LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Watcher beware

IT'S GREAT that Gilbert Ahrens is keen to help people educate themselves on the Australian economy (The Pioneer, 10/1/12), but perhaps he should educate himself on the Australian broadband industry?
He recommends people to search for and watch a program on YouTube that is over half of 1GB in size at the lowest resolution, assuming the person downloading is aware that they can select resolution and don’t try to download the much higher one that it opens in by default.
The fastest possible ADSL2 speed on a perfect connection with a single use network is theoretically 20Mbps (20,000Kbps), though this is in fact impossible to reach under normal circumstances.
Many people have mid-range ADSL connections of 1500Kbps speed and a large proportion of Riverlanders have even slower speeds of 512Kbps or 256Kbps.
Trying to watch a full film of almost two hours in length in high definition is going to be close to impossible, or at least very frustrating for many people.
You could click the pause button on the film and wait for it to load before watching it, but bear in mind that you’re downloading a file that exceeds 500,000KB, so prepare to wait a while. You should also check your monthly data limit, if your allowance is 1GB, this file will use more than half of your monthly allowance.
If you already have less than half of 1GB remaining on your monthly allowance, the film will stall or stop downloading once your data limit is exceeded and your plan is shaped or stopped.
You should also be aware that there are 8Kbits in one KByte, so a 500,000KByte file is actually 4,000,000Kbits in size and your internet connection download speed is measured in Kbits.
By all means, watch the file recommended by Mr Ahrens, but be aware of what you’re actually doing.
It would have been nice of Mr Ahrens to have mentioned that this is a massive file for even the fastest of internet users to stream without buffering or failing.
REBECCA BYERS
Renmark

Youth allowance changes

THIS YEAR more regional students should qualify for independent youth allowance. This could only have happened through the persistent lobbying and determination by students, their parents, education stakeholders and the Coalition for the abolition of the unfair 30 hour work rule that the Labor government introduced in 2010.
Consequently, thousands of students from inner regional areas struggled to qualify for the allowance.
Students had their day of victory last September when the government did a back-flip and changed the criteria back to what it was originally.
Interestingly the government is now enthusiastically spruiking the latest changes that came into effect on January 1 this year.
Its enthusiasm for such change would have been welcome months ago when students and their families were at their wits’ end as to how they were going to afford a tertiary education.
If anyone deserves credit for the fairer deal on independent youth allowance, it is the students who never gave up, not the government.
SENATOR FIONA NASH
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education
The Nationals Senator for NSW

Anzac 'branding’

AUSTRALIA IS preparing to commemorate the centenary of Anzac from 2014 to 2018, marking 100 years since our nation’s involvement in the World War I.
Over this period we will remember not only the Anzacs who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front, but all Australian servicemen and women who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
The media reporting suggesting there would be branding of Anzac Day is wrong. There is no such plan for April 25, 2015 or any other year.
What is being developed is a specific motif for the centenary program similar to the way a motif was developed for the highly acclaimed Australia Remembers - created to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the World War II.
The final motif will convey to the Australian community the overall theme for the four year centenary program.
The Anzac Centenary Advisory Board, which includes many eminent Australians and is chaired by the former chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, supports the development of the motif.
It is unfortunate that the public has been misled by inaccurate media reporting on this subject.
The sanctity of Anzac Day will always be protected.
WARREN SNOWDON
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
Canberra

Shape up, or ship out

WHILE ENGAGED in a spot of online gambling, I had a revelation of biblical proportions on how to solve Australia’s immigrant and wowser problem.
The rise in wowser-ism in Australia is directly due to our traitorous major party governments allowing foreign wowsers to immigrate into Australia.
These people must be given a copy of Nino Culotta’s book, They’re a Weird Mob, and told to, shape up, or ship out – but either way, forget any idea that they own the place.
FRANK BROWN
Richmond, Qld