The Truth in Advertising

Some bits sound like meetings I attended... Other bits sound like exactly what I expect "Big Telco" would be talking when creating a campaign for their new JesusPhone offering...

Warning: some heavy NSFW language. But worth watching the whole thing.

Read More

Ingredients:

1x E4800 2.4GHz C2D workstation w/4GB RAM, 250GB HDD ~$1000NZD (It does some other tasks too)

2x Logitech Z2300 THX Cert 400w RMS 2.1 speakers ~$200NZDea (Director + IT Guy)

1x Logitech Z4 2.1 ~$70NZD (Reception)

1x ... (more in the full post)

Read More

How about Blogging isn't for cowards? Or maybe Linda's other big day off? A funny thing happened on the way home? Playing good samaritan has it's spinoffs?

This is really hard for me to publish, but what the ...  Close your eyes, Linda, hold your breath and jump!
Ok, here goes...  Oh, yeas, and I have sat on it for nearly a week...

Well, thanks to Our English Lass, who is still in one piece, I have a few Tuesday's off until she becomes Mother and Child. Having just had a week off the Monday-itis was massive yesterday, so I gratefully took her suggestion and had the day off.

Popped off to best friend's house, put in my Avon order. Stunning stuff really, and not worth blogging about, I know.

Came home with a piece of chockie on my tummy, feeling good about the lippies she gave me. Did a u-turn before getting home and went off to see Junior's mate who is about to turn sixteen. Thought I might buy him a pair of shoes for his birthday so he thinks he's got his pressy and gets a bit of a surprise with the rest of it.

Knock on door. Door opens. In walks Linda. Hello D, would you like me to buy you some shoes for your birthday? Oh, you already have new shoes? Excellent. What, that pair down there, next to the pair of shoes that belongs to Junior?

Uh, didn't I drop Junior off at school this morning and wasn't he wearing those shoes?

Junior!!! I call several times... Where is he, D? In your bedroom hiding behind your chest of drawers? Come here you gutless wonder.

D seems to think that last bit is funny. Right about that time I am starting to feel sick. He emerges. Finally. The Emergent Kid.

Put those shoes on. (They could not have been any more obvious if they were painted yellow with flashing signs anouncing Truanter This Way...) Get in the car.

Where are we going, asks Junior. I stop outside hubbie's place of work. In here. We are going to see your father.

Now comes the begging...

Please don't tell Dad. Please don't tell Dad. Please don't tell Dad... etc etc etc. All in incredible monotone.

Get inside, anounce to Junior - You tell him. I sit down and wait for it...

And of course, the upshot of it is that, yet again, I have to go to the school and enquire as to WHY he is not at school and we have not been informed...

Now, Don't know if I told you this, but the dean in charge of dear darling Junior was going to put him on a principals report. Yesterday, I assumed. Get him some counselling. Plus careers help, so that we can pull him out in Sptember, on his 16th birthday if things don't go well...

Dean not available, see his form overlord. Thingy, whatever he is called. Adviser? Deputy or assistant principal?

Oh, he knew Junior was going onto a principal's report at sometime... No, the normal thing is to wait until a child is away three days in a row before contacting the parents/carers. Oh, really, away seven schooldays in a row last thing last term? And not here yesterday or until now today? Doesn't that make it NINE days? Isn't the advice that he is not there overdue by three times?

Find the head counsellor. That in itself was a miracle in a school this size. We see the counsellor together.

Guess what? We don't look like a happy family... Being sanguine, of course, it is the ultimate insult. Happy? I hate being asked that question. I was happy until you asked me... Strange, I know. And not very condusive to a good chat with the school counsellor. Hmm, my Mum never even got to see my counsellor, so I suppose I am doing well. (Well, what else do you do when your student's Mother turns up with the truant in hand. Apart from sack the paid truancy officer? Wait till I find him...)

So, why should junior stay at school, or even be there in the first place? For the first time in a long while it Is All About Him. He's not going to get a job just on his good looks. Unless.... Nah....

See, I have to push through here. I have been sick to my stomach this morning, I am still reeling and ready to crawl into a hole called mental illness, resign from the noble sisterhood of motherhood, whatever... But in the end, it's all about Junior.

I sit there in front of him and tell his counsellor (who probably hasn't seen all Junior's notes) that he has Asperger's syndrome, ADHD and a few more things to boot. That he didn't learn to read until he was ten years and nine months old, and then he taught himself on footrot flats books... That we have had an uphill battle right from the start. He didn't even talk until he was four, and then there were his muscular problems....

If I don't fight for my child, who will? Like a Paul Coleman song, not good enough for ... not bad enough for... Not good enough to just walk out there and take the world by storm, even if he does stand there and shake his fist at it with his opposition defiance disorder... Not bad enough to get the help he has always needed.

If I don't fight for my child, what will become of him? My heroes are the parents of the young lady with Down's Syndrome who stuck out the fight and saw her achieve her NZqa's or whatever, in a normal school and normal classes. But they were teachers, and knew how to fight.

I have given this school ample opportunity to teach my son, and was determined to make them do it, too, but they had time on their side. All they had to do was sit back and do nothing. And I am the baddy who has failed, who has allowed their son to become a truant, who could make him go to school (haha) but couldn't make him learn. Couldn't make him excited, or at least stop him from getting bored....

Well, the fight isn't over yet, and I am just going to get off my butt and run again. Go to aquarobics in the freezing cold, push my body to the limits, sore back and all. Keep my mental wits about me.

And as a Christian, I can say, to myself if not to you -  'having done all, to stand'.  (Ephesians 6:13)  Or my favourite - 'Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:  For the LORD upholds him with His hand.' (Psalm 37 verse 24, and it's a ripper of a psalm in all it's total.  Must go and read it up now.  TTFN)

Read More

A backdoor in Skype?

It has long been speculated that there might be a backdoor built into Skype, something that would allow Skype (the company) or the police to easily monitor Skype conversations. Skype is closed software and can therefore ... (more in the full post)

Read More

Isn't that incredible that Telecom New Zealand can charge my mobile data usage every month but it can't provide a simple way, other then calling their help desk every day, to follow my usage?

They are able to put a $$$ amount in my monthly bill, but I can't find my usage in data terms (megabytes or gigabytes) anywhere on the invoice or on-line.

They use a very cryptic "data calls" unit that means nothing to me.

Telecom New Zealand makes it really hard for me to control my usage. And they charge dearly if I go over my limits.

Vodafone is a bit better in this area, but their on-line meter is frequently outdated or incorrect according to discussions in our forums.

In Australia the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a warn to consumers regarding mobile data usage.

What about here? TUANZ? Commerce Commission? Anyone awake and aware that we have overpriced data plans?

Read More

Every year robots get a little more capable. In Japan where there has been a short supply of security guards they've built security robots to patrols malls at night.

Now Microsoft are showing off there latest foray in robotics with a new rec... (more in the full post)

Read More

I have been watching this a few times as so much of it makes scene. I like how he displays a learning system, that with time/more samples it get better. I found this inspiring in regards to some concepts I have been learning, regarding the design of expert systems for (tag cloud)/categorisation development of forums.

Read More

Significant competitive move from VMware to counter the threat of Microsoft Hyper-V . . . not that 3i was expensive before, but this price is certainly better :) This is part of a new strategy kicking in after co-founder Diane Greene's departure. ex-Microsoft exec Paul Maritz is running the show now.

Read more in this article at Redmond Channel mag.

Read More

Cool, it's that time of the year again when the IBM Forum is on. I've attended previous events and it's always an interesting day.

Here's a bit about this event:

IBM Forum 2008 focuses on Sustainable Innovation, starting with the keynote, Ray Avery, a kiwi scientist and entrepreneur; founder CEO of Medicine Mondiale. Ray is developing sustainable products and technologies for world markets, such as his latest invention “Proteinforte”. Ray will be talking about global opportunities for high tech innovation in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Also on the agenda, Edward Orange, Director of Lotus Software of IBM Asia Pacific, will be talking about Web 2.0 and how it can be leveraged by enterprises of all sizes to help revolutionise the way they conduct business, help employees collaborate more effectively and enhance their client outreach.

The agenda also features a session on 'Co-Web: re-mixing audio and video collaboration in the next generation of the Internet’ and ‘Demystifying SOA - driving business agility with service orientated business applications’, as well as insights into the latest advances in strategy and technology; customer stories and interactive demonstrations.

The full day event is happening in Wellington (11th August, Michael Fowler Centre), Auckland (14th August, Hyatt Hotel) and Christchurch (19th August, Convention Centre).

Registrations are open now.

Read More

So you complain about Windows Vista but actually never used it? Maybe what you need is Microsoft Windows Mojave.

In summary, a set of people were asked what they think is bad on Windows Vista. Their answers were recorded.  They were then shown "Microsoft Windows Mojave".

One of the subjects in the study even said "Wow", the word Microsoft used in the "The wow starts now" campaign for Windows Vista.

Microsoft then revealed "Windows Mojave" and "Windows Vista" are the same one.

I know a lot of Linux and Mac OS X users who bash Windows Vista without ever having touch a computer running the OS. How can they "know" so much? Or perhaps they don't.

Isn't this a big perception problem?

All the details here.

UPDATE: The Mojave Experiment results are coming on-line!

Read More