Geekzone Blogs

New Zealand cell site location maps

freitasm — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:54 +1200

A Geekzoner (BarTender) has put together a few apps that may be useful if you ever wonder about mobile coverage... The first one is a map of New Zealand cell sites. The second one (pictured below), gives you a view of which cell sites are available n... (more in the full post)

Ultimate Taser Ball - the sport of the future.

juha — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 11:53 +1200

This will be big.

Via LNLPaintballNZ

Google Docs a phishing site

juha — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 21:29 +1200

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

Broadband in New Zealand according to OECD

freitasm — Sat, 4 Feb 2012 14:56 +1200

Here are some data collected from the OECD Broadband portal. How is New Zealand doing?

1. Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (June 2011):

Rank DSLCableFibre/LAN Other TotalTotal subscriptions1Netherlands21.216.01.... (more in the full post)

Megaupload and the US grand jury

juha — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:29 +1200

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?

Did Twitter really take in consideration these DMCA notices?

freitasm — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:28 +1200

Incredible reading the "reasons" for DMCA notices sent to Twitter, asking for tweets to be removed. Here are some: [quote] Where does this Tweet link to: The Tweet links to another website where the infringing material is made available. Where is th... (more in the full post)

Part 1 - Planning

hazza87 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:27 +1200

I have decided to do a write up of my recent experiences in cabling a large home for data and voice. When i undertook this project i intended to learn how to install and terminate cat5e/6 cabling, install patch panels and hook the whole thing up to telecom phone lines. I gained valuable experience in all these things, learned a lot and enjoyed the whole process.

A large amount of the information i gathered for this came from Geekzone blogs and forum posts and helpful members, big thanks to all those that helped. Individual mentions will come at the end of the posts.

Original thread from geekzone forums.

Background reading:

TCF Premises Wiring Code of Practice
Telecom Code of Practice

Cables to go guide
Structured Home wiring
Structured Wiring How To
ZDNet Blog

Planning:

The first thing I did was to plan out thoroughly what was needed where, I did this by drawing up a house plan roughly to scale. I will not include this to protect the privacy of the home owners but I will put up a link to an example at the end of the post. Would be helpful if you had access to original house plans.
With the house plan I went through with the home owners and decided where to put all the outlets and where to locate the central wiring point. I also considered where voice was needed and how many outlets in each location.
Useful information for this can be found on the TCF website
I decided to go the route of Rj45 jacks for all locations voice and data (thanks to the input of geekzone members) forgoing Rj12 and BT jacks totally. All outlets would be star wired back to a central location and use Cat5e cabling.
Since i decided to integrate the phone line and data network all to the same location, i had to consider how to connect up the outlets to the telecom etp (where the phone lines comes in from the road and joins your home wiring - should be a small white box on the outer wall of the house somewhere, see pictures). Thanks to advice here i decided i would run a single cat5e cable from the central wiring point to the telecom etp (will explain more in part 2).
I decided on 2 jacks in all bedroom locations 4 in the office, 4 in the lounge, singles in locations for phones and 2 high on a wall well positioned for a wireless access point.
With this house plan and outlet locations, I created a cable schedule in a spreadsheet to label all cables and give their from and to locations and which ports of the patch panel they will be connected to.
In the cable schedule i formed a room and cable labelling format so i could label all the cat5e cable at both ends and quickly check where that cable goes.
This information gave me enough to price up the job and purchase 90% of the materials.

Another major factor to consider was how to run the cabling, in my case there was good access to the underfloor of the house and i did a thorough check under all the rooms to assess where would be most practical to run the cabling into the room. Then adjust the outlet locations slightly accordingly.

I also decided to make my own patch cables and phone cords (RJ45 - RJ11) for a bit of practice and experience, plus there was plenty of off cut cable and left overs.

Parts:

I used a number of shops to get the best prices they include:

Cablesdirect
PB Tech
Computer Store
Mitre 10 Mega
Ideal Electrical
I purchased the bulk of the materials from cablesdirect who have a pretty good range and a good website, delivery was pretty fast too.

I found there were plenty of choices for wall jacks and modules (PDL, Dynamix, Amdex) but decided on Dynamix ones with matching Keystone jacks , they make single and dual wall plates that come in 2 pieces, wall plate and plastic cover, however the 4 way plates are single piece and are a bit messier. In hindsight i may have used 2 dual plates instead. Also remember flush boxes or surface mount boxes depending on how you will mount the outlets, i got them pretty cheap from mitre 10 mega.
For the keystone jacks i got colour coded ones (green for voice jacks, blue,yellow,white for data 1,2,3 correspondingly) because dynamix had a nice range of colours. This made it easy to tell which jacks go to which patch panel ports. I suppose i would have used PDL ones if matching the existing jacks was required but they were considerably more expensive.

Next up was a patch panel, as i had a total of 20 wall outlets and needed some spare to patch the phone line into i went with a 24 port patch panel from Dynamix and a wall bracket .
As not all the ports would be used initially i got an 8 port gigabit switch and used the existing modem router.
A 305M box of cat5e cable would be plenty for this but it pays to check rough measurements first.

Tools:

After experimenting with ebay and cheap overseas sellers i ended up just getting some proper tools locally
Punchdown tool (for 110 style jacks as this was the jacks and patch panel i was using) this was a goodish quality impact tool which i can recommend, worked really well for me. You may be able to use a cheapish non impact tool but i didn't find them as easy to use for lots of jacks.
Crimping Tool i got a cheapish one which works fine for me, but there are more expensive ratcheting ones.

That is probably all the specialist tools needed, of course general tools will be needed too. Drills, screwdrivers good assortment of sharp drill bits (i used good quality spade bits to drill the holes for the cabling -12mm for most double locations and 14mm+ for the 4 cable locations. ) Cable cutters and strippers (could use sharp knife or the function on the cheap insertion tool)

Thats about all for the planning stage
Part II installation coming soon....

Pictures:

Picasa Web Album Part 1

Cable Schedule

House Plan (example from house plan off the web with an idea of how to mark on outlets etc)

Special Thanks to Geekzone members:

chevrolux
Cyril7
Webwat

Also mention goes to Sbiddle for his original blog on the subject (mainly on new home installation)

Feel free to ask questions or let me know of any errors.

EDIT:

Pricing Estimates

Is this really the Teapot Tape recording?

juha — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:54 +1200

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:::

Eclipse on Windows 7 for Development

robscovell — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:13 +1200

It all started when Polly and I came back from the supermarket and realised we'd forgotten to get some vegetables we needed. So we got back into the car and nipped out for just 15 minutes to Garden Fresh. When we got back, while walking down the driveway, I noticed a blue T shirt. "Odd," I thought. I picked it up and looked round and saw a youngish lad legging it out of the gate and down the road. Then I saw the bathroom window. "Ohhhhh Bugger ...," I thought. The git had taken my Macbook and my new Ubuntu laptop, as well as my iPhone. Fortunately he hadn't had time to grap Polly's laptop so we still had some computing power left in the house ...

The insurance company (AA) were great. Really great. No quibbling, no quoting of fine print, and a cash settlement that got me back up and running ...

I had been starting to become jaded about Apple computers after 10 years of being a devoted OS X user. I was starting to wonder what you *really* got for the extra cash you paid for them. It used to be that the hardware lasted much longer before the first telltale signs of decay but since they moved production to China, they've pretty much had the same life as any other computers. So, I came home with a shiny new touch-screen Windows 7 Dell all-in-one beauty with 6GB of RAM and set it up. I was planning to install Ubuntu on it ... but I thought I'd play around with Windows 7 for a bit first ...

Now, I always seem to have a need to go into Windows from time to time ... my clients often have some Windows-only or more specifically, Internet Explorer-only thing that I need to attend to. In the past, I ran Windows XP in VirtualBox on the Macbook and it was enough for my needs. However, while I was playing around with Windows 7 (which, surprisingly, I liked ...) I thought, "Hang on. Instead of running Windows in a VirtualBox why don't I run Ubuntu in a VirtualBox on Windows!" So that is now what I have set up: Ubuntu Server LTS. Which brings me to the main point of this article.

I had used Eclipse on sparingly in the past because it seemed such a bloated memory-hog compared with the lightfooted tools I preferred to use. However, I decided to give it another go, in the absence of my usual tools on Windows 7. With my 6 GB of RAM, Eclipse is beautifully smooth. I don't miss my old tools at all. I also don't miss either the Mac OS X interface or the rather amateurish Ubuntu one. (I've always found Linux UIs a bit cringe-worthy to be honest, even though Unity is way ahead of what went before ... ) I still develop LAMP stuff obviously ... so I use putty to ssh into the Ubuntu VirtualBox.

I use Gmail as my email client and Google Docs so I have no need for any MS Office suite software. I haven't even installed Open/Libre Office. Skype was pre-installed. The only non-development applications I have installed are Picasa and Chrome.

... and all because of some forgotten veggies ...

Goodbye Apple! It was nice knowing you but it is time to move on! Oh and RIP Steve Jobs!

Customise your Visual Studio 2010 colour scheme

VisualStudio — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:12 +1200

While the default blue on white base colour scheme in Visual Studio 2010 is fine for most, some people (like myself and several of my colleagues) prefer working against a darker background or with different sets of font styles and colours - in my cas... (more in the full post)

The unlikely winner of CES 2012 – Windows Phone

paulspain — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:12 +1200

It's clear from market statistics that Apple's iPhone and Google's Android are the predominant smartphone platforms currently. But if the buzz at CES is anything to go by, Windows Phone will soon emerge as a strong contender to sit alongside these ... (more in the full post)

Filesonic disables file sharing; due to MegaUpload?

juha — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:33 +1200

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.

What you need to know about electric ride on toys.

MrWestie — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:33 +1200

You always want a better life for you kids.
And getting them the toys you always wanted when you were a kid goes with that right?

-

Exhibit A.
64L x 45W x 43H
My story starts with a $25 purchase from trademe.
Your standard 6v Small quad.
Rated up to 25kg.
1 wheel drive.

My son is 4 Yrs old, 10.4kg, 100cm tall.

This quad was bit small for him.
Our section is on a slight slope, 5 degrees?
It had trouble doing the up hill part.
Worked ok when fully charge.
Got a new battery for it.
So after 2 laps, 100m, it stopped going up hill.

If the grass was even slightly damp, it would slip.
1 wheel drive fail.

Exhibit B.
90L x 62W x 55H
New from trademe, also 1 wheel drive.
I had higher hopes for this as it looked like it had more traction.
Not so.
There are 3 positions for the seat.
Due to having the seat so far back the center of gravity is also quite far back.
Leading to reduced grip on the front tyres.
Moving the battery to the front might help a bit.
When this happens, it just turns on the spot.
See video below.

A note on the product from TM.
It is listed at 80kg max but the sticker on the body says 30kg
You need to add washers to the seat screws or it just goes through the plastic.

Exhibit C.
A used one from TM.
Two wheel drive, big size.
100L x 70W x 65H

Battery was bad so had to get a new one.
We have a winner :)
A little on the big side but just enough power.
It handles the up hill just fine.
Being 2 wheel drive it has all the traction required.

Reasons to be cheerful in Warkworth

juha — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:15 +1200

Google Latitude - a really nifty product/service

scottjpalmer — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:45 +1200

I have had a Google Latitude app running on my phone for quite a few years now, originally as a bit of a trial then as a means of locating friends when co-ordinating a get together. You simply add your friends via the web interface or via the various iPhone, Android, etc apps and once they have approved the request you can see their location.

More recently I have used Google Latitude as a safety/informative tool for when I am off motorcycling on my own in case something should happen to me or those close to me want to track my progress. I have a web page which I have only given the address of to a select few people which displays a map showing my current location (provided I have cellphone or WiFi reception).

Today I discovered the coolness of the Location History feature. To be able to flick back through and see where I was at certain times on certain days or see a trip on a map is quite handy.

As you can see in the following less-cropped image, you can configure the timeframe in the drop down box, choose the date(s) on the calendar and a few other options as shown. The timeline below the map is a nice feature.

Being able to see your friends location on demand is a bit stalkerish but once you get over the tinfoil hat thinking it really is a pretty cool toy. Apple now has "Find My Friends" which is similar but this is of course restricted to iOS devices and doesn't have the Location History features that Google Latitude does.

The Asus Padfone, will it slay my Apple fanboyism?

scottjpalmer — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:31 +1200

I have said for years that I want one device to satisfy all my mobile (and preferably all fullstop) computing needs. With this mindset the Motorola Atrix had me interested but failed to inspire me to purchase. It sounded buggy and has failed to become a widespread success.

Enter last year the Asus Padfone. Details were initially scarce, the first glimpse was an early prototype displayed at a trade show with no mention of specs etc. With talk of the device having to wait for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to be available before the device would work properly (ICS being the first version to support phone and tablet in one version) it was anticipated that the Padfone would be available around December.

Fresh news has appeared in the past week (SlashGear, The Verge, Recombu) with new protoypes running ICS appearing and Engadget receiving their invite to the launch of the Padfone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

The main appeal for me is having one device which allows portability when required but larger screen real estate when in-your-pocket portability isn't. This means my music collection, photos, apps, etc will all only be stored, carried and synced once with one mobile connection and therefore one data plan. The reported ability to charge the phone from the larger battery in the tablet is an added bonus.

I am a reasonably recently converted but staunch Apple fanboy but if there is one device that will slay that, the Padfone is it (despite it being a bit of a quirky name).

More Changes

psychrn — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:48 +1200

Well well more changes

Tonight made the decision to sell Ipad 2 and Macbook 13 Inch
I have moved from Iphones to Android OS and recently to the Galaxy Note.
I have since bought the Asus Transformer Prime which is a Android ICS device.
This means that I can consolidate my devices.
Who have done this change before??
This means I will have gone completely android OS

What PR people really think of journalists

juha — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:04 +1200

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.

Secure Development Tips and Techniques for use in Asp.net websites and web applications

VisualStudio — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:42 +1200

When developing any type of website or web application in .Net there are plenty of tips to help make sure your creation is protected against hackers and scanners.

I have compiled a check list of tips and techniques that I have built up in th... (more in the full post)

When is a deal not necessarily a deal? When you buy it from Spreets.

sbiddle — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:36 +1200

Depending on your view daily deal sites are either the best, or the worst thing to hit this world. There are definately bargains to be had, but also plenty of dubious deals. The Commerce Commission received huge numbers complaints in 2011 regarding these sites, with an average of 22.5 complains per month between January and June 2011, reducing to an average of 10 per month in October and November.

I couldn't help notice the deal on Spreets today, only $160 for a "GPS Navigation & Multimedia System that Includes an eBook Reader, Games, & Music & Movie Player! Worth $455. Delivery Included"

This product is apparently an essential trip to take on holiday "Don’t head off on your summer holiday road trip without it!" the promo blurb says. It features "the latest in GPS navigation technology".

This is fine if you live in Australia. If you read the fine print this units has the "latest Australian maps pre-loaded", with no mention anywhere of the inclusion or ability to load New Zealand maps onto it.

Even worse the Spreets page claims the product is worth $455. I wonder why the company that is distributing it only sells it for $345 including free delivery, and a 10% discount if you pay by credit card?

Is this really a bargain? Or just an overpriced piece of junk that in all reality is virtually worthless for it's intended purpose in NZ? That's up to you to decide, but I certainly won't be buying one.

Bill Gates changing the world

freitasm — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:50 +1200

While some have changed the world by creating design products and pushing for better user experiences, Bill and Melinda Gates are changing the world by saving lives. Yes, I agree that saying "3.4 million lives saved from Hepatitis B" would be assumi... (more in the full post)

This is evil: Google employees accessing competitor’s database to poach customers

freitasm — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:39 +1200

This is evil. A business trying to poach customers by accessing data from a competitor, and cold calling - even saying they are working with said competitor? [quote] Since October, Google's GKBO appears to have been systematically accessing Mocality'... (more in the full post)

An industry plundered by pirates

juha — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:50 +1200

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.

eReceipts - Why don't we have them yet?

davidcole — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:01 +1200

An offhand comment yesterday to an owner of a Cafe about digital (or electronic) receipts got me thinking, why don't we have these already?

We've probably all seen the emailed receipts that some retailers seem to send out. Apple sends your receipt as an email. Some retailer send PDF files with an invoice/receipt for online purchases.

But I was thinking about what can we do to rid ourselves of all this paper you collect in your wallet.

A quick browse around the internet last night brought me to this page: http://www.thehotiron.com/index.php/site/comments/ideas_to_eliminate_and_automate_retail_receipts/

I really liked the idea of a iCalendar/vCard type implementation rather than a formatted email/PDF file. The reasons are as follows:

It's data, can be loaded to a smart phone app, finance program, or just saved somewhere as a file.
It could be generated as a QR code - you can create a vCard QR Code that contains contact information - why not a receipt. The QR code could be printed on the bottom of a paper receipt - meaning those that want electronic and possess a smart phone can scan it (rather than the current standard of taking a photo and OCR or manually entering the data)
It could be transmitted via NFC/Email/SMS or presented as a QR code on an LCD screen (this might be a bit slow though at a POS terminal).

So the next bit to look at is a standard. Guess what, someone has already thought of one.... The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) already has an xml specification for a Digital Receipt: Here

Next I thought quickly about implementation. It would be hard, and very unlikely, for every retailer to set up LCD screens/email gateways etc to send these receipts out....so I thought why not think a bit higher up the food chain...what do all the retailers have (well most of them here in NZ) - EFT POS terminals. All leased or bought through one or two companies.

With a bit of modification, the EFT POS receipts that are currently printed could include a QR code of a Digital receipt, or on authorisation the EFT POS merchants could send out receipts via email/sms (obviously this last idea would be a subscription based system), or include NFC technology (terminals which include this technology are already being implemented with the likes of snapper, Visa's PayWave or Mastercards PayPass).

It seems like we have most of the pieces they just need to be connected...

Do you like the idea of digital receipts? Do you keep your paper ones? Do you throw everything away?

How do we deal with the fact that a receipt is proof or purchase, and is used for your warranty claim? Those that scan receipts, have you used one of those to validate your purchase? Did the store accept it?

Sure there are some kinks to work out, but I don't think they're insurmountable.

Long time No post

psychrn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:48 +1200

I see its been 3 years since I last updated my Geekzone Blog. I feel somewhat embarrassed to say the least.
Well well how do I start.

Over those years Ive moved from having Windows Mobile devices- you remember the Imate Jasjar through various IOS devices Iphone 3G through to Iphone 4. I then switched direction completely and went Android. Saw a mates Samsung Galaxy s2 and sold my Iphone 4 to get that. Now Im using a Galaxy Note. Funnily enough I tell my family and colleagues that its because Im getting older and need the bigger screen !! There is a certain truth about that statement.
As far as Tablets go I bought an Ipad a couple of years ago and updated that on launch day to an Ipad 2. Waiting in the cue when I was visiting Wellington last year. Interesting conversations are had when waiting in such cues.

My colleagues at work seem to always ask me what have I got now as far as technology goes. Plus ask my advice for what is good for them. I try to help them out by asking what do they want to do with such a device.
I very much envy the folk that are able to review new devices and can almost make a living doing it. technobuffalo.com is a case in point. Plug also for AndroidNZ our very own @NZtechfreak who does extensive reviews on his Website and youtube.

There is certainly a lot of developments wise hardware going. CES in Las Vegas US is going on right now.
I have several video cameras that manage HD video, I sold my SLR Canon for a all in one PIS Panasonic Lumix with a long zoom and feel a lot happier for it. Less gear to carry. Have noticed its photographic limitations however at times
My Galaxy Note manages HD Vid but doesnt quite have the zoom capabilities but its fine for general use.
Yes I must update my profile as well.

Feel free to contact me for comments.
Im sure Ill be posting more.
I hope to catch up with folk at GZ Pizza evenings coming up