US builds Trooptube

THE US MILITARY has ordered YouTube off of its networks and has launched its own video-sharing Web site for troops, their families and supporters.

Trooptube lets people register as members of one of the branches of the armed forces, family, civilian Defence Department employees or supporters.

Punters can upload personal videos from anywhere with an Internet connection, each flick is censored by a Pentagon employee who screens each for taste, copyright violations and national security issues [And no doubt acts of torture and violations of the Geneva Convention: Sub Ed].

From a technology point of view, Trooptube uses different tools for approving and sorting incoming videos. Its can also compress video files into several sizes and automatically plays the one that best suits viewers' Internet connection speeds.

Since May 2007, the Defence Department banned employees and soldiers from accessing social not-fighting sites including Youtube and Myspace, citing security and bandwidth issues.

The writer of the Defence Department's software Delve Chief Executive Alex Castro called Trooptube a "retention tool" aimed at a generation of soldiers who bring laptops to the front lines.

There is nothing better for troop moral than to see funny movies of cats appearing to sing Guns and Roses hits, or lardy boys dancing to Eastern European pop singles. µ

L'Inq
MSNBC