Internet technology is now bringing online music classes to students around New Zealand who otherwise would be without music tuition. Through online video conferencing, kids in remote New Zealand locations, such as the Chatham Islands and the West Coast, can now learn from tutors online.
Merryn Dunmill, project director at the Christchurch School of Music, said the classes would be available to about 50 children and was aimed at low-decile schools in remote areas of New Zealand.
Virtual lessons are supported by emails, texts and blog posts - students are also encouraged to watch their music lessons online to see areas for improvement. Mark Walton, director of the Christchurch School of Music, has been offering online lessons in New Zealand and Australia for ten years. He says it’s great to be able to teach music online - music lessons are “a way of opening up a new world” for Kiwi kids.
A chance to let your special person know they’re special. An excuse to send a Valentine to your secret crush. An opportunity to find the love of your life. However you celebrate Valentine’s Day, there’s plenty to organise. We can help. For Valentines Day conundrums and queries, take a look at our handy guides:
Valentines Day dating - Taking someone out for a romantic Valentines date is the perfect way to get to know a potential mate or share some time with your love.
Valentines Day flowers - Let flowers speak for you with classic red roses or a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Valentines Day gifts - Shop smart for your loved one, choosing from top gifts for him and her.
Valentines Day dinner - Share a romantic dinner at a local restaurant or cook up a stay-at-home feast for two.
Valentines Day history - The day of love celebrates the life of a Saint who was put to death for performing marriage ceremonies!
Embrace the day, and get some love and romance into your life this Valentine’s Day.
If you’re one of the many who have been waiting impatiently for mobile Internet to take off, you’ll be excited by the news that (after much investment and talk) wireless broadband Internet services are finally coming of age.
Combining the Internet with mobile technology can now deliver a high speed - and high quality - wireless Internet service. This technology lets you browse the internet on your mobile, with the same ease and speed at which you’d surf the Web from your PC at home. Check your emails, download songs and ringtones, play online games, read news online…
The question is: Who will make the most of this opportunity in the global market? Which giant (take your pick from Google, Microsoft, Apple and Nokia) will be dominant? And will there soon be fierce competition in the New Zealand market?
The Gphone - a phone built on a Google open software platform - will allow the Internet heavyweight to extend the power of its online advertising into the mobile realm. Mobile phone giant, Nokia, is expected to introduce mobile Internet services for ‘entertainment on the run’ - from music and video sharing to gaming. Yahoo is pushing to refine its mobile search technology and team up with a telco operator.
Mobile Internet technology was top of the agenda at the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona this week, where Telstra Australia emerged as a downunder forward-thinking telecommunications company. Faced with dropping market share and flat revenue, Telstra’s focus has shifted to mobile broadband capabilities. Download speeds of 21 Mbps (megabits per second) are planned for later this year, with faster 42 Mbps speeds from 2009.
And while there are currently few mobile phone devices on the market that can support the new technology, launching the A$1.1 billion Next G wireless high speed Internet service places them at the cutting edge - this is a gamble that will surely pay off. Look to Telecom and other New Zealand providers to take similar steps forward in the sphere of mobile phone technology this year.
In recent days, the publication of graphic whaling photos showing the reality of Japanese whale hunting has outraged the international community and added fuel to the anti-whaling campaign.
Video footage and photograph stills of two dead whales - claimed by some to be mother and calf - have circulated throughout the world. The images were captured by the Oceanic Viking, an Australian ship sent to make a visual record of Japanese whaling activity. The photographs will be used as evidence in planned legal action by the Australian Government, in a bid to stop illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean.
Greenpeace Japan’s website has been inundated with thousands of visits every day from Japanese citizens questioning the need for whale hunting - either for scientific research or as a source of food. While Japanese whalers claim the images of whale slaughter are all part of the anti-whaling campaign’s “emotional propaganda”, the footage has reignited the issue of whaling and triggered outrage around the world.
Mark Rocket, an ardent anti-whaling supporter, said:
Whaling has to stop. For the Japanese whaling establishment to say that they are killing thousands of whales for research is a blatant lie. It is clear to everyone that they are processing these whales for food… because whale meat is openly sold! Do they also want to kill thousands of Japanese cranes or snow monkeys to ‘research’ them?
Whales are protected by a 1986 moratorium; since then, Japan has used a ’scientific research’ loophole to justify the slaughter of thousands of endangered whales. This year, Japanese whaling was halted for 14 days when the Esperanza, a Greenpeace vessel, pursued the Nisshin Maru whaling fleet and brought worldwide attention to Japanese whaling activity. For the first time, media coverage and public debate on the issue is being openly aired in Japan, forcing Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda to raise the issue in Parliament.
Will it be enough to save the whales? To show your support, sign the Dominion Post’s anti-whaling petition or become a Greenpeace Whale Defender.
Flight of the Conchords - two of our best known (and funniest) comic ambassadors - have won a prestigious Grammy award for their EP, The Distant Future.
For those not familiar with this quirky musical duo, Flight of the Conchords is the comedy-child of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. As well as being stand-up comedy musicians (a hard act to pull off), the two stars have created their own self-titled television series, which is now into its second season - due on our screens later this year.
The Distant Future features original songs, each a classic in its own right. You’ll laugh out loud at their clever lyrics and dead-pan parodies - and set your player to repeat. Listen out for the heartfelt ‘Beautiful Girl’ (”you are the most beautiful girl in the room”) and the heartbroken ‘I’m Not Crying’ (”these aren’t tears, it’s just been raining on my face”).
Released in August last year, the Distant Future was just a taster of more to come - in the words of one reviewer, a tidbit “to satisfy the group’s growing rabid fan base” while a more substantial offering was recorded. A full-length album is due for release in the United States on 22 April. Until then, you’ll have to get your fix of offbeat comedy and alt-folk tunes by buying the award-winning Flight of the Conchords EP.
The annual Coast to Coast race was first organised in 1983 by New Zealand athlete Robin Judkins. The inaugural race involved a respectable 79 competitors - a number dwarfed by the 800 participants in the 2008 Coast to Coast event.
Individuals and two-person teams can take part in the endurance multisport event, competing over one or two days to claim the top spot in what has become known as one of the best adventure races internationally.
Are you ready for this? You’ll need to get in a few months of Coast to Coast personal training so you’re prepared to cross the South Island from Kumara Beach on the West Coast of the South Island to Sumner Beach in Christchurch. The race involves cycling 140 kilometres (over three stages of 55km, 15km and 70km), running 36 kilometres (including 33km of mountainous terrain as you traverse the Southern Alps) and kayaking 67 kilometrees along the Waimakariri Gorge. Phew.
Nelson born Richard Ussher was the overall winner, finishing the race in 11 hours, 3 minutes in what he describes as a “close to perfect” race. The result was exactly what the professional athlete was looking for, after a disappointing 10th place finish in 2007. Ussher has had two earlier first place wins.
First place was taken in the women’s race by Canadian Emily Miazga, who also claimed the win two years ago. In one of the closest victories in the race’s history, Miazga overtook defending champ Fleur Pawsey just 2km from the Sumner finish line. After claiming first place with a whoop, Miazga said to win the race was “a real honour”.
View full race results online. And, if you think you’ve got what it takes, why not enter the Speights Coast to Coast next year or find another adventure race to test your endurance?
If you were excited about last year’s lunar eclipse, you would have been equally thrilled at the prospect of a rare partial solar eclipse yesterday.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, causing our view of the Sun to be blocked. Yesterday’s spectacle was the first in three years - the next is scheduled in the astronomical calendar for November 14, 2012.
New Zealanders first saw the eclipse in the early evening, just before 6:00pm, when the Moon blocked nearly half the Sun. See what all the fuss was about in this stunning footage of the eclipse…
As mentioned in an earlier post, the idea of world records is massively appealing.
It seems 2,174 people agree: that record-breaking number performed the haka at Kaiapoi yesterday, during Waitangi Day celebrations in North Canterbury. Despite many giving up in frustration at the long queue to join the haka performance, the number of participants broke the existing record - set in Auckland in 2006 by 1,400 people.
Incidentally, the New Zealand haka is an ancient Maori dance, made famous today around the world by our boys in black: the All Blacks. It’s fair to say the haka has become a cultural phenonmenon in its own right, performed with pride by Maori and non-Maori alike.
The event was organised by the Te Roopu O Tane Mahuta Trust and featured the launch of a waka on the Kaiapoi River, hip hop music entertainment and performers from other cultures.
Find out more about Maori culture in the NZS.com directory.
Online and computer security has been a hot topic of late, with online banking security and spyware the major issues.
The latest problem with spyware is not from hackers or malicious website, but from the people you know and possibly live with. Most notably, suspicious spouses who turn to spyware to monitor their partners every online move, such as website visits, emails, chats, online searches, keystrokes and even activity on popular online social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Bebo.
Cases of domestic abuse and stalking through spyware and surveillance of Internet use have already been documented. In these situations, information gathered was then used to intimidate or control a partner.
There are many forms of Internet security that can protect you from spyware, phishers, trojans, viruses and worms - our computer security section is a great place to start.
An interesting battle is going on between the world’s major search engines…
You might have noticed that Google dominates online search, but Microsoft has a plan to knock Google from its top spot as Internet search leader. While analysts believe Yahoo will do everything in its power to remain independent, Microsoft is strongly encouraging Yahoo to accept a takeover bid of nearly US$42 billion.
Google controls around 62% of the lucrative global search market and has been strengthening its grip even further in recent times. In comparison, Microsoft and Yahoo combined have just a 16% share in worldwide search. And the sting for Yahoo? They gave Google its first big break in 2000, hiring the G-team to run their search engine.
Following the news, Yahoo shares rose nearly 48% while Microsoft shares fell 6.6% - signaling the stock market’s scepticism over the benefits of a union between the two giants. Google shares fell 8.6% on Friday, but this was in response to a disappointing fourth quarter earnings report, rather than a reaction to news of Microsoft’s bid for online supremacy.
So, what’s in it for Microsoft? The software giant may still the most valuable tech company in the world, but to solidify its position for the future it will need to gain a more level footing in the online world - as the computer user experience becomes increasingly Web based and less software reliant.
After turning down at takeover offer last year, Yahoo faces pressure to accept the latest bid, or risk a continuation of sliding profits and a bleak outlook for 2008.
Internet technology is now bringing online music classes to students around New Zealand who otherwise would be without music tuition. Through online video conferencing, kids in remote New Zealand locations, such as the Chatham Islands and the West Coast, can now learn from tutors online.
A day to celebrate love and romance! 
If you’re one of the many who have been waiting impatiently for mobile Internet to take off, you’ll be excited by the news that (after much investment and talk) 
In recent days, the publication of graphic 
Flight of the Conchords - two of our best known (and funniest) comic ambassadors - have won a prestigious Grammy award for their EP, The Distant Future.
The annual 
As mentioned in an earlier post, the idea of 
An interesting battle is going on between the world’s major 
