Fergus Cassidy

Fado, fado

DATELINE JUNE 2099: Under the Freedom of Information (55th Amendment) Act it can finally be revealed how Ireland, against all odds, became the e-hub of European ecommerce and a giant in broadband connectivity.

The first significant development occurred around 1985 with the deployment of a local authority network (which we now know of as a LAN). From the off this LAN attracted large numbers and a users' group met regularly in The Parnell Mooney pub in Dublin.

Users soon realised the enormous benefits of a network and it spite of a disinterested media they forged ahead and built the We're Alright Network. The WAN is still in use today, despite numerous attempts to close it down.

This fledgling network was at the very core of major technological breakthroughs as developers searched for the killer applications. Among the first was an attempt to build a firewall around Sean Doherty's house. It didn't work out that well in the end mainly because of a serious problems with bugs.

Users differed greatly (and sometimes fought) on who controlled the network. Step up the innovative Charlie Haughey. He developed what we know today as the Des Traynor (DT) browser. Although not in use today, the source code (C+++++++++++++) is much sought after.

The DT was developed mainly at CJ's R&D unit in Kinsealy. It was uniquely constructed. It ran in the background and had hardly any memory. Best of all was its enormous storage capacity. What we take for granted today - unlimited storage with no memory.

It made CJ into Ireland's first virtual millionaire. His next vision had a real chance to take root but software localisation problems in the north of Ireland (where a different operating system was in use) brought insurmountable problems and he faded away.

He now confines himself to giving occasional lectures in Dublin Castle. Heady days.

TOO YOUNG TO VOTE?..
A campaign is underway in the UK to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections held after 2006.

Alex Folkes, a spokesperson for 'Voting At 16', said: "We want to spread the word, encourage debate and get young people involved. We know this issue is of concern to the young. Opinion polls show that 70% of 14 to 25 year- olds think the voting age should be 16".

Voting at 16 is already the policy of the Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists, Plaid Cymru and Green Party.

The Electoral Reform Commission will examine possible changes to current regulations and will present a report to Parliament by the end of this year.

MORE INFO: Votes at 16 Campaign

PRINT AND WEB... One of the differences between online and offline publishing is with archiving and permanent records. A story appearing in an offline publication cannot be changed, but not so on the web.

The only thing a newspaper, or any print publication, can do if a mistake is made in a story, is to issue a correction or apology at a later date. But the original story will remain in national archives, libraries etc indefinitely.

On the web, once a mistake is discovered it can be rectified and updated instantly. There's also a way of making sure no pages are ever archived and so there would be no record of the mistake. But once a story is printed it's out there and can't ever be changed, and I find that kind of pressure keeps me on my toes. Well most of the thyme.

GETTING THE MESSAGE...
After a bomb went off in a shopping mall in Finland last October, there was much public debate there on bomb-related discussion groups on the net, and on the possible role these might have played.

The Finnish parliament responded by proposing legislation to regulate content on the net, including making site owners responsible for material on their sites.
This would have had serious consequences for message boards in particular, as these site owners would have to monitor every single posting as it happens. Opponents said that message boards would close or move outside Finland.

However, a working party set up to examine the situation recently found in favour of continued self-regulation and advised "that anonymity of expression and movement around the net should be preserved".

CANDIDATE FOR RIPLEY'S
A journalist who claims she was fired because she WOULDN'T broadcast misinformation, has had a court verdict vindicating her overturned.

TV news reporter Jane Akre won a court case - including $425,000 in damages - in August 2000, following her allegations that she had been pressured by a Tampa TV station WTVT to broadcast a story she knew to be false. She was researching a story about the use of growth hormones in dairy cattle.

But three weeks ago, the Florida 2nd District Appeals Court overturned that ruling and held that Akre had failed to show that WTVT, a Fox Television affiliate, had violated state laws. Fox's lawyers had cited the First Amendment in defence.

The Appeals court also held that the Federal Communications Commission, the US regulator, had only a "policy" concerning news distortion rather than a law or regulation.

SOURCE: The Associated Press (via The Tallahassee Democrat)