Author Archive
A second apology (this time from Apple)
Apple’s iPhone Maps application (in iOS6) was delivered half-baked. That seems obvious. Here’s Apple CEO Tim Cook apologising for (shock, horror) ‘the debacle’. Good on him. Will it pull the sting? My first reaction to the shortcomings was to install a bookmark on my home screen for the web app of Google Maps (see below). […]
An apology unlikely to pull the sting
There’s no need for me to dwell on this disgrace. There’s plenty of coverage.* “Of course I apologize to Mr Dotcom. I apologize to New Zealanders …” — Prime Minister John Key (MP3 file here) Sometimes being the Minister in charge of the ‘intelligence’ services is a real let-down. I doubt that Mr Key is […]
Ye-ouch! Emmerson on Dotcom debacle
Crikey! That’s strong … Well, fair enough I guess. In A farce upon farce reaching to the highest level — John Armstrong of the NZ Herald offers a passable imitation of an apologist’s defensive spin for the Key government, ending with this: [Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill] English’s behaviour is inexplicable. But the […]
Scratch testing an iPhone5. Gulp.
Holy cow. I’ll be getting one of these phones … but I’ll treat it a little better than THIS: I don’t expect my gear to be literally bulletproof. But wow, the internet is FULL of drop-tests-to-destruction … is there a name for that? Shiny-gadget-bashing-porn? – P UPDATE: From 9to5 Mac Shocker!
Free hits on John Key over illegal spying
Wow, talk about a clobbering machine … Dotcom: Illegal spying revealed (NZ Herald) Labour leader David Shearer said the alleged illegal spying amounted to a “shocking breach” of New Zealand law. He said Mr Key needed to explain a claim he had not heard of Mr Dotcom until the day before a police raid was […]
Ruby Sparks. A nice story, beautifully told.
I loved this movie. It’s deft. Trust me, see it. – P
‘The problem with any ideology’ — Bill Clinton
I heard this in Bill Clinton’s interview with Jon Stewart 20 Sept 2012 talking about finding solutions for economic challenges. ‘The problem with any ideology is it gives you the answer before you look at the evidence. So you have to mould the evidence to get the answer that you’ve already decided you got to […]
#PlanetKey OPEN MOCKERY continues, corroding the Teflon
Trust Steve Braunias … The secret diary of … Planet Key (click) In which Braunias delivers a poke of (well-deserved?) ridicule and indignity to the Prime Minister’s ‘Planet Key’ clanger. I wonder if Mr Key or his advisors sense yet how complete the appearance of tone-deafness was in his juxtaposing a ‘Nirvana’ of abundant golf […]
All in a good cause, we assume?
Gawd, I loved The West Wing … this ‘star-studded’ campaign ad for Bridget Mary McCormack uses the members of the ensemble and some of Sorkin’s visual ‘vocabulary’ (including cliché e.g. ‘walk and talk’) combined with what I’ve for so long thought of as ‘Mad About You’ whip-snappy dialogue and, mannered lecture-ettes. That I have such […]
Using predator drones for futile vengeance
This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking article by an ex-soldier about the increasing use of unmanned military drones to kill people … Highly recommended. Drone warfare’s deadly civilian toll: a very personal view by James Jeffrey writing in The Guardian. Political theorist Hannah Arendt described the history of warfare in the 20th century as the […]
Nick Clegg autotuned apology
Fabulous! More importantly is this take from Linda Jack… As a Lib Dem party member who has called for Nick Clegg to apologise for us breaking our pledge on tuition fees, my first reaction last night was to welcome his public mea culpa. But listening carefully to what he had actually said, it became clear […]
