Tag archive for ‘New Zealand’ at bioneural.net

Tag archive for 'New Zealand'

An OS X player for More FM Wellington

Published by Bruce on April 4, 2009 in Mac. 0 responses

Good radio stations can be hard to come by. My personal preference is for a mix of older and contemporary tracks, with a healthy dose of variety but nothing too far outside mainstream. One such radio station is Wellington's More FM, to which you can listen live using your web browser. I'm not keen on Internet radio delivered via a browser window because I usually end up closing the tab/ window by mistake! This Saturday morning project produced an OS X app to keep in the Dock for when the urge to listen to More FM strikes; it opens a network stream and commences automatic playback, using either of the VLC or QuickTime players.
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New Zealand tipping over the edge?

Published by Bruce on August 19, 2008 in New Zealand. 1 response

Are New Zealanders, the People on the Edge of the World, about to tip off the edge and into cultural homogeneity with the United States? I was surprised to read in The New Zealand Herald that the a new edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide is advising visitors to leave a tip of about 10% for good service. Tipping was not part of the culture when I was growing up, and nor was it an overt practice during my last stint at home during 2006–2007. It would be unfortunate if visitors to Godzone came with the expectation that they had to pay over and above the advertized price.
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Australians consider invading New Zealand

Published by Bruce on July 10, 2008 in Quicklinks. 2 responses

But how would they sell the idea to the Aussie populace? These two marketing campaigns are worth a watch, and earned a mention in the New Zealand Herald. Do many Kiwis know there is provision in the Australian constitution for NZ to become a State of the Commonwealth? Watch out Ockers, we have bioweapons and these guys are good in a fight too.

iPhone ringtone for homesick Kiwis

Published by Bruce on May 10, 2008 in Quicklinks. 0 responses

Thanks to the kind folk at Kiwibank, and in preparation for the imminent official arrival of the iPhone in New Zealand, Kiwis can now set a whistled version of God Defend New Zealand as their ringtone. You can download it or preview it here. I've also updated my Kiwi icons iPhone wallpaper set to include a kiwifruit and koru.

iPhone wallpapers for homesick Kiwis

Published by Bruce on April 18, 2008 in New Zealand. 2 responses

Everyone loves customizing new toys and making wallpapers for your phone is probably one of the easier ways to do it (a lot easier, for example, than trying to find an inexpensive yet good-looking protective case!). I took a selection of images from Project Koru are turned them into three thematic wallpaper sets for my iPhone using this great Photoshop template.
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New Zealand progressive on fair use laws

Published by Bruce on April 11, 2008 in New Zealand. 0 responses

As reported by Ars Technica, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a bill on 8 April 2008 reforming copyright law for the "digital age". Most netizens even outside the US will have come across the American DMCA: any mention seems tainted by the taste of bile. The DMCA criminalises circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) technologies and access controls—many folk argue at the expense of "fair use". Do the NZ reforms provide workable compromise?
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