Gizmodo Australia » victoria

You Can Use Your Mobile Phone’s GPS In Victoria Again

Nick Broughall — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:14:27 +0000

So this whole GPS app on your phone situation is one big clusterf%*k of confusion, isn’t it? First there was talk that it could be illegal, then it wasn’t, then VicRoads said they were going to make it illegal in Victoria, and now they’re saying that it will be illegal, except if you use it in a cradle. Feel like buying a dedicated satnav yet?

According to Cade Lucas at The Age, the Victorian road authority has backed down on plans to make all use of GPS in mobile phones while driving illegal. It will now be legal if you have your phone in a dedicated cradle.

You can still use Bluetooth handsfree, as well as controlling music (but not video) while the phone is cradled as well, but all other uses of the phone while driving are illegal. Should you be caught once the rules come in on November 9, you’ll be looking at a $234 fine and three demerit points.

At least common sense prevailed…

[The Age]

Southern Cross Launching One HD July 2

Nick Broughall — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:34:20 +0000

Gizmodians living outside the major metropolitan areas who have been hanging out for access to the 24 hour HD sports channel, One HD, your time is almost here.

TV Tonight is reporting that Southern Cross 10 has today announced that they’ll be flicking the switch on July 2 at 7pm for the new One HD channel in regional NSW, Queensland, ACT and Victoria. They’ve also stated that Tasmanian viewers will get the channel at the same time. It will be broadcast on channel 50 (weird) and will be subject to digital coverage.

TV Tonight also has a series of regional coverage maps for each of the eastern states (and territories) except Tasmania, so if you’re wondering if you’ll get the new channel, make sure you check out the TV Tonight post.

[TV Tonight]

Apple’s Chadstone Store Opens September 13, 2008

Nick Broughall — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:50:53 +0000

Apple fanboys stuck in the last stages of despair over the lack of a Victorian Apple Store can now turn their angst into excitement. Apple has announced that their Chadstone store is set to open at 9am on September 13, 2008.

They’ll be selling the same stuff as the Sydney and Chatswood stores, but in Victoria, although the timing will be convenient for anyone looking to pick up a new iPod.

Anyone of our Melbourne readers looking to head down next weekend?

[Apple]

Victorians Can Now Piss Away Their Money Gambling On Foxtel

Nick Broughall — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:53:57 +0000

Ahh, Victoria. First you slap a court injunction on the airing of a TV show, even though it was downloaded thousands of times anyway. And now you go and legalise gambling via Pay TV.

Sure, every Aussie loves a bet. But now Victorians can love there bets from the comfort of their lounge. It’s linked with Foxtel’s Sky Racing channel, and provides detailed track and betting information on all thoroughbred, harness and greyhound meetings in Australia.

The service – due to launch in April – is only available to Tabcorp wagering account holders, who have to go through a screening process to get an account. Apparently this, plus the fact that you can pop a password on your Foxtel box, means that the channel is “secure” from underage gambling wannabes and adult gambling addicts.

Understandably, anti-gambling groups are pretty pissed off right now. I mean really, is there any need for this? Surely it’s easy enough to place a bet online without making it available through the TV as well. I mean, that extra Foxtel bandwidth could go (a small way) towards rebroadcasting Channel 7 to satellite customers. And nobody would get hurt by that. Unless they watched It Takes two, I guess.

[The Australian via TV Tonight]

Nine’s Underbelly Hits the Internet’s Underbelly

Nick Broughall — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:17:47 +0000

In case you missed it, Channel 9’s new crime drama, Underbelly, was banned from being broadcast in Victoria by the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday as it may influence the result of a murder trial currently underway. The show is a “based on the true story” type show about the 10 year gang war in Melbourne.

But what makes this story really interesting is that within 30 minutes of it being aired last night throughout the rest of Australia, the show was popping up on torrent sites for people to download. Including people from Victoria. According to the SMH, “this morning more than 600 people were already downloading the show from one site”.

Instead of getting to watch the show, Victorians were treated to an apology from Eddie McGuire, and a repeat of the Shawshank Redemption. Talk about adding insult to injury – does anybody ever want to listen to Eddie McGuire any more?

Nine are appealing the decision in the High Court. And while we don’t condone video piracy, did anybody seriously expect this not to happen? Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show wasn’t leaked from Channel 9 itself. Though probably not by Eddie – he looked like he was thinking about boning himself from the network.

[SMH via Defamer]