Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Notel Media Player Helps North Koreans Skirt Censorship

Posted by timothy on from the one-day-will-be-on-ebay.nk dept.

An anonymous reader writes A small portable media device, costing roughly $50, is allowing North Koreans to access and view foreign media despite tight government censorship, according to a Reuters report. The 'Notel', a mashup of notebook and television, is being described as a symbol of change in the repressed society. Used to watch DVDs and shared content from USB sticks and SD cards, the media player can be easily concealed and transported among families and friends. According to correspondents in the region, as many as half of all urban North Korean households have a notel and are swapping a broad range of banned media such as soaps and TV dramas from South Korea and China, Hollywood blockbusters, and news clips — all of which is strictly forbidden by Pyongyang law.

35 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Just wait by kelemvor4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just wait until the MPAA and RIAA get ahold of them for piracy. They'll wish they were in north Korean prison.

    1. Re:Just wait by eric_harris_76 · · Score: 1

      I feel exactly that way when I see a Democrat and a Republican compete for an office.

      Fortunately, gerrymandering means we frequently see only one candidate on the ballot. No conflict there.

      Just like N. Korea and Big China and Cuba.

      --
      There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
  2. funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's funny because Notel is like No Tell, which means don't tell, so the fat dictator can't put you in a forced labor camp with your entire family/kill you.

  3. I thought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Notel was a motel chain.

    1. Re:I thought by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Not sure i would want to do room cleaning there...

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    2. Re:I thought by kheldan · · Score: 1

      The 'Notel Motel' franchise values secrecy -- so much so, that even publicly using the name is strictly forbidden in the charter. Typically the way you can identify an establishment as a member of the Notel network, is by their rate structure: If they can charge by the half-hour, then it's almost certainly a Notel Motel.

      ..meanwhile, back in North Korea: You can't stop the signal, now can you? I bet that despite his outward appearance of being virulently xenophobic and rabidly against all things Western, Kim Jong-un likely has an Xbox 360 and/or PS4, likes his Levis, Hershey bars, and Coca-Cola, and most of all his free Internet porn. Probably has seen all of MTV's Jackass, including the movies, and thinks Johnny Knoxville is a fucking genius. Nope, I think the North Korean tree is rotting from within -- or in this case, starting to grow from within, finally. I think the day will come when North and South are indeed reconciled and reunited -- and it'll all happen without a single shot being fired, and the whole thing will be shared with the world via YouTube.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  4. Good to see by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

    the fruits of civilization bringing freedom of information into the dark corners of totalitarianism.

  5. This too shall pass by Onuma · · Score: 4, Insightful

    North Korean dominance over its people can't last forever. Sooner or later, they'll wake up to the fact that they're being subjugated, manipulated, and forced to live in poverty.

    I hope more Notels get circulated. The more, the better.

    --
    What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
    1. Re:This too shall pass by TheDarkener · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sooner or later, they'll wake up to the fact that they're being subjugated, manipulated, and forced to live in poverty. "

      Funny how substituting North Korea for other large nations of the world can still make the above sentence seem very relevant.

      NK is definitely bad, but it's not the only one. Maybe just the most obvious.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    2. Re:This too shall pass by Onuma · · Score: 1

      Indeed...indeed.

      --
      What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
    3. Re:This too shall pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      >1st worlders whining about lack of cell coverage and the other political party in power
      how did this get a 2?

    4. Re:This too shall pass by Quinn_Inuit · · Score: 1

      Same here. In fact, I would totally pay into a Kickstarter to send them more. These things are the beginning of the end for that regime.

      --

      Stop learning! Only you can prevent esoterrorism.
    5. Re:This too shall pass by hitmark · · Score: 1

      In other words, 1984 didn't work so lets try Brave New World.

      Or perhaps overlay Brave New World over the existing 1984 system, thus distracting the masses while making the "threats" easier to pick out as they refuse to indulge.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    6. Re:This too shall pass by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Insightful

      NK bad is several orders of magnitude worse than most countries in the world.

      All countries have problems but to talk about those interchangeably with NK's problems is a farcical level of ignorance or intellectual dishonesty about just how bad it is in NK.

      You can't say anything intelligent about your world if you have no sense of proportion and degree.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    7. Re:This too shall pass by Onuma · · Score: 1

      Except, the units would never arrive. Or if they did, they wouldn't be fully enabled.

      --
      What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
    8. Re:This too shall pass by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      I think you meant to say,

      Mögen die herrschenden Klassen vor einer kommunistischen Revolution zittern. Die Proletarier haben nichts in ihr zu verlieren als ihre Ketten. Sie haben eine Welt zu gewinnen. Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch!

      So no mod points for you today, sorry.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    9. Re:This too shall pass by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

      Because the Free World ain't nearly as free you'd like to imagine it is, maybe.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    10. Re:This too shall pass by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      (Have fun with that, trying to decide if I meant "libre", "gratis", both, or neither.)

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    11. Re:This too shall pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Obvious troll is obvious, but I'll bite at the lynchpin of this one. When did wrongdoing become the same thing as illegal actions?

    12. Re:This too shall pass by bkmoore · · Score: 1

      North Korea should go after the American model of subjugation.

      Yes, workers are much better off when all the wealth is controlled by one individual or one political party.

      Was thinking about Germanwings flights today ....

      Don't know what that has to do with N. Korea. I do know that in the Soviet Union there were no airplane crashes, ever.

      ....American Government never shied away at helping a dictator.

      The American government never shied away at helping a dictator who had something that the American government wanted.

  6. Good old sneakernet by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Saves the day again.

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
  7. crash blossom by tool462 · · Score: 1

    What do North Koreans have against skirts?

    1. Re:crash blossom by infolation · · Score: 1

      Trousers are less decadent, comrade.

  8. I read that as "Nortel" by SeaFox · · Score: 2, Funny

    And was like "Man, everyone is getting into the media streaming game, even defunct Canadian companies."

    1. Re:I read that as "Nortel" by pushing-robot · · Score: 1

      And I read it as "Portable DVD Player."

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  9. Who's being censored? by swell · · Score: 1

    How is it that millions of N. Koreans have discovered the Notel before slashdot?

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...
    1. Re:Who's being censored? by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1

      Same reason people go "hey, that's a good idea" when I tell them about how soviet-made cars in the 70's and 80's had backup handcranks stored in the trunk that you'd insert into a slot hidden behind the front license plate when your engine wouldn't turn over on its own. Western stuff just doesn't need those sorts of workarounds built ruight into it.

    2. Re:Who's being censored? by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Instead they carry a backup battery that can also charge your mobile devices in the glove compartment.

      Not sure what solution will prove more reliable down the road though.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    3. Re:Who's being censored? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      maybe because they don't live in North Korea?

      do you know about insect fighting in Taiwan?

      you don't?

      must be censorship

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    4. Re:Who's being censored? by Celarent+Darii · · Score: 1

      You must be new here.....

      On Slashdot, breaking news is at least a week late.
      On Slashdot, we don't comment on the news, but on the duplicate story.
      On Slashdot, we don't even read the article. It's much better trolling in comments.
      On Slashdot, we already have opinions so the actual news doesn't really matter

      Maybe the *ancients* could add some...

    5. Re:Who's being censored? by mordjah · · Score: 1

      HA! Read the article?? We dont even RTFS usually!

      --
      "A mind reader? That sounds like sci fi." "Honey, we live on a space ship"
    6. Re:Who's being censored? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      First they ignore you,

      then they laugh at you,

      then they fight you,

      then you win.

      - Mahatma Gandhi

      i will not laugh at you, mr. scary insect politician man

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  10. Re:No it isn't. by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    NK puts its citizens in *concentration camps* for crimes, some petty, some political

    *three generations* of prisoners

    your granddad looked the wrong way at the wrong way

    therefore, you are born in and suffer as a malnourished slave

    this isn't a *political disagreement* i have, moron, this is me making an observation of extremely gross human rights abuses, that no other country in today's world approaches, save perhaps in the areas controlled by ISIS and Boko Haram. NK goes far, far beyond any cruelty in the USA and Saudi Arabia, or any other real country

    the simple fact is you have no fucking clue what you are talking about

    and, again, you lack a sense of proportionality and degree

    your knowledge on this topic is deficient

    and your judgment is wrong in such a way that tends to suggest a general deficiency, off on more than just geopolitics

    you should stop talking about this topic unless you like being laughed at by anyone serious and intelligent

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  11. Great idea! by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 1

    Get yourself executed and you entire family sent off to starve in a reeducation camp all for watching SpongeBob.

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
    1. Re:Great idea! by Heart44 · · Score: 1

      You are quite right.