Yes, it’s just one more #SMEG tool (or, Web2.0 snake-oil product, if you prefer), but Klout gets more than its fair share of attention. The following list was pulled from Klout on 2 October 2011.
IMPORTANT: This list does NOT auto-refresh.
LAST UPDATED: 2 October 2011, 11.27pm AEDST
Posted in Influence, Klout, Social Media, Twitter
Tagged Australia, australian, social influence, social media, Twitter
The Australian Public Service (APS) is not exactly renowned for producing world-leading promotional materials. Budget papers and Hansards, yes – tourist brochures most definitely not.
This publication, first circulated in December 1973, was designed to entice young women to Canberra to join the APS. Here, for the first(?) time, you can enjoy the full booklet in full PDF glory.
Some of the highlights you can expect when you move to Canberra with the APS (read-up, folks!):
“…girls get a boarding allowance to help them meet their living expenses…”
“…most offices are air conditioned…”
“…the shops are open Friday night as well as Saturday morning…”
“…two television channels, three radio stations…”
WOW! What are you waiting for?! Join the APS, ‘girls’.
This may be the best 2.33MB PDF you’ve ever downloaded. Grab it right here, right now –>
This crappy old dollar coin was the only one I could find on my desk. It is now worth almost USD9.82... or maybe not.
It’s been an interesting time for the Aussie Dollar. And there endeth my understatement of the year.
As the Aussie ‘Peso’ (AUD) cracked parity with the US Dollar (USD) a few days ago, news outlets and punters alike whipped up (and were swept-up in) mass currency-fueled hysteria. It was now the US Peso and the AUD was “King of the World” (errr… kind of). As the news raced around on Saturday morning, many folks had visions of overseas holidays and of foreign exchange boards lit up with the magical numbers AUD1.0000 = USD1.0000.
Of course, the latter didn’t happen – for a few reasons.
Firstly, the foreign exchange rates quoted in the media, and on sites like XE, are generally live mid-market rates based on interbank transactions and settlements. Put simply, the mid-market rate is bang-smack in the middle of the current wholesale buy and sell prices.
Secondly, the AUD was at USD1.00003 for approximately 46 seconds before it softened back to the USD0.99 mark. Heh.
Finally, and most critically, currency retailers – like banks and specialty foreign exchange outlets – will add their margin to the price they charge you. This, unfortunately, leads to tears as consumers rock up to their currency retailer expecting to see the numbers which they’ve just heard or seen Kochie and Ross talking about. It’s the RETAIL RATE that is going to determine, in part, how much partying you’ll be doing overseas or how many pairs of shoes you buy on eBay from foreign vendors.
So – here we are – with a list of the RETAIL carded rates, as offered by a number of the larger Australian foreign exchange dealers with retail services. Hopefully, this might help a few people as they shop around. Please leave a comment if any of the links no longer work (last checked 18 October 2010) and/or if you have additional sources to add to this list. Thank you. 
ANZ:
http://www.anz.com/aus/RateFee/fxrates/fxpopup.asp
NAB:
http://www.nab.com.au/cgi-bin/calculators/fx_calc/fx_transfer_table.pl (Negotiated Instruments)
https://www.holidaymoney.com.au/nab/daily-exchange-rates.html (Cash Products)
Westpac:
https://forms.westpac.com.au/forms/forex.nsf/f_forexCalculator?Openform&StartPage=2
Commonwealth Bank of Australia:
http://www.commbank.com.au/guides/personal/other/foreignexchangerates.asp
St George:
http://webapps.stgeorge.com.au/rates-net/fx-rates.aspx
HSBC:
https://online.hsbc.com.au/utility/rates/xchange_rates.html
American Express:
https://www.fx4you.com/australia/americanexpress/rates.cfm
Travelex:
http://www.travelex.com.au/for-you/todays-online-rates (NB: Online only)
Nikon D7000: Coming to Australia. Soon-ish. Product image from nikonusa.com
Like a number of Aussies, I’m keen to get my paws onto the highly-anticipated Nikon D7000 when it finally lands down under in late October 2010. Of course, it’s previously been slated for release “late September 2010″ ; “early October 2010″ and even “in time for Christmas 2010″. You get the picture. But I reckon late October 2010 is a safe bet now, I can feel it in me waters. [Edit 5Nov10 - So much for October. Let's try for November... or December... or....]
I’m going to update this blog entry if/when I get updates on pre-launch pricing. Please leave a comment here, or contact me via Twitter, if you have pricing news/links to share. NOTE: All prices are for the Nikon D7000 body only and, where relevant, do not include delivery charges. It is also worth noting that some retailers make include bonus items, also not taken into account here.
Nikon D7000 Australian retailers – Nikon Australia stockists:
I have focussed on Nikon Australia stock from Australian retailers. At this stage, I plan to buy mine locally for a number of reasons – not least the fact that the D7000 will be a Rev1.0 release. As I learned with my long-since-retired Nikon D70, nasty problems can happen and, as an early adopter, it’s great to have local warranty support. For the record, Nikon Australia repaired the body, at no cost to me, long after the warranty expired. They earned a loyal camera body customer that day. However, I still self-import a few accessories, lenses etc. 
Now, that said, if you have found a killer deal on grey import stock from an Australian-based retailer OR have worked out your own DIY import plan (eg from somewhere like B&H Photo-Video) please leave a comment with some details. I’ll consider adding a section, here, if there’s sufficient interest.
UPDATE: 12 October 2010 6.25pm
A few folks on Twitter asked for some idea on overseas pricing. Here it comes, using an AUD1.00 = USD0.9549 / GBP0.6172 / EUR0.7087 indicative buy rate.
Amazon.com (USA) USD1,199 = ~AUD1,256
B&H Photo-Video (USA) USD1,199.95 = ~AUD1,257
Digital Depot (UK) GBP1,099 = ~AUD1,781
fotoSENSE (UK) GBP999 = ~AUD1,619
Avitos (DE) EUR1,043.31 = ~AUD1,472
TechnikDirekt (DE/NL) EUR1,144 = ~AUD1,614
CompAxis (AT) EUR1,323.84 = ~AUD1,868
UPDATE: 18 October 2010 2.15pm
Well, just received an email, which I am NOT at liberty to share publicly, from a trusted source here in Australia. Sorry, I can’t say any more than that – other than that it’s someone with an interest in seeing the product do very well here.
The key points are as follows:
On the question of “how sharp will the local (AU) pricing be?”
“Go straight to the US mate. Pricing here will be way out of whack.”
On the question of “local release date?”
“Stock supply may be a little constrained worldwide but if you can wait a week or two you will have no problems. Official worldwide sale date is 29th October but I know that Amazon has already told customers that shipment before the 15th of November is unlikely.”
No great revelations, but validates a few concerns from my point of view. Certainly won’t have one before I go on holidays later this month. 
Posted in Consumer, Photography
Tagged australian, camera, consumer, forex, nikon, Nikon D7000, photography