Australia seems a very strange place. Australians are some of the most laid back, liberated people I've met, yet their politicians all seem to be ultra-conservative beaurocratic idiots. Yes, my opinion is probably biased -- never having been there, I can only go by what I see on TV. Am I really getting a distorted view of things?
It has already been explained why Australia ended up with this law. But it's a law of double standards between different mediums. For example, Australian laws towards "indecent" material is fairly liberal when say compared to other western democracies. However, this only applies to non-computer related (ie, games or internet) mediums. With the ratings covering sexually explicit material for video and print media (X-classification for videos and R-2 rating for print publications), a lot of what is allowed is illegal in the US. Without getting into detail about what is allowed, one of the liberal laws we have is that the minimum age requirement for actors in these explicit movies/publications must be at least 16 years old. I believe that only several countries in continental Europe and Australia have this minimum age; too young for the U.S.. "Mild fetishes" are also allowed. (But to be fair, a lot of what is legal in Europe or the US, namely violent sexually explicit material, won't get clearance in Australia).
Basically, our classification system has always had contradictions in regards to different mediums. It's strange as well as hard to explain to foreigners, but there's no political will to change it. As it has already been stated, doing so will be perceived as supporting pornography.
For a look into our ratings system, check out the following site: http://www.oflc.gov.au/Pages/clasinfo.html
I'm not sure about others, but Clarke seems overly optimistic about clean fuel solutions and its fast paced replacement of anything to do with fossil fuels. I believe it'll happen, but slowly over many years, not in 6 years. There's simply too much at stake (financially) for governments to want to push through with it as fast as possible.
Hmmm... do you think the possibilities of an electric car, capable of long distance runs as a gas/petrol/diesel based vehicle, are now even closer? Or is this new development in batteries still restricted to small, electronic consumer devices? The article didn't mention how quickly these new batteries recharge; a quick charging battery would be a bonus for electric cars.
Oh and I don't think the linux sources are in much danger. The ABA is pretty tolerant of swearing in film and tv in Australia - much more than in the US. It would take a fair bit of language alone to get given an R rating here:)
I know. The article is a bit too far fetched. But still, a lot of people will take it is hard fact. In Australia, the word "fuck" can easily fall into a PG classification depending on the context in which it's used. But in most cases, it easily falls under an M rating (provided the film has nothing more than medium level violence, and/or doesn't feature anything more than medium level nudity and sex scenes). Oh, BTW, the rating system for videos and film is far more liberal than it is for TV. You'll find in a lot of cases an MA rated movie on video will be hacked down and censored when it's shown on television with the same rating.
For the record, an Australian M rating is equivalent to an American PG/M rating (I think the US has an M rating); an Australian MA rating is the equivalent to an American R rating; and an Australian R rating is equivalent to an American NC-17 rating.
Advice from the OFLC is that Linux on CD is computer software and thus should already be rated, as games on CD are now.
But you've overlooked one important point: the OFLC only classify computer and video games, and by law, computer and video game distributors are required to submit their product for review before they can legally sell it. The OFLC do not classify productivity/application software and distributors of such software aren't required by law to submit their software for review by the OFLC.
By default, Linux won't be classified simply because it's not a game. However, if a complaint is made against it, it will be investigated by the OFLC (they will charge you $300 for the exercise). But it's extremely unlikely that it'll be classified unless it features MA, X or RC rated material (imagine Redhat's install process with a sexually explicit picture used as a background image).
Slashdot Mirror
Somebody was quick enough to mirror the defaced site at http://cartman.ip.versatel.net/~ben/aba/
It has already been explained why Australia ended up with this law. But it's a law of double standards between different mediums. For example, Australian laws towards "indecent" material is fairly liberal when say compared to other western democracies. However, this only applies to non-computer related (ie, games or internet) mediums. With the ratings covering sexually explicit material for video and print media (X-classification for videos and R-2 rating for print publications), a lot of what is allowed is illegal in the US. Without getting into detail about what is allowed, one of the liberal laws we have is that the minimum age requirement for actors in these explicit movies/publications must be at least 16 years old. I believe that only several countries in continental Europe and Australia have this minimum age; too young for the U.S.. "Mild fetishes" are also allowed. (But to be fair, a lot of what is legal in Europe or the US, namely violent sexually explicit material, won't get clearance in Australia).
Basically, our classification system has always had contradictions in regards to different mediums. It's strange as well as hard to explain to foreigners, but there's no political will to change it. As it has already been stated, doing so will be perceived as supporting pornography.
For a look into our ratings system, check out the following site: http://www.oflc.gov.au/Pages/clasinfo.html
I'm not sure about others, but Clarke seems overly optimistic about clean fuel solutions and its fast paced replacement of anything to do with fossil fuels. I believe it'll happen, but slowly over many years, not in 6 years. There's simply too much at stake (financially) for governments to want to push through with it as fast as possible.
Overall, an interesting read.
Hmmm... do you think the possibilities of an electric car, capable of long distance runs as a gas/petrol/diesel based vehicle, are now even closer? Or is this new development in batteries still restricted to small, electronic consumer devices? The article didn't mention how quickly these new batteries recharge; a quick charging battery would be a bonus for electric cars.
I take it The Register is the UK version of The Onion?
[snip]
Oh and I don't think the linux sources are in much danger. The ABA is pretty tolerant of swearing in film and tv in Australia - much more than in the US. It would take a fair bit of language alone to get given an R rating here :)
I know. The article is a bit too far fetched. But still, a lot of people will take it is hard fact. In Australia, the word "fuck" can easily fall into a PG classification depending on the context in which it's used. But in most cases, it easily falls under an M rating (provided the film has nothing more than medium level violence, and/or doesn't feature anything more than medium level nudity and sex scenes). Oh, BTW, the rating system for videos and film is far more liberal than it is for TV. You'll find in a lot of cases an MA rated movie on video will be hacked down and censored when it's shown on television with the same rating.
For the record, an Australian M rating is equivalent to an American PG/M rating (I think the US has an M rating);
an Australian MA rating is the equivalent to an American R rating;
and an Australian R rating is equivalent to an American NC-17 rating.
Sarch
But you've overlooked one important point: the OFLC only classify computer and video games, and by law, computer and video game distributors are required to submit their product for review before they can legally sell it. The OFLC do not classify productivity/application software and distributors of such software aren't required by law to submit their software for review by the OFLC.
By default, Linux won't be classified simply because it's not a game. However, if a complaint is made against it, it will be investigated by the OFLC (they will charge you $300 for the exercise). But it's extremely unlikely that it'll be classified unless it features MA, X or RC rated material (imagine Redhat's install process with a sexually explicit picture used as a background image).
Sarch