 Some days… no, weeks or even months; I don't know where to start, as the world seems to unravel in front of your eyes.
Libya is a horrendous mess, and many other Arab countries look seriously wobbly.
Japan, with so many dead in the giant tsunami is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Fukushima nuclear reactors from overheating and creating a potentially even more devastating radioactive catastrophe.
An unknown band of technicians and engineers, the Fukushima 50, are working around the clock to cool the nuclear reactors. Latest news is that some of these very brave people are starting to show signs of radiation sickness. Here's hoping they'll pull through, and that their sacrifices will work and stabilise the reactors.
The disasters in Japan may have a direct effect on our industry, as the world's third largest economy is firmly embedded in a great many technology supply chains. If the disruption in Japan's production becomes serious, it could slow down the entire ICT sector globally.
In fact, the disaster could further delay the New Zealand Ultra-Fast Broadband project. That's already progressing at glacial pace however, so it's doubtful anyone would notice.
Is it worth it? Well, is it?
Speaking of the UFB, Sticks in the mud who began their networked lives with UUCP and 300 baud acoustic couplers and never moved beyond that love to say there's no point to fast connectivity. People only use it for dross, social media and that stuff I can't mention with the Newsline getting stuck in corporate mail filters.
Counter to that argument run investments in perhaps not so obvious places. Rwanda for instance has just finished the build of a 2,300 kilometre fibre-optic network. The African nation is on the mend after the genocide horror in the 90s, but it still has a long way to go. Its nominal GDP for instance is estimated at US$535 per capita. Only just over a tenth of Rwandans have Internet access.
Despite that, Rwanda spent US$95 million on the cable to feed a US$143 million ICT industry in the country that's growing at a rate of knots (well, twelve per cent last year).
Likewise, Alcatel-Lucent had a chat to me about their new 100Gbps optics and sent through a press release about its deployment in… Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is wealthier than Rwanda of course, but its GDP is roughly the same as NZ at the moment, having dropped precariously in the global financial crisis. Still, there seems to be some rationale for upgrading to go-faster technology, at least outside NZ.
Some advice, please?
Life goes on here though with the Christchurch clean-up and rebuilding gathering pace. NZCS has launched an independent adviser programme for Christchurch that I'd like everyone to take a look at.
The idea is simple: to provide small businesses hit by the quake with assistance from an independent ICT industry professional. In most cases this can be done remotely, via email, IM or phone and no, you don't have to be an NZCS member to hop aboard the programme.
Read more about the details on the programme at www.nzcs.org.nz/christchurch and please sign up now.
Going gaga
Ah yes, NZCS: the above reminds me that I'd like to kick off a campaign to freshen up our august organisation's website. What it needs is more colour, a simple message and fresh sounds. More gaga, most definitely, like this fantastic site http://raraahahahromaromamagagaoohlala.com/ by @anthonygelman
In the future, all sites will be derived from that fantastic template and I for one would like to see NZCS break new ground here. Your feedback is warmly welcomed as always.
Finally, Ty Devries of Something of that Ilk fame have these words of wisdom for us.
You can follow Juha on Twitter and send tips, flames, suggestions and contribution ideas to him there, or to newsline@nzcs.org.nz.
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Contributed content is the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily the view of NZCS.
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