They are having a course about Elftown!

Well, about social networking and Elftown is listed there:
http://edweb.cesjds.org/~technology7/Social_Networking.html

I had to read the stuff here where they have projects about online safety, which is a very good thing to learn, but it could have been more about reality and less about "Don't do it!" crap: 
http://edweb.cesjds.org/~technology7/Student_Projects.htm
It's spelled "Internet", not "internet"! I'll only point out the errors here, not the correct stuff because I'm not their morality booster, I just want to correct these common misunderstandings: 

Alex's slides basically say that Internet will kill you and that you never should provide any information nor ever speak to anyone you don't know. So what's the point then? It's like only use a photo when you can see the other person, because otherwise misunderstandings might happen more frequently.

It also gives a very naive view of "adults". They aren't heroes or predators, but most of them are just old children morons. I guess students don't feel comfortable to put truths like that in their papers... And I really hate this sickness about that pretending like all parents are great if you just give them a chance. No advices what so ever to kids with crappy parents! And those are the ones who really need advice.

Eitan goes on in a little more sane way, but in the same style. (parents have to) "be able to save your children from technology you yourself don't understand.". And then goes on to say that the children should obey the morons that know nothing about Internet. Sorry parents: It doesn't work that way. Most people, kids included, will and should not follow orders from people who don't know what they are talking about. If you want to help your kid on the Internet, you better learn how it works. If you will not do that, let someone else take care of that part of the upbringing instead of behaving like a drunk elephant in a pottery shop.

Jonathan starts with a common misunderstanding "Change your password a lot". Sorry, but that isn't the #1 tip! What you should do is to avoid common words, names and keyboard patterns. And never use the same password on different places! Put all your password in a book or in a file that you keep both secure and backed up. Change passwords if you suspect a leak (like if you logged in from a cyber-cafe or other unsafe computer), but otherwise it will give almost no extra security. And KRESV?!? Come on! That's an academic waste-product. Emails might contain viruses even if they look like they come from a friend: Don't open attachments from anyone unless you've asked about it! No need for an pointless short.

Ilana makes the password change mistake again.

Gavi goes on about the crappy KRESV test. That crap is hard to remember and doesn't make people careful. Tell them how a mail-worm works instead! And COPPA doesn't make you safe! The only thing that keep people safe on the Internet is knowledge. Which you'll get from Internet-addicts, not from people yelling that Internet is dangerous.

Josh things that the children should talk to their parents about downloading stuff. Works fine only if the parents know a shit. Talk to someone who knows something instead! Then Josh does an uncommonly good thing by telling how to meet people you've met on the Internet instead of saying that you shouldn't.

Martin goes on about that pointless KRESV test. They he explains how fun it is to cyberbullying by writing "DON'T DO IT!" in huge letters. You can't "fight" cyberbullying. You have to make the ones doing it feel ignored because they do it. Otherwise they will go on and even more if they feel that people really hate it and suffer from it.

Aviad should learn from Josh instead of just saying "Don't ever meet anyone from the Internet!". And then it's that story about that "parents always know the best thing for you". I don't know what the point with this is, but saying such things to kids who feel that they are being oppressed by their parents doesn't help at all, regardless if they are hiding that they are talking to boys or doing drugs. They need to know that there are other people and the entire Internet out there to guide them where their parents have failed.

So you thought that Vista was bad?

Well, don't worry! Windows 7 is on the way. It's great! It will steal your right to use your own files:
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/16/2259257

As the computer is getting more and more important in people's lives, this is getting really serious. You basically have to beg to Microsoft (Or Apple!) to get access to your beloved photos, art and other files! It might work now, but suddenly the company you buy from is having financial problems, updates your computer and demands that you pay up (or they just go bankrupt and you can't access the files for all the money you have).

Normal people and non-tech companies have to start realizing that when they give away control, they are making themselves slaves.

The alternative is to use an open operating system like Linux. It works great for my mother and for me. There's still some issues for the people in between, but these issues will be solved, while Microsoft and Apple will keep making worse and worse DRM until you practically don't own your computer or anything on it anymore.

Don't through out your old systems right away, but think about this when upgrading! You don't want to spend your life learning another system that is bound lose significance.

Linux has about 1% market-share among private desktop users now, and it's growing at a rate about 30% per year and have done so for quite some time. That means 13% market-share in 10 years and 169% in 20 years... Unless the Linux company screws it up... Oh, wait, there is no such company! It doesn't matter if 90% of the Linux companies screw up because there are 10% left and it's still Linux. And if you put it on your computer, you own your computer and it will always be possible to upgrade.

So you think you're an artist?

Well... A Swedish student did a "master-piece" as a part of a graduation exam. She pretended to try to take her own life, be psychotic, hit and tried to bite the staff that took care of her and was generally very aggressive. Her institution (Not the one she was targeting with her "art", but the one she studies in) was fully informed about it too. The institution is called Konstfack (pronounced like Const-Fuck) and apparently stealing psychiatry resources from people who really need them is just as OK as stealing normal tax-payers' money to do crap.

She's charged with false alarm, assault, assault attempt, harassment, assaulting official, violent resist and offensive behavior.

Swedish: http://www.svd.se/ego/mainColumn1_s185/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_2382713.svd

I hope she isn't registered on Elftown, because I don't want her to upload any of her "art" here as I suspect the "art" to be something like messaging 1000 people "Haha, your art sucks! You're ugly!".

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