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If you’ve come to this week’s technology podcast looking for in-depth coverage of Google Wave, then you’re going to be disappointed. Sorry. Instead, we’re going to dive into the exciting world of…drumroll…smart electricity meters! Yes, that’s right. This might sound as dull as dishwater, but if you take a listen to this week’s podcast, we hope you’ll change your mind. We’ll take you to France to hear about a company called Voltalis. They make a device called the Bluepod (not pictured), which is supposed to help French consumers monitor their electricity consumption, and modify their behavior. Sounds great, but there’s a catch. The French government regulators don’t like the device. Mon dieu! We’ll follow that with an interview with Mark England in, well, England. He works for a British company called Sentec, which is making a smart lekky meter of its own (pictured). Unbridled fun and cracking good conversation ensues.
Also on this week’s podcast, Cyrus Farivar tells us about one Dutch politician’s plan to get the European Union to stop selling Internet filtering hardware to the Iranians. Considering all the reporting we’ve done here on WTP about Iran and the Internet, this is one you won’t want to miss. And we also have a great big, hulking report on the state of nanotechnology. It’s an interesting check-in.
We end with a short conversation with Rhitu Chatterjee, the new ultra-hip host of The World Science Podcast. Rhitu will give you a teaser on what’s coming up on her podcast this week. Hint, hint — the Ig Nobel Awards. Warning: you will laugh out loud.
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The link to Sentech does not work.
Harry —
I fixed it. The link should work now. My fault. Here it is, just in case — http://www.sentec.co.uk
One quick point – the company Mark England works for is called Sentec not Sentech and the website is sentec.co.uk, not sentech.co.uk.
Your piece on the Votalis issue is astonishing. A company that helps reduce consumption, particularly at peak times, is effectively being fined for doing so. I thought this is something everyone wants! Mon Dieu indeed!
Michael —
Thanks for catching that. I’ve corrected the problems.
I would LOVE to have a bit more info on the music you keep on adding to the beginning of each podcast. I am enjoying your “happy music” phase but enjoy your varied exposure in general. Pipes included :-) A little “Music by…” at the end of the show notes would be great!! Again thanks!
Pepe —
Oh, man…yes! I’ve been meaning to add information about the music. I will do this from now on. Sorry, sorry, sorry…