Gory video games claim freedom of expression protection
March 18, 2008
The Boston mayor moves to ban the sale of gory video games to teenagers, while the games’ advocates claim protection under First Amendment, Boston Herald reports.
The cities of Boston and neighboring Brockton face high rates of teenage street violence edging up to an increased number of murders. Despite unfavorable precedents, the authorities aim to halt the sale of violet games to teens, which, they claim, might be adding to the overall street crime.
Teen video gamers and industry react angrily against a possible ruling. They say it is up to parents to decide whether teens should play Grand Theft Auto, for example, and not up to authorities.
In a precedent judgment, Judge James Brady, of Louisiana, said video games are “as much entitled to the protection of free speech as the best of literature.”
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iPhone users to suffer consequences of Apple’s discontent with Flash
March 5, 2008
Apple seems to leave out Adobe’s Flash application at its upcoming iPhone software presentation, writes Dan Frommer in a Silicon Alley Insider story. He brings about a report by Dow Jones which quotes Steve Jobs saying that “Adobe hasn’t created a version of Flash that’s suitable for the iPhone.”
Dropping a flash application in iPhone software suit would mean that “iPhone users [will] have to settle for a less-complete version of the Web,” Frommer writes, unless Apple finds a substitute.
Yet, some users see the time for mobile Flash “battery-sucking ad banners” far-fetched. “It is in Apple’s DNA to only go with good technology,” a reader comments, referring to an alternative to Adobe’s Flash, Microsoft’s Silverlight, “not to compromise user’s experience. Having said that, I’m in no hurry for Flash, either. CPU (and battery)-sucking banner ads? No thanks,” the comment reads.
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Google revives wiki web publishing - more user-friendly and less customizable
March 4, 2008
Google continues to expand its Apps, adding a team web publishing tool to the bulk. Google had acquired JotSpot wiki service back in October 2006, and now, after 16 months, launched it as a new Google App, naming it Google Sites.
Michael Arrington writes on techcrunch.com “Google Sites looks absolutely nothing like Jotspot, other than the fact that both are hosted wikis. All of the structured data templates launched by Jotspot in July 2006 have been stripped out.”
The new Google App added user-friendliness but took away from functionality, lacking an application program interface (API), and having limited backward scalability, writes Juan Carlos Peres on arnnet.com.au, summarizing the mixed feelings incumbent Jotspot users have voiced.
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