Archive for June, 2007

REVIEWS: THE OFFICIAL FREEVIEW RECEIVERS

by Peter Griffin | from the New Zealand Herald
Digital satellite TV operator Freeview admits a “stuff-up” with its flagship brand of set-top boxes marred the service’s launch, but says the technical glitches are now behind it.
Freeview general manager Steve Browning said it was too early to give accurate Freeview sales figures and that a clear [...]

THE WEBSTOCK SPECIAL

I didn’t get a chance to post these last week as I was tied up posting on another blog. Webstock Mini was a great event and credit to Natasha Hall and the others on the team who continue to put on some worthwhile internet events in Wellington.
The new Internet: All fizz and no substance?
by Peter [...]

(MANNED) MISSION TO MARS

by Peter Griffin | from the Herald on SundayPhotos courtesy of my friend Ellie who visited Nasa in 2003 and got up close and personal with the Mars Rover!
It has to be one of the more unusual job descriptions ever advertised: spend 18 months locked in a metal tank with five other people, eating vacuum-packed [...]

USBCell Rechargeable USB Batteries Review

THE PROBLEM WITH “P”

The stories in the Sunday papers about Millie Holmes’ problems with pure methamphetamine reminded me of Cyan Sunday, a feature screenplay I wrote very quickly a couple of years ago. The story is about an intelligent young woman, Charlotte White, who is also a very good P cook who has created a lucrative little business [...]

RISE OF THE ROBOTS

by Peter Griffin | Herald on Sunday
A pasty looking child was the centre of attention in Japan last week. He made faces, rolled around on the floor and barked out words. None of that would be too special were if not for the fact that CB2, as he’s called, is a robot.
CB2 has a biomimetic [...]

THE NEWTON FACTOR

Philip Baker, who worked on Apple’s Newton PDA device back in the early 1990s has an interesting blog post about the iPhone. The hype surrounding the new device which will be released on June 29, is reminiscent of that which greeted the Newton, says Baker. The Newton was killed by poor handwriting recognition. Ironically, Baker [...]

SEEBY WOODHOUSE ON HIS $24.3 MILLION SALE

Below is a Q&A interview with Orcon founder Seeby Woodhouse who this week sold his business to state-owned broadcasting network operator Kordia. Read what Seeby has to say about nuclear power, local loop unbundling and taking Orcon to $100 million in revenue…
PG: Congratulations on the sale to Kordia.
SW: Yeah, it’s the end of [...]

PALM’S BIG FUMBLE?

by Peter Griffin | from the Herald on Sunday
Remember the little gadget that seemingly started the whole mobile computing craze, the Palm Pilot?
It came out in 1996, had a grayscale screen, a measly 128KB of memory and no wireless connections.
But it had Graffiti – a clever handwriting recognition system that was very easy to use. [...]

Hot tip : Free emergency power (a must see video)

This is super! Now, you can charge your devices without the need of electricity!