whole has grown exponentially (more than £25 billion was spent via contactless payments in 2016), it has been interesting to note that UK consumers have not embraced other forms of mobile payment quite so readily. For instance, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay have not quite had the impact many expected (despite the fact that the number of Apple Pay transactions in 2016 grew by 300%).

While most people in the UK are more than happy to use a contactless debit or credit card (i.e., a card that does not need to be inserted into a card reader and for which no PIN is required) to make a payment at a supermarket or coffee shop, they have not necessarily seen the need to move over to alternative payment systems where only a mobile phone is needed, such as those offered by Apple, Google and Samsung. For instance, payments made using Apple Pay or Android Pay by passengers on Transport for London services account for only 8% of all contactless card payments (albeit this figure is up from 3.5% twelve months earlier).

Security concerns are cited by some as preventing them embracing card-free payment technology, while others have not seen a pressing need to adopt the technology given that existing ‘tap and go' or ‘wave and pay' cards largely do the same job. There is also the sentiment expressed by many consumers that losing a mobile phone or having it stolen is a traumatic enough experience without the added complication of card security being compromised as well.

Another reason that has prevented greater uptake of mobile payment services has been their hitherto relatively limited acceptance, meaning that consumers haven't found that there are enough opportunities to use the system to warrant switching over to it entirely.

However, two important factors point towards much faster growth in the mobile payments sector in the very near future. Firstly, the demographics. The latest available data from 2016 showed that almost 60% of payments made in the UK using Apple Pay or Android Pay were by users aged 16-34. If these early adopters continue to use the technology moving forward, this will impact significantly on the overall number of users, as currently only 3% of users are aged 65 or more. In ten to fifteen years, however, we can expect to see a much wider spread of age groups experienced in and used to using mobile payments.

Another game-changer could be Apple Pay's move to accept limitless payments. To date, most card readers that accept contactless payments (both mobile phone and card) have a maximum transaction limit of £30. However, the majority of tills in the UK that accept Apple Pay are now able to process payments greater than £30, and it is expected that this will have a dramatic impact on uptake rates, and will give the mobile payment system a distinct advantage over bank-issued contactless debit and credit cards.

Android Pay too is making inroads in this sector, and while uptake has been slower than expected since its introduction to the UK in 2016, the fact that 60% of the mobile phones in the UK use the Android operating system would suggest that there is much unrealised potential for growth. The launch of Samsung Pay, and the Barclays Bank mobile payment system (available through its own native mobile banking app) have further broadened the choice for consumers in this area as well.

Therefore, it would seem to be the case that while acceptance of mobile payment systems in the UK has been steady rather than explosive, a significant incremental increase in uptake is expected to continue. And whether people are aware of it or not, it will soon be the case that just about everyone in the UK will soon be carrying in their pocket or purse the mobile technology to pay for a coffee, buy the week's shopping, or book a holiday, without the need for a conventional plastic card at all.

Popular mobile payment methods

As well as direct mobile payment systems, there are many other ways in which mobile phones can be used to buy goods and services in the UK.

 

Pay by Mobile

Pay by Mobile is an increasingly popular way of making payments via a mobile phone. When you make a purchase using Pay by Mobile on a service like Boku or Fortumo, the amount you spend is added to your monthly mobile phone bill if you are on a post-paid plan, or deducted from your balance if you are on pay-as-you-go.

The Pay by Mobile payment method has proved very popular with the young, and payment solutions like Boku are frequently used in the leisure sector, with mobile casinos for instance offering a range of payment methods and Pay by Mobile options. Carrier billing payment methods are also a popular alternative for those without traditional banking arrangements, such as credit or debit cards, and are an especially convenient way of making in-app purchases or subscribing to streaming services. There are also specialist services like PayByPhone that enable you to pay for your parking across the UK with your mobile phone, or OboPay which enables you to make person-to-person payments that are charged to your mobile phone account.

Another reason for the popularity of Pay by Mobile payment systems like Boku is that the costs are charged to the merchant rather than the user, making it a cost-effective way of making digital and online purchases.

One of the most significant developments in carrier billing services in the last year has been a proposed partnership between Boku and ALTBalaji to stream original video content to customers globally. This will no doubt further increase the appeal of highly convenient Pay by Mobile payment systems.

E-wallets

E-wallets have long been one of the most popular online payment methods and they can be used for mobile payments as well. Skrill and Neteller are the two most prominent and widely accepted e-wallets, and can be used to make online purchases for a wide variety of goods and services via mobile. Many users appreciate the security that e-wallets give them, as they act as a third-party middle man between you and any retailer or service provider you deal with so that they don't have access to your bank account or credit card details.

There are fees attached to using e-wallets, usually when you make a deposit into your account. However, most retailers or leisure providers that you deal with won't charge you for making a purchase or adding funds to a casino account, for instance.

Recently, both Skrill and Neteller expanded into offering P2P payments. With Skrill, all you need is the recipient's email address or mobile number, while for Neteller money transfers only an email address is required.

P2P payment apps

Person to Person mobile payments (generally known as P2P apps) are a quick and straightforward way of transferring money from one person to another using a mobile phone, often without the need for bank accounts. P2P apps are designed for transferring small amounts of cash, rather than large money transfers.

P2P apps have proved to be an especially popular way for friends to repay small amounts of money, or to share the costs of purchases or services (e.g., splitting the bill at dinner, or for buying tickets to a show or match), and there are a growing number on the market. Each has its own different capabilities, with one of the most notable differences being that some will require both parties to have the app, while others let you send cash to, or request money from, anyone with a mobile phone. The cost of using these apps will vary as well.

One of the most popular P2P apps in the UK is Paym. You link the app directly to your mobile or online banking account, and so any money you send goes straight from your account as it would with any other purchase. All you require to send money to a friend is their mobile phone number (the Paym app will access your contacts for this) and the recipient will get a text saying they have been sent cash by you (provided their bank supports the Paym system).

One of the biggest developments in P2P apps is the news that Facebook has now launched Person to Person payments in the UK. Using the Messenger app, you can send cash either from your mobile or your laptop, and once you have linked a debit card to the account there are no fees applied. There is a maximum transfer amount of £2,500, although like most P2P apps, the majority of people use it to transfer small sums to friends. 

Contactless credit and debit cards

Currently, credit and debit cards remain the dominant form of contactless payment and are generally used more often than mobile payment methods. However, Barclays Bank has now launched its own mobile payment system which removes the need for a physical card and enables its customers to use their mobile phone to make purchases in the same way as they currently do with a tap-and-go card.

However, as discussed above, as Apple Pay and Android Pay make further inroads into the market, it is expected that other major high street banks will also launch their own mobile payment systems. And although no-one is expecting it to happen anytime soon, just as cash was overtaken in 2016 by contactless cards as the primary means of making physical purchases, it's not unreasonable to expect that plastic credit and debit cards will go the same way in the not-too-distant future.

The future of mobile payments

It's hard to imagine a future where mobile payments don't become the dominant means of making purchases both online and in physical stores, not only in the UK but globally. Mobile payments have become especially beneficial in underbanked regions of the world, most notably in Africa, and with the number of mobile phones users worldwide predicted to top 5 billion by 2019, the further uptake of mobile payment systems would seem inevitable.

As we carry more and more of our lives around in our mobile devices, it is logical to expect that we will further embrace technology that is integrated within these devices. Mobile payment systems reduce the need for physical cards, make transferring money quicker and easier, and enable us to access the growing number of digital and streaming services with greater ease. So even if your mobile phone isn't your wallet right now, you can almost certainly expect it to become so in the future.

Knowing some smartphone tricks will allow you to do cool things with your phone. Most people only know basic phone functions. There are so many things that you probably do not know your phone can do beyond making calls and receiving texts. Many phones now have the he capacity to support glitch-free online casino gaming. Visit https://www.cdncasinos.ca for more information about technology and casinos. Some of the smartphone functions can be performed quickly through shortcuts. Here are few cool tricks to get the best out of your smartphone.

1.       Shortcut of putting smartphone on silence

Receiving a phone in church, meeting, theater or in the middle of something important can be embarrassing, especially when your phone is not on silence. You can put your smartphone on silence quickly than browsing your settings by pressing any side key (volume key or power button). It will be on silent instantly and you choose to answer it or not.

2.       Turn Wi-Fi Off using voice command

Voice command is the hot thing at the moment. You can use your Google Now, Cortana or Siri to turn off your Wi-Fi with your voice. Go to your voice app and command it to turn off Wi-Fi.

3.       Use flight mode to reduce smartphone charging time

A phone that takes a lot of time on charger sucks. You can speed up charging by activating flight mode. Also, even if you love online casinos, they will have to wait until your phone is fully charged. Flight mode turns off all background activities and uses less battery power, therefore, increases the rate at which your battery gets charged.

4.       Use the volume button to take picture

Taking selfies without a selfie stick can be a hassle when you can't tap your screen digital button to capture. However, you can snap pictures by long-pressing the volume button. This function is on many Android phones and iPhones.

5.       Improve picture quality using gridlines

You can enhance the quality of the pictures your smartphones capture by activating camera gridlines. The camera will take a perfect shot on things within the gridlines.

 

6.       Reduce your screen time to avoid possible eye damage

The era of the internet and the introduction of smartphones and computers has led to increased screen time for many people. For example, high school students spend close to three hours everyday playing computer games. But did you know research shows that blue light from mobile phones and computers could be harmful to your retina? That means too much screen time can affect your vision in the long-term, but there is a way out to reduce the risks. Take breaks away from the screen and go for an eye exam if you feel that your vision is deteriorating.

 

 

 

Modular is a company created by audiophiles and music lovers who decided to come together in their inaugural entrepreneurial venture and launch a new and revolutionary range of headphones that are not only surprisingly affordable, but also boast of high audio quality. The Mod-1 Bluetooth headset is the flagship product of the company and it's meant for long daily use both indoors and outdoors. So the question is, does it live up to the expectations set so far by Modular or does it fail to impress? Let's find out in our review of the Modular Mod-1 wireless Bluetooth headset.

In the Box

Modular sends in a neatly packed box that contains an auxiliary cable, a USB cable for charging the headphone, a quick start manual and of course, the headphones themselves. Depending on the color that you chose, the headphones will either come in rose gold, gunmetal or black. It doesn't contain a whole lot but the included auxiliary cable is a nice little touch that users will appreciate.

Features

When it comes to features, Modular has packed the Mod-1 to the gills with them. To know what we are talking about here, take a look at the following list of the headphone's feature set.

• Compatibility with all devices running on iOS or Android
• Compatible with ANY Bluetooth enabled device out there
• Adjustable headband with modular earpads that can be easily changed or replaced
• 3.5mm audio jack is retained for wired connections to your computer or smartphone
• Usability even while being charged
• On-headphone buttons for controlling the volume, playing, pausing, skipping and making calls
• In-built FM radio transmitter
• Included mic for taking and making calls
• Noise reduction
• Can read and play music from microSD cards
• Lightweight
• 400mAh battery makes sure that it runs all day on a single charge

Specs

While the features of the Mod-1 do sound quite impressive, let's now take a look under the hood to see what kind of hardware it's packing and if it's really as impressive as the features say it is.

• Input: 5V DC 500mA and Output: 3W×2 RMS
• Speaker: 4Ω, 3W, ⌀40mm
• Frequency Response: 27Hz-20kHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio: ≤70dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion: ≤0.3%
• Battery: 400mAh
• Charging Time: ≤2 Hours for full charge
• Maximum Power Consumption: 500mA

As it turns out, the Mod-1 does pack the hardware to deliver the quality features that it promises, so that's a big bonus!

After using it for some time, we have come to the conclusion that the Mod-1 wireless Bluetooth headset by Modular is an excellent pair of headphones in almost every possible way. Aside from packing in more features that nearly every other headset in the price range, it also produces surprisingly crisp sound for the price you pay for these. Add all that to the fact that you can basically wear these around for hours due to the lightweight and the dependable battery life, and it becomes very hard not to recommend the Modular Mod-1 to anybody who is looking to buy a pair of quality Bluetooth headsets without breaking the bank.

Every year the most common New Year's resolution is to lose weight and get fit. If you are like 75% of Americans who have this resolution on their list for 2018, you will need the right gadgets that will support your fitness endeavours. With so many different sport gadgets available on the market, it can be hard navigating through them to decide which is worth the money and which is right for you. Continue reading to learn more about our list of must-have gadgets to enter the New Year with. To learn more about how to sift through other weight loss products on the market to learn which are farcical and which will offer real results click here.

Fitbit Surge

The Fitbit Surge is one of the newest Fitbit models. Aside for the usual fitness tracking, the Fitbit Surge has caller ID, continuous heart monitoring, music control, GPS tracking, wireless syncing and text notifications. The battery life is expected to last up to seven days. It has a sleek design that is slightly less geeky than other smartwatch designs we have seen. A few downsides are that the manufacturer does not recommend wearing the watch under water or while swimming. So for avid swimmers, this is not the right option for you if you are looking to track your fitness. Another common complaint we saw is that the watch is slightly bulky and can feel awkward on your wrist. The Fitbit Surge is available to purchase for $158 online.

Jaybird X3

Could you ever imagine lasting through a workout only hearing the sound of heavy breathing and the sweat dripping down your face? If you take working out seriously, you should also take your headphones seriously. The Jaybird X3  are in-ear, wireless, bluetooth headphones that are designed to be worn behind your head. The cord has a clip that can be clipped on to the back of your shirt to ensure that the headphones do not snap out of your ears during a workout. These headphones are at the top of the line when in comes to work out gear.  You can purchase a pair online for $79.89.

HAPIfork

Eating well goes hand in hand with staying fit. HAPIfork is an electronic fork that will help monitor and track your eating habits. It is designed to alert you when you should slow down or stop eating through indicator lights and gentle vibrations. It looks light a regular fork, only slightly larger. The initial set up will require setting up the fork on your computer and it will then begin syncing all of your data. HAPIfork will measure how much time it takes you to eat between bites and you can customize how much time you want it to give you between bites. All of your data can be synced onto your smartphone to help you track your eating habits. It is available for $99.

It takes a lot to stick to a New Year's resolution. Make your fitness resolution a bit easier this year by starting off the year with the right fitness equipment that will make staying fit easier.