Science Media Centre

Laura Jackson writes in the Manawatu Standard about a device, developed in Palmerston North, which is apparently able to speed up broadband without the need to install fibre-optic cables. In addition, the device is able to act as a backup electricity system for houses which do have fibre-optic cabling. An excerpt: (read in full here) [...]

Helen Twose writes in the New Zealand Herald about the author of the Digital Britain report, Lord Stephen Carter’s assertion that New Zealand needs to decide how best to use the additional capacity to be provided by the government-backed ultra-fast broadband network currently being planned. The eventual use of a broadband network can affect how [...]

On Tuesday night I was able to go and see UPLoad 2010.  Titled ‘The Great Broadband Debate’, it covered (amongst other things) the sitrep for broadband in New Zealand, why we need that second undersea cable, and how our lives might be changed by access to the sorts of broadband available elsewhere in the world. [...]

Pipe dream or economy booster? The news yesterday that a group of wealthy businessmen including Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall and Trade Me founder Sam Morgan are leading a $900 million bid to build a 13,000km fibre optic cable between Australia, New Zealand and the US has created a lot of buzz. The prospect of an [...]

The Nelson Mail reports on the successful testing of a new technology to help rescue stranded and lots cavers. The technology, which uses a satellite link to allow broadband internet access in rugged and inaccessible New Zealand terrain, gave rescuers better access to information, and an improved likelihood of finding people who are lost. An [...]

A new survey questions whether fast broadband supplies productivity gains over slow broadband, although it’s clear that both provide a productivity leg-up over dial-up. The survey, conducted by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, found that while there were gains when companies initially adopted broadband, no change ocurred when they switched to fast broadband.  However, [...]

Anthony Doesburg of the New Zealand writes in his latest opinion piece about the the internet and some of its more useful uses. While internet scams are one of its more infamous uses, it can also be used, collectively, as the world’s largest and most powerful computer, able to process vast amounts of information and [...]

Vint Cerf, vice-president of Google, is visiting New Zealand to speak at a conference on the looming lack of web addresses.  He is also widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the internet, and has been talking about his visions for the internet’s future. An excerpt: (read in full here) “Vint Cerf, vice-president [...]