One careful owner
March 30, 2006 6:11 PM Subscribe
New Zealand's monopoly Pay TV service went dark for about 14 hours last night. The Sky TV outage was apparently due to an error positioning a satellite, but not helped by the fact that said satellite is running on a backup processor and is years out of its regular service life. One enterprising viewer is taking things into his own hands.
Think about your potential audience here, pivotal... everyone in NZ already knows about this. Everyone else.... well, to be honest, really doesn't care, because it has no effect on us at all, there's no warning we can take from it, and there's nothing we can do to change it. And 14 hours of no TV really isn't that big a deal, no matter how catastrophic it felt. There's just no angle here for 95% of your readership.
I suppose we could snicker a little at the silly NZ government, but as an American, I'm having a hard time doing much snickering these days.
posted by Malor at 6:33 PM on March 30, 2006
I suppose we could snicker a little at the silly NZ government, but as an American, I'm having a hard time doing much snickering these days.
posted by Malor at 6:33 PM on March 30, 2006
the sky is falling
posted by longsleeves at 6:43 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by longsleeves at 6:43 PM on March 30, 2006
I thought it was hilarious. Perhaps I'm biassed.
"There's just no angle here for 95% of your readership"
Since we don't make even 5% of the posts, perhaps you could cut us some slack.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:33 PM on March 30, 2006
"There's just no angle here for 95% of your readership"
Since we don't make even 5% of the posts, perhaps you could cut us some slack.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:33 PM on March 30, 2006
Being a bit harsh here, aren't we folks?
posted by brundlefly at 7:41 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 7:41 PM on March 30, 2006
Okay, the satellite-for-sale page was a cheap shot, but I thought the backstory was interesting and I live in the US.
Uh, yeah. SO THERE.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:42 PM on March 30, 2006
Uh, yeah. SO THERE.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:42 PM on March 30, 2006
Right. Point taken.
<hangs head and scuffs foot, duly chastised>
posted by pivotal at 8:08 PM on March 30, 2006
<hangs head and scuffs foot, duly chastised>
posted by pivotal at 8:08 PM on March 30, 2006
Satellite goes off station, island nation in full panic. What, is it nearly time for the CricketBowl?
posted by dhartung at 8:11 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by dhartung at 8:11 PM on March 30, 2006
Don't worry pivotal, it's easy to forget Metafilter's only for Americans.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 8:32 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 8:32 PM on March 30, 2006
Of course, as Americans, we should understand the utter catastrophe it would be if the entire nation went without TV for 14 hours. Why, people would have to find their own entertainment, and some might even go outside!
Nah. We'd still have net access.
posted by Saydur at 10:52 PM on March 30, 2006
Nah. We'd still have net access.
posted by Saydur at 10:52 PM on March 30, 2006
I was pretty interested in this. Especially since I have a hobby of reading New Zealand news, whenever American news depresses me.
I like to imagine myself living in a place where their big national news is considered big national news.
posted by I Love Tacos at 10:59 PM on March 30, 2006
I like to imagine myself living in a place where their big national news is considered big national news.
posted by I Love Tacos at 10:59 PM on March 30, 2006
To balance everyone bitching, I find the whole satellite off course thing a bit interesting.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:23 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:23 PM on March 30, 2006
Malor, what the fuck?
posted by cillit bang at 11:55 PM on March 30, 2006
posted by cillit bang at 11:55 PM on March 30, 2006
I'm not complaining about the post. This one line from the first article stands out: The Optus B1 was one of the busiest communications (satellites) in the Asia-Pacific region, and is owned by Singapore's national telco Singtel.
Apparently SingTel has quite a lock on the telecom industry in the entire region, not just in Singapore. The reason it owns the satellite in the first place is because it bought out Optus, an Australian telecom firm, in 2001.
Another interesting globalization fact: Optus B1 was launched from China.
posted by Electric Elf at 12:19 AM on March 31, 2006
Apparently SingTel has quite a lock on the telecom industry in the entire region, not just in Singapore. The reason it owns the satellite in the first place is because it bought out Optus, an Australian telecom firm, in 2001.
Another interesting globalization fact: Optus B1 was launched from China.
posted by Electric Elf at 12:19 AM on March 31, 2006
Go fuck yourself, Malor. I have zero interest in half the links here because they are intended for an American audience, but do I whine about it?
I thought it was an interesting story. Pivotal, don't be put off by those ignorant Yanks who think the world ends at their borders. I have Sky in the UK, and I can imagine what things would be like if Sky UK went dark for 14 hours. Fortunately, I still have cable - they couldn't be bothered to pick up the box when I moved to Sky!
posted by salmacis at 12:31 AM on March 31, 2006
I thought it was an interesting story. Pivotal, don't be put off by those ignorant Yanks who think the world ends at their borders. I have Sky in the UK, and I can imagine what things would be like if Sky UK went dark for 14 hours. Fortunately, I still have cable - they couldn't be bothered to pick up the box when I moved to Sky!
posted by salmacis at 12:31 AM on March 31, 2006
I'm with salmacis. If Malor is not interested in the story, then he or she can simply skip it. Just like I skipped some story about some basketball playoff. Or some US supreme court judge doing something or other. Or the 50 most loathsome inhabitants who I have never heard of in a city I doubt I would ever visit. Or...
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:30 AM on March 31, 2006
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:30 AM on March 31, 2006
those pesky double-negatives. I reckon we should just deprecate most of the english language and rationalise it.
posted by pivotal at 1:52 AM on March 31, 2006
posted by pivotal at 1:52 AM on March 31, 2006
double-negatives, my ass. i would be telling a lie if i denied that i had touched a drop or two of barossa valley shiraz before posting ;)
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:18 AM on March 31, 2006
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:18 AM on March 31, 2006
Maybe Matt should add red and white stripes to the blue - just to make it clear to us non USAians that the blue just isn't for us.
posted by twistedonion at 3:35 AM on March 31, 2006
posted by twistedonion at 3:35 AM on March 31, 2006
Metafilter: et pluribus unum?
The auction Q&A are funny.
posted by funambulist at 4:01 AM on March 31, 2006
The auction Q&A are funny.
posted by funambulist at 4:01 AM on March 31, 2006
If Government monopolies on space travel hadn't mucked up 50 years of development there would be 20 satellites over the region and they could just switch them out like light bulbs.
monopolies in general suck.
posted by Megafly at 12:00 PM on March 31, 2006
monopolies in general suck.
posted by Megafly at 12:00 PM on March 31, 2006
Well said salmacis and UbuRoivas.
I would add mystyk too to the list of Mefites who should leave practising their journalism skills to JOUR101 and warn them that they shouldn't assume they are going to pass the course in any case.
Self-centred, narrow-minded pricks.
posted by zaebiz at 2:08 PM on March 31, 2006
I would add mystyk too to the list of Mefites who should leave practising their journalism skills to JOUR101 and warn them that they shouldn't assume they are going to pass the course in any case.
Self-centred, narrow-minded pricks.
posted by zaebiz at 2:08 PM on March 31, 2006
A portent for the beginning of the end of Murdoch's empire? [Fingers crossed!]
>I have Sky in the UK, and I can imagine what things would be like if Sky UK went dark for 14 hours.
People on council estates would have to get a life?
posted by Blue Stone at 3:25 PM on March 31, 2006
>I have Sky in the UK, and I can imagine what things would be like if Sky UK went dark for 14 hours.
People on council estates would have to get a life?
posted by Blue Stone at 3:25 PM on March 31, 2006
American in Nz here, I thought the post was interesting, for what that's worth.
posted by supercrayon at 9:27 PM on March 31, 2006
posted by supercrayon at 9:27 PM on March 31, 2006
dhartung : "Satellite goes off station, island nation in full panic. What, is it nearly time for the CricketBowl?"
Firstly, the event of interest, had it been coming along, would be the RugbyBowl. Or have you never heard of the Allblacks?
Secondly, can you begin to imagine the scale of the riots if any major American city gets TVless for more than five hours? It is a lasting tribute to Middle Earthers, I say New Zealanders, peacefulness that all went well for the duration.
posted by nkyad at 10:29 PM on March 31, 2006
Firstly, the event of interest, had it been coming along, would be the RugbyBowl. Or have you never heard of the Allblacks?
Secondly, can you begin to imagine the scale of the riots if any major American city gets TVless for more than five hours? It is a lasting tribute to Middle Earthers, I say New Zealanders, peacefulness that all went well for the duration.
posted by nkyad at 10:29 PM on March 31, 2006
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posted by mystyk at 6:21 PM on March 30, 2006