ORYX Bike by Harald Cramer

ORYX is a time trial bike with one-sided fork and chain-stay, designed by Harald Cramer. Its handle bars, stem and fork are made of one piece. Seat post and saddle are also integrated in the frame.

The ring crank is mounted in the frame by ball bearings. A special carbon construction guides chain and cables through the frame. ORYX is controlled by a hub shift lever and drum brakes. The wheels can be removed with button. The upper shift lever is located in the revolvable handle bars.

New Zealand Judge orders 'odd' name change (Auckland, NZ)

A judge in New Zealand made a young girl a ward of court so that she could change the name she hated - Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

Judge Rob Murfitt said that the name embarrassed the nine-year-old and could expose her to teasing.

He attacked a trend of giving children bizarre names, citing several examples.

Officials had blocked Sex Fruit, Keenan Got Lucy and Yeah Detroit, he said, but Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence and Midnight Chardonnay had been allowed.

One mother wanted to name her child O.crnia using text language, but was later persuaded to use Oceania, he said.

'Social handicap'

The ruling, in the city of New Plymouth on the North Island, was handed down in February but only made public now. The name issue emerged during a custody hearing for the young girl - who had refused to tell her friends her name and went simply by "K".

"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name," Judge Murfitt wrote.

"It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily."

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii's name has now been changed and the custody case resolved, court officials said.

New Zealand does not allow names that would cause offence or that are longer than 100 characters, Registrar-General Brian Clarke said.

Officials often tried to talk parents out of particularly unusual choices that could embarrass their offspring, the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
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UNUSUAL NAMES
Allowed: Violence; Number 16 Bus Shelter; Midnight Chardonnay; Benson and Hedges (twins)
Blocked: Yeah Detroit; Stallion; Twisty Poi; Keenan Got Lucy; Sex Fruit; Fat Boy; Cinderella Beauty Blossom; Fish and Chips (twins)
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My unusual name hasn't affected me at all; in fact, it has helped me make friends and improve my confidence, especially since leaving school.
Russell Sprout, London, UK

I often get jokes about my names as I am named after the Western Isle that my family originally come from. Although I am proud of the name, shortening to Eris, as I normally do gets some strange looks.
Eriskay Toreen, England

What kind of parents would name their child after a bus shelter? I could only understand it if they had been trying for a baby for years without success and then, out of the blue, octuplets came along.

And as for the twins called Benson & Hedges, does that mean they not allowed in any enclosed public space?
Jonathan, Leicester

My name is Chris Morley. It's just about the most common name in Britain and I've got no problem with it whatsoever. In fact I like it. Who do these people think they are, afflicting other human beings with ridiculous names that are almost certainly going to open them up to ridicule and, at worst, bullying? True parents, loving parents, try to give their offspring the best start in life. Instead these selfish idiots - who either find such names funny or who are so desperate to gain attention that they are willing to use their children as a tool - are socially handicapping their children from the very moment of birth. Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii is utterly ridiculous and insulting, and I am both happy with, and unsurprised by, the judges decision. I hope her 'parents' are ashamed.
Chris Morley, Oxford, UK

I hated my parents for what they named me up until I was a teenager, but then I just became comfortable with it. I suppose it was just bad for me as my sister was called Judy.
Ftango Molasses, London England

Funny the number of people who when hearing my name for the first time still think they're the first to come up with the 'how's Liz'gag! Been happening for best part of 50 years now!!
Richard Burton, London

Shanmuga Velu Palani Velu, My father name is Chinnaswamy Palani Velu. My father kept my name as Shanmuga Velu. Now because of that my full name is Shanmuga Velu Palani Velu. Many of my friends known me as Velu, becasue of the lengthy unusual name.
Shanmuga

I have been teased mercilessly from childhood to my adult years...you won't believe the amount of times people have burst out laughing right in my face when they ask my name..
Craig Gogay, London, UK

My name is relatively unusual but it has not caused me any problems in life - apart from the frustration caused by the constant mis-spelling of Laslo. I have been called "Lasio", "Lazlo" and one time "Lazio".
Laslo Panaflex, Belgium

I have had my future kids names picked out for the last 5 years: Spoon Marie, Toaster Thadious, and Grayson Basin Mason...maybe I should have 4 now that Tullulah Does The Hula From Hawaii has become free!
Cassie, Cardiff

We have three children two girls named Storm and Skye and a boy named Blade ... if we have another boy, his name will be Raven, River or Rayne.
TJ, Hampshire, UK

I have recently changed my name from Bruce, James, Spencer Robinson to Jackson, James Robinson. I got bullied at school for being called Bruce, at the time Mr Forsyth was on the TV a lot and kids don't need much to tease and bully. My Family and work friends have adjusted quickly to the change.
Jackson Robinson, Exeter UK

My full name is: Elisabeth, Anne, Helene, Catherine, Genevieve, Cecile, Marguerite, Marie Szentkereszty de Zagon (Baroness). My passport and ID only have my initials on them. My driver's licence (American) did not have room enough for the entire last name. My names are common (except last name and means Holy Cross of Zagon - which is in Transylvania) I do love my name, but usually only use Elisabeth de Zagon...
Elisabeth, Brussels, Belgium

My grandmother was perhaps a bit ahead of her time in 1927 in naming her first child, my father, after a popular recording star of the time. She was a fan of Ivor Norvello, but obviously didn't link the first name Ivor, with her surname Payne before the birth was registered. My father was therefore christened Ivor Payne. He said that he really was the forerunner of the unfortunately named hero of the Jonny Cash song, A Boy named Sue, in that there weren't too many days at school when he wasn't involved in a fight because someone had teased him about his name. Sadly he died in 1999, and one of the questions I never asked him was whether he felt having that particular name had affected his life. Ivor Payne 1927 1999 R.I.P.
Martin Payne, Norwich, Norfolk

I changed my name by deed poll to Jenna Dana Bananarama Rater. I'm now the Jenna Rater!
Jenna Dana Bananarama Rater, Cardiff, Wales

I fell into this trap completely by accident with my son Connor. It was only when his first piece of post arrived that we realised he was C. Shaw.
Phil Shaw, Portsmouth

Although my name is becoming more common when I was young I was often teased because of my unusual name that was when people actually got it right. The usual comment was "where's hardy then?" but i think the best one was when I was seven my teacher had had enough of having to correct herself when she called me laura, lauren, laurence and so decided that she was going to call me Daisy as it was simpler! Thankfully now I love my name as it is uncommon but I really think parents should think about how their children will be treated rather than jumping onboard the weird name band wagon
Laurel, Swansea

My name has been a source of angst my entire life. To this day I have to repeat ad nauseum;often times spelling my name, in a futile effort to have it pronounced correctly. Sadly my middle name is no better and I was left with no choices in school. I was bullied, ridiculed and mocked and to this day supposedly mature adults still have a snicker at my expense. I approve whole heartedly of the New Zealand law that offers some recourse to children so benighted. Naming your child is not an exercise in creative writing or an avenue for personal expression; if you want that take a class or write a book. The psychological effects of an odd name are painful, deep and lasting.
Kurleigh Martin, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

My sister (Che) and I both have unusual names and we love them! It's nice to be unique in your school/college or place of work. It can also be an ice-breaker when meeting new people. Lots of people comment favourably about my name and I've never been bullied as a consequence of it.
Chula Bishop, Newbury England

Its easy to see the embarrassment at an early age but as soon as she is old enough she will recall the tale fondly with people saying 'did your parents really call you that?'. I'd look back and wish I kept it, but then I like my credit cards reading 'Mr D Vine'.
Darren Vine, Warwick

Being called Slick has its advantages and disadvantages but I get along just fine, in fact I've learned to love my name.
Slick Bryn Davies, Manchester

No-one ever considered that the child might like the quirkiness of their name. Nothing has ever held back my development or progress in the world. I'm now working in the catering trade and everyone calls me Eggy. I don't see the problem!
Egnorwiddle Waldstrom , London, UK

My name is Varithamby Jeyahprakash Tharamakulaseelarajan my brother's name is Sathiyasothilegaeswaran Thramakulaseelerajan, we still struggle to fill-in legal forms because they never have enough space. Parents do not think long term when naming their children specially in South Asia. I think they should be given lessons in naming their offsprings.
J Rajan, Colombo Sri Lanka

My friends call me Manny! --Mangled Brown Fence-Post, London

I went to school with a boy called Justin Kayce. --Chris Morton, Plymouth, UK

Nokia 5800 Multimedia Touchscreen Phone, Auckland, New Zealand, David, Lim

I visited a few Vodafone dealership today around Auckland and found that a few stores is retailing the Nokia 5800 phone, the first touchscreen model introduced by Nokia. Unfortunately, I never have the chance to test drive a unit in live mode! Very tempting size and design!

Generall: 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
HSDPA 850 / 1900 - American version
Announced 2008, October
Status Available. Released 2008, November
Size Dimensions 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm, 83 cc
Weight 109 g
Display Type TFT touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 360 x 640 pixels, 3.2 inches
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Handwriting recognition
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
- Stereo speakers
Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 16GB, 8GB included, buy memory
- 81 MB internal memory
- 128 MB SDRAM memory
- ARM 11 369 MHz CPU
Data GPRS Class 32
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32
3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features OS Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
Games Yes + Java downloadable, order now
Colors Black, Red, Blue
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA@30fps), flash; secondary videocall camera
- Built-in GPS receiver
- A-GPS support
- Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ player
- MPEG4/WMV/3gp video player
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- TV out
- 3.5 mm audio output jack
- Voice command/dial
- Document viewer
- T9
- Photo editor
- Built-in handsfree
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1320 mAh(BL-5J)
Stand-by: Up to 406 h
Talk time: Up to 8 h 45 min

Nokia E71 PDA Smartphone Specification, Auckland, New Zealand

I bought this unit from Vodafone New Zealand dealership in January 2009 and paid NZ$949 for it. The Nokia E71 is dubbed as the Apple iPhone killer. The only thing that I have problem is getting used to the QWERTY keyboard layout. No complaint on this model, has all the data connection you can thinkg of for such a tiny PDA phone.

The range of software available for download is siimply amazing! It has a very impressive battery size and usage time too! Camera is not too shabby, it has a 3.15 Mega pixel camera.

The only thing I miss is the 5.0 Mega pixel camera of my Nokia N95!

General: 2G Network, GSM 850/900/1800/1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
HSDPA 850 / 1900 - American version
Announced 2008, June
Status Available. Released 2008, July
Size Dimensions 114 x 57 x 10 mm, 66 cc
Weight 127 g
Display Type TFT, 16M colors
Size 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- Five-way scroll key
Ringtones Type Polyphonic, Monophonic, MP3, True Tones
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB, hotswap, buy memory
- 110 MB internal memory
- 128 MB SDRAM Memory
- ARM 11 369 MHz processor
Data GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps
3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Games Java downloadable, order now
Colors White Steel, Grey Steel, Black, Red
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA@15fps), flash; secondary videocall camera
- Built-in GPS receiver
- A-GPS function
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
- Office applications
- FM radio
- Push to talk
- Voice command/dial
- PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing
- Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BP-4L)
Stand-by Up to 410 h
Talk time Up to 10 h 30 min

Nokia N95 8GB Multimedia Phone Specification, Auckland, New Zealand

This information might be a year or two late, but it is good reference for you to compare the N95 8GB with the Nokia E71 PDA phone, you will be surprise how simillar are they!

Currently, Vodafone New Zealand is retailing this model at NZ$1,399 (February 2009), but you can hunt for better pricing with Vodafone plans. Parallel imported model might not be able to configure for the NZ Vodafone setting like MMS or accessing the internet with full integration.

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 2100
HSDPA 850 / 1900 - American version
Announced 2007, August
Status Available. Released 2007, October
Size Dimensions 99 x 53 x 21 mm, 96 cc
Weight 128 g
Display Type TFT, 16M colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
- Stereo speakers
Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot No
- 8 GB internal memory
- 128 MB SDRAM memory
- Dual ARM 11 332 MHz CPU
- 3D Graphics HW Accelerator
Data GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps
3G HSDPA
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes
USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB
Features OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Games Downloadable, order now
Colors Black
Camera 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary CIF videocall camera
- Built-in GPS receiver
- A-GPS function
- Nokia Maps
- Dual slide design
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- 3.5 mm audio output jack
- TV out
- Stereo FM Radio
- Organizer
- Office document viewer
- T9
- Push to talk
- Voice dial/memo
- Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200mAH (BL-6F)
Stand-by Up to 280 h
Talk time Up to 6 h
If you need to unlock your Nokia N95 8GB to be used in New Zealand, please contact me via email, davidlim hotmail.com

Is your mobile phone losing signal? Auckland, New Zealand, Mobile, Phone, Repair

If you have trouble receiving calls at home or in the office, there is now technology that gives you a mobile signal in places without one.

Femtocells are mini phone masts which can piggy back on your broadband connection to send the call to a mobile operator.

Steve Lightley from NEC Europe reckons they are coming to your home soon.

"They've been deployed in Japan and trials are ongoing in UK and Europe," he said.

To use them a mobile does not need to have wi-fi and it is expected that some home routers will have the technology built in later this year.

Mobile phone Backupa and Rescue (Auckland, New Zealand)

What makes smashing or losing a mobile phone such a pain is the fact that few phone owners sync or back up their contacts, images and songs stored on the gadget.

Some mobile stores now use transfer devices that allow customers to walk away with their contacts and media on a USB stick, or to transfer everything when upgrading.

But increasingly, mobile apps are able to do "over the air" back ups of contacts, diaries, and data to remote storage servers.

"That means that when you leave the store, all of your mobile content is automatically backed up," said Dianne Canham from mobile synchronization firm CelleBrite.

"The user doesn't actually have to instigate anything like going on the internet, or download anything, as this happens automatically," she said.

How Tough is your phone?

Putting your life in your handset is risky, especially if you kill it. But at the 2009 MWC, i-mate showed off a handset that can take much more punishment than most.

Named after a US military spec, the 810-F can be dropped from three metres (10 feet), works in temperatures ranging from sub-zero to 60 degrees Celsius, is dustproof, and water resistant.

Dan put its toughness to the test by driving over it in a car. It stayed in one piece and even its touchscreen was still working.

If you prepared to splash out £600 on this handset when it comes out in April, then you too could impress your friends. One of its useful features is that your data can be protected if you lose it.

"If this device is lost or stolen, you can log in at any place and set a lock, an alarm, and even wipe the data located on the phone at any time," said Michael Cavey, sales director at i-mate. "And if it is damaged we'll replace it."