Nick Xenophon has gone a little bit past having "lost interest" previously stating his opposition to the filter. He has also stated he isn't convinced the trial should go ahead in its current form:
"But I think the means of doing it really are very problematic and when ISP after ISP [are] saying that this won't work, it will slow down the internet for everyone, and it won't deal with the issue of the peer to peer networks that paedophiles use, then I think we really need to rethink this."
More importantly though, you seem to be under the impression that Conroy doesn't understand the political problem here. The last sentence from the above article states it quite nicely:
"A spokesman for Senator Conroy says the Minister is still looking into whether the filter would require legislation, or could be implemented through another means."
He's very aware that this isn't going to get through the legislative process. There are obviously other agendas involved that prevent common sense prevailing.
As already mentioned a couple of times, psion is still in business but they got out of the consumer market. They bought teklogix and only do industrial stuff these days (www.psion.com)
Having said that, I've read about this in a couple of places now and they apparently still provide support and accessories for the netBook and netBook pro so their actions do seem reasonable.
The netBook was their top of the line model at the time. They weren't really in the "organiser" class any more though as they distinctly resembled the netbooks of today. The psion series 7 was their flagship device in the former category, the netBook was a sub-notebook running Windows CE.
I would have really liked one at the time but they were astonishingly expensive.
The last couple of stories have stated that it is the largest and second largest respectively. Completely wrong there, but it is the third largest by a significant margin (and has been for several years)
There is also a significant margin to the next largest (Optus) but it is still a very definite third. A quick google search proves that.
iiNet also has a large amount of infrastructure. Other comments have mentioned that they were the first to roll out ADSL2 and it certainly wasn't on Telstra equipment. Again, their infrastructure isn't to the scale of Optus and Telstra but they do have substantial presence.
You are also partially right on the last point. They aren't going after Telstra or Optus as they have a lot of resources behind them. iiNet is the perfect candidate to test the waters as they have enough marketshare for a win to actually be significant while not having the overpowering resources of the two largest players.
The online forum idea is a good one although it doesn't necessarily have to be restricted to education. Many faculties have their own forums these days to discuss departmental issues (or whatever the hell people want to) but I'm not aware of all that many campus-wide ones.
Then again, I'm not from Canada so this may be commonplace.
It also addresses the issue of putting the hardware to use.
The only problem with something like this is the internal political pressure that will arise when students are upset about something and the powers that be don't agree with them. This will inevitably happen and it could be tricky to navigate censorship/ego issues. It's also however exactly why this is a good idea - it's an excellent medium for people to address school-wide problems.
From what I have read, this is a global problem. So no, it has nothing to do with AT&T (or any other phone company) and everything to do with the iPhone.
There have been a few posts about this so it should probably be mentioned that his house is apparently worth $420,000. Everything else is just a gimmick to attract buyers.
The property market is amazingly expensive in Perth at the moment with average houses going for $350,000 upwards. That's not for anything particularly special either.
I sincerely doubt anyone is bidding on this to meet new people. They can see that this guy is desperate to sell and think this might be a good opportunity to pick up a bargain. Throw a couple of cars etc into the equation and it just sweetens the deal.
The quote from the eBay representative states "The real estate category on eBay is a non-binding section because of the real estate laws in Australia. You need a special license to sell real estate,"
It was put in the real estate section because his house is the main asset in the sale.
In fact the opening blurb of the article states: "THE next-generation 3G Apple iPhone will be available in Australia on prepay plans without a contract when it is released here next month."
This is how things normally happen over here. You can buy the phone outright at a premium or go with a contract and a reduced (initial) price.
So basically, you will be able to buy the phone unlocked but it is going to be a tad more expensive than the $199 / $299 price points that were mentioned.
I think what you might be looking for is the HP Jornada 720 PDA. The specs were apparently (this list was made from ebay decriptions so it may not be 100% accurate):
- 206Mhz StrongARM processor
- 32MB RAM
- CompactFlash Type 1 Slot
- Smart Card Reader Slot
- Windows Handheld PC 2000 OS
- Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, up to 8 hours of battery life
- Dimensions: 7.44 x 3.74 x 1.34 inch (189 x 95 x 34 mm)
- Weight: 1.1 lbs (510 g) with battery
Others have mentioned the offerings from Psion but this came a little later (around 2000). They were both set up like very small laptops and the most distinguishing feature from other pdas of the time (to me anyway) is the laptop style keyboard allowing touch typing. The HP also had a color screen unlike its Psion counterparts of the same size. The Psion models with color screens were more the size of laptops, not pdas.
Well, that probably read like an advertisment but I havent actually owned a Psion or HP Jornada so they might have both been junk! The point is that what you speek of seems to have been and gone, probably due to a lack of market interest.
Slashdot Mirror
So has Facebook apparently. The first article has the timestamp: "July 6, 2011: 8:55 AM ET"
The point the author of the second article, some two years later, seems to be making is that they actually trust their employees.
Well apparently that's sort-of the idea. From TFA:
"We're proposing that the fourth dimension is time and that over time static objects will transform and adapt," he told the BBC.
Nick Xenophon has gone a little bit past having "lost interest" previously stating his opposition to the filter. He has also stated he isn't convinced the trial should go ahead in its current form:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/27/2503830.htm?site=local
"But I think the means of doing it really are very problematic and when ISP after ISP [are] saying that this won't work, it will slow down the internet for everyone, and it won't deal with the issue of the peer to peer networks that paedophiles use, then I think we really need to rethink this."
More importantly though, you seem to be under the impression that Conroy doesn't understand the political problem here. The last sentence from the above article states it quite nicely:
"A spokesman for Senator Conroy says the Minister is still looking into whether the filter would require legislation, or could be implemented through another means."
He's very aware that this isn't going to get through the legislative process. There are obviously other agendas involved that prevent common sense prevailing.
As already mentioned a couple of times, psion is still in business but they got out of the consumer market. They bought teklogix and only do industrial stuff these days (www.psion.com)
Having said that, I've read about this in a couple of places now and they apparently still provide support and accessories for the netBook and netBook pro so their actions do seem reasonable.
The netBook was their top of the line model at the time. They weren't really in the "organiser" class any more though as they distinctly resembled the netbooks of today. The psion series 7 was their flagship device in the former category, the netBook was a sub-notebook running Windows CE.
I would have really liked one at the time but they were astonishingly expensive.
You're partially right.
The last couple of stories have stated that it is the largest and second largest respectively. Completely wrong there, but it is the third largest by a significant margin (and has been for several years)
There is also a significant margin to the next largest (Optus) but it is still a very definite third. A quick google search proves that.
iiNet also has a large amount of infrastructure. Other comments have mentioned that they were the first to roll out ADSL2 and it certainly wasn't on Telstra equipment. Again, their infrastructure isn't to the scale of Optus and Telstra but they do have substantial presence.
You are also partially right on the last point. They aren't going after Telstra or Optus as they have a lot of resources behind them. iiNet is the perfect candidate to test the waters as they have enough marketshare for a win to actually be significant while not having the overpowering resources of the two largest players.
You are correct to doubt. TPG isn't owned by iiNet.
The only company that has been bought out by iiNet that has retained its own name is Westnet and that happened earlier this year.
TPG merged with Soul earlier this year as well but that's about it
Umm, actually iiNet was founded in 1993.
The first iMac was in 1998.
I think they won :)
As an aside, the title's a bit off. From the wikipedia link above - iiNet is Australia's third largest ISP, not the largest.
There's got to be a clone stamp tool joke in here somewhere...
This is not the article you are looking for
Move along ...
... unless of course this was a satirical comment about cmdrtaco's posts in general. In which case, enter wooshing noises as appropriate :)
The online forum idea is a good one although it doesn't necessarily have to be restricted to education. Many faculties have their own forums these days to discuss departmental issues (or whatever the hell people want to) but I'm not aware of all that many campus-wide ones.
Then again, I'm not from Canada so this may be commonplace.
It also addresses the issue of putting the hardware to use.
The only problem with something like this is the internal political pressure that will arise when students are upset about something and the powers that be don't agree with them. This will inevitably happen and it could be tricky to navigate censorship/ego issues. It's also however exactly why this is a good idea - it's an excellent medium for people to address school-wide problems.
I wish I could "raise the interesting" like that ... hmmm, the more I look at that sentence the more wrong it gets.
From what I have read, this is a global problem. So no, it has nothing to do with AT&T (or any other phone company) and everything to do with the iPhone.
Heh, well I thought I'd simplify things a bit for them and just search for cuil.
Plenty of results, but none regarding a search engine.
Trying to help things out a bit, I searched for: cuil search engine ... and I got one result that points to searchengine.com
There have been a few posts about this so it should probably be mentioned that his house is apparently worth $420,000. Everything else is just a gimmick to attract buyers.
The property market is amazingly expensive in Perth at the moment with average houses going for $350,000 upwards. That's not for anything particularly special either.
I sincerely doubt anyone is bidding on this to meet new people. They can see that this guy is desperate to sell and think this might be a good opportunity to pick up a bargain. Throw a couple of cars etc into the equation and it just sweetens the deal.
But that's why we are all bidding.
We must find out his secret - no one thought it was possible to get a life in Perth! ...
Before my fellow countrymen flame me, I should point out that I live in Perth :)
Keep in mind all of the bids are essentially "fake" though according to this article:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23913016-5014108,00.html
The quote from the eBay representative states "The real estate category on eBay is a non-binding section because of the real estate laws in Australia. You need a special license to sell real estate,"
It was put in the real estate section because his house is the main asset in the sale.
Can't we bring back the flying toasters instead?
They seem to cover all bases.
The article I just read seems to indicate otherwise in Australia:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23839650-5016091,00.html
In fact the opening blurb of the article states: "THE next-generation 3G Apple iPhone will be available in Australia on prepay plans without a contract when it is released here next month."
This is how things normally happen over here. You can buy the phone outright at a premium or go with a contract and a reduced (initial) price.
So basically, you will be able to buy the phone unlocked but it is going to be a tad more expensive than the $199 / $299 price points that were mentioned.
I think what you might be looking for is the HP Jornada 720 PDA. The specs were apparently (this list was made from ebay decriptions so it may not be 100% accurate):
- 206Mhz StrongARM processor
- 32MB RAM
- CompactFlash Type 1 Slot
- Smart Card Reader Slot
- Windows Handheld PC 2000 OS
- Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, up to 8 hours of battery life
- Dimensions: 7.44 x 3.74 x 1.34 inch (189 x 95 x 34 mm)
- Weight: 1.1 lbs (510 g) with battery
Others have mentioned the offerings from Psion but this came a little later (around 2000). They were both set up like very small laptops and the most distinguishing feature from other pdas of the time (to me anyway) is the laptop style keyboard allowing touch typing. The HP also had a color screen unlike its Psion counterparts of the same size. The Psion models with color screens were more the size of laptops, not pdas.
Well, that probably read like an advertisment but I havent actually owned a Psion or HP Jornada so they might have both been junk! The point is that what you speek of seems to have been and gone, probably due to a lack of market interest.