This week in technology

It's been an interesting week in the Tech world, what with the launch of Telecom's XT mobile phone network here in Aotearoa, as well as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the United Kingdom putting their foot down.

We've dealt with Telecom enough this week, so let's look at the UK ISPs first.

An umbrella group representing ISPs say that disconnecting users for alleged file-sharing was a 'disproportionate response'. This mirrors what ISPs said in this country when a similar law was proposed.

The killer for me is the following statement: "Members have consistently explained that significant technological advances would be required if these measures are to reach a standard where they are admissible as evidence in court." BINGO!

It's clear from my large amount of reading around this issue that the industry bodies would be content with people being cut off from the internet for only allegedly downloading copyrighted materials. And that's simply not good enough.

With the internet now the hub for so many people's lives, there has to be a burden of proof - and it's clear some do not understand this.

Most seem to be keen to use the IP address of your computer as a means of deciding whether you are guilty or not. And that simply isn't enough to make a call.

People have open or poorly secured wireless networks which means anyone has access to download whatever they like, there is software that can spoof your IP address and viruses which can dowload cand distribute copyrighted materials without you even knowing.

At the moment there's no easy way to prove - beyond doubt, as should be the case - whether someone is downloading copyrighted materials or not.

And until that's the case, disconnecting someone from the internet has to remain off the table.

I don't condone anyone downloading copyrighted material from the internet and would support people being disconnected if it's proved beyond doubt.

Until then, the rights of the entertainment industry shouldn't be allowed to ride rough-shod over our own rights.

And to help put this in perspective, here's a BBC blog which takes a look at the threat of file-sharing compared to what's claimed by industry groups.

I'm not going to deal too often with gaming in this blog - this is more to do with the gadgets used to game rather than the game itself. And it doesn't get much more impressive than this World of Warcraft pod.

It has a throne with a built-in toilet, a selection of pre-packaged food and a hot-plate to heat it up, easy access to water and digital surround sound.

I reckon with a sleeping bag I could probably do about a week straight in there. That might finally be enough to convince me to fork out on a monthly subscription to the popular role playing game.

And finally for this week, Twitter has once again come to the fore.

Twitter implemented a change which meant you didn't see replies from people you were following to people you weren't following.

Sure, some people got annoyed at the one-sided conversation, but I often found this a fantastic way to find new people to follow.

The really interesting thing was the response of Twitter users. Within minutes Twitter was being bombarded with messages telling it to change back, and as I type now there's an easy workaround in place until the system is working as people expect it to.

People power is alive and well!

And what better way to leave you than with Kanye West putting the boot into Twitter.

Congratulations if you made it past the second line of the rant because his stuck on caps lock made it hard to read.

Alright, I concede he has a point with people using his name to make a fake account, but there are numerous ways for a star to use Twitter to reach out to fans and provide real value.

And I've seen more creativity in Twitter in the last two weeks than in all of Kanye's music put together.

So hands up anyone who feels sorry for Kanye. Anyone? Anyone?

Anyone?

On that note, have a great weekend and may your wireless mouse and keyboard never run out of batteries.