Shocking news (!) story on how internet-capable games machines ("toys") can be used to access web sites which may contain pornography!!
(particularly idiotic bits highlighted)
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa07018_wz_wiiporn.2073d3ef.htmlThey were two of the hottest Christmas gifts: Nintendo's Wii and Sony's Playstation 3 game consoles.
But these machines aren't just hot among kids; they're also compatible with sexually-oriented Web sites.
Not only can your child access pornography along with WarioWare and Guitar Hero; the porn industry is advertising to target those toys.
For Laurn Schroeder, protecting her first grade girls is a priority. "[They're] innocent, and we want to try and keep them that way," she said."
But because the Wii, the PS3 and other game consoles have Internet access, it's easy for kids to access porn.
"It's very upsetting something this popular—a kid game—can go that direction so quickly," Schroeder said.
Young kids get it. In a blog, one child boasted, "The first thing I thought of when I downloaded the Wii browser was also porn."
What's worse: Some porn sites are advertising they are "Wii Friendly." Their screens have been reconfigured to fit the Wii and the Playstation 3.
"That's why it's so important to read into and do research and background checking before you invest in it," Schroeder said. She studied her daughters' Wii to identify the built-in parental controls.
Other parents, however, complain that Nintendo's scheme is unsatisfactory, and that the Wii browser lacks a "cyber-nanny" or filtering function.
For now, the Schroeder girls will keep playing. But their mom is keeping an eye on an industry that she says tricks and targets kids into learning too much, too fast.
"We need to keep them protected from people who want to invade a fun game like the Wii," Schroeder said.
Truly idiotic; this -
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070109/094639.shtml - gives some more details, but I'll note some things.
One; the Wii has parental controls - the browser might not, but you can block use of the very thing itself using the parental lock.
Two; consoles aren't toys - the vast majority of owners are adults (hence the porn?).
Three; anything with internet access can view porn. Duh.
Four; the blog comment was by an adult (
"Like any red blooded American male ages 18-45, the first thing I thought of when I downloaded the Wii browser was also porn.");
http://techdirt.com/articles/20070111/183322.shtmlFive; amazingly, the story identifies one parent finding the parental controls, and then states there aren't any.... when surely a concerned (rather than gibbering idiot) reported would state the parental controls?
It's a bit like the 'boy killed by Gameboy' story -
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=killed-by-his-xmas-game-boy&method=full&objectid=18393890&siteid=94762-name_page.html (alternate;
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000573,00.html)
A BOY of seven was electrocuted on holiday while charging up the Game Boy he got for Christmas.
Connor O'Keefe was unplugging the charger in his hotel room in Thailand.
Distraught mum Kathleen Curry, 45, who found his lifeless body on the floor, said: "We're all devastated." Kathleen, who bought the charger in Thailand, said: "My son was only unplugging his Game Boy - he does it all the time at home.
"There should be some kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad because this would not have happened in England."
She said Connor was aware of the dangers of electricity and denied claims he plugged in the charger while still wet from swimming.
Police described Connor's death at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Phuket on Saturday as a tragic accident.
They insisted the complex, rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami disaster, was not to blame.
Yesterday the family, from Walworth, South East London, paid tribute to their "wonderful child".
Connor's cousin and godmother Chanelle said: "We're just devastated. He loved his holidays and computer games were his passion. He was absolutely brilliant at them."
What it doesn't mention is that, um, the manual is full of warnings about the voltage differences. And that he was probably actually wet from the pool - but let's not let that get in the way of blaming todays gaming bogeyman, eh?
See also the spong story -
http://spong.com/article/11432 - which makes the pertinent point "
Just ask yourself this: Had Connor been unplugging a lamp, would The Sun have reported “Connor, 7, Killed by Lamp” and would The Guardian have published “Boy, 7, dies in lamp lighting accident”? "
