Auckland listed in the Top 10 world best-cities by Lonely Planet

Auckland's cuisine, culture and coastal scenery has earned it a place alongside Paris and Zurich as one of Lonely Planet's top 10 cities in the world to visit.

New Zealand's biggest city is praised in the guide's Best in Travel 2014 edition for its newly revitalized waterfront district Wynyard Quarter, shopping and dining precincts like City Works Depot and Britomart.

The guide says: "Food, arts and exploring the coastal hinderland are all excellent reasons to extend your stay in New Zealand's biggest and most cosmopolitan city."

For more info click on the link below:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11147736

'Reverse microwave' can chill wine bottles and fizzy drink cans in 45 seconds

The invention of the microwave revolutionized cooking but now a 'reverse-microwave' does the opposite, it can chill a drink in 45 seconds.

Click on the link below for the more information in regards this new invention:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10404692/Reverse-microwave-can-chill-wine-bottles-and-fizzy-drink-cans-in-45-seconds.html

10 million BBM downloads for Android/iOS users in 24 hours

In just 24 hours BBM has been downloaded over 10 million times by Android and iPhone users, one of the best single-day openings for a mobile app to date says Techday in the article below.

The private social network from BlackBerry, available free in the App Store and Google Play, quickly rose through the rankings on the App Store to be the number one free app in more than 75 countries in the first 24 hours.

“This has been an incredible launch for BBM across Android and iPhone devices,” says Andrew Bocking, Executive VP, BBM at BlackBerry.The struggling smartphone maker claims user ratings in both the App Store and Google Play are overwhelmingly positive, earning BBM 60,000 five-star reviews on Google Play from about 87,000 reviews.

“The mobile messaging market is full of opportunity for BBM.

“We intend to be the leading private social network for everyone who needs the immediate communication and collaboration of instant messaging combined with the privacy, control and reliability delivered through BBM,”

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day.

BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps.

According to Bocking, almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how engaged BBM customers are.

Apple’s new iPhones available in NZ now

The most anticipated phones from Apple, the new iPhone 5c and 5s are now available to buy in NZ. Costing a recommended retail price of NZD$1,049 for the 16GB model, the 32GB model and 64GB model will command NZD$1,199 and NZD$1,349 respectively.

The iPhone 5C however, labelled as “the most colourful iPhone yet” will be available in blue, green, pink, yellow and white, for a recommended retail price of NZD$899 for the 16GB model and NZD$1,049 for the 32GB model.

Both new smartphones will be available through the Apple Online Store and select Apple Authorised Resellers across the country, with the iPhone 4S now available for a recommended retail price of NZD$649.

Here is a link for a comparison between both the phone for people who are having troubles to decide which one to buy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-rampton/apple-iphone-5s-vs-5c-com_b_3977584.html

Apple officially launches iPad Air

Three years ago, Apple unveiled the original iPad, boxy and thick and heavy by comparison. Four iPads later, we’re here, welcoming the fifth generation iPad into the world.

Apple has officially announced the latest version of its iPad tablet. The newly named iPad Air features a design that's reminiscent of the iPad mini released last year. It's thinner and lighter than prior versions,  hence the new name: the iPad Air. iPad. It weighs just one pound which is 0.4 pounds less than the previous model.

For more information on the product visit Apple's official website by clicking the link below:

http://www.apple.com/ipad-air/

First launch of Surface 2 in New Zealand

Surface 2 was launched last night which is the world's first launch of the product, the new Surface 2 is thinner and lighter than its previous version and it will be shipped with Windows RT 8.1.

Surface 2 is available in 32GB and 64GB configurations; for a RRP of NZ$649 and $799 respectively

Read the article below by Techday for more info:
http://techday.com/it-brief/news/nz-welcomes-the-surface-2/171981/

Watch the Surface 2 review:

Project Loon : Balloon powered internet testing by Google in New Zealand

Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas.

This project has been started and being tested here in New Zealand. For more info on how this works and how you can be part of this project visit the link below:

http://www.google.com/loon/ 

Two Alaskan Malamutes imitating a crawling baby

Should watch this amazing video of two Alaskan Malamutes imitating a crawling baby.

New Zealand Government Forcing Internet Companies and Network Operators to provide Interception capability

Recently, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) bill was passed and now the bill made progress in the house. 

For more info on the bill and how it works with NSA please read the interesting articles below:

http://thehackernews.com/2013/10/new-zealand-government-forcing-internet_15.html

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9064984/Demystifying-the-GCSB-bill-Spies-and-lies

HTC One Max review article and video

HTC is the latest major phone maker to jump on the massive-handset bandwagon with its new HTC One Max. Echoing devices from rivals Samsung and Sony, the One Max bears a gargantuan 5.9-inch screen yet manages to hold on to some of the smaller One's metallic style.

Watch the hands on video by CNET:

Click the link below for the review about the new HTC One Max by techradar:

http://www.techradar.com/au/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-one-max-1189116/review

CCTV footage of Tsunami in Japan

I wonder how many people have seen this CCTV footage compilation of Tsunami in Japan. This video shows how disastrous it was. 

Watch this video of that disastrous event in Japan:

Sachin announces his retirement after 200th test against West Indies

India legend Sachin Tendulkar will call time on his career after his 200th Test Match against West Indies in November.India has started planning sport’s greatest retirement party next month when Sachin Tendulkar bids farewell to cricket after his 200th Test.

The man known in India as the 'God of cricket' announced on Thursday that the second Test against the West Indies would be the final act of a 24-year career, the passing of which has left a gaping hole in terms of a national hero and icon to more than a billion people.

India’s 24-hour rolling news channels were dominated by Tendulkar’s departure. Rahul Gandhi, a member of India’s greatest political dynasty and a strong candidate to become prime minister next year, was wiped off screen in the middle of a speech as the greats of cricket and the ordinary Indian fan hailed the 40-year-old.

As the man himself admitted he would find it “hard to imagine life without cricket”, others were describing him as a genius who handled the enormous pressures of living his life in the public gaze of the world’s most fanatical cricket nation but never let his success go to his head. “He can’t move around anywhere without crowds following him,” said Sunil Gavaskar, the former India opening batsman. “To have that 24/7, 365 days a year and to still go out and not fail to deliver consistently is marvelous. He has got to be a genius.”

Read more about this news in the below articles by Deccan Chronicle and Telegraph:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131010/sports-cricket/article/sachin-calls-it-day-retire-after-200th-test

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/india/10369042/Sachin-Tendulkar-announces-he-will-retire-from-cricket-after-his-200th-Test-Match-for-India.html

iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will be available in New Zealand on Friday October 25

Apple has this morning revealed that the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will be available in New Zealand on Friday October 25.

The recommended retail price would be NZD$1,049, NZD$1,199 and NZD$1,349 for for the 16GB model, 32GB model and 64GB model respectively.

The iPhone 5C will be available in blue, green, pink, yellow and white, for a recommended retail price of NZD$899 for the 16GB model and NZD$1,049 for the 32GB model.

I personally can't see much of a difference in the pricing between the Apple's so called low cost phone and the standard phone. For more info and read an article by Techday please click on the link below:

http://techday.com/macguide/news/apples-reveals-nz-iphone-availability-and-pricing/171285/

World’s first as skydiving Kiwis build webpage in mid-air

Chris Hirst and Leo Zhao from Kiwi start up Designbymobile are claiming a world first for the creation of a webpage built in mid-air, while skydiving from 8,000 feet.

Hirst and Zhao attempted their claimed world first webpage creation skydive in Auckland, New Zealand to show how easy it is to use their new web design and hosting tool Designbymobile.

Check this interesting news and video in the article by Techday:

http://techday.com/start-up/news/worlds-first-as-skydiving-kiwis-build-webpage-in-mid-air/170977/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ngnewsletter

Nine-year-old runaway flies solo to Las Vegas - without a ticket

American transport officials are investigating how a 9-year-old boy got on a plane without a ticket and flew 2400 km to Las Vegas.

The boy, who has not been named, got through three levels of security at Minneapolis-St Paul airport in Minnesota on Friday before boarding a Delta flight

For more info click on the link below:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10358990/Nine-year-old-runaway-flies-solo-to-Las-Vegas-without-a-ticket.html

Few weeks back it was US Naval Yard now gun shots at US Capitol

A police officer was reported injured after gunshots at the US Capitol, police said. They locked down the entire complex, derailing debate over how to end a government shutdown.

Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, told reporters he was walking from the Capitol to the Senate Russell Office Building across the street when he noticed several police officers driving fast up Constitution Avenue on motorcycles.

For more information click on the link below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/police-lock-down-capitol-after-shots-fired/2013/10/03/48459e0e-2c5a-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html?hpid=z1

Mad Max-style attack on NY driver. Should watch this.

A motorcyclist was charged with reckless driving after prosecutors said he touched off a tense encounter with the driver of a sport utility vehicle and a throng of other bikers that ended with blood and broken bones on a Manhattan street.

Take a look around hidden gems of Antarctica with this virtual guide

An evolving online project is putting people up close to the hidden gems of Antarctica - without them setting foot on ice.

Stephen Archer, a doctoral student with Waikato University's International Centre of Terrestrial Antarctic Research, has been developing a navigation tool that gives users a virtual tour of the white continent.

The resource has much the same functionality as Google software, but takes the viewer off-road to such places as Kiwi Pond in the sweeping Miers Valley, the rock-strewn slopes of Mt Booth, or Bratina Island Camp.

Mr Archer, with help from volunteer photographers, has battled Antarctica's extreme elements and the logistical headaches they create to capture landscape panoramas with his cameras.

Take a look around Antarctica at http://tour.ictar.aq/tour.html

Samsung surprises with first investment in Kiwi wireless power company

Samsung Ventures America has spent $4 million on New Zealand-based startup firm PowerbyProxi, which works on wireless charging devices for mobile phones, entering into a strategic partnership with the company. According to a report by The Droid Guy, Michael Pachos, senior investment manager of Samsung Ventures America, said, “We believe that wireless power transfer is going to significantly change the way consumers use and interact with their devices at home and on the go.”

Powerproxi is inclined towards the Qi Wireless charging standard, which means that it backs the Wireless Power Consortium. The company has developed charging devices in which, users simply have to keep their mobile phones on top of the device in order to charge it. 

This is the first time that Samsung has made an investment in the wireless charging industry. It is also the third round of funding for Powerproxi, which has now raised $20 million in funding.

The Droid Guy also quoted Greg Cross, CEO and chairman of PowerbyProxi, who said that Samsung’s investment wouldn't interfere with the independence of the company, “We want to support as many consumer electronics and industrial components as we possibly can.

For more information check this article by Techday:
http://techday.com/telco-review/news/samsung-surprises-with-investment-in-kiwi-company/170708/