A few months ago I created a Jobs forum on Geekzone to allow for some of our readers to exchange job information, post requests for specific skills, etc.
Of course it's no competition for the big job sites around, but it seems to be working ok for our community. We do have some of the job agencies posting some ads there - and why wouldn't they, it's free!
Anyway, after talking to the guys at JobX, New Zealand's newest site for job search, we decided to add a Job Search to Geekzone.
One of the first joint initiatives was their sponsorship at the Geekzone Pizza evening in Christchurch - by chance we selected a pizza place just next to their offices, so that helped too.
The Jobs forum is still active and I expect it to get busier every day, but I think the Job Search will bring an even bigger selection for you.
Good luck!
Retailers stung by credit card fraud
There is a new form of credit card fraud going around New Zealand. It involves customers using fraudulent cards made overseas that either, not linked to a bank account or the bank does not exist at all. They have been hitting retailers throughout New Zealand. Their modus operandi is to be friendly, chatty, well dressed as well as talking on a cellphone. Primarily they are of Asian decent, and use credit cards link to Asian banks.
The credit cards have all of the signs of being genuine, embossed numbers match front and back, signature matches for of ID (which is usually and passport) as well as the name matching. They always know what they are after, and do not mind mixing and matching goods if certain colours are not available.
The retailer will not know what has happened until they find that a few weeks later the funds are never transferred into their bank account.
They are confident enough to ask for goods to be put aside if their card declines, and then come back with a different card. Transactions can vary between just under $1000 to just under $2000.
Purchases can include Apple products, Playstation products and prepaid mobiles. To help ease the retailer into the suspicious looking sale, they will ask for a cheap mobile, stating that it is to be used as a spare. The perpetrators are usually Asian, and are dressed very well. They are usually using a high end cellphone to talk to their mates in a near by vehicle.
Optus introduces unlimited calling plans in Australia
Isn't competition in the mobile marketplace fantastic? It's a concept that unfortunately New Zealanders are missing out on due to the cosy duopoly that exists between our two mobile providers - Telecom New Zealand and Vodafone.
Optus have just launched unlimited "timeless" mobile plans into the Australian marketplace. For A$99 per month you get unlimited calling to other mobiles and landline phones in Australia as well as unlimited SMS and MMS messages. This $99 pack however isn't quite $99 - it requires the purchase of a A$14.95 mobile pack that gives you 200MB of included data.
For A$129 however you receive unlimited calling, SMS and MMS along with 2GB of data.
Now compare that to what you're paying in NZ. Competition really is a great thing.
Unleash your Vodafone iPhone
We all know the Vodafone iPhone is not SIM or network locked. You can purchase the handset outright, paying full price and just use it with a prepay SIM card or any other network's SIM card.
We also know that because of its current APN configuration it will only have voice and SMS on prepay. The current APN configured in the iPhone is not "visible" to prepay accounts.
But there's a very legal way around this. You can change the configuration on your iPhone by visiting UnlockIt - APN changer for iPhone.
The author LennonNZ has posted some UnlockIt statistics in our forums.
So many people benefited from it, and so little was paid back. I recommend you make a donation if you use the site to "unlock" your Vodafone iPhone.
I've had it up to there with Orcon
You can read the rest of my story on my WordPress blog, but the service these guys have given me is unbelievable, BAD that is.
This is my status for today for the rest follow my link below.
So if you read my previous blog you will know that our phone line died yesterday. So This afternoon I rang Orcon to find ut what is happening. I rang the 0800 number and selected landlines and waited for a response which came pretty quickly and I got a very polite response from Jamie who advised me that she had to pass me on to a different department because the other department was responsible for the port change. She also explained that the port change affected the landline and the broadband connection.
So off to another department and another woman who advised me that they were still waiting for a technician to advise the date when someone would do a port change!
I said “Are you telling me that I have no phone and that you can’t even tell me when someone will advise when they will look at it?” Correct, it might be this afternoon, they do work on Saturdays so someone might turn up then or, well they just don’t know because it is another department.
I asked if they would forward incoming phones to a mobile and they have agreed to do that, but why couldn’t they suggest that in the first place? Basically this now means that people can contact us without having to know our mobile numbers and without having to pay for the toll call, but it does also mean that we have to pay mobile call rates for the outgoing local calls, but at least we have communications.
But we have no idea when our home phone line wll be reconnected.
Since last night I have had 2 people come to me saying that they had been planning to move to Orcon and now won’t. Would you like to be in on a sweepstake as to when I will have a home phone line? Or perhaps hw many times my internet will disconnect today? Yes, funny isn’t it, I still have a Broadband connection at home even if I don’t have the phone. I just checked, so far my broadband has disconnected 18 times today.
Companies reinventing themselves: I am not sure I laugh or cry on this one...
Wow... Talk about a complete reinvention. I just read this press release and I can only think what a waste of investors' money from the start.
I am talking about Foldera, a company which started as a "developer of web-based organization and collaboration software" and now decided their market is really selling network switches.
I see this as an example of where all this "web-based" craze is going if people keep investing in good ideas with short sighted implementations. Too much money being thrown into companies with no vision, or trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist - or doing it in the wrong way.
I am posting this because I think it's relevant to a topic Ben posted today on "web 2.0 and monetisation".
Want more "fail"? Their new web-site, linked from the press release doesn't even exist yet:
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foldera, Inc. (OTCBB: FDRA), today unveiled the Company’s new strategy, management team, market thrust, name and capital structure by issuing the following letter to shareholders.
Dear Shareholder:
We are pleased to announce that Foldera has now successfully transitioned itself from being a developer of web-based organization and collaboration software. We have searched to find the right market, management team and product with which to take the Company forward and we would like to take this opportunity to outline the Company’s future plans.
New Strategic Direction
The Company’s principal market moving forward is with the core network infrastructure of the telephone companies, cable operators and wireless suppliers. The Company has recruited a new management team with a wealth of telecom infrastructure experience and who have already independently completed much of the software development for a High Speed, High Density Carrier Grade Ethernet Switch that will be the Company’s initial product launch. Along with our product development partners, we are continuing to develop the software and hardware in a closely integrated program that will result in timely implementation of the system using components that will exceed all carrier and prospective customer requirements.
There are other players attempting to enter these markets. Cisco Systems (CSCO), Juniper (JNPR), Force10, Alcatel-Lucent (ALA), Huawei, World Wide Packets and Foundry Networks (FDRY) clearly have well-established brand names and large customer bases. However, they also have legacy technologies and cannot re-launch into new markets with products that must be redesigned/re-architected and which would cannibalize their existing product lines. We will compete in the high density, carrier grade 10 Gigabit switch market with a switch that is both extensible and affordably scalable. This will present a ‘new standard’ in the market and the Company will be a ‘first mover’ in this segment.
The Company’s new technology will transform the Ethernet Switching market segment by developing and selling dramatically more cost-effective, scalable solutions for High Speed Ethernet switching with the industry’s first 288 10 Gigabit port Ethernet switch as our initial product launch at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas in April 2009.
Corporate Name Change
As is appropriate with this major change in the Company’s direction, we have decided to change the name of the business to CeCors, Inc., an acronym for Carrier Ethernet Core Switch and pronounced ‘SeaCores.’ This will become effective in the coming weeks as the Company’s legal name, registrations, trading symbol and marketing materials are changed.
Expanding Management Expertise
The CeCors executive team brings 100+ years of combined management experience in IT and communications technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing. The team has worked together and successfully led a number of liquidity events, such as mergers and acquisitions, as well as IPO’s.
As of July 18, 2008, Jim Fiedler, an experienced and respected leader in the telecom industry, with vast experience in running early and mid-stage telecom networking and services companies, has become Chairman, President and CEO of CeCors. His experience and contacts within the industry will provide exceptional leadership into the future.
Excuse me while I laugh here. Seriously, I think Ben Kepes should look into this and analyse it further because he's the SaaS guy.
The Windows Mojave experiment results
Yesterday I posted about Microsoft Windows Mojave, an experiement in perception.
A set of people were asked what they think is bad on Windows Vista during the Mojave Experiment. Their answers were recorded. They were then shown "Microsoft Windows Mojave", a new operating system that impressed everyone.
Microsoft then revealed "Windows Mojave" and "Windows Vista" are the same one.
I have just found out the full "Mojave Experiment" results will be available 29th July on The Mojave Experiment website.
The Dark Knight: Batman remodeled.
I took the opportunity to see "The Dark Knight" on saturday night, (in Reading Cinemas Gold Lounge)
and I have to admit, the hype is not totally misplaced, it is a stunning movie,
Heath Ledger truly played the part to a legendary level, the gadgets again are fantastic,
the sheer grittyness that was brough about made it all the more real, rather than having a fantastical approach, it gave it a realisticness lacking in many hero movies.
I'd love to write more but I'd hate to spoil it,
I think this movie will go down as a definite movie to watch.
SBS 2008 RC1 and EBS 2008 RC1 finalised (updated with all download links)
Last Friday, Microsoft finalised the code for the RC 1 (Release Candidate 1) prerelease versions of both Windows Small Business Server 2008, and Windows Essential Business Server 2008. See below for download links.Rumour has it that organis... (more in the full post)
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