Smart move by Kiwibank. I will be interested to see what sort of interest rates will be on offer, as presently average bank != average finance company as far as rates go.

Government-owned Kiwi bank is to offer personal loans through finance company GE Money.

GE Money, a subsidiary of giant US conglomerate General Electric, said today the Kiwibank branded loans would be offered through its Auckland sales centre. GE Money's New Zealand managing director Greg White said Kiwibank had a strong brand and an extensive distribution network.

"We are very excited about working with Kiwibank. This alliance will bring a new level of product and service availability to customers, and reaffirms our commitment to provide innovation in the New Zealand consumer finance market," said White.

GE Money is the country's largest non-bank finance company with about 300,000 customers. It has an AA+ credit rating.

Kiwibank's acting chief executive Pa (read the entire post)...

Excellent news from Telecom - announcing that Telecom Broadband customers will get all internet-based TiVo content at no extra cost over and above their broadband plan, and it will not come off their plan allowance.

Telecom broadband will enable TiVo entertainment downloads with no impact on customers' monthly data allowance
17 September 2009 - Telecom and Hybrid Television Services, the exclusive licensee of TiVo® products in Australia and New Zealand, today announced a partnership that will see TiVo delivering unmetered entertainment to NZ living rooms from November.
The deal will provide Telecom broadband customers with the ability to download movies and shows to their TV with no impact to their monthly broadband data allowance as well as access to all of the Freeview|HD® channels.
The TiVo media device allows viewers to pause and rewind live TV, record every episode in a series with the Season Pass feature, auto record favourite (read the entire post)...

Well now we're ready to start talking and reveal what's coming your way.


We are working hard to launch later this year - in time for you to purchase the best Christmas gift for the family. Our goal is to match the Aussie service and provide even more content and services on the TiVo media device for Kiwi.

To register your interest with TiVo in New Zealand click on this link

Please put my email address [tony at tall dot co dot nz] in as the referrer - they are running a competition for people who signed up to the beta test a while ago.

(read the entire post)...

Anyone else sick of this type of thing?

Copy of an email I sent to Hawkes Bay Today, and CC'd to Trademe.

I was polite and direct on the first call, terse and direct in my email, if there is a third time, I will have to come up with a third attitude to go with my unwavering directness.

Dear ******,

To make this really easy, here are my points in list format:


You phoned me at 10.41am today 14/7/2009 to try and sell me advertising for a vehicle I ALREADY have advertised on Trademe.
I was courteous and polite, and I informed you that I was not interested in paying Hawkes Bay today for further advertising for any of my listings.
At 2.05pm today 14/7/2009 you called me again and left a voicemail, again asking me to pay Hawkes Bay today for a listing.
My vehicles are ONLY advertised on Trademe, so that is the ONLY place you could possibly have got my number.
I wonder if Trademe are happy wi (read the entire post)...

A Fender Squier California Stratocaster I acquired was a little worse for wear, with a slightly scratchy sound, what looked like the original strings (5 or so years old!) and a tremolo bridge that seemed to flap around in the breeze and make open chords seem especially off-key.


Removed old strings.
Cleaned guitar top to bottom.
Removed input jack - the factory wiring was very shoddy and there was a cracked solder joint.
Re-soldered the input jack and replaced.
New strings - Fender bullet end .10 (e).
With back plate off, I tightened up the screws hold the bracket for the bridge tension springs, but in the end, I decided that since I don't use trem anyway, to use a 1/2" block of wood between the bridge and the body (inside that cavity) to permanently lock the bridge in place (hey if Slowhand can do it, so can I).

Now the guitar looks, sounds and plays much better.

An unintended (but welcome) consequence of blocking (read the entire post)...

So you got a nice shiny E71 or other WiFi capable Nokia device on the XT network, but are desperatley looking to minimise data use, and make better use of your home and work WiFi networks?


Psiloc connect is apparently a very good pay solution, but recently I discovered "Smart Connect" a free alternative, in the downloads section of my E71.


Basically instead of having to define a 3G connection OR a WiFi connection OR being asked EVERY time, you set a priority list - e.g. mine has my home and work WiFi connections, followed by "Telecom Data", and wraps it all up into one connection called "Smartconnect" (or whatever profile name you choose :o)


You NEED to turn on certificate checking in your app manager, but you may STILL get licence errors. This software IS FREE and if you still get these errors, then check this thread.



(read the entire post)...

Tomorrow morning Telecom stores around New Zealand will open and customers will be able to enjoy the XT Mobile Network.

On the eve of launch, Telecom has revealed its suite of pricing plans that incorporate the concepts of One Rate pricing, per second billing after the first minute and the innovative option of shared calling plans. Some exciting handset offers are also being released.

Each plan is designed to give customers certainty, make it easy to understand what's on offer, and provide customers with the flexibility that they have asked us for says Telecom Retail CEO, Alan Gourdie.

'We have reduced the number of mobile plans on offer from 60 to just 14 - in response to customers telling us they want choosing a plan to be easy.

'With Telecom's new One Rate plans, customers will no longer have to worry if they are calling during on-peak or off-peak, or to someone on the same or different network - now it's all One Rate,' says Mr Gourdie.
read the entire post)...

You can now set up your mobile number in Twitters device settings page, text the confirmation code to 8987 (TWTR), and send text tweets straight from your mobile!!


Not officially announced yet as live, so your results may vary!




Happy Tweeting everyone!


@tonyhughes (read the entire post)...

Instructions for getting the SoftSqueeze client running on a standard Jaunty desktop:



Go here and download the softsqueeze java version as a .zip file




Extract it in a folder somewhere




Use Synaptic Package Manager (Applications > Add/Remove) to find and install "Sun Java 6 Runtime"




Head back into your Softsqueeze directory




Right-click the softsqueeze.jar file




Click properties




Click open-wtih




Select "Sun Java 6 Runtime"




Okay


Almost done...

Sound output in Softsqueeze defaulted to an unused HDMI path, so I had to set it to "Java Sound Audio Engine", but other than that, it automatically found my Squeezecenter server, and everything works perfectly. (read the entire post)...

Full article here

And here is the list of words that has been formed jointly by Telecom New Zealand Limited, and the Maori Language Commission:
Maori words for predictive text function
1. Maori, indigenous inhabitants2. Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud
3. Hui a meeting of any kind, conference, gathering
4. Marae the area for formal discourse in front of a meeting house or applied to a whole marae complex, including meeting house, dining hall, forecourt, etc.
5. Haere mai Welcome! Enter!
6. Tangi short (verbal version) for the above (gerund) or to cry, to mourn
7. Karanga the ceremony of calling to the guests to welcome them to enter the marae
8. Tangata whenua original people belonging to a place, local people, hosts
9. Haka chant with dance for the purpose of challenge
10. Waiata song or chant which follows speech
11. Koha gift, present
1 (read the entire post)...

As this post from a few years ago shows. People in search of free stuff will just become oblivious to the information clearly placed in front of them, and think that by LEAVING A COMMENT ON MY BLOG THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY GET FREE SKYPE CREDIT.

If you LEAVE YOUR SKYPE NAME ON MY BLOG COMMENTS you will most certainly not GET FREE SKYPE CREDIT, so don't bother.

I am certainly not offering $200 FREE CREDIT TO EACH SKYPE USER WHO POSTS A COMMENT HERE.

DO NOT TELL SKYPE, AS YOU WILL NOT END UP GETTING THE FREE CREDIT I have not offered you to start with.

The comments though, certainly make for funny reading when they come in one by one as the weeks go by.

Far too entertaining to close the comments off.

Ciao MoFo's (read the entire post)...

Update: 2.46pm some corrections as per NealR's comment below.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending an event put on by Telecom New Zealand to celebrate the impending (though delayed by court action and a subsequent settlement) launch of their new half billion dollar W-CDMA/UMTS 3G mobile network.

I have actually seen some pricing info recently (from a non-Telecom non-Dealer source), but with no way to validate it, and no desire to pop anyones bubble (nor to receive a take-down demand), all I will say is that the near future is looking great for XT Network and its new customers.

Dr Paul Reynolds gave a speech quite early on during the event, and appeared somewhat frustrated at having to give what was essentially a bland marketing speech, with no competitive information. I believe he had planned to divulge most of the juicier pricing and handset information at this event, but with this information being so commercially sensitive, they obviously do no (read the entire post)...

After installing Jaunty on my work laptop, I was having trouble getting apt / Synaptic working, despite system-wide settings for proxy, and application specific settings.

After trawling teh intarweb, I came up with this...


http://cntlm.wiki.sourceforge.net/

Download and install the .deb, edit /etc/cntlm.conf then start cntlm with this command:

sudo /etc/init.d/cntlm start

Configure Synaptics proxy to localhost:3128 and all should be well :-)

(Newbie way to edit the conf file is to hit ALT+F2 and run the command sudo gedit) (read the entire post)...

Court action resulted in a subsequent agreement between the telcos to have XT delay their launch by 2 weeks, and install additional equipment to prevent interference with the Vodafone network.

Vodafone and Telecom NZ have worked together over the last 48 hours to
reach a solution to resolve the issues between them, which have been
identified by both parties.

This agreement has been reached by both parties, to achieve the best
outcome for their customers, the telecommunications industry and all New
Zealanders.

Telecom has agreed to extend its network filter installation programme, in
order to help resolve the interference issues identified as impacting
Vodafone mobile customers.

Vodafone has agreed to discontinue the injunction proceedings.

Telecom's new XT mobile network will go live for New Zealanders by the end
of May 2009.

(read the entire post)...

My work machine, a Compaq 8510p 2GB ram 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU has XP/SP3 and the OS install is getting pretty tired, Office 2007 has nerfed itself - problems I couldn't find motivation to fix, as busy with other tasks, and we have a Citrix environment that we keep pristine - so everything can be done there.

I downloaded 9.04 today, set the install up, had a milo, came back, and it was done, and everything just works including all hardware, sound, bluetooth, WiFi, dual displays etc.

Must time the boot from grub - it seemed like 10 seconds!

Might also put an older box together at home, and see what 9.04 is like on a P4 3.0GHz.

Have been using Linux on and off since early Slackware days, and Ubuntu since its first public debut too, and I must say, for an out of the box desktop setup/experience, Ubuntu 9.04 is pretty slick.

And free. Very very free.

(read the entire post)...

Oh wait... here it is...

"John Drinnan" wrote:

The XT Network is seen as a chance for Telecom to recover ground it has lost against Vodafone in the mobile market because its inferior CDMA technology does not allow it to earn money from data downloads.

You are kidding right?

Telecoms CDMA network has kicked a lot of butt for years in New Zealand in terms of coverage and data speeds.

Telecom has also had no trouble billing customers for the privilege of using it.

What a massive factual error. In fact, it's more than incorrect, its just totally made-up crap. (read the entire post)...

Different to the prepaid "Loaded" card, this is a real VISA debit card, just like the Westpac one, where its linked directly to your cheque and/or savings account, and does not require topping up (other than having some money in your regular bank account).

Application for an existing internet banking user was quick and painless through the internet banking site, and took a total of about 50 seconds.

6 card designs are available - but I would have liked to see something much more "corporate" and "important" looking than the "Flare" design below that was the best looking of the lot.



Rates & fees all seem pretty reasonable too! I have not compared to other cards though.

Your own name on the card (almost any combination of your names and/or initials - great for me because I dont go by first name).

And card should be in the mailbox in 3 - 5 days.

Too simple. Well done Kiwibank. A++ on easy access to a new pr (read the entire post)...

OrconFAIL

There have been delays processing your number Please check back in 2 or 3 days and this problem should be resolved If you are still receiving this error after 2 working days, please enter your details below and we will investigate and get back to you

What?? Wait three days?? And try again??What if I get the same answer??TERRIBLE.Should offer up an instant callback! (read the entire post)...

Weighing in at about 70MB, update can be found here: www.telecom.co.nz/oktatouchupgrade

Instructions provided by PatDude.

The upgrade was actually meant as a maintenance release and there are some key steps that need to be taken in order for the ugrade to be sucessfully applied.

Also please don't download the upgrade using your mobile, download it to a PC. Aside from the fact that at 70Mb it'll cost you a packet, it wont work if you try and run it from your Okta Touch. The upgrade is meant to be installed from a PC to an Okta Touch connected by a USB cable and Active Sync

Here's some instructions to follow

Before Running the ROM Upgrade Utility Before you run the ROM Upgrade Utility (RUU), make sure you check and do the following first:

1. USB sync cable is connected to the computer.

2. The standby and hibernation modes are disabled on the computer.

3. All running applications on the comput (read the entire post)...

(read the entire post)...