Pat Phelan has been on the warpath since O2 announced its pricing scheme for the iPhone deployment in Ireland on March 14. Alexia and Conor find a few more Paddy Taxes that O2 hoists upon its customers. If you look deep enough it is in much of the telecom industry, though there are a few exceptions like Pat’s own ventures and (for a particular kind of user) MobiPCS back in Hawai‘i. But by and large the major players all treat customers like potential prey instead of valued customers – it’s death by a thousand razors, or Paddy Taxes. My wife…
My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 2nd
These are my links for March 2nd: O2 launches iPhone Ireland and pulls a fast one on customers – Pat Pephelan documents O2’s iPhone Paddy Screw-Job. Curious to see what happens here in NZ. iPhone sales were reported to be happening sometime this year, though haven’t heard anything since we arrived. Residents say state is run for tourists [ The Honolulu Advertiser ] – A slim majority of Hawai’i residents told pollsters the state is run more for tourists than local people — a significant shift in attitudes from the previous survey commissioned by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority.
Hop On The Magic Bus
My wife and I braved the Dunedin bus system one Sunday and headed toward St. Clair, on the coast. There is a heated, salt-water swimming pool there, but we passed on it for today. Just doing recon for a future day, if there are any warm weekends left.
Here’s To You, Ronnie Drew
Irish musician Ronnie Drew is battling cancer and a host of Irish musicians decided to honour him with a song. The song “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew”, is a collaboration, written by the Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, with Bono, the Edge and the former Golden Horde singer and songwriter Simon Carmody. (With a tip o’ the hat to Pat Phelan)
Go! Goes Native (Language)
I got a sneek peek at this Go! Airlines website which has been translated, as much as their technology currently allows, into Hawaiian. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin carries a story on the work, which includes participation by many individuals. This is a wonderful development, and I hope it encourages other commercial entities to offer Hawaiian language versions of their websites. As Kenneth Makuk?ne notes, he and I have often spoken of their being new opportunities for Hawaiian language speakers and graduates from our language programs beyond becoming teachers of the language. The language needs to grow into more contemporary contexts if…
Rent-To-Own Movies in iTMS?
Here is an idea for you guys at Apple who make decisions regarding iTMS, and I know you all read this blog. It would be great if customers were given the ability, after renting a movie, to be able to buy it and just pay the difference. After I watched “Once” I wished I had bought it, but I’m not going to spend $10 more (or whatever the purchase price is) after spending $4 to rent it. The movies expire and auto-delete 24 hours after you watch. Apple should give renters the opportunity to pay the difference within that time…
OtagoFest Pics
AccuWeather Not So Hot In Dunedin
I checked Culture Hack today to see how cold it was in Dunedin today according to my AccuWeather badge – it said it’s 90F right now. Don’t believe it! I don’t know if we’ve gotten above 60 degrees Fahrenheit today. I do believe it when they say it could be in the mid-40s tonight. Our room heaters may see their first action this evening.
Take The Last Train To… Palmerston?
While I have have been working and researching diligently for the past week or so, we decided to have one last “tourist day” before M?lia begins school next week Monday. There are several train tours available on Taieri Gourge Railway, we opted for the shorter, shoreline route which runs from Dunedin to Palmerston and back. The day began overcast and ominous, so much so that we took umbrellas. We didn’t need to – the sky opened and once we left the Dunedin harbor area it turned out to be a fantastic day. The entire trip from Dunedin to Palmerston and…
Week Three Aready? Jeesh!
It’s been a few days since my last report, been busy with UHH work duties, and dealing with a pressing technology issue there. On Tuesday we had a meeting with the International Student Dean and principal at M?lia’s school, Logan Park High School. After reviewing her transcripts from N?wah?, they put her into year 13, which is the same as senior year in Hawai’i. She’s already done one semester of junior year at home, and NZ schools are just starting their school year now. As a result she doesn’t have to wear the school uniform, and has a choice of…