Time to forget some of the week's woes and, once again, look at the lighter side of the
Net.
The George W. Dance
We don't see much online political satire here in New Zealand but it seems that
our US cousins have a real flair for this kind of thing. If you're reading this
from work you might want to turn down your speakers so the boss doesn't hear
the soundtrack.
Mutton Bone - The Inflatable Sheep Company
This time I think the American's might be poking more than a little fun at
the disproportionate ratio of sheep to bachelors here in New Zealand.
The Onion
One of the first and still one of the best online news-spoof sites -- filled
with news that never happened.
Are Telecom Feeling The Broadband Heat?
IDG reports that Telecom are almost ready to start trialing a slower
version of their JetStream DSL product -- perhaps indicating that Telecom
are worried about not having any reasonable presence at the bottom of
the broadband marketplace.
IHUG's Ultra
satellite and microwave-based hi-speed service certainly blows Telecom's
present JetStream offering out of the water when it comes to value for money
from a residential or small business perspective, and the growth of other
cable and wireless solutions also appears very strong.
I guess Telecom must also be concerned that it will have a large amount of
uncommitted bandwidth coming online with the commissioning of the Southern Cross
Cable shortly -- and unsold bandwidth generates no profits.
Unfortunately for Telecom, the number of areas in which DSL-based services
can be provide still remain disappointingly small. There are some people,
like myself, who will probably not see any kind of DSL service for at least
10 years (if ever).
However, if you're an urbanite in a relatively highly
populated middle-class or affluent area then it would appear that you're going
to be spoilt for choice soon as the various broadband providers continue to
roll out their coverage with increasing pace.
Russell Crow's Web Weirdness
This really deserves a mention in the "Lighten Up" section of today's
column but it's somehow just a little too weird!
The Australaisian actor Russell Crow is about to launch a
new website
(yawn) -- but he has, it appears, decided to do a real Hollywood by
including
pictures and comments on the recent surgery he underwent after
smacking up his shoulder while rehearsing for another (now canned) movie.
Why on earth anyone would want to share this experience with
the now high-flying actor is beyond me. At least it appears to have
achieved its objective of attracting media attention to a site that would
otherwise be just another collection of "hey look at me" webpages.
As always, your feedback is welcomed.
