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Bill Bennett
Freelance journalist.
Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.
Bennett's The Download Weekly newsletter is published every Friday. You can sign up for it here.
If you want to support his work, you can make a donation to his PressPatron account.
Bill Bennett - Latest News [Page 23]
Government bill to tackle extreme, violent content
Saturday, 30 May 2020, 2:03 pm | Digitl
The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill introduces new criminal offences. It hands power to a chief censor who can make immediate decisions to block ... More >>
Benedict Evans on the virtual reality winter
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:48 am | Digitl
In The VR winter Benedict Evans writes about virtual reality and its failure to take off: We tried VR in the 1980s, and it didn’t work. The idea may have been great, but the technology of the day was nowhere close to delivering it, and almost ... More >>
Covid-19 highlights UFB investment wisdom
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:44 am | Digitl
Our networks have been pushed well beyond expectation. For the most part, they have not been found wanting. More >>
Smartwatch sales grow, Apple dominates
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:41 am | Digitl
Strategy Analytics, a research firm, says smartwatch shipments grew 20 percent annually to 14 million units in the first quarter of 2020. More >>
Phone makers face difficult year
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:40 am | Digitl
IDC reports shipments 1 of new phones dropped 11.7 percent year on year in the first three months of 2020. That’s a total of 275.8 million phones. More >>
If a tree falls in New Zealand's tech forest...
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:37 am | Digitl
A week ago Catalyst Cloud launched a low-cost storage service. Or to be accurate its Object Storage service. You can see the full press release at Scoop . More >>
Ultrafast Fibre overseas sale raises questions
Thursday, 14 May 2020, 11:35 am | Digitl
Ultrafast Fibre’s owners have agreed to sell their shares in the business to First State Investments, an Australian asset management company. More >>
Your fibre line goes both ways: Use all of it
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:26 pm | Digitl
Yet every fibre connection on the UFB ( Ultra-Fast Broadband ) network is bi-directional. Data travels in both directions. And many fibre plans are symmetric: Data goes up the line as fast as it comes down. More >>
Extending New Zealand fibre beyond UFB2
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:20 pm | Digitl
It’s time to consider whether New Zealand’s fibre network should be extended beyond the reach of UFB and UFB2. There is a sound business case for doing so. Yet considerations need to go beyond the balance sheet. More >>
2020 iPad Pro 12.9-inch review part two: Camera, lidar
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:16 pm | Digitl
For the last four or five years camera upgrades have dominated new phone launches. Now Apple is doing the same with the 2020 12.9-inch iPad Pro which comes with added lidar. More >>
Windows 10 at five: Didn't turn out as expected
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:09 pm | Digitl
On the fifth anniversary of Windows 10, we look back at what it was supposed to be and what it ultimately became. Almost nothing turned out as planned, and that’s OK. Ed Bott brings the state of Windows 10 up to date at ZDNet with: Windows 10 turns ... More >>
New Zealand's rural broadband problem we're not talking abou
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:07 pm | Digitl
We've all heard about the digital divide. About how disadvantaged New Zealanders don't have the same access to broadband as their better off neighbours. More >>
Rural broadband funding fails to excite farmers, users
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 6:05 pm | Digitl
Last week the government earmarked $15 million to improve rural broadband. If that doesn't sound like much, you are not alone. Both Tuanz and Federated Farmers have complained that it is not enough. More >>
Vodafone’s disappearing 5G premium
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:28 pm | Digitl
Vodafone says it is: “… delaying the expected $10 monthly add-on charge for 5G through to July 2021 .” More >>
Apple iPhone SE 2020: Best value mid-price option
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:25 pm | Digitl
Looking for mid-range phone? You’d need to be deep into Android or have an irrational Apple aversion to walk past the 2020 iPhone SE. More >>
HP works both ends of the PC street
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:22 pm | Digitl
Suddenly after years of decline personal computers are hot again. Sales are up and there are shortages of some models. More >>
Five new regional digital hubs
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:17 pm | Digitl
Regional economic development minister Shane Jones dipped into the Provincial Growth Fund to find $2 million for five more digital hubs. More >>
5G to dominate mobile carrier thinking
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:14 pm | Digitl
IDC vice-president Hugh Ujhazy says 5G is going to be huge for the mobile carriers He says: “We’ve done a telco capex [capital expenditure] forecast for the Asia-Pacific region excluding China and Japan. The fastest growing single capex ... More >>
Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2: Microsoft hardware refresh
Saturday, 9 May 2020, 2:11 pm | Digitl
Microsoft’s uses Surface to take the laptop fight to Apple. While it leaves mainstream Windows hardware to the likes of HP and Dell, its own brand adds an element of sophistication and a different take on innovation. More >>
Apple MacBook Air 2020: Near perfect
Friday, 17 April 2020, 6:50 pm | Digitl
The Guardian reviewer Samuel Gibbs gives Apple's 2020 MacBook Air five stars . In form and function the MacBook Air is just a few shades short of the perfect traditional laptop. If you don’t want a more modern convertible, you’ll struggle to find ... More >>
