Live View is a 1.3-inch colour display that connects via Bluetooth to Android phones running version 2.0 and above.

Live View is sold as a fitness pack and comes with a wrist strap to clip your display on like a watch, a carrying case for your Android phone to keep it secure while you exercise, and the sports application SportyPal Pro. The app keeps track and maps your position, movement and distance as well as calculating the calories you’ve burned and it allows you to boast about your workout by uploading your data and status to Twitter and Facebook.

The display notifies you of incoming calls, texts, emails and other alerts from the apps you have on your smartphone such as Twitter messages and Facebook notifications. Using touch sensors located at its sides, Live View also allows you to control the tracks and volume of the music stored in your mobile.

The latest iteration of Nike and Apple’s collaborative effors is the Nike+ iPod Sports Kit which allows you to turn your iPod nano, iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4 into a personal fitness instructor.

Just slip the sensor into your shoe and attach the receiver to your iPod nano (iPod touches and iPhones already have a receiver built into them) and you’ll get voice feedback and Nike Sport Music content as you run. The app provided with the kit allows you to create custom workout shortcuts, programme a Power Song to play when you need extra motivation and sync your workout data to nikeplus.com. The caveat in using this set is that the sensor is designed for the Nike+ line of shoes so you are not only confined to one sports brand, you will also have to select from a particular line of their shoes.

Microsoft’s latest camera attachment for the Xbox 360 has three sensors that measure the height, width and depth of the room you are playing in which means your every motion is captured and relayed to the console. Basically, you play games without the use of a controller.

As such, developers have created games with fitness themes like Your Shape: Fitness Evolved which puts you through a series of workouts created by famous trainers. From high impact exercises like Cardio Boxing and Dance Central to serene, body-tightening classes like Yoga, the game allows you to customize your workout and track your progress while you get to your desired body shape. Just don’t get too discouraged when the initial measurements of your body are done when you first start the game.

1 Treasury and Creative New Zealand. Just imagine how beautiful the charts would be! No more boring boffin-speak and articles about Market Equity Risk Premium or critical reviews of Asymmetric Information, Financial Intermediation and the Monetary Transmission Mechanism – just nice big pictures.

2 The Court of Appeal with Sport and Recreation New Zealand. Anything to get our cricketers back on track for the World Cup.

3 Department of Labour and Maternity Services, to help push the country forward.

4 The Crown Health Financing Agency with the Inland Revenue Department, to get the government’s books looking healthy again after tax revenue took a dive during the recession.

5 Department of Corrections with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Would make marking essays a sight easier.

6 NZ Film Commission with the National Screening Unit. Seems natural, really.

7 The Takeovers Panel with . . . er . . . well, they could have anyone they wanted, actually.

8 Leadership Development Centre with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Enough said.

Here’s a conversation I sometimes have with civilians (people who aren’t performers) when I step off stage after a comedy gig. “That was great. So… what do you do for a living?” I point at the Michele- shaped gap I’ve just left behind at the microphone and say, “Well… pretty much… that.” “But,” they say, “what do you do during the day?” “I run a small business.” “What’s the business?” they ask. And I reply, “Me. I am.”

Since I started making a living as a freelance writer and performer almost two decades ago, I worked out pretty fast that “show business” is as much about “business” as “show”. You could be the funniest comedian in the world, or the finest writer on the planet, but if you don’t own a diary or know how to keep a receipt, you could still get stuck doing something other than your passion to get the rent paid.

Being a comedian is about invoicing, taking briefings, juggling dates, arranging travel, making contacts, having a business card, marketing and promotion, negotiating contracts – and keeping a paper-trail of it all in case any of that goes wrong.

I’m not good at all of those things, so I pay people to do the bits I’m awful at. I have various agents who hunt down different kinds of work and write up agreements, and I have an accountant who fine-tunes my GST and tax returns.

Though I like the money stuff. I like earning it, I like spending it, and I like fiddling around with it on spreadsheets. Adding up columns for gross and net income and GST provides me with one of the few moments in my life when there is a ‘correct answer’. And I like being able to write down on a piece of paper what my work is worth to someone. I like that one so much, I do it in triplicate.

Though I have to say it feels true that the business bits and the creative bits of my work use different sides of my brain, and it’s hard to switch from one to the other quickly. I can cheerfully do a gig when I’m tired, sad, anxious or sick, but I find it very hard to flick into performance mode after a day playing with my GST return. So it’s different sides of the brain, sure. But it’s still the same brain. And like everything else in show business, that’s just about timing.

And I find it hardest to work when I’m broke and hungry.

Transforming the centre of Wellington into a car and bus-free zone is “common sense, not nonsense” according to Sir Robert Jones. The polarising entrepreneur is turning his hand to local government, and assembling a team to contest the 2010 Wellington City Council elections on a platform of banning buses and other traffic from the “Golden Mile” between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place.

Instead, free trams and bicycles would be provided. Cafés and kiosks would be encouraged as well as a Saturday market, and water fountains and other attractions would be installed along the central city route. 

Describing Wellington as a “shabby city with potential”, Jones claimed his suggestions would cause a surge of apartment construction and a massive economic boom. “It is not hard – it is simple.”

Citing examples of successful projects in Brisbane, Budapest, Copenhagen, Vienna and Barcelona, he expected a Wellington CBD transformation could easily be completed in a matter of months.

“Other buggers will be saying, ‘vote for me’, but we’ll be saying ‘vote for this’.”

Fresh Films has been going for just over six months, but owner Claire Alderton has been in the business much, much longer.

With an impressive past client list that includes Microsoft, Ernst & Young, Burger King, and Holcim, she has now gone out on her own and is determined to keep Fresh Films true to her own values.

“I think people find it refreshing that we are upfront and honest,” she says. 

“If a potential client wants to make a film but I know they won’t see a return on investment, then I’ll tell them the truth. For me, business in New Zealand is all about forming long-term relationships and I won’t jeopardise that for a quick sale.”

Fresh Films specialise in high-quality corporate films, TV commercials and web video. 

Last week they launched a new cost-effective web video product which enables businesses to have an interactive presenter on their website in just three days.

“The opportunity for audience engagement is massive,” Alderton says. “Presenter-led web videos increase the amount of time customers spend on your site, and provide visitors with a unique and memorable experience.”

Her goal is for Fresh Films to be one of the most sought-after production companies in New Zealand within three years. 

Once one of the youngest first assistant directors to work on major feature films in Hollywood and the UK – think Ocean’s Eleven, Starlight Express – she’s all set to take on New Zealand.

An ambitious venture between two pioneering Wellington research institutes has substantially boosted capability within the capital’s innovation industry. The collaboration between the internationally-renowned Malaghan Institute and the world-class IRL research enterprise was brokered by Victoria Link Ltd (Viclink) with the aim of creating a revolutionary cancer vaccine.

Victoria University’s Professor of Entrepreneurship Mark Ahn had identified the long-shot potential for IRL’s chemical adjuvant, PIM 2-ME, to significantly enhance the effectiveness of Malaghan’s cancer cell vaccine, creating a life-saving vaccine with worldwide commercialisation potential. But, when finally combined after six months of preparation and testing, the adjunct actually suppressed the vaccine.

Viclink Commercialisation Manager Sophie Dalziel says the turbo-boosted cancer vaccine hypothesis was sensible, based on the highest quality science, and had the potential to reap huge benefits, but all the parties involved knew they were committing resources to a long shot. Dalziel says the experiment may have failed but it’s clear the initial stages of the collaboration significantly boosted the level of expertise within Wellington’s innovation industry.

Viclink is a technology transfer company wholly owned by Victoria University. It draws on the research, innovation and talent for invention within the university’s academic staff and student body to develop investment opportunities. The entire project used only New Zealand suppliers.

Dalziel says Viclink’s partners, including a relatively new Hawke’s Bay company called Valley Animal Research Centre, developed best practise science, testing and funding management packages to deal with the commercialisation challenges on the cancer vaccine project and those international standards could now be implemented on other ventures.

Malaghan will continue to research its science around a vaccine that can recognise and eliminate cancer cells, and IRL will continue to develop potential uses for its immune adjuvant technology. Both organisations’ programmes have been strengthened through the product development process.

Half the world lives in cities and the best cities are those that plan CBD’s to suit the people rather than vehicles. Hot- shot cities around the world have plazas and malls, lets make Wellington a hot shot city too by transforming parts of Lambton Quay, Manners Street and Courtenay Place into pedestrian malls.

These are some of the points made by Sir Bob Jones at a recent NZ Property Council event held at Te Papa . And you know, the more he said the better it sounded. Imagine a skating rink in the middle of Courtenay Place (roller in Summer – ice in Winter), a vibrant cafe culture, central commercial sites along Lambton Quay and best of all……no buses!

We’re interested to hear what you think of this proposal – email info@in-business.co.nz

At Trilogy, a Wellington-based skincare company, that question would result in a $5 fine.

Sisters Sarah Gibbs and Catherine de Groot, who run Trilogy, have banned the word from their office.

They have put up tongue-in-cheek posters warning against use of the word and each time someone utters it he or she must put $5 in a swear jar.

The money raised will go towards an office lunch.

Borne of a frustration with the world’s pre-occupation with being gloomy, the concept was originally intended only for the company and its trade partners.

Ms Gibbs says it was to encourage everyone to “get on with it and try and have a bit of fun”.

But after high-profile media coverage, Trilogy has been approached by several large New Zealand companies all wanting to use the idea, Ms Gibbs says.

When she sent an R-word pack to the Prime Minister’s office, he congratulated her on her positive initiative.

The concept has been such a success that it has even been adopted in the UK by the Boots pharmacy chain and in Australia by Myer department stores, Ms Gibbs says.

While the campaign has undoubtedly raised the company’s profile, it is more about philosophy and was never intended as a marketing strategy.

“It’s very typical of the way we like to think around here. We think a little differently, we think positively,” Ms Gibbs says.

She admits the worst offender in the office is in fact herself, and says while it is a bit of fun there is a serious side.

“We just hope we won’t need to ‘D’ proof our office.”

Sempre Avanti Consulting is a Wellington business benefiting from taking a green approach to recession. They were recently awarded a trophy for their involvement in the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Climate Neutral Network (CNN) as one of the first 100 participants.

“We’re told when you’re in a recession and in cost-cutting mode, the first thing you cut is costs not attributing to the bottom line. – Some say that green issues and initiatives are the first to go as discretionary spending and are difficult to attribute to bottom line savings,” says Gordon Shaw, Manager of Sempre Avanti Consulting.

“But by taking a systems thinking approach to being green and look at sustainability initiatives with a process improvement angle, you’re likely to get a different result. In a recession it makes good sense to take a systems approach to the review of your processes. You can review with an aim of reducing cost, resource intensity and improving efficiency – which all end up being sustainability initiatives by default.

Look at your energy bill and set a goal to cut your energy consumption by 15 percent, you will save on your energy expenditure and be green at the same time, through undertaking a lighting audit, changing to CFL’s and installing motion sensors,” he said.

At the UNEP meeting in March, Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “The CNN was born in response to the growing need to federate the many bold and inspiring initiatives being taken the world over to address the global climate change challenge and embrace the opportunity to de-carbonise our economies and societies.”

www.sempreavanti.co.nz

Don’t be fooled by its title, this isn’t an event for teenagers with too much time, adrenaline and playstation addiction. In August, Gadgets, Games & Geeks (GGG) showcases leading edge gaming technology, connectivity, multimedia, software and technologies.

Next to Webstock this is the biggest techfest in the Wellington IT calendar and is now into its third year running. It provides an annual opportunity for anyone in the creative and IT industries to network with the people who create, develop, and deliver the innovation keeping Wellington in the entrepreneurial spotlight. Unlimited Potential is keen to hear from speakers and exhibitors who are passionate about their gadgets, games and geek status. Contact events@up.org.nz for more information.