I just picked up this bit of news. NBC are partnering with M$ to provide full online coverage of the Olymic Games in Beijing this summer but, wait for it, only for Windows Vista users. Windows XP and earlier are excluded, as are Mac and Linux users.

If this is tied in to the Media Centre, then it's only Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate that will provide coverage. If not then are we looking at something a little more sinister and deliberate to force Vista sales by optimising for Vista only.

So it appears that the usual strong arm tactics of a convicted monopolist may still be alive and well, and indeed flourishing. Or am I wrong and that it's only Vista's technology that can actually deliver?

Recently, I have read a number of items about file sharing, both here and elsewhere.

When I became aware of file sharing of copyright material, before even the wide spread adoption of broadband, I could not understand why this could not be stopped. I was worried about the impact it would have on our freedoms and choices on the Internet in the longer term, in particular, such impact on those of us (the majority) not file sharing illegally.

To me it seemed that the facilitation of illegal sharing of copyright material fell into the classification of "accessory before (and/or after) the fact", and therefore there were already legal ways of proceeding and enforcement.

Contrary to current trends, I do not consider that it is the job of private organisations to pursue and prosecute infringements. This is the job of the Police, Prosecution Services and subsequently The Courts. Neither is it the job of ISP's, except when under instruction from the correct authorities.

To me the solution was simple. Identify the individuals/organisations making available and facilitating/encouraging the sharing of copyright material and either shut them down or instruct the ISP's to block their traffic. Subsequently only hold ISP's responsible for failure to comply with court instructions.

Now we blame the grannies and the children, when we should have blamed and prosecuted (where possible) the big players deliberately flouting reasonable interpretation of law with spurious arguments regarding 'freedom', when in fact the consequences will be massive infringement of everyone's genuine freedoms.

Of course, the entertainment industry has been far too slow to move with the times and adopt new technologies. Now illegal file sharing has become so prolific and embedded in the culture, out of control so to speak, that only draconian measures, affecting everyone, might stop it. In effect, another step towards the Big Brother society.

I 'fix' computers, mostly family or young people's computers, when these have got in a mess and no longer work properly. The amount of 'shared' music and video on these computers is staggering, much of it just copied/downloaded for the sake of it.

What troubles me here, and in society as a whole, is the loss of the moral imperative, the knowledge of right and wrong, which will inevitably lead to increasing legislation and technical control, again leading us towards the Big Brother society. The technology to enable and support this is already developing at a rapid rate.

If it's not too late, it's time to get the law working for us properly and to restore the basic values which make for a good society. I know that didn't work for John Major and he got pilloried for the attempt, but how much more relevant is it now?