John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Let That Be a Lesson: Nothing Will Ever Come Between a Teenage Boy and His Porn

Good thing the Australian government’s $84.8 million NetAlert Internet filtering program was never intended to take the place of parental supervision, because it’s already been cracked. Tom Wood, a 16-year-old from Melbourne, managed to bypass the filter in 30 minutes on the day it was released to the public. “I downloaded it on Tuesday to see how good it was, because for $84 million (Australian), I would have expected a pretty unbreakable filter,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Tried a few things, it took about half an hour and (it) was completely useless.”

Understandably embarassed by Wood’s achievement, the Australian government began distributing a second filter. Wood cracked that one in 40 minutes. This time the government had only rhetoric to offer in response. “Sadly, just as a seatbelt will never prevent every fatal car crash, as the government has always maintained, no filter is foolproof,” said Communications Minister Helen Coonan. “But a computer with a filter is infinitely safer than one without.”

Twitter’s Tanking

December 30, 2013 at 6:49 am PT

2013 Was a Good Year for Chromebooks

December 29, 2013 at 2:12 pm PT

BlackBerry Pulls Latest Twitter for BB10 Update

December 29, 2013 at 5:58 am PT

Apple CEO Tim Cook Made $4.25 Million This Year

December 28, 2013 at 12:05 pm PT

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Just as the atom bomb was the weapon that was supposed to render war obsolete, the Internet seems like capitalism’s ultimate feat of self-destructive genius, an economic doomsday device rendering it impossible for anyone to ever make a profit off anything again. It’s especially hopeless for those whose work is easily digitized and accessed free of charge.

— Author Tim Kreider on not getting paid for one’s work