filters
Online
1:12PM Nick Broughall | A government commissioned study says that 84% of boys aged 16-17 have seen internet porn, but most claim it’s accidental. What horseshit. Here’s a much more accurate view of the situation: 100% of teenage boys are horny little bastards who’ll lie about their porn viewing habits to government researchers because they don’t want to seem like horny little bastards. More »
Teenagers Apparently View Online Porn By Accident – Yeah, Right…
1:12PM Nick Broughall | A government commissioned study says that 84% of boys aged 16-17 have seen internet porn, but most claim it’s accidental. What horseshit. Here’s a much more accurate view of the situation: 100% of teenage boys are horny little bastards who’ll lie about their porn viewing habits to government researchers because they don’t want to seem like horny little bastards. More » 
Random Stuff
Geeze Giz, Enough Is Enough!
10:30AM Mark Wilson | Hey guys. Mark here—not some weird Russian spam advertisement. I just wanted to acknowledge that sometimes jokes aren’t funny to everyone, even on holidays. And if you want to filter our coverage, here’s how: More »
Online
11:00AM Nick Broughall | Riiight… This whole ISP-level filter thing is becoming an even bigger joke than we’d previously thought. Not only did the government only select half a dozen tiny ISPs to trial the effectiveness of their filter technology (ignoring the fact that the country’s second and third largest ISPs were prepared to play along to give some meaningful data), but the largest of the selected ISPs is going to trial the filter as an opt-in option for customers. iPrimus announced yesterday that they would begin trials in late April or early May, and that the process would be on “an opt-in basis and customer participation will be totally voluntary. The ability for the customer to opt-in to the trial provides them ultimate freedom over their internet experience.” More »
iPrimus Internet Filter Trial To Be ‘Opt-In’
11:00AM Nick Broughall | Riiight… This whole ISP-level filter thing is becoming an even bigger joke than we’d previously thought. Not only did the government only select half a dozen tiny ISPs to trial the effectiveness of their filter technology (ignoring the fact that the country’s second and third largest ISPs were prepared to play along to give some meaningful data), but the largest of the selected ISPs is going to trial the filter as an opt-in option for customers. iPrimus announced yesterday that they would begin trials in late April or early May, and that the process would be on “an opt-in basis and customer participation will be totally voluntary. The ability for the customer to opt-in to the trial provides them ultimate freedom over their internet experience.” More »
Online
9:00AM Nick Broughall | And the good news is that none of the major players are involved. More »
Conroy Announces Which ISPs Will Be Trialling His Stupid Filter
9:00AM Nick Broughall | And the good news is that none of the major players are involved. More »
Design
Rehydr8 Water Filter Puts Brita To Shame
10:40AM Sean Fallon | The word “awesome” is not used very often to describe a water filter, but the description is apt when referring to the Rehydr8 concept. More »
Online
Australia, a Country with a Moronic Government, to Block BitTorrent
3:00AM Adam Frucci | Australia loves censoring and filtering things on the internet, but its government hasn’t had its fill yet. Next up: blocking BitTorrent in the entire country. More »
Science
EWA System Sucks Drinkable Water Out of Thin Air
5:00PM Gizmodo US Edition | While energy issues tend to get a lot more media play, a perhaps even bigger challenge we’ll need to collectively deal with soon is the problem of potable water. Israeli company EWA is hoping to help nations with less fresh water resources get it inexpensively by turning humidity in the air into drinkable fluids. EWA, which stands for Extraction of Water from Air, uses a heat-based absorption system and a special energy saving condenser to suck moisture from the atmosphere and into reservoirs cleanly and efficiently. More »
Vehicles
Blade Exhaust Filters: An Eco-Friendly Gadget That Actually Makes Your Car Look Cooler
6:00AM Sean Fallon | Generally speaking, the idea of eco-friendliness doesn’t conjure up images of badass looking vehicles. However, one look at these Blade exhaust filters might change all that. According to the manufacturer’s lab testing, Blade can reduce vehicle air pollution up to 57 percent and CO2 emissions up to 34 percent while increasing fuel economy up to 500ml per km. It seems a little far-fetched (and it probably is), but Blade does have support from both the California Air Resources Board and the EPA. If those claims are anywhere near true, the $US200 up front cost of the system plus the $US20 a year for filters should pay for itself rather quickly. [Blade via Treehugger via Wired Gadget Lab] More »
Gadgets
TrueCall Acts Like Spam Filter For Your Landline
2:15PM Gizmodo US Edition | In case registering on the national Do Not Call list didn’t really do anything, two ex-telemarketers in the U.K. have invented a blocking device that acts like a receptionist for your landline. The TrueCall intercepts all your calls before they reach you, letting them through if the number is recognised as a family member or friend, and replying with an automated message if the number belongs to a telemarketer. More »
Online
12:53PM Nick Broughall | Here’s a perfect example of why Internet filters just don’t work. Our New Zealand cousins across the ditch living in a place called Whakatane were given a rude shock when they discovered – thanks to an interested tourist – that their town’s name was being blocked by an American internet filter.
The reason? In Maori, ‘Wh’ is pronounced like an ‘F’. So that you understand the problem, say it out loud: Fakatane. Say it again: Fakatane. Do you see the problem? It sounds like ‘Fuck-a-tarny’.
So because of some phonetics, an internet filter blocked an entire New Zealand town. Sure, it has now been sorted out, but this is still a great example (and yes, we’re talking to you, Conroy) of why internet filters just don’t work – 9 times out of 10, they filter out perfectly acceptable stuff.
[via News.com.au]
More »
Internet Filter Says F^&k Off Whakatane
12:53PM Nick Broughall | Here’s a perfect example of why Internet filters just don’t work. Our New Zealand cousins across the ditch living in a place called Whakatane were given a rude shock when they discovered – thanks to an interested tourist – that their town’s name was being blocked by an American internet filter.
The reason? In Maori, ‘Wh’ is pronounced like an ‘F’. So that you understand the problem, say it out loud: Fakatane. Say it again: Fakatane. Do you see the problem? It sounds like ‘Fuck-a-tarny’.
So because of some phonetics, an internet filter blocked an entire New Zealand town. Sure, it has now been sorted out, but this is still a great example (and yes, we’re talking to you, Conroy) of why internet filters just don’t work – 9 times out of 10, they filter out perfectly acceptable stuff.
[via News.com.au]
More » 