$160 Million for a new Satellite Service, WTF Conroy?

admin —  January 6, 2010 — 5 Comments

ITWire:

The Rudd Government will spend $160 million over four years to provide satellite-based digital television services to people in regional blackspot areas, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said….

Under an agreement reached with television broadcasters, broadcasters would upgrade more than 100 existing regional analog ‘self-help’ transmission facilities to operate in digital, while the Government will fully fund and build a new digital satellite broadcasting service for regional viewers.

WTF Conroy? a new digital satellite service broadcasting primarily commercial channels?

Wait, isn’t there already a service that does that?

Wikipedia: Optus Aroura

Sure, it doesn’t offer all the digital channels, but according to Wikipedia, it’s a DIGITAL service.

Given the Optus satellites offer Foxtel digital channels, why exactly is a new satellite service needed? Why can’t you upgrade the existing one?

But better still: why is the Government subsidizing commercial TV in regional areas to begin with? After all, it’s not as though these areas can’t get pay TV to begin with. Wait, that’s the same satellites again…hmmm. Why not just subsidize a pay tv connection for those who want it (not that the idea is entirely fair), after all, it would probably be cheaper.

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Back In The Top 10 Australian Startups

admin —  January 4, 2010 — 2 Comments

When Kim Heras moved the Top 100 Australian startups to Younoodle, we completely disappeared, not helped by the fact that we didn’t even have a Younoodle listing.

New year and finally we’re back in the Top 10.

Top 100 Aussie Web Startups

In Web 2.0
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Finally Fixed The Site

admin —  January 4, 2010 — 2 Comments

Completely reinstalled WordPress here. The DB was the most fun: a full import borked the site again, so when with cutting and pasting the key tables from the SQL db into phpmyadmin, one at a time to check if they’d break the site or not.

comments seem to be working, although the template needs some work.

Either way, I no longer have to fear fighting WP every time I try to post here…which means more posting 🙂

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Lets Lay The Abbott Bias On Hard

admin —  December 8, 2009 — 5 Comments

I may not be the biggest Tony Abbott fan in the world, but likewise the coverage in the MSM of Abbott’s shadow cabinet appointments today was so bias as to be cringe worthy.

Yeah, remember that the MSM is suppose to report on facts?

So when I hear on nearly every news service that Abbott rewarded the conservative right, how is it that when you read the fine print you see names like:

Scott Morrison.
The member for Cook who only got there by shafting the actual preselected candidate on the basis of left wing interference from Liberal HQ in NSW?

Morrison is one of the leading left wingers in NSW. But he’s a newbie, maybe you can excuse that the media didn’t get that, and that Abbott claimed that he’s a rising star.

No, where there’s no excuse is on an old lefty: Phillip Ruddock, who also got elevated today. The MSM know that he’s no conservative, indeed he’s perhaps the most left wing parliamentary member of the Liberal Party, and has always been to the left of half of the ALP right.

There’s no excuse anymore, because the MSM in Australia has literally gone nuts in terms of bias now. Doesn’t matter where you sit, because EVERYONE knows about Ruddock, it’s old history. The media is perhaps now nothing more than a cheer squad for the ALP…well, perhaps they always were 😉

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On New Zealand

admin —  December 2, 2009 — 8 Comments

nz

You’re may well ask why just over a month since visiting New Zealand I’m writing this post now, but there is a perfectly good explanation: the site is still a little borked. No header, and when I post this post, the screen will go blank. But better late than never.

So last month I spent 3 days in New Zealand (left Melbourne Friday night, returned Monday night.) It was a short trip, but it was also the only length of time I could get the family away, and was the first trip overseas for my son and the soon to be ex-she who must be obeyed.

It was insanely cheap, as in < $1k rtn for the three of us flying Qantas. Accommodation was insanely cheap again, as in roughly AU$110 a night (x2) for the Hyatt Regency Auckland, and about $115 for the night in Rotarua. So we had 3 days. We hired a car at the airport (again, cheap vs Australia) and at 1am in the morning I drove in a foreign country from Auckland airport to the city, without GPS or iPhone. Yeah, we got lost in the city, but eventually I said bugger the data charges at turned on global data roaming on the iPhone. The Hyatt Regency Auckland was possibly one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in (only better was Burswood Casino in Perth.) Not so much the position, but the pure luxury of the place; you couldn't really ask for much more, and it was cheaper than a 3 star in Australia. The Saturday we left the hotel and had our first feed in NZ. A small cafe in the Auckland CBD we happened to come across. It wasn't that flash to look at, but by god the food was good. That was our first introduction to New Zealand bacon. It's like Australian short-back bacon but smaller. I'm not sure if they take it from smaller pigs or it's a slightly different cut, but it was the best bacon (not just here, we kept eating it while we were there) I've ever had. It's for lack of a better term sweet. We then drove out of Auckland to Rotarua, getting into town about 1pm. The drive was fine; roads are mostly very good, although the difference vs Australia is that the speed limits tend to be slower; there's no 60km/h and 110km/h speed limits, it's all 50km/h (even on major roads) or 100km/h. The signs are also very European in nature, something that was a theme in New Zealand: the country is in some ways far more British than Australia, well...except for their fast food outlets (they have Burger King and Wendys for example.) If you've ever seen Lord of the Rings, you'd get a rough idea of the majesty that is the New Zealand landscape. We were in the top of the North Island, and I'm told the further south you get, the better the scenery. But likewise I don't care. The thing I marveled at the whole drive down was how epically majestic the scenery was. I've been to many places in Australia, some of which are beautiful...but NZ is something different again. In Rotarua, we did the skyline thing, including one trip down on the concrete luge. The views were stunning, the food ok, and reasonably good value..well, except the trap they try to sell you with photos as you leave (we didn't fall for that.) Next was the free thermal public park as you drive in to Rotarua, which reaked of sulfur. I've seen nothing like it, and it was fascinating. skitched-20091202-174437.jpg

Next up was a big thermal pool place; it cost us maybe NZ$40ish to hire a private pool for 30 minutes, and it was worth every cent. Looking over the lake, just amazing, and the pool was something special.

skitched-20091202-174539.jpg

My only mistake was that we didn’t get a hotel with its own pools; at least 1/3 hotels in Rotarua offer that.

Dinner was cheap, helped by the AUD/ NZD exchange rate. The thing I’d note about NZ is that the prices are about the same (except petrol which was expensive..but not Diesel) in that prices were what you see in Australia in visual $ terms, except that you take roughly 17-20% off due to the exchange rate, which makes it cheap.

Next day breakfast on the way back up: some little town, random caffee…unbelievably amazing bacon again.

We took a detour to Te Awamutu to see the Finn Museum, but it was closed. Nick Hodge is to blame there,but likewise the diversion on the trip took us on a different route so we got to see more again.

skitched-20091202-174652.jpg

Back in Auckland in the afternoon. Lazed around,went for a swim. Took a walk around the harbor area, very nice, had a beer. Headed to the Skytower for dinner, food was reasonable, view amazing. Cost…ok.

Next day, last day, more bacon, more awesome. We started with a Harbour tour, again very nice, cost ok. Auckland Harbor is pretty, but maybe 2nd on the list after Sydney Harbor. Ticket included a free trip afterwards to Davenport, Aucklands oldest suburb.

Had to wait too long for the boat, so we drove. The trip north of the Auckland Harbor Bridge is like driving along the Kwinana Freeway in South Perth…but in a different direction.

The only disappointment on the whole trip was Davenport. It wasn’t that exciting. We ate Subway for lunch, and it was possibly the worst meal I’ve ever eaten (and I like Subway) we actually all threw most of it out.

After that it was to Mount Wellington, an extinct volcano. Amazing views, very pretty, and nothing like anything you see in Australia (well, the Mountain of the same name in Hobart comes close, but in Auckland, its smack bang in the middle of things.)

skitched-20091202-174810.jpg

Then back to the airport, and home.

Overall: the only thing I was sad about is that we weren’t there longer. New Zealand isn’t just a cheap country to visit, but an amazingly beautiful one. At every stage we felt welcomed, service was great, and the food better again.

Auckland was ok, but likewise it was just another city, but it a fairly pretty one. The key is to get out of the city area and take a look around.

Not sure if I could live there, but I can think of far worse places to live. I have to go back…and soon. I loved it, and can’t recommend it enough.

In domestic life
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Slippery Rudd Wins Again

admin —  November 27, 2009 — 7 Comments

With all the bruhaha over the Liberal Party meltdown, far too little attention is being given to what was a masterful stroke on the way to the thousand year censored Rudd Reich.

Rudd caused the issues in the Liberal Party, although at the same time, Turnbull was stupid enough to take the bait. By constantly hammering away at the Liberal Party, Rudd forced Turnbull to negotiate on the ETS, knowing full well what would eventually happen.

I may not like Rudd, but by god he’s a clever politician, and credit where due.

Turnbull should resign, not simply because he tried to railroad ETS support through the Liberal Party room, but because he even decided to negotiate to begin with.

Everyone knew there was divisions, and the stated policy previously was that the Libs would wait until after Copenhagen. But Turnbull couldn’t stand even the most basic pressure in the media from Rudd to force his hand, and caved quickly.

Despite his previous role as the head of the ARM, I don’t actually dislike Turnbull as a potential PM. He is most definitely smart, and well qualified to handle the finances of the country. But as a politician he has failed once again, and nothing will save him now.

The question though is can the Libs save anything coming into the next election?

I remember when Hockey was the NSW Young Liberal President (long term readers will know that I’m a former Liberal.) He would sell his sole for power then, and I have no doubt that he will now.

Tony Abbott…well, the positive is that he’s a man of his convictions, and although I don’t support all his convictions, I’d rather a leader or PM who stands by what he believes in vs sell them out at the drop of a hat.

But likewise Abbott suffers the same affliction that some in the NSW Right suffer: a contradiction between their economic and social policy. They believe in the market and small Government (well in theory, the only difference between Howard and Rudd on socialism is who gets the money, as opposed to not spending a lot of it at all), but likewise they seek to impose a Christian right view point on morals.

Of course the Liberal left is the rank opposite: they believe and support the nanny state, but likewise have a more libertarian view on social policy.

My problem has always been that I fit neither, and it was one of the reasons I was happy to quit the Liberal Party many years ago. I support the right on economics, but I support the left on social policy.

I shouldn’t have to make that choice, because both wings of the Liberal Party contradict each other. If you are for free markets, you should be for liberal social policy (because the idea of small Government should extend all policies.) If you believe in socialism, then perhaps you should believe in interfering in social policy.

There have been some smaller parties challenging the norm. The LDP, who I’ll always happily vote for, unfortunately seem destined to never gain a seat in Australia. The Pirate Party (of which I’m a provisional member) is a two issue party, but both issues fit nicely with my libertarian view of the world. Even the Sex Party is getting there…well, aside from their ridiculous policy that 50% of all seats in parliament should be for women. Don’t get me wrong, if 90% of parliament were women, I’d have no problem, but imposing quotas based on sex vs merit = epic fail and is indeed sexism in itself.

I’m nearly at the point that I might not take my next vote seriously. I’d say I’d dummy vote except that saying that is illegal in Australia (another travesty in itself.) All I see is gray when what we need is something better.

In Uncategorized
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LOL: We’re Apparently a Scrapper Site

admin —  November 23, 2009 — 3 Comments

There’s been lots of lulz following my reply to Media140 a couple of weeks back, but the best came from one person who claims that The Inquisitr is a scrapper site who copies and pastes content that isn’t our own.

Let me say up front that roughly 20-30% of our content (sometimes less) is most definitely copied and pasted.

But here’s the fact that is left off that allegation: we pay for that.

That is, we pay to syndicate content from AllHeadlineNews and Bang Showbiz.

Just like a standard newspaper pays to syndicate content from AAP, AFP, AP, Reuters or others.

Far from an issue that apparently calls The Inquisitr into some sort of doubt, those deals actually represent our maturity as an online news source, in that we happily pay to compliment our original content…just like Newspapers do.

Going forward, I also won’t rule out that we won’t sign more of these sorts of deals: it’s not as if they replace what we do in house (which drives most of the traffic), as opposed to compliment it (and particularly help us achieve most days 24/7 content.)

Naturally we’d love to bring on new writers, but likewise money is like a rollercoaster of late (not helped by the GFC): we have never booked a loss since December last year, but likewise some months are spectacular vs others.

The positive note is that going into December that November is on track to be our best month $ wise on record, be it not the best traffic month. Half time of year, half focus (particularly on tech.)

If some doubt me, ask our suppliers, or see our long standing text on the copyright page here

In Web 2.0
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It’s Your Jeckyl and Hyde ABC

admin —  November 19, 2009 — 4 Comments

One of the things that struck me at the Media140 conference in Sydney a couple of weeks ago is how all over the place the ABC is on new media.

That’s not necessarily a negative observation, because unlike some of the representatives of other media outlets there, at least some of them get it.

I’d embed the opening keynote from ABC director Mark Scott except that the Media140 conference’s idea of new media appears to extend only as far as streaming the event, as opposed to offering easy to find videos after it.

Scott was mostly impressive, well besides his section on widgets and his inability to understand the basic differences between links and content. Overall though, as much as I can take shots on points like that, credit where due because the ABC is actually trying new things and is willing to experiment.

There were others as well, but for every one who at least had some idea about new media and what it offered, there was as many again, primarily older journalists, who took the opportunity to simply bag everything new in favor of everything that was old. It was, as I said at the time, like watching Jurassic park, but without any cool CGI.

And this week I read that they’ve appointed one of the biggest critics on new media to run their new media opinion site. Yeah, that’s a smart move.

On the bright side at least there won’t be any traffic requirements or need to make money with the new site, because if there was I’d give it 3 weeks.

In Web 2.0
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Louis does a startup

admin —  November 13, 2009 — 9 Comments

The title is in jest, but credit where due: he’s done the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Giving up a steady income for the pursuit of something better is high risk, but when it works it’s high reward.

Louis Gray Grows Some Balls and Starts His Own Startup

In Web 2.0
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Nichenet Turns 10

admin —  November 13, 2009 — 5 Comments

Roughly 10 years ago (the exact date I don’t recall, except that I’m sure it was 99) I registered my first business name: Nichenet.

Two business name registrations later and Nichenet became Nichenet Pty Ltd in around late 2006-2007.

The name came about when I was asked to pitch for the design of a website. I couldn’t pitch as an individual, so I had to come up with a company name. I didn’t win the contract, although we were shortlisted.

I’m not overly superstitious, but I know of two superstitions: one is that horses with 7 letters in their name have a higher strike rate in Australian racing…it’s why so many horse names have 7 letters. The other one was that in China, 8 is considered lucky.

The latter won because nichenet has 8 letters.

It’s a name that I still don’t own the .com for, but none the less one that I’ve been happy to stick by over the years, because most of what I’ve done has been niche….hence the name

Time flies fast when you’re having fun, and I would never have thought in 99 that 10 years later that Nichenet would be the company behind a fairly successful blog and that I’ve been working online exclusively for nearly 5 years.

So far,so good.

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