Sponsor's Message

As someone who has been at the coalface and felt the effects of idiocy at all levels within government in respect to such things, I figure there's no longer any point in relying on even the smallest level of support from those in parliament, whose only real priority appears to be self-interest.

For a start, as we've seen repeatedly, they're bungling the issue of promoting and ensuring the availability of affordable *real* broadband.

Sure, if you're a home-user, you can get an "only-just" broadband 256/128Kbps DSL connection for the same price most other countries pay for *real* broadband -- but what about businesses?

Telecom's JetSurf products are (supposedly) strictly for domestic use so if you're a Kiwi knowledge-based business, you're going to be really paying through the nose for your full-rate JetStream connection.

Indeed, while our domestic DSL prices are a little more expensive than those in countries such as the USA, our business connections are way over the top, costing an order of magnitude or more than those in other countries.

Given that it's already been widely accepted how critical high-speed internet is to the success and even the viability of many KBEs in a country as geographically remote as New Zealand, I'm surprised that so few are pointing out that cheaper domestic "only-just" broadband does nothing to help our KBEs.

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

But I'm getting tired of banging my head against a political wall when it comes to trying to get action out of the government.

Perhaps it's time to accept the fact that it doesn't really matter what the public thinks, governments will always do exactly what *they* want, safe in the knowledge that they've got at least a 3-year tenure after each election.

So, I'm wiping the blood from my eyes and, while I wait for other opportunities to come along, I'm doing my bit to foster and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs and inventors.

The most visible sign of this is my involvement in this new TV series.

This is one of the best initiatives I've seen yet in terms of providing a long-term boost to our knowledge economy -- I kid you not. And it will come as little surprise to learn that it's *not* the brainchild of Anderton or his goons.

While Anderton and other politicians seem to consider photo-opportunities to be a key criteria of any investment in a KBE, this programme targets the key resource we need in order to become competitive -- the next generation of knowledge workers. Without these people, we're really stuffed.

I'm hoping that by encouraging kids to get involved in thinking about problems and turning their ideas into practical realities, we can help produce a new generation of Kiwis that will really help us to punch above our weight in coming years.

One thing's for sure -- we can't rely on governments or their policies to have any positive effect.

Lighten Up
Once again it's time for your (usually) weekly dose of interesting tid-bits from the web.

New Zealand's new private Airforce took a step closer to reality a couple of weeks ago when pilots test-flew this new A10 Wartog (4MB MPEG) for the first time. Believe it or not, this thing is probably worth more than your car.

It seems that amongst some programmers, pizza-eating and coke swilling is now "so 80s" that this new device is making inroads into previously sacred culinary territory. Have you ordered yours?

And speaking of geeks, here's the ultimate Geek's motorcycle, I mean -- it runs unix!

Come on folks, keep those Lighten-up Links flowing!

Oh, and be careful -- it's Friday the 13th you know :-)

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

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