Category: Internet

No matter how far you are behind the loop, podcasting is pretty easy to understand. The name is derived from Apple’s ubiquitous iPod series of personal music players, a name that has come to stand for the concept as well as the product, like Kleenex or Xerox, and like Walkman used to be.

The idea is that a podcaster makes a recording, or a show, and distributes it to people to play on their MP3 players. Listeners can fast forward, rewind and replay to their heart’s content. Think of it as TiVo for your iPod.

It’s easier than it sounds. “All you need is a PC and a microphone,” says Maffin. “You can pick up something suitable at an electronics store for $15 and the software is free.”

Producers (or podcasters) create their show on a personal computer, using a microphone for their voice. They can use easily acquired software to edit in music, effects and other recorded sounds as required…

…”There are literally thousands of podcasts on a variety of subjects,” says Willi Powell, strategic development manager for Apple Canada and a confessed podcast fan.

“Of course, it all starts with music, but you can find everything from news to religion to home improvement.”…

Jerry Langdon
Toronto Star Online (thestar.com)

Analysis:

We have started a podcast on the soundteaching.org site, and are offering a new edition of the podcast each Friday afternoon. While much of the material at the site the members have already seen (bulletin articles and sermons), these podcasts are unique to the site itself. So, they will benefit the brethren here.

Continue reading “Podcasting” →

The viewing of pornography, in the past, necessitated a bit of moxie on the part of the viewer. If one wanted to look at a magazine or other materials, he had to go to an “adult” establishment, or lay a magazine on the counter of the local convenience store, and risk being seen by someone he knew.

Of course, if a man was profane, this did not deter him. However, the danger of being “found out” precluded some Christians who might otherwise have been tempted to sin in this manner.

Continue reading “Internet Pornography” →

Plans for the proposed Internet domain .xxx, purely for pornography, have been dropped like a hot cake, just days before they were to receive approval.

Vint Cerf, chairman, ICANN, stunned an open meeting of the governmental advisory committee (GAC) in Vancouver, by announcing that the issue had been pulled-off the agenda of the upcoming ICANN Board meeting due to time-constraints. Cerf did not give any indication, as to when the issue was likely to be re-opened…

…The concept behind the .xxx domain, is to provide an area of the internet specifically and exclusively for pornography, that will be self-regulated.

Continue reading “Proposed Porn Domain Nixed” →

Yahoo!, the internet search giant and place for personal clubs as well as chat rooms, has closed down personal chat rooms in response to a report that some of the chat rooms were being used to promote sex with minors.

The report by KPRC-TV in Houston outraged companies such as PepsiCo Inc., State Farm Insurance, and Georgia-Pacific Corp., and they quickly removed their advertising from Yahoo in protest.

“We were thoroughly appalled when we were told that our ads were appearing on those sites,” State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said. “We took immediate action to see that they were withdrawn.”

That means – no more personal chat rooms on Yahoo. And any of the chat rooms previously created by users have now been removed. Yahoo will still allow users to chat on the company’s existing rooms, which cover mainstream subjects such as “American Idol” and Web design…

…Yahoo feigning ignorance is like taking your mom to see Andrew Dice Clay, and not knowing she might be offended. This type of problem has been going on for years on the web.

AOL, several years before it’s merger with Time Warner, also had similar problems. People would create hidden chat rooms with “code names” that were widely known by those seeking pornography. All one needed to do was type in the proper name and away you went into the vast dark world of internet porn swapping and cyber sexual experiences.

Sex sells, even deviant sexual desire. And companies like the Yahoo’s and AOL’s of the world seek to capitalize on the enormous traffic numbers involved in these activities. Sure they claim ignorance, but in reality they simply turn a blind eye untill something happens that forces them to take some sort of action.

The National LedgerM. Centanni

Analysis:

The analysis by M. Centanni of the actions of Yahoo is certainly on the mark. Such internet companies will not police themselves, and it is important for each of us to be aware of the evil which exists on the internet.

Fortunately, tools exist which all parents to protect their children. Many of the sites under consideration voluntarily offer filtering to block what is commonly called “adult” themed material.

Further, programs exist which do a good job of protecting browsers from unsavory material. They are relatively inexpensive, and are worth considering if you have children. Of course, parental supervision is most important.

“Fathers… bring [your children] up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Websites that reunite old flames are being highlighted by counselling firms in the UK as a factor in the rise of divorce rates in England and Wales.

The number of divorces in England and Wales continued to rise in 2003 to reach a total of 153,490, marking the third consecutive year of rising divorce rates according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). For the first time, the internet, and more specifically dating sites and sites that reunite old friends, are being mooted as factors behind the increase in marriage breakdowns.

“There are of course a number of reasons behind the rise in divorce rates,” said Christine Northam, a spokesperson with Relate, a counselling firm, “but chat rooms and sites which reunite friends make it easier for unhappy husbands or wives to meet other people and possibly go on to have an affair.”

Relate, which counsels couples facing divorce or separation, has noted that one in ten of the cases it deals with are indicating that the internet has played a role in the situation. “We have noticed in cases where a partner is having an affair, one out of ten couples have said that the affair began online, either on a chat site or reuniting site,” Northam explained to ElectricNews.Net.

ElectricNews.net
Wednesday, September 01 2004 by Deirdre McArdle

Analysis:

This news item indicates another possible danger which accompanies internet access. However, the danger is less in the internet access itself, and more in the desire of the one who involves him or herself in the situation.

Continue reading “Net Gets Blamed for High UK Divorce Rate” →

More than a third of all Americans who are connected to the Internet have used it to access religious and spiritual information, a recent Pew Research Center study shows. Moreover, there has been a significant increase in the daily use of the Internet to access religious information. What researchers call “religion surfers” almost doubled to 35 million from 18 million between March 2000 and November 2002. The growth appears to be only “slightly linked” to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. The most recent research found that not only has interest in religion held since 9/11, but it increased 25 percent during the subsequent 15 months. The poll found Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 to be the least interested in searching out religious material (24%), while those ages 30-49 (33%) were the most interested.

Religion Today/ Agape Press
via MissionNet

Analysis:

The internet if often in the news because of its abuses. Pornography is rampant, stealing is common, and the private nature of obtaining the information and material allows such sinful activities to go, for the most part, undetected.

Continue reading “One Third of Web Users Seek Religious Information” →