.nz Registry Services (nzrs.net.nz) has recently launched the first open public keyserver in New Zealand (hat tip to Mauricio from Geekzone for the news).

The OpenPGP keyserver is available through pgp.net.nz and is part of a global network of servers where your OpenPGP keys will quickly replicate to if you update the NZ keyserver.

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a security tool used to sign, authenticate and encrypt emails to help secure them. If you’re interested in reading more about OpenPGP you can read more about through the Wikipedia PGP page.

John Key has announced this afternoon that the Government will scrap Section 92A out of the Copyright Amendment.

With an overwhelming bid of support in protest of Section 92A, it seems the black out worked like a charm. The proposed section of the Act, which was set to disconnect any internet connection based on accusation of copyright, will be rewritten from the ground up.

Noticed something a little different about NZS.com?

We’ve updated our look to make NZS.com easier on the eye, and more usable within your screen space.

NZS.com is now in fixed width format, making it viewable without scrolling across on a wider range of computer screens. The NZS.com design team have spent copious hours positioning the content within the directory pages to maximize the use of page space, meaning users get the most information in the clearest format possible upon page entry. This content reformat has also been keyed with a modern new font, increasing text visibility.

The result of this contributes to the overall sleek new look of the NZS.com homepage and all of the other category and feature pages. We’re determined to make New Zealand search the easiest and most efficient for you, enjoy our brand new look!

Over 2008 there was a lot of talk about the now infamous Mac adverts poking fun at PC’s.

In direct retaliation, Microsoft hit back with their “I’m a PC” advertising campaign supported by the imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com website.

So, were you a Mac or a PC over 2008?

NZS.com viewers were predominantly PC’s with the operating systems used to browser NZS.com showing 92.2% Windows, 6.6% Mac users and 1% Linux. The remainder is taken up by operating systems outside of the desktop variety like the iPod, PS3, PSP & iPhone.

For the first month since browser statistics tracking began, the internet browser Mozilla Firefox (often much favoured for its tabbed browsing, add-ons, security and stability) claimed over a 20% market share for net browsers at the end of 2008.

Mozilla remains the second most popular internet browser behind Internet Explorer, the current market leader by a long way with a 69.77% worldwide share. Apple’s Safari captures 7.13% of the market while other browsers Google Chrome, Opera and Netscape each have less than 1% shares.

Mozilla is toting this as a milestone for them as competitors for the big boys Microsoft. “It’s a huge achievement, one a few years ago most would have considered impossible” said Mozilla CEO John Lilly. “The open web is more vibrant than ever, and the thousands of Mozilla contributors around the world have played a major role in making it that way”.

Steve Ballmer from Microsoft has helped to launch the Consumer Electronics Show in the US today by announcing that this week a public beta of Windows 7 will be released and available for download.

Windows 7 beta is being pitched as a faster and easier operating system that has followed many years of user feedback. Microsoft already have a What’s New on Windows 7 mini-site with teasers on the functionality available in the new operating system.

Some of the features include an improved taskbar, JumpLists (essentially recent document lists), improved dragging and movement of windows, Internet Explorer 8 (currently in Beta 2), better device management by grouping all devices on one page, and a simpler system for wireless networking at home called HomeGroup.

Hot off the press, news has just gone out that the latest Window operating system will not be called Vista, XP or something else emotive, but purely: Windows 7.

The seventh release of Windows has decided not to take on an aspirational name as its roots are firmly ground in Vista, while refining and evolving substantial upgrades to the platform technology development.

There is no immediate word yet on a release date.

Courtesy of GeoSmart, the Local Innovation Awards have been launched today (thanks to Geekzone for the tip).

Starting from today and open until mid-February, developers can submit both concepts as well as developments of location-based applications specifically for mobile phones or mobile devices.

There are four category prizes available;

1. Proximity-based Marketing
2. Social Networking
3. Location-based Games
4. AA Maps Widget

Each of the category winners above will win a variety of mobile devices.

The overall winner, selected from one of the four category winners and announced at the Wireless and Broadband Forum’s Convergence 2009, will receive a trip to the San Jose “Where 2.0″ conference in May 2009 including flights, accommodation and registration fees.

If you’re a developer and are interested in building something for the awards you can find more information in the GeoSmart SmartFind Development Center.

Begin??? The spring time change is near, and it has probably popped into your mind over the last few weeks.. when does daylight savings start?

The answer to your question is next Sunday, September 28, when 2am becomes 3am.

We first experienced the much appreciated extended daylight savings (an extra three weeks!) last September, amidst a little confusion from many of our computers. While we’re all hoping these issues have been fixed this time around, make sure you read up on the background of how your computer and daylight savings interact, and what you may still need to do manually.

Bring on the 27 coming weeks of extended daylight! For more info on stat holidays in New Zealand and when they begin (daylight savings signifies the beginning of the public holiday season!), check out the article on NZS.com.

You’ve probably seen it before, that heart jolting computer monitor sight: the Blue Screen of Death. The Blue Screen (BSoD) message can pop up on computers running Windows operating systems letting a user know that a problem has been detected, and Windows will be shut down – often loosing data and anything a user is working on.

The BSoD is a common poke by techies at Microsoft’s bug-prone systems, so you may be asking yourself, why are the words BSoD and Olympics popping up together today on message boards and forums worldwide?

Yet another opening ceremony flaw has retrospectively come to light today: a projected image of the BSoD onto the roof of the Bird’s Nest stadium while veteran Chinese gymnast Li Ning was suspended on his way up to light the Olympic flame.

Images of the malfunction message have popped up on Chinese websites early this morning, and news of yet another opening ceremony mishap has spread like wild fire. This news comes in just hours after last night’s lip synching revelation, and yesterday’s fake fireworks drama.

What is in store for us tomorrow? Check back to the NZS.com blog for Olympic Games 2008 updates.

Image from Flickr.