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That Was Fun -- NOT 28 September 2000 Edition
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The power and phone are finally back on at Aardvark's castle -- and not before time.

It took 23 hours to get the power restored after it went off at 6:20pm on Monday -- but that alone is not so bad. After all, large areas of the upper North Island were affected and there are only so-many linemen available to fix such problems.

However, TransAlta have a lot to learn about liaising with their clients in such cases. Their fault line kept advising that the power was off in my area but that we could expect it back on within the hour. It was giving such optimistic reports for the first 12 hours and even when I rang them (on my cellphone) at 11am on Tuesday and spoke to a genuine human, I was told that "power should be restored by 10:30am this morning -- oh, that can't be right."

TransAlta -- just say "as soon as possible" -- disinformation is worse than no information -- it really is!
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I must also apologise if you're waiting for a reply to any email you may have sent me -- I now have a backlog of some 200 emails to wade through.

Someone Give The ASB A Kick
A reader has contacted Aardvark pointing out that the ASB Bank doesn't want its online customers using passwords that are too secure.

According to the FastNet help-desk, you can't use any non-alphanumeric characters in your password because "there are going to be changes to the URL" and such characters "could cause problems."

I suspect the help-desk operator was a little confused at this stage, but I must wonder why the bank's password algorithms can't cope with the odd dash, dot or exclamation mark.

Programming convenience before security? Is that a good idea?

Read This -- if you can
I'm always reluctant to criticise my direct competition in the online Net news industry -- so I must point out that the following is not a reflection of IDG's competence or abilities -- rather it is a damning indictment of the idiots who call themselves CM Research.

It seems that CM Research have been commissioned by IDG to conduct an online survey of IDG.Net.nz readers. Not a problem -- except that the web designers at CMR are somehow under the illusion that yellow text on a white background is both easy to read and sensible.

If it hasn't been fixed yet then here's the page, otherwise you'll find a screen-dump here.

Aussie Opposition Has The Right Idea?
Leader of the Australian opposition, Mr Beazley, says his party is giving serious consideration to boosting R&D tax concessions to 200 percent when it gets into power -- a move which would effectively give Aussie businesses a $2 tax credit for every $1 spent.

At present, Australian companies get a $1.25 tax credit for every $1 spent, this having recently been reduced from a previous 150% R&D tax credit.

In the face of this, and similar policies in the USA, it is little wonder that the amount spent by NZ's businesses on R&D is amongst the lowest in the world and those with the good ideas are queuing for outbound flights at the nearest international airport?

Hmmm... wouldn't it pose a conundrum for the government if someone came up with a new idea for tee-shirts that needed a little R&D? :-)

As always, your feedback is welcomed.

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The Day's Top News
4 = open in new window
New Zealand

4  TVNZ Explores IP Carrier Role
TVNZ Satellite Services will decide within the next six months whether it will actively compete in the telecommunications market as a carrier’s carrier for internet traffic...
NZ.Internet.com

4  E-commerce code of practice comes together
Initiatives to promote honesty among merchants and safety for consumers in e-commerce are coming to a head...
IDG NZ

4  High-tech firm censured for invalid prospectus
The Securities Commission has publicly censured Mt Maunganui technology company Inertialess Drive Corporation, despite being convinced that founder Ken Pedlar is "sincere about his product." ...
NZ Herald

Other

4  Carnivore Review Team Exposed!
The FBI's electronic surveillance system seems to have a hex on it all the way around. In the latest snafu, confidential info on a team hired to review the program is inadvertently exposed, thanks to an oversight by the Justice Department...
Wired

4  Webcasters Caught in RIAA Web
Think you want to webcast music? Think again. With the U.S. Copyright Office moving at a snail's pace, webcasters are finding dealings with the recording industry difficult...
Wired

4  New MSN feature encourages spamming friends
The latest test version of Microsoft's MSN Explorer is setting off sparks over a feature that converts MSN email accounts to Hotmail, as well as over an accompanying spam-like missive that encourages customers to send an advertisement-laden email to friends and colleagues...
CNet

4  Priceline shares go into a tailspin
Priceline.com, the Internet service that matches buyers and sellers of everything from airline tickets to cars, today saw its shares sink about 43 percent after it said its third-quarter revenues would fall short of Wall Street forecasts...
CNet

4  Devastating DDoS Attacks Loom
Computer security experts are taking a bite out of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, but more devastating attacks are on the horizon...
TechWeb

Australia

4  Websites told to stop showing Games clips
Ninemsn has joined a list of multimedia websites covering the Olympics that have received "cease and desist" e-mail from the International Olympic Committee's Web watchdog, Copyright Control Services...
Fairfax

4  Optus braces for major review
The second ranked telco has foreshadowed a possible downgrading of its presence in the consumer market...
Newswire

4  Eisa creditors consider Austar offer
EISA'S creditors will consider overnight whether to accept Austar's $13 million takeover bid for the shattered ISP, which would see them recoup 50c-70c in the dollar...
Australian IT

4  Bos sees VivaNET as way of tomorrow
Wayne Bos' Tomorrow yesterday swooped on struggling internet infrastructure provider VivaNET in a deal that could see the high-tech investment vehicle take a controlling stake...
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Other

4  Hacker's Dream Job Offered But No Hacker Need Apply
A British IT company launched an anti-hacking unit Wednesday but said some of the best qualified candidates -- the hackers -- need not apply...
Yahoo

4  Air Traffic Control Said Vulnerable to Hackers
The U.S. air traffic control system could be vulnerable to hackers because the federal regulators have failed to address pervasive weaknesses in its computer security programs, USA Today reported Wednesday, citing a new congressional report...
Yahoo

4  Internet Firm Reaches for the Sky
From a 7 1/2-acre site near Manassas Regional Airport, a Northern Virginia company is trying to free the Internet from its terrestrial roots...
Washington Post

4  Using Doorway Pages to Register .asp Web Sites
There are numerous high-powered .asp web sites in cyberspace, but many are not getting positioned into the major search engines...
ClickZ


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Copyright © 2000, Bruce Simpson, free republication rights available on request