Darusha’s Network

Problem of Online Piracy May Find an Unlikely Solution in Cinema-style Ratings

• October 15th, 2009

Charles Dunstone, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, has recently revealed TalkTalk’s plans to implement a new method to control illegal downloading and viewing of inappropriate content by children and youngsters in homes across the UK.

Dunstone’s idea is to certify the broadband connections age-wise, like it is done in the movie industry. Networks under the restricted category will not be able to access those materials that are banned by the category. Thus, parents can regulate what their children can have access to. This will ensure that children do not watch online content that are deemed inappropriate, or do not endanger the connection itself by their illegal practices.

The certification will include a U, 14 or 18 certificate, or you can have your connection as unclassified. If you take a U or a 14 certificate for your connection, you can ensure that no file sharing on your network or access to betting and adult material will be possible. This will be very useful in reducing online piracy, as the tools to piracy will not be accessible to the users, because the websites providing them will be blocked.

Dunstone’s idea, if properly implemented, can be very effective and can help the content industry by blocking sites that encourage peer-to-peer sharing of very large files through BitTorrent.

Recently, in a conference attended by British musicians, speed regulation of broadband was suggested as the best solution to curb the menace of online piracy of music. For information on your ISP and corresponding broadband speed, try using the broadband check from Broadband Genie to get a snapshot of your current download and upload speeds. It’s a good site to compare broadband deals from the top internet service providers.

Clinton Supporters Not Switching to Obama

• March 20th, 2009

Hitherto contenders for the US presidency, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have recently put on a show of unity at a New Hampshire rally. For now though, amidst quite dissent among her sulking flock, there is little in the way the New York senator could get them to follow her lead. Wounds don’t just close four weeks since the longest primary campaign in modern American history drew to a close — after 17 months. It was no surprise then that a survey conducted in the first week of July showed that supporting Obama is still a tall order for Hillary fans. Conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN, the poll disclosed that merely 54% of Clinton backers would cast their ballot for Obama. The same survey showed in early June that 60% percent had wanted to support the Illinois senator’s bid to become the first black US president. Rather than voting for anyone, the surveyed Clinton supporters opined they would just stay home in November. Denial mode, it is. Around 43% of Democrats polled still want Hillary to be the presidential nominee. Her supporters are entitled to go through these motions. But if this phase turns into a full-blown grudge by November, then Obama better watch this sector. For Obama to make inroads into Clinton’s camp now, he’s got to choose her as running mate. However, opposite a woman with sixteen years of experience in Washington, he runs the risk of tainting his promise of “change.”

Read more Articles on Business Politics.

Naveen Jain, CEO of Intelius, is profiled on Forbes.

Naveen Jain is a recipient of the 2007 CODIiE Award for Best Online Consumer Service.