August 26th, 2010
Tobacco companies have spent a lot of time and money into researching how to get around the World Health Organisation 2005 ban on cigarette advertising, affecting several countries.
One such way around the advertising ban appears to be YouTube. An Otago University study that looked into 5 major cigarette brands, found that at least 71% of the videos were supportive of smoking or normalised smoking. Furthermore, users didn’t have to directly search for smoking, but instead it would be paired up with other search terms, such as Marlboro cigarettes appearing in searches for Harley Davidson bikes.
The study found that YouTube doesn’t consider pro-tobacco content as offensive material, so these clips remain on the site. However, that does not prevent the public from requesting that these videos be removed under the present rules.
The article reports that in New Zealand, the Government had shown it was not willing to put the legal resources to deal with examples of indirect tobacco marketing.
Tags: anti-smoking, Otago University study, YouTube
Posted in anti-smoking, lobbying, offensive material, YouTube | No Comments »
August 13th, 2010
13 years old, apparently, is the youngest age at which Facebook allows a user to sign on. However, users younger than 13 do have Facebook accounts, according to an article on www.seek.com.au today.
Parents on the whole are positive about the effects of social networking, and use of technology to keep in touch with their kids. However, the flipside is cyber bullying or cyberstalking.
Researchers at University of Waikato, caution against over- reacting. Parents are advised that “Strict, inflexible rules tend to be counter-productive and can increase the allure of ‘forbidden’ technology“.
Similarly, Netsafe, a non-profit organisation which promotes cyber-responsibility, advises that “parents should play a supervisory role while their kids are young, preparing them to make good decisions when they’re old enough to be independent”.
Tags: consumers, new technology
Posted in consumers, E-mail & the internet, Facebook, OPMC | No Comments »
August 5th, 2010
Ex-ANZ bank mobile manager Zamir Hussain, has been ordered to pay the bank $1.2 million NZD in damages, reports stuff.co.nz today. Mr Hussain perpetuated fraud by over-lending to customers. ANZ was only aware of the fraud after the borrowers defaulted on their loans.
Mr Hussain was taken to the Employment Relations Authority, who ruled that his breach of duty of care in the 18 mortgage transactions resulted in a fine of $54,000 NZD. However, in a separate decision, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled that he must pay more than$1.2 million NZD in damages for loss caused by his fraudulent conduct.
”Mr Hussain’s training and experience was such that he must have known of the real prospect of significant losses being caused by his careless or reckless actions,” stated the Employment Relations Authority.
ANZ maintains that it lost more than $3.5 million NZD as a result of the fraud.
Tags: ANZ, customers, ERA, fraud, mobile banking
Posted in ANZ, employment relations, fraud | No Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
Tiger Woods was stood down by his sponsors, Gillette, Accenture, TAG Heur, General Motors and AT&T after the news of his several affairs became public knowledge.
Gamers appear to be the next in line to desert the golfing star, even though the publisher of this gaming franchise, Electronic Arts, has stood by him so far. An anonymous games retailer states that sales of Tiger’s latest game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 have gone down by 60 – 70%.  Electronics Arts admits that this could be due to his not-so-brilliant golfing performance of late.
US sales figures are similar, showing that first-month sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 were down 68 per cent on all platforms from the previous version a year ago.
The full text of the article is available here.
Tags: gaming sales, sponsors, Tiger Woods
Posted in consumers, E-mail & the internet, gamers, Tiger Woods | No Comments »
July 15th, 2010
Hamilton is the latest city of expansion for Pacific Blue, with return flights direct to LA ranging from $1649 to $1945. The new service joins up with the Pacific Blue service to Brisbane, allowing passengers to connect with the onward journey from Brisbane to LA.
Hamilton Airport CEO Chris Doak welcomed the services as adding convenience and ease of use for North Island residents, as well as easing congestion in Auckland.
Central Business Association chairman Arthur Pitcher said the more international links Hamilton could get the better. “It’s fantastic. Any increase in international flights is a chance to link Hamilton to the great tourism market. I’m delighted.”
View the full article here.
Tags: expansion, Hamilton, Pacific Blue
Posted in consumers, e-passport, Expansion to Australia, flight time | No Comments »
July 9th, 2010
The month of June has lead to increased use of credit cards, in anticipation of the GST rising and looming tax cuts.
All of the industry groups showed increases for the month, with the leaders in retail sales being food, liquor and chemist sales.
Consumers seem more upbeat with their financial position, in comparison with spending habits during the recession.
To view the full article, click here.
Tags: consumers, GST increases, NZ economy
Posted in consumers, credit cards, electronic spending | No Comments »
July 5th, 2010
Technology is been employed in allowing passengers to enjoy shorter airport clearance times, with a screen of baggage been taken en route to NZ.  This means that passengers whose luggage is screened and shown not to pose a possible risk, and who have nothing to declare, can quickly access their luggage and use the express checkouts.
At the moment, only low risk Trans-Tasman flights will use this technology, but other other countries are also showing interest.
To read the full article, click here.
Tags: e-passport, flights, x-rays
Posted in e-passport, Expansion to Australia, flight time, New Zealand, online check-in | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2010
The Copyright (Infringement File Sharing) Amendment Bill introduces a three-notice process so that illegal file sharers are given adequate warning of their activity, as well as providing additional assurances to owners of copyright.
Digital sales in Australia and NZ has increased by 41.4 percent, and performance rights returns are up 8.6 percent (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) figures), and this rise in the industry figures mean intellectual property needs to be adequately protected.
Commerce Minister Simon Power says “Online copyright infringement has been especially damaging for the creative industry, which has experienced significant declines in revenue as file sharing has become more prevalent”.
To read the full article, click here.
Tags: Copyright Bill, infringement, intellectual property
Posted in copyright, E-mail & the internet, Online Sales | No Comments »
June 11th, 2010
Microsoft has bravely decided to go where Google and Facebook have tread before….
Microsoft’s bing.com social networking site also searches other websites including Twitter and Facebook for users’ information, thereby increasing the amount of potentially private information which is available about a user.
It has been careful to blog, however, that “For non-fan pages, we only surface popular shared links from Facebook users in the aggregate form, and only from users who have set their status updates to be shared with ‘everyone.’ No names or photos, or even the text in the update associated with the link are published — just the link in aggregate.”
To see the full article, click here.
Tags: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, privacy
Posted in consumers, fan pages, social networking | No Comments »
May 28th, 2010
Air New Zealand has opened up to passengers the opportunity to send text messages and emails whilst in-flight, with the opportunity to be given to Air New Zealand passengers by the end of the year.
The allowance is subject to approval by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, as it is normally held to pose too great a risk to an airplane navigation system if used in-flight. Passengers would be able to use their own mobile broadband connection, but in-flight charges would also apply.
To those of us who enjoy uninterrupted quiet (or as much quiet as there can be over the howls of a crying baby) during flights, rest assured that voice calls are still not on the list of “allowable” use of portable electronics.
The full article is available here.
Tags: Air New Zealand, in-flight, texting
Posted in flight time, New Zealand | No Comments »
