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From February, Noosa Library Service will run an exciting new range of courses especially for seniors including the use of computers, tablets and smartphones. These will be fun, hands-on, and will assist with everyday online tasks such as banking, business, and more. The Tech Savvy Seniors Queensland Program is a new partnership between the Queensland Government and Telstra. The program will be launched on 2 February at 10am. Register to attend.

The 2016 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey for communications, media and technology companies polled 28,000 consumers in 28 countries on their use of consumer technology. The research indicates that consumer demand is sluggish across a number of categories from smartphones to tablets and laptops. And unfortunately, demand for the next generation of devices enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) is not growing fast enough to offset declines in traditional categories. Price, security and ease of use remain barriers to adoption of IoT devices and services. For the majority of consumers, the lack of a compelling value proposition is reflected in…

Sixty delegates have an exciting opportunity to experience a world-class visualisation facility on a special behind the scenes site visit at the 2016 Smart Communities Summit in Caloundra, Queensland next March. Delegates will have access to the University of the Sunshine Coast’s new CAVE2 immersion lab and Collaboration Studio which feature 2D and 3D capabilities. “There is nowhere else in Australia where you can go to a living lab and have an immersion experience like this,” Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) President Michael Whereat said. “The University of the Sunshine Coast is a world leader in immersive spaces for learning and commercial applications, and…

An app aimed at helping motorists find a suitable car park and then remind them when they may need to move their car has won first prize in Sunshine Coast Hackfest 2015. Designed by local duo Sean Bannister, of Birtinya, and 15-year-old Jordan Josic from Caloundra, the parking app was selected as the best “hack” to come out of the inaugural three-day event that attracted some of the Sunshine Coast’s (Queensland, Australia) brightest minds and “outside the box” thinkers. “Sunshine Coast Parking will use sensors installed in car parks across the Coast, or other information, to help to turn our car…

The Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation invites Sunshine Coast reididents to be part of the Advance Queensland Community Digital Champions Program by identifying and recognising outstanding individuals in the community. The digital world is an integral part of Queensland’s economy, one that needs to be embraced in order to create jobs of the future, attract investment, build prosperity and improve our lives and lifestyles. Congratulations to the Sunshine Coast's Mic Black, one of Queensland's 10 inaugural Community Digital Champions  The program, developed in collaboration with community, business/industry and government, aims to encourage Queenslanders to explore and enjoy the benefits of…

Parents and educators are being encouraged to have their say on the future of coding and robotics education in Queensland schools. “We know that 50 per cent of future jobs will require high level digital skills and that’s why digital literacy – including coding and robotics – is a major focus of our Advancing Education plan,” Minister for Science and Innovation Leanne Enoch said. “We want Queensland students to have a competitive advantage when they compete for the jobs of tomorrow. “Increasingly, coding jobs will be required in all sectors of society including agriculture, health care, engineering, mining, law enforcement, education…

The Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit in April 2016 will put a global spotlight on Queensland innovation. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the summit was needed to help make new local, national and international connections, which the government recognised as increasingly important in this time of rapid change. “We have the impacts of globalisation, digitisation and new technologies reshaping economies around the world. We need to collectively position Queensland to prosper in this era of rapid global change,” she said. Minister for Science and Innovation Leeanne Enoch said the summit would give Queensland companies, start-ups, researchers and investors a unique opportunity to come…

The Advance Queensland navigator is an online engagement tool that offers Queensland entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and investors a platform for submitting and sharing their ideas, innovations, products and services. This is an opportunity for anyone with an original product, idea or business that contributes to Queensland to be a part of a dynamic and exciting network of innovators. Being a part of the Advance Queensland initiative and being featured on the navigator offers stakeholders the opportunity to be a part of a bigger network of successful Queensland innovators and entrepreneurs. Those who submitting their innovations or idea have an opportunity…

Any community can work on becoming smarter now, says Dr Lutz Heuser, Chief Technology Officer at the Urban Software Institute and keynote speaker at the Australian Smart Communities Summit in March 2016. “The digital transformation of our society should not stop when it comes to community and management infrastructure. Governments and businesses must start thinking now about moving into digital relationships to grow economic prosperity in their communities,” he said. Dr Heuser’s message is not about investing more money, but investing smarter. “People already engage in digital transactions. They use their smart gadgets throughout the day to shop online, check the…

Australians love their public Wi-Fi Hotspots. At 30 June 2015, an average of almost 4.23 million Aussies went online using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. To help you stay informed when using these services, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published an informative Guide to public Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia. Key topics include: What is a public Wi-Fi hotspot? How do I find a public Wi-Fi hotspot? How do I connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot? Is a public Wi-Fi hotspot secure? What can I do at a public Wi-Fi hotspot? What are the major types of public Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia?…