The Associated Press (AP) appears to have solved its legal conflict with ‘copyright-infringing’ bloggers today. The AP took disputed the issue of what constitutes ‘fair use’ content, specifically in regards to bloggers using quotes, excepts and titles from AP-owned articles, even if source citing is given.

Some weeks ago, The AP demanded that a US news and opinion site take down several stories because they too closely resembled stories owned by The AP. Today this issue was settled with the party in question out of court, and The AP stated that the outcome was “not a clear win for anyone, but also not a loss for anyone either”.

However, the issue of citation (and the demand from The AP stating that any content from its articles would require payment for publication) blew up worldwide in regards to blogging. The question was posed: at what point does reference become plagiarism? Many prominent bloggers from throughout the world defended their stance that summarising of content, when references to the source are provided, is a common and important way to spread news throughout the World Wide Web.

Where do you think the line is drawn in regards to posting on your New Zealand blog? Do you use direct content from other sources, summarised content, or are all of your words completely original thoughts and reports?

Image from Flickr.

Latest netball results from this weekend’s competition (Round 12, June 21 - June 23):

• Fever lost to the Vixens; 48-54 in Perth
• Pulse lost to the Magic; 41-46 in Wellington
• Firebirds beat the Tactix; 50-36 in Brisbane
• Swifts beat the Thunderbirds; 51-41 in Sydney
• Mystics beat the Steel; 47-41 in Auckland

Check out the netball standings to find out where your team is currently placed, and stay tuned to the blog for more ANZ Championship netball results…

Image from Flickr.

Outrageous Fortune returned to New Zealand TV last night for its fourth season - bringing the lives of our favourite Westies back to our small screens for another year. What is is store for us this season? Cheryl battles the forces of Wolf to defend her kids and her castle, Pascalle returns, and apparently we can expect some very risque sex scenes.

Some months ago, it was announced that the show would be made for US audiences when the rights for an American version of the show were sold to the ABC network, to be developed by the writer of popular shows Veronica Mars and Dawson’s Creek.

This follows a similar situation in Australia where their iconic show Kath & Kim was sold to a US network for production - and will star Hollywood scarlet Selma Blair. Who will take on the roles of the beloved West family stateside? Time will only tell. Outrageous Fortune has been immensely successful in New Zealand and is also showing in Australia and Britain in its current form. It’s also spawning international acting opportunities for some of the stars, it particular Grant Bowler who plays Wolf, who has been seen recently on several episodes of top rating show Lost.

Flight of the Conchords, another NZ TV show making headlines overseas has had some similar international success this week, with actress Jennifer Aniston expressing her interest in guest starring on the show’s second season. Rumor has it that Stephen Speilberg has also requested a copy of the first season from the lead Kiwi stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie.

Watch out world, Kiwis are storming small screens left, right, and centre this year!

Image from Flickr.

Latest netball results from this weekend’s competition (Round 11, June 14 - June16):

• Mystics lost to the Thunderbirds; 47-48 in Auckland
• Swifts beat the Firebirds; 61-60 in Sydney
• Tactix beat the Pulse; 50-49 in Christchurch
• Vixens beat the Magic; 47-40 in Dunedin
• Steel beat the Fever; 58-43 in Melbourne

Check out the netball standings to find out where your team is currently placed, and stay tuned to the blog for more ANZ Championship netball results…

Image from Flickr.

A recent report by the Commerce Commission of New Zealand has found that most of the biggest broadband internet providers deliver the slowest and most unreliable services.

High speed connections from Telecom, Vodafone and Slingshot have all been reported as delivering average or below average scores in terms of connection speeds and overall reliability for the March 08 quarter. Smaller internet service providers such as Compas and Snap out-performed the average scores of the bigger providers.

Telstraclear (who offer both DSL and Cable networks) trumped all competition in the three main centres with the highest scores, but were beaten in Hamilton and Dunedin - where they do not have their own network and resell Telecom’s DSL services. Orcon was the highest-scoring provider in these cities.

The report assessed variables such as time to connect, download and upload times, e-mail receivership times and packet loss levels.

A few months back I received an email response to an NZS.com newsletter article about the government’s plans to increase broadband connection speed funding over the next few years. He made a great point - while we are constantly assessing and evaluating internet speeds in the larger cities, the New Zealand media rarely pay any attention to the often abysmal speeds (or even existence of a high-speed service) in smaller towns and rural areas throughout the country. Will the big ISP’s ever pay serious attention to the internet needs of those off the beaten track in New Zealand (anywhere away from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch?).

If you’re a rural internet user let us know what you think - how is your service?

Image from Flickr.

The latest version of the Apple iPhone, the iPhone 3G has just been announced to be released in New Zealand, Australia, Italy and Portugal on the 11th of July. In New Zealand the iPhone is being launched on the Vodafone network.

“We are very excited to bring iPhone 3G to many of our customers across Europe and emerging markets in the coming months” said Frank H. Rovekamp, global CMO, Vodafone Group.

“Vodafone’s extensive, high speed and reliable networks mean customers can enjoy a great Internet and communications experience on their iPhone 3G.”

There are very few phone manufacturers who could have launched a new version of one of their phones in the way that Apple have done over the past few days. Their new iPhone is being heralded as a break-through device that will change the smart phone market.

Vodafone have been careful not to annonce any pricing of the iPhone 3G for the New Zealand market yet, however the iPhone 3G is being shown for sale on Apple’s US site starting at $199 USD. In New Zealand their media release says;

“iPhone 3G will be available via Vodafone on contract price plans which will include great value data bundles.”

Hopefully the NZ pricing will follow suit and look to be substantially subsidised by Vodafone.

Image from Flickr.

While Monday this week (Queen’s Birthday in Australia) officially marked the opening of Australian ski season, it looks again like tens of thousands of Aussies will be venturing over the ditch to New Zealand when our major ski fields open at the end of this month.

New Zealand’s ski resorts receive approximately a quarter of their annual tourism from Australian visitors, last year totaling 70,000 Aussie holidaymakers, reports the Dominion Post. This figure is increasing by 20 percent each year, due to better and more reliable skiing this side of the Tasman.

New Zealand is leading the world with advances in environmental sustainability, as demonstrated at last weeks World Environmental Day in Wellington. New Zealand increasingly attracts international tourists committed to sustainable eco-tourist travel options, as we are privy to several tour operators determined to leave a smaller footprint on the globe.

Luxury tour companies such as Green Realm Travel offer tours on the New Zealand roads which are the cutting edge in comfort and environmental standards. This company has built their coaches based on the eco-friendly MAN A67 Euro 4 coach chassis, which uses progressive technology that reduces fuel consumption, exhaust-gas emissions and noise. The particle filter system in the engine make these coaches arguably the cleanest diesels in the world.

Image from Flickr.

Latest netball results from this weekend’s competition (Round 10, June 7 - June 9):

• Steel beat the Vixens; 47-46 in Invercargill
• Thunderbirds beat the Tactix; 61-41 in Adelaide
• Magic beat the Firebirds; 56-50 in Rotorua
• Fever beat the Pulse; 33-16 in Auckland
• Mystics lost to the Swifts; 62-63 in Perth

Check out the netball standings to find out where your team is currently placed, and stay tuned to the blog for more ANZ Championship netball results…

Image from Flickr.

If you are hunting for a new job at the moment, you’ll notice many job sites now have advanced features beyond what has been typical in the past. Job listing websites now go beyond plain job listings and an e-mail address of whom you can contact. New innovations in the online job world include:

• Video Resumes - why rely on your written CV alone to promote yourself? You can now upload a short video resume detailing your skills, and giving you a great avenue to sell yourself in a personable way.

• CV Publishing - post your CV online to let potential employers come to you. While this can mean a fast way to get picked up by a great company, be careful if you’re current employer doesn’t know you are looking to move - being online means anyone can access it!

• Video Conferencing - great if you are applying for jobs in other cities, allowing you to be interviewed virtually with ease.

• Online Testing - not sure which career path you want to go down? Take one of the many career, personality or IQ tests available to get a personalised recommendation for your next step - then follow through to jobs that may suit your needs.

If you’re a new member to the online job hunting game, read up on applying for jobs online.

You can also view New Zealand Jobs online through the newly launched NZS.com Jobs section launched in partnership with JobX.

Image from Flickr.

By now you’re probably heard the term “Millennial” being thrown around by magazines and other mediums - it’s the latest term for Generation Y, those born in the 1980s and early 90s.

A recent study by telecommunications company Motorola has found that Millennials not only seek more rich media, but often significantly influence buying decisions at home, predominantly when regarding console and service selection.

A common misconception about Millennials is that they are tech-savvy. While the Web is the hub of their social activities, they do not necessarily understand what is ‘under the bonnet’ of their products - nor do they care - they just want them to work, they enjoy technological advancements without needing to understand them.

Motorola’s study has shown that 71% of Millennials have a strong influence when it comes to internet connection decisions within the household, even if they no longer live at home with their parents. While they may not understand which DSL modem they want or how a wireless network functions, they know they want them and are able to convince their parents that they are needed. 70% of Millennials feel that their expectations and demands for rich media and internet technology are far greater than their parents’.

For Millennials, connectivity is a must-have, because they have grown up with technology and the internet at their feet and have never known a world without them. As a result, Millennials take pride in being able to ‘teach’ their parents about new technology.

Image from Flickr.