Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Top 10 city - global liveability survey
Melbourne world's best city, says Economist Intelligence Unit survey Robb M. Stewart.
AUSTRALIA'S second-largest city Melbourne has been rated the best city in the world to live in, edging ahead of Vancouver, according to the latest global liveability survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Melbourne topped the biannual ranking of 140 cities with a score of 97.5 per cent, ahead of Vienna at 97.4 per cent, the survey showed.
Vancouver slipped from the top spot to third with a score of 97.3 per cent.
The top 10 included three other Australian and two further Canadian cities -- Sydney, Perth and Adelaide and Toronto and Calgary.
Cities are scored on political and social stability, crime rates and access to quality health care.
The survey also measures the diversity and standard of cultural events and the natural environment; education; and the standard of infrastructure, including public transport.
"For the first time in almost a decade of reporting liveability, Vancouver is not at the top of our ranking of 140 cities," the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"Vancouver was in joint first position with Melbourne in the 2002 survey.
"Melbourne now replaces Vancouver as the most liveable city in the survey.
"The general conditions required for a location to be awarded a high liveability ranking continue to be well reflected in Australian and Canadian cities."
THE TOP 10
1 Melbourne, Australia
2 Vienna, Austria
3 Vancouver, Canada
4 Toronto, Canada
5 Calgary, Canada
6 Sydney, Australia
7 Helsinki, Finland
8 Perth, Australia
8 Adelaide, Australia.
10 Auckland, New Zealand
Source: The Australian
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Reports - The most dependable car brands
Reliability survey ranks Mini last, with Porsche pipped from the top spot.
Mini is the least reliable brand of car you can buy, according to a new US long-term dependability report.
The 2011 JD Power survey reveals the BMW-owned British brand experienced more problems with its vehicles than any other manufacturer in the US during the past 12 months.
The US-based report measures the number of problems per 100 cars that owners experience during the first three years of ownership – meaning the lower the number, the better the reliability.
Advertisement: Story continues below Mini ranked last with 221 issues per 100 cars despite an overall increase in dependability rankings - more than double the issues of the Ford-owned Lincoln (101 per 100 cars) that became the first American luxury brand to top the list in more than a decade.
Mini’s parent company improved marginally from 165 to 164 issues, but BMW’s result was inferior to those of its closest rivals and below the industry average of 155 problems per 100 cars.
Mercedes-Benz scored 128 (down from 142) and was the best of the big three premium German brands, with Audi reducing its issues from 182 to 161 compared with 2010.
Luxury brands otherwise dominated the top four positions. Lexus placed second with 109 issues, while Jaguar leapt into third place after cutting its number of issues by nearly a third – up from 175 to 112.
Porsche, last year’s leader, slipped to fourth place in 2011 after its problems rose from 110 to 114.
Mainstream manufacturers also increased their reported reliability in the survey in which 25 of the 36 brands monitored offered improved reliability compared with last year's rankings .
With pre-accelerator-fiasco models from Toyota ranking fifth (122, down from 128); while Hyundai grabbed 10th spot with 132 (down from 148) and sister company Kia jumped up one spot to 20th with 160 reported problems (down from 167).
Volkswagen continued to disappoint despite improving from 225 to 191 issues, while Japanese maker Honda slipped from 7th to 11th, with issues increasing from 132 to 139.
Despite an American brand topping the list, other US makers did not fare so well. Chrysler (202) and Dodge (206) both fell further down the rankings (where they scored 166 and 190 respectively), while Jeep still ranked second last, despite improving with a score of 214 (down from 222).
Land Rover again fared poorly, ranking third last with a score of 212, although that score was a marked improvement on 2010's result of 255.
There were 202 "problem sypmtoms" addressed in the survey, which relied on information from 43,700 owners of 2008 model cars.
As Drive has previously reported, JD Power has been working unsuccessfully towards publishing an Australian vehicle quality study for more than a decade.
The research company says local manufacturers are not willing to allow the information to be made public despite their American parent companies allowing US findings to be published.
(Source: drive.com.au)
Mini is the least reliable brand of car you can buy, according to a new US long-term dependability report.
The 2011 JD Power survey reveals the BMW-owned British brand experienced more problems with its vehicles than any other manufacturer in the US during the past 12 months.
The US-based report measures the number of problems per 100 cars that owners experience during the first three years of ownership – meaning the lower the number, the better the reliability.
Advertisement: Story continues below Mini ranked last with 221 issues per 100 cars despite an overall increase in dependability rankings - more than double the issues of the Ford-owned Lincoln (101 per 100 cars) that became the first American luxury brand to top the list in more than a decade.
Mini’s parent company improved marginally from 165 to 164 issues, but BMW’s result was inferior to those of its closest rivals and below the industry average of 155 problems per 100 cars.
Mercedes-Benz scored 128 (down from 142) and was the best of the big three premium German brands, with Audi reducing its issues from 182 to 161 compared with 2010.
Luxury brands otherwise dominated the top four positions. Lexus placed second with 109 issues, while Jaguar leapt into third place after cutting its number of issues by nearly a third – up from 175 to 112.
Porsche, last year’s leader, slipped to fourth place in 2011 after its problems rose from 110 to 114.
Mainstream manufacturers also increased their reported reliability in the survey in which 25 of the 36 brands monitored offered improved reliability compared with last year's rankings .
With pre-accelerator-fiasco models from Toyota ranking fifth (122, down from 128); while Hyundai grabbed 10th spot with 132 (down from 148) and sister company Kia jumped up one spot to 20th with 160 reported problems (down from 167).
Volkswagen continued to disappoint despite improving from 225 to 191 issues, while Japanese maker Honda slipped from 7th to 11th, with issues increasing from 132 to 139.
Despite an American brand topping the list, other US makers did not fare so well. Chrysler (202) and Dodge (206) both fell further down the rankings (where they scored 166 and 190 respectively), while Jeep still ranked second last, despite improving with a score of 214 (down from 222).
Land Rover again fared poorly, ranking third last with a score of 212, although that score was a marked improvement on 2010's result of 255.
There were 202 "problem sypmtoms" addressed in the survey, which relied on information from 43,700 owners of 2008 model cars.
As Drive has previously reported, JD Power has been working unsuccessfully towards publishing an Australian vehicle quality study for more than a decade.
The research company says local manufacturers are not willing to allow the information to be made public despite their American parent companies allowing US findings to be published.
Monday, November 08, 2010
United Nations names Australia as the second best place in the world to live
The United Nations has named oil-rich Norway as the country with the best quality of life, followed by Australia and New Zealand, while Asia has made the biggest strides in recent decades.
However, the UN's annual A-to-Z of global wealth, poverty, health and education highlighted that it is becoming ever more difficult to break into the rich club of nations.
Norway - with its 81 years of life expectancy and average annual income of $US59,000 ($59,000) - has topped the Human Development Index (HDI) for all but two years since 2001.
It doesn't come in first place in any individual category - average income in Liechtenstein, for example, is a wallet-busting $US81,011 and Japan's life expectancy is 83.6 years - but Norway's all-round performance gives it superiority in the 20th annual rankings on the UN Development Program (UNDP).
Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Ireland, in order, also made the top five.
Zimbabwe came in last among the 169 nations ranked, behind Mozambique, Burundi, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In stark contrast to the leaders, in Zimbabwe life expectancy is just 47 and per capita income $US176.
DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the only countries in which the HDI value fell below 1970 levels.
"These countries offer lessons on the devastating impact of conflict, the AIDS epidemic and economic and political mismanagement," UNDP chief and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clarke said yesterday.
The study aims to give a broader assessment of quality of life than just income - by including, health, education, gender equality and political freedom - and its lead writer, Jeni Klugman, said most of the world had seen "dramatic progress" since 1970.
Average life expectancy rose from 59 to 70 years, primary school enrollment grew from 55 to 70 per cent, and per capita incomes doubled to more than $US10,000. Many of the poorest countries achieved some of the greatest gains, she said.
"Overall they are healthier, more educated and wealthier and [have] more power to appoint and hold their leaders accountable than ever before," Klugman said.
"But some countries have suffered serious setbacks, particularly in health - sometimes erasing the gains of several decades."
The nations that have risen most in the rankings in recent decades include "growth miracles" such as China, which has risen eight places in the past five years to 89th, Indonesia and South Korea.
East Asia and the Pacific had by far the strongest overall performance of any region over the past 40 years - twice the average worldwide progress.
China, the second highest index achiever since 1970, has been successful mainly because of income rather than health or education, the report said.
China's per capita income increased 21-fold over four decades, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. Yet China was not among Asia's top performers in school enrollment and life expectancy.
Klugman highlighted that "economic growth alone does not automatically bring improvements in health and education".
Nepal surprisingly emerged as one of the most improved nations since 1970, despite its longstanding civil war.
A child born today in Nepal can expect to live 25 years longer than a child born in 1970.
In six sub-Saharan African countries and three in the former Soviet Union, life expectancy is now below 1970 levels - mainly because of the HIV epidemic and tougher conditions in former communist nations.
And even though incomes have grown dramatically, poor nations are not making the same economic strides as they are in health and education.
"On average, rich countries have grown faster than poor ones over the past 40 years.
"The divide between developed and developing countries persists: a small subset of countries has remained at the top of the world income distribution and only a handful of countries that started out poor have joined that high income group," the report concluded.
(Source: smh)
However, the UN's annual A-to-Z of global wealth, poverty, health and education highlighted that it is becoming ever more difficult to break into the rich club of nations.
Norway - with its 81 years of life expectancy and average annual income of $US59,000 ($59,000) - has topped the Human Development Index (HDI) for all but two years since 2001.
It doesn't come in first place in any individual category - average income in Liechtenstein, for example, is a wallet-busting $US81,011 and Japan's life expectancy is 83.6 years - but Norway's all-round performance gives it superiority in the 20th annual rankings on the UN Development Program (UNDP).
Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Ireland, in order, also made the top five.
Zimbabwe came in last among the 169 nations ranked, behind Mozambique, Burundi, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In stark contrast to the leaders, in Zimbabwe life expectancy is just 47 and per capita income $US176.
DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the only countries in which the HDI value fell below 1970 levels.
"These countries offer lessons on the devastating impact of conflict, the AIDS epidemic and economic and political mismanagement," UNDP chief and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clarke said yesterday.
The study aims to give a broader assessment of quality of life than just income - by including, health, education, gender equality and political freedom - and its lead writer, Jeni Klugman, said most of the world had seen "dramatic progress" since 1970.
Average life expectancy rose from 59 to 70 years, primary school enrollment grew from 55 to 70 per cent, and per capita incomes doubled to more than $US10,000. Many of the poorest countries achieved some of the greatest gains, she said.
"Overall they are healthier, more educated and wealthier and [have] more power to appoint and hold their leaders accountable than ever before," Klugman said.
"But some countries have suffered serious setbacks, particularly in health - sometimes erasing the gains of several decades."
The nations that have risen most in the rankings in recent decades include "growth miracles" such as China, which has risen eight places in the past five years to 89th, Indonesia and South Korea.
East Asia and the Pacific had by far the strongest overall performance of any region over the past 40 years - twice the average worldwide progress.
China, the second highest index achiever since 1970, has been successful mainly because of income rather than health or education, the report said.
China's per capita income increased 21-fold over four decades, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. Yet China was not among Asia's top performers in school enrollment and life expectancy.
Klugman highlighted that "economic growth alone does not automatically bring improvements in health and education".
Nepal surprisingly emerged as one of the most improved nations since 1970, despite its longstanding civil war.
A child born today in Nepal can expect to live 25 years longer than a child born in 1970.
In six sub-Saharan African countries and three in the former Soviet Union, life expectancy is now below 1970 levels - mainly because of the HIV epidemic and tougher conditions in former communist nations.
And even though incomes have grown dramatically, poor nations are not making the same economic strides as they are in health and education.
"On average, rich countries have grown faster than poor ones over the past 40 years.
"The divide between developed and developing countries persists: a small subset of countries has remained at the top of the world income distribution and only a handful of countries that started out poor have joined that high income group," the report concluded.
(Source: smh)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The list of Sydney schools that top the popularity contest
JAMES RUSE may have a stranglehold on topping the list of Higher School Certificate performances, but in the popularity contest with parents and students, it comes off a distant fourth.
Baulkham Hills High is the most popular first choice for those seeking entry into the state's highly competitive selective schools.
Data obtained under freedom of information laws reveals that of the state's 21 fully selective high schools, Baulkham Hills has been the first choice of most applicants for the past four years. Sydney Boys was the second choice both last year and the previous one.
Sydney Girls was third most popular over the past two years. James Ruse was the fourth most popular choice last year and sixth the year before.
The principal of James Ruse, Larissa Treskin, said her school was usually the first choice of the state's brightest students. James Ruse has topped the Herald's list of top HSC performers for 14 years. A Department of Education bureaucrat said feedback from parents suggested some might be intimidated by the school's reputation.
The principal of Baulkham Hills High, Jeanne Bathgate, attributed the popularity of her school to its location in a growth area. The school is one of the largest selectives, with 1166 students. It takes 180 new children into year 7 each year. ''We concentrate very much on being a local school. Our kids are largely local, coming in from a 10-kilometre range,'' Dr Bathgate said.
Opportunity classes for gifted and talented primary students are popular among parents hoping to send their children to selective high schools.
Last year, 610 students named Hurstville Public School as their first choice when applying for one of 60 places in an opportunity class. Summer Hill Public was the second most popular, with 580 applicants naming it as their first choice. Third was Woollahra Public with 442 parents naming it their first choice.
Most schools offer one opportunity class of 30 places, but larger schools including Hurstville, Summer Hill and Woollahra offer two classes in each year.
A NSW Department of Education and Training spokesman said those three schools had a ''long and well-established history of successfully providing opportunity classes for gifted and talented students''. They also had good public transport connections. ''Because of this long history, these schools have developed strong relationships with selective high schools in their area,'' the spokesman said.
Many students who attended these schools went on to Sydney Boys, Sydney Girls, Fort Street, St George Girls and Sydney Technology selective high schools, he said.
(Source: smh.com.au)
Baulkham Hills High is the most popular first choice for those seeking entry into the state's highly competitive selective schools.
Data obtained under freedom of information laws reveals that of the state's 21 fully selective high schools, Baulkham Hills has been the first choice of most applicants for the past four years. Sydney Boys was the second choice both last year and the previous one.
Sydney Girls was third most popular over the past two years. James Ruse was the fourth most popular choice last year and sixth the year before.
The principal of James Ruse, Larissa Treskin, said her school was usually the first choice of the state's brightest students. James Ruse has topped the Herald's list of top HSC performers for 14 years. A Department of Education bureaucrat said feedback from parents suggested some might be intimidated by the school's reputation.
The principal of Baulkham Hills High, Jeanne Bathgate, attributed the popularity of her school to its location in a growth area. The school is one of the largest selectives, with 1166 students. It takes 180 new children into year 7 each year. ''We concentrate very much on being a local school. Our kids are largely local, coming in from a 10-kilometre range,'' Dr Bathgate said.
Opportunity classes for gifted and talented primary students are popular among parents hoping to send their children to selective high schools.
Last year, 610 students named Hurstville Public School as their first choice when applying for one of 60 places in an opportunity class. Summer Hill Public was the second most popular, with 580 applicants naming it as their first choice. Third was Woollahra Public with 442 parents naming it their first choice.
Most schools offer one opportunity class of 30 places, but larger schools including Hurstville, Summer Hill and Woollahra offer two classes in each year.
A NSW Department of Education and Training spokesman said those three schools had a ''long and well-established history of successfully providing opportunity classes for gifted and talented students''. They also had good public transport connections. ''Because of this long history, these schools have developed strong relationships with selective high schools in their area,'' the spokesman said.
Many students who attended these schools went on to Sydney Boys, Sydney Girls, Fort Street, St George Girls and Sydney Technology selective high schools, he said.
(Source: smh.com.au)
Thursday, July 08, 2010
iPad for small biz: hot or not?
by ALEXANDRA CAIN
July 5, 2010
The new Apple iPad is a curious device. While many small business owners are sceptical about its use in a business context and are still trying to understand why they need yet another piece of technology, others are evangelical about its benefits.
Alex Lee, director of web design and technology business Bean IT, is in the former category. He says he won't be getting an iPad any time soon.
“In my opinion, the iPad is more suited for entertainment purposes rather than business use. iPads have identical functionality to the iPhone, but they are bulkier, and also an extra device to carry around. The iPad also can't make phone calls like the iPhone.”
According to Lee “the only advantage the iPad has over the iPhone for business use is that it has a larger screen and larger keyboard, which makes emailing easier. Other than that, the iPad is more suitable to be used as an eBook reader, for internet browsing and for photo and video viewing.”
“The iPhone dominates over iPad in terms of business use. Business people need to make phone calls, check emails and use the calendar. The more portable iPhone better fulfils their needs. Personally, I think the iPad is a fad.”
Tommy McCubbin, interactive director at Melbourne ad agency Clemenger BBDO, is one businessperson who uses the iPad for work – although he agrees it could be a fad. “It's another screen I can use; I use it mostly for TweetDeck,” he says. This is the Twitter application for iPad, iPhone and desktop.
“It's good for aggregating all the different Twitter feeds, I monitor tweets on our brands, as well as industry leaders, and friends. I also use it to look at Google Analytics for the campaigns I'm running, and also for answering emails. But it's really just another screen to dip into.”
McCubbin says the iPad is not without its frustrations. He says with the iPad “I can't do things at the same speed as I can with my laptop. The Keynote presentations app is also a bit fiddly – it takes half the amount of time to prepare a presentation with a mouse and keypad. Really, where I use it best is at home on the couch; my iTunes bill has tripled because I've been buying so much music and so many shows."
Despite its novelty, McCubbin doesn't use the iPad when making presentations to clients.
“It can take away from the presentation; we can't help but feel we're showing off a bit. I'm not really comfortable flashing it around to clients for now – it can steal the limelight from the content of the presentation we're actually selling.”
But Daniel Bradby, director of jTribe, which creates applications for iPads and iPhones, relies on it as an essential business tool. “We make presentations to clients on an iPad; it's great for showing our multimedia capabilities and screen shots of applications we've developed. It's a relaxed and informal way of presenting. It's a really collaborative device and clients can also use the screen.”
Bradby says the collaborative nature of the iPad also means it's useful when his team develops presentations. “It's great because two people can touch the screen at the same time. It really is a shared control device, and it doesn't have the formality of the mouse and keyboard.”
Bradby and his team use the iPad to undertake research when developing client presentations and also during client meetings. “You can Google something then and there and move on, rather than having to wait until after the meeting to find out a piece of information.”
The key application Bradby uses is Apple's iWorks suite, which includes the Pages word processing program, the Numbers spreadsheet tool and Keynote presentation software. He also consumes content such as newspapers on the iPad.
Although he's an advocate for the iPad Bradby recognises it has potential for improvement. “You can view your calendar but you can't create a meeting invitation from the iPad,” he says.
But unlike Alex Lee and Tommy McCubbin, Bradby doesn't agree it's a fad. “Now I have my iPad I don't take my laptop home as much. I only see myself using it more in the future.”
Source: theage.com.au
July 5, 2010
The new Apple iPad is a curious device. While many small business owners are sceptical about its use in a business context and are still trying to understand why they need yet another piece of technology, others are evangelical about its benefits.
Alex Lee, director of web design and technology business Bean IT, is in the former category. He says he won't be getting an iPad any time soon.
“In my opinion, the iPad is more suited for entertainment purposes rather than business use. iPads have identical functionality to the iPhone, but they are bulkier, and also an extra device to carry around. The iPad also can't make phone calls like the iPhone.”
According to Lee “the only advantage the iPad has over the iPhone for business use is that it has a larger screen and larger keyboard, which makes emailing easier. Other than that, the iPad is more suitable to be used as an eBook reader, for internet browsing and for photo and video viewing.”
“The iPhone dominates over iPad in terms of business use. Business people need to make phone calls, check emails and use the calendar. The more portable iPhone better fulfils their needs. Personally, I think the iPad is a fad.”
Tommy McCubbin, interactive director at Melbourne ad agency Clemenger BBDO, is one businessperson who uses the iPad for work – although he agrees it could be a fad. “It's another screen I can use; I use it mostly for TweetDeck,” he says. This is the Twitter application for iPad, iPhone and desktop.
“It's good for aggregating all the different Twitter feeds, I monitor tweets on our brands, as well as industry leaders, and friends. I also use it to look at Google Analytics for the campaigns I'm running, and also for answering emails. But it's really just another screen to dip into.”
McCubbin says the iPad is not without its frustrations. He says with the iPad “I can't do things at the same speed as I can with my laptop. The Keynote presentations app is also a bit fiddly – it takes half the amount of time to prepare a presentation with a mouse and keypad. Really, where I use it best is at home on the couch; my iTunes bill has tripled because I've been buying so much music and so many shows."
Despite its novelty, McCubbin doesn't use the iPad when making presentations to clients.
“It can take away from the presentation; we can't help but feel we're showing off a bit. I'm not really comfortable flashing it around to clients for now – it can steal the limelight from the content of the presentation we're actually selling.”
But Daniel Bradby, director of jTribe, which creates applications for iPads and iPhones, relies on it as an essential business tool. “We make presentations to clients on an iPad; it's great for showing our multimedia capabilities and screen shots of applications we've developed. It's a relaxed and informal way of presenting. It's a really collaborative device and clients can also use the screen.”
Bradby says the collaborative nature of the iPad also means it's useful when his team develops presentations. “It's great because two people can touch the screen at the same time. It really is a shared control device, and it doesn't have the formality of the mouse and keyboard.”
Bradby and his team use the iPad to undertake research when developing client presentations and also during client meetings. “You can Google something then and there and move on, rather than having to wait until after the meeting to find out a piece of information.”
The key application Bradby uses is Apple's iWorks suite, which includes the Pages word processing program, the Numbers spreadsheet tool and Keynote presentation software. He also consumes content such as newspapers on the iPad.
Although he's an advocate for the iPad Bradby recognises it has potential for improvement. “You can view your calendar but you can't create a meeting invitation from the iPad,” he says.
But unlike Alex Lee and Tommy McCubbin, Bradby doesn't agree it's a fad. “Now I have my iPad I don't take my laptop home as much. I only see myself using it more in the future.”
Source: theage.com.au
Thursday, July 01, 2010
My Fuji HS10 arrived!
See how quick this online order is:
Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:39 PM - purchase order confirmed
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 7:53 PM - Tracking no. with DHL shipping received
Thursday, July 1, 2010 10:06 AM - Received delivery at home
Very happy online shopping experience!
The online shop is called Citiwide Online, based in Hong Kong.
Hoping their door-to-door warranty is as good as the delivery!
Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:39 PM - purchase order confirmed
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 7:53 PM - Tracking no. with DHL shipping received
Thursday, July 1, 2010 10:06 AM - Received delivery at home
Very happy online shopping experience!
The online shop is called Citiwide Online, based in Hong Kong.
Hoping their door-to-door warranty is as good as the delivery!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Free online / satellite TV
After my home satellite TV was halfly broken, I started to use Chinese PPS and PPlive to watch free online TV programmes. Both softwares have their own advantages but generally are pretty similar.
One of PPS's greates advantage is that I can set a sleeping timer, i.e. use PPS to set a time to close the computer! It's such a great thing that I don't have to get up to turn off the PC during freezing Sydney nights!
These few days I go back to use TVUplayer - an English version free online TV programme. It seems that TVUplayer has better reception and image quality for a finacial review show I'm watching everyday.
Thanks to the internet technologies. We now can save heaps by using those internet based software instead of pay TV!
One of PPS's greates advantage is that I can set a sleeping timer, i.e. use PPS to set a time to close the computer! It's such a great thing that I don't have to get up to turn off the PC during freezing Sydney nights!
These few days I go back to use TVUplayer - an English version free online TV programme. It seems that TVUplayer has better reception and image quality for a finacial review show I'm watching everyday.
Thanks to the internet technologies. We now can save heaps by using those internet based software instead of pay TV!
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