general internet news - 26 September

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

Net guru peers into web's future
Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee outlines his vision of a
more "intelligent" web in a BBC interview. [Also an
interview with The Guardian]
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3131562.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1048691,00.html

CONFERENCE: “INTERNET 2004: Safe or Just Safer? - an INHOPE
Initiative"
focussing on the protection of individual rights
(especially those of children) in the online environment.
 http://www.inhope.org/english/conf/

Chat room charge sign of times
Microsoft Corp.'s decision to eliminate free chat rooms on
its MSN Web sites and replace them with subscription-only
rooms is likely the beginning of a trend that will see
companies charging for until-now free Internet services.

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030925.wmsnn0925/BNStory/Technology/

Rivals condemn Microsoft chatroom closure
Internet giant accused of moving users to more profitable
service.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1049004,00.html
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3136006.stm
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3135178.stm

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39116641,00.htm

Rival attacks Microsoft decision to close chatrooms
Freeserve, the UK's largest internet service provider, has
hit out at rival Microsoft for pulling the plug on its UK
chatrooms, accusing the US giant of cloaking a commercial
decision in concern for children's welfare.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,1048627,00.html
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33014.html

The myth of Satan's web
Comment: The internet isn't evil - and Microsoft's move to
close chatrooms is more about profit than paedophilia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/microsoft/Story/0,2763,1049197,00.html


An end to the chat 
MSN's decision to close hundreds of chatrooms has been
widely praised, but could it make children even more
vulnerable?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1048814,00.html

http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=microsoftkillschat1064404031

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059480062183

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3503421
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3133192.stm

Rooms for improvement
Parents need to do more to make internet chatrooms safer
places for children to use.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,7496,1048857,00.html

Microsoft chatrooms to close
Microsoft is pulling the plug on all its UK chatrooms, used
by more than 1.2 million people a month, amid growing
concerns they are being used by paedophilesto find child
victims.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1048491,00.html


http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/news/story.jsp?story=446426
 http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,60567,00.html

So why is MSN Israel keeping its chatrooms open?
Financial reasons are partly behind MSN's decision to can
its chat rooms, according to Israel-based publication Nana
Netlife.
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33013.html

.nz - Chat room vetting to increase
Software giant Microsoft's decision to increase chat room
surveillance will not eliminate paedophiles using the
Internet to prey on children, a safety group says.
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2669727a28,00.html

http://computerworld.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/DBB814CB81E3C17BCC256DAB001EE407

Yahoo sits tight on chatrooms
YAHOO Australia and New Zealand will keep its chatrooms
open, despite moves by rival ninemsn to stop its service
over child safety fears.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7360959%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Lycos critical of MSN chat room closure
Microsoft rival Lycos has criticised the software giant's
stance on chat rooms, saying that greater investment could
lead to a safer online environment.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/ebusiness/story/0,2000048590,20278970,00.htm

Stay safe: learn to lie
One of the best ways to protect children using internet
chatrooms is to help them create fake online identities

http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,7496,1048797,00.html

Stop worrying about those violent online games - and start
playing
Interactive entertainment has gone global, appealing to
both genders and all ages, writes Douglas Lowenstein. The
interactive entertainment industry is far and away the
fastest-growing sector of the global entertainment
industry. According to the American investment firm Wedbush
Morgan Securities, the worldwide game software market hit
$18 billion last year and is forecast to reach $28 billion
by the end of 2005. By 2005, more than 300 million video
game console units will have been sold since the present
generation of hardware was launched in 2000.
 http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/24/1064083057518.html

.au - Alston praises chat room scrutiny
Federal Communications Minister Richard Alston says
Microsoft's decision to shut down some of its Internet chat
sites will place greater scrutiny on those operated by
other companies.
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s953590.htm

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/25/1064083090322.html

India bans a Yahoo group
The Indian government has banned a Yahoo group, alleging
that it has anti-India content.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5081021.html
 http://web.mid-day.com//news/city/2003/september/64623.htm

China online dissident 'charged'
A man has been arrested in China for voicing dissent over
the internet, a human rights group has said.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3134306.stm

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3496593

New legislation fighting child porn tabled
The Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which aims to
crack down on child pornography and force Internet service
providers to take a role in blocking child porn, has been
tabled in Parliament.
 http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/business/technology/Tech1.asp

.us - Site Warns of Online Dangers to Children
The D.A. offers tips on how parents can track molesters and
monitor computer use. Halting youth cyber-crime is another
goal.

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-skateside25sep25,1,19648.story

Porn pages surge
THE number of pornography pages on the internet has
exploded to 260 million, or some 1,800 per cent more than
five years ago, according to a new study.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7359892%5E15342%5E%5Enbv%5E15306-15319,00.html

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/24/1064083028904.html

Software will help track online pedophiles
It started as an unsolicited e-mail that a Toronto police
officer sent to Bill Gates' general mailbox, and has
developed into what will soon become the leading
investigative tool for tracking Internet pedophiles around
the world.

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030923.gtukidsm/BNStory/Technology/

Man admits indecency with 14-year-old girl he met online
A 22-year-old man embarked on a sexual relationship with a
14-year-old girl after meeting her in a Microsoft internet
chatroom, a court heard yesterday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1048998,00.html

Pedophile pediatrician arrested
Police on Saturday arrested a 38-year-old pediatrician for
posting an ad on an Internet dating site inviting junior
high school girls to have sex with him.
 http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=273243

Serious concern about plight of jailed cyber-dissidents
Reporters Without Borders called today for the immediate
release of jailed cyber-dissident Le Chi Quang, who is
reportedly seriously ill with chronic kidney disease, and
for government clarification of rumours that another, the
elderly Tran Que, has died.
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8061
Sérieuses inquiétudes au sujet de deux cyberdissidents
emprisonnés
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8060

Anger at Bangladeshi snooping plans
Plans to allow the authorities in Bangladesh to monitor
e-mails and telephone conversations have provoked outrage
among human rights experts and telecoms analysts.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3131386.stm

Patent holder unplugs porn network
A holding company that has a stack of streaming media
patents briefly shut down a network of pornography Web
sites over the weekend in an ominous sign for mainstream
providers of streaming Web content.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000048600,20278931,00.htm

Draft declaration of principles for WSIS on track
The process of drawing up a draft Declaration of Principles
for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is
on track according to Lyndall Shope-Mafole, the chairperson
of the drafting committee.

http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/computers/0,2172,66340,00.html

California bans spam
Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that would allow penalties of
$1,000 per unsolicited e-mail and up to $1 million for spam
campaigns in a bid to deter e-mail marketing firms.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5081356.html
 http://security.itworld.com/4774/030924caspam/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61170-2003Sep24.html

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-privacy24sep24000427,1,4373634.story

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3503187

California spam law may face court challenge
When California Gov. Gray Davis signed one of the nation's
most sweeping antispam laws this week, he didn't end a
debate over how the proposal would affect businesses in the
richest, most technology-savvy U.S. state.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5082049.html

CRTC move threatens new media
Canadian new media producers say they fear for the future
of their fragile industry, following a CRTC decision that
has slashed one of their vital funding sources.

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030924.gtmefund24/BNStory/Technology/

Jorge Contreras of Hale and Dorr on Online Liability
Today, September 23rd, Jorge Contreras of local law firm
Hale and Dorr joined us to discuss Online Liability. The
following are notes from the presentation.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=105

As Love Blooms on the Web, So Does Paid Content
Spending on online content grew 23 percent in the first
half of the year to $748 million, fueled by Internet users
who were looking for love, investment tips and celebrity
news, according to a study of U.S. consumers released on
Tuesday.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3496398

The Internet Reborn
A grass-roots group of leading computer scientists, backed
by Intel and other heavyweight industrial sponsors, is
working on replacing today’s Internet with a faster, more
secure, and vastly smarter network: PlanetLab.
 http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/roush1003.asp

Reliance on Microsoft a threat to security: experts
A number of leading corporate technology officers and
researchers have warned that computers and critical
technological infrastructure worldwide are increasingly
vulnerable to attack because of the security practices and
dominance of Microsoft software in desktop computing.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/25/1064083097573.html

Saint Bill
This week, Bill Gates gave £100m to fight malaria in
Africa, the latest charitable donation from the billionaire
geek who has pledged to give away his £28bn fortune before
he dies. But what drives his philanthropy, and how much
good is he actually doing?
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1049085,00.html 

IEEE 802.15.3a proposal postponed till November
The Intel, Texas Instruments-led Multiband-OFDM Alliance
failed to confirm this week a specification of the physical
layer for the air-interface standard being readied by the
IEEE 802.15.3a working group.
 http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20030919S0033

Schools set rules on classroom gadgets
In the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto High School
junior Anna Luskin freely uses her cell phone in between
classes. Senior Sean Slattery taps notes into his personal
digital assistant as his teachers give lectures.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-09-21-classroom-gadgets_x.htm

Schools Rule on Classroom Gadgets
Handheld devices and laptops are becoming essential
back-to-school supplies for American students. Are they
helping students work smarter or making it easier to cheat
and chat?
 http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,60527,00.html


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=====
David Goldstein
 address: 2/4 Dundas Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 0015 - home

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