Take a quick look at Google News to see how effective Microsoft’s PR team is. Nearly every headline by various journalists talks about the new Microsoft “iPod Killer” due to be released before Xmas ‘06. Meanwhile Apple is selling about 6-7 million iPods every quarter. Most owners would also be using the iTunes store, making it highly unlikely that they will ditch Apple and move to Microsoft. Just ask Sony how they are going with their supposed “iPod Killer”. Apple gets a rough ride in the business/tech media in the US as well as Wall Street analysts who still are trying to talk down their recent record profits as they don’t predict them to be sustainable. I look forward to Apple continuing to prove everyone wrong.

Answer: Yes, without a doubt. *

*NB: Author currently en route to London via Los Angeles and has just spent an hour standing in a queue for US Border Control & Customs, whilst in transit!

Looks like MTV is coming back to New Zealand again. Check out this article by Scott Kara, exceptional journalist and all round nice guy.

The tall poppy syndrome strikes again. The New Zealand Herald has just done a number of newly listed tech company Rakon. Their 4 page investigative special in the weekend paper attacks them for supplying their GPS technology to manufacturer Rockwell who in turn supply guidance systems for the US military’s smart bombs. I think this an amazing achievement for an amazing achievement for a company based in Mt Wellington.

The inflammatory article suggests that this is somehow wrong, because the Labour led government chose not to support the war in Iraq. The last time I checked, this is a democracy, and just because the government says something isn’t right, doesn’t mean all the citizens, private or public, have to agree.

Nobody wants war, but the fact remains that many major technologies were originally developed for military purposes and why shouldn’t New Zealand companies be involved in this? The article suggests that the government should intervene. Yeah, that’s a great idea, let’s force another fantastic New Zealand company to move offshore.

I can only hope that the damage from this is not too great for Rakon.

Did Telecom plan to foresee the deliberate misuse of their name? Looks like they did if you do a whois lookup on the domain name and see that they registered it years ago:

% New Zealand Domain Name Registry Limited
% Users confirm on submission their agreement to all published Terms
%
version: 1.23.0
query_datetime: 2006-05-27T18:07:32+12:00
domain_name: telecon.co.nz
query_status: 200 Active
domain_dateregistered: 2004-02-19T10:17:12+13:00
domain_datebilleduntil: 2006-06-19T10:17:12+12:00
domain_datelastmodified: 2006-05-19T23:45:21+12:00
domain_delegaterequested: yes
%
registrar_name: Xtra Limited
registrar_address1: Private Bag 92028
registrar_city: Auckland
registrar_country: NZ (NEW ZEALAND)
registrar_phone: +64 9 355-5200
registrar_fax: +64 9 355-5281
registrar_email: soa@xtra.co.nz
%

Just got this from New Zealand Trade & Enterprise. Welcome news, as it has historically been very difficult to get assistance with sales and marketing in new markets.

The government has released the new budget this afternoon. Part of this new budget is a change to the Enterprise Development Grant ‘Market Development’ component (EDG-MD) scheme. The EDG-MD scheme is to receive a substantial increase in funding next financial year, which starts in July. The annual funding for the scheme will increase from $6.1 million to $25.9 million.

How does the grant work?

The ‘Market Development’ component of the Enterprise Development Grant provides financial assistance for New Zealand businesses to undertake international market development activity.

Specifically, this fund covers up to 50 percent of a firm’s eligible market development expenditure that is related to developing new markets and improving current market positions offshore. Eligible projects include market visits, in-market representation, advertising/promotion/marketing collateral, exhibiting at trade fairs and events, and some market research. For a more detailed list of eligible activities please see attached pdf file.

Companies need to be undertaking a new market development strategy or a strategy in a new market; the fund cannot be used for business as usual. Retrospective costs (i.e. costs incurred by the applicant prior to the completed application being received and accepted as complete by NZTE) are not eligible. For a more detailed list of ineligible activities please see attached pdf file.

How much funding can applicants apply for?

A company can apply for up to $100,000 per July-June financial year in eligible costs, which the firms must match. As a minimum, the smallest amount a firm in the scheme must spend on its eligible market access activities is $40,000 – of which $20,000 may be reimbursed by NZTE under this scheme.

When can businesses apply?

From July 1 application details will be available from NZTE’s website (www.nzte.govt.nz/edg). Firms that are in the standby pool from the last round of applications will be contacted by NZTE and given priority.

Media release

My daughter is nearly 2 years old. Taking her to see a doctor goes something like this:

Doctor examines her for about 60 seconds

“She either has a) [insert vague/common illness here] or b) [insert alternative vague/common illness here]. It is very hard to diagnose a young child. I would just give her some baby Panadol and plenty of fluids.”

Errr, thanks buddy. I could have put her symptoms into Google and got a multi-choice list of possible answers. I came to you so you would tell me with some inkling that you might be confident in your conclusion.

My parent’s generation deify doctors and when you’re a kid you look at them in much the same way. The day you realise that they are just everyday people, albeit more highly educated than me, it is a little frightening.