Juha Saarinen:

Conversation with a spam bot

Tue, 22 May 2012 05:46:00 PDT

"Alexis" appeared uninvited in my Google Talk or Chat or whatever it's called now. I suspected it was a spambot so decided to see if it was any good. It wasn't.

Seriously, do people fall for this kind of stuff?

Alexis

hiya!

Hello

Are you a spam bot?

Alexis

hey thanks for the add hun, there's hardly anyone on here anymore to chat with ya know?

You probably are a spam bot

Alexis

i miss how it used to be when there was more people on here but oh well, so what's up with u?

I am chatting with a spam bot

Which seems meaningless

Alexis

ah, so my asshole ex-bf cheated on me so i just been going out and meeting new people having a blast, i forgot how fun it was to be single again lol

So I might just block you

Do you mind?

Alexis

well i was actually about to get on my cam did u wanna cum join me... i found an awesome site that's like a facebook for adults but with cams

Ugh, no thanks

Can't think of anything more horrible

Alexis

i started using it so i couldn't be recorded but it's really fun and i love "putting on a show" if u know what i mean wanna cum see?

No, I really don't.

Alexis

yay!! all u gotta do is sign-up but like i said it's 100% free and only takes a sec k?

I don't think you parse what I write, do you?

Alexis

kk just go to [link removed] that's my profile page. at the top there u should see a gold button that says "Join Free" see it?

No way am I clicking that link.

Alexis

k just click that and then all u do is just make ure account and u can start typing to me... i have a private room for us so it's just one on one

Now where's that block button...

Alexis

yeah u do need a card of sum kind but it doesnt get charged and actually if u look you'll see it even says it right there. it's just so they don't get in trouble for any kiddiez

You're the crappiest spam bot ever, do you know that?

Alexis is typing.

You have blocked Alexis. You can no longer see each other online or chat together. Unblock Alexis

Alexis is offline. Messages you send will be delivered when Alexis comes online.

Continue this chat over SMS.

Why does Google think I'd want to continue the chat over SMS after I blocked the spambot? And "Alexis" isn't offline either. Silly Google.

The exceedingly influential Mr Stephen Fry

Sun, 20 May 2012 07:21:00 PDT

I am already bowled over by how a few lines of tweeting by Stephen Fry shakes things up particularly in New Zealand. Somehow, Fry's utterances carry a tremendous amount of weight down here. Nevertheless, I didn't expect to see his tweets being referred to by our telco regulator, the Commerce Commission, but there they are in the latest Draft Report for High Speed Broadband Services Demand Side Study [link goes to a 1Mbyte PDF file].

Amazing. The man should run for public office in New Zealand.

Cleanest inflight entertainment system interface ever?

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:12:00 PDT

Doesn't get much simpler than this IFES screen on a Vietnam Airlines between Hanoi and Saigon. Well, there's the small matter of not having anything resembling a keyboard with which to input any information, but anyway.

All my eggs in a basket

Fri, 04 May 2012 14:53:00 PDT

Vietnam is unfortunately covered in cheap plastic like most parts of the world, an environmental mistake of huge proportions that will come back and bite us, hard.

They do however have alternative packaging materials that are more nature friendly. Banana and other leaves are used a great deal, and how about this:

That's ten fresh eggs, in a simply woven straw basket. There's further straw inside the basket to stop the eggs from doing the Humpty Dumpty thing to one another.

The basket is pretty sturdy, and seems to protect the eggs well. I like it.

An ironic post for all the hipsters out there

Wed, 02 May 2012 12:52:00 PDT

You people think single-speeders is where it's at, but Vietnam has a few things to teach you about two-wheeled coolness. Oh yeah.

Picture taken in Hoi An, using a Samsung NX11 with the 18-55mm kit zoom. I'm quite pleased with that 14mpixel mirrorless DSLR; the size is right for travelling and walking around, and the images from the large APS-C format sensor are nice and sharp. The above one is exposed at ISO 800, and I sharpened it a little in Photoshop CS 6 and applied some noise reduction too to the RAW image. There's an update to the NX11 coming out soon, and I hope to try that out too.

Nokia upgrades: Symbian Belle for the N8 and MeeGo PR1.2 Harmattan for N9

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 07:51:00 PDT

I still use the Nokia N8, even though it really didn't bowl me over with the original version of Symbian ^3 installed. Flashing the phone with Symbian Anna made it much more usable, and a while ago, I spotted Symbian Belle and upgraded the N8.

Belle doesn't fix things like the N8 screen being that bit too small and not having high enough resolution, or the 600MHz processor running out of steam every now and then, but again, it's a worthwhile upgrade that makes the device much nicer to use. Performance is improved, and battery life seems better too. The user interface has been tidied up a huge amount, with better fonts, nicer icons and with many of the multi-screen text entry dialogs replaced by simpler and more direct entry boxes. There's also a handy pull-down menu at the top of the screen with buttons for mobile data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and phone silent switches. It's rudimentary, but useful.

Below, some screen shots of Belle's new screens:

That's the Home, Applications, Music Player, the slightly odd Power and Wi-Fi on/off one, and the Contacts/Favourites screens.

The screen shot app that I used won't capture the on-screen keyboards but. the portrait one has tiny buttons. Too small for my fingers. Typing in landscape orientation works fine though but for some people, the small text and UI elements will be tricky to use.

Now, the Nokia N9 got an over the air upgrade too recently, to MeeGo PR1.2 Harmattan (and don't start arguing about the name; that's what Nokia calls it, so that's the name I'll use). I won't post any screen shots of that upgrade, as the there's nothing much new on the user interface front. One thing I noticed had gone was the swipe-up gesture to close apps. It's been replaced by a long press that displays a red cross with which you can kill things.

Unfortunately, PR1.2 feels like a step backwards. It has made the N9 slow and unresponsive and a pain to use. The Fenix mail app takes so long to respond that the OS thinks it's hung and pops up a close dialog. This used to happen every now and then with PR1.1 but not each time I used the mail app, and certainly not for other apps on the N9.

I tried wiping the settings on the N9, but it didn't make a difference. Annoyingly enough, there's a security code set on the device that I don't know what it is, so I can't factory reset it to see if that clears things up. One day when I feel more patient I'll try flashing the N9 manually, but it's a real shame it's become so sluggish as it was a favourite phone.

Anyone else finding that PR1.2 slows down your N9?

Huawei Massage

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:46:00 PDT

Chinese telco supplier Huawei has been in the news a great deal lately, having had some problems getting the message across that it's not affiliated with China's People's Liberation Army or PLA.

In Westfield Pakuranga, East Auckland however, Huawei Massage doesn't appear to have any problems getting its corporate message out there.

Getting some traffic from the Department of Homeland Security

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:43:00 PDT

Well, I don't know if this blog will be visited by US government spiders, but according to Animal New York, the below search terms are used by the DHS to monitor "social media".

Ho-humm. Let's see what happens.

DHS Media Monitoring Terms

2.13 Key Words & Search Terms

This is a current list of terms that will be used by the NOC when monitoring social media sites to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture. As natural or manmade disasters occur, new search terms may be added.
The new search terms will not use PII in searching for relevant
mission-related information.

DHS & Other Agencies

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Coast Guard (USCG)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Border Patrol
Secret Service (USSS)
National Operations Center (NOC)
Homeland Defense
Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Agent
Task Force
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Fusion Center
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Secure Border Initiative (SBI)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Air Marshal
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
National Guard
Red Cross
United Nations (UN)

Domestic Security

Assassination
Attack
Domestic security
Drill
Exercise
Cops
Law enforcement
Authorities
Disaster assistance
Disaster management
DNDO (Domestic Nuclear Detection Office)
National preparedness
Mitigation
Prevention
Response
Recovery
Dirty Bomb
Domestic nuclear detection
Emergency management
Emergency response
First responder
Homeland security
Maritime domain awareness (MDA)
National preparedness initiative
Militia
Shooting
Shots fired
Evacuation
Deaths
Hostage
Explosion (explosive)
Police
Disaster medical assistance team (DMAT)
Organized crime
Gangs
National security
State of emergency
Security
Breach
Threat
Standoff
SWAT
Screening
Lockdown
Bomb (squad or threat)
Crash
Looting
Riot
Emergency Landing
Pipe bomb
Incident
Facility

HAZMAT & Nuclear

Hazmat
Nuclear
Chemical Spill
Suspicious package/device
Toxic
National laboratory
Nuclear facility
Nuclear threat
Cloud
Plume
Radiation
Radioactive
Leak
Biological infection (or event)
Chemical
Chemical burn
Biological
Epidemic
Hazardous
Hazardous material incident
Industrial spill
Infection
Powder (white)
Gas
Spillover
Anthrax
Blister agent
Exposure
Burn
Nerve agent
Ricin
Sarin
North Korea

Health Concern + H1N1

Outbreak
Contamination
Exposure
Virus
Evacuation
Bacteria
Recall
Ebola
Food Poisoning
Foot and Mouth (FMD)
H5N1
Avian
Flu
Salmonella
Small Pox
Plague
Human to human
Human to ANIMAL
Influenza
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Drug Administration (FDA)
Public Health
Toxic
Agro Terror
Tuberculosis (TB)
Agriculture
Listeria
Symptoms
Mutation
Resistant
Antiviral
Wave
Pandemic
Infection
Water/air borne
Sick
Swine
Pork
Strain
Quarantine
H1N1
Vaccine
Tamiflu
Norvo Virus
Epidemic
World Health Organization (WHO and components)
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
E. Coli

Infrastructure Security

Infrastructure security
Airport
CIKR (Critical Infrastructure & Key Resources)
AMTRAK
Collapse
Computer infrastructure
Communications infrastructure
Telecommunications
Critical infrastructure
National infrastructure
Metro
WMATA
Airplane (and derivatives)
Chemical fire
Subway
BART
MARTA
Port Authority
NBIC (National Biosurveillance Integration Center)
Transportation security
Grid
Power
Smart
Body scanner
Electric
Failure or outage
Black out
Brown out
Port
Dock
Bridge
Canceled
Delays
Service disruption
Power lines

Southwest Border Violence

Drug cartel
Violence
Gang
Drug
Narcotics
Cocaine
Marijuana
Heroin
Border
Mexico
Cartel
Southwest
Juarez
Sinaloa
Tijuana
Torreon
Yuma
Tucson
Decapitated
U.S. Consulate
Consular
El Paso
Fort Hancock
San Diego
Ciudad Juarez
Nogales
Sonora
Colombia
Mara salvatrucha
MS13 or MS-13
Drug war
Mexican army
Methamphetamine
Cartel de Golfo
Gulf Cartel
La Familia
Reynose
Nuevo Leon
Narcos
Narco banners (Spanish equivalents)
Los Zetas
Shootout
Execution
Gunfight
Trafficking
Kidnap
Calderon
Reyosa
Bust
Tamaulipas
Meth Lab
Drug trade
Illegal immigrants
Smuggling (smugglers)
Matamoros
Michoacana
Guzman
Arellano-Felix
Beltran-Leyva
Barrio Azteca
Artistics Assassins
Mexicles
New Federation

Terrorism

Terrorism
Al Queda (all spellings)
Terror
Attack
Iraq
Afghanistan
Iran
Pakistan
Agro
Environmental terrorist
Eco terrorism
Conventional weapon
Target
Weapons grade
Dirty bomb
Enriched
Nuclear
Chemical weapon
Biological weapon
Ammonium nitrate
Improvised explosive device
IED (Improvised Explosive Device)
Abu Sayyaf
Hamas
FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces Colombia)
IRA (Irish Republican Army)
ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna)
Basque Separatists
Hezbollah
Tamil Tiger
PLF (Palestine Liberation Front)
PLO (Palestine Libration Organization)
Car bomb
Jihad
Taliban
Weapons cache
Suicide bomber
Suicide attack
Suspicious substance
AQAP (Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula)
AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)
TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan)
Yemen
Pirates
Extremism
Somalia
Nigeria
Radicals
Al-Shabaab
Home grown
Plot
Nationalist
Recruitment
Fundamentalism
Islamist

Weather/Disaster/Emergency

Emergency
Hurricane
Tornado
Twister
Tsunami
Earthquake
Tremor
Flood
Storm
Crest
Temblor
Extreme weather
Forest fire
Brush fire
Ice
Stranded/Stuck
Help
Hail
Wildfire
Tsunami Warning Center
Magnitude
Avalanche
Typhoon
Shelter-in-place
Disaster
Snow
Blizzard
Sleet
Mud slide or Mudslide
Erosion
Power outage
Brown out
Warning
Watch
Lightening
Aid
Relief
Closure
Interstate
Burst
Emergency Broadcast System

Cyber Security

Cyber security
Botnet
DDOS (dedicated denial of service)
Denial of service
Malware
Virus
Trojan
Keylogger
Cyber Command
2600
Spammer
Phishing
Rootkit
Phreaking
Cain and abel
Brute forcing
Mysql injection
Cyber attack
Cyber terror
Hacker
China
Conficker
Worm
Scammers
Social media

NZCS Newsline: Draft CloudCode released, iPads, the Bechdel Test and ICANN vs NTIA

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:13:00 PDT

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This Week at NZCS

Draft Cloud Computing Code of Practice released
Joy Cottle, CloudCode Facilitator

Six months ago the process kicked off to Develop a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing in NZ. NZCS was asked to facilitate the development on behalf of the broader industry and other stakeholders.
Since then more than 200 people have come together and contributed from various customer and market segments including government, private enterprise, finance, education and various authorities to help develop the Code of Practice. And now we're proud to release the draft CloudCode for consultation.

Taku Waimarie Hoki!

A confession
Juha Saarinen, Newsline Editor

This is a terrible thing to admit, but I don't have an iPad. Not the 1, not the 2, nor the 3. I actually want one, but haven't got around to buying one because each time I ponder a purchase, it either seems too expensive or is sold out.
Luckily, I can borrow a version 2 every now and then, to test drive iPaddy software and other things. Reading Charles Arthur's review of the iPad 3 makes me want one a bit more than the earlier versions though.

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

Contributions

Take the Bechdel Test
Paul Brislen, CEO, TUANZ

Here's a test for you: think of a movie - any movie. Are there two women in it? Probably not, but if you're in the minority and you've found a movie with two women in, do they ever talk to each other? Again, probably not but if they do, do they talk about anything other than the lead male character? Probably not.
Now, I watch a lot of movies. I love film, I love the story telling and I love the art direction in them. I love the very essence of film as a medium.

What the NTIA decision on ICANN actually means
Keith Davidson, ICANN volunteer

Last week's decision by the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration or NTIA that the incumbent Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) doesn't meet its requirements of the functions to manage the DNS root zone file came as a surprise to many in the Internet industry.
What the NTIA decision actually means for ICANN in particular and the Internet in general has been debated around the Internet. Here is a local and personal view by Keith Davidson.

NZ Sharepoint Conference coming up!
by Spotlight event

?The New Zealand SharePoint Event of the year, returns for a fourth year, promising again a combination of Powerful speakers and Extensive content. And NZCS members save $130 on registration.

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

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Want to contribute?

Newsline is collaboratively written and we're always looking for new material to publish. Whether it's your views in a guest editorial or "in depth" expert detail, please send your 750-1200 word piece to the editor above.

The Windows Phone 7.5 bouncing tiles bug

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 08:53:00 PDT

(Ignore mumbly audio that the other phone didn't record properly.)

Goes away after a reboot, and I can't replicate it. The bug shows up every now and then on the HTC Trophy 7 and makes the phone unusable until you restart it.

Oh, and happy birthday, nzben. Facebook birthday reminders galore after I enabled integration on the phone.

NZCS Newsline: NoSKA, TPP, Inbox War, Sabu, ICANN, Privacy breach and chiropractor’s advice

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:20:00 PDT

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This Week at NZCS

Bad news on the SKA plus #TPP update
Paul Matthews, NZCS CEO

Those who follow such things will know that New Zealand and Australia have been working very hard on trying to host the next generation of scientific advancement, the Square Kilometre Array, on this side of the world.
The SKA is worth billions of dollars but more importantly, would likely spin off a significant high-value sub-industry in Australasia if it was based here. It's basically a giant telescope - larger than has ever existed before - made up of a heap of satellite dishes collectively covering a million square metres.

Taku Waimarie Hoki!

Inbox War, Sabu and ICANN
by Juha Saarinen, Newsline Editor

Early this month, a spammy email went out. Unlike pro-spams, it was sent out with lots of addresses in the To: field and more in the Cc: field.
That happens often enough, usually when inexperienced PR agency staffers send out releases. However, what mustn't happen happened: Someone got upset at being spammed, and replied to everyone with an angry "Remove Me".

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

Contributions

Privacy Update: Data breach - it could be you
Marie Shroff, Privacy Commissioner

Time for some stories: I thought I'd give you an insight into a few of the data breach cases that have come over my desk in recent weeks. And you needn't worry; I've fudged some of the details so I'm not spilling the beans entirely! But you might recognise some patterns - I hope you do - and you might be able to glean some cautionary tips. They all involve data breach of one sort or another.

Improve your "network" with better posture.
by Dr Joel Taylor , Chiropractor, Mt Eden Chiropractic

IT workers tend to sit down and not move over extended periods of time and this is not healthy. Dr Joel Taylor of Mt Eden Chiropractic is offering some advice on how to avoid and overcome the Geek Slump.
Your nervous system is made up of an estimated 15 billion nerve cells that are sending millions of signals every second to and from your server (brain) out to your network (body). Your spine protects this amazing bundle of cables and your posture can have an affect on the information being carried within it.

Apple's Steve Wozniak coming to New Zealand
We're very excited to see that Apple Co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak will be coming to New Zealand and presenting on the Apple Story - Disruptive Innovation, Inspiration and Entrepreneurial Wizardry.
NZCS members heading along can save $100.

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Blogged about data caps for TUANZ

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:43:00 PST

I did indeed do that, so please have a read.

NZCS Newsline: Engagement in schools, smartphone horrors, games R18+ and IT law update

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:04:00 PST

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This Week at NZCS

Engaging tomorrow's IT Professionals in schools
Ben Smith, Projects and Engagement, NZCS

As mentioned in last week's Newsline, 2012 is the year NZCS embarks on a number of new and strengthened initiatives.
One hugely important one is ICT-Connect, where we connect IT professionals like you with schools and young ones considering their future options and helping them to discover what choosing a career in IT looks like.
This is crucial if we, as a sector, are serious about leading New Zealand's future economic growth. But it's also a broad initiative and if we're going to succeed, we need your help.

Taku Waimarie Hoki!

Hang up, now.
Juha Saarinen, Newsline Editor

Finally, there is some awareness that entrusting our entire life information to smartphones could be a very bad idea indeed. I've been wondering about this for quite a while now, writing on the topic for the Virus Bulletin and recently, PC World
There's more to the tattle-tale telephone story though. Quite a number of apps literally phone home delivering huge amounts of detailed information to parties known and unknown.

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

Contributions

Game over for Australia - and NZ?
Jenna Pitcher, Games and technology journalist

Computer or video games aren't just for kids. That's something the Australian government doesn't get - but the New Zealand one does. Consider this: the global industry organisation for video games, the Entertainment Software Association or ESA reports that the average gamer is 37 years old, and 41-year-olds are the most frequent purchasers of games.
Despite that, Australian gamers are denied some of the newer titles aimed at more mature audiences. The reason for that is Australia's arcane ratings system.

ICT Legal update: Cloud, SOPA, Govt Cloud and more
Buddle Findlay , Lawyers

This month's ICT Legal Update from Buddle Findlay covers an injunction to stop torrenting and distribution of private photos, Australian Cloud guidelines, Implications for NZ in SOPA and PIPA, Government Cloud, AstraZeneca v IBM and risks to the Cloud from the MegaUpload saga.

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

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NZCS Newsline: Making a difference this year, the app economy, who owns the Internet and NZ law kills torrenting but opens tunnels.

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:11:00 PST

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This Week at NZCS

NZCS: Making a real difference in 2012

Paul Matthews, NZCS CEO

For our industry and sector, 2012 brings a major opportunity to make a significant difference to New Zealand. It's an exciting time to be in IT, with our country on the brink of finally recognizing the economic and social benefits of fostering tech-led innovation.
For us, 2012 will be the year the NZCS community brings together the work strands of the last 2-3 years and make a very real difference and contribution to our sector realizing its potential. And we really need your help to make it a reality.

If you only read one thing from NZCS this year I hope this is it. Read on to find out what we're up to in 2012.

Taku Waimarie Hoki!

The App Economy

Juha Saarinen, Newsline Editor

There are many elephants in the room for the IT sector and none smaller than the apparent fact that the industry doesn't create very many jobs. Last year, Apple opened a US$1 billion data centre in North Carolina, United States.
A substantial investment by any measure, but it only created fifty jobs to run the facility. Computerised automation means fewer people are required and as the remaining jobs are standardised and can be done anywhere, a sea of them have been outsourced to cheap labour supplies overseas.

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

Contributions

Telecomms Update: Who owns the Internet?

Paul Brislen, TUANZ CEO

It's not a trick question - it's quite fundamental to all of our lives over the next few years and already we're seeing the waves of discontent around the issue washing up on our shores.
The internet, for simplicity's sake, came out of a US Department of Defence project designed to allow communications to continue even if the central hub of the network was destroyed. This distributed model is the cause of, and solution to, most of the problems various governments are encountering today.

NZ Legislation shifts file-sharing from bittorrent to tunnels

by Donald Clark, Internet and Network Consultant

Last week there was a very interesting presentation from Waikato Univerity's world-renowned WAND group - they measure and study the way traffic flows on networks.
The group has come up with a new way of measuring traffic so that they can tell (with a pretty high degree of accuracy) what *type* of traffic any particular packet is part of without having to fully unwrap the packet and open up the box. Think of it like looking at the postmark, and then giving the parcel a bit of a squeeze!
What impact will this technology have on bittorrents and other tools used for copyright infringement?

? Continue Reading

Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.

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Ultimate Taser Ball - sport of the future.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:53:00 PST

This will be big.

Via LNLPaintballNZ

Google Docs a phishing site

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:29:00 PST

Oh the irony; Chrome warns that Google Docs has been reported as a phishing site..

Megaupload and the US grand jury

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:29:00 PST

Megaupload again: according to the US Justice Dept, Dotcom, Batato, Bencko, Echternach, Ortmann, Nomm and van der Kolk were indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on January 5 this year. Megaupload and Vestor Ltd were also included in the indictment, and it's on the basis of that that the NZ police pulled out all stops to raid Dotcom's Coatesville house and to arrest him and associates.

Obviously, grand juries are powerful entities if their indictments are sufficient to trigger full-scale police actions overseas. What are they though? From what I can tell, grand juries go back to the middle ages. Today, only the United States retain grand juries, and not all states have them. New Zealand abolished grand juries in 1961 but the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution requires grand jury indictments for federal criminal charges still.

The American Bar Association seems like a good place to find out more about grand juries and its FAQ page on them is interesting. The general idea is that grand juries review evidence presented by prosecutors and determine if there's a probably cause to return an indictment like in the Megaupload/Dotcom case.

That sounds fine, but reading on, the ABA is actually very critical of the grand jury system. Here are some of the points the ABA makes:

There is no need for a grand jury to hear all the evidence, or conflicting evidence.
Grand juries have wide, sweeping, almost unrestricted power.
This power is virtually in complete control of the prosecutor.
Jurors are not screened for biases or other improper factors unlike jurors in regular trials.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, hears cases brought to it by the prosecutor who in turn decides which witnesses to call.
There is no judge in the grand jury room, nor lawyers for the witnesses. Grand juries are rarely read any instructions on the law, as there is no such requirement.
The accused has no protection against witnesses lying to the grand jury, or against evidence obtained "unconstitutionally".

Critics of the grand jury system say it simply acts as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor, according to the ABA.

Dotcom and Megaupload will apparently have the opportunity to argue their case and refute the evidence that the grand jury based its indictment on in a trial. Even if they defend themselves successfully, surely it will be too late as the Megaupload business is in ruins, Dotcom and others will have spent many months in prison and been extradited to the US.

I'd be interested to hear from legal people on this, as to me a grand jury indictment could potentially be a little less robust than expected. Should New Zealand really raid someone and seize their assets based on grand jury indictments? Am I missing something here as a layman?

Is this really the Teapot Tape recording?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:54:00 PST

As posted on SoundCloud:

2Johns2Cups by goldenturkey

This is what police raided NZ media over? Even RadioNZ, which never had the recording but only reported on the issue?

:::FACEPALM:::

Filesonic disables file sharing; due to MegaUpload?

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:33:00 PST

While Kim Dotcom and the Megupload people wait to see if they'll be granted bail, it looks like FBI-NZ Police raid on the file storage site may be scaring competitors into ending filesharing.

Filesonic has disabled "all sharing functionality" for instance:

Given that Megaupload held legal content that now may end being inaccessible due to the raid, I'm wondering if the US didn't just kill cloud computing and storage. You wouldn't really want to risk losing access to your data, without warning and not knowing when or if you'll get it back.

Update Yeah, it looks like the Megaupload case is having some effects.

Russell Brown@publicaddress

Uploaded.to now blocked in the US. Multiupload and Sharebee currently not taking uploads.#megaupload

Ouch.

Reasons to be cheerful in Warkworth

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:15:00 PST

What PR people really think of journalists

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:04:00 PST

David Strom's December story at RWW about the "Ten Biggest PR Blunders of 2011" mentions things that happen every year for as long as I've been in this game. The story isn't so much about blunders as pressure to please the client being passed onto journos, but boy, did it rark up a PR person in the comments section.

PitchMan

10 Nightmarish Behaviors PR People Hate About Journalists

We Stopped at 10, but We Could Go On (And On)

1. You lack common courtesy: You agree to attend our event. You even RSVP and confirm by phone, but at the last minute you call to cancel citing some bullshit personal reason. Normally we wouldn't get too worked up about it, but in this instance we invited you to an event with very limited availability and you screwed another more deserving journalist out of attending.

2. Your laziness knows no bounds: Despite the fact that we spoon feed you story ideas and basically do your job for you, you still get the facts wrong. You ask us to fact check your work, which we do, but we still have to call and correct your sloppy reporting. Like the time you quoted the wrong spokesperson in your story.

3. You work at a crappy trade rag (blog): You had big dreams when you got out of j-school. You were going to do something really big. But this is how it turned out. So please wake-up sunshine, you're not working for the New York Times or The Economist. Your job is to cover our clients' news. So respond to our e-mails, pick-up your phone, and return our phone calls.

4. You don't play by the rules: You insist on playing the big shot. You think you can ignore the standards of journalism that have served your trade well for centuries. You can't. It makes you look like a buffoon. Respect your word. This includes honoring embargoes and keeping things we tell you on background out of your story. You don't get a pass.

5. You're a stenographer: You call yourself a journalist, but what you really are is a tired hack who re-writes the press materials we send you and pass it off as your own work. It's fine. We love seeing our writing in your publication, but don't get pissy when we want you to fix something you got wrong. No, we're not going to fuel your SEO campaign by posting comments to your blog or your publication's web site.

6. You're creepy: We invite you out to drinks after work, not because we really want to spend time with you, but because we know you like the sauce. Our younger female staffers, the ones you're ogling and pawing at our media mixer, don't really want to spend time with you either. They're just here in hopes that you'll return their phone calls and e-mails and not because they find you attractive and want to sleep you---eeeeww! Don't be that guy who IM's them the next day. That really creeps them out. Stop it.

7. You're just projecting self-loathing: Due largely to Item #3 above, you spend the last few days of each year spewing out a top-10 list of things you hate about PR people. We get it. You get to blow off a little steam and this will certainly will be your most read and discussed piece for the entire year, but give it a rest already. Your lists are tired and lame. Besides you're just mad at the PR profession because our interns make more money than you do.

8. You look a gift horse in the mouth: We give you a ton of free stuff and you gleefully accept it, so please spare us the dismissive and snarky, "weight-of-the-world" moral dilemma commentary. Please treat our largess with the respect it deserves. Don't forget the limo rides, the parties we throw and the "review" units now piling up in your apartment. Please remember that if it weren't for PR people you'd be rocking the buffet at Circus Circus during CES rather than schnorring delectable hors d'oeuvres and swilling our top shelf booze poolside at the Wynn.

9. You're a humorless bully: Like the fear-mongering senior in the high school cafeteria, you delight in intimidating the newbies. No, not every person who calls you will have every single detail that you need to write your story, which is really our story (see Item #5). Maybe instead of browbeating our staff you could spend some time researching the beat that you're supposed to be covering. We're sick of having to "educate" you on the category every time we need you to write a story.

10. You don't know your station: Reporting on the deeds and thoughts of others is merely the flip side of promoting them. And both are a necessary if tawdry bit of commercial service. You look down upon us, but in reality you stand beside us in this scullery of ideas, mucking and mopping shoulder to shoulder. Speaking of which, we have a product launch coming up and we need you to do your job and write about it. We'll be in touch with the details. And try not to act like a histrionic princess when we call.

An industry plundered by pirates

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:50:00 PST

I read this story in the Herald about Sione's Wedding 2 earlier today and wondered about the figures quoted in it. Leaving aside the obvious mistake in the first para about the original Sione's Wedding losing $70 million through piracy - that's the estimated number for the entire industry in NZ, as explained later on in the piece - the movie industry in the country appears to haemorrhage money due to illegal copying.

How bad is the situation then? I looked at the annual box office takings figures published on Box Office Mojo, for 2002-2011 to see what's going on.

I make no warrant as to the accuracy of the figures published at Box Office Mojo and it's not clear if they're in US$ or NZ$. If they are more or less correct though, they don't seem to show an industry in crisis. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the number of films grossing over a million dollars in NZ has more than doubled over the past decade for instance.

Year	Movies grossing over $1m	Total
2002	15	$30,802,037
2003	19	$46,307,614
2004	24	$48,744,276
2005	27	$62,621,004
2006	22	$45,910,168
2007	32	$65,167,276
2008	30	$64,727,895
2009	32	$80,242,349
2010	35	$79,302,334
2011	34	$76,707,558

Even if people download and share films, it doesn't seem to stop them from spending money in cinemas. Lots of it too, and more every year, bad economical times and increasing cost of living notwithstanding.

The most pirated move ever, Avatar, was the biggest earner since 2002, hands down. Whereas the likes of Harry Potter and Pirates of Caribbean scoop in over $6 million each, Avatar raked home over $12.5 million. Worldwide, Avatar is the top-grossing movie of all time, earning some US$2.78 billion.

Anyway, it's cool to see that despite the half a million or so that was lost due to a copy of Sione's Wedding being stolen and DVDs made from it being sold in South Auckland markets (no, not being torrented on the Internet, dear politicians) that film was the sixth biggest earner in 2006 with over $2.5 million, beating some really big names in the process. And very cool too that Sione's Wedding 2 has now been made and will show in cinemas from January 19.

Sign up now for NZNOG 12 in Christchurch

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:32:00 PST

I am told that there are still spaces available for NZNOG 12, so register now. If you do anything Internet related in NZ (and overseas for that matter), the NZNOG 12 conference will be worth attending. Furthermore, I understand beer plays an important role for the conference, and that can never be wrong.

The New Zealand Network Operators' Group Conference 2012 or NZNOG12 will be held in Christchurch, between January 23 and 25.

NZNOG12 is New Zealand's one and only Internet conference, held by techies for techies, and also for people who are interested in developing a better understanding of the fundamentals of the Internet, networking technology and architecture.

Registrations have opened, and there are still spaces available. Head over to https://nznog.lilregie.com to sign up.

Here are some of things covered at NZNOG12:

A finalised workshop programme with IPv6 routing and DNSSec being covered is available here.
We have a fantastic day worth of tutorials, details of which can be found here.
An NZNOG fellowship scheme has been announced that you can read more about here.
Martin Levy from Hurricane Electric is our keynote speaker; Martin will dazzle us with the state of the IPV6 Internet, and more.
FinallyWe have a visit to Allied Telesis labs to see switch and router research and development first hand; details here.

The NZNOG 2012 conference is held at the Copthorne Commodore Hotel in Christchurch, January 25th to 27th 2012. Discounted accommodation is available for NZNOG12 attendees. Conference format

Monday 23 January - Wednesday 25 January 2012

0900 - 1730 Workshop(s)

Wednesday 25 January 2012

0900 - 1730 Tutorials
1830 - 2030 Reception

Thursday 26 January 2012

0900 - 1630 Conference

1630 - 1900 Field trip - Allied Telesis Labs
1900 - 2030 Conference dinner
2100 - Late Sponsor event

Friday 27 January 2012

0900 - 1730 Conference
More information: http://nznog.org...

This is how ridiculous the whole Intellectual Property Rights situation is

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:29:00 PST

Watching the Microsoft Consumer Electronics Show 2012 presentation. Well, I'm trying to at least, because..

I'm sorry, but that's just stupid.

Finally, some copyright infringement notices

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PST

Not for me, but Orcon customer "anonnz", David Zanetti at Tech Liberty blogs. It's a detection notice, sent out by Orcon after a complaint from Warner Music:

David notes that the notice probably isn't compliant with the amended Copyright Act, lacking a description of the nature of the breach, and more.

Furthermore, as David says, the account suspension proviso of the new law hasn't yet been activated. A rights holder can't apply to the District Court to have your account suspended for up to six months - not yet.

Over on 3strikes.net.nz Anonnz doesn't deny making the file available for sharing. He says he found a computer that might have been seeding the file, which he says was downloaded "at least two years prior to this law" coming into effect.

Annonz says he removed the file, the torrent file and any P2P software to go with it and thought that was the end of the matter.

However, he has now received a warning notice despite saying he disabled sharing abilities on the computer in question.

Let's see if Warner Music "alleges that you have illegally shared copyrighted material again" and the Enforcement Notice is issued at the end of this month.

Are those notice numbers serial ones? If so, a fair few Detection and Warning ones have been issued already. The Copyright Tribunal could get busy this year.