In support of the internet blackout for creative freedom, NZS.com is amongst the thousands of New Zealand companies and personal internet users that are showing our support today in protest of Section 92A.
With a black banner on the NZS.com homepage, we’re joining the campaign against the proposed law which is set to disconnect any internet connection based on accusation of copyright, without any evidence. The final day of the week-long protest is today as the law is currently set to come into place on February 28 if successful.
If you have a website or social networking page we invite you to black out your avatars in support of the creative freedom foundation alongside NZS.com and a large proportion of Kiwi internet users worldwide.
Today the Creative Freedom NZ group launched their Internet Blackout campaign.
The New Zealand Internet Blackout is a protest against Section 92A of a proposed law that is described as calling for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without any trial and without any evidence that is held up to court scrutiny.
“A “copyright holder” can get you kicked off an ISP without having to provide any evidence of an actual infringement. Having to [provide evidence] is apparently “impractical” and “ridiculous” in the words of RIANZ chief executive Campbell Smith. What happens when the “you” above is a public library, or a school? Or if the “copyright holder” makes a mistake or a malicious accusation?” - ComputerWorld Magazine.
From February 16-23, users of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites are encouraged to replace their avatars with a black image to signify their opposition to S.92. The proposed new law if successful, will come into full force on February 28.
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.
Everyone’s looking at ways to cut costs at this time of year, especially on necessities like the design and printing of promotional products and materials. Did you know that you can custom design all of your marketing materials and anything for printing NZ online, all by yourself?
Making the expense of a graphic designer unnecessary, custom online design is easy for your business cards, postcards, calendars, promotional giveaways, t-shirts and almost any other marketing products you can think of. Instead of going to a small printer who will laboriously do everything on a small scale, custom online designing and printing means you get the benefits of fully-automated manufacturing: low prices.
Because everything is digital and fully automatic, you can have anything you custom design online printed in small quantities, meaning the big savings don’t just come with the big orders. You can choose from pre-made templates and images, or upload your own easily, and spend as much (or as little) time organising the design of your marketing materials as you like. You’re then just a few clicks away from having the printing process started for you and delivered to your door!
Debit cards are a reasonably new thing in New Zealand and are being pitched quite strongly as the answer to shopping online this holiday season. If you’re concerned about going over budget on the credit card, or you don’t yet have a credit card (and tend to borrow one off a parent or flatmate), a debit card may be the solution for you.
The Visa debit card from Westpac (called the DebitPlus Card) has been introduced as the best way to shop online and overseas when attaching to a New Zealand bank account.
Also launched this year is the Loaded Card, again from Visa and available through New Zealand Post’s new website, loadedcard.co.nz which is a re-loadable pre-paid Visa card. This card provides roughly the same benefits in shopping online as the DebitPlus, however it is not attached to a standard bank account.
Debit cards that can purchase online are the standard option in many countries overseas (e.g. in the UK with Maestro and Solo cards) although in New Zealand it was EFTPOS that took off from an early stage (which could not easily transact online).
With Christmas Day just four weeks away now, you’ve probably got your vacation destination in place and are counting down the days. Whether it be your new beach house in the Cormandel, your uncle’s fishing hut in Kaikoura or a rented holiday home in Invercargill, baches are quintessential to the Kiwi Christmas.
There’ll be one slight setback for the holidays - an unlikely chance of internet access! For those who don’t have mobile internet solutions, you’re probably pretty unlikely to encounter a broadband connection at your bach. Sure, the holidays are a time to relax and get away from the stresses of work and daily life - but more than a day without going online may be quite hard for the many of us who rely on the internet for personal e-mailing, banking, weather, maps, and entertainment guides.
Fear not, because you do have a low-cost solution, you can connect to dial up! Dial up internet access can be the perfect solution for those on holiday or in a temporary location. There aren’t any fussy routers or setup involved, all you need is a dial up account (which you can prepay by month), and a house with a connected phone line. Dial up may not be of the lightening speed that you’re used to, but it’s a great way to get online with no set up costs or contracts, and it certainly gets the jobs done that you need. Thinking about how you’re going to stay online this Christmas? For a cheap internet provider, dial up is the easiest and most convenient holiday internet solution.
If you manage a business located in New Zealand, you’ll generally be familiar with the Companies Office website. From July 1, 2008, it became mandatory to complete company administration online, which includes name reservations, company incorporations, annual returns and general company maintenance such as the appointment of directors.
In August the New Zealand Companies Office (www.companies.govt.nz) refreshed their website to;
“..reflect the ongoing commitment of the Companies Office to the provision of improved services and a lower cost of compliance..”
A major use of the website is research on New Zealand companies as many people include a Companies Register Search in their first step towards understanding the basic structure of a company in New Zealand.
Over time it is expected that the internet will become the predominant method for interacting with your government. Within New Zealand the e-government initiative is working towards this goal, acknowledging that people who have grown up in the online world have very different expectations of how they interact with governmental agencies.
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;
Proximity-based Marketing
Social Networking
Location-based Games
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.
We’re still three months out from Christmas, but that yuletide buzz has already started happening. Christmas shops are in full flock, twinkle lights blazing, and every local restaurant is advertising to obtain your business’ custom for your 2008 Xmas work do. Is it too early to be thinking about Santa, weekday barbecues and cold beer on the beach?
For the team at NZS.com, we can’t quite comprehend that summer break just yet - it’s a little to far away to get excited about. However, with long weekends such as Labour Day coming up, and a few annual leave days stacked up, we’ve all been thinking it’s a great time to plan a mini-break with some travel holiday deals somewhere around the country, and kickstart the summer holidays 2008 a little early.
Luckily, last minute accommodation and the internet go hand in hand, as there are several sites out there offering some of the best NZ hotel rooms at bargain prices - often just a fraction of the rack rates. Last minute New Zealand accommodation and hotel deals are easily found online these days, and are great for sporatic trips (this weekend, perhaps?) as they often just list the following four weeks of availability at thousands of accommodation providers NZ-wide on their sites. Booking with such short notice means you get the best possible accommodation deals, as hotels would rather have all of their rooms occupied, even at significantly reduced rates, than have them completely empty.
Fancy a couple of nights away over the next month to scratch that pre-Christmas itch? Find last minute accommodation deals within both New Zealand and worldwide anytime - that’s the beauty of being online!
Being a part of the global online community, we’re always keeping tabs on what is new and exciting in search engine optimisation at NZS.com. It seems like every week there’s a new way of doing things, a new keyword analysis resource from you-know-who.
We forget sometimes just how young SEO is, and how quickly optimisation fads and flutter in and out of popular use. It wasn’t too long ago when every at-home website developer was testing out every new SEO technique: from black text on black background keyword-laden pages, to irrelevant meta data keyword schemes focused on the hottest worldwide searches.
We’re a decade on from the emergence of these methods, but funnily enough they are still highly (and badly) used throughout the World Wide Web. What are the best SEO tools today? SEO companies will continually tell you that going back to the basics never goes awry. Unique content, cohesive page titling, targeted and concise keyword data, clean HTML, and of course, relevant inbound linking.
Set yourself a simple SEO formula for your website (and stick with that formula for every new page you create), and you’ll glide into top ranks and high conversions.
Everyone’s looking at ways to cut costs at this time of year, especially on necessities like the design and printing of promotional products and materials. Did you know that you can custom design all of your marketing materials and anything for 
We’re still three months out from Christmas, but that yuletide buzz has already started happening. Christmas shops are in full flock, twinkle lights blazing, and every local restaurant is advertising to obtain your business’ custom for your 2008 Xmas work do. Is it too early to be thinking about Santa, weekday barbecues and cold beer on the beach?
