New Zealand Search Blog

For racing fans the long awaited and much celebrated Melbourne Cup got underway at 5pm today with five New Zealand trained horses in this year’s field, including Daffodil, Capecover, Harris Tweed, Gallions Reach and Spin Around.

While 2008 Melbourne Cup winner Viewed shared the favourite’s tag along with Alcopop, the results were these:

Shocking took the win, paying $9.90, while Crime Scene took second place paying $10.80 and Mourilyan took third, paying $8.20.

No New Zealand trained horse has won the Cup since the Shiela Laxon trained Etheral won in 2001.

Here are the browser statistics for NZS.com over the month of October 2009.

The key trends that we’re seeing in this month’s NZ browser statistics;

• IE8 is now the most used browser on NZS.com with a 3% margin to IE7
• Internet Explorer has dropped by over 1% overall
• Firefox, Safari and Chrome are all gaining in popularity

This month Internet Explorer has dropped by over 1% with most of this drop related to IE6. Over the past few months Internet Explorer 6 has been decreasing rather slowly, but this month has seen it drop by over a percentage.

Is this due to the highly anticipated Windows 7 now being released? Could this be the IE6 killer that us web developers all long and hope for? We will have to wait and see, but next month’s stats could well tell us if there is any truth behind this theory.

This data is taken from Google Analytics on NZS.com over the month of October 2009. You can see more information on the number of visitors the data is sourced from on the NZS.com Statistics page.

InternetNZ, through Domain Name Commission Limited (DNC), is currently reviewing the existing Second Level Domains (2LD) policy.

This policy was last reviewed five years ago when public consultation was sought for comment on a number of issues including introducing registrations in .nz at the second level and the process for creating a new second level domain.

The review resulted in changes to the process of creating a new second level domain but did not introduce .nz registrations at the second level.

Since that review, three new second level domain name extensions have been added to the .nz space, including .bank.nz, .parliament.nz and .health.nz. All three of these new second level domains are moderated ones.

The 2LD Policy sets out the general rules regarding the structure of the .nz domain name space. The policy currently includes the list of open and moderated second level domains, defining the communities of interest reflected in the .nz 2LD structure, and the criteria for new 2LDs and the process undertaken upon application for a new open or moderated second level domain. It also includes the procedure for closing an existing 2LD.

The Domain Name Commission welcomes comment on any aspect of the policy, and submissions will be published here on the DNC website.

The current policy can be viewed online.

I came across a question on Linkedin today that is debated and thought it would be worth sharing one of the answers that was given.

The question (put a little simpler than the original one) was “How do I know the value of a domain?”

There were the standard responses to go and have a look at Sedo or Afternic but here’s the response from Charles Coxhead, VP of NetConcepts which I thought was some great (and honest) advice;

I’m not an expert by any stretch but I have sold some domains (as high as mid four figures) and have had lots of ‘offers’ for various domains over the years. In my experience…

Traditional domainers will value it based on the revenue potential as a parked domain, ie. based on the amount of type in traffic it sees. They’re probably only interested if it is a very high quality generic domain for which there is real search demand, which means there’s probably also some decent type in traffic.

Developers will value it based on their perceived value, ie. highly subjective. It all comes down to the negotiation and knowing what would you be prepared to part with it for. I’ve passed on some sales because I’ve felt the domain would be worth more to me in the longer term.

Keep in mind also that there are lots of scams around where people contact you pretending to be interested and then say that they want you to use a particular domain valuation company to assess the value…the rub being that they run the domain valuation business. Most domain valuation sites are a crock imho.

I’ve always started the discussion off by asking them to make any offer. They’ll typically come back and low ball it, to which you can reply saying it really needs to be in the XXXX range (the high end of what you want for it) before you’d be prepared to part with it, and see what happens then.

If you have a domain name and you’re trying to find out how to price your domain, following the advice above will get you a good step down the path.

In the end, the value of your domain will be quite subjective depending on the party that’s interested in buying it so keep that in mind…

Labour weekend is right around the corner, so if you’re looking to make the most of the long weekend make sure you jump online with House of Travel to book some great New Zealand travel deals.

It’s now easier than ever to compare the best prices and book NZ airfares online, especially with quick web tutorials to help you through the planning and payment steps if you need a little extra help with your New Zealand travel deals purchase.

And if you’re thinking of travelling locally this Labour weekend, check out our top selection of New Zealand destinations before booking your domestic flights NZ and New Zealand travel deals.

Craving high definition audio visual to complement your home theatre system?

Audio visual and entertainment technologies have come along way – particularly with the development of HDMI cables which reduce consumer confusion with their standardised connections.

Forget the once-common nightmare of hundreds of cords connecting your audio visual and home theatre. With HDMI you can easily connect televisions, audio visual, Blu-ray disc players, multimedia PCs, gaming systems, digital camcorders, and more.

To find out if your audio visual equipment is HDMI compatible or if you have any questions be sure to get in touch with your local home theatre distributor.

Techies and web hosting industry experts are at odds over the definition of ‘cloud computing’.

Earlier this month, Orcon announced the launch of a cloud computing service for small to medium businesses, claiming it was the first locally developed service in the New Zealand.

Cloud computing or hosting refers to scalable and virtual web hosting options, where servers, including virtual servers, were created and used ‘on demand’. This allowed customers the freedom to pay only for what they used, with added data storage capable of being added without needing new computer infrastructure.

Iconz chief executive Sean McDonald disputed Orcon’s claims and said his company entered the market in October 2008. Iconz did not specifically offer ‘cloud’ computing, but Mr McDonald said the service it provided was essentially the same thing.

He said ‘cloud’ computing or hosting was one of the buzz phrases currently receiving industry hype, but could be misinterpreted. He believed that one of the problems was that anyone with a reasonable size server could state they were a cloud provider.

Xero founder Rod Drury said local cloud services had been available in New Zealand since around 2000 from companies including Datacom and Abacom. He believed the trend would become more mainstream as broadband continued to develop and improve, but conceded the use of the term was also “probably a bit of cheeky marketing”.

Orcon spokesman Duncan Blair said the company was standing by claims and the definition of cloud computing as ‘dynamically scalable and virtual servers’.

If you’re a customisation geek, Google is offering to further satisfy your appetite for styley backgrounds even more with its newest range of Google Chrome themes

With Google Chrome themes from designers like Anna Sui, Donna Karen and Kate Spade (pictured), as well as a range of cool cartoon and pop culture inspired motifs to choose from, you can be sure your Chrome browser will never look less then geek-a-liciously gorgeous again.

Google Chrome is currently only for Windows Vista/XP SP3 users. A Mac-friendly version is said to be on the way.

Do you know your Firefox from your Safari? Your Chrome from your Opera? Do you know what web browser you use when you use the Internet?

A link was sent to me today to this cool little website, brought to us by ‘some folks at Google’. The back story is that when Google launched Chrome they did a survey in Times Square in New York, asking more than 50 passersby of different ages and backgrounds one seemingly simple question:

As you’ll see if you check out the video footage the results are pretty embarrassing, and the What Browser? website offers a quick snapshot and overview of what exactly a browser is for anyone too embarrassed to ask…

I’m happy to admit I actually learned a thing or two myself!

Pressure of finding a special gift getting too much? Choosing great NZ gifts is a cinch with New Zealand’s online design store.

Birthdays, engagements, weddings and housewarmings are just some of the occasions that pop up throughout the year, calling for a unique gift that some thought has gone into.

No-one wants to give the same old cliché presents when there is such a great selection of NZ gifts available, so let your imagination run wild, embrace the creativity of NZ design, and give gifts you know your family and friends will love.

From New Zealand jewellery to eco-friendly, ‘upcycled’ bags and artworks, NZ gifts proudly tap into the Kiwi spirit of creativity and innovation.

Why give a boring old voucher when you can give unique, locally –inspired NZ gifts?