Gizmodo Australia » reports

Broadband Finally Overtakes Dial-Up In Australia

Nick Broughall — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:33:41 +0000

Remember dial-up internet? That incredibly slow and awkward way that you used to use to access the internet back in the 90s and early naughties? Well, it’s still around, although it is dying a slow and painful death.

the good news is that the Australian Bureau of Statistics has announced that for the very first time, Broadband has overtaken dial-up as the method of choice for Australian consumers to access ~~porn~~ the Internet.

If the concept of people still using dial-up offends your geeky sensibilities (like it does ours), then you can take solace in the fact that these results – published today – are actually from 2006-2007, and are in comparison to results from 2004-2005.

From the ABS Report Australian Social Trends 2008:

In just two years, the rate of Broadband Internet connections increased from 16% of Australian households in 2004-05 to 43% in 2006-07, becoming more prevalent than dial-up connections (20% of households in 2006-07) for the first time. Broadband now accounts for between one-half and two-thirds of all Internet connections at home across almost all demographic groups and geographic areas.

It’s weird. Despite the fact that they address the rapid uptake of broadband as a technology, they seem to forget that technology is advancing a lot faster than other areas statistics cover. Those results are well over 12 months old – by now I would assume that 60-70 percent of households would have broadband, and by the time the next report comes out, it should be up in the 90 percent range. Dial up today is most likely a relic from an ancient time, not 20% of the market.

Which makes this whole report a bit of a waste of time (for us here today – it’s still important from a historical perspective). Hopefully one day we’ll see real-time statistics so we can report on current events…

[Australian Bureau of Statistics]

KTLA ‘Reporter’ Makes Fun of iPhone Line-Sitters, Gets Called a Jackass on Live TV

Adam Frucci — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:20:55 +0000

KTLA Reporter Eric Spillman went down to the local iPhone line on Friday to cover it for his station. His version of coverage consisted of standing next to the line and asking hard hitting questions such as “Have any of these people ever seen a naked woman before?” not to anyone in particular, but to the camera. Not that I’m against making fun of geeks, but such an unoriginal and unfunny approach just set him up to be called out. When he finally did approach someone in line, the whole thing got a little more awkward. Kudos to the guy in line for making Spillman look even more stupid. [Eric Appel]

Study Finds That One-Third Of Taser Victims Need Medical Attention

Sean Fallon — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:30:00 +0000

Only days after Taser International was found liable in a wrongful death suit, a new study conducted by CBC News/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Press have concluded that one in three people shot by a Taser require medical attention. The information was gathered from RCMP incident reports filed between 2002 and 2007. Of the 3,226 tasings laid down during that period, 910 of the victims went to a medical facility to treat their injuries–and many more potentially serious cases did not seek treatment.

Obviously, this report is not the last word on the subject and we will surely see more studies in the years to come. And my guess is most of these studies will be in conflict with one another. Hell, we have already seen one incident where a Taser may have helped someone with a heart condition. What’s next? A study that finds Canadian criminals are more sensitive to electrocution than American criminals? [CBC News via Digg]