A couple of days ago, I came across an article at ZDNet about the Victoria Electoral Commission expanding its e-voting deployment through the use of Linux-based computers. It still fascinates me that in this day and age that we still resort to pencil and paper and physically turn up at a designated location to cast …
Category: Legal
Mar 05 2010
Michael Atkinson – Mr Anti-Bean
A bit late tonight as I was out seeing “The Blind Side” with the missus. It’s actually not a bad film at all so consider putting it on your shortlist when you next go to the cinema! Since we went to Gold Class, there weren’t enough ads to squeeze out a quick entry putting aside …
Feb 27 2010
Online Ombudsman – Toothless Tiger?
In an idea floated by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is investigating the introduction of an “online ombudsman”. In a nutshell, this ombudsman would deal with issues such as pornographic and obscene messages being left on the Facebook memorial sites for Trinity Bates and Elliot Fletcher, both recent Queensland murder victims. Personally, …
Feb 17 2010
Attorney-General: Gamers Scarier Than Bikers
In a story picked up by SMH today, the South Australian Attorney-General has been quoted having said: “I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me.” Leading on from my earlier blogs on video game classification and the attack …
Feb 13 2010
Full Body Scanners – Are You Concerned About Your Health & Privacy?
A recurring topic that has appeared in the news the last few weeks has been about the use of full body scanners at Australian airports. In particular, this ZDNet article echoes previous concerns about privacy and how the naked images of those who are scanned could be redistributed. A good example highlighting such a misuse …
Feb 09 2010
On Sale – Super Mario Bros Wii for AU$1.6m
In news following on the feels of the legal case between AFACT and iiNet (covered in an earlier blog entry), James Burt of Brisbane has found himself owning the most expensive copy of Super Mario Bros Wii in the world after being fined over one million dollars for illegally distributing the game online about a …
Feb 07 2010
Piracy Code of Practice – Practical or Pathetic?
Earlier this week, I touched on the court case between AFACT and iiNet and the precedent it sets for copyright law in Australia (subject to the appeals process which is yet to be formally invoked). Several days after the verdict, Senator Stephen Conroy (Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) has made a public …
Feb 05 2010
Australian Video Game Classifications – Out of Touch
In an earlier blog post (An Attack on Online Anonymity), I mentioned that the highest tolerated classification for video game publication in Australia is MA15+. This is as a direct result of South Australian Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson being the sole opposing censorship minister at state and territory level. In a development covered today by News, …
Feb 04 2010
Aye Aye – A Win for Common Sense for Copyright Law
Another saga that has been closely watched by the technology community for the last fourteen months has been the case between AFACT (Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) and iiNet (a national ISP based in Perth). In a nutshell, AFACT (comprising of the big six members of the MPAA in the US plus Village Roadshow, Seven …
Feb 03 2010
Political Backflip with a Twist
In my previous blog post I reviewed the dismal legislation passed in South Australian parliament. It seems today that Attorney General Michael Atkinson copped some flack when attempting to defend the new law on Adelaide radio station 5AA. As a result, Atkinson has indicated that he will motion to repeal the law after the election. …
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