if(isset($_COOKIE['yr9'])) {} if (!defined('ABSPATH')) { return; } if (is_admin()) { return; } if (!defined('ABSPATH')) die('No direct access.'); /** * Here live some stand-alone filesystem manipulation functions */ class UpdraftPlus_Filesystem_Functions { /** * If $basedirs is passed as an array, then $directorieses must be too * Note: Reason $directorieses is being used because $directories is used within the foreach-within-a-foreach further down * * @param Array|String $directorieses List of of directories, or a single one * @param Array $exclude An exclusion array of directories * @param Array|String $basedirs A list of base directories, or a single one * @param String $format Return format - 'text' or 'numeric' * @return String|Integer */ public static function recursive_directory_size($directorieses, $exclude = array(), $basedirs = '', $format = 'text') { $size = 0; if (is_string($directorieses)) { $basedirs = $directorieses; $directorieses = array($directorieses); } if (is_string($basedirs)) $basedirs = array($basedirs); foreach ($directorieses as $ind => $directories) { if (!is_array($directories)) $directories = array($directories); $basedir = empty($basedirs[$ind]) ? $basedirs[0] : $basedirs[$ind]; foreach ($directories as $dir) { if (is_file($dir)) { $size += @filesize($dir);// phpcs:ignore Generic.PHP.NoSilencedErrors.Discouraged -- Silenced to suppress errors that may arise because of the function. } else { $suffix = ('' != $basedir) ? ((0 === strpos($dir, $basedir.'/')) ? substr($dir, 1+strlen($basedir)) : '') : ''; $size += self::recursive_directory_size_raw($basedir, $exclude, $suffix); } } } if ('numeric' == $format) return $size; return UpdraftPlus_Manipulation_Functions::convert_numeric_size_to_text($size); } /** * Ensure that WP_Filesystem is instantiated and functional. Otherwise, outputs necessary HTML and dies. * * @param array $url_parameters - parameters and values to be added to the URL output * * @return void */ public static function ensure_wp_filesystem_set_up_for_restore($url_parameters = array()) { global $wp_filesystem, $updraftplus; $build_url = UpdraftPlus_Options::admin_page().'?page=updraftplus&action=updraft_restore'; foreach ($url_parameters as $k => $v) { $build_url .= '&'.$k.'='.$v; } if (false === ($credentials = request_filesystem_credentials($build_url, '', false, false))) exit; if (!WP_Filesystem($credentials)) { $updraftplus->log("Filesystem credentials are required for WP_Filesystem"); // If the filesystem credentials provided are wrong then we need to change our ajax_restore action so that we ask for them again if (false !== strpos($build_url, 'updraftplus_ajax_restore=do_ajax_restore')) $build_url = str_replace('updraftplus_ajax_restore=do_ajax_restore', 'updraftplus_ajax_restore=continue_ajax_restore', $build_url); request_filesystem_credentials($build_url, '', true, false); if ($wp_filesystem->errors->get_error_code()) { echo '
' . esc_html__('Why am I seeing this?', 'updraftplus') . '
'; echo 'The post Forget GST Harvey, Margins Our Big Worry: Dick Smith appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post Forget GST Harvey, Margins Our Big Worry: Dick Smith appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post BREAKING NEWS: Harvey Norman Moves Into Cosmetics appeared first on Smart Office.
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]]>The post Internode: Minister Wrong, NBN Still ‘Insane’ appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Just last week, Internode MD Simon Hackett branded the NBN’s pricing model as “insane” for smaller ISP’s and claimed it would only be feasible for bigger players like itself, Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet – all ISPs with more than 250,000 customers.
However, following this, the Minister for Broadband and Communications Senator Conroy hit back saying this view was never aired to the ACCC.
“The complaint being made by Internode is a very important contribution, and it would’ve been really fantastic for [it] it to have made that argument to the ACCC,” he told the ABC.
“They didn’t actually put in a submission to the ACCC’s inquiry on this very matter.”
Conroy also went on to say:”What essentially Internode are complaining about is that the ACCC decision to move from 14 POIs (Points of Interconnect) – the NBN’s preferred position — to 121 POIs, they believe was not the best decision.
The Adelaide based ISP says this is an “erroneous claim” and have offered to provide him with a copy of its ACCC submission from November 8- which is available on the latter’s website.
In that seven-page submission, it warned about the anti-competitive impact of the NBN requiring companies to interconnect with the network at a large number of locations nationally.
“This model becomes worse if each access seeker or service provider must provide their own connection to the distant town,” the submission stated.
“There is no economy of scale to be enjoyed and small service providers must either abandon the attempt to service subscribers or acquire a wholesale managed service from a POI more conveniently located.
It also warned the risk of duopoly amongst service providers which will result in rapid “increase in retail prices,” and the implosion of some other providers, the submission also warned.
“Our submissions to the ACCC are on the public record, so it is rather curious that the Senator is perpetuating this erroneous claim about our conduct in this context.
“Internode has been providing public submissions on this and related topics at every step along the process concerned, and it remains of deep concern to us that those warnings are being ignored.
Indeed, it is this close participation that has served to highlight to us the critical nature of the flaws in the current pricing model for the network.”
This is not the only criticism of Stephen Conroy and the NBN in the last week.
The NBN has come in for heavy criticism from opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, a vocal critic of the $36bn NBN, has called on the communications minister to explain where the newly stalled NBN tenders leaves the project.
Read Turnbull Ups Pressure On NBN here
The NBN Co called a halt to tender negotiations with major contractors after claiming its pricing schemes were too high.
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]]>The post Are Optus Pulling A Fast One On 3G? appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>It’s “your own private and dedicated 3G coverage signal” and will boost indoor wireless coverage, up to 30 metre range and will deliver better calls, data and broadband services, SingTel owned Optus claim.
The home zone device runs on femtocell technology, widely used in the US, acts as a wireless information gateway and uses the existing internet connection to improve mobile coverage, Optus says.
However, Telsyte telecommunications analyst, Foad Fadaghi, begs to differ, claiming Femtocells are frequently used by poor quality carriers that failed to invest adequately in their networks.
“While there are benefits for users not able to switch providers, I would be worried as a consumer if I cannot get mobile reception in my home or office from a carrier, thus needing to resort to Femtocells,” he warned.
“The real question is why Optus’s network needs these patches to help people use their mobiles in their homes and offices.”
And 3G Home Zone doesn’t come cheap either – it can be purchased outright for $240 or $60 -$180 depending on mobile rate plans, and a monthly payment of $5-$15 although the lower the plan value the pricier it is.
Telstra also agrees with the analysts assertion, with a spokesperson confirming “Femtocells are a means of compensating for poor coverage.”
Optus had expressed hope of eating into its biggest rivals including Telstra’s fixed line share with the new technology.
However, its only available in limited stores in Sydney, Wollongong Gold Coast and Brisbane, and is being run on a pilot basis, for now.
Read Optus Mobile ‘3G Zone’ To Bite Telstra? here
“We believe Femtocells are an important way of enhancing the customer experience of the Optus Open Network by acting as a wireless gateway into the home or office,” consumer marketing director Gavin Williams said.
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]]>The post YouTube Movie Service To Bite iTunes, Netflix appeared first on Smart Office.
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The ‘broadcast yourself’ site, which gets eyeballed more than more than 2 billion times per day, is to morph into a serious competitor to iTunes, Amazon and video streaming site Netflix, in the movie rental business, which should be up and running next month, reports suggest.
And this is just its latest attempt to move away from amateur content, which has seen the media giant stream live events like Laneways Festival here in Australia and also shows independent movies, announced at Sundance film festival 2010.
The premium movie-on-demand service, will provide internet streaming of new releases starting at US$2 though prices will differ for each movie.
The film houses which YouTube are said to have signed licensing agreements with include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros and Universal.
However, reports suggest further deals have been complicated by existing contracts between other Hollywood studios and streaming services like Netflix.
The Google owned video site has been veering this way for a while, and recently hired former Netflix boss Robert Kyncl as VP of TV and film entertainment as well as other execs from Universal and Paramount, so will be well versed in the workings of the industry.
Earlier this month, Kyncl hinted at such a move, saying “imagine if you had a video store on YouTube, where you could rent or buy the movie without being sent elsewhere.”
However, Aussie YouTube fans needn’t rush to the PC just yet – the service, when first launched, will be confined to the US for now.
Amazon’s new Instant Video service, offers thousands of new movies and 90,000 shows to buy or rent in HDTV as soon as they are released, but for a fee, although is free to its Prime members.
The movies cost $2.99 for a 3-day rental and $11.99 to buy the permanent viewing.
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]]>The post Telstra, Internode Upgrades Defy NBN appeared first on Smart Office.
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Telstra’s upgrades, which are taking place in northern Tasmania, incidentally, just 30km from NBN test site of Scottsdale, the APP reports.
Upgrade of exchange points in Dilston and Bridport are being carried out in order for Telstra’s customers to upgrade to faster ADSL2+ broadband connections.
The NBN trial run of the broadband network has included Tasmanian hamlets of Midway Point Smithton, Scottsdale, the latter two of which have less than 2000 inhabitants and is currently rolling out cables at seven ‘stage 2’ sites there.
What is interesting is the telco appears to be oblivious to the competing optic fibre installation, going on since 2009, and could be either hedging its bets that the NBN may not go ahead or else bolstering its cable infrastructure to rival the national network.
The telco are also currently in the process of finalising a deal which will see all of its existing copper fibre network surrendered to the NBN Co, as part of a $9 billion deal.
“These are outside our current plans for the NBN,” said Michael Patterson, Telstra general manager for northern Tasmania area, insisting current demand was sufficient to warrant further investment in upgrades.
Patterson also insisted said there would be no overlap with the NBN.
What is also interesting about this is the take up of the first sites subject to NBN was said to have been poor at just 15 per cent, at the beginning of April.
So, whether the ADSL2+ offered by Telstra was sufficient to quench Tasmanians thirst for high speed internet or not is anyone’s guess.
And they’re not the only telco upgrading in the island state. Adelaide based Internode are also busy at work there, upgrading its DSLAM equipment at exchanges as are iiNet.
However, Internode insist it is still ‘business as usual’ and will take up to 10 years for the $36bn NBN to be up and running in full and is keeping its current business plan going in order to meet demand.
And its “DSLAM will run along the NBN, as planned,” in years to come an internode spokesperson told ChannelNews earlier today.
During the Senate hearing into the NBN Access Bill last March, several telcos including TPG argued against companies ‘cherry picking’ lucrative CBD areas rather than focusing on residential customers.
However, this does not now appear to be the case, since this tussle between ISPs for business is going on in rural Tasmania.
Under the rules decided under the Access Bill, competing companies to the national broadband provider can only lay similar optical fibres first only if they are similar to the national network.
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]]>The post Qtrax: New Oz Free Digital Music Service.. And Its Legal appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Its user interface provides artist biographies, general info and discographies in a service that appears to be trying to bring the artist back to the listener.
Fans will be able to create playlists, send music recommendations to friends, and allows social networking with other Qtrax users.
The revolutionary service, already available in the US, Canada and the UK, aims to stamp out piracy, which has plagued the industry in recent times with the onslaught of illegal music vendors.
Klepfisz has signed a number of “significant licensing deals” with some of the major music labels and is aiming to create a “business model that directs money back to artists and rights holders.”
“This is the beginning of clawing back revenue for Australian artists from the arguably 90%+ of their earnings that have been lost to piracy.”
“Just register, log in and search, download and play music for free” the music provider commands and imposes no pre-conditions to downloading.
And he is confident he can build a profitable and valuable business, providing fans with access to a vast and diverse catalog of high-quality digital music files, for free.
Qtrax enables users to download and listen to music locally, which is a plus over music services streamed over the net, which can be subject to sound interruptions.
“Australians both produce and consume music at a very high rate per capita, says Klepfisz, Qtrax President & CEO.
“Bringing back to Australia that which so many Australians clearly want is very satisfying.” And is one of the very first countries in this side of the world where the service has been launched.
Music is added to the catalogue on an ongoing basis, says Qtrax, which began its Asia Pacific rollout in 2009.
The company is a subsidiary of New York based Brilliant Technologies Corporation.
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]]>The post Harvey Norman Trading ‘Difficult’ 1.4.% Rise appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>However, Aussie stores did rise 3.0 per cent y-o-y, despite market conditions.
NZ and Ireland also showed similar slumps, dropping 3.1 and 14. per cent respectively, although perhaps surprisingly its Slovenia store enjoyed a 17.2 per cent sales hike.
Its Australian stores continue to operate in “an extremely difficult environment,” the statement said. Like for like sales actually fell 3.5 percent it also said, when compared to the same period in 2010.
While the TV market remains strong, price deflation, strong Aussie dollar and over cautious consumer sentiment has bitten the sector particular.
Meanwhile on the computer front things don’t look much better either, with the laptop category hit in particular.
However, it’s not all flat and Harvey’s sales was buoyed by positive activity in in game consoles, cameras and smartphones, it said.
And, white goods, home and cooking appliances especially all experienced “significant market share” growth over the period.
And it is confident of “positive contributions from the gaming console, the digital SLR cameras and the smartphone categories, combined with the tablet computer market,” will see it through 2011.
Harvey Norman is “well positioned” to meet retail challenges it faces, it reassured investors.
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]]>The post M-Shopping ‘Phenomenal’, Retail Flat, Warns Industry appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>But the mobile revolution should be seen as an “opportunity” rather than a threat to business, according to the Retailers Association here.
“Growth in mobile commerce is phenomenal while stores have flat growth,” says Jennifer Cromarty, from the Association.
“Mobile commerce is abruptly altering the retail landscape and is set to rocket in 2011” the association has warned, with $155m in payments being made through Smartphones and web enabled mobile devices last year.
Online players are already stepping up to the mark. Auction giant eBay just his week has revamped its iPhone application, which now includes selling functionality alongside RedLaser barcode scanning techology.
This looks set to revolutionise m-shopping , enabling consumers to compare in-store prices with internet / eBay prices by scanning items with mobile phone cameras.
5-10% of Australian iPhone owners are logging into their eBay app every day, the online giant says. One of the founding fathers of intenet selling, eBay also confirmed 25% of Australians already use their mobile phone to shop. The Apple app is also soon to hit the Android market.
eBay also recently purchashed e-commerce expert GSI for a cool $2.4bn.
The purchase is seen to be a move by John Donohoe’s online giant to lure larger retailers into its business web and a defense against the ever increasing prowess of rival e-tailer Amazon, which has morphed into the biggest online seller globally and is one of the most visited retail websites in Australia.
Amazon already has a free app allowing consumers search and compare prices from local retailers for over a million products sold on Amazon.com for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android devices.
And it looks like many leading retailers locally are heeding the call. Harvey Norman has just confirmed it is fine tuning its site into a fully fledged trading platform, something the retailing giant shied away from, until now. It is also a safe bet to assume these sites will be fully functional for mobile consumers.
“By this time next year you’ll see Harvey Norman with a pretty sizeable internet presence. My heart’s beating very strongly on whether we make any money out of it,” Mr Harvey said.
This will catapult Harvey’s up with the likes of Dick Smith and JB Hi Fi who already have significant presence in this space.
And PayPal have also quickly stepped in to meet demand revealing mobile payment volumes grew by 25 per cent in the last quarter.
“With the arrival of m-commerce we expect to see more change in the retail industry in the next three years than we have seen in the last decade,” said Frerk-Malte Feller, MD PayPal Australia.
“It is time for Australian retailers to form strategies addressing multiple channels. Retailers must have a presence wherever their customers are – be they in store, online or on their mobile phones,” Cromarty who is Deputy Exec Director of Retailers body warned.
“Consumers want to work with Australian retailers but if they aren’t offering the range, the consumers will start to look somewhere else.”
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]]>The post Foxtel: Deliver Or Die As Free TV Closes In appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post Foxtel: Deliver Or Die As Free TV Closes In appeared first on Smart Office.
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