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NewZealand posts

Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture reconstructed from 1000 cellphones, 2000 text alerts (video)

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 5:33AM

We're suckers for a well done ad but this, this is simply amazing. Vodafone NZ's Symphonia features 1000 cellphones syncing 53 different ringtone alerts from 2000 sent messages to reconstruct Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture. We dare you to not be impressed. See how they did it after the break.

[Thanks, Brent R.]

Continue reading Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture reconstructed from 1000 cellphones, 2000 text alerts (video)

New Zealand making drivers with cellphone navigation criminals, hugs ok for now (updated)

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 28th 2009 at 5:15AM

Starting in November, use of your cellphone's GPS navigation capabilities will be illegal for drivers on New Zealand roadways -- dedicated SatNav devices without voice capability are still ok. In fact, use of your modern cellphone as an in-vehicle MP3 player, compass, etc. will all be illegal under Road User Amendment Rule 2009. Here's how it reads currently:

"A driver must not, while driving a vehicle, create, send, or read a text message on a mobile phone or make, receive, or terminate a telephone call on a mobile phone or use a mobile phone in any other way."

A law this broad would also make your car's integrated cellphone entertainment system illegal. There are exceptions of course, one of which allows drivers to use a mobile phone to make, receive, or terminate a telephone call if the phone is mounted in the vehicle and the driver "manipulates the phone infrequently and briefly," even though studies have already concluded that hands-free solutions are still distracting and thus, dangerous. Yeah, the whole thing sounds arbitrary, over-reaching, and completely unenforceable to us as well.

Update: Put down the pitchforks and torches, it looks like the law is already en route for amendment to allow cellphone "satellite navigation or music functions."

[Via Stuff, image courtesy of joannapapa5100]

Martin Jetpack public test flights taking off in early 2010

by Ross Miller posted Aug 2nd 2009 at 9:54AM

Those crazy Kiwis at Martin Jetpack like to pop in every now and then to show off their eponymous flying craft, and though we still don't have a timeframe for plunking down $150,000 to own one and donning our best Boba Fett costume for the inaugural flight home, the company is making accommodations. Starting early next year in its hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, you'll be able to try out the flight pack yourself as part of the Martin Jetpack Experience. The "low, slow" thrill ride won't hover above 3.3 feet or go faster than 6.2 miles per hour, but according to The New Zealand Herald, it's only expected to cost about as much as bungie jumping, and if you ask really nicely, we're sure they won't mind you wearing the costume anyway.

Double-amputee New Zealander has mermaid dreams fulfilled

by Laura June posted Feb 25th 2009 at 1:29PM

New Zealander Nadya Vessey -- who lost both of her legs to the knee when she was a child -- has just received a prosthesis that's pretty much unlike anything we've ever seen (outside of Splash). About two years ago, she approached Weta Workshop, who specialize in design and manufacturing of costumes and special effects (and have worked on projects such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy) to see if the company might be interested in making her a working, prostethic mermaid tail. Turns out they were, and they've just completed the final product. The tail, which is composed of wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, with a custom paint job and digitally-imaged effects, enables Nadya to swim quite effectively, apparently, and is an all around sexy piece of machinery. No word on what one of these slick dudes would cost in real life, but we have a feeling we couldn't justify the expense just to tool around in the kiddie pool.

Update: Check out the video after the break!

[Thanks, Pyper]

Continue reading Double-amputee New Zealander has mermaid dreams fulfilled

Red Xbox 360 mentioned in PR, is probably real

by Laura June posted Feb 19th 2009 at 11:44AM

So it looks like that red Xbox 360 Elite that we heard might be on its way is, in fact, on its way. A press release for Halo Wars in New Zealand makes mention of the phantom console -- the deal is that anyone buying a new Xbox 360 will get a free copy of the game, but the fine print excludes the doesn't-yet-exist red model, because it's "exclusive to EB Games." So this is the Resident Evil 5 one? It's all so unclear. We haven't picked up on any context clues as to a time frame for release or price. Yet.

[Via Joystiq]

Zero-emission i MiEV begins testing in New Zealand

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2009 at 8:59AM

Slowly but surely, the i MiEV is making its way out to test fields around the globe. Just months after a smattering of the zero-emission vehicles hit the west coast of America, we're now being told that a new crew of guinea pigs have waltzed into New Zealand. Over a hundred government representatives and key stakeholders were invited to drive Mitsubishi Motors' oddest, greenest vehicle, and of course, to talk business about how this bean could fit into the nation's transportation system. As it stands, Mitsu is still looking to launch the vehicle for consumer use this summer in Japan, though no word was mentioned on when it would arrive Down Under, across the pond or on US soil.

New Zealander gives classified DAP back to US, gets a new one in exchange

by Darren Murph posted Jan 28th 2009 at 5:38PM

Aw, lookie here -- a happy ending! That suddenly popular Chris Ogle -- you know, the New Zealander who accidentally purchased an MP3 player full of classified US Army documents from a thrift store -- is basking in the glory of his 14th minute of fame. According to a new report from Reuters, Mr. Ogle peacefully handed the device back over to US authorities, and for his cooperation, a brand spanking new player was handed over to him. It's unclear what kind of unit he received and if it was your tax money paying for it, but we get the feeling we'll never truly know answers to either question. As for Ogle's next move? We hear he's jockeying for a guest spot on Flight of the Conchords.

New Zealander buys used MP3 player, finds classified US Army files in like-new condition

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 26th 2009 at 1:29PM

While used and refurb'd electronics have a long history of delivering more than the purchaser bargained for, like assembly-line photos, MI6 documents, or the phone number to Sarah Palin's hair stylist, New Zealand man Chris Ogle's surprise find is a little more troubling. He picked up the above unidentified MP3 player at a thrift shop in Oklahoma for $18 used. On it were 60 files, many of which appear to be US Army property of a confidential nature, including one that lists soldier names, SSNs, and phone numbers, and another doc that appears to be a mission plan. Sadly the Government is choosing to ignore this little security breach, but we think it should step up and make Mr. Ogle an offer. He's likely to let the thing go cheap thanks to a second unfortunate discovery: it doesn't even play music any more.

[Via The Sydney Morning Herald]

Meet the world's first ten iPhone 3G owners

by Ryan Block posted Jul 10th 2008 at 12:53AM

With just seven hours to go out here in New Zealand before the first worldwide iPhone 3G launch (yeah, we flew all the way out for it), the line at the Auckland Vodafone store is growing steadily but surely. Everyone's in high spirits, despite the fact that it's winter here in the southern hemisphere, and they can't as easily get away with that whole hippie line-sitter thing like in New York. We'll check back in soon as we get our international iPhone 3G launch lineblog started.

#1
Name: Jonny Gladwell, 22 (pictured above, right)
Current phone: Sony Ericsson K800i on Voda
Waiting for: more than 48 hours now
Buying: black 8GB
Motivation: to be the first, duh! His girlfriend is just in it to keep him company, she's not actually getting one herself. Jonny tells us he's not going to eBay the world's first iPhone 3G, though. Whatever, dude!

Continue reading Meet the world's first ten iPhone 3G owners

iPhone Jonny: world's first iPhone 3G owner (in waiting)

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 8th 2008 at 8:22AM

See that guy? That's Jonny Gladwell from Auckland New Zealand. He's special no matter how you define the word. He's camped outside of Vodafone NZ right now which puts him on a path to be the world's first iPhone 3G owner. Of course, there's still time for other Kiwi's to get in line at the Wellington and Christchurch shops which will open simultaneously. A red hot trinity of buffoonery to be sure.

[image credit and thanks to Darryl Carey]

iPhone 3G launching 00:01 NZ time, home delivered in the UK

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 7th 2008 at 5:29AM

Vodafone just went public with the information you already knew, New Zealand will see the world's first iPhone launch at 00:01 local time on the 11th. That's almost a full day before any New York, propaganda farmer gets his. In the UK, O2 is now taking pre-orders (one per customer) on a first come, first serve basis. Better yet, your new slab of 3G will be delivered to your home on the 11th of July by courier where you can activate it from the digital comforts of iTunes. So civilized.

Update: According to a handful of tipsters, O2 sold out of the 16GB version of the iPhone in about three hours. Here's hoping you made the cut.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read -- O2 UK
Read -- Vodafone NZ

Xbox 360 price cuts official... in Australia

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 2:17AM

It's not the Stateside discount we've been waiting for, but at least Australia and New Zealand are looking at discounted Xbox 360 pricing across the board. No press release, just an update to the Aussie Xbox site indicating a new starting price of AU$349 Australian dollars for the Xbox 360 Arcade -- the same console which sold for AU$399 just yesterday. That makes it AU$50 cheaper than the Wii locally. Gamespot spoke to local Xbox exec, Jeremy Hilton, who confirmed that the Xbox 360 Pro bundle has been slashed to AU$499 (was AU$579) and the Elite is now AU$649 (down from AU$729). More importantly perhaps, is this quote about Microsoft's pricing strategy:

"One of the big changes Microsoft has made is that with price drops, you'd see the US would drop, and pretty much within two weeks we would drop as well. Now, it's very much the individual countries who manage what they feel would be best for their respective regions. In March we had a price drop in Europe, and in April we had a price drop in Asia. So we're definitely moving away from that big global strategy."

So no guaranteed followup drop in the US regardless of the mounting evidence.

[Via Gamespot, thanks Adam L.]

World's first iPhone 3G on sale in New Zealand a day before the US

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 25th 2008 at 1:54AM

Consider yourself an Apple fanatic? Gotta have the latest and greatest the moment it's available? Ok... prove it. We have it from a trusted source that the world's first iPhone 3G will be on sale at 00:01, Friday July 11th, in New Zealand -- that's still Thursday, July 10th at 5:01 in the AM in Cupertino or 13:01 hours in London. At that precise minute, Vodafone NZ will swing open the doors of its Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch shops to your overeager HSDPA jones. So, now that you know, the next move is all yours.

Read -- 00:01 NZ time calculated globally

Acer offers Ubuntu pre-load for kiwis

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 15th 2008 at 8:03AM

Well here you have it. After the rumors surfaced back in July, Acer is offering Ubuntu 7.10 as a pre-load on their 14.1-inch Aspire 4315-100508C model with 1,280 x 800 resolution, 1.86GHz Celeron M 540, 512MB memory, 80GB disk, and DVD optical drive. Better yet, the price is just NZ$699 -- that's $553 in US greenbacks. The offer appears to be good in New Zealand only for the moment. Toe dipping the consumer waters are we Acer?

[Via Geekzone]

Robotic tuatara successfully generates research data

by Darren Murph posted Jun 9th 2007 at 10:28AM

Just over two months ago Robo-Ollie, a robotic tuatara, was loosed into the wilderness on Stephens Island in New Zealand, and now that its creator and her colleagues have had a chance to monitor it in the wild, it looks like Mr. Oliver is performing toppingly. Sporting a nickel-cadmium battery, servos, and a rubberized skin suit, the creature has spent its time bobbing its head, gaping its mouth, and providing researchers with some intriguing data about aggressiveness and mating tendencies within the species. Unfortunately, the current iteration is essentially paralyzed from the neck back, and it took its masters a tick to understand how the head bobbing gig was "sending mixed signals" as it showcased feminine tendencies -- but now that he's regained his masculinity, it's on to figuring out what olfaction and infidelity have to do with tuatara life.

[Via Digg]