NZPA Stuff Article - no wonder many people are confused!

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Mattnzl

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Topic # 8439 30-Jun-2006 07:49

Where to start with this article on Stuff today: http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3716157a28,00.html

" Telecom has GSM and CDMA mobile networks, and No kia reportedly accounts for 40 per cent of Telecom's handset sales."

I don't think Telecom does have both....

"It estimates changing to the superior UMTS technology, used by Vodafone..."

Having used both for data, I would say evdo is clearly superior from a users perspective (upload, download & latency are better which is all users care about). Don't know about the voice side, but they seem pretty similar.

[Moderator edit (BS): Hyperlinked]

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Juha
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Reply # 40138 30-Jun-2006 07:56

Mattnzl:
Where to start with this article on Stuff today: http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3716157a28,00.html

" Telecom has GSM and CDMA mobile networks, and No kia reportedly accounts for 40 per cent of Telecom's handset sales."

I don't think Telecom does have both....

"It estimates changing to the superior UMTS technology, used by Vodafone..."

Having used both for data, I would say evdo is clearly superior from a users perspective (upload, download & latency are better which is all users care about). Don't know about the voice side, but they seem pretty similar.

Yeah, that's the NZPA for you. They're quick out with the news, but it seems to be at the cost of basic fact-checking and any sort of analysis.

Juha

alasta

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Reply # 40140 30-Jun-2006 08:26

Don't get me started about the time when a DomPost reporter phoned one of my collegues to discuss the domain name registration process, and the facts went in one ear and out the other. Stuff.co.nz subsequently published a completely misinformed article based information contained in a Trademe Q&A session, but the article was pulled within hours and replaced with a factual version.

freitasm

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Reply # 40141 30-Jun-2006 08:34

OMG... What a load of misinformed writing and waste of electrons...

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Jama

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Reply # 40148 30-Jun-2006 08:51

Quite laughable really. I think they should have added a 'sponsored by Vodafone' banner.

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retardinator

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Reply # 40150 30-Jun-2006 08:55

That article is disgraceful. Not only was it misinformed, but it was also riddled with typing errors, suffering further from a lack of conjunctives and punctuation. I think the editor and the journalist are equally to blame here.

juha

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Reply # 40151 30-Jun-2006 08:59

retardinator: That article is disgraceful. Not only was it misinformed, but it was also riddled with typing errors, suffering further from a lack of conjunctives and punctuation. I think the editor and the journalist are equally to blame here.

I should blog about this at some point, but it's worth noting that even the best efforts of journalists can be "subotaged" by sub-editors who don't understand what you're writing about, or simply don't care.

To illustrate, a guy on a journalists' mailing list that I moderate posted this joke:

A journalist and a subeditor are lost in the desert. After wandering for days they are exhausted and parched, staggering along, on the point of death. Miraculously, they see an oasis ahead. The journalist plunges forward, falling to his knees beside the water and scooping it up with his hands to drink. Then he becomes aware of an odd tinkling sound. He looks up to see the subeditor urinating in the pool."What the hell are you doing?" the journalist demands.The subbie replies: "I'm making it better."

(No wannabe sub-ed comments about being parched and still able to urinate will be entertained, thankyouverymuchly...)

Juha

retardinator

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Reply # 40152 30-Jun-2006 09:07

juha: ...but it's worth noting that even the best efforts of journalists can be "subotaged" by sub-editors who don't understand what you're writing about, or simply don't care

...In this case...sabotaged even further.

I love the joke by the way, I'm sorry...but I am going to use that one, and not credit it to you

freitasm

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Reply # 40153 30-Jun-2006 09:14

OT, and potentially repulsive, but urine is (if all is ok) 100% sterile - and if the pool is large enough it will dilute it... Hey, you are dying and that's the only water around there, right? Shake the hell out of the subeditor, and wait for the sun to "purify" the pool.

So, now please back to the topic of bad editing. Oh, sorry, about TNZ building a "superior wcdma" network and "using Vodafone" infrastructure... Yeah, right.

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bradstewart

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Reply # 40154 30-Jun-2006 09:19

Is there a process where we can publicly shame them on this? The quality of tech news articles from stuff etc is getting worse by the day.

Where do people get the idea idea that UMTS is superior to EVDO?

Jama

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Reply # 40156 30-Jun-2006 09:22

Where do people get the idea idea that UMTS is superior to EVDO?

These days it is all CDMA. So, UMTS is based on that superior CDMA technology then.

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juha

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Reply # 40157 30-Jun-2006 09:25

bradstewart: Is there a process where we can publicly shame them on this?

Taking an aggresive approach like that is guaranteed to backfire. First, you would have to ensure that you are completely correct at all times and with a full understanding of the issues. If not, you're the one that'll come across looking like a clown/kook. Instead, write in to the editor and point out the errors. It's always better to be helpful rather than going into socially handicapped nerd mode with a flame thrower on full blast; trust me on this.

Really must blog about this, but part of the blame for stories like the NZPA one comes from deliberate misinformation spread by vendors. It's not that easy for people who don't deal with tech on a daily basis to understand it...