Children Drive Broadband Market

From The Age

Broadband has finally overtaken dial-up connections as the main way Australians connect to the internet at home — and families with children are the households driving the change.

The Bureau of Statistics yesterday reported that the number of Australian households with broadband access to the internet almost doubled last year to 2.3 million.

This was still little over a quarter of Australian households, and about 40 per cent of those with home computers. By contrast, the OECD reports that 86 per cent of South Korean households had broadband connections two years ago. At the other extreme, 40 per cent of Australian households still have no internet access.

But heavy usage by households with children means that broadband has become the main avenue for Australians to use the internet at home. The bureau found almost two-thirds of children with internet access at home had broadband connections, suggesting that it could often be the children who drive parents to sign up.

Overall, 90 per cent of children aged 12 to 14 now live in homes with a computer, and 78 per cent are connected to the internet. Roughly 40 per cent use it every day.

I know that when we had dial up, our neighbours kids, whose dad works for the provider we use and consequently gets zooper dooper fast broadband and who were a little older than ours were incredulous at the pace of a dial up connection. They just did not know anything else. I know our kids would be unhappy if we went back. I think that broadband is good value and besides, I doubt that I would blog if I didn't have a broadband connection.

Buster Busted

From the New York Times

Arthur's friend Buster is getting into trouble for showcasing alternative lifestyles, making American Conservatives mad and threatening a second series.

In “Postcards From Buster” documentary footage of children from different cultures is combined with animation of Buster and his friends. This season includes only 10 episodes, which began in November and will run through February, a far cry from the 40 produced for the show’s first season.

Children first came to know Buster Baxter, the animated bunny who is the show’s star, as the best friend of Arthur, the animated aardvark who is the title character of another PBS series. But Buster became better known midway into the show’s first season, when word got out that an episode about maple sugaring, called “Sugartime!,” would feature children in a Vermont family with two moms.

Play School got into trouble here in Australia for pretty much the same thing. With more and more families not resembling the one dad and one mum model, so beloved of conservatives, I think that it is fair enough that alternative ways of living are show cased in children's entertainment. I mean the show wasn't about their personal life, it was about making Maple Syrup. Scary stuff.

Goodbye Yello Wiggle Hello Yellow Wiggle

Very sad day with the retirement of Gregg Page from the Wiggles. Somehow it will just not be the same. The rest of the group are going to keep on wiggling for the next generation of 2 and 3 year olds. Our kids loved the Wiggles, although they wouldn't admit it now. The first Wiggles Video was the first video that Hannah took an interest in and she watched it over and over.

The remaining members of the group, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field and Murray Cook, said it was an emotional time. "It's very surreal that Greg's not going to be with us, very sad," said Field. "The thing about The Wiggles is we love doing it. I know Greg loved doing the shows, it's just that he can't physically do it anymore. "We love touring, meeting all the families, the children. "Myself, Murray and Jeff. We actually said to each other, 'do you want to keep going?' and we said 'yes, we'd love to keep going'."

Yes I am sure that they would, given the commercial empire that they have built. Wiggling for Dollars, not too bad. Queue replacement Wiggle and queue dollars. Are You Ready to Wiggle??