Humans have been inventing and innovating since the beginning of human history. Some inventions are small, others are so major they change the course of human history and development. Most developments are in the area we would call Technology. This is even more so in the present.

Think of inventions in areas such as the home, energy, transport, food, medicine & health and how they affect the way you live. Compare it with the way your grandparents and great-grandparents lived. Then go further back into history and see what a vast difference there was.

Nowadays, invention and innovation is a constant factor of life. It is almost impossible to keep up with what has changed or is in the process of change, especially in areas such as nanotechnology and genetics.

At the same time, see how good people were at predicting the future and look at patent applications for some weird and wonderful inventions.

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News

Australia

• ABC News Online - Technology
• Australia Technologies
  The Australian section of the WorldTechNews site [see below].
• Australia Technology News
• Rust Report, The
  ‘News and Views of the Action in Australia’s ICT Sector.’
• TechWatch
  ‘Your source for technology, news, reviews and pricing’

International

• CNN Technology
• Newsfactor Technology News
• Technorati
  ‘Is the authority on what’s going on in the world of blogs.’
• Wired News : Science
• WorldTechNews
  Technology covered by topics & regions [including Australia].

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Australian Innovation & Technology

Competitions for Students

• Australian Informatics Olympiad
  ‘The Australian Informatics Olympiad Committee runs a number of activities aimed at high school students for enrichment and competition in computer programming and algorithm design. The pinnacle of these activities is sending a team of four overseas each year to represent Australia at the International Olympiad in Informatics.’
• Imagine Cup
  The World’s Premier Student Technology Competition. ‘The Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world - today. Now in its sixth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues.’
• RoboCup Junior Australia
  ‘Developed with three levels of increasing complexity where students can choose to take up the challenge at their own skill and interest level.’ Check Competition Rules and Entry Information here.

General Sites

• Australian Computer Society
  Join, find information on the International Computer Driving Licence, professional development, publications, courses, exams, a student’s page, links.
• Australian High Tech Crime Centre
  How they handle high tech crimes and how you can be involved.
• Australian IT
  Comprehensive review including news from IT and technology fields.
• Australian Science Archives Project
  Bright Sparcs : biographies of 3 000+ Australian scientists; hundreds of links; The Cabinet of Curiosities : 200 years of Australian science treasures; a Guest section.
• Australian Technology Park
  Sydney. News, information, space available, innovations developed.
• F2 IT News
  Information about the information technology world.
• IIA News
  Internet Industry Association. News, code of practice, current issues, member’s benefits, services.
• IT News
  Breaking news for professional and commercial people.
• National ICT Australia
  ‘Australia’s ICT Research Centre of Excellence. With a focus on use-inspired basic research, NICTA attracts, develops, and networks exceptional talent for Australia’s future prosperity. NICTA’s research efforts focus on the technology challenges facing industry, community, and the national interest. The central themes of NICTA’s research are found here.’

Inventions and Inventors

From minor to those which changed the course of history. Australian achievements and achievers.

Inventions & Innovations

• Ausinvent
  ‘In the world of bright ideas, Australia has delivered its fair share.’ Looks at inventions by Australians including what people are inventing now.
• Australia Innovates
  Things Australians have invented from penicillin to the black box.
• Australian Technology Showcase
• Innovations with Textiles
  CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology. ‘Australia’s pre-eminent textile, fibre and leather research centre, with a long history of innovation in textiles and leather.’ Technology is more than machinery and computers.
• Technology in Australia 1788-1988
  History of technological inventions developed in Australia.
• White Hat Guide to Australian Inventions, Discoveries & Innovations
  ‘In the areas of invention, the sciences and medical research Australia has achieved at a level well above what would be expected for a country of its population. Below is a list of a number of inventions that White Hat considers significant.’

Inventors

• 100 Years of Australian Innovations
  Information on innovative Australians. Questacon.
• Australia Advances
  ‘Australia Advances is a series of short video stories being shown on network and cable television throughout Australia, showcasing some of the most brilliant, fascinating and important Australian discoveries and technological achievements.’ You need Quicktime and preferably broadband.
• Lawrence Hargrave
  Remembered for his work with box kites. His work is seen as pioneering in the aviation field. Also other pioneers of flight. Check the left hand menu.
• New Inventors [ABC TV]
  Latest inventions, back to the vault, kid’s inventions, more.

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Other Information

Blogs & Pods

• Science Blogs - Technology
  Access a range of blogs. Links to other blogs in other areas.
• Tech Podcast Network
  If it’s tech, it’s Here. ‘Tech Podcast Network is a community supported web site dedicated to the promotion of technology by using the Internet. These initiatives include audio streaming, podcasting, and new technology delivery mechanisms.’
• Tech Wired Australia
  [MP3 Edition]
  ‘Technology, gadgets, tech news, tech offs, recorded and released Wednesdays and Saturdays.’
• The Antipodean Podcast
  Sci-tech news from Downunder. ‘Technology, Biotechnology, innovation and other deliberations.’
• The Aussie Geek Podcast
  ‘Two Hemispheres, Two Geeks, One Podcast. Two geeks on opposite sides of the world delivering the news in a fun and entertaining way. Global Geek Podcast sits on its own with the quirky attitudes and pithy, humour between the hosts and their content !’
• This Week in Tech
  With Leo Laporte & Friends. Described as ‘netcasts from people you trust’. [‘It very quickly became the most popular netcast on the Internet.’]
  Highly Recommended !

General Sites

• 20Q.net
  Remember 20 Questions ? A new version that ‘is an experiment in artificial intelligence. The program is very simple but its behaviour is complex. Everything that it knows and all questions that it asks were entered by people playing this game. 20Q.net is a learning system; the more it is played, the smarter it gets.’
• Bar Code Mechanics
  Bar codes each have a meaning. Understand what they do and how they are developed, even make your own using these FAQs.
• CompInfo
  ‘The top one-stop reference resource for corporate IT, computer software, computers and communications’. Links on every aspect of IT.
• How to Use a Compass
  Not necessarily the most technological but, if needed, know how to use it. Even find directions without one.
• Institute of Food Science & Technology
  ‘IFST is the leading independent qualifying body for food professionals in Europe and the only professional body in the UK concerned with all aspects of food science and technology.’
• MIT Tech Review
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reviews their programs and the progress and achievements of some special graduates.
• NASA Programs
  More than 30 year’s worth of computer programs for a variety of functions.
• Predictions of the Year 2000
  From The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900. ‘We invite you to comment on these predictions, whether they have been realised in some way or how they can never be accomplished ! In any event, we know you’ll enjoy these entries.’ 29 statements in all. Remember when they were made !
• Science and Technology News
• Technology in a Can
  Aerosols from their invention, environmental concerns, how cans are created, media information, links to related sites.
• Techsoup - Learning Centre
  ‘Organized by subject, our how-to’s, worksheets, case studies, profiles, product comparisons are written for all budgets and all levels of technical expertise.’ Articles in groupings such as Technology Planning, Web Building, Software, Training, Using the Internet, etc.. Also feeds, emails, downloads, more.
• The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe
  ‘In this companion to last year’s EMC-sponsored white paper, IDC again calibrates the size and the growth of the digital universe to 2011. IDC also explores new dimensions of the digital universe [e.g., the impact of specific industries on the digital universe; your digital shadow] and discusses the implications for individuals, organizations, and society.’ Get the report for 2008, a summary, the report for 2007, more.
• Through The Wires
  Thinkquest. A Century of Telecommunications. Communication from Morse Code to the internet. Uses interactive video & audio methodology to discover how we communicate.
• What Is ?
  Particular technologies, what acronyms really mean, definitions, take advantage of recommendations regarding books and dictionaries for this area. Dominantly computing.
• World Internet Project
  ‘A major, international, collaborative project looking at the social, political and economic impact of the Internet and other new technologies.’ Check each of the 28 countries involved [includes Australia].

Inventions and Inventors

Minor inventions to those that changed the course of history. Achievements, achievers, … .

General Sites

• Innovations : The Digital Revolution
  Thinkquest. Discover the digital revolution of the last few decades and how it has affected us.
• Invention at Play
  Equates the use of play to the inventive process and provides ways of doing this. Try the playroom.
• The Official Rube Goldberg Web Site
  Cartoons from a revered cartoonist, looking at ‘wacky’ inventions.

Specific Areas

• A History of the Microscopes
  Covers all microscopes, how they work, how they developed to present formats.
• IEEE Global History Network
  ‘Dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of innovation in the fields of electrical engineering, electronics and computing, and all their related fields.’
• Recording Technology History
  Offers an easy to understand history of recording sound.

Inventions & Innovations

• CNN - Top 25 Innovations
  Listed in 2005. Summarised in groups.
• Greatest Inventions
  Thinkquest. The Evolution of Man Through History. Follow history and find inventors and inventions that helped create our present world. Use Clip, the Helper.
• Inventor’s Toolbox
  Some of the simpler inventions and tools that helped to make life easier.

Time’s Best Inventions of the Year

• Technological Inventions
  Time-Warner’s list of the inventions of 2001. Most serious, but a few on the funny side.
• TIME - Best Inventions 2002
• TIME - Best Inventions 2003
• TIME - Best Inventions 2004
• TIME - Best Inventions 2005
• TIME - Best Inventions 2006
• TIME - Best Inventions 2007
• TIME - Best Inventions 2008

Inventors

• Famous Inventors of History
  Claims the best collection of information about the largest range of inventors listed on the web.
• Inventor’s Headquarters
  Provides all the advice needed to make you as successful as possible.
• National Inventors’ Hall of Fame
  Inventors across time. Not only the better known inventors.
• Technology Laureates
  People awarded the US Presidential Medal of Technology. Amazing technological innovations.
• The Inventor of the Week Archives
  Invention Dimension. Search for Inventor of the Week, inventions, Links & Resources, Inventor’s Handbook, Games & Trivia, more. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Safeguarding an Invention

Many ideas don’t end up in the inventor’s hands. Ensure you follow the best path to retain all rights that come from your invention.

• IP Australia Patents
  Information about patents and how to get them in Australia.
• The Very First Steps Inventors Have To Take
  ‘The relationship between patents and the market value of inventions, the need for counsel, the need for prior art searches and being sceptical of invention promoters.’

Unusual Inventions & Creations

• Patently Absurd
  ‘Absurd’ inventions for which patents have been sought. For every successful invention, a huge number are stupid, crazy and plain weird. Links to other sites.
• Weird and Wonderful Patents
  ‘Over the years, inventors have tried to solve many of the problems of daily life. Who could forget these vital advances to the state of the art’.

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