Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
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 44]
When to choose closed or open source
Friday, 17 April 2015, 9:51 am | Digitl
Open source has many advantages, but it isn’t always the right approach. At the Open Source Open Society 2025 conference in Wellington delgates discussed when projects should be closed and when open source is best. …it all depends on the circumstances ... More >>
Decision makers ignore technology impact
Thursday, 16 April 2015, 3:55 pm | Digitl
As Sascha Meinrath, founder of the Open Technology Institute says, that means the people making important decisions about how Americans use technology have no idea what is going on in that world. More >>
Open is about more than just transparency
Thursday, 16 April 2015, 12:03 pm | Digitl
“Share and share alike” is the message parents drum into children. But once they grow up and move out into the wider world, the shutters start to come down. We’re trained to be closed. Dave Lane, president of the New Zealand Open Source Society, ... More >>
One month with Microsoft Word 2016 for Mac
Wednesday, 15 April 2015, 3:50 pm | Digitl
Mac Office:2011 was almost a generation behind the Windows version of Office at launch. It didn’t just look out-of-date, it was missing functionality [1] . More >>
Xero on iPad — the first month
Wednesday, 15 April 2015, 3:45 pm | Digitl
Xero broke the mould when it put accounting software in the cloud. Now, thanks to the iPad app released last month, tablet owners can get the most out of the software. More >>
What an Australian Netflix tax means for New Zealand
Sunday, 12 April 2015, 5:48 pm | Digitl
Australia plans to make Netflix and other overseas-based online sellers of ‘intangible services’ pay GST (Good and Services tax). More >>
Netflix, Quickflix, Lightbox, Neon: An interim market
Thursday, 9 April 2015, 9:24 am | Digitl
After years of waiting New Zealanders are now spoilt for choice with streaming TV. Netflix, Quickflix, Lightbox and Neon each offer a decent local catalogues at reasonable prices. More >>
Taxing times at Netflix New Zealand
Monday, 6 April 2015, 5:15 pm | Digitl
The disruption started before the world’s largest streaming TV and film service opened in New Zealand last month . More >>
Global mode action: You Canute be serious
Sunday, 5 April 2015, 4:58 pm | Digitl
There's a whiff of King Canute and the tide in the Nick Grant and Chris Keall NBR report: "[Sky, Spark, TVNZ, MediaWorks take action against CallPlus, other global mode ISPs](http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/copyright-global-mode-ng-170966)": ... More >>
Lenmar ChugPlug MacBook power back-up
Sunday, 5 April 2015, 4:51 pm | Digitl
When Apple updated the MacBook Air in 2013 it went for extended battery life in a big way. At a pinch you can get 12 hours from a single charge. More >>
Two ways to get attention: advertising, publicity
Monday, 30 March 2015, 7:34 pm | Digitl
A basic guide for business owners and others who want publicity. This is an updated version of a story first posted in 2008. More >>
Asus Transformer T300 Chi
Thursday, 26 March 2015, 5:41 pm | Digitl
Asus has worked hard to move upmarket. Making low-cost no-brand PCs is not good business. Today Asus wants to been seen as a maker of affordable, good-quality hardware. And Asus wants to be interesting. More >>
Six months with iPhone 6, 6 Plus
Sunday, 15 March 2015, 3:39 pm | Digitl
Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus landed in New Zealand six months ago. At the time I posted my first impressions . Here’s a more reflective review of what the phones are like to use. More >>
Macbook more interesting than Apple Watch
Sunday, 15 March 2015, 3:01 pm | Digitl
The MacBook is thinner and lighter than the already skinny MacBook Air. It has a 12 inch display with the same high-resolution Retina display found on flagship MacBook Pros. More >>
How to spot a psychopath boss
Wednesday, 11 March 2015, 10:00 am | Digitl
“A psychopath is not a professional. You can't work with a psychopath, 'cause ya don't know what those sick assholes are gonna do next." More >>
Closing the copper network
Thursday, 5 March 2015, 5:33 pm | Digitl
A year ago I posted When should we rip out the copper network? It's too early to name a date today, but following this discussion on Linkedin , I predicted: As the law stands today, a street has copper even if only one house uses it. The price is ... More >>
How (and why) New Zealand bucks worldwide PC sales trend
Thursday, 5 March 2015, 5:21 pm | Digitl
New Zealand PC sales surged in 2014. IDC’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker unit reports sales grew almost 16 percent during the year. That total zoomed past IDC’s already bullish forecast. More >>
Google tweaks Google+ mix as Photos, Streams break away
Thursday, 5 March 2015, 5:17 pm | Digitl
Mike Murphy gets to the point for Quartz when he writes Google will strip Google+ for parts . More >>
Tackling data sovereignty
Thursday, 5 March 2015, 5:13 pm | Digitl
From a story I wrote for TechTarget's Storage ANZ eZine: Storage is a popular and fast-growing cloud service in Australia, but it comes with its challenges, not least local laws and latency Download the February ANZ Storage Management e-zine . There ... More >>
Broadband as part of the bigger infrastructure picture
Monday, 2 March 2015, 8:43 pm | Digitl
Yet the government-sponsored Ultrafast Broadband project and the Rural Broadband Initiative are just two of a series of major infrastructure projects transforming New Zealand cities. More >>
