Stan Beer has been involved with the IT industry for 30 years, both as a technology professional and industry commentator. After graduating with a B.Sc., majoring in electronics and computer science, Beer joined Telstra forerunner Telecom Australia as a computer systems officer.
Beer started his career as a technology journalist and commentator in 1986 with Computerworld Australia, where he was an associate editor. Since then he has worked on the staff or contributed to most of the major technology and business publications in Australia. More recent staff positions include High-Tech Correspondent for The Australian (1994-1997) and Senior Technology Journalist for The Australian Financial Review (1997-2000).
After a two-year stint as Strategy Director, Technology, at Melbourne PR firm Royce Communications, Beer returned to his long time role as a technology journalist and industry commentator. In 2002, Beer took over a regular weekly column called Chatroom at Fairfax Publications titles The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, which appeared in the technology section of both newspapers each Tuesday.
In 2004, Beer co- founded a technology news and information website called The BeerFiles. In 2005, The BeerFiles was merged with daily telecommunications email journal Exchange Alert, published by Stuart Corner, to form iTWire.
After seven excellent years of keeping our audience of ICT industry stakeholders and users informed about the latest news and developments in the technology markets that affect their professional and personal lives, iTWire is pleased to announce the launch of its brand new look site.
By
Richard Raber
Friday, 09 December 2011 15:50
OPINION: I remember the feeling I had when I first saw Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the Philip K Dick story ‘Minority Report’. That this future depicted in the film was not too far away. It wasn’t the vertical highways or the spider eye scanners that triggered this thought. It was the rich media.
After a bitter and protracted legal battle with iPad maker Apple, Samsung has announced the release of its Android powered rival tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The High Court today denied Apple the right to appeal its earlier decision to allow Samsung to sell its tablet in Australia and lifted the injunction that had been imposed until today.
Apple could face a charge of up to US$1.6 billion if it wants to continue using the iPad name for its popular tablet devices in mainland China after a significant copyright infringement court loss to a Hong Kong LCD maker.
Not long after losing an Australian Federal Court injunction case against Samsung to prevent sales of the iPad 2 lookalike Galaxy tablets, Apple has lost a similar injunction bid in the US. Appeals to higher courts notwithstanding, Apple's court cases could turn around and deliver a vicious bite to its backside.
Dominant carrier Telstra has today launched Androidland – a section of its largest retail store that showcases the latest Android smartphones and tablets. Billed as a world-first retail collaboration with Google, Telstra claims its new Android section is a world-first store within its flagship Melbourne store.
By
Stan Beer
Thursday, 24 November 2011 22:41
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) is almost certain to lose its appeal against ISP iiNet in the High Court of Australia, according to a legal source close to the case. However, AFACT, now armed with the knowledge of how to correctly prosecute ISPs in future, is already getting ready to pounce on TPG, Dodo and others. (Note AFACT response at end of article)
By
Stan Beer
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 19:04
The revelation that Apple developed an iPhone 5 with a 4-inch screen but was forced to scrap the model because the late Steve Jobs hated it could portend a troubled future for the company.
By
Stan Beer
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 11:59
Chinese ICT services provider VanceInfo Technologies has announced that it will set up its ANZ headquarters in Melbourne with a commitment to create 100 new local jobs by the end of 2012. VanceInfo is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the US but is headquartered in Beijing and 90% of its 12,000 employees are based in China.
By
Stan Beer
Thursday, 10 November 2011 08:01
Adobe has thrown in the towel in its efforts to get Flash adopted as a standard platform for Web video on mobile browsers, announcing that it will cease development on Flash Player for new mobile devices. The move comes after years of trying and failing to get Apple to use Flash Player for the iPhone and iPad and will result in the loss of 750 jobs, according to Adobe.
