Bill Bennett

The term “content” is a barbarism that bit by bit devalues what journalists do.

- Jay Rosen, Chair of Journalism at New York University

See my New Zealand telecommunications and tech news website at https://billbennett.co.nz

Public Key

npub1gpcxn339ap3r9tju2uy6d5k8rmud7f8kr579w7zv54qyevgz9xsqdtr4us

NIP-05 Address

billbennett_at_mastodon.nz@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsyqurfccj7sc3j4ew9wzdx6tr3a7xlynmp60zh0px22szvkypzngqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsxm3sdt

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1gpcxn339ap3r9tju2uy6d5k8rmud7f8kr579w7zv54qyevgz9xsqdtr4us

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Last Notes

2024-08-12 01:59:29

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@npub1668…ttqz There's some evidence that things are better. But it's all relative. Climbing from 1 out of 100 to 5 out of 100 means little when the industry average is 50 out of 100.

2024-08-12 01:53:10

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@npub1668…ttqz The rebrand is an assumption that everyone has a short memory,

2024-08-12 01:43:50

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@npub1668…ttqz One NZ is the most complained about company in New Zealand history by a considerable margin. I'm kind of in awe at the company for not collapsing because of it.

2024-08-11 05:52:42

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@npub16uk…pv7k I bet that’s not the answer you expected.

2024-07-30 23:48:00

Had a call this morning to tell me that I won the “guess how many jellybeans are in the jar” competition on the CItizen’s Advice Bureau’s stall at the weekend.

2024-07-30 21:58:05

Wait… hang on... BlackBerry is STILL in business?
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/112/877/676/709/791/499/original/bc7d99101cf0c835.jpeg

2024-07-29 02:42:52

This is an unpopular view and may upset you, but hear me out:
When a well known musician dies, I really don’t want to hear their music at that point. To me, the rush to play their music is mawkish and disrespectful. I prefer to leave a short period of mourning first, then go for it.

2024-07-22 08:38:57

Social media is quite boring right now now for those of us who are not obsessed with American politics.

2024-07-14 05:15:58

Playing all my French music for Bastille Day including Daft Punk and Ça plane pour moi (yeah I know its French Canadian)

2024-07-09 01:52:32

Have just found an archived copy of the book I co-wrote in 1982:
Usborne guide to understanding the micro
https://annas-archive.gs/md5/646ec15a9ef75dd9ab7c5b1f77cc4645

2024-06-28 05:09:06

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@npub1s85…8nkt Mairangi Bay Farro is quite a step from here, but there’s now one at Smales Farm. Mind you, I prefer going to Birkenhead Wild Wheat and picking up a coffee and a pie or a sausage roll while I’m about it.

2024-06-28 01:36:45

Wild Wheat’s Kawakawa Sour Dough bread is the best commercial bread I’ve ever tasted. The main problem is that you have to get to the shop early. The loaves tend to be sold out by mid-morning.

2024-06-26 08:16:17

I love how the word "mono" is highlighted as if that is a good thing.
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/112/681/925/349/816/665/original/05734ed2ce0f0819.png

2024-06-22 21:37:51

Reminder to US “Christians”: The Ten Commandments have their place, but they are pre-Christian. Your political leaders tend to reject many of the things Jesus actually taught because they are woke.

2024-06-22 01:24:36

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@npub1s85…8nkt The strange part is that this is the kind of policy that the National Party was good at in the past.

2024-06-21 06:33:06

I knew the prime minister reminded me of someone:
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/112/653/210/880/804/460/original/15e872c8e1476d04.jpeg

2024-06-16 05:46:18

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@npub16uk…pv7k An important metaphor too.

2024-06-16 00:09:37

Rediscovered this gem while Apple Music was playing random tracks off the MacBook hard drive.
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/112/623/389/992/859/985/original/32a820a2a343fd8a.png

2024-06-14 23:11:12

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@npub10py…xxjm Clearly the landlord is a business genius with a strategy and plan so cunning that us mere mortals are unable to comprehend.

2024-06-14 22:54:30

In the past 5 years two local businesses I loved closed their doors after the landlord increased rent by much more than the rate of inflation. One shop stayed empty, and clearly not earning rent, for four years. The other shop has been empty two years. The first is now leased, but the tenant told me they pay less rent than the tenant who moved out four years ago earlier.

2024-06-14 08:25:20

Could there be anything more boring?
"A look at the Microsoft Excel World Championship, the Financial Modeling World Cup's annual tournament where competitors solve Excel puzzles for monetary prizes"
https://www.theverge.com/c/24133822/microsoft-excel-spreadsheet-competition-championship

2024-06-14 06:01:20

Do you think anyone in New Zealand would buy a Cybertruck if they could?
(I asked the same question years ago about the Hummer a couple of days before spotting on on the Harbour Bridge).

2024-06-06 22:18:41

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@npub18p3…t9gh In my opinion Windows has been awful for over a decade. I'm constantly surprised that the majority is happy to put up with it.

2024-06-06 21:51:35

"A PR disaster: Microsoft has lost trust with its users, and Windows Recall is the straw that broke the camel's back"
You ain't kidding.
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-has-lost-trust-with-its-users-windows-recall-is-the-last-straw

2024-05-31 00:24:20

When right-wing politicians talk about “the good old days” or some similar concept, most of the warm-glow memories they are invoking are from eras when everyone’s lives had been improved by left-wing governments.

2024-05-29 06:48:50

Stable DIffusion's seamy side: https://billbennett.micro.blog/2024/05/29/stable-diffusions-seamy.html

2024-05-23 08:27:21

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@npub1rj7…9qtx It's not as if Google is any better.
In effect we no longer have useable search engines.

2024-05-22 07:37:50

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@npub18p3…t9gh I'd like to think the second is not inevitable, but I've been around far too long for optimism about anything internet.

2024-05-22 07:13:46

It's been more than 18 months since I ditched Twitter and I still can't decide if Mastodon or BlueSky is the best replacement. Each has pluses and minuses. Each has a different vibe and a (largely) different set of users. I guess I'll be using both in parallel for some time yet.
Anyone else in the same position?

2024-05-04 23:13:12

Have been planning to buy a new second hand car for months, but there have been issues, all the planets suddenly align and now I’m damned if I can find the kind of thing I wanted anywhere this side of town.

2024-02-26 22:36:42

Bastards.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/avast-ordered-to-stop-selling-browsing-data-from-its-browsing-privacy-apps/

2024-01-12 21:23:57

It turns out the mild sickness I’ve experienced this week is probably Covid. I say ‘probably’ because the rats show negative, but the symptoms appear to match a current strain.

2023-12-23 00:47:21

It's probably breaking yet another unwritten Mastodon law to even think this let alone write it, but if anyone is interested, I’ve a couple of BlueSky invites here. First in gets ‘em.

2023-08-06 00:25:37

This story was written nine years ago. While it is still true of word processors like Microsoft Word, Google Docs appears to have moved on… eventually.
https://billbennett.co.nz/word-processor-print/