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• Fizzy Milk product launched in Hamilton
  TV3 News video, 3 June
  A Waikato dairy farmer wanted to make milk fun again, so he developed M02 - a carbonated milk drink. It sounds easy enough, but it took six years and over $2 million to get it right.
  Discussion starters:
  • The innovation process – from concept to working prototype
  • Technological modelling : prototype testing
• Wind turbines take to the skies
  BBC News online, 3 June
  The notion of tapping into high altitude winds was first posed in the 1970s, but was not technically possible. However, recent advances in materials, computing resources and unmanned aerial vehicles have now made the idea viable. As a result, a handful of companies are now exploring different designs to generate cheap renewable energy from the skies.
  Discussion starters:
  • Energy innovation
• Nokia launches bike-powered mobile
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 4 June
  HELSINKI - Want to talk more? Keep pedalling, says Nokia.
  The world's largest mobile phone maker launched four low-priced handsets and a recharger that can be connected to a bicycle's dynamo which charges when the wheels turn.
  The bicycle charger kit and handsets - some with a standby battery time of up to six weeks, FM radio and flashlights - are aimed at users with limited access to electricity.
• 2010 World Cup: And the Winner Is …
  New York Times online, 4 June
  A goal by David Villa in the 61st minute proved to be the game-winner as Spain won its first World Cup title, defeating Brazil in the final of the 2010 tournament in South Africa... Well that's according to a blink-of-the-eye computer simulation using current video gaming technology.
  Discussion starters:
  • Computer simulation
• Smart Clothes offer emotional aid
  BBC News online, 4 June
  Smart clothes could soon be helping their wearers cope with the stresses of modern life.
  The prototype garments monitor physiological states including temperature and heart rate.
  The clothes are connected to a database that analyses the data to work out a person's emotional state.
  Media, including songs, words and images, are then piped to the display and speakers in the clothes to calm a wearer or offer support.
  Discussion starters:
  • Technological systems
  • Wireless sensors
• Cap Slows Gulf Oil Leak
  New York Times online, 5 June
  Oil continued to pour from a runaway oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as engineers worked to close two of four vents on a capping device lowered onto the gushing riser pipe. Now, technicians involved in the operation say they are concerned that as they succeed in gathering more and more oil, they may have trouble handling and storing all of it.
• British scientists begin project to search for life on Mars
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 5 June
  British scientists have started an ambitious project aimed at searching for signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars, with the help of a sophisticated toolbox of instruments designed to drill deep under the surface of the Red Planet where life may once have thrived.
  They have been given the funding and the final go-ahead to design and develop the life-finding instruments that will be transported on board the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars spacecraft, which is scheduled to land on the orange-red soil of our enigmatic planetary neighbour sometime in 2018.
• Marshmallow ice cream conquered
  stuff.co.nz, 6 June
  It's taken nine years, nine trials and more than a little determination, but NZ confectionary company Tip Top has finally conquered the complexities of marshmallow ice-cream.
  Discussion starters:
  • Technological Modeling: manufacturing system design
• Anthony Doesburg: Fibre firms wooing backers for deep-sea link
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 7 June
  It's wooing season in the international telecommunications world and a couple of New Zealand wannabe undersea fibre-optic cable ventures are in the thick of the action.
  State-owned Kordia and Pacific Fibre, whose backers include IT entrepreneur Rod Drury, Trade Me millionaire Sam Morgan and Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall, are each trying to sign up customers for proposed new cables designed to break the stranglehold that Telecom-dominated Southern Cross has on internet bandwidth between New Zealand and the rest of the world.
• Yoke Har Lee: Undersea expertise wins overseas sales
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 7 June
  Ten years ago, Electronic Navigation Ltd (ENL) set out to develop new technological capability, in an exercise aimed at business renewal and growth.
  The exercise paid off: ENL has since carved out a significant global presence with its sonar technology, used to gather information under the sea.
• Google denies use of private data
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 8 June
  HARTFORD, Connecticut - Google representatives say they're working with authorities to address privacy concerns over its mapping service.
  Last month, Google acknowledged it had mistakenly collected data over public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. Authorities fear the collection may violate privacy laws.
  Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held a news conference Monday urging the search engine company to reveal whether it illegally collected data from state personal and business wireless computer networks for the Street View feature.
• Taranaki firm wins global design award
  www.stuff.co.nz, 8 June
  A New Plymouth-based medical bed manufacturer has been named as the winner of the 2010 Australian International Design Award of the Year. The award was for its M8 intensive care bed, which was praised by the judges for its outstanding design, attention to detail, and innovation.
  Discussion starters:
  • Product development: a human-centred approach to design
• Horticultural earnings exceed $6 billion
  Plant & Food Research, 8 June
  New Zealand's horticulture industry has continued to grow, recording its highest ever annual returns last year. New figures show fruit, vegetables, wine and flowers were worth more than $6 billion in exports and domestic spend in the year to 30 June 2009, up around $470m on 2008.
  Discussion starters:
  • Continuous improvement in sustainable production systems, harvesting methods, handling, packaging, storage and transport technologies
• Yahoo ready to roll out Facebook facelift
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 8 June
  SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo's latest facelift will include a Facebook touchup.
  As part of changes rolling out this week, Yahoo will import personal updates from Facebook's social network for users who want a bridge between two of the world's most popular websites. The Facebook link will need to be turned on by each Yahoo user.
• Lecturer relents on students' use of Wikipedia for research
  www.nzherald.co.nz, 8 June
  A university lecturer has embraced the online tool Wikipedia as part of her teaching.
  Canterbury University geography lecturer Dr Deirdre Hart initially banned the use of the often-criticised tool after it kept appearing in the references of her students' work.
  But she has since come to the conclusion it is a useful starting point for research, and this year asked her students to produce their own Wikipedia article.