Today we were warned that SoundCloud might close within 24 hours. Late in 2015 (while at RNZ) I recommended strongly against hosting audio content solely on SoundCloud. Based on the numbers at the time, I predicted they would need to be acquired with 18 months to continue. We didn’t do it. I’d already built a… Continue reading It is not just about SoundCloud
This is satire (for the avoidance of doubt, fake news being what it is). The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has announced that his government will soon pass legislation to enable Australian businesses to innovate at a rate far beyond that possible in other western countries. The legislation, being drafted at present, will suspend the laws… Continue reading New Australian legislation to ‘bootstrap’ innovation
This story is a reprint of the article I write for Audio Technology Magazine in 2001. There is also an earlier version published in Studio Sound Magazine in 1996. Compressors are used everywhere. There are many flavours available in both analogue and digital forms. Some are designed to produce a ‘certain’ audible effect in order… Continue reading Parallel Compression revisited
This story was originally published in the April 1996 edition of Studio Sound Magazine. The technique described here is more commonly known as parallel or New York compression. A later version of this was published in 2001. IN AN IDEAL WORLD each stage of the recording / transmission / reproduction chain would have an equally wide dynamic range capability.… Continue reading Master Class: Parallel Compression
In a previous post I shared about the identity crisis I had after being made redundant. I got a lot of feedback that the post was useful, and so I thought I’d share some things I found helpful while job hunting. While I was in the fortunate position of having a very public calling card,… Continue reading Tips for finding a job after redundancy
The old New Zealand Herald site was getting a bit tired, having had its last design update in 2012. It didn’t support mobile well, and the old CMS was, I suspect, becoming quite inflexible. That constraint was probably the reason behind their insights section being hosted on a different technology stack (Ruby on Rails). But despite that… Continue reading Website Review: The NZ Herald
Like many people I’ve read Pride & Prejudice, but none of Jane Austen’s other novels, so this year I resolved to put that right. I start my journey with the first book she completed for publication. Northanger Abbey has an interesting history. It was sold to a publisher in 1803 for £10, but never published. By… Continue reading Book Review: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Even though I left RNZ in August 2016, I still get people asking for website performance tips, and for detail on how I made http://www.radionz.co.nz load so fast. Why would you want your site to load quickly? There are many, many, many, many reasons why, but in a nutshell: A fast loading website is perceived as… Continue reading How to make your website fast
The Guardian is out. The NYT is also out. Many publishers are ‘cooling off‘, among them BBC News, National Geographic and The Wall Street Journal. By some accounts they are fleeing. But why? Quite simply, placing your content on another’s platform is an investment—the desired return being more eyeballs, more engagement (however you measure that), and more… Continue reading Instant Articles failed to save the news business. Now what?
This is a personal post, and my hope in writing it is that it helps someone else who finds themselves in the same position. In October 2016 my position at RNZ was disestablished, and I left my job of 35 years. What followed was an identity crisis. What would I do next? What could I… Continue reading You are not your job – thoughts on life after redundancy
