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NZ mobile sites stuck in slow lane
It takes on average 15 seconds to load a mobile page in New Zealand, when it should take three. That's according to Google NZ Country Director Caroline Rainsford, who spoke at the PwC Herald talks on …
Kiwi space dreams coming true
Is it now possible for Kiwi kids to grow up knowing they can work in the space industry? Until very recently, it was probably something you had to acquire a different citizenship to achieve. But the a…
Mobile gaming thrives
So, you want to strike it rich in entertainment? Forget the movies and pour your creative talents into gaming instead - it's worth three times as much. And one of the fastest growing segments is mobil…
Bias - a very wicked problem…
Algorithms aren't always the most enticing subject to talk to a Humanities and Social Science course about, but as Victoria Maclennan found, when it comes to algorithmic bias, everyone needs to know.
Patently absurd
Patents are a source of much amusement and occasionally some horror, particularly in the tech world.
While some are truly innovative, and can lead to huge improvements in technology and the lives o…
Checking in on virtual reality
Virtual reality has always seemed like one of those technologies that ought to be more prevalent than it actually is. The last Gartner Hype Cycle that I sighted had it well ahead of the pack of other …
Fitness tracking watches now surplus to requirements
Following revelations that US troops on deployment around the world were publishing their location data courtesy of their fitness trackers, the US Department of Defense (sic) has called time on the pr…
Accountants grapple with AI
Business is waking up to the ethical dilemmas posed by Artificial Intelligence and it's time to move the discussion from the tech community into the mainstream. That's the prevailing message from the …
Brislen on Tech
Data centres. Big fat juicy data centres, serving up the world's content, from right here in New Zealand.
You need a few things to make that a reality. You need cheap and relatively green electrici…
Emoji under the microscope
There are people who are awesome at emoji, they include at least three in every text, tweet or Instagram post. I am not one of those people, mostly I make do with :) and never the inverse :( because i…
Hawaiki goes live - brings diversity and capacity to market
After a decade of talks, planning, setbacks and struggle, the Hawaiki Cable has finally launched and is ready to provide connectivity between New Zealand and the north American continent.
Brislen on Tech
There's a cycle that major brands go through that's often entertained me. They start off as the challenger. The new kid on the block. Hey look at us, they say, we're hip. We're trendy. We're on point.…
Avoiding project management failure
A recent KPMG survey found that only 33% of projects meet their initial goals, less than one third are delivered on budget and only ten percent are effectively governed. One Kiwi company believes it h…
Retail as a Service
Technology disrupts every sector, and none more so than retail. So what innovation is around the corner for the shoppers, merchants, suppliers and distributors? A good place to look to is China. A rec…
Living on the curve
It was Gordon Moore who pointed out that technological change isn't linear, it's exponential. As computer power doubles, the price for it halves and this is having a profound effect on the way we live…
Brislen on Tech
International borders and the World Wide Web: Many years ago I received a phone call from a local pharmacy here in New Zealand. They'd been cheerfully selling goods in accordance with New Zealand law …
Brislen on Tech
Oh government. You really shouldn't bite off more than you can chew.
Once, big government projects were the key to a good economic recovery. Bridges, dams, roads, office blocks, saw mills, you name…
Robots stealing jobs, maybe
The latest on the "robots stealing jobs" front is that 31% of current jobs in New Zealand are at high risk of being automated - replaced by robots and overtaken by algorithms.
But is all this talk …
Dirt mapping
Soil is the skin of the earth. That poetic sentence is uttered during a video on the Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research site acknowledging the digital milestone reached by the organisation's national S-…
CIO Conference, digital disruption, the Met and OMGTech
The CIO Conference wrapped up last week in Auckland. We sent in an undercover tech head to see how it went.
