TomTom – Not the most up to date maps

 

Garmin's still tops for up-to-date maps in Africa.

Originally posted here: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/General/8178.html

 

Battle between Garmin and TomTom about “most up-to-date maps” in South Africa

In February 2009 the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) ruled that TomTom’s claim of having “South Africa’s most up-to-date maps” was unsubstantiated. TomTom was instructed to withdraw the claim with immediate effect and to not use the advertisement in the same format in future. 

This ruling however did not stop TomTom from running another advertising campaign claiming to have the “best maps” and “the world’s most up-to-date maps.  

Competitor Avnic Trading, distributor of Garmin products, lodged another complaint against TomTom, saying that this “misleading advertising cannot be tolerated in terms of the General Principles of Advertising.”

The Attorneys Webber Wentzel, on behalf of TomTom, submitted that the advertising material referred to in the complaint was commissioned prior to the lodging of Garmin’s original complaint against the respondent in 2008. “Since December last year the respondent has not paid for or commissioned advertising that makes the claim that it has the most up to date maps.”

It was further submitted that TomTom’s advertising agency was advised of the outcome of the complaint and it did not take steps to remove the said material from the public arena.  “TomTom has now requested its advertising agency to remove the materials as soon as possible,” they said.

The ASA was not convinced.  “While TomTom has now taken steps to remove the offending claim, this action is belated,” the ASA said.  The ASA was also not satisfied with the excuse that TomTom’s advertising agency did not take steps to remove the offending claim from the public arena.

The ASA subsequently ruled that TomTom should remove the claim “South Africa’s most up-to-date maps” with immediate effect and ensure that the claim is never used again in that format.

The advertising Authority further afforded Garmin the opportunity to comment on whether or not sanctions are appropriate, and if so, which sanctions.

HOME : WWF SASSI

More and more people are considering seafood as a healthy and alternative natural protein source. In a time when many consumers regard products from conventional commercial land based farms with increasing suspicion,…

via wwfsassi.co.za

Something I feel very passionate about.

Doing the rounds: Jacob Zuma + SA – More Good News

President Jacob Zuma

This is a copy of a new viral mail that’s doing the rounds at the moment – written by the joint CEO OF AdReach, Brad Fisher. 

It’s very much an a-la Alan Knott-Craig Jr.-type mail – trying very hard to stir up positivity in its readers about what is a very uncertain time in South Africa’s history.

I must admit that I don’t agree with everything in this mail.  Fisher makes some very bold and [sometimes] unsubstantiated claims.  Given the mere fact that Jacob Zuma never did have his day in court means that a lot of these claims will probably never become substantiated.

HOWEVER, that’s not to say that I don’t agree with the positive sentiment of the mail and what it’s meant to achieve.  On the contrary, I have a lot of faith in the future of SA and I’m optimistic that our new leaders will have the wisdom and foresight to govern SA properly.  I’m not one who’s going to join the droves of ex-pats running away to the far reaches of the world with their tails between their legs.

But, as with everything, time will tell.  I hope our new leaders don’t make me look like a moron for writing this.

Here’s the mail:

I have just been forwarded an article in the UK Daily Mail by PETER HITCHENS which is now unfortunately doing the rounds and no doubt doing damage to SA both at home and abroad. I have purposefully not attached the article as I believe it is ridiculously one sided and unfair on Jacob Zuma and I do not want to actively assist in its distribution. However it has prompted me to respond generally to a lot of the unfounded and distorted stuff that gets forwarded around on this topic. I have collated interesting facts on the topic from discussions I have had with various people more informed than myself (including a well renowned and highly respected South African beyond just SA who knows Jacob Zuma well).

We must be mindful that JZ was subjected to a malicious character assassination driven by his political opponents within his party, the NPA and the Media. Journalists need to write something about the elections in SA and often dig out literature off the net to make their case. In this case and many other articles it is clear that this journalist has selectively collated years of propaganda against the man. If a reporter spent sufficient time researching only negative articles about say Gordon Brown – without verifying the truth, they could also paint a frightening picture of the UK and their leader. Here are some positive points I have picked up about Jacob Zuma and SA in general:

He is a proud Zulu – with a strong sense of tradition. This does NOT mean he is intolerant of other cultures

1. He intervened and potentially saved thousands of lives in the run up to the first democratic election in SA (‘93/’94) in the most volatile areas in Natal and is thus recognised as a major contributor to stopping a civil war between ANC/Inkhata.
2. He is clever and humble enough to know he does not know it all and will surround himself with capable people. He has already dismissed the notion that he owes anyone favours and in fact has stated he only wants one term in office in any event. I believe we will be impressed by the top posts he appoints in his government.
3. He genuinely cares for the poor and understands that to deliver to these people he must have capable people in place. (recent example – he  is the only high level politician to vote in their rural area)
4. He established a bursary fund using funds that each cabinet member of the KZN Province was given to use on any project of their choice. He successfully used his allocation to help educate poor people in KZN. Today there are in excess of 1000 pupils being assisted at primary level and 10 at tertiary institutions through this initiative that he personally started and nurtured.
5. He is determined to deliver services to the poor as well as all South Africans such as cutting crime, better education, housing, health.
6. He will fire people that do not deliver – he believes he and his cabinet work for the people and if they can’t deliver they will be fired.
7. He is a strong man and has proved to be incredibly resilient. If anyone has the guts to tackle crime in SA it will be him. (got this from a senior Afrikaans cop) I believe that he understands the importance of this to SA and I thus think that our chances of reducing violent crime are better now than they have been for many years.
8. Jacob Zuma was NOT responsible for the tragic arms deal decision. He was not even in National Government when the decision was taken in 1999!! Yes It is possible (albeit not proved) that his senior party officials gave him some leftover scraps from the “incentives” from the arms company (R500 000) and yes he may well have been naïve enough to accept this. However, one must take into account that his whole life he had been given handouts from the ANC (like all other senior operatives during the struggle days and beyond). I am not condoning this (if it is the case) as he should have known better than to accept this. However this has been trumped up and distorted by his political adversaries and the media.  Clearly he was the scape-goat and it is evident that the state’s apparatus (including NPA/Scorpions) were ruthlessly used against him for political ends. We do not know the true reasons for him using all legal means at his disposal to avoid a trial but it is reasonable to accept that the whole situation is complicated and his actions do not necessarily mean that he is a dishonest man.
9. He was set up in the alleged rape case. This was the 5^th rape case this woman had been involved in and was clearly used by JZ opponents to set him. This was a most evil attempt to destroy the man – they could not have possibly thrown anything worse at him and he still suffers from the negative perception round this
10. He made a speech after his acquittal apologising to the youth for the irresponsible behaviour he demonstrated round having unprotected sex and unequivocally warned the youth that AIDS kills. The shower storey is typical of the press where they have often maliciously quoted him out of context. His enemies have ridden this to the hilt.
11. He is NOT a racist and has nothing against the whites – in fact is determined to create a more patriotic society for all South Africans.
12. The man dragged himself up from his bootstraps and attended night classes under the most difficult of circumstances.
13. He has the respect and support of the poor – a crucial fact necessary to guide SA over the next 5 years and hopefully do a better job of delivering to them.
14. He has several wives – so what this is what his culture permits (some would argue that he is a lucky man)

Jacob Zuma has been democratically elected and has the support of the people who are most impoverished and deserve a better life. Sure all citizens deserve basic rights like not living in fear of crime, but to achieve this in SA I believe the president needs our collective support. For the sake of our country we should give our new president the benefit of the doubt and be more positive and proactive.

 MORE GOOD NEWS

1. The election was free and fair. There were over 8000 polling stations with over R17m votes cast. There was no violence and no incidents to disturb voting. The ANC got 65.9 % of the vote and therefore do not have a two-thirds majority but have a solid platform to still implement their policies without trying to run things with more of a consensus approach. The DA got 16.68 of the vote and 51.4% of the Western Cape. COPE( Congress of the people) won 7.42% of the vote after only 132 days as a new party with mainly ex-ANC members. Cope is significant as they can grow their support over the next 5 years to become a larger opposition party. So we have more of a balance developing. We could not have hoped for a better result.
2. SA was regarded as safe enough to house the IPL (Indian premier league) even during a major election.
3. ESCOM is addressing its issues and Water Dept at least have acknowledged they must fix things
4. Our banks have stood up relatively well and we have thus far been less affected by the Worldwide economic slump
5. We are the Rugby World Champs, just about to win the Sevens International series and are ranked 1 in On Day Cricket. We overall were one up o Oz in the Summer Series – no mean feat.

At very least, we must recognise some of the good coming through in SA and not just keep propagating bad news, which just erodes confidence – one of the vital ingredients for growth and improvements in SA.

Regards

Brad Fisher
Joint CEO – Adreach Group of Companies
Tel: +27 11 327-7110
Fax: +27 11 327-7112
E-Mail: brad@adreach.co.za

The suspense is killing me!!!!!

via youtube.com

I just can’t wait anymore. I remember when they announced this movie over a year ago. Man, I’ve been chomping at the bit ever since. Tomorrow. )))

Die Watkykjy Fok Jou! Projek

Die Watkykjy Fok Jou! Projek.

Such a fantastic idea! Well done

I’ve printed out the “You’re a c**t” posters and I intend using them because Joburg is full of them…

Credit cards allowed for fuel

Fin24.com>>Economy>>Credit cards allowed for fuel.

Motorists could soon use their credit cards to pay for petrol and diesel at fuel stations, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Tuesday.

However, the draft bill published in the government gazette and the department’s website will only come to pass if the public gives the department a nod.

“The department has published regulations on the government gazette and we are asking the public to respond to that issue. This is a means of being technologically advanced and a way of coming on par with the international public,” spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said.

He said credit card payments would also contribute towards the fight against crime as fuel stations have always been easy targets for criminals.

Also, motorists without petrol cards would be at ease when filling up their cars late at night as they would no longer carry huge amounts of money around, Khumalo said.

“We all know that most fuel stations have fallen victim to robberies because people know there’s cash there. We have been talking to the SA banking council and the fuel retailers association… they are very excited about this,” he said.

Using credit cards will also come in handy for the 2010 World Cup events as thousands of tourists and sport fanatics expected to visit the country next year will travel freely without fear of being crime victims.

“We are expecting an influx of foreigners for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup and we think it’ll make it easier for them not to carry around cash… that’s a phenomenon in European countries,” Khumalo said.

A public meeting is expected to be held on May 20 to allow the department to “consolidate the input from the public”, Khumalo said.

The draft published in the department’s website reads: “A retailer must accept payment in the form of cash, debit, credit and hybrid cards for the payment of petrol and diesel supplied into the tanks of vehicles”.

A g33ky trip down memory lane :-)))

This is what happens when you go on a nostalgia trip down memory lane by Google searching “He-Man”.  You get lost in the fantasy world you frequented as a kid and decide that it’s a good idea to spend money on the things that you loved when you were young.

One of these “things” is the shiny new copy of the 1987 live-action “Masters of the Universe” movie starring Dolph Lundgren.  It was a crappy movie make no mistake but that’s not the point – it’s the trip down memory lane that and the departure to happier, simpler times for 106 minutes.

The problem is, finding these things in SA is harder than you would imagine and you usually have to rely on importers to source the objects of your desire overseas to fulfil your craving for anything that isn’t mainstream.

Looking for classics on shops like Kalahari.net, Look & Listen and Musica is futile.  Online auction sites like Bid or Buy DO show a bit more promise (but obviously there is demand for 80s classics because they’re always sold out).  I even tried Want-it-All but I really wasn’t going to pay upwards of R800 for a DVD, and Have-2-Have just didn’t have the items I wanted on its database.

Thanks to Take 2, I managed to find this rarity and a few others for less money than you’d think and a few other gems that are available for import.  I’m hopefully going to top up my classic collections with some of the animated series that have all but disappeared from the memories of 20 and 30-something year olds.  Remember Bionic Six? Thundercats? Bravestar? Oh yes, they’re on my list.