This whole online censorship debate keeps getting murkier and murkier. The latest example of its futility: Online forum Whirlpool (or more precisely, their web host Bulletproof) received the threat of an $11,000 a day fine for posting a link to a blacklisted anti-abortion website. Needless to say, Whirlpool took down the offending link. But the really scary part is that the ACMA blacklist now includes parts of Wikileaks, the whistle blowing website that is so set in their raison d’etre that they’ll publish their own sources.
The results of Whirlpool’s annual broadband survey have been released today, and unsurprisingly one of the most clear-cut results was that there is no mandate for ISP-level filtering from the government. Of the 19,763 completed entries, almost 90% said they would opt out of the optional adult-content filter proposed by the Labor government.
It’s April 1st, which means half of the stories you see here could be nothing more than an elaborate hoax. They’re not, but they could be.
A couple of tech companies have actually put in a heap of effort to come up with some fairly elaborate April Fool’s jokes. Google sent out a press release this morning about their new gDay technology, which allows users to Google search into the future.
Meanwhile, Whirlpool posted a press release on their site this morning announcing that they had been purchased by nineMSN for an undisclosed sum and would be integrated into the nineMSN family.
Of the two, the Whirlpool announcement was a lot more convincing (although some commenters on the news.com.au Google story were taken in by the joke). Hit the jump for the full April Fool’s releases, if that kind of thing interests you…
Okay, we admit that we’re a little late with this one, but Whirlpool, easily Australia’s best broadband news site, last week posted the results of its annual Australian Broadband Survey. The survey covers satusfaction with both ISPs and networking hardware, and is definitely worth a read if you’re in the market for either.
Whirlpool’s latest tech for their refrigerator line is based on their “centralpark” feature, which is a essentially dock that lets you plug in a bunch of different gadgets into the big gadget that holds your food. Among the things that you can dock are the Brandmotion iPod Speaker system, which withstands “the frequent opening and closing of the freezer door” without dropping your iPod onto the ground.
It may be a bit too early for freshly drafted beer from a HomePub fridge, but it is never too early for caffeine. Thanks to Whirlpool’s Espresso refrigerator, you can now get your xanthine alkaloid-based fix any time of the day or night, fresh out of your fridge. The multitasking food cool closet boasts Whirlpool’s 6th-sense technology, which means it is a dab hand at keeping food cold as well! Is there anything this device cannot do?
Digital-picture frame pioneer Ceiva is jumping the gun on Whirlpool’s latest refrigerator announcement, called “centralpark” I believe. The concept has been shown off before, but this is its first production application: it’s got a modular interface at the top, and Ceiva (and presumably others) have built something to fit the module. Why did Whirlpool go with a Wi-Fi-enabled LCD frame first? Because the #1 complaint is that magnets no longer stick to modern fridges, and people want to look at their damn baby pics! [Ceiva]
Good news. Yesterday Whirlpool confirmed that 2Clix has withdrawn their suit against Simon Wright. Wonder if they think this will also withdraw the bad blood of starting this case in the first place? Let’s hope they’re not that naive. Gratz to Whirlpool on a bullet very well dodged. Or was that a cap gun? -Seamus Byrne
Simon Wright, founder of broadband news website Whirlpool, has been sued by 2Clix Australia for “injurious falsehood”, for allowing statements about their software product to be published in the Whirlpool forums. They’re after $150,000 (plus costs) and the removal of two forum threads.
Simon has requested the community keeps a cool head and doesn’t make any comments that could only fuel the 2Clix argument or in any way prejudice the case. From the team here at Giz AU, Simon, all the best in your fight against the claims. -Seamus Byrne [Forum thread discussing support for Simon and Whirlpool, including info on how to throw some help their way]Thanks Benjamin
