Select Page

Radio NZ is open source

Oct 20, 2005 | 4 comments

The latest in the ongoing saga of ‘Dubber eats his words about RNZ’s website’: it turns out that the content management system is open source. How come nobody told me THAT before?

After finally asking him the right question, webmaster Richard Hulse lets me in on the fact that the Radio New Zealand site is powered by My Source by Squiz.net – an Australian company that builds open content management systems, and then sells add-ons rather than makeing its money through restrictive licensing.

In other words, you could have a web content management system more or less just like it for no money whatsoever, and then change it as you see fit.

Here’s hoping with that open source ethic permeating the genetic code of the company’s online presence, the idea will spread throughout and find its way into other areas.

Now… let’s encourage New Zealanders to sample RNZ programmes and use them in new creative works. Remixing their own media environment. Replicating, directing and making their own culture.

It’s not there yet – but I feel a whole lot more positive knowing that the underlying online platform for our public broadcaster is based on sharing.

4 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous on October 23, 2005 at 10:46 pm

    Thanks for the headsup re the RNZ mp3 & wma on-demand feeds.
    MP3 is apparently the larger file, yet lower quality, but much quicker to download.
    WMA comes in only in realtime – so far.

    I enjoy the blog, btw.

  2. The Denizen
    The Denizen on October 28, 2005 at 10:52 am

    Ditto thanks.
    I now enjoy the NatRad at work on a windows box curtesy of the company network, but at home I have an issue.
    I am able to listen to the on-demand content as it is servered up as “.pls” which RealPlayer10 can figure is mp3, but the streaming content is “.asx” which just causes my Red Hat Fedora box to spaz. I’m not flash at this multi-media stuff, so are you able to make any suggestions?

  3. The Denizen
    The Denizen on October 28, 2005 at 10:58 am

    Duh!….
    Just read the Audio Help section in the RNZ site. “The live streams are only Windows Media at present.” A case of RTFM for me methinks.
    Still agree that the situation is heaps better now, and can only get better.

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *