Low Vision Computing

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The Future

The Problem

Canada's bill C-18 requires the internet giants (Facebook and Google) to pay compensation for the content they're using from news and information providers.

Australia tried this approach a few years ago, then backed down.

They got away with this because they are large enough to basically ignore the rules.

Facebook has blocked all Canadian news content.

Google plans to go much further - they've stated that as far as they're concerned, they will use ALL internet content from anywhere as they please. One of their plans is to generate their own news stories in every country, totally bypassing all news and information providers.

Both Facebook's and Google's plans are in violation of Canada's Combines Act (the Canadian version of antitrust laws) and the antitrust laws of other countries.

It's not the first time that companies with market dominance figure they're above the law.

An Alternative

Canada's TV stations are running promos inviting people to scan in a QR code with their phone and download their news app.

This doesn't help most news and information sources, who don't have a TV station.

Also, most people already have more than 100 apps on their phones - who needs more?

So I came up with something that I think addresses both the "little gal/guy" needs and an easy way for people to discover news sources outside their usual ones.

supportnewsmedia.com (link opens in new tab/window), or click on the "Support News Media" graphic below.

Launch date is September 18th, 2023, with 100 news sources in 5 languages and 10 countries. More sources will be added frequently.

Each news source includes 5 article previews, with all formatting and images stripped out. But if the previews interest you, you can click on the link for each news source and see the current web site, including the pretty pictures, the formatting, etc.



What supportnewsmedia is NOT

1. supportnewsmedia is NOT a bookmarking service. You create the bookmarks in your own web browser. I don't collect any user info, the site doesn't use privacy-invading javascript, and there's no user registration whatsoever.

2. supportnewsmedia is NOT a content aggregator. The previews will not be updated on a regular basis. It's just a way for people to find news sources they might not have considered before.

3. supportnewsmedia is NOT a commercial project. Like lowvisioncomputing.com, this is something I've developed because there's a need, and it's not like the big news networks have come up with anything cooperative. After all, why should they promote the competition, even in the face of an existential threat? And why should they help out the little news sources?

Editorial Policy

Since I'm not a public entity, I can exercise broad discretion as to what sources I choose to include/exclude.

It's easier to list what I've banned.

1. NO RWNJs (Right Wing Nut Jobs).

2. NO Libertarians, who seem to thing that no rules should apply to them, but are quick to want to impose their rules on society.

3. NO Neo-Conservative sites.

4. NO white supremists, anti-lgbtq (add letters and numbers as required) crappola, MAGA maggots, ponzi proponents pushing crypto-currency scams, etc.

5. NO social media content. No celebrity crap. No sports (that falls under Entertainment, not News and Information).

So, click on the image and check it out ... :-)

There's also Flight Sim User, for my work-in-progress to support flight simulators.

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Copyright © 2022, 2023 by Barbra Hudson.
Email: barbra@lowvisioncomputing.com

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