Editorial
Nobody Loves Me -- But I Don't Care ;-)
It's a good thing that I'm about as sensitive as a large rock -- or I'd likely
be worried by the fact that Telecom recently put on a bit of a junket for
the country's info-journalists and flew them all down to Wellington for
a day.
Tea, biscuits, and a little brainwashing -- all in the hope that the "misunderstandings"
that have surrounded various issues such as the 0867 Net-access system
could be "clarified".
Of course I guess they figured that I was a lost cause and not worth
wasting their efforts on re-educating because I never saw the remotest
hint of a free ticket -- or even a left-over scone headed this way. After
all, why else would they leave out a representative of NZ's most widely read
online Net-industry news site?
Still -- I like to think that this assists me in remaining objective -- although
some would argue that my "shoot from the hip" style has always been anything
but objective.
Which brings me to another reason for today's column. Poor old Russell Brown
got a bit miffed at my comments in
Monday's column where I suggested that
there was perhaps a lack of objectivity in IDG's coverage of some recent
e-commerce website launches. Well perhaps I did overstate the matter a little,
but hey I stand by my claims that IDG seems overly keen to publish the
spin that these companies ooze -- without actually checking to see just how
far it is from the reality.
I suspect that Russell and I were made from opposite halves of the same
mold and will seldom agree on very much -- which is as it should be if
we're going to see an overall balance in this industry.
Laugh Of The Week
I was doing a quick bit of Christmas shopping on the weekend and was accosted
by a young woman slapping flyers for the Telecom XTRA christmas gift package
under the windscreen wipers of cars in the carpark.
"No Thanks" I said when she tried to litter my car.
"Are you on the Net?" she asked.
"Yes thanks" I said, "and you?"
"Yeah" she replied.
"Do YOU use XTRA?" I queried.
"Hell no!" she said.
I guess she'll never make a used car salesman but my hat goes off to her
for her honesty.
Survey Of The Week
What is the Net/Computer/Geek gift YOU would most like to receive if someone
was spending $200 or less on you?
Answers on the front of a
contact form please.
General News & Current Events:
TODAY'S KEY NET-NEWS HEADLINES
NZSE under fire over net royalties
New Zealand Stock Exchange rules are hampering internet-based trading and inhibiting the
market's liquidity, say online advocates...
NZ Herald
Sausage moves into auction technology
Internet software developer Sausage Software has acquired the rights
to use and customise the auction technology of America's Auction &
Sales Inc...
Fairfax
Waiting for Crypto
The Clinton administration delays the
release of new rules on crypto for another
month. But the new draft falls far short of
the promises made to the tech industry...
Wired
News Is Fit to Click and Print
The number of people who get their news
online is growing, but most still read
ink-and-paper versions, too...
Wired
RealNetworks attempts satellite video delivery for Net
The software maker and Societe Europeenne des Satellites will test video delivery via
SES's Astra satellite system in a bid to offer Internet delivery faster than that
available over copper phone lines...
CNet
Microsoft, Netscape facing browser bugs
The companies are again facing a swarm of browser bugs with potentially serious
privacy and security implications...
CNet
Protest group out to 'destroy' eToys
A protest group calling for the destruction of online
toy seller eToys said it already has hackers working
on ways to interfere with site traffic counts and the
toy seller's server operations...
ZDNN
Lycos searches for a sticky solution
The problem with most Web portals is
that in trying to be all things to all people they
suffer from what analysts call “being a mile wide
and a foot deep.” And Lycos, the third-largest
portal, has suffered from this more than most...
MSNBC
British-Australian information service hacked
The official information website of the British Foreign and
Commonwealth Service in Australia was forced to pull its front page
off the Internet after it was defaced by a hacker...
Fairfax
What's in a name? Try $386.7m
Melbourne IT's shares almost quadrupled in value today on the first
day of the domain name registrar's listing on the Australian Stock
Exchange
Fairfax
More Domainz News
27 August 99
