Dec 13, 2013
Cara Jitu Operator Blokir Ponsel Curian
Pada Senin (9/12/2013), tiga operator seluler di Selandia Baru bersama-sama meluncurkan daftar hitam ponsel curian untuk memblokir ponsel yang dicuri dalam waktu 24 jam setelah ada laporan kehilangan dari pemiliknya. Pemblokiran dilakukan melalui kode identifikasi unik atau IMEI yang telah terdaftar.
Daftar hitam ponsel curian yang digunakan tiga operator itu menggunakan sistem database yang diselenggarakan GSM Association (GSMA) —badan internasional yang mewakili industri mobile— dan dikelola oleh New Zealand Telecommunications Forum.
Inspektur Steve Christian, National Manager Mobility di Kepolisian Selandia Baru, menyambut baik sistem database tersebut. "Kami sangat senang perusahaan telekomunikasi sekarang bergabung bersama-sama membuat perangkat curian menjadi tidak bernilai," katanya.
Setelah masuk daftar hitam, ponsel atau perangkat mobile curian tidak dapat menggunakan jaringan seluler ataupun internet dari tiga operator besar di Selandia Baru tersebut. Bahkan, ponsel tetap terblokir sekalipun berganti kartu SIM.
CEO New Zealand Telecommunications Forum, David Stone mengatakan, langkah ini merupakan contoh kolaborasi lintas industri yang menguntungkan pelanggan dan masyarakat. "Bagi banyak orang, ponsel bukan sekedar ponsel. Ponsel adalah kamera, jam tangan, buku harian, ensiklopedia, peta, dan pengaturan lainnya," terang Stone.
Ia memperingatkan masyarakat setempat untuk berhati-hati dalam membeli ponsel atau perangkat mobile lainnya dari penjual yang tidak jelas, karena bukan tidak mungkin pembeli akan mendapatkan produk yang telah terblokir.
Apr 24, 2012
Pack Of Cigarettes 'May Rise To $100' In NZ
The Ministry of Health wants New Zealand to be smoke free by 2025 and the suggested increase gives the first hint of the drastic measures being discussed.
A document released under the Official Information Act to the country's 3 News website features a number of pricing scenarios - with the most extreme showing a single cigarette costing the equivalent of £2.50.
One option being considered is a 10% increase on a pack of 20 cigarettes year-on-year from 2013 to 2025, meaning it would cost $40 (£20) a pack by 2024.
But a second scenario would see packs at $100 each by 2020, achieved by an immediate shock rise of 30% to 60%, with on-going increases of 30% each year after that.
This model would reach the 2025 target to stamp out smoking completely, but is described in the paper as "probably unrealistic".
The most likely model would see a shock tax increase next year, and then a 10%-a-year rise, which would mean a packet of cigarettes costs around $60 (£30) by 2025.
Other ideas discussed in the document include regulating tobacco as a highly toxic substance, a ban on smoking in cars with children, a doubling of anti-smoking media campaigns and removing tobacco from duty-free sale.
The briefing paper said: "If we are to continue to lower smoking prevalence we need to both increase the numbers who successfully quit smoking, and reduce smoking initiation among young people.
"Tobacco taxation is the single most effective intervention available to drive down smoking prevalence figures."
The Ministry of Health has said that the paper is an internal policy discussion and does not represent Government policy.
Feb 14, 2009
IBM Patents Bionic Armor That Gives Humans Ability To Dodge Bullets
Believe it or not, IBM has filed for a patent on tech that heightens our reflexes so that we could, theoretically, dodge bullets like Neo in The Matrix.
This "Bionic Body Armor" would continuously scan the area for incoming projectiles. If one is detected, the system would deliver a shock to the muscles causing a swift, reflexive action away from the bullet.
The present invention relates generally to the protection of an individual against a projectile propelled from a firearm. More particularly, the present invention relates to a body armor system and its method of use that is capable of detecting a projectile propelled from a firearm, computing the trajectory of the projectile, and moving the individual out of the path of the projectile to avoid being hit.
Damn, that might actually work. Think about how fast you move your hand away from a hot stove. Would that kind of movement actually be fast enough to dodge a bullet?
Dec 10, 2008
Nagging Wife, Sausage Help Man Win $4.2M Lottery
"My wife had been nagging me all week to get a ticket, so I when saw the Lotto sign ... I sprinted in to get the ticket before they closed," said the man, who asked not to be identified — normal practice among lottery winners in
"I must have been their last customer of the night," he said, adding that the young married couple had had a "rough" couple of years, reduced to one income after having children.
"I have never been so glad to listen to my wife's nagging," the man said Tuesday.
He discovered their newly won fortune Sunday thanks to his wife's request for a barbecued sausage.
Out shopping for bargains, the man said he didn't have enough money to buy his wife the sausage she'd asked him for. So he decided to check his Saturday lottery ticket in case he'd won a small prize.
"I could not believe it when they said I was actually the big winner," he said.
When he showed the printout to his wife, she initially thought they had won $4,200 (NZ$7,700).
"When she realized how much it really was, she fell to the floor, and then said: 'but all I wanted was a sausage.'"