GeekRebel

The Cake is a Lie

2008-06-18T20:16:46Z

Now and then I see something funny on the web. But it's seldom that a comment has me in stitches!

This screenshot is from a recent Digg post.

IE Mozilla Cake.bmp

The 2nd comment here did the trick, especially after a long day trying to make our new Portal and Welcome pages work properly in Internet Explorer...

Why Programmers Must Do Customer Support

2008-06-16T13:44:12Z

I am constantly amazed by what the programmers at Skyrove come up with. With the minimum of intervention, our 2 full-time programmers seem to know what's most important and what they should dedicate their time to.

Exploring this a bit, it dawned it on me: Skyrove programmers also do customer support. They have to help end-users get online at WiFi Hotspots and they need to help Hotspot owners set up new hotspots and help process paymentst to them. These tasks lie primarily with our technical division and accounting, but we rotate incoming phone calls to whoever is available.

Now, as any programmer would know, tech support is less fun than coding. The result of programmers having to do customer support is that they very quickly implement fixes that would prevent them from having to do customer support in the first place!

For example, it's quite common for customers to have trouble sending emails from public WiFi hotspots. The reason for this is that most ISPs don't allow mail to be sent from any client that is not on their network. A dedicated tech support representative can easily help a customer within 5 minutes to change some settings on her computer to use another mail server. The tech support guy would be quite happy with this outcome, as he's done his job perfectly!

Not so with a programmer! A programmer has just had 5 minutes of his day wasted and has been distracted from doing something more fun. The result: The programmer spends an hour re-writing Skyrove's firmware so that in future all emails will be automatically forwarded to a working mail server. The programmer never has to help a customer again with this particular problem.

Rinse and repeat this process, and you'll soon find less and less customers phoning in with problems. Just imagine how efficient our banks would be if the consultants who dreamt up their systems were the same ones to provide customer support?

GeekRebel Guide to Online TV

2008-06-16T13:28:01Z

This post first appeared at Mail & Guardian TechLeader

I don't have a TV at home, so I consume a decent amount of bandwidth watching TV shows and YouTube videos.

Here's how I go about it getting loads of entertainment without a DsTV subscription:

1. StumbleVideo: I don't spend that much time on YouTube itself. Rather, I watch video clips on StumbleVideo. StumbleVideo offers a slick interface that allows you to quickly rate each video you watch, either by clicking the "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" button. It then learns what you like and what you don't like watching. You can also choose different categories, so if you feel like watching funnies, select the comedy channel, or choose documentary, for a wide variety of full length movies.

2. BitTorrent. Go to The Pirate Bay, and simply search for any movie or TV series you'd like to watch. The only real problem is that BitTorrent will consume a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. Firstly, the videos available are high quality, which means you're looking at a whopping 350 MB per TV show. Also, as BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer service, you'll be uploading while downloading, meaning you could easily use double as much bandwidth. Your TV show just used 700 MB, or about R50 worth of bandwidth. The upside is that you now have a high-quality version of the show for keeps.

3. iTunes. Believe it or not, but actually paying for that TV show might well be cheaper than downloading it illegally from BitTorrent. iTunes has an increasingly wide range of TV shows and now also thousands of movie titles available. Now, I know that in South Africa there is technically still no iTunes Store available, but hey! It's the internet, stupid!

Click here to find out how you can open an iTunes account from anywhere in the world and have full access to all features.

4. Joost. If I had to bet money on what the future of TV would look like, both online and offline, I'd but a hefty part of my fortune on Joost. Coming from the same brainiacs who first brought us KaZaa and later Skype, Joost has a slick interface and, most incredibly, full-screen high-quality streaming video. It has a large bouquet of programming, including channels from CNN, Warner Bros. and Fox. It's the perfect online TV application for couch potatoes, but unfortunately also a heavy consumer of bandwidth.

5. Streaming video aggregators. These come and go at an alarming rate. Basically, an aggregator will point to movies and TV shows that have been uploaded to video sharing sites, such as Google Video, Youtube and a large variety of Asian websites, which would be difficult to navigate without an English language aggregator. Current ones include tv-links.eu,sidereel.com,alluc.org, ovguide.com and Project Free TV. In some cases, you are able to download the Flash Video files using Flash Video Downloader 2 (for Mac) or Orbit Downloader (for Windows) or an online service such as KeepVid.

Watching videos online in South Africa might still be more expensive than getting DsTV and won't give you the same quality or sports content. The upside is that you have video available on demand, which is really the way things should be.

Disclaimer. Some of the techniques described above may be illegal in your country and I take no responsibility if that's the case. My favourite method is iTunes, as it's fully legal, offers the highest quality and the cheapest price.

Why Market Leaders Don't Innovate

2008-06-16T13:20:17Z

This post first appeared at Mail & Guardian TechLeader

"Radical innovation never originates with the market leader!" -- Jim Utterback, MIT

Did you know Mitch Kapor tried to license 1-2-3 to IBM for $3,5-million in the 1980s? They told him that hardware was a multibillion-dollar industry, and that the market for PC software was only a $50-million industry. IBM later bought Kapor's Lotus Development Corporation for $3,5-billion.

The point is that IBM missed a fundamental paradigm shift.

Another example: in the late 1800s, the chairperson of Western Union said: "Many of our stockholders have asked me about this new invention by Alexander Graham Bell called the telephone. While we think it's an interesting curiosity, there's never going to be a market for that technology, and therefore we have declined the offer to take a licence."

Or this quote attributed to Napoleon: "What, sir, you mean to tell me that by lighting a bonfire under the deck of a ship, you can make it sail against the wind and the currents? I pray you, excuse me. I have no time for such nonsense." He then kicked Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamship, out of his office.

Thomas Edison is an example of someone who started out smart, but later became a market leader. When Edison first invented the light bulb, he invited the press to a demonstration. The market leaders then were the gas companies, selling gas to illuminate streets and homes. One company felt so threatened that it hired an electrician to sabotage the demo. He carried a hidden wire tucked under his sleeve, around his back and out the other sleeve. During the demo he shorted the wire across one of the lightbulbs, in order to cause a short-circuit and turn off the lights.

However, Edison placed a fuse on every fourth light bulb, so only four of the light bulbs went out and the others remained on. There was enough light to see what was going on and they caught the saboteur!

However, 25 years later Edison was the new market leader. An entrepreneur called George Westinghouse was working with Nikola Tesla to promote Tesla's new AC power innovation, which was better for carrying high voltages over longer distances. Edison did everything in his power to sabotage Westinghouse and Tesla. He electrocuted an elephant to create the image that AC was extremely dangerous. He even helped Westinghouse get its first customer: The New York state legislature bought an AC generator to electrocute felons instead of hanging them.

Edison is remembered as one of the most innovative people in the world. But when he became the market leader, his mindset changed and he resisted radical innovations rather than adopting them.

Anyways, Tesla showed that AC was safe by passing it through himself to power a light bulb...

iTunes Account Anywhere

2008-05-25T18:20:24Z

I am lucky in that I used to live in Australia when I set up my iTunes account.

However, if you're stuck in South Africa (or anywhere in the developing world) and didn't take advantage of your gap year abroad to get access to the widest variety of music, TV shows and movie rentals, there still is a way to get access.

I'm going to use the US iTunes store for this example:

1. Open a US PayPal account. Give the address of a friend in the USA. Do NOT give a fake address. It will cause problems later on.

2. Link your South African credit card to this PayPal account

3. Open an iTunes / Apple ID account. Give the same address as in Step 1.

4. When asked about payment method, simply use your US PayPal account. Do not give your credit card details, as Apple will detect your credit card is non-US. However, they do not have direct access to this information when you sign up through PayPal!

And that's about it, really.

I Drive PRO, Do You?

2008-05-14T21:28:16Z

I drive K53. Well, at least most of the time. I always use my indicators; the proper way. Meaning I turn them on before I start changing lanes and I switch them off once I'm fully in the other lane. Heck, I even use them on a dirt road.

I do this even though many times the K53 rule might seem a bit silly. The reason I do this is because I believe in the philosophy of the K53 driving system.

I strongly believe that if everyone in SA started driving K53 style, we would reduce our road death toll from ±10,000 to less than a 100.

The problem is that it's just not sexy driving K53. It's not sexy to always have both hands on the steering wheel or to take a turn without cutting through the white line.

We need to make K53 sexy. And the first thing that needs to change is the name. I suggest renaming it to "Drive PRO System". An advertising campaign could accompany this with Sarel van der Merwe saying something like: "I Drive PRO, do you?".

Then make bumper stickers with this slogan. Then get BMW, GM, Toyota etc involved to give away free cars to people spotted with the bumper sticker (and perhaps observed for 5 minutes without breaking any Drive PRO rules)

It's definitely not cool to say at a party that you drive K53... Well, not if you want to be the life of the party in any case. However, to Drive PRO will send a different message altogether. And very soon, those people who don't Drive PRO will be seen as idiots who come from Bellville and don't know how to handle a car.

Waterfront Parking Rip-Off

2008-05-14T20:46:40Z

So I went to the movies tonight with friends. Afterwards, we walked to the parking lot to find our cars were coincidentally parked next to each other! So we chatted for a bit.

I was concerned at some point that we would need to leave soon, as the parking ticket might expire. I checked the ticket and saw that I still had a full 11 minutes to get out of the parking garage.

We said our goodbyes and proceeded to the exit, only to have the machine spit the ticket back out, saying that the Exit Time had expired! Despite there being another 6 minutes left!

You see, the parking meter system at the Waterfront runs about 12 minutes fast!

Instead of just opening the boom, the parking attendant insisted that I go back to the parking machine and pay an additional R2! This despite me having paid for 5 hours of parking (and having used about 2 1/2 hours of this).

He acknowledged that their clock was running fast and that many people have this problem but said he could do nothing about it!

Anyways, he gave me the name of his manager, Mr Michael Beelders. (Google him)

Mr Beelders, I am not sure if you have unwittingly stolen money from the public, but make no mistake: Every R2 you collected from people in this method is simply petty theft and you should be ashamed of yourself.

I suggest you quickly figure out how much money you've pilfered in this manner and make an equivalent donation to charity.

Really, doing the right thing is not that hard.

Oh, and may I suggest you fix the clock on your machines.

Facebook Chat and More

2008-04-30T11:05:47Z

This is in response to Mike Stopforth's recent post about Facebook Chat

Facebook Chat also has me on Facebook again, but just a little. Facebook has definitely lost its lustre. There's just too much crap I have to scroll through on most people's profiles simply to leave them a Wall post.

I really want to do the following:
1. See what you're up to
2. See your photos!
3. Write you a quick Wall note
4. Poke you, but NOT hug, kiss or slap you

What I'd like to see:

* Show me HOW I'm connected to someone, ala LinkedIn.
* Everyone on Facebook putting their phonenumbers up. I use Facebook as an address book. If your phonenumber is not up there, it probably means your Facebook friends aren't your friends at all.

For crying out loud get rid of:

* Applications that serve absolutely no purpose, e.g. Zombie invites
* FunWalls, SuperWalls, OffTheWalls

What do you think?

Nudge! Making the Right Choice

2008-04-29T09:30:24Z

I just read an interesting book review on Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness in Time Magazine that relates to my previous post about the ReVolt Movement on how to solve the Power Crisis in South Africa.

From the Time article:

If you want people to use less energy, you could make it very expensive - or you could just let them know how much they use in comparison with their neighbours.

When that bit of information was added to electric bills in San Marcos, Calif., heavy users quickly lowered their consumption, even though no one had asked them to. ... the good people of San Marcos had been nudged.

Isn't that incredible?

ReVolt!

2008-04-23T20:32:01Z

I did a workshop this weekend at Podcamp SA to try and solve the South African power crisis. We had a group of about 40 intelligent and well connected individuals in a room and I thought that if we simply put our heads together we could realistically arrive at a solution.

And we did!

You see, to alleviate the power crisis, at least in the interim, all we need to do is use 10% less electricity. Why is this so difficult then?

Surely all of us are capable to switch our geysers off for a few hours a day and stop running our swimming pool pumps in the winter? And not keep our PCs running through the night nor have 2 plasma screens constantly on even though we're not watching?

The problem seems to be that we simply don't believe that saving 10% is going to make any difference. It's a classic study of humanity: "Nobody else is doing the right thing, so why should I? In any case, even if I did save, I will still suffer blackouts because no one else is saving!"

Now, of course, we could individually ration households, and in that way reward people individually for saving. The problem is that this is technically more difficult, time consuming and costly.

But what if we incentivized individual neighbourhoods, instead of individual persons? Municipalities already do rolling blackouts, in which they switch off electricity to certain suburbs, but not to others!

The solution is simple: If a certain neighbourhood manages to save 10%, in a certain time period, then simply continue to provide electricity to that neighbourhood.

This will empower people at the community level and also create a spirit of healthy competition between neighbourhoods, but without any losers! Imagine dinner parties where friends boast about their neighbourhood not having suffered a blackout in months because they managed to save!

Neighbourhood Power Watches could be established to distribute flyers to raise awareness (and occasionally go knock on doors of folks running Christmas lights in June)

Jon Tullet suggested that we use SMS broadcasting to warn people in any particular area of impending power cuts. (An SMS broadcast is a message sent to all phones in a range of a particular cell tower, regardless of what network you are or what your number is). This will allow recipients to switch off appliances and instantaneously reduce consumption to avoid a power cut!

I have set up a website, www.revolt.co.za, to be the centre of this campaign. (Do you get the double-meaning? Thanks to Simon for coming up with the name during a Blogger Community brainstorm session on Skype!)

So what can you do to help right now? Easy: If you're a blogger, blog about it. If you're a journalist, write about it. If you're not a writer, talk about it. If you're a politician, campaign about it!

Right now, right here, YOU can make a big difference in helping to bring South Africa back on track, to help save lives, jobs and 2% of GDP growth!

WiMAX vs WiFi

2008-04-13T14:52:28Z

I spoke last week at First Tuesday in Johannesburg. Read ITWeb's coverage here.

Ironically, on the very same day that I say that we won't be seeing WiMAX on consumer devices for a long time to come, Nokia decides to release the WiMAX enabled N810 Tablet PC. Note, however, that there is no actual WiMAX network you can use it with, yet.

Here are my speaker notes:

WiFi vs WiMax vs 3G

I'd like to talk briefly about how WiFi is positioned in relation to WiMax and 3G, from the perspective of an end-user.

Firstly, a brief overview of 3G and why it's not sufficient in itself.

3G is the main technology being touted by Vodacom, MTN and other mobile networks around the world.

3G is a data transfer technology that is essentially an enhancement of GSM. The good thing about this is that we already have a large GSM network available. And even though 3G speeds might not be available across the country, you can use the same 3G phone or 3G data card to access the internet via GPRS, which you'll find even in Pofadder and many nearby farms where there is no ADSL service.

The bad thing is that it suffers the same limitations. In the same way that Dial-Up internet is limited by the telecoms network!

Who could tell me what day in the year sees the most telephone calls being made?

(Mother's Day).

The moment that you have a lot of voice traffic, data traffic simply gets sidelined. So although 3G is a convenient and highly ubiquitous service, it's simply going to suffer a massive coronary during the World Cup. The data access needed by millions of people phoning home and uploading millions of photos per match to Facebook and Flickr is simply beyond the reach of 3G technology.

This answers the question: Why WiMax?

It is clear that a better technology is needed than 3G broadband.

But now that we know that 3G is not going to work, the question becomes: Is WiMax going to work?

The idea of WiMax is great: Cheap, High - Speed, Long Range.

However, in practice it compromises on these in one way or the other.

Although WiMax IS capable of high speeds, it can only deliver high speeds at short ranges.

And although it can deliver data at long range, it can now only do so at really slow speeds!

And WiMax is definitely NOT cheap, with a base station costing north of a R100,000!

However, even if you could solve these problems, by having 100s of government sponsored WiMax base stations per square kilometre, the problem is fundamentally still the availability of consumer devices.

The closest thing we have to WiMax on the market is iBurst's wireless service. As you know this involves a funky orange modem (show modem) that needs to be plugged into a wall and that costs R2000 to buy.

WiMax consumer equipment is much the same. It's bulky, expensive and very power hungry. This means we won't be seeing WiMax built into consumer devices any time soon.

And once we do, we're going to find that WiMax is being implemented on different frequencies by different providers. So a WiMax device you buy from MWEB, for example, will not work on a WiMax network provided by, say, WebAfrica.

At the end of the day, WiMax is a bunch of hot air, and I don't think we should spend any time planning government funded initiatives for providing rural access until the technology itself is proven.

So what we're really left with is WiFi.

The reason we chose WiFi as a technology is because of its open nature. Anyone can build WiFi equipment that is compatible with all other WiFi equipment.

The really great thing about WiFi as a technology, as opposed to 3G or WiMax is that it is already built into a multitude of devices.

Besides for laptops and Macbooks, WiFi is also built into Smartphones, iPhones, the new iPod Touch and even Refrigerators and Washing machines.

It is an inexpensive and robust technology.

However, it's openness is also its curse. There is no way for Vodacom to tie you into a WiFi service, thus they haven't really put resources into promoting it.

As a result we have lots of small players providing vastly different service levels at very different price levels.

This is starting to change, and very soon you'll be able to use a single, automated login, to connect to WiFi hotspots around the country.

It won't be long before your streetlamps get upgraded to provide WiFi access.

The greatest thing is that you won't need to upgrade your phone or buy an expensive wireless modem to access it. Simply use your iPod!

SAA Response to Complaint

2008-04-11T09:20:50Z

I received an email today from Robyn Chalmers, SAA Head of Corporate Communications. (My original is below her response).

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Dear Henk

Thank you very much for writing to me relating your experience at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), I really appreciate it.

Travel can at the best of times be a stressful experience and please accept my sincere apologies for this unfortunate incident and for your treatment which was completely unacceptable.

We understand how upsetting such treatment can be and for this reason we are embarking on a fresh drive to improve our customer service. We are starting at the top and recently ran a workshop with managers in the airline who pinpointed the crucial areas within the airline where we speedily need corrective action.

ACSA, the owners of the airport, took a decision about three years ago that ORTIA would be a "silent airport", where no announcements will be made. When we have a delay ACSA then activates the system and SAA can use the PA system within a specific framework. For us to function to our full capacity we depend on service providers such as ACSA, which is also responsible for listing flights on the display boards. These boards may have malfunctioned on the day in question.

I would like to thank you for your loyalty to SAA and hope that you will remain a loyal SAA customer.

Should there be any other way we can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. We can also facilitate any Voyager requests, should you wish us to do so.

Kind Regards

Robyn Chalmers

From: Henk Kleynhans [mailto:henk@skyrove.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 12:42 AM
To: Robyn Chalmers
Subject: Please help with addressing an unfortunate and unnecessary SAA experience

Dear Robyn,

I write to you directly after a journalist friend suggested I speak to you and as I think my experience with SAA today might be symptomatic of an underlying problem that could easily be solved, thus preventing further harm to your clients.

I am a fervent supporter of SAA, am a Voyager card holder and recently received a Voyager Credit Card as well. (Getting through to Voyager's Call Centre for support is a different matter for a different day...)

This evening, April 1st, I was scheduled to fly with Flight SA369 at 8pm.

I had had a long day in Johannesburg, but managed to get to the airport early, and promptly checked in and cleared security just before 18:30.

I found a location to sit where I could both keep my laptop charged as well as see the information screens and clearly hear any announcements. (There is very limited seating at Gate C10 and no place I could see to plug in a laptop, even if I were to sit on the ground)

The boarding time was scheduled to be at 19:30. However, when there were still no announcements on the screen and no boarding calls for the flight by19:45, I went to find out why the flight was delayed and how much longer it would take, in order to make arrangements for my arrival in Cape Town.

However, I discovered to my amazement that the airplane door had just been closed! According to the girl at the desk, this was because all 75 passengers were on board.

I asked her why there were no boarding announcements. And she matter-of-factly said it wasn't necessary and that I should check my boarding pass.

I told her that I sat in front of the info screen since 18:30 and looked out for the boarding announcement.

She then said something about it being ACSA's fault. (She was wearing an SAA uniform).

I then asked her who was responsible for making boarding calls, but she refused to answer this question. (Why is this?)

She said that she could take me to her supervisor, and kindly walked with me me to the check-in counters to explain to her supervisor. At this time I was extremely distressed at the possibility of having to stay the night in Johannesburg and being away from my wife for another day.

While we were walking she told me that it was policy to only make boarding announcements when flights were delayed.

She told me that I would have to pay extra to upgrade my flight. I said that I am not happy about this and that I would contact SAA and asked her for her name, which she refused to give to me. I find this surprizing if indeed protocol was followed.

I explained my situation to the supervisor, who rudely admonished me for not standing at the exact boarding gate (C10) at 19:30 and furthermore told me that SAA hasn't been making boarding calls for the last 3 years! She sent me to the reservations desk where I had to pay an upgrade fee. (I paid approximately R2300 for the original return flight)

Is this really true then? Does SAA simply not bother to update the information screens? Shouldn't there then be a notice in large text on the screens to say that the information for SAA flights cannot be trusted? Is this perhaps the reason I often sit on an airplane to be told some customers didn't pitch after checking in and that their luggage would have to be offloaded?

I am not so upset about the R345.00 that SAA has charged me to "upgrade" my flight, although, to my mind, this is really done in bad faith.

What I am really upset about is the entirely unnecessary inconvenience caused.

And although I really looked forward to seeing Althea, my wife, this evening, I am saddened that she had to stay up much later than she is used to, to pick me up from the airport. She currently works as an Occupational Therapist at a tertiary hospital in Cape Town and on top of that is doing her Masters in Disability Studies. It should be SAA's mission to bring people together as quickly as possible, whether for business meetings or to rejoin loved ones.

I have been a staunch and continued supporter of South African Airways. But tonight I felt mistreated and disrespected by your staff. I am incredulous at your policy of not informing passengers through the info screens placed all around the terminals. What is their purpose then?

I would love to see SAA turning a bad experience into a good and long lasting relationship. (It managed this once before, though unfortunately only after many hours of phone calls.)

In 2006 the company I founded, Skyrove, received the Technology Top 100 award for the Most Promising Emerging Enterprise. (You may have seen our logo at the airport information screens as it was flashed at airports around South Africa). And although we're still a small company, we have since then tripled our number of employees and our executive directors fly on a frequent basis, and always with SAA.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Henk

p.s. Skyrove recently got good exposure because of its efforts of actively engaging its community (the Web 2.0 word for customers). Please have a look here: http://www.mikestopforth.com/2008/03/21/skyrove-starts-a-conversation-and-saves-thousands/#comment

AA Batteries with Built-In USB Charger

2008-03-06T18:52:42Z

I thought of writing something cool about the this product, but I think the picture says it all!

Make Plastic with Corn and Water

2008-03-01T12:54:32Z

Plastic is made from oil. It takes 100 million years to create one drop of oil. We then toss the plastic in the bin and it goes to a landfill where it takes 500 years to biodegrade. This guy found a way to make durable plastic using corn (or other starches) and water!

GeekRebel to Boycott Japanese Products

2008-02-10T08:32:12Z

I've joined the Facebook Group: "Fuck Off Japan... Leave the Whales Alone!!!!" (despite a few too many exclamation marks at the end).

Japan will be slaughtering more than a 1000 whales this year that will end up in restaurants. They're exploiting a loophole that allows for the killing of whales for "research" purposes.

I intend to boycott Japanese products and I hope that you will too. (It's not that hard and maybe it will make a difference to what your grandkids will think of you one day if there are no whales left.)

Activist Joanne Sidall put together the following list of Japanese products in between beers:

Alpine Electronics Inc http://www.alpine.com/
Asahi Brewery http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/english/
Bridgestone www.bridgestone.com
Brother Industries http://www.brother.com/index.htm
Canon http://www.canon.com/
Casio http://world.casio.com/
Citizen http://www.citizen.co.jp/english/
CSK Holdings http://www.csk.com/index_e.html
Daikin Industries http://www.daikin.com/
Epson http://epson.com/
Fuji Film http://www.fujifilm.com/
GReady http://www.trust-power.com/overseas/index.html
Hitachi http://www.hitachi.com/
Honda http://www.honda.com/
Japan Airways http://www.jal.com/en/
Kao Brands http://www.kaobrands.com/
Kawai http://www.kawaius.com/
Kenwood http://www.kenwood.com/
Kikkoman http://www.kikkoman.com/index.shtml
Konami http://www.konami.com/
Kuboda http://www.kubota.co.jp/english/contact/contact_list.html
Panasonic http://panasonic.net/
Mazda http://www.mazda.com/
Mitsubishi http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/ (You will have to play with this link to get to where you can contact them)
Mitsubishi Cars America http://www.mitsubishicars.com/MMNA/jsp/index.do
Nikon webmaster@nikon.co.jp
Nintendo http://www.nintendo.com/countryselector
Olympus http://www.olympus-global.com/en/global/
Onkyo http://www.intl.onkyo.com/support/local_support/australia.html
Pentax http://www.pentax.com/distri_asia.html
Pentel http://www.pentel.com/service/service5.php?myHome=service&myCase=service5
Pioneer http://pioneer.jp/support/index-e.html
Ricoh http://www.ricoh.com/support/
Sanyo http://www.sanyo.com/networks/index.html
Sega http://www.sega.com/corporate/corporate.php?item=corporate_contact
Sharp http://sharp-world.com/support/index.html
Sony http://www.sony.net/

I know it won't be easy, but instead of getting a Nintendo Wii or a Sony Playstation, opt for an XboX 360. I really don't know what you're going to do if you're planning to buy a camera though... wait a bit perhaps?

If you'd like to do more, you can also join the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.