Stories by Sue Bushell

On the House - A matter of privacy

In 1987, the Hawke Labor Government was forced to abandon plans to introduce an Australia Card ID. So what's changed?
The proposed function of the card -- to replace existing government ID systems and to provide the Australian Taxation Office with access to a wider range of information about income sources -- had seemed innocuous enough at first blush. But as privacy and consumer groups subjected the Australia Card Bill to closer scrutiny, it began to look far more sinister.

NT vs Unix

The battle continues . . . but what's next?
With the computer industry due to undergo a metamorphosis come mid 2000 with the launch of Intel's new 64-bit Merced chip, operating system decisions are increasingly becoming more critical. Especially where Windows NT and Unix is concerned.

The great debate

That Telstra shares appreciated in value by 100 per cent in the first year of privatisation shows the initial sale was a thinly-disguised Government-imposed transfer of wealth from all Australians to a 20 per cent minority, a transfer that made the beneficiaries even more of a killing because the asset in question was sold at a bargain basement price.
Now the Government wants to transfer more wealth from the less well-off to the already wealthy by selling off the rest of the family silver.

Is your ISP Ripping you off ?

Are you absolutely sure that your Internet service provider is giving you the best deal your money can buy? If not, are you willing to make the switch?
To help you decide, we've provided a comparison chart on some of Australia's best ISPs and compiled some hot tips to consider before signing up
Choosing an ISP is hard enough without the suspicions harboured by many in the Net community that their ISPs are seriously overcharging for the services they provide.

A one-eyed view

The Howard Government likes to posture about how determined it is to capitalise on the opportunities about to be offered by the information economy

CSC wins Oz Govt deal

The Australian Government has selected Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) Australia as the preferred tenderer for Cluster 3, the first contract to be awarded under the Whole of Government IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Initiative.

A taxing issue

With Internet commerce escaping tariffs and duties, the online method of trading is taxing the minds at the Australian Tax Office E-commerce has some Australian companies deeply worried. Since foreign companies supplying goods electronically pay no Australian company tax, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, state taxes or council levies, some traditional traders see themselves at an immediate competitive disadvantage to Web-based traders. Others who've already ventured into Web-based trading are more worried about the danger that overly restrictive tax legislation might inhibit their competitiveness in the online economy.

Too little too late

After Costello the Red hacked his way through the first Budget, the little recognition the recent IT statement gave was welcome
It's no suprise that the information industries greeted the Government's long-awaited industry statement like starving men receiving their first food parcels in weeks.

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