Now that the Internet's "the gateway to both the richest and the raunchiest of human expression," is legislation or filtering a better way to protect children? This Scripps Howard article does a good job of framing the debate that has tied US courts up in knots for years. The bottom line for parents is that - though filtering is undeniably flawed - it's better than nothing if you need a little … [Read more...] about Online safety: Filters or laws?
P2P deterrents, incentives
University students are probably among the 744 file-sharers targeted in this latest round from the RIAA, and universities are working on ways to keep them out of the fray. In addition to the 744, the RIAA (record company trade assoc.) is also suing 152 who have declined to settle out of court, The Register reports, making the total 896 and the grand total around 4,000. Meanwhile, more than 20 US … [Read more...] about P2P deterrents, incentives
Oz: Alleged student hate site
It's every school's nightmare these days: a hate site published by students about their teachers. A state education department in Australia will be investigating issues surrounding a site that "called for teachers to be executed, burnt or sent to 'Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp.'It also called some teachers 'child molesters'," Australian IT reports. The site, alleged to have been created by high … [Read more...] about Oz: Alleged student hate site
‘Don’t talk to strangers’: Doesn’t work
What parents hear about the unthinkable - online child molestation - is not really accurate. A new study paints a very different picture from "predators who impersonate peers to befriend children and lure them into encounters that end in abduction, rape and murder," according to a study done for the American Psychological Association. The study, by the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against … [Read more...] about ‘Don’t talk to strangers’: Doesn’t work
What’s music coming to?
Apple's iTunes is just about to have a new 800-pound gorilla of a competitor, and it may be sign of things to come for music fans in every household. "Microsoft plans to quietly launch the MSN online music store with the new version of its Windows Media 10 player," the San Jose Mercury News reports. Some 130 million PC owners will be introduced to the store, MS says, when they're prompted to … [Read more...] about What’s music coming to?