Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.**********************************************************
Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/**********************************************************
Internews Celebrates 25 Years of Fostering Independent Media and Access to
Information
http://internews.org/prs/2007/20070720_25th.shtmGoogle's Free Trade Agenda
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/07/18/google-washington-congress-biz-wash-cx_bw_0719trade.htmlStudy: 1 in 25 Youths Asked for Sex Pics (AP)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559990110.htmlau: Teens easy prey for web vultures
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22107817-661,00.htmlnz: Latest web network no place for children
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10453045Internet jihad: A world wide web of terror
http://economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9472498Digital DNA could finger Harry Potter leaker
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2104250.eceBelgian ISP will appeal order to block file-sharing
http://out-law.com/page-8320Net criminals shun virus attacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6908064.stmGoogle cookie expiration plans called 'worthless'
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9027411Identity theft? What identity theft?
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/20/29OPsecadvise_1.htmlau: v0te, lol by Peter Chen
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/23/1985154.htmDigital Opportunity in Europe, 2005/2006
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+Europe+20052006.aspxDigital Opportunity in Asia-Pacific
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+AsiaPacific.aspxDigital opportunity in the Americas, 2005/2006
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+The+Americas+20052006.aspxDigital opportunity in Africa
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+Africa.aspxAsia leads the world in fibre-to-the-home penetration (news
release)
http://ftthcouncil.org/?t=231kr: High-speed internet keeps drawing users
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=74233Mobile television - The third screen: Having spread to computers, television is starting to reach mobile phones (AP)
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9519417Technological neglect traps poorest nations in poverty: UNCTAD
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559980916.htmlAfrica, Offline: Waiting for the Web
http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/22/africa/22rwanda.php'I don't think bloggers read' says Andrew Keen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2130644,00.htmlFull Text: Keen vs. Weinberger
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118460229729267677.htmlInternetNZ faces vote
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4135196a28.htmlAustralia's broadband spend-up by Peter Griffin
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10452801**********************
RESEARCH PAPERS
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The Spam Index Report: Comparing Real-World Performance of Anti-Spam Technologies (Brockmann & Company)
The Spam Index is the first method for factoring a users' actual experience in assessing the effectiveness of various anti-spam technologies. Based on the experience of over 520 business users, the users of challenge-response technology have the lowest average Spam Index, the most consistent Spam Index and the highest user satisfaction with the email experience.
CONCLUSION: Some technologies consistently generate lower Spam Index results than others. ... Brockmann & Company research shows that improving the user’s email experience is not about tighter content filters or better reputation services, it
is about assuring reliable delivery for regular communicants, minimum of time spent dealing with spam and simply denying access to the users’ email inbox for the inappropriate, anonymous, bulk and irrelevant messages of spammers. Challenge-response technology has the best ability to do exactly this.
http://brockmann.com/family/peter/Brockmann_SpamIndex_071707.pdfReduce poverty by narrowing technology gap, UNCTAD'S Least Developed Countries report 2007 urges (news release)
Science, technology and innovation are necessities, not luxuries, for the world´s 50 poorest nations, study says
Unless their domestic businesses and farmers can acquire knowledge and technology that enable them to catch up with the rest of the world, the world´s 50 poorest nations will not be able to achieve the sustained economic growth necessary to reduce poverty, Least
Developed Countries Report 2007.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=8578&intItemID=1634〈=1Telecoms advances throw up new challenges for operators, says OECD (news release)
Telecommunications investment continues to rise and consumers are generally paying less for more and better services across the OECD area but technology developments are presenting new challenges to telecoms operators, according to a new OECD report.
http://www.oecd.org/document/43/0,3343,en_2649_201185_38949291_1_1_1_1,00.html'Shooting the Messenger' Myth vs. Reality: U.S. Broadband Policy and International Broadband Rankings
The simple fact is that international rankings do matter. This is not just a point
of pride. Each spot the United States slips represents billions in lost producer and consumer surplus, and potentially millions of real jobs lost to overseas workers. The international studies highlight the fact that the status quo in the U.S. broadband marketplace is unacceptable. U.S. policymakers must reject the “shoot the messenger” rhetoric and move toward an honest assessment of our problems.
This paper exposes the myths put forward to excuse the shortcomings of the U.S. broadband market. The facts speak for themselves: More than 10 million U.S. households remain unserved, and nearly 50 million homes could subscribe but choose not to because the connection available is too expensive or too slow. The 50 million homes that do have broadband face, at best, a duopoly choice between the local phone or local cable company.
We have two fundamental problems in our broadband market — availability and competition. These are real issues where American policymakers
can make a difference by helping to foster a truly competitive marketplace like that found in many European and Asian nations.
http://freepress.net/docs/shooting_the_messenger.pdf**********************
CENSORSHIP
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Internews Celebrates 25 Years of Fostering Independent Media and Access to Information
In the remote tribal region of Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, local reporter Sumera Rebab interviews villagers about the custom of “ghag,” in which a man can lay claim to a girl for life simply by going to her house and firing some shots in the air. Meanwhile, at a tiny community radio station in Chad, in central Africa, 25-year-old Houda Malloum presents a radio news program every day at noon for refugees who have fled neighboring Darfur, providing essential information such as how to stay safe while gathering
firewood around the camps.
http://internews.org/prs/2007/20070720_25th.shtmGoogle's Free Trade Agenda
For the past several months, Google has been quietly lobbying the U.S. government to include restrictions against Internet censorship as a stipulation in free trade agreements with other countries. Google says that barriers to the free flow of information over the Web restrict commerce and economic development, and should therefore be considered barriers to free trade as well.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/07/18/google-washington-congress-biz-wash-cx_bw_0719trade.htmlAide to Malaysia's Anwar warns of controls on bloggers (AFP)
An aide to former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday
accused authorities of unlawful detention and discriminatory controls on bloggers after he was released by police.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559976669.htmlus: Bill Would Expand FCC Authority to Regulate Speech
The Senate Commerce Committee today passed legislation that would authorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish broadcasters for single "fleeting" utterances of common expletives. The Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act would effectively negate a recent ruling by a federal appeals court, which found the FCC's policy of punishing "fleeting expletives" to be unlawful. CDT opposes the legislation, which seeks to expand the FCC's authority to regulate speech at a time when the legal basis for that authority is diminishing in the face of convergence and evolving user empowerment technology.
July 19, 2007
http://blog.cdt.org/2007/07/17/bill-could-hasten-demise-of-fcc-indecency-regulation/************************************************
CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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uk: Fast food brands hit kids online
Fast food brands are getting around laws banning the promotion of unhealthy snacks online, research suggests. New Advertising Standards Association rules prevent the online and offline advertising of fast food to children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6905072.stmStudy: 1 in 25 Youths Asked for Sex Pics (AP)
Four percent of American youths online have been asked to send a sexually explicit photo of themselves over the Internet,
researchers say in a new study. Of the 65 youths in the study who reported receiving a request, only one actually complied. But researchers say that's still a troubling number: With millions of youths online, that projects to potentially thousands across the country.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559990110.htmlhttp://www.thestate.com/367/story/123332.htmlau: Teens easy prey for web vultures
Teens are putting themselves at risk from internet predators by posting personal information on their MySpace pages. Randomly visiting MySpace profiles, the Herald Sun discovered scores of young Victorians posting their dates of birth, surnames, suburbs, high schools and workplaces.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22107817-661,00.htmlnz: Latest web network no place for children
Facebook, Myspace and Bebo have become household names in the ever-expanding smorgasboard of social networking websites. And all going to plan, a new interactive site developed by a group of New Zealanders could be next.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10453045uk: Police hand out internet advice
Children in Kent are being warned how they can avoid being groomed by internet paedophiles when they surf the internet during the summer holidays.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/6910747.stmus: Documentary examines kids, online porn
A new documentary premieres in Austin Sunday that presents a candid look at how involved kids are with Internet porn both inside and outside the home. In "Traffic Control: The People's War on Internet Porn," Filmmaker Bryan Hall interviews people in the adult entertainment business, psychologists and hundreds of teenagers.
http://www.kvue.com/news/local/stories/072007kvuedocporn-cb.933d3107.htmlus: Barbie Gets Another Accessory: an MP3 Player and More Stuff on Her Web Site
A new doll hitting retail shelves is familiar in many ways, but this Barbie is a roundabout way of charging for online content.
http://nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/media/23webtoys.html***************************************
CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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Internet jihad: A world wide web of terror
Al-Qaeda's most famous web propagandist is jailed, but the internet remains its best friend: ... Nevertheless, the capability of the internet to promote terrorism is worrying intelligence agencies. According to America's National Intelligence Estimate in April 2006, “The radicalisation process is occurring more quickly, more widely and more anonymously in the internet age, raising the likelihood of surprise attacks by unknown groups whose members and supporters may be difficult to pinpoint.”
http://economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9472498Digital DNA could finger Harry Potter leaker
A few lines of 'digital DNA' could allow the publishers of Harry Potter to find and finger the person apparently responsible for leaking the final adventures of the boy wizard. A leaked version of what is claimed to be the latest Harry Potter novel, painstakingly photographed page by page, has been posted on the internet before the book's worldwide release on Friday and circulated via file-sharing networks. But computer experts said today that the identity of the person behind the leak could be revealed by tracing the digital camera that was used.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2104250.ecehttp://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005371.phpBelgian ISP will appeal order to block file-sharing
Belgian ISP Scarlet has appealed against a surprise court ruling forcing it to filter customers' traffic for unlawful file-sharing. The Belgian ISP Association says that the trial judge did not examine the law closely enough.
http://out-law.com/page-8320Hackers Can Now Deliver Viruses via Web Ads
Web ads are becoming a delivery system of choice for hackers seeking to distribute viruses over the Internet. In a development that could threaten the explosive growth of online advertising,
hackers have started to exploit security holes in the online-advertising chain to slip viruses into ads. Just going to a site that shows such an ad can infect a user's computer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118480608500871051.htmlNet criminals shun virus attacks
Hi-tech criminals have found novel ways to carry out web-based attacks that are much harder to spot and stop, warn security experts. Some cyber criminals have exploited file-sharing networks and popular webpages to attack targets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6908064.stmGoogle cookie expiration plans called 'worthless'
Googles plans to shorten the life span of cookies installed on a user's computer, ostensibly to improve user privacy, is being dismissed by some as complete hype. Apart
from making it appear that the company is taking steps to address growing privacy concerns related to its data storing habits, in reality, the move changes very little, observers said.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9027411Search engines race to update privacy policies
The major search engines are racing to outdo each other in updating their data retention policies in an attempt to assuage concerns that they keep consumer search data too long. The latest to go public with their moves are Microsoft and Yahoo. Microsoft and Ask.com also are proposing an industry effort to create voluntary standards for protecting consumer privacy with search and online ads, a move that is likely spurred by Google's plan to acquire a leader in the online ad market.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6198053.htmlhttp://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6198053.htmlhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN2235546620070723Ask.com Plans Anonymous Search
AskEraser will provide Ask users with privacy controls that will prevent their searches from being retained on the company's servers.
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201200282us: Congress to Sift Through Google-DoubleClick Deal Details
After months of controversy and global outcry, Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick will undergo
congressional scrutiny later this year in a planned closed hearing before the House of Representatives' Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), chairman of the subcommittee, on Tuesday announced his intention to hold the hearing in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Majoras. Rush also requested a briefing on the FTC's investigation of the proposed merger, which was launched in May.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/19/business/google.phphttp://ecommercetimes.com/story/58401.htmlhttp://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/19/Congress-investigate-GoogleClick_1.htmlhttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559969070.htmlThe Top Countries For Cybercrime
According to a Symantec report at the end of 2006, Beijing is now home to the world's largest collection of malware-infected computers, nearly 5% of the world's total. Research by the security company Sophos in April showed that China has overtaken the U.S. in hosting Web pages that secretly install malicious programs on computers to steal private information or send spam e-mails. And another report from Sophos earlier that month showed that Europe produces more spam than any other continent; one Polish Internet service provider alone produces fully 5% of the world's spam.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/289328/1/.htmlus: Federal Prosecutor:
Cybercrime Is Funding Organized Crime
Cybercrime has been so profitable for organized crime that the mob is using it to fund their other underground exploits. And U.S. law enforcement is reaching around the world to reel them in.
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201200167us: McAfee's DeWalt Pushes For Legislation To Battle Cybercriminals
The new president and CEO of security giant McAfee is pushing for legislation that will mandate more jail time for the growing number of cybercriminals breaking into government and corporate computing systems, setting up phishing schemes and building botnets.
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201002319us: User Postings and the Law: A
Question of Structure
A ruling by a federal court in a case involving an online roommate matching service will hamstring Web innovators, a civil liberties group argued this week in papers filed with the judicial panel. In a "friend of the court" brief submitted Monday to the U.S. Court of Appeals in California, the Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that the ruling will inhibit technological developments.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/58393.htmlWeb networkers 'at risk of fraud'
Credit information group Equifax said members of sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook may be putting too many details about themselves online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6910826.stmIdentity theft? What identity theft?
The GAO reports that identity theft really isn’t a problem.
The problem, apparently, is that the process of notifying consumers whenever their personal financial information has been compromised is confusing us simple-minded folks.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/20/29OPsecadvise_1.htmlBloggers don't enjoy more rights
Bloggers are as liable for defamation as publishers in any other medium, but the difficulty arises when there are anonymous postings on blogs. According to University of Ulster (UK) senior lecturer in Law Dr Venkat Iyer, it is the anonymity that creates a legal "grey area".
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/7/15/technology/20070715095246&sec=technologyFaceoff!
In an American courtroom this week, Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg will stand accused of stealing the idea for the site from three fellow Harvard students.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2132114,00.htmlza: Spy Software 'Raises Risk of Cyber Crime'
Scams using spy software downloaded from the internet will become the "cyber crime of the future", Supt Jerome Hardenberg of Western Cape's commercial branch of the South African Police Service predicted yesterday.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200707190674.htmlau: Turkish hackers bring down insurer's site
AAMI, one of Australia's largest insurance companies, says it has restored its website after it was hacked by "turkish defacers" earlier this morning.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559999284.htmlCriminals trawl Facebook and MySpace
Criminals looking to steal identities are trawling social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, experts warn. They say that from just a handful of personal details posted online, it is possible to get enough information about someone to obtain loans and open credit card accounts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/22/nface122.xmlSpain arrests 16 in crackdown on Internet bootlegging
Spanish police arrested 16 people in a crackdown on a sophisticated Internet bootlegging ring that has cost the music and other industries billions of euros in lost revenue, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/23/1185042958914.html**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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OECD-Canada Technology Foresight Forum on the Participative Web: Strategies and Policies for the Future
Questions to be addressed in the Foresight Forum include: What does the future hold for the participative web? What are the trends and impacts on knowledge-creation, business, users and governments? What are the implications for enhancing confidence and trust in the Internet? What is the government role in providing the right environment for stimulating Internet innovation and economic growth?
http://www.oecd.org/site/0,3407,en_21571361_38620013_1_1_1_1_1,00.htmlOECD Recommendation on Electronic
Authentication and Guidance for Electronic authentication
On 12 June 2007, the OECD Council adopted a Recommendation encouraging efforts by Member countries to establish compatible, technology-neutral approaches for effective domestic and cross-border electronic authentication of persons and entities. This Recommendation reaffirms the important role of electronic authentication in fostering trust online and the continued development of the digital economy.
http://www.oecd.org/document/7/0,3343,en_2649_33703_38909639_1_1_1_1,00.htmlOECD Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress
On 12 July 2007, OECD Member countries adopted a Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress to provide governments with a framework to help consumers resolve disputes and settle claims with business. The framework covers disputes in
both domestic and cross-border transactions. It was developed to deal with issues arising from the rapid growth in electronic commerce, but it will also benefit consumers making traditional types of purchases.
http://www.oecd.org/document/53/0,3343,en_2649_33703_38960053_1_1_1_1,00.htmlmy: Harnessing cyber cities: Penang's plan
Stimulating the development of cyber cities and high-technology centres are part of efforts to make Penang a hub for economic activities related to manufacturing, information and communication technology, life sciences and the arts.
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/7/19/technology/20070719114733&sec=technologyEU approves German plan to
subsidise Internet search engine project
Germany won European Commission approval Thursday to put €120 million into an Internet search system being developed by companies including Bertelsmann and Thomson. The benefit to the public of creating new technologies and putting more cultural material onto the Web outweighs the risk of giving selected companies an unfair advantage via subsidies, the top EU body ruled in Brussels.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/19/business/search.phphttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559994889.htmlhttp://www.thestate.com/367/story/123477.htmlhttp://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_INTERNET_RESEARCH?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-07-19-20-32-08European Commission: Data roaming is next
As regulation forces mobile operators to cut their voice-roaming prices, the Commission reminds the industry that it has not forgotten data roaming
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39288124,00.htmus: Debate brings Youtube to centre of 2008 presidential campaign
Old media enter into an uneasy alliance with new media tonight to grill the Democratic candidates in the United States's 2008 presidential race. CNN and YouTube, the video-sharing website, are holding a joint debate
in which the public have sent in video-recorded questions for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the other candidates.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2132502,00.htmlau: v0te, lol by Peter Chen
It wasn't that long ago that Liberal Party frontbenchers were warning us about the risks of 60-year-old men wanting "get to know" our children on the Internet. Now, it seems, they want to be those special friends. This year's federal election campaign has seen a dramatic growth in the adoption of new media by our political leaders. The use of myspace by members of the major parties, as well as the recent youTube announcement by the Prime Minister, shows that election campaigning may be moving online in earnest, no longer the preserve of "outsider" groups like GetUp! or New Matilda. Thus, after more than 15 years of increasingly mainstream
acceptance, it appears that the net has finally arrived politically.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/23/1985154.htm**********************
INTERNET USE
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Digital Opportunity in Europe, 2005/2006
Europe puts in a solid performance in the latest analysis of digital opportunity by the ITU. Although Europe loses out on the first two places in digital opportunity to the broadband kings of Asia (the Rep. of Korea and Japan), five out of the top ten countries are European. Denmark ranks at Number three and, alongside Japan, is a top contender for first place next year, if its current growth rates in broadband subscribers (fixed and mobile) continue.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+Europe+20052006.aspxDigital Opportunity in Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific continues to lead the world in digital opportunity, home to five of the top ten countries in digital opportunity. The Republic of Korea ranks first in digital opportunity with a DOI score of 0.80, but its lead is being fast eroded by Japan's strong gains in mobile broadband subscribership, which boosted its DOI score to 0.77. If current growth rates continue, Japan could overtake the Republic of Korea as early as next year.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+AsiaPacific.aspxDigital opportunity in the Americas, 2005/2006
The ITU has published its latest evaluation of digital
opportunity for the Americas. In line with the concerns of the US Federal Communications Commission over the United States' lacklustre performance in fixed broadband - in 2006, the US FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps noted that the United States came twenty-first in the ITU's DOI 2005 - Canada continues to lead the Americas in digital opportunity, although its lead over the United States has narrowed considerably from 0.03 in the DOI 2005 to 0.01 in 2006. This is due to strong gains by the United States in mobile penetration (which rose from 61 mobile subscribers per 100 capita to 70 per 100 capita in 2005) and an increase in broadband subscribers over the same period of over 12 million.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+The+Americas+20052006.aspxDigital opportunity in Africa
ITU has published its
latest evalution of digital opportunity across the continent of Africa (see graph below). The Digital Opportunity Index assesses countries on eleven different indicators, organised into three clusters of Opportunity, Infrastructure and Utilization. Measurements of digital opportunity for Africa show that, whereas last year, only three countries had a DOI score in excess of 0.40 (Mauritius, Seychelles and Morocco), in 2006, seven countries had DOI scores greater than 0.40 (in addition to these three, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Tunisia joined them with a DOI score of above 0.40).
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Digital+Opportunity+In+Africa.aspxNielsen: Web TV Watchers Haven't Eclipsed Traditional Tube Viewers
Watching TV programs on the Internet has jumped 16 percent in six months, but it hasn’t cannibalized the traditional TV audience,
according to a new study conducted by Nielsen for The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/media_agencies/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003614713Asia leads the world in fibre-to-the-home penetration (news release)
Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are the world leaders in the percentage of homes that receive broadband communications services over direct fiber optic connections, according to a new global ranking of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) market penetration issued jointly by the FTTH Councils of Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. According to this first ever official ranking of FTTH deployments in the world’s economies, 21.2 percent of homes in Hong Kong are wired with FTTH, followed by South Korea at 19.6 percent and Japan at 16.3 percent.
Scandinavian countries occupy the next three positions, with Sweden having 7.2 percent of its households connected to FTTH, Denmark at 2.9 percent and Norway at 2.5 percent.
http://ftthcouncil.org/?t=231Asia storms ahead in fibre-to-the-home
Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are the world leaders in connecting homes via fibre optics, according to a global ranking of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) market penetration. The ranking was issued jointly by the FTTH councils of Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2194681/asia-storms-ahead-fibre-homekr: High-speed internet keeps drawing users
Many believed Korea's high-speed Internet market hit a saturation mark in early 2005 when 12 million homes were connected to the broadband for a
penetration rate of 75 percent.
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=74233us: New Report Busts Telco Myths about U.S. Internet
A report released today decisively shoots down many of the myths that telecommunications lobbyists and shills have manufactured about the health of America's Internet. The report, "Shooting the Messenger," urges policymakers to focus on the real problems that have caused America to fall dangerously behind the rest of the world in Internet adoption -- competition and availability.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/new-report-busts-telco-my_b_56878.htmlChinese actress 'most widely read blogger in world'
Chinese actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei became the world's most
widely read blogger this month when her blog logged 100 million page views within about 600 days, the Beijing News reports.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/19/1982808.htmhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2120475.eceGoogle slow to take off in China
Larry Page, co founder and president of Google, last night conceded that the search engine had not been an "immediate success" in China as he unveiled lower than expected second quarter profits. But Mr Page predicted that the world's most successful internet search engine would reap victories in China and that it was already accelerating market share.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2107220.eceChina has nearly 100 new Internet users per minute
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) Wednesday released the 20th "Statistical Survey Report on the Internet Development in China". It was right in 10 years ago when CNNIC published its first report.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/90877/6220701.htmlChina market: Internet penetration rises to 12.3% in June 2007
China had an estimated 162 million Internet surfers as of the end of June 2007, an increase of 31.7% on year and equivalent to a user density or penetration rate (divided by population) of 12.3%, according to the latest semiannual survey conducted by China Internet
Network Information Center (CNNIC) with the results published on July 18.
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20070720PR202.htmlYouTube's Dark SideHow the video-sharing site stifles creativity.
Illustration by Mark Alan Stamaty. Click image to expand.The Internet was supposed to make the video world egalitarian. No longer would an oligarchy of content providers—a few TV networks, a couple of major movie studios—control what we watch. The Web gives creative people a potential audience of millions, as well as countless venues to display their creations. But that's not how things turned out. Web video isn't an oligarchy, it's a dictatorship. You're either on YouTube or nobody's watching. This dominance has a downside: The popular misapprehension that YouTube and Web video are synonymous has limited our sense of what online video can be.
http://www.slate.com/id/2170651/au: Cyberspace: it's the new toilet wall
The internet has given people the anonymity to say what they like - as rudely as they like: John Howard dipped his toe in some murky cyber-waters this week when he posted his first YouTube video. Instead of biting it off, the piranhas that scour the web dragged the Prime Minister, and his family, into their milieu: the chat rooms, forums and discussion sites where all stand equal before the keyboard and no one's reputation is safe.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1185042954793.htmlPodcasters Unite to Figure Out a Role for Ads
Industry executives say they have closed in on a solution as to how to make advertising a viable revenue source for podcasting.
http://nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/media/23ecom.html**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Mobile television - The third screen: Having spread to computers, television is starting to reach mobile phones (AP)
An underappreciated feature of the iPhone, Apple's fancy new handset, is its ability to mesmerise a toddler in her terrible twos long enough for a parent to take an espresso break. Just call up a YouTube video—tots love the dog on a skateboard—and put the sleek, high-resolution screen on the table. After a few minutes, tap on another clip—of a man dancing in exotic places, say. The quality of iPhone's video “experience” points the way to what the industry sees as the next step: not just video clips but live television on mobile phones. Except for islands of early adopters, such as South Korea, consumers have so far shown little interest
in watching TV on their handsets. Once they see the ease and fun of the iPhone clips, the logic goes, they will want video on their phones too.
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9519417Asia: Tuning into Mobile TV
A broadcast technology that beams digital TV to millions of mobile handsets in Japan and Korea will make its debut in Indonesia
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2007/gb20070717_080107.htmHow big is Apple's tax on iPhone users? by Jack Schofield
Apple is starting to redefine the economics of the mobile phone business for its own benefit, and many analysts believe it is collecting a monthly tax on every iPhone user. This is thought to be one reason why it ended up locking users to
AT&T's inferior Edge service: other phone networks didn't want to pay Apple a rake-off, as well as being cut out of any music sales. But does anyone want to put a price on it?
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/07/22/how_big_is_apples_tax_on_iphone_users.htmluk: 'Carbon neutral' PC uses more wood, fewer watts
Computer retailer PC World says its environmentally friendly Vista desktop machine should be in stores by October
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39288145,00.htmVista use grows as Mac OS X stays flat
Windows Vista's share of online users has increased every month this year, while rival Mac OS X -- to which Vista has often been compared -- has shown little, if
any, growth, a metrics company reports.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9027558**********************
SPAM
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Anti-spam solutions get battering from business
Most businesses are unhappy with the performance of their anti-spam technologies, a survey has found. The survey, entitled The Spam Index Report, found that most customers were not fully satisfied with the service they received from anti-spam vendors. ... Respondents found anti-spam services provided by ISPs to be the least effective of all solutions. Spam filters were found to be the next most ineffectual method of killing spam. Only 21 percent of respondents were "very satisfied" with their user-trained PC email client spam filters. Open-source and proprietary email client filters were almost
equally ineffectual, according to the survey.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39288126,00.htmChallenge-Response Surpasses Other Anti-Spam Technologies in Performance, User Satisfaction and Reliability; Worst Performing are Filter-based ISP Solutions
Brockmann & Company released findings from its independent, self-funded “Spam Index Report-- Comparing Real-World Performance of Anti-Spam Technologies.” The study evaluated eight anti-spam technologies from the three main technology classes --filters, real-time black list services and challenge-response servers. The technologies were evaluated using the Spam Index, a new method in anti-spam performance measurement that leverages users’ real-world experiences. The Spam Index was first introduced in the Brockmann & Company report, The Problem with Email. Results of the
report are based on the responses of 520 business users of email services from around the world who participated in a 7-minute online survey.
... The report finds that the best performing anti-spam technology is challenge-response, based on that technology’s lowest average Spam Index score of 160. The 160 score is 50% less than the next lowest average score of 316 achieved by hosted services, indicating that challenge response is twice as effective as hosted services for prevention of spam. The worst performing technology was filter-based ISP solutions, with a Spam Index of 442.
http://brockmann.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=847&Itemid=2**********************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Free laptops help kids juggle smut, studies
Now that we are breaking down the digital divide
by getting computers to children in impoverished regions of the world, let's take a look at what the kids are doing with their new laptops. It turns out they are using them the same way most of the people surfing the Net use them: searching for pornography. A reporter for the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) found that pornographic images were stored on many of the laptops donated by the One Laptop Per Child project.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9747884-7.htmlhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10453292'$100 laptop' production begins
Five years after the concept was first proposed, the so-called $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production. Hardware suppliers have been given the green light to ramp-up production
of all of the components needed to build millions of the low-cost machines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6908946.stmTechnological neglect traps poorest nations in poverty: UNCTAD
The world's poorest countries are being sapped of the technological capacity they need to break out of the poverty trap and catch up with the rest of the world, the UN's trade and development agency said Thursday.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559980916.htmlAfrica, Offline: Waiting for the Web
On a muggy day in Kigali in 2003, some of the highest-ranking officials in the Rwandan government, including President Paul Kagame, flanked an American businessman, Greg Wyler, as he boldly described how he could help turn their small country into a hub of
Internet activity.
http://nytimes.com/2007/07/22/business/yourmoney/22rwanda.htmlhttp://iht.com/articles/2007/07/22/africa/22rwanda.php**********************
FILE SHARING
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Top EU Court Bruises Music Industry in P2P Case
Music file sharers and ISPs in Europe were triumphant after an advisor to the European Union's Court of Justice said Wednesday that, in civil cases, telecommunication companies in Europe are not required to provide data on clients thought to be illegally sharing music files. A Spanish court sought the advice of the EU's top court in a case launched by Promusicae, a music and audiovisual association in Spain -- think Spanish RIAA -- after Telefonica, an Internet service provider, refused to release the names
and addresses of subscribers suspected of using file sharing programs.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/58423.html*********************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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'I don't think bloggers read' says Andrew Keen
Andrew Keen says the internet is populated by second-rate amateurs - and that it is swiftly destroying our culture. Tim Dowling meets the man cyberspace loves to hate: ... In fact, the book, he insists, isn't really about the internet. It's more about personal responsibility: "It's not against technology. It's simply saying that we make technology and we need to control it. When we look at the internet we're looking at ourselves."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2130644,00.htmlFull Text: Keen
vs. Weinberger
This is the full text of a "Reply All" debate on Web 2.0 between authors Andrew Keen and David Weinberger.
Mr. Keen begins: So what, exactly, is Web 2.0? It is the radical democratization of media which is enabling anyone to publish anything on the Internet. Mainstream media's traditional audience has become Web 2.0's empowered author. Web 2.0 transforms all of us -- from 90-year-old grandmothers to eight-year-old third graders -- into digital writers, music artists, movie makers and journalists. Web 2.0 is YouTube, the blogosphere, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook. Web 2.0 is YOU! (Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2006).
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118460229729267677.htmlThe Price of Anonymity
Over the course of eight or nine years, until last August, someone with the handle "rahodeb" posted regularly about the company
Whole Foods on Yahoo!'s finance bulletin boards. Rahodeb liked Whole Foods. He didn't care for its competitor Wild Oats. Rahodeb particularly liked Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. "While I'm not a 'Mackey groupie,'" rahodeb wrote, "I do admire what the man has accomplished." This was true, as far as it went. Rahodeb was not a Mackey groupie. Rahodeb was Mackey.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1645168,00.htmlHowever much is in your Facebook, it ain't a new Google
John Naughton: Microsoft still makes colossal amounts from its operating system and Microsoft Office monopolies. Google rakes in huge revenues from advertising. Facebook, as far as I can see, has no significant revenue streams.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2131833,00.htmlInternetNZ faces vote
A rarely contested election for the presidency of influential non-profit society InternetNZ will take place this week.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4135196a28.htmluk: Broadband companies woo customers with free laptops
Broadband companies desperate to woo new customers have started giving away expensive new laptops in a bid to get then to sign long-term contracts.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2130401,00.htmlGoogle Earnings Up 28% but Miss Expectations
Sometimes what is good enough for Google is not good enough for Wall Street. Google reported another quarter of rapid revenue growth
on the strength of its core Internet search and advertising business Thursday, but expenses grew faster than investors had anticipated and profits fell short of analysts’ expectations.
http://nytimes.com/2007/07/20/technology/20google.htmlhttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559990098.htmlPunishing Google
Much to investors' disappointment, Google cannot clear every hurdle put in front of it. On Thursday, the company reported second-quarter earnings of $925 million, or $3.56 cents per share, which missed expectations by a hair: Analysts were calling for Google to post earnings of $3.59 per share.
http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2007/07/19/google-earnings-schmidt-tech-cx_rr_0719google1.htmlCan Google Defy Gravity Again? Probably.
The search giant's results should remind investors that Internet isn't suffering—just Yahoo!
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/07/19/google-internet-advertising-tech-cx_rr_0719google.htmlEBay profit is up 50 percent, but listings are off
While profit rose and revenue growth was strong in its second quarter, the company revealed in its most recent financial report that it was still struggling to draw more customers.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/19/business/ebay.phpIBM claims best quarterly growth since 2001, slightly raises 2007 outlook
Already on a tear lately, shares of IBM got another bounce after the it reported a 12 percent jump in quarterly earnings and improved its outlook for the rest of the year.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/19/1184559901830.htmlMicrosoft 4Q Profit Edges Up 7 Percent
Microsoft's fiscal fourth-quarter profit edged up 7 percent, despite a hefty charge to cover the cost of defective Xbox 360 video game consoles.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/20/1184559990103.htmlHP defends recycling statistics
Both Dell and HP have gone on the
green offensive following the enforcement of long-awaited environmental legislation
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39288127,00.htm**********************
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Australia's broadband spend-up by Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin says he "spent an interesting few days in Sydney catching up with some of the developments around Government-funded broadband projects and the private investment these initiatives are attracting."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10452801us: Google open to wireless bid
Google has disclosed for the first time that it is prepared to bid in a forthcoming auction of wireless spectrum in the US, a move that could eventually
mean it will emerge as a fully fledged operator of a wireless communications network
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/80b57ede-36fd-11dc-9f6d-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKHO12185020070721Google's $4.6 billion plan for an open wireless Internet
Would that all kings were so benevolent. Google announced today it would set aside at least $4.6 billion to purchase a slice of the public airwaves in an upcoming government auction of radio spectrum. The company is imposing one condition on its money: It will only participate, it says, if the Federal Communications Commission requires that all bidders for the radio waves be forced to adhere to principles of Internet "openness."
http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/07/20/google_fcc/index.html**********************
MOBILE
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us: When Mobile Phones Aren’t Truly Mobile
Wireless carriers in the United States are spiritual descendants of dear Ma Bell: they view total control over customers as their inherited birthright. The younger generation — Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and the namesake child AT&T — would make their hallowed matriarch proud. They do everything they can to keep power firmly in their own hands. It is entirely at the carriers’ discretion to permit, or disable, the features that a factory loads into the newest phones. They also decide which software can be installed and how it may be used. Many wireless subscribers have ruefully become acquainted with gotcha clauses in their contracts. In most European and Asian countries, a customer can
switch carriers in a few seconds by removing a smart card from a cellphone and inserting a different one from a new provider. In the United States, wireless carriers have deliberately hobbled their phones to make flight to a competitor difficult, if not impossible.
http://nytimes.com/2007/07/22/business/yourmoney/22digi.htmleu: "Mobile broadcasting is a tremendous opportunity for Europe to maintain its leadership" (news release)
The Commission has adopted a strategy favouring the take-up of mobile TV across the 27 EU Member States. The Commission urges Member States and industry to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of mobile TV across Europe and to encourage the use of DVB-H as the single European standard for mobile TV.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=3535Top Operators in WiMAX
WiMAXCounts.com provides data on the top operators in terms of BWA/WiMAX subscriber numbers as of Q1 2007.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Top+Operators+In+WiMAX.aspxNumber of WiMax subscribers set to surpass one million
WiMaxCounts.com suggest that the total number of WiMax subscribers worldwide is set to break through the one million subscriber count anytime soon. WiMaxCounts.com records 950 million WiMax subscribers by the end of Q1 2007, 17.5% up on December 2006 and equivalent to 85% growth year-on-year over Q1 2006. At the start of 2007, the market for WiMAX was growing at a rate of 150,000 subscribers per quarter.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Number+Of+WiMax+Subscribers+Set+To+Surpass+One+Million.aspx**********************
VoIP
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VoIP, wireless LAN network skills in demand
Network analysts, database administrators and computer research scientists top the list of in-demand jobs
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/071807-voip-wireless-lan-network-skills.htmlus: VoIP woes: Losing service without warning
VoIP is heralded as a new age of free-market competition in the telecom industry, but it is still not without significant drawbacks
On Monday evening, my wife reached me on my mobile phone. She was spending a long weekend with her family in Maine. "I've called our home
phone several times," she said. "And I keep getting a busy signal." That night, I didn't think twice about the phone problem. We have been VoIP customers for more than a year, and flaky service has been standard operating procedure. I reset my VoIP converter box and crossed my fingers.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/19/VoIP-woes-losing-service-without-warning_1.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR2007072200013.html**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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au: Appeal lost, pornographer Power behind bars
Joining the likes of those he once prosecuted, including the rapist Bilal Skaf and the
murderer Neddy Smith, the former NSW deputy senior Crown prosecutor Patrick Power was behind bars last night.
http://www.smh.com.au/articless/2007/07/19/1184559956987.html+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!The domain name news is supported by auDA.
For information on subscriptions to the domain name and/or general internet news please contact me. For archives of postings to the list, see http://lists.technewsreview.com.au/pipermail/technewsreview/. Also see http://technewsreview.com.au/ for recent updates.Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(c) David Goldstein 2007
---------
David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
COOGEE NSW 2034
AUSTRALIA
email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery
