The Government policy claims that the filter will obstruct those trading in child pornography. They have also indicated that one of their goals is to “protect” the general public from access to “refused classification” sites.

This policy is flawed on so many levels – technically, monetarily, morally and democratically. Let’s look at each these levels more closely.

Monetary

To understand how this will affect your pocket, you need to understand that this policy will essentially force all Australian ISPs to filter content at their level. To comply, ISPs will have no choice but to implement expensive infrastructure changes. To recoup the cost, they are going to charge someone.

If they charge the government, they will pass it on in taxes. If they don’t, they will charge you.

Anyway you look at it, the Internet just got a whole lot more expensive for everyone!

Technically

Quite simply the technical solution is poor; it doesn’t filter the very mechanisms that the perpetrators it is targeted at treasure so much.

• Email
• High traffic websites
• Secure http enabled sites
• BitTorrent
• Instant Messaging
• Peer to Peer

So what will it filter then?

It will filter websites and content that the Government deem unsuitable, or, to use their rhetoric, “Refused Classification”. This means that sites that even discuss issues that are deemed unsuitable by a Government official will be blocked.

We are talking subjects like abortion, euthanasia, political commentary and a host of other content. What’s worse is that they have nothing to do with the so called target of blocking Child Pornography. If a website has been unknowingly hacked or compromised they stand at risk to be filtered.

This puts Australia’s whole Internet-based economy at risk. I struggle to understand how the Government even thinks they will be able to keep up with the demands of the Internet to block the so called “bad” sites and content. The Internet is growing so rapidly that over several billion pages a day are created.

Any way you look at it the solution doesn’t make sense.

Morally

This is censorship at its worst and totally Un-Australian. If the filter is allowed to be implemented then we will become the most monitored and filtered country in the world, more so than the likes of China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

This gives our Government the right to dictate what you can and can’t see (yes there are technological ways to get around it; however you would be breaking the law).

Democratically

Our democratic rights are at risk. If we let this Government implement the filter, it negates our basic right to Freedom of Information. Searches for material with strong social, political and/or educational values will be blocked.

This means if you were searching for information on safe injecting or graffiti art it would be blocked. Yahoo’s recent submission to the Government highlighted these issues.

When it all comes down to it, the so called blacklist that drives what can’t be seen, could be subject to abuse by overzealous Government officials and politicians with personal or monetary agendas. Once the filter is implemented it will become a fixture and no Government will roll it back because of the cost. They will also have a mandate to expand their scope to other mediums such as television and gaming platforms.

Is this what Australians want?

Now that you have read this,I implore you to go forth and explain to your less informed friends what this means to them.
I believe our Government is relying on the general lack of understanding in the community to get this through parliament.
This really hit home with me when discussing the subject with a number of people who were not tech savvy on the weekend.
When they realised what it actually meant they were genuinely shocked. Before that they’d heard of it and just thought why should I care?

So what can we do to stop it?

Take up the challenge attend the rallies, write to your federal member, sign the online petitions, stand up and be counted as members of the Internet community and spread the word.

Is it just me or does anyone else find the eRail update service only works when it feels like it?

I arrive at the train station for the supposed morning ride – The 6.56 am Nambour express

On arrival I walk over the to the platform with a bunch of other commuters. No signs. No QR staff and no train. What the?

Suddenly a QR representative yells out from another platform: “No trains, bus over here.” So we trudge over the bridge again, just in time to be bundled into a bus with three hundred other people.

What a great trip. The driver has the radio so loud my ears are still ringing. Finally, after being squashed back and forward with all the other sweaty bodies, we arrive at the Petrie train station. To QR’s credit the train is waiting and we all cram on. Somehow my two companions and I get a seat, that’s where QR’s credit runs out.

This will be a stopping all stations train to Roma street

… a collective groan rings out from all the passengers.

From that moment on every station we stop at results in the same scenario; no room for passengers to get in, passengers trying to get in yelling “please move back!”, passengers that are in, screaming “there is no room”, passengers who really want to get out fighting for their life.

Now I understand that accidents happen and I don’t blame QR for that. However one has to question their capability of managing a major disaster given that they had over four hours to prepare for the commuter onslaught. You would think someone with a modicum of intelligence would have thought “let’s change some trains to express and others to stopping all stations.” This would have ensured that not every service and traveler on the line was compromised.

They were probably busy putting in the new recycling bins on the platforms and forgot to plan for a disaster (Great use of taxpayer money).

Anyway enough said. Eventually we arrive at central.
Acceptable QR Time 55 mins late.
No apology today. I guess we should be grateful we got there at all!

Afternoon Ride – The 4.32 Nambour Express

eRail update SMS received at 4.00 pm: “Service disruption until 10.00pm”. Great this should be fun ride home. Just on the off chance I thought I would check the website. That’s interesting, it tells me that their is only a half hour delay.

Acceptable QR communication.

Anyway, I take a chance and head to the usual platform and can you believe it there is my train. We board the “express” for what can only be described as the slowest trip ever. Granted we didn’t stop, however, I have seen yaks that move faster than that.

No explanation why, just a snails pace all the way.

We arrive 40 mins late. Acceptable QR time.

How many minutes of my life QR owes me this week!

1 hour and 47 minutes

How many minutes of my life QR owes my boss this week!

1 hour

Morning Ride – The 6.56 am Nambour express

The train is packed as usual, however I did get a seat. Not much to report. A perfect trip and on time. Why can’t they make it run like this every day? Not much to ask!

Afternoon Ride – The 4.32 Nambour Express

Train is listed, as always, for platform 7. Yes you guessed it, it arrives on platform 6. Very good ride home. No incidents and on time. Amazing!

Morning Ride – The 6.56 am Nambour express

The train is packed, as was the carpark, our local member deserves kudos for that one. In her wisdom the spruiking of extra car parks now available at the station has brought many more patrons. No extra trains, service or carriages on the existing trains to deal with the influx though. This results in standing room only and today is no different, I could get a seat if I felt the urge to push, shove and deny the females and older patrons a seat.

Today’s trip however has a wonderful twist: no air conditioning. It’s like a bloody sauna and very energy sapping (the trip is a 55 minute job). Just to make life fun we stopped at Virginia for no reason for 5 minutes. Of course the old inane announcement by the conductor comes over the speaker:

“Passengers: we will be stopped for a while. I will aaar update you when I know more.”

He’s good communicator that one. Finally we are on our way, sweating all the way to the city with no further incident. The service is 7 minutes late. Not bad by QR standard time.

Afternoon Ride – The 4.32 Nambour Express

Train is listed, as always, for platform 7. However those of us in the know (I have been travelling this line for 5 years now) line up on platform 6. The train arrives most times without them announcing or changing the board. It has become a shared joke for the regulars.

Anyway, we board the “express”, I have to explain Queensland Rails afternoon definition of express.

“Express stopping only at Bowen Hills, Northgate, Petrie and then stopping all stations to Caboolture.”

Train is packed again, this time I have a seat. The situation is made worse once we get to Northgate, a cyclist boards the train. Yes I know they’re not supposed to in peak hour, who’s going to stop them? Even the Translink guard ignores it, despite there being a big sign above him proclaiming no bikes.

But wait there’s more!

We stop for no reason at Strathpine. No announcement. Oh there you go, on hops a Queensland Rail employee with a bike. No more trouble from there, as long as your’re not one of the ones desperately trying to avoid the grease laden chains of the bikes.

Arrive at Caboolture 5 minutes late. Acceptable QR time.

Let’s talk device convergence. Recently, while acting as members of a panel at the Smart Services Conference (2009), we were asked where we thought the evolution of mobile devices was headed. Many points of opinion were raised, here are my thoughts and predictions that I shared that day.

I believe that the mobile phone capability will move towards miniaturisation of the handset yet expansion of capability and gesture interactivity.

This demonstration at the TED conference only serves to validate this position. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look now. It only makes sense that we would seek to remove the reliance on carrying devices and seek the freedom of movement this technology offers.

This, however, leaves us with a conundrum: How do we cater for the need for a device which allows portability, yet also supports the expanded capabilities we require (such as web browsing, eBooks, and multimedia)?

I believe that the year of 2010 will be the year of the Netpad/Slate. Early prototypes I have seen are very promising, such as the Microsoft courier and the crunch pad. However, as they tend to do, Apple promise much with their unnamed version, which will surely be based on the iPhone interface.

Google, of course, has a finger in the pie and I believe this will be the vehicle they seek for their Chrome operating system.

My opinion is the Netpad will fill that niche that the Netbook attempts to fill and yet often falls short on. It will usurp the eBook market that the Kindle currently has the monopoly on.

They were my thoughts last year. Have they changed?

No, they haven’t changed. If anything I think the convergence of many devices to the one device will take a large step forward this year.

The launch of the iPad is the start of the tidal wave and by the middle of this year we will see more complete devices being offered and the demise of the Netpad becoming a reality.

Yes I can hear the cries of derision. However, has anyone noticed that whilst the PC, in general, is holding or increasing in price Netpads continue to plummet? You decide!

Anyway they are my thoughts for today, let me know what you think.

“The development team didn’t build it right!”

“The business requirements are wrong!”

We’ve all been there, right?

In my experience, there have been many times where I have discovered that the root cause is not the requirements nor the application’s implementation. The issue is that the both the requirements and the application itself have been styled over the top of a flawed business process.

So here are my thoughts:

If we spent more time at the beginning of the cycle doing a proper job of describing and mapping the business process we would find that it would benefit everyone involved. More often than not, the business owners are able to address the gaps in the process before contemplating the request for development. The business analysis team understand the need which the requested application is supposed to fulfil. The team of people involved in the design and implementation of the solution benefit from having an understanding of the process from start to finish.

All round win? So why is it that there is still such a reluctance to invest the time and effort into this essential step?

I say this off the back of a terrible experience I had on a Federal Government website. Now I like to believe I am a fairly savvy user of the ‘Net. Little did I know how wrong I could be! This site confounded me and drove me to confusion of the highest order.

I believe we, as technologists, have a duty to ensure the simplicity of design. In our world we have the propensity to do because we can not because we should. (Does anyone remember the early days of JavaScript popup windows and effects?)

Simplicity is the key. Less is more. Yes, it’s an old cliché, yet how true does this hold even in a digital world?