Hard News by Russell Brown

Thanks, Russell. The topic for next week's lecture in my first yrear course is "The future of print", so I may well quote you.

Nice. However, I was more of a soc.culture.new-zealand type...

However, I was more of a soc.culture.new-zealand type…

Hippy.

I see another Brown is taking to the broadcast media on Sunday

Hi,

I can vouch for Jimmy Rae Brown's employability. He is very obliging and capable and we will keep employing him to do tasks for us from time to time.

Great speech Russell. Sorry I missed it. Have had man-flu for more than a week!

al

I see another Brown is taking to the broadcast media on Sunday

Indeed! Can you hold fire on commenting on it while I write a separate post about it? coming soon.

This is driving change. NZ On Air still chips in $5000 for the cost of making a video -- the same amount since the 1990s

Since the Making Tracks scheme was introduced in 2011, music video funding has increased to $6000, with an additional compulsory $2000 contribution from the artist. Previously it was $5000 with an expected equal contribution from the artist (totalling $10,000 - an estimated average budget of the early '90s), but more often than not, the video didn't even cost $5000 to produce.

$8000 is worth about what $5000 was worth in 1991, when the video scheme started. But these days it's possible to make a really decent video on an incredibly low budget - something that just wasn't possible in the '90s (not that fact stopped anyone...). And, yeah, music television is all but dead - it's all about online now!

The Computerworld years weren't all junkets and scoops. Here's an awesome story from 1999 about the time Telecom accidentally signed up my dad to Xtra, even though he told them he was quite happy with Ihug.

From memory, Dad emailed details of this to Nick Wood, who thought it was hilarious and gleefully contacted Russell with news of this stuff-up by Ihug's rival.

Also: If anyone would like to write me a script to scrape all my stories from the Computerworld website, just in case, I will surely buy you a drink.

Will give this a try Russell, start saving your pennies...

From memory, Dad emailed details of this to Nick Wood, who thought it was hilarious and gleefully contacted Russell with news of this stuff-up by Ihug’s rival.

In the 76 pages of links to stories under my byline, there are many I'd forgotten about altogether. Thanks for the reminder!

Will give this a try Russell, start saving your pennies…

Cool!

Update: Rowan Crawford has done it and stories are flowing into my Dropbox as we speak. Hurrah!

Telecom accidentally signed up my dad to Xtra, even though he told them he was quite happy with Ihug.

With Telecom, accidentally is probably accurate, though possibly also not. For many of the smaller ISPs then (and even now, from what I've heard), though, it was more "accidental" that the salespeople were misleading customers about "just signing up for information" on a form that was actually a service contract allowing both internet and telephone service to be transferred away from Telecom (usually, though sometimes Clear). That there were no wholesale fraud prosecutions or significant media coverage was somewhat staggering to those of us who were working in the technical parts of the industry.

Will give this a try Russell, start saving your pennies...

Doh! I asked on the twitters but I didn't see this here at the time.

Rowan Crawford has done it and stories are flowing into my Dropbox as we speak. Hurrah!

Yay!

Sorry about the "fish can't see water" problem with getting the script to you, ahem.

Oh well, never mind. I'm not sure what Rowan did but I've got a script that can extract just the article and comments from a Computerworld HTML page if that helps.

Yay!

"2,258 items".

For many of the smaller ISPs then (and even now, from what I’ve heard), though, it was more “accidental” that the salespeople were misleading customers about “just signing up for information” on a form that was actually a service contract allowing both internet and telephone service to be transferred away from Telecom (usually, though sometimes Clear).

Sky had contracted some salespeople (not sure if directly or via another company) that were doing exactly this about 10 years ago. Did it to my Nana who struggles to say no to people the fuckers.

“2,258 items”.

Busy lad???

But look at his posting numbers here: 16783 !!!! Times are a changing.

Times are a changing

Insightful speech Russell, a nicely balanced appraisal. I’m also looking forward to watching that doco when it’s posted..I had a wee chuckle at “Enjoy the murder”.

A fascinating article, Russell, and much to meditate on. Your comments on the music industry certainly made me rethink some of my knee-jerk stances, although I wonder whether it could've been so much different if the majors were so slow on the uptake and let Apple (via iTunes) steal such a huge march on them in the early 00s. Then again, back then, some of them were still waging their anti-CD copying campaign. God, that feels so quaint to talk about now.

But you're right, music is more multi-format now than it ever was before, and it is all about "bits" (although sadly I still buy CDs).

This will make a few PASers feel old(er), but my first "awareness" of This Thing dates back to 1993, when I read an article in the School Journal about a kid who was really into this thing called "the internet" and "message boards". I had no idea what those things were at the time, nor would I comprehend a future where I would be active in posting on one.

I also remember one of Telecom's "Internet Roadshows" back in 1996. remember being fascinated by it- I also remember looking up the Simpsons websites on their "demonstration computers".

We didn't get the internet in our household until 1998, FWIW.

Enjoyed your piece Russell. Made me think fondly of old Deep Throat BBS days.

Glad I found the time to read this. Fascinating piece. Cheers.

(although sadly I still buy CDs).

Same here, but I think for different reasons. I never really had a record player, and used to buy cassettes which (inevitably) got eaten by one player or another.

CDs were a massive step up, because I'd copy them to tape, secure in the knowledge that when the tape eventually died, for the price of a blank I'd be able to get another copy.

These days, I rip them to HD, but my backup/disk management between old/new computers is sufficiently haphazard that I never really feel comfortable without that CD backup sitting in the cupboard.

Same here, but I think for different reasons. I never really had a record player, and used to buy cassettes which (inevitably) got eaten by one player or another.

CDs were a massive step up, because I’d copy them to tape, secure in the knowledge that when the tape eventually died, for the price of a blank I’d be able to get another copy.

These days, I rip them to HD, but my backup/disk management between old/new computers is sufficiently haphazard that I never really feel comfortable without that CD backup sitting in the cupboard

That sounds exactly like me. I haven't loaded all of my (legally obtained) collection onto the HD, and already it boggles the mind how much I own. I think it would take me literally a year to play everything once, if I did nothing else. And yet I still want/need more music.

I note with great sadness the recent passing of Bernadette Mooney, one of the pioneers of BBSs carrying Usenet news. Her BBS, Pinnacle, was connected via Nacjack to KCBBS. She was a frequent contributor to various newsgroups, and her signature "BCNU B" was well-known to many.