The Best Of Aardvark Daily
Just a few of the daily columns that either broke important stories,
generated lots of feedback, or rattled some cages during 2002.
- What Ever Happened To Quality?
When Aardvark suggested that the quality of even top-brand consumer electronics
had declined significantly in recent years there was no shortage of people
who agreed. This column attracted over 30,000 readers within 36 hours
of being published and became the catalyst for
significant discussion
around the world.
- Low-cost Card Offers Free Top-20 Music Downloads
While the recording industry spends a fortune tracking down and suing the
pants off file-traders, P2P networks and other forms of piracy, they've
overlooked one piece of technology that allows anyone with a PC and a cheap
add-on card to collect all the digital recordings they want -- absolutely
free and at broadband speeds. Read this edition of Aardvark to find
out what these cards are and how they're being used.
- Who's Testing The Net-Traffic Meters?
When you buy almost any product by measure, be it flour, petrol or whatever,
the law demands that it be metered out by equipment that is regularly tested
and verified by an independent and authorised body -- so as to ensure that
consumers aren't being ripped off. So why isn't anyone verifying the systems
that measure IP traffic when Net-users are forced to pay by the megabyte?
- The Link With A $5,000 Fine Attached
A summary of New Zealand's copyright laws as they apply to music, video and
other material traded on the Net. This article also tells you why the
publication of a single link could cost you a $5,000 fine.
- Is Online Banking Risky? You Bet!
A story that exposed just how risky it is to use online banking services and
exactly where that risk comes from -- namely the draconian terms and
conditions demanded by some online banks.
- Hundreds Of DSL Users At Risk
Aardvark blows the whistle on something which has possibly left thousands
of Telecom DSL users exposed to hacking by third parties. This column
generated follow-up coverage in other tech-news publications and so much
feedback that I gave up trying to publish those comments.
- Life On the Net in 2004
One of the most widely read editions ever published on Aardvark (around
50,000 page-views), this column takes a frightening look into what could
be the future of digital rights management in just a couple of years' time.
- Sky TV's UHF Service Cracked
Another Aardvark scoop, this column highlighted a local website that was
publishing details of how to receive SkyTV's pay-TV service for free
through the use of some freely downloadable software. Once again, the
mainstream media picked up on this story and the NZ Herald published
a similar piece
the next day.
- The .DOC Disaster
When a quick check revealed that the US government had nearly a quarter of
a million Microsoft Word document files online which had been created using
versions of the software that could also "leak" sensitive information from
elsewhere on the author's hard drive, this column was the result.
- Aussie Net Banking Shocker
You think Kiwi online banks are bad? Just check out the scene in
Australia!
- NZ's First Spam-Friendly ISP?
This column caused a real stink when it exposed the fact that a Kiw ISP
actually sanctioned spam. They soon changed their mind however.
- Palladium, More Precious Than Gold
A look at Bill Gates' newest precious metal.
- Jim Anderton, The Spammer's Friend
Aardvark busts wide open the news that not only is a leading politician's
website the perfect platform for spammers to relay their messages but
the music it plays is being used without permission. The mainstream media
subsiquently followed up on this story.
- More Aussie Domain Name Spammers
After busting ING for spamming just months earlier, this column exposed another
scam operated by an Australian domain name registration company.
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