Web 2.0 & China Channel
Very cool exhibit in Hong Kong showing the difference between free access to the Internet, on the one hand, and the Chinese experience behind the Great Firewall on the other.
Web 2.0 is a gallery installation consisting of two internet enabled computers, a hacked mouse and keyboard, and a custom plugin for the popular (and free) Fire Fox web browser. Two computers are connected to a single keyboard and mouse allowing visitors to control both identical machines at the same time while using just a single input device. The only difference between the two internet terminals is their network connection; one machine is connected to the less restricted internet in Hong Kong, while the other is connected to the internet through a connection point in the mainland of China.
The Golden Shield Project (sometimes referred to as the the Great Fire Wall of China), censors content primarily by blocking IP addresses. The Internet police in China is estimated to contain over 30,000 workers, and is responsible for blocking content such as Tibetan independence, Taiwan independence, police brutality, the Tienanmen Square protests of 1989, freedom of speech, democracy, religion, and some international news.
The browser plugin used in the Web 2.0 installation will soon be available for public download on the web. Unlike many tools which enable Chinese people to freely surf the web via connections to computers outside of China, this plugin routes all internet traffic to computers on the inside of the Chinese firewall, allowing web surfers to experience an Internet identical to that of Chinese.
(Via ni9e)