Columns

Last week I wrote about some issues I have with Twitter; and social media in general. The gist of my column was that Twitter has become a flawed product, because of the amount of provocation, noise and vitriol it now attracts. Needless to say, the Twittersphere strongly disagreed with me. But I have to admit, … Read more

Last week Duncan Garner quit Twitter in a huff, after a column he wrote about immigration attracted a storm of moral outrage. Garner complained bitterly about the “verbal abuse” he was subjected to and the “intolerance, hatred and madness” of Twitter users. Garner’s column was undeniably objectionable, but some of the feedback he got was … Read more

One of the biggest tech trends of 2017 has been the rise of blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin. But unlike with bitcoin, there are promising blockchain projects under development in New Zealand. That’s because our government and banks can’t use their red tape to stifle blockchain innovation, like they’re doing with bitcoin. A very quick … Read more

Bitcoin has been rapidly appreciating in value over the past couple of years. Yet for kiwis wanting to buy or trade bitcoin, the process is opaque and risky. For that we can blame our banks, which have not embraced cryptocurrency like many overseas banks have. It feels like ordinary New Zealanders are missing out on … Read more

There’s a motto in Silicon Valley: fail fast, fail often. It’s supposed to motivate entrepreneurs to keep trying new things and to learn from their failures. The trouble is, the motto also describes many of Silicon Valley’s final products. Who among you hasn’t experienced one of the following glitches in the past few months: you … Read more

Which of National or Labour has the best technology policy? Your answer (and your vote) will depend on how business-friendly you are. National’s attitude to tech is so entwined in its trade policy, that it’s hard to know what else it stands for in tech. Whereas Labour takes a broader view, founded on values like … Read more

Since the election is less than two weeks away, let’s take a close look at the technology policies of our main political parties. I’ll cover digital technology in education and society in today’s column, and examine the implications for the economy next week. The National Party has made digital technology in schools a big part … Read more

In July I started a new column at Stuff, New Zealand’s largest news website. As well as appearing online, my weekly columns sometimes make it into The Dominion Post (look out for it every Wednesday, in the Technology section). My columns have been getting a lot of comments on the Stuff website, so they seem … Read more

Ten years ago things were looking very promising for the Internet. Steve Jobs announced the iPhone in January of 2007, ushering in the Mobile Web era. A slew of other major product launches happened that year: Android, Amazon’s Kindle, Tumblr, Facebook’s developer platform, Dropbox, 23andMe and more. Not to mention Twitter’s first tipping point, in … Read more

Climate change is a hot-button issue in the upcoming New Zealand election, after Labour leader Jacinda Ardern’s assertion that “climate change is my generation’s nuclear-free moment” and she’s determined to “tackle it head on.” Most people assumed she meant tackling it with taxation. After all, there’s no way to stop cows from farting. So farmers … Read more

Artificial Intelligence is never far away from the news in 2017, with most reports highlighting the dangers of AI. There’s no shortage of celebrity scaremongers, including Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. “If you’re not concerned about AI safety, you should be,” he said last week. He added that AI presents “vastly more risk than … Read more

It won’t be long before Internet programming is the primary form of entertainment media, usurping once and for all older technologies like television and radio. It’s already happened with music. Streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube have made CD players and even MP3 players like the iPod all but obsolete. We’re not quite … Read more

Say what you will about Donald Trump, but at least he isn’t your typical bland politician on social media. He says what’s on his mind, damn the consequences. In contrast, most other politicians use social media just like the rest of us – to cautiously collect ‘likes’ and to present their best selves online. It’s … Read more

The next version of the iPhone is expected to be announced in September. Already there’s been a lot of speculation about new Augmented Reality (AR) features in iPhone 8. AR is when you overlay 3D objects and information onto the physical world. It’s not like this is a new technology in smartphones. Last year’s biggest … Read more