On The Net - Computing News

with Chris Goh

During dinner recently, I overheard a conversation at another table where a frustrated man lamented that he'd given his parents a computer so they could E-mail him, but they refused to use it.

They muttered that if their parents didn't want to keep in touch, then that was their choice, so they needn't make any more effort.

There's a touch of the teaching-old-dogs-new-tricks about the whole scenario, and while I'll support any older citizens who want to get online, I do think it's a little unfair and unreasonable to expect your elders to adapt to your ways.

I know quite a few seniors who refuse to touch a computer. Although I believe that the elderly can get a lot from being online - and many do - those who are frustrated, should be spared its complications especially if they can't get support.

I actually find it quite moving when parents make a determined effort to go online and overcome their fears, just to keep in touch with their children. But I'm equally disappointed when children ransom a parent's love just because they have email on at work all day.

So if you're giving your parents an Internet connection for Christmas, ask yourself a question: are you doing it for their convenience or yours?

And if the answer is theirs, then make the effort to ensure they can get support from you or a person they can easily access.

One more suggestion: if you want to send them a very special Christmas gift, write them a letter because your effort in showing how much you appreciate them is the most wonderful gift of all.

HotNews

Google the ever-so-popular search engine occasionally goes a little skewiff, in what's been dubbed the Google dance. Every now and again, programmers change how sites are evaluated for ranking on the search engine to try and ensure things like adult sites can't scam their way to the top of the rankings.

Last month, Google rejigged the search parameters for commercial sites, making online commerce sites take a back seat in search results. It resulted in a lot of angry businesses that had worked hard to ensure they topped the search lists. But one of the more amusing moments is someone put a tag in there so that if you search for 'miserable failure', US President George Bush's biography on the Whitehouse site tops the search results. Perhaps web designers vote Democrat.

Apple has stopped producing the G3, first released back in 1997 to compete against Intel's Pentium III. It marked a major step forward in desktop processing and shows how Macs can last the distance. And just last week, Apple cut the price of its G5 range, which are the world's first desktop 64-bit computer.

Australian Paul Twomey heads ICANN, the non-profit organisation that allocates domains and web addresses and regulates (or tries to) their use. He headed for the UN conference on the internet in Geneva this week, only to be briskly escorted out of the meeting by guards. At the last minute, officials decided that observers weren't allowed. It's pity they didn't tell Paul before he wasted a 20-hour plane trip to attend. A high anti-American sentiment is expected at the conference because the US keeps key internet resources to itself.

It looks like Jennicam, one of the first and certainly the most famous of the 24/7 webcams - which, in many ways inspired our love for reality TV - will pull the plug at the end of the year. In the early days of the Net, a young US woman, Ringley, achieved notoriety for putting webcams in all the rooms of her house. You paid a subscription to watch, and largely, nothing much happened, although devoted Jennyspotters would occasionally catch a glimpse of nudity. It seems that was enough for her electronic payments provider Pay Pal, decided that her site had adult content and they'd no longer do business with her. So she's posted that she's decided to unplug. Now that everyone's watching Big Brother, her 15 minutes are well and truly over....

Telstra's (not always successful) dealings with Spam have led them to introduce uncapped broadband usage starting at $69.95 per month. But they're making users sign longer contracts. They were previously 3 to 18 months. Now Telstra wants to lock you in for two years.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. The days of cheap viagra offers are over after the Australian Senate passed a Bill that makes Spam illegal. I'm sure the spammers are quaking in their boots at the thought of the majesty and force of Australian law bearing down on them.

Australia Post caught out 50 managers with porn following an extensive trawl by system administrators through emails and hard drives. But news of the results have put privacy and policy makers at odds over an employer's ability to access everything an employee does.

Some 38,000 Optus pay TV and broadband subscribers were double-charged in November. In a neat trick for the cash flow, Optus isn't offering refunds straight away as they are just going to give Subscribers December for free (more like payment in advance). However they will, if you call, look at it case by case.

HotSites

What's a festive season without food?

www.mrbreakfast.com/recipe1.asp

The home page picture is kind of scary, but get past that and there are some excellent breakfast recipes, especially since it's not always easy to find recipes to make breakfast interesting.

www.internationalrecipesonline.com

Now if you are seriously after some international flavour in your cooking, this well-presented sites has more than a few recipes to keep you salivating.

www.glutenfreegoodies.co.nz

For those who just don't like gluten, this New Zealand site looks basic but has some excellent recipes.

www.healthy-diabetic-recipes.co.uk

Not neglecting the diabetics, this UK site makes it easier for diabetics who also want to enjoy some decent tucker for Christmas.