Canadian Prisons Limit Technology Use By 1990s

Belmorris writes: Canadian prisons allow inmates to purchase devices such as computers and game consoles, but the technology is severely restricted, ostensibly for security reasons. The Playstation 1 is what I usually buy because modern game consoles are banned because they can connect to the internet. Versions of Microsoft Windows newer than Windows 98 are not allowed. Devices that can play MP3 files are not allowed. The regulation prohibits operating systems other than Microsoft DOS or Windows and software that can create programs such as compilers, which are “database programs that can modify or manipulate SQL databases.” Learning job skills is encouraged, but programming is clearly not considered appropriate. The relationship between most of these restrictions and security is unclear.