I’ve just added a page to my website listing all of the media output I’ve generated over the years, not counting lots and lots of postings online. Is anything missing?
My geek story
Microsoft “professional geek” Nick Hodge captured me on video muttering about punch cards as part of his Geek Stories series. This actually happened in November last year, but I just found the note amongst my draft posts.
Computerworld: Why Internet filtering will fail
As well as the piece Child Wise CEO calls for government re-think on ISP filtering which Neil H mentioned in a comment, Computerworld is also running an item headed Great wall of Australia: Industry rejects sanitized Internet. It’s subtitled “Part one: why content filtering will fail” so presumably there’s more to come.
John Birmingham on Internet filters
Author John Birmingham posted a great piece last week attacking Internet filtering. Apart from describing Senator Conroy’s “puckered cat’s bum thing with your mouth” when equating freedom of speech with kiddie-porn-watching, he puts what I think is the best argument: “If parents are going to plug their kids into the net it is the parents’ responsibility to look after the little darlings while they’re online. You wouldn’t set a small child loose in the city and expect the government to step in and do your child-minding for you.”
Any more Hallucinating Goldfish?
My last post explained my metaphorical Hallucinating Goldfish. I’ve been thinking about it for years, and finally wrote that first essay. However I’m thinking about expanding the idea into a book. So if you have any examples of society’s hallucinations or its goldfish-like (lack of) memory, do let me know. I’ll try to post what I find too, hence the new Hallucinating Goldfish category.
Google and DoubleClick to merge
The $3.1 billion merger between Google (“the Internet’s largest search profiling company”) and DoubleClick (“the Internet’s largest targeted advertising company”) will go ahead “without conditions”. The US Federal Trade Commission says the merger is “unlikely to lessen competition”. Not quite the creation of the Googlezon as predicted in the short film Epic 2014, but there’s still time… Hat tip to EPIC Alert (no relation) via Roger Clarke.