Hi, I'm Molly Wood, and welcome to the Buzz Report � the show about the tech news that
everybody�s talking about. This week, it�s goodbye to hookers on Craigslist, maybe, three strikes
in France, and Jesus on the Jesus-phone. But first, it�s the Gadget of the Week.
The Gadget of the Week is this new LeapFrog Text & Learn PDA. Otherwise known as, the baby
BlackBerry. Everyone who has kids knows that kids are OBSESSED with cell phones, BlackBerrys,
iPhones, iPods, all those expensive little gadgets. So the good folks at Leapfrog thought hey, let�s
give them a cute little thing to keep them away from mommy�s BlackBerry, and maybe teach
�em how to text or something. A DECOY. So, here it is.
Yeah. They�ll never know the difference.
And now for the news. HUGE news this week, actually! Craigslist is getting OUT of the pimp
game. That�s right, the classified listing service is trading in its feathered hat and platform shoes
and removing erotic services listings from the site. Kind of. Apparently, Craigslist will remove the
erotic services listings within a week, and replace them with a new �adult� category. Postings in
that category will be carefully reviewed by actual employees. The move comes after MONTHS
of controversy and increasing pressure from three states� attorneys general.
Will it work? Will the move actually get prostitution off Craigslist? Almost certainly not. I mean,
it�s not like anything humans have ever done has EVER put a dent in the prostitution trade,
right? But at least Craigslist is making an effort, and hey, the guys who monitor the new adult
listings will probably have VERY high morale.
In other news, this week�s Buzz is all about bad tech behavior. Let�s do a little roundup, shall we?
First up, France passed a law to kick users off the Internet completely, for up to a year, if they�re
accused of sharing copyrighted material three times. They don�t have to prove that users
violated the law, and it opens the door to a LOT of disturbing monitoring of Internet activity. The
legislation is so controversial that the European Union passed a measure last week banning
governments from cutting off people�s Internet without a court order. But France decided it�s
not listening to the EU, or its citizens, or Internet users everywhere, or even a semblance of logic
and respect for privacy, the digital divide, or due process. Instead, France is listening to the
entertainment industry. Hello, end of the world.
Next: Apple rejected an iPhone application that would let you put your face on the bodies of
religious figures, including Jesus. That�s after they approved and then rejected an app that
depicts SHAKING A BABY, and after they rejected and then approved a Nine Inch Nails app that
contains bad words. Censorship is a lot harder than it looks, isn�t it, Apple? Yeah. Maybe you
should get out of that game.
And speaking of censorship, Facebook is under serious fire because it refuses to ban Holocaust
denial groups ... BUT continues to ban breastfeeding photographs that expose actual nipple. Yes.
They still argue, with a straight face, that nudity in the form of breasts is obscene, but straight-
up hate speech is not. Yep. Priorities.
And in the midst of all this insanity, the tubes are abuzz with talk of the new Microsoft and
Apple ads, taking swipes at each other. Microsoft�s new Zune ad says it costs $30,000 to fill your
iPod, so get a Zune Pass subscription! Not like anyone has ever tried to buy 30,000 songs, but
whatever. And then Apple�s new ad responds to the whole Microsoft laptop ad thing and pretty
much says PCs are slow, useless, virus-ridden pieces of junk. And the oooh it�s so MEAN and
they�re totally FIGHTING and the blogoworld is SOOPER excited.
And. Don�t you sometimes wish that we still had sword fights? Because, wow. Is this wussy.
And that�s the Buzz Report for this week, everyone. I�m Molly Wood! Thanks for watching.
