In a $28 million security upgrade, new “no scan, no fly” laws are expected to be proposed this week for Aussie international airports — removing the option to request a pat down instead. After trials last year, full body scanners (from the same company used in US checkpoints) will roll out in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast and Cairns. Here’s what they look like. More »
Hey film producers: the awesome 3D tech built by the Cameron Pace Group (CPG) for films like Avatar is heading to Oz. Says the director, “3D is the future for both film and broadcasting. We are very excited about enabling more world-class 3D productions in Australia.” More »
The sheer budget of destruction in this video mean this has to be a staged viral effort, but it’s still freaking awesome! There are two hard and fast rules in this world: “Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line” and “Never get involved in a prank war in Australia.” Or else very bad things will happen to your Holden. More »
My first ever job was at KFC in Merrylands, Sydney. I was back home at Christmas and shocked that they’ve now got bank-style anti-theft barriers. But after only just hearing McDonalds in the same suburb was held up twice while I was in the US covering CES, I can now see why. I also get why Maccas is following the lead of McDonalds Netherlands and using an identifiable DNA-based spray that soaks criminals as they flee the store. More »
Giz AU last bumped into Sydney-based Evolve III at Computex last year, and it was great to see the team involved in some of the keynotes. Fast forward to 2012, and they’re finally readying the Maestro S: A 10.1-inch (1080p) tablet that feels and acts like Windows 8, complete with swipe gestures: “…that Apple Androidy feel that Windows was missing”. More »
These are Fidel Castro’s thoughts on who should be the next President of the United States translated straight to English. I don’t know what are they putting in his cigars these days. More »
Oh joy. Phobos-Grunt, that failed Mars moon soil probe launched in November, is set to re-enter the atmosphere sometime between January 6 and 9 – packed with tonnes of explosive hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide chemical fuel. Oh, and total battery failure has it charted to fall between latitudes 51.4 degrees north and 51.4 degrees south – an area spanning all of Australia (but also Africa, Japan and parts of North America and Western Europe). More »
It’s almost Christmas, so Melbourne’s Deakin University invited Santa in for some last-minute flight training on their Universal Motion Simulator (UMS). If this video doesn’t make you smile a tiny bit, then you might just be a Grinch. More »