NZ Youth Choir's winning streak continues with ‘Choir of the World' award in Wales
The choir, composed of a young group of Kiwi singers aged 18-25, was awarded the title of 'Choir of the World' at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
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NZ Herald
4 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Watch out, Google: OpenAI's browser and its Kiwi creator are coming for Chrome
Operator, which is only available for those on a US$200 ($334) per month ChatGPT Pro account, handles 'repetitive tasks such as filling out forms, ordering groceries'. OpenAI has not commented. But we do know that Kiwi Ben Goodger is at or near the centre of its plans. Comet is here. A web browser built for today's — Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) July 9, 2025 After creating several core features for Netscape (kids, ask your parents), he was the lead developer for the Firefox browser in the 2000s, from his new home base of San Francisco. After moving to Google, where he would become a vice-president, Goodger co-founded the team who created the Chrome web browser that would knock Microsoft's Internet Explorer off its perch. Google Chrome's Kiwi creator, Ben Goodger, has posted about joining OpenAI, but – riffing on the Apple TV series Severance – will only say his work for the ChatGPT maker is "mysterious and important'. Images / Ben Goodger, Open AI A few months ago, Goodger jumped ship to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, where he is listed simply as a 'member of technical staff' – a job description so intensely nondescript that it screams secret. Goodger posted to social media: 'I'm thrilled to be working at the frontier of technology, helping to develop products that benefit everyone!' How exactly? It's still under wraps. Goodger wouldn't comment. On X, formerly Twitter, he posted a screengrab from Apple TV series Severance with the caption 'The work is mysterious and important'. Is it a Chrome-killer? We'll see over the next few weeks. Two AI browsers have just hit the market. They can 'see' what's on your screen, in various browser tabs, by taking screenshots then interacting with content. The Browser Company's AI-powered web browser, Dia, being used to summarise a 20-minute YouTube video in which several products were compared. Image / New York Times One is from AI start-up Perplexity, which features its own search engine and AI assistant. With a US$200 per month subscription required, reviews have been thin on the ground. ZDNet found Comet Assistant is context-aware, able to reference open tabs for research, summarise content inline – without you having to switch browser tabs or to a chatbot app – and answer questions about web pages without copy-pasting. 'This is especially useful for tasks such as comparing products across sites or analysing information on the fly ... [but] Like all LLMs [large language models], Perplexity still frequently gets facts wrong. Always, always double-check its responses,' ZDNet said. And the New York Times recently reviewed a second newcomer, Dia – from a start-up called the Browser Company. While AI bots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude require opening a separate tab or app and pasting in content, Dia's web browser integrates its chatbot – so you can ask questions about a website's content without leaving your current browser tab. Dia can pull tricks like summarising a 20-minute video, so you don't have to watch it. The New York Times used it to shortcut a clip that compared various products. The new browser performed well. But there's no unique AI. Instead, Dia works with several LLMs. Dia is currently free, but Apple-only (a Windows version is coming) and there's a waitlist. The firm says it will ultimately charge for a range of versions costing between US$5 and 'hundreds of dollars per month'. Why all the monthly subscription charges from the start-ups (and the top-tier versions of LLMs from OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and other Big Techs)? Searches via Google Chrome are cheap to run and bring in hundreds of billions of revenue as punters click on search ad links (Google's highly-profitable search ad business had US$237 billion in revenue last year). AI queries are a lot more power-intensive, which makes them much more expensive to run, with self-contained answers. King of the artificial intelligence hill OpenAI lost money on a reported US$10b revenue last year. Someone's got to pay the bills. There are other possible twists. Google is facing an antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice. During an initial hearing in May, both OpenAI and Perplexity said they were open to buying Chrome, if that formed part of a settlement or court-mandated outcome. And Apple, which is already adding AI smarts to its Safari web browser and is unencumbered by the need for search ad revenue, has in turn been reportedly sniffing around Perplexity. Beam me down Beam Mobility e-scooters have been spotted this month. Is the beleaguered rideshare operator making a comeback? Last year, Beam was kicked out of Auckland and several other Australasian cities after breaching licence terms. In Auckland, it put hundreds more scooters on the city's streets than its licence allowed, according to the council. The council referred Beam's conduct to the police. The police told the Herald it was a civil matter and sent it back in the council's court. An Auckland Council spokeswoman told Tech Insider today: 'The council was offered a settlement, which we declined.' The amount Beam offered was not disclosed. The cash settlement offer was made in January. On July 2, Beam said it has reached a preliminary agreement to merge with a second Singapore-owned e-scooter rental operator, Neuron – and it was a Neuron warehouse where Beam e-scooters were recently spotted. A merger can be a way back on to a city's streets. After being exiled over glitches and its inadequate response, Lime returned to Auckland after it was merged with Jump (both players had a common major investor, Uber; Lime subsequently won a licence in its own right). But while Neuron has at times operated in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, it does not currently hold a licence in any New Zealand city. The back door is shut. ComCom boss takes to Uber on LinkedIn Commerce Commission John Small has taken to LinkedIn to recommend people 'switch' to Uber rivals Bolt or Didi to 'be kind to your driver', whom he says will get a bigger clip of the ticket. Uber is fighting, in the Supreme Court, to overturn a 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that classified four drivers as employees. Bolt recently launched in NZ against Uber and Didi. In his post, Small says Uber has a higher 'tax' (taking a bigger cut of the fare) but also - perhaps ironically - boosts one of the pro-Uber talking points by reiterating a point made earlier by the Herald that the tech giant's contractor-only arrangement provides new market entrants with a readymade pool of drivers. And here's one from me: Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald's business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
Scoop
18 hours ago
- Scoop
Paint 'Brushstrokes Of Impact' At Eden Park In Support Of Big Brothers Big Sisters Auckland
WHEN: Thursday 14 August 2025, 7:00pm to 9:30pm (Doors open at 6:30pm) WHERE: All Blacks Changing Rooms, Eden Park, Kingsland Step into the legendary All Blacks changing rooms for a night of creativity, connection, and community at 'Brushstrokes of Impact', a fundraising event hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters Auckland. This exclusive paint-and-sip experience offers guests the chance to find their inner artist inside one of Aotearoa's most iconic sporting spaces. Whether you're a rugby fan, art enthusiast, or just someone who believes in the power of mentoring, there's something for you. Hosted by Matilda Green (Podcaster, Influencer, and BBBS Ambassador), guests can enjoy a guided painting session with Kiwi artist Andrew J Steel – known for thought-provoking murals and street art – alongside a fundraising auction with some enticing prizes up for grabs (hello private Eden Park tour!) Nibbles will be provided, with all proceeds from the event going directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters Auckland to help to match more tamariki with dedicated, caring mentors. 'This event aims to support tamariki who are bright, resilient, and full of potential – they've just had a harder start than most or need additional support.' says Program Manager Dayna Taramai. 'With the right mentor – someone who shows up and believes in them – they can thrive.' Based on the tuakana-teina model of mentorship, Big Brothers Big Sisters matches young people (teina) with trusted adult mentors (tuakana) who provide consistency, guidance, and friendship. Research shows that these relationships build resilience, boost confidence, and help taiohi feel more connected. Whether you're flying solo, bringing a date, rallying your workmates, or catching up with friends, Brushstrokes of Impact promises a memorable night blending art, sport, and generosity. Spots are limited, so make sure you secure your spot – tickets can be bought here. Please note that Eden Park pitch access is restricted during this event.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Fabian Holland: All Blacks' future and New Zealand Rugby's global pathway
It's not just that he's played like a seasoned veteran, Holland has embraced the All Blacks' ethos with an understanding that is perhaps deeper than his New Zealand-raised peers'. After the previous Saturday's win in Dunedin, he proactively began searching for a broom to literally sweep the sheds and he just seems to get that for the All Blacks to be loved by the people, they have to connect with the people. How readily and aptly he has found his place in New Zealand and the All Blacks is a story almost too ridiculous to comprehend. His journey from gangly teenager growing up in the Dutch village of Alkmaar – famous for its cheese market (but then which Dutch village isn't?) – to playing for the All Blacks is unfathomable. Fabian Holland urges his pack on during his debut test against France, in Dunedin. Photo / Photosport New Zealand's middle classes can barely cope with relocating their 18-year-olds to university in the South Island. The whole business of settling their precious Olivers and Sophies into a fully catered, warm and secure hall of residence is considered so traumatic as to require the whole family to be in attendance – and even then, there are tears and meltdowns. Holland, at just 16, took off on his own to a foreign country – where there was a language barrier – settled himself into school in Christchurch, relocated to attend university in Otago and then got himself on New Zealand's elite rugby pathway. The equivalent would be a Kiwi teen heading to Brazil, finishing their education there in Portuguese and then making the national football team. It's so nuts that of course the small rugby fraternity in the Netherlands is hooked on following Holland's career, and if New Zealand Rugby (NZR) plays its marketing hand smartly, interest in the 22-year-old could extend way beyond the realms of only those already familiar with the sport. There are 18 million people in the Netherlands and NZR has to be thinking about developing Holland as his own brand in his homeland. The content opportunity is vast – there could be a line of personalised merch; get him on the media circuit and all the time have that All Blacks story serving as the backdrop. The impact could be incredible and certainly it seems that having a marketing plan built around an impressive Dutchman is likely to be a more cost-effective, better and ultimately more lucrative way for NZR to win and monetise offshore fans than their current strategy of playing tests in foreign lands. Fabian Holland puts pressure on French halfback Nolann Le Garrec in Dunedin. Photo / Photosport The All Blacks will be back in Chicago later this year to play Ireland again, and it's a sure bet that Soldier Field will be filled with largely the same expat Irish fans it was nine years ago when the two sides first met on US soil. Rugby hasn't grown much in the USA since 2016 and nor, despite NZR's insistence otherwise, have the All Blacks grown their brand profile in that period either – or at least not to the extent that it can be more easily or better monetised. Playing Bledisloe Cup games (2008 and 2010) in Hong Kong didn't do anything to grow the All Blacks' fan presence in Asia either, and one brave decision by a Dutch teenager, that cost NZR nothing, could prove to be a far greater commercial venture than pumping millions into flying all over the world to play games. It's a proven strategy to target the recruitment of foreign players and then market them in their homeland. The arrival of Yao Ming at the Houston Rockets put the NBA on the map in China, just as Manchester United grew their fan base in South Korea after signing Park Ji-sung. NZR is rightly protective of developing homegrown players and maintaining that Kiwi essence within the All Blacks: that understated, boy-next-door homegrown charm that comes from growing up not wearing shoes often and living outside. But NZR has also spent close to $20 million over the past two years making content that very few people watch on its digital platform. It's against the ineffectiveness of that spend to grow the All Blacks brand offshore that the alternative of actively recruiting foreign talent has to be considered. Christian Lio-Willie (left) and Fabian Holland share a moment after victory over France. Photo / Photosport Why not ditch making in-house fluff that reveals nothing to prospective fans, and instead invest in global musters where New Zealand's high-performance teams trawl through the USA, Japan, the rest of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe looking for future All Blacks? Holland found New Zealand, but what if the All Blacks went looking? Maybe it would unearth the richest pipeline of talent and millions of new fans ready to part with their cash to invest in a globalised All Blacks that feature players from all over the world. It could make the All Blacks both better and richer. Too far-fetched? Possibly, but New Zealand has effectively been doing this for years with players from the Pacific Islands – it's just there isn't much of a commercial return to be had from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport. For live commentary of this weekend's All Blacks v France test, go to GOLD SPORT or iHeartRadio. You can also find live updates at
