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The Internet

CRTC to not regulate Internet 104

Posted by CowboyNeal from the more-freedom-over-here-please dept.
Grey Dragon writes "Apparently the Canadian CRTC has decided after a year of "In depth reviewing" that they will not regulate the internet. Now there's freedom for you." This looks like a step in the right direction. Hopefully, more national goverments will see the light.
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CRTC to not regulate Internet More

CRTC to not regulate Internet

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  • Not Perfect (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If you read the conditions carefully, it does not say it's not going to regulate the internet so much as it says that what's on the internet does not yet meet the requirements. If, in the future, the internet becomes more ubiquitous than television cable, and some forward-thinking organizations start to transmit tv programs over the internet, the CRTC will be all over it, because the cablecos and network TV stations will want them to be all over it.

    I love Canada, no doubt, but the only reason this was good news is because the Internet in Canada is nowhere near its potential yet.

    Don't get complacent, Canucks! We must keep the Internet "True North Strong and Free."

  • *will* not or *can* not (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Ha, like they could've done anything about it.

    Regulating net content isn't all that evil. It means bringing the content in accordance with Canadian laws (which very much protect the right to free speech).

    Dogmatists may be happy because this decision upholds their ridiculous and exaggerated notions of what "freedom" is, however I'm happy because it means my government won't waste it's time on the impossible. Lord knows, we have other things to spend our money and time on...


  • Why the world needs evil. (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    >The anti american sentiment in Canada created by McCarthy is still alive and well
    >and as such don't expect Canada to EVER cave in to America's lead (for lack of a better
    >word) with regards to ruining the internet through regulation.

    That Canada strives not to be like the overly bureaucratic US is what keeps Canada on the straight and narrow. The US has lost its way since the fall of the Soviet Union. Without the Evil Empire as a yardstick of what not to do, the US is slowly becoming like the emeny it once despised. Look at scanner (the radio kind) laws for instance. It wasn't until 1994 that it actually became illegal to listen to certain (unscrambled) portions of the radio spectrum (the cell band). Later, cordless phone freqs were added. With this precedent I expect every radio vendor to jump up and demand their freq range be added to the law of banned radio spectrum to listen to. We all used to look down on the Soviets for their strict regulation of radio *receivers*. Now we're going down that same path. Why? Because the US has no real Nemesis that we're striving not to be like.

    America needed the Soviet Union. It's what kept the US great.
  • You could always get a generator :-)

  • True, and for those of you out there not familiar with Canadian Statutes:

    S.1 Refers to Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which reads:

    1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

    Essentially, this means that the Crown (our version of a D.A.) would argue that the expression could be reasonably limited if it were justifiable to our society.

    Yeah, right.

    - Adam Schumacher
    cybershoe@mindless.com [mailto]
    N.A.R.T. #009 P.W.T.T.K.S.S.S.T.H.U. #001
  • And you wouldn't even break a sweat (assuming they all cooperated:). You're forgetting about karate and its related unarmed martial art forms (Tai Kwon Do (sp?) etc). I couldn't do it (nor, in most circumstances, would I), but a well trained martial artist can kill a person with a small number (1-5) of `light' taps (for appropriated values of light) to the correct points of the body. I believe they're called pressure points.

    Forget it, you will never live in an unarmed society. A frying pan can kill just as easily as a bullet.

  • "...True North Strong and Free!"

    ttyl
    Farrell
  • ADSL, Cable modems, how quaint. I'm counting down the days until I can get wireless high-speed connectivity...

    Check out http://www.storm.ca/corp_services/corp_serv_dedica tedserv.htm#jetstream

    Mmmmm, nice. With line-of-sight microwave digital TV (www.look.ca), my PCS phone (www.clearnet.com), and this wireless internet service, the only lines running into my house are going to be for the electricity.


  • >>>> I've always laughed my arse off at how much trouble Americans have accepting that the internet isn't their's to regulate in the first place... At least here in Canada the gov't has proven that at least one person somewhere has actually double clicked a netscape icon before... But really, if they had tried to regulate it and if for whatever reason my site didn't conform, what's to stop me from moving it to Hong Kong by FTP? I'd like to see Jean Chretien (or any US official next time some paranoid right wing parliamentarien needs extra votes) trying to explain to The People's Liberation Army of China how they are gonna have to go about protecting the minds of North America's kids... #####


    Some of those are valid points, however you really should rephrase them or be accused of attempting to cause a flame war.

    Zyber
    (Canadican living in the Dominion of Canadia)
  • Meanwhile, in Australia, our government is pushing ahead with totally ridiculous legislation, the only effects of which will be damaging industry and restricting freedom to read and freedom of speech. rRead more [efa.org.au].

    Unfortunately the moral conservatives in power think restricting free speech is a good thing in itself.

    Danny.

  • The Canadian Armed Forces have canceled a project to boil the ocean in an attempt to bring enemy submarines to the surface that they might be more easily spotted by their (sole) reconisance plane.

    Proud to be a Canadian, with an English sense of humour. Really, I'm glad about the decision, but just how they would attempt such a thing is beyond me.
  • They are still the only one in Canada offering DSL services and they offer it alledgedly under cost.Alternatives???

    http://www.oanet.com/dsl [slashdot.org]

    There are several other companies offering Xdsl services in Alberta as well.

  • ...I would *never* have believed that the CRTC would ever make an intelligent decision regarding communications and broadcasting. My faith in my home country is restored. For once in my life, I'm glad I live north of the 49th.

    If only our southern neighbors' governments would take a cue, we could have a nice, communications-friendly continent. I'm not sure what the situation is in Mexico, though... Anyone from there have any info on regulation?
  • Just a note:

    There are other companies in Canada offering ADSL service. In Calgary you can get ADSL through CADVision (www.cadvision.com) and others.
  • "...only one in Canda offering DSL..."

    Um, here in pissant little Vernon, BC, population 30 000... www.cnx.com is offering DSL. Before Sympatico, even.
  • Dont complain about the pricing, from what I hear about rates in the states DSL and cable is both comparatively cheap up here.

    Be thankful for what you have... and actually Shaw aint bad... the quality of the service can be poor (just like the reception on your TV), but when it works it flies, the cable modem is fast enough... most sites are much slower than I am. Until the nets pipes are improved a cable modem isnt the weak link.

  • If you look at the FBI statistics for firearm deaths, you'll see that legitimate self-defense use of guns including police use results in ~3000 deaths a year.

    The total number of deaths from guns is 10 times that.

    That means that 9 times out of 10 when a gun goes off, it's a tragedy.

    Handguns are stupid things to have. At least rifles and shotguns can't be easily hidden in your clothing, and they have a use for hunting.

    Canada has the law right. The gun and ammo should only come together when you're headed out the door to get your deer. Having a gun for self-protection is irrational.
  • Ok, the Canadian government is no longer letting me down (as much :).

    So let's just get back to cheap CD-Rs and I'll be a content geek!
  • hmmm.

    Didn't the Wright brothers base their work on Hargraves work (an Australian).

    The light globe was perfected by Edison, not sure
    who invented it.

    Radio & TV ? &deity knows. That one is well argued
    and I still don't know.

  • ...tho i wish it had been corrected by a non-flamer

    ;-)
    ----------------------------------------
    ...A view of the Universe functioning...
  • Al Gore said he 'Helped create the internet', which is true, to a degree. There were a few interviews with generally accepted 'fathers of the internet' who acknowledged Gore made quite a contribution to the net, and it wouldn't be where it was today without him.

    Not that I like the guy anyhow.

    -lx
  • No, what you have is an entire population fearing itself. I'd rather fear criminals than the entire populace. I think I'd probably take comfort in knowing that most people DON'T have guns, not the other way around, thank you.

    -lx

  • Re:Misdirected effort. Target criminals not citize (Score:3)

    by Lx ( 12170 ) on Sunday May 16, 1999 @08:24PM (#1889261)
    If you think that people are singling you out to bully you around, you've got more problems than we can address here. What people are trying to do is keep sociopaths like yourself from running around 'defending yourself' all the time.

    it's a homicide. And one that might have been prevented had the victim been able to defend himself.

    BS. With two people with guns, we're more or less guaranteed to have at least one dead person, if not more.

    Look at the old west when more citizens carried handguns.

    Brilliant. Look at the old west where innocent people got lynched due to mob mentality. Look at the old west where there weren't as many specific laws in place as there are today. Look at the old west, where guns only shot 6 bullets before having to reload.

    Everyone having guns will not make you feel more safe anymore than every country in the world having nuclear weapons would make you feel safe. If everyone was a rational person, guns would be unnecessary, but the reason most people want a gun is the reason they shouldn't be allowed to have one - because there's a lot of nuts with guns out there.

    Handguns should be banned, there is no legitimate purpose for them other than to kill other humans - and idea that apparently doesn't bother you.


    If you want to stop gun crime, stop the crime*, not the guns.

    Well, valiant man with a gun, how do you propose we stop the crime? By educational programs reminding people that shooting others is wrong? By distributing more guns? The crime of murder with firearms would not exist if there were no firearms. If more people were man enough to give up their guns, we'd have a lot less to fear in this country.

    -lx
  • >>That means that 9 times out of 10 when a gun >> goes off, it's a tragedy. > > New math? 9 times out of 10, it's a homicide. Homicide, suicide, or accident. And, in the cases of homicide and accident especially, one which could well have been non-fatal had a gun not been available (most homicides are spur-of- the-moment crimes of passion or opportunity and, of course, all accients are spontaneous).
  • That of course brings about the point that they may not have had altruistic motives at heart. Thye may not have been abel to figure out a way to squeeze the net for cash and so decided to cut it free... who knows..
  • as soon as some american grows a brain big enough to try to make it one.
  • I have to admit, the decision NOT to regulate the internet, is great news but I was looking forward to having a good laugh at my governments expense.

    I was hoping for some sort of regulation, just to have our ideas of freedom of speech put under a microscope.

    But Canada may be changing. That would be better than I could ever hope for. Maybe we can finally rid ourselves of this thinly veiled social/theological structure that has dominated Canada for far too long.

    Subverse

    PS.

    I think that there is still the matter of a tax levy on ISP's to support "canadian content" whatever that is.
  • Unbelievable, this isn't a true victory though...

    As I recall the main reason for the probe was that the small ISP's were taking it up the I/O port by the big Telcos, and Cablecos entering the market. The Telcos definately are not playing fair.

    Still a big win IMHO. Now if I can get them to ease up on the TV regs I may even be able to watch the superbowl w/ U.S. commercials (the only time I can say I prefer U.S. tv)

    Back to the grind....
  • Wow, I'm really impressed that our government, especially a regulatory arm that consists mostly of ex-monopoly Bell employees, chose to "do the right thing" and keep their hands off the Internet (for now). Seems to me that everytime I start slipping into the pit of political apathy, along comes a glimmer of hope. Now if only we could resolve this idiotic tariffing situation with the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, we could really get some convergence happening...
  • Seeing as you're more likely to kill a family member with an improperly stored firearm than an intruder, this is a Good Thing.

    Canada kicks ass.

    Sean
  • Here in New Brunswick we have the telco vs the cable provider for high-speed access. ADSL vs Cable modems. The cable provider was the underdog but it just got bought out by Shaw, so we still need to wait and see what happens between the 2 ISP's now...
  • From living in fear of being shot to caving in to paranoia and wanting to quash free speach that doesn't sit with american ideology...

    You know, I've lived in the US for every one of my 25 years including some wonderful urban areas like St. Louis and Chicago, and have never once worried about getting shot.
  • Right on!
    Quebec bashers suck.

    There's a lot of diversity of opinion in Quebec and out. Knee-jerk anti-Quebec crap makes me ill.

    (Some people in Quebec even use Linux)
  • Degrassi rocked.
    And Gordie would disagree with you I imagine.
  • Full democracy hadn't arrived yet no, but things were generally headed in that direction. "We had a king" seems to imply an absolute monarchy which certainly wasn't the case. The supremacy of parliament had already been long established by the time of the American Revolution.

    The successful revolution didn't establish democracy. It merely replaced the "effete English wanker" oligarchy with it's 13-Colonies equivalent.

    Full democracy took about the same time to develop in both the USA and in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.
    Although in the latter case slavery was abolished a good two generations before the USA.

    Its pointless arguing about who invented things. Scientists stand on the shoulders of giants. They are part of an international community. Its these communities that produce great ideas and inventions - not petty nationalisms

  • Thank God for CBC radio! I've lived in a few different cities in different parts of Canada lately and man its hard to find a half-decent radio station in this country.
    CBC radio rocks!
  • This America bashing is just silly, I mean without what we've done here you wouldn't have the internet, and you also wouldn't have airplanes, light bulbs, radio, television, spaceships, skyscrapers, video games, or democracy.

    Not bad for a bunch of people who can't find their own country on a map.

    You won't get any argument from me on one point you America-haters have been making, any attempt to regulate the internet is just stupid. Americans fought and died (remember Breed's Hill) in order to get a Bill of Rights to try to prevent such stupidity. I don't believe in restricting people's freedom because of what they *might* do. I apply the same principle to gun ownership.

    As far as the 'anti american sentiment' in Canada, don't worry, it doesn't bother us. They hate us all over the world, but they keep on buying American because we've got the stuff.

    As far as being an 'over populated second rate nation', we would be much more over populated if we opened our borders to anyone who wanted to come here, which I for one think we should do. We would have two thirds of the world living here in a week if we opened our borders, let them in, it'll be cool.

    I mean, if you like Canada that's great. As for America, considering we are a nation of convicts, rejects, and people who can't find their own country on a map, I think we've done pretty well for ourselves.

    *************Don't Tread On Me***************

  • So we had a democracy when taxes could be imposed on us without our consent?

    Wrong.

    So we had a democracy when foreign soldiers could be quartered in our homes without our consent?

    Wrong.

    We didn't have a democracy when we were part of the British Empire, we had a king.

    And yes the first video game was made here, Steve Russell, an MIT student created Spacewar, the first interactive computer game.

    And before it was the internet, it was ARPANET, 1969 US Department of Defense Issue, built to withstand an attack by a nuclear adversary, or even by someone who can't even spell American.

  • The first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building, built at the corner of LaSalle and Adams streets, Chicago, USA.

    The first aeroplane flight, as you well know, was at Kitty Hawk, USA.

    First liquid fueled rocket, Dr. Robert Goddard,March 16, 1926, Worchester, Massachusetts.(214 Patents for rocket designs, inspiration for the German Wernher von Braun)

    First radio transmission - ok, you got me there, I apologize I was wrong(although I don't believe Marconi was Canadian).

    And, final point, where does the progenitor of that operating system live and work today?

    End of discussion.

  • Full democracy?

    Well, we're not there yet, though it is a technological possibility......

    There wasn't an absolute monarchy when the colonies rebelled? Well, you could have argued with the king of England about that (the Americans certainly did....)

    Far as the monarchy thing goes, last I heard the British still had some weird sort of thing where you could be considered 'royalty' because you had the right parents.

    So is it pointless to argue about who invented things? I don't think so. Such an argument shows the importance of freedom to scientific progress. The same kind of freedom that lets you say anything you please, as long as you don't hurt anyone, the same kind of freedom that allows you to own a gun, as long as you don't hurt anyone, this is the kind of freedom that allows a Robert Goddard to invent rocket science.

    Good post though, of all the people disagreeing with me, your post is definitely the most well argued. Bravo.

  • Saw that subject line, which reminded me of someone I worked with - an Access Developer, nice, but a bit clueless with work practices - (semicareer academic)...

    Anyway, before she left our place, she asked me if I could burn NT4 Server and SQL Server 6.5 for her. Something in the way she had talked about her "old home system" made me ask what she was going to install it on.

    Her answer? "I've got a 486-66 with 16mb of RAM" - and she wanted to do SQL Server development on THAT? :) I tried not to laugh as I explained NT Server would most likely not even boot... ;)

  • I called Bell/Sympatico the other day and this is what I found out.

    Adsl is available on business lines. These lines are the same as residential lines, except they cost more, and don't have some restrictions on them that residential lines do. Adsl is their 2.2 downstream service.

    Sympatico High Speed edition is the stripped down version of adsl for residential customers.

    The reason for the higher cost of business lines compared to residential lines is part of the profit from business lines goes directly to reducing the cost of residential lines. I believe that this was originally this was so everyone could afford tele service.

    Anyways, I'd like to hear if this residential/business line distinction is the same in the US...
  • Mebbe you should come up to visit Canada sometime (without your gun!)
    You've got to stop applying America to Canada. If I were down south, I probably might feel the need to have a side arm with me at all times. However, up here in the Great White North, I don't know anyone around here who has a gun or feels that they need to have one to defend themselves.

    Use 'em for hunting if you want. Use 'em for target shooting. But in either case, there's no need to have them loaded while in your house.

    BTW, what the hell is a Canuck? I just know I'm one of 'em...

  • As I wrote [groksoup.com] back at my site on this story, this was bizarre stuff. Three guesses why the Canadian regulator said what it said, and the first two guesses don't count.

    P.
    http://www.groksoup.com [groksoup.com]

  • Totally off topic, but anyway..

    At the last superbowl there was a nationwide US poll on why people watched it. I think it was about 10 to 20 percent (I don't remember the exact figures, only that I was shocked) who watched it only for the commercials. Kinda sick or what? People actually submitting themselves to corporate brainwash and enjoying it. Hm.. haven't seen them though.. they send intervies with the players and stuff instead over here. Maybe they're really cool, but I doub it.

  • Canada's starting to understand... (Score:5)

    by jamesm ( 31089 ) on Sunday May 16, 1999 @06:15PM (#1889284)
    Good to hear. However, contrary to popular belief, crypto is not "free" in Canada. For one thing, we have a joint agreement with the U.S. which means American encryption technology may be exported to Canada as long as it remains under the same restrictions once it reaches Canada. (i.e. cannot re-export to the world what we import from the U.S.A.). And there are some other restrictions as well. Click the following links for some more information.
    http://insight.mcma ster.ca/org/efc/pages/doc/crypto-export.html [mcmaster.ca]
    http://axion.physics.ubc.ca/ECL.html [physics.ubc.ca]
    In addition, Canada recently signed on to the multi-national agreement (big word starting with W) which places further restrictions on our freedom with regards to cryptography. What we need is a poster child to challenge the constitutionality of these laws, as you have done in the States.
  • Good to know you didn't worry about getting shot. Did you have to carry a gun to feel safe? Society works better on the principle that "he won't shoot me because he doesn't have a gun" than on "he won't shoot me because I have a gun too".
  • another insightful NRA self rationalization, on par with the household cold war of "I need a gun to protect myself from other people with guns"

    Two reasons one should not dis the NRA:

    #1: They are a very powerful lobby organization.

    #2: They all have guns.

    :o)
  • main reason for the probe was that the small ISP's were taking it up the I/O port by the big Telcos, and Cablecos entering the market. The Telcos definately are not playing fair.

    Although part of the same probe, this was not the ruling made today. (The article mentioned that the jury is still out on that one.) This ruling was whether the CRTC should regulate the Internet the same way it regulates TV (ie. with cancon rules) - they were looking at whether they should institute a tax on the Internet to encourage Canadian Internet content. (Yes, I KNOW - totally dumb-ass question.)

    Amazingly enough, the panel had a brief interlude with lucidity, and decided that taxing Internet use was a bad thing.

  • Control Canadian content on TV and Radio...

    (Even people like Anne Murry and Rita McNeal have atributed their sucess to Canadian Content laws)

    The CRTC is not going to regulate probably because there is NO WAY to ensure that X percent of web pages are Canadian.

    We may be Canadian, but by looking at our television and radio programming you will see that Canadians LOVE American culture... so much infact that it's often hard to notice a difference in what we like to watch and listen to.
  • Wow, and I just broke out my scanner yesterday after a couple years of no use. I love being able to listen to my airwaves, be the signals American or Canadian (I live on the border). People (especially Americans, with their odd crypto laws) need to smaren up and transit wirelessly in a smart, secure manner.

    Anyhoo, back to where we were. I once had to write an essay on "the Canadian identity" and after much thought, it hit me. What Canadians take pride in most is not being American. We could write volumes on all the crazy cock-ups with gun laws, foreign trade laws, crypto laws and pirvacy laws. At least if we're going to be SWAMPED with your media, we can laugh. And we laugh a lot. Suprisingly (or not, depending on your level of experience), Americans seem to be unaware that they are the daily smile for millions and millions of us ;)

  • Re:CRTC (Score:3)

    by jfunk ( 33224 ) <jfunk@roadrunner.nf.net> on Sunday May 16, 1999 @08:23PM (#1889290) Homepage
    I'll have to disagree with you there.


    Can-con has more to do with economics than with anything else. If many stations had their way, I'd only be able to see "Friends" on all 78 channels here. More money leaving the country, more people leaving the country.


    The problem is, can-con can often be some old cheap crap just to satisfy the regulations during the "beaver hour."


    It's quite painful here (Newfoundland), where the only private TV station, a radio station, and a paper, are owned by one guy in Arizona. There just happens to be a major culture difference between the North American countries that people don't realise. While there are people in both countries that actually enjoy formulaic sit-coms (shudder) there are more in the States (this isn't a 'dis'). Fact is, it's the American corporations that love to push garbage down people's throats while trying to stay away from any controversy whatsoever that feeds this.


    People from the South might think that having a government owned media network (CBC) would be a form of citizen control but it is in fact the converse. The government gets more razzing from their own CBC than they do from anyone else. This is possible due to the lack of traditional corporate ideas there. Ask Rick Mercer, he'll tell you.


    You could also ask Michael Moore (Roger and Me) whose TV Nation show (excellent show) was dropped by two broadcasters (NBC and FOX) because it tried to put politicians and greedy corporations in their place. He had to bring the show up here (on Bravo) in order to do it (under a different name, but it's the same great idea, I enjoyed the way he displayed how Kenneth Starr could have saved a lot of taxpayers money by having actors dressed as puritans running around Washington asking politicians if they "fornicate.").


    Do you think the National Film Board could have happened in the States. Interestingly, a NFB animated short recently became a series on Comedy Central (Bob and Margaret).


    Ok. I've ranted enough.

  • Wow, the CRTC did something good for a change. Now if only the would let me watch those 5 million dollar super bowl commercials, instead of the 25 dollar tire commercials that over-ride the american signal, I would be happy.

    Oh, and Degrassi High is the greatest sign that Can-Con laws suck ass. The Tragicaly Hip would be just as big and just as cool without government protection.
  • Actually, I disagree. I work for one of the big "two" telcos in Canada, specifically in the Internet services group. By and large, the telcos are complying with local competition and competitive access for ISPs, at least in Western Canada (whoops, not hard to tell I don't work for Bell). The companies that aren't complying right now are cablecos... they have their networks locked tighter than the telcos ever did, and refuse to budge. Its not until all major carriers (telco AND cable) are open for competition that we can see some fair competition. As for CanCon, I wish for the day I can watch my US sat dish without it being quasi legal. I'll watch whatever is good -- if its good Canadian content, I'll watch it. If its good Australian content, I'll watch it. I don't care where its from, I just want the choice. Give me my HBO!
  • Even accounting for population differences, violent crime, per capita, was far less than it is now. Why? The crooks have less to fear from a de-armed population so they're getting more brazen.

    Are you INSANE? You would rather live your life in fear of being shot (and this would subsequently FORCE you and everyone else to behave) ??? Uhh, no thanks.

  • CRTC won't regulate. Good but ... (Score:4)

    by Stavr0 ( 35032 ) on Sunday May 16, 1999 @06:27PM (#1889294) Homepage Journal
    We still have the matter of the incestual relationship between Bell and Sympatico [sympatico.ca], esp. in the high speed access business.
    They are still the only one in Canada offering DSL services and they offer it alledgedly under cost.
    Alternatives??? Well there are cable modems [home.com] too, but they too are a monopoly (1 company per market). Actually, Bell + Cable is a high speed access oligarchy. There doesn't seem to be any offerings from the LD providers (Sprint, AT&T ...)

    We do need some kind of regulation against ISP price fixing or predatory pricing -- but stay off the content!

  • That said, cryptography developed by Canadians would likely have a VERY strong case against export regulations in the courts... The Canadian Supreme Court typically taken a very broad view of expression. The range of what is deemed to be expression is significantly broader in Canada than in the U.S. Mind you, the Crown would likely raise a S. 1 issue if brought to trial...
  • I've always laughed my arse off at how much trouble Americans have accepting that the internet isn't their's to regulate in the first place... At least here in Canada the gov't has proven that at least one person somewhere has actually double clicked a netscape icon before... But really, if they had tried to regulate it and if for whatever reason my site didn't conform, what's to stop me from moving it to Hong Kong by FTP? I'd like to see Jean Chretien (or any US official next time some paranoid right wing parliamentarien needs extra votes) trying to explain to The People's Liberation Army of China how they are gonna have to go about protecting the minds of North America's kids...
  • Personnally I see no need to carry a human killing tool. I have no real desire to kill humans since I was spared the misery of the North American "educational" system. yes it is the man behind the gun that pulls the trigger (another insightful NRA self rationalization, on par with the household cold war of "I need a gun to protect myself from other people with guns") but the gun, being a tool for killing (where tool is defined as a thing which makes a task easier to perform) is in the end responsible for the deaths since even if I were to go ballistic It'd take me a hell of a long time to beat 13 (or so) people to death... My hands'd be sore too....

    Americans should deal with the fact that their's is a country which isn't more than a bastion of conformity and paranoid over regulation when compared to the rest of the western world... From living in fear of being shot to caving in to paranoia and wanting to quash free speach that doesn't sit with american ideology... The US is not the champion of freedom it once was, but rather an over armed, over populated second rate nation who's citizens have difficulty finding their own country on a map. The anti american sentiment in Canada created by McCarthy is still alive and well and as such don't expect Canada to EVER cave in to America's lead (for lack of a better word) with regards to ruining the internet through regulation.
  • I think the hotly debated issue was the _cost_ of the ADSL that Sympatico/Bell provides, not the service itself. You can get it from a bunch of ISPs, but it'll cost a lot more...

    Somebody also mentioned the CRTC stepping in and limiting the services that could be offered... I thought that the reduction from 2.2Mbs to 1Mbs was due to the 'splitterless' Nortel ADSL modem. It saved on installation because they don't have to send a phone guy to your house to install the splitter. And therefore it was more marketable, even with less bandwidth. The average user wouldn't notice the difference when surfing, anyway. Of course, big downloads would be much better on the old service, but that depends on all of the other net issues, not the least of which is the bandwidth of the machine serving you.

    Luckily, I got in before they reduced the speed (and price, Doh!), so I get the 2.2Mbs rate for $65/month. And it seems to be a lot faster than my any of the cable modems that my friends have.
    (I've never actually tested it, but we have downloaded the same files simultaneously and mine was WAY faster...)

    Dozer

    "The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be when you kill them."
  • Today I'm proud to be a Canuck!

    Nice to see our government will not WASTE its time trying to tame a wild beast who does not wish to be tamed. The Internet works fine in the wild, and as we ALL know, regulations would just hinder its growth.

    Now if I can only get the PQ to stop playing with my tax money, we might be getting somewhere!!
    "Microsoft integration = Inbread software!

    SpIcEz

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