internet news

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Communities Everywhere 'Get Involved' in World IT Congress
EdNA (Education Network Australia) - http://www.edna.edu.au/
In a first for the World Congress on IT, the 2002 event will be open
to the global community, via <http://forum.edna.edu.au/wcit2002>.
The result of a collaboration between Community Information
Strategies Australia (CISA), education.au limited and the Congress
organisers, the website will post news, discussion forums and live
chat from now until the end of the Congress, which takes place in
Adelaide from February 27 to March 1, 2002.
Members of the public all over the world will be able to chat online
with panellists and delegates and post their own views on chat
threads.  
The online discussion topics reflect current global issues such as IT
security, intellectual property, IT futures and the effects of
technology on communities and lifestyles.
The event has been made possible by the time and effort donated by
many different parties and supporting sponsorship of e-procurement
company eSquare, computer training company Electus, call centre Elect
To Call and eWord Development, creator of Max's Sandbox, a
world-first junior interface to Microsoft Office and Janison Solution
provider of the EdNA forum.
 Get involved now by registering at http://forum.edna.edu.au/wcit2002


Net name registrars contest ICANN fees (CNet)
A fight has broken out between a key Net standards body and Web
address administrators in Europe. 
European domain name registries including Nominet, which runs the
popular .uk address system, are refusing to pay fees to the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, saying the group has not
done enough to guarantee the stability of the servers that link
domains. 
 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-817911.html

http://www.business2.com/r?a=NEWS&l=Headline&x=Homepage&u=http://www.business2.com/articles/web/0,,37205,FF.html
 http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=5703826

Will U.S. Release Grip on ICANN? (Wired)
Some ICANN board members believe progress towards autonomy from the
U.S. Commerce Department has been slowed, or even halted, since Sept.
11. 
"We've already had signs that things have changed since Sept. 11,"
said Andy Mueller-Maguhn, Europe's representative of the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. "It might be that after
the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. government is not behaving as if it
would give any kind of control away. It doesn't look like it at least
to me, to be honest, not all. 
 http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,49836,00.html
 
An Assessment of ICANN's Mandatory Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
in Resolving Disputes Over Domain Names
The UDRP constitutes a major step forward in Internet governance.
Although not without its shortcomings, analyzed within the ambit of
its objectives, the Policy has succeeded in most respects. It has
allowed trademark holders to recover domain names held by
cybersquatters in a cost and time effective manner. At the same time,
the UDRP has provided a relatively level playing field for
combatants, as many disputes involve contests between 'Davids' and
'Goliaths', but without the certainty that Goliath will prevail.
Suspect UDRP decisions are primarily anomalies, although forum
shopping remains a legitimate concern. With time and a little
fine-tuning, the UDRP will undoubtedly serve as a model for future
initiatives to regulate conduct on the Internet. 
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-3/hancock.html

New ORG Policy: DNSO Defines Path to Verisign Divestiture (ICANN
Watch)
Verisign's dominance of the domain name market will erode further at
the end of this year, when it is required to divest itself of the
.org registry. 
 http://www.icannwatch.org/article.php?sid=521&mode=thread&order=0

JILT (The Journal of Information, Law & Technology)
The latest edition of the JILT journal is now online. JILT is an
established but innovative electronic law journal covering a range of
topics relating to IT law and applications.
 http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-3/

Mobile users conned in sex text messages scam (Observer)
Mobile phone users are being conned out of hundreds of pounds by
paying for unsolicited premium-rate text messages that promise cash
prizes or invitations to join adult chatlines. 
When users respond to the offers, they are bombarded by more text
messages - unaware they are paying up to £1.50 to receive the text.
Messages usually cost about 12p. 
One text message recently circulated to Vodafone users began 'Hi,
Sexy' and asked the phone user if they wanted more details. Any
response triggered more messages, each paid for by the recipient. 
 http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,636372,00.html

UK snooping laws in disarray (BBC)
Internet snooping laws in the UK have not been implemented and are
proving ineffectual in the fight against terrorism and crime. 
Caspar Bowden, an expert on surveillance legislation, said he
believes that the laws governing surveillance of the net are
unenforceable because they have been so badly bungled. 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1761000/1761974.stm

A programme for child protection on the Internet (EU)
(ESC) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee. Rapporteur Ann
Davison. Appendices: safer surfing advice to parents and guidelines
to children, results of survey under the CISA project funded by Safer
Internet Action Plan.
 http://www.ces.eu.int/pages/avis/11_01/en/CES1472-2001_AC_en.DOC

Kids wise up to cyberspace dangers (NOP news release)
Willingness of children to give out a home address on the Internet
has dropped by two-thirds in 18 months, according to a survey
published today by NOP Family, the specialist children's research
division of NOP World.
 http://www.nop.co.uk/news/news_survey_kids_wise_up.shtml

KidSmart!
KidSmart is a special website which gives details of the KidSmart
roadshow which is currently touring over 20 cities across the UK as
well as practical tips and resources to help you and your children
get the most out of the internet and stay safe online.
 http://www.kidsmart.org.uk

Rights group orders Zundel to kill hate site
The Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday ordered Holocaust
denier Ernst Zundel to kill off a Web site featuring hate propaganda
that targets Jews and the Holocaust.
The commission said that whatever free-speech protection may exist
for hate material on the Internet is vastly outweighed by the social
benefits of eliminating hate-mongering.

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/GIS.Servlets.ArticleNews/relatedstories/gam/20020119/UZUNDN/
 http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/news-comm/2002/NewsComm180102.asp?l=e
 http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/decisions/docs/citron-e.htm

Microsoft Net Profit Drops (Washington Post)
Microsoft Corp.'s legal woes are finally beginning to show up in its
bottom line. The software giant said its earnings fell short largely
because of a $660 million charge it took in anticipation of what it
would cost to settle the class-action antitrust suits against it.
 http://www.washtech.com/news/software/14730-1.html

Wallace and Gromit hit the Web (CNet)
Nick Park, creator of the feature film "Chicken Run," is reviving his
original characters Wallace and Gromit in 12 short films to be
released online later this year. 
The series features a spacey English inventor named Wallace and his
dog Gromit, stars of the award-winning short films "A Close Shave"
and "The Wrong Trousers." The 12 upcoming one-minute films, each
featuring a different invention from Wallace, will be available for
free online, according to the Web site for Park's production company,
Aardman. 
 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-817903.html

Oxford tracks the latest lingo at cyber speed (Sydney Morning Herald)
Hot-link, karoshi, pitta, riot grrrl ... not some strange new
language, just some of the hundreds of new words to make it into the
latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary Online. 
The latest quarterly update to the Internet version of the famous
authority on the English language reflects many facets of life in the
21st century. 
 http://www.it.mycareer.com.au/breaking/2002/01/18/FFXDYLRUKWC.html

China sets new Net rules  (South China Morning Post)
Beijing was the target of some criticism last week after the
Government announced its latest rules to regulate the evil Internet. 
The new rules ban pornography, violence, sedition, separatism,
revealing of state secrets, promotion of those "evil cults" and
calling for the overthrow of the state. 
 http://technology.scmp.com/ZZZCT2NN5WC.html
China Tightens Web Controls (Wired)
China has issued its most intrusive Internet controls to date,
ordering service providers to screen private e-mail for political
content and holding them responsible for subversive postings on their
websites. 
 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49855,00.html

The Future of E-Democracy - The 50 Year Plan
A speech By Steven Clift 
 http://www.publicus.net/articles/future.html

Alston's X files: the secret truth about (Oz) Internet censorship
(Sydney Morning Herald)
Your access to the Web is being censored by the Government but it
refuses to reveal exactly what it is we are not allowed to see.
"All you have to do is press P," sputtered a quaintly outraged
Senator Paul Calvert at a memorable hearing last century, and
millions of porn sites would come across your computer. "Free of
charge!"
 http://www.it.mycareer.com.au/breaking/2002/01/21/FFXF6B35PWC.html

Oz Mobile costs may top world (Australian IT)
Australian mobile phone users may soon have the most expensive
operating costs in the world.
The Australian Telecommunications User Group warned that Telstra is
pushing the market in that direction, with its November price rise,
when mobile flag falls rose from 20c to 25c, and last week's move to
impose disconnection and administration changes.  

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3625896%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
Telstra's mobile fee backlash (Australian IT)

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3616937%5E15320%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

£24million to improve UK computer industry (Downing St news release)
A new 24m programme to support the UK's computer and information
technology industry has been announced by the Government.
The new programme will fund a range of collaborative projects between
companies and universities and help UK-based companies exploit a
global market which could reach more than 100 billion by the end of
the decade.
 http://www.number-10.gov.uk/news.asp?NewsId=3444

Prêt-à-porter computers (BBC)
Walking down the street with a small computer attached to your head
may sound like something out of Star Trek. 
But you can already order such a product and have it in your hands by
March. 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1768000/1768059.stm

France takes to the web (BBC)
Broadband net connections have grown by 500% in a year in France, and
now one in eight French homes is equipped with a high-speed internet
link. 
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1767000/1767767.stm

Broadband Prices Up In 2001 - Study (Newsbytes)
The cost of high-speed Internet access showed double-digit growth in
2001, and three of four consumer broadband providers raised their
rates at least once during the year, researchers say.
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173788.html

Broadband Connects 6% Of W. Europe's Homes - Liikanen (Newsbytes)
Broadband Internet penetration now stands at 6 percent of Western
European homes, according to Erkki Liikanen, the European Commission
minister.
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173783.html

More women heading home to surf (CNet)
Women are logging onto the Internet at home at a faster rate than the
overall Web population, according to a report released Friday.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-818593.html
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173781.html

Interactive TV Finally Ready To Take Off - Study (Newsbytes)
Consumers finally appear to be ready to use interactive television
features, according to a new study by Cahners In-Stat/MDR. 
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173792.html

Sources include Quicklinks (www.qlinks.net), Moreover
(www.moreover.com) and BNA Internet Law News (www.bna.com/ilaw).

=====
David Goldstein
post: 82 Kingston Road, Earlsdon CV5 6LR, UK
email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
phone: +44 24 7667 7226 (home) +44 7786 704 887 (mobile)

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