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general internet news - 9 October
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.
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Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
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Just half US adults with chronic conditions use the internet [news release]
http://www.pewinternet.org/press_release.asp?r=143
Monks Are Silenced, and for Now, Internet Is, Too
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04info.html
Downloading the Burma uprising: Did it help?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1003/p02s01-usfp.html
nz: Teenage girls posting 'dangerous' photos online
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10468350
nz: 275 text-bullying complaints so far
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4225962a28.html
Global approach needed on cybercrime: experts
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/06/1191091393334.html
Police smash £1bn international internet fraud gang
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2184135,00.html
nz: Abused women in fear of texts, emails
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4229324a28.html
Unlocking Apple's iPhone is legal, ethical, and just plain fun by Tim Wu
http://www.slate.com/id/2175304/
Canadian Privacy Commissioner Welcomes Government Action on Identity Theft [news release]
http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/nr-c_071002_e.asp
au: All talk but no ICT policy
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22534989-15306,00.html
au: Broadband a political football
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22530018-5013046,00.html
Google more than Australian watchdog can chew
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22552835-5013640,00.html
Malaysia to Get High Speed Broadband
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb2007104_831833.htm
Spam accounts for 70 percent of emails
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39289868,00.htm
Study: US Disabled Less Likely to Be Online [AP]
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695855142.html
Music industry has Aussie pirates in the crosshairs
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/08/1191695804646.html
us: EFF to Weigh in on First RIAA Downloading Trial Appeal
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/10/eff-to-weigh-in.html
Inside the Googleplex
http://business.guardian.co.uk/onamerica/story/0,,2184350,00.html
Google: Search and Data Seizure
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071015/chester
Wi-fi sharing plan launched in UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7027871.stm
BT invites homeowners to share their broadband with passers-by
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2599604.ece
Interpol in rare sex abuse appeal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7033182.stm
Hundreds respond to Interpol appeal to identify pedophile [Reuters]
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6212344.html
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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Just half US adults with chronic conditions use the internet [news release]
About a fifth of American adults say that a disability, handicap, or chronic disease keeps them from participating fully in work, school, housework, or other activities. Half (51%) of those living with a disability or chronic disease go online, compared with 74% of those who report no chronic conditions. Fully 86% of internet users living with disability or chronic illness have looked online for information about at least one of 17 health topics, compared with 79% of internet users with no chronic conditions. E-patients with chronic conditions are more likely than other e-patients to report that their online searches affected treatment decisions, their interactions with their doctors, their ability to cope with their condition, and their dieting and fitness regimen.
http://www.pewinternet.org/press_release.asp?r=143
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CENSORSHIP
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Monks Are Silenced, and for Now, Internet Is, Too
It was about as simple and uncomplicated as shooting demonstrators in the streets. Embarrassed by smuggled video and photographs that showed their people rising up against them, the generals who run Myanmar simply switched off the Internet. ... The efficiency of this latest, technological, crackdown raises the question whether the vaunted role of the Internet in undermining repression can stand up to a determined and ruthless government -- or whether Myanmar, already isolated from the world, can ride out a prolonged shutdown more easily than most countries.
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04info.html
Downloading the Burma uprising: Did it help?
When protesters took to the streets of Burma two decades ago, activists relied on fax machines to tell the world what was going on. In last month's uprising in the isolated police state, they photographed and uploaded the demonstrations via cellphone. Images and videos bounced from Internet cafes to foreign blogs and international media, then sometimes back again to Burma by satellite TV and shortwave radio. The leap in technology didn't prevent the military from choosing ? as it did in 1988 ? to launch a violent crackdown. But it did make it harder for the regime to act quickly and secretly, say Internet-savvy activists.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1003/p02s01-usfp.html
Myanmar's Net Curtain Begins To Lift
After a week-long Internet blackout intended to block all communication about the government's brutal political repression, Myanmar's Net users are regaining limited access to the outside world. Researchers at the OpenNet Initiative reported Friday that the country's only Internet service provider, Myanmar Infotech, had begun relaying data again sometime Thursday, raising hopes that political dissidents will manage to smuggle out more information about the recent violence.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/05/internet-censorship-burma-tech-cx_ag_1005myanmar.html
Internet Access Restored In Myanmar [AHN]
Internet users in Myanmar on Friday said they can access the world wide web again, according to reports. Internet connections were severed last week, reportedly to help end a sweeping tide of dissent that threatened to topple the military junta in control of Myanmar.
http://allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008740439
Exiled bloggers take up Burma opposition fight
Although the internet was restored in Burma late on Friday for the first time in more than a week, the bloggers who had previously supplied graphic accounts of the growing protest movement remained silenced. In their stead, exiled bloggers have continued to hound the government.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/07/wburma407.xml
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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Why parents need not panic about stranger danger online by Michael Duffy
Three weeks ago I suggested a large part of the Government's $22 million NetAlert campaign was fraudulent. Advertisements have sprung up claiming a large proportion of children who use social networking sites are approached by strangers online, strongly implying these strangers are pedophiles. But in the research on which the ads are based, the word "stranger" has such a broad meaning that it includes friends of friends and spam.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/05/1191091360758.html
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2007/10/05/1191091360758.html
au: Negar Salek: Casting a net over online perpetrators
As our children delve further into the online world, the Federal Government launches a safety program to protect them from danger The Federal Government used National Child Protection Week, [2-8 September] as the launch pad for the promotional activity of its $189 million NetAlert online safety program, announced in August.
http://crn.com.au/Feature/3880,negar-salek-casting-a-net-over-online-perpetrators.aspx
au: Covert smoking ads targeting teens, says expert
Teenagers are being encouraged to take up smoking through pro-tobacco "stealth marketing" on popular websites such as YouTube and MySpace, an Australian expert says.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22544961-2,00.html
nz: Teenage girls posting 'dangerous' photos online
New Zealand girls as young as 13 are offering scantily-clad photos of themselves online and teenagers are posting contact details on personal pages - all of which are available to gangs, paedophiles and others with sinister motives.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10468350
nz: 275 text-bullying complaints so far
An Internet Safety watchdog has fielded 275 text-bullying complaints this year, referring nearly half to police because of criminal content and threats.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4225962a28.html
uk: Virtual playgrounds for children: BBC joins world of cyber kids [AFP]
Cyber playgrounds for digitally-savvy kids look set to be the cool new space after the BBC unveiled its children's online virtual world at the MIPCOM audiovisual trade show taking place in southern France. Children "don't want passive viewing experiences any more," Marc Goodchild, who heads the BBC's Children's Interactive and On-Demand, told a MIPCOM conference. "They want to recreate their playground experiences at home."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695849213.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695849213.html
uk: IWF welcomes INHOPE Report on Global Internet Trends [news release]
INHOPE, the International Association of Internet hotlines, reports there has been a global increase in child sexual abuse content on the Internet with 9,600 confirmed reports of child sexual abuse content processed per month.
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.210.htm
uk: IWF welcomes CEOP?s advice programme for parents [news release]
Over 1.1 million children in schools across the UK have now attended interactive sessions as the battle against child sex predators using the internet gathers pace. But one fundamental challenge remains ? the need to bring technophobic parents up to speed with what their children are doing online ? and teach parents how to protect them.
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.209.htm
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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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Global approach needed on cybercrime: experts
Telecoms and computer executives, legal officials and UN agencies on Friday warned that the world needed to take a global approach to tackling cybercrime and security issues on the Internet. ITU chief Hamadoun Toure said individual national or regional approaches to tackle spam, hackers, remote attacks on computer systems and use of the Internet for crime would inevitably be flawed.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/06/1191091393334.html
Police smash £1bn international internet fraud gang
British police yesterday hailed the arrest of an international gang of fraudsters as a landmark victory against internet crime, following a sting across four countries. More than £8.5m worth of fake cheques and other fraudulent documents were seized in a series of overnight raids across the UK in a joint operation overseen by Britain's Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2184135,00.html
Bloggers beware when you criticize the rich and powerful
When a billionaire born in Uzbekistan and an outspoken former British ambassador clashed over a scorching blog, the first outcome was the Internet equivalent of a smackdown. The daily Web log, or blog, of the former U.K. ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, vanished after Murray's British Internet provider received a flurry of ominous legal letters demanding the removal of "potentially defamatory" information about Alisher Usmanov, a mining mogul with a rising stake in the English soccer club Arsenal.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/07/business/net08.php
au: Hunters kill off zombie threat
LOCAL zombie hunters are leading a bid to smash vast criminal robot networks by identifying and cleaning infected PCs one by one. The powerful International Telecommunication Union has taken up the Australian Internet Security Initiative as a practical way for nations to defeat botnets through the routine identification and shut-down of rogue machines.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22552836-15306,00.html
Web Heavies Form Blockade Against Phishers
Yahoo, eBay and PayPal are teaming up to improve protections against phishing attacks, the companies announced Thursday. The companies have adopted a new e-mail authentication technology, developed by Yahoo and known as "DomainKeys Identified Mail," that uses cryptography to verify the domain of the sender. By allowing e-mail providers to validate an e-mail's originating domain -- ensuring that an e-mail apparently from PayPal really is from PayPal, for instance -- the technology makes blacklists and whitelists more effective.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/lvayP8XdW0zFyI/Web-Heavies-Form-Blockade-Against-Phishers.xhtml
au: New lab tackles cyber crime
A lab designed to crack down on cyber crime was launched yesterday in Ballarat in central Victoria.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/04/2050959.htm
nz: Abused women in fear of texts, emails
Breaches of protection orders by text messaging and the internet are a growing problem for people trying to escape abusive relationships, social groups say.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4229324a28.html
British MPs call for identity fraud tsar
An "identity fraud tsar" should be appointed to oversee attempts to tackle the crime, a group of MPs has said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7031137.stm
us: Chess Group Officials Accused of Using Internet to Hurt Rivals
A lawsuit filed in federal court last week accuses two officers of the nation?s leading chess organization of posting inflammatory remarks on the Internet under false names in order to win election to the group?s board.
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/08/nyregion/08chess.html
Understanding Internet Defamation
The law of Defamation has come under renewed scrutiny with the advent of the Internet. This is largely because it is the nature of the Internet to give the average, anonymous person an opportunity to express their opinion well-beyond any previously defined venue. Consider the fact that a person of modest means now has the ability to publish a statement, article, or news item across the world in an instant, without an editor checking the facts. Thereafter, the item will linger on the 'Net for months, or even years, impossible to recover and amend, if the "facts" are erroneous. Therefore, it is inevitable that problems are going to arise.
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1874
us: Target ruling may force retailers to adjust Web sites [Computerworld]
A federal court judge's ruling this week that Target.com, the home page of retailer Target Corp., must be accessible to blind persons under California laws, could extend state and federal disabilities statutes to the Internet.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9041002
us: Judge allows class action over Target Web site [Reuters]
A federal judge in California has allowed a class action lawsuit to proceed against Target brought by plaintiffs claiming the discount retailer's Web site is inaccessible to the blind.
http://www.news.com/2100-1030_3-6211758.html
FCC won't probe disclosure of phone records [Reuters]
The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission declined to investigate reports that phone companies turned over customer records to the National Security Agency, citing national security concerns, according to documents released on Friday.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6212116.html
Unlocking Apple's iPhone is legal, ethical, and just plain fun by Tim Wu
Apple is not happy with its customers. Disobedient iPhone owners are unlocking their iPhones (modifying them to work with carriers other than AT&T) and installing "unauthorized" third-party apps. Last week the company struck back with a software update that acts much like a virus. It wrecks the operation of third-party applications and can turn unlocked iPhones into "bricks." Is Apple on the right side of this fight? Is it really wrong or illegal to unlock your iPhone? Well, I figured, there's only one way to find out.
http://www.slate.com/id/2175304/
Viruses 'hit 1m China computers'
Almost one million Chinese computers were hit by viruses during last week's national holidays, state media has reported.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7033415.stm
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PRIVACY
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au: Privacy question so moot it'll be a hoot for lawyers by Richard Ackland
Hands up those who have a nosy little camera in their mobile phones. More than half, I bet. Not only that but every second citizen is scrambling to get their mug and personal details onto Facebook or YouTube or MySpace or Bebo or any of the burgeoning manifestations of "social networking".
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091275213.html
Privacy Threats No Longer "Terra Incognita" by Michael Geist
Last week the privacy world gathered in Montreal for the most important global privacy conference on the calendar. The International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioner's conference brings together hundreds of privacy commissioners, government regulators, business leaders, and privacy advocates who spend three days grappling with emerging issues. I was privileged to be asked to provide some concluding remarks in the final plenary and my weekly technology law column is a shortened version of that address.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2274/135/
Canadian Privacy Commissioner Welcomes Government Action on Identity Theft [news release]
The federal government?s plan to amend the Criminal Code to better address identity theft is a welcome first step towards stopping the explosion of a costly and emotionally devastating fraud, says Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/nr-c_071002_e.asp
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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au: All talk but no ICT policy
THE technology industry has been left hanging for substantive IT policy announcements after the federal government and opposition declared they would not reveal specific plans for the sector before an election is called.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22534989-15306,00.html
au: Broadband a political football
BROADBAND in Australia may be slow and clunky, but the old bush telegraph has been working overtime in the past week, peddling confident rumours and speculation that Helen Coonan won't be the Communications Minister even if the Howard Government is re-elected, Austar is in play and Kevin Rudd is about to portray himself as a media hero.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22530018-5013046,00.html
Google more than Australian watchdog can chew
Until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's action against Google is explained more coherently and expanded upon in court, it is hard to pin down precisely what the big brains at the competition watchdog view as misleading and deceptive conduct by the internet search and advertising firm.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22552835-5013640,00.html
International Expertise Of The Belarusian Draft Law On Information, Informatization And Information Protection
On March 7, 2007 Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus publicized the Draft law on information, informatization and information protection developed by Ministry of communications and informatization and by the State Information Security Centre. The draft law stipulates major principles of the state policy in the sphere of informatization and information protection: public access to information, issues of information exchange, information protection, obligations and rights of the hardware and software owners.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2909
Malaysia to Get High Speed Broadband
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak last week unveiled plans to embark on an ambitious initiative to roll out high-speed broadband services across the country. The government official also revealed that incumbent fixed-line carrier Telekom Malaysia has been awarded the mega broadband project.
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb2007104_831833.htm
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INTERNET USE
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Global computer usage, cell phone ownership jump [IDG]
Increased computer usage and better e-mail and Web access may narrow the digital divide, although globalization critics may perceive such changes as a threat to local cultures and economies, a new Pew Research Center study suggests. The globalization survey released Thursday by Pew Research Center said that while technology inequality between countries has lessened, an ongoing backlash threatens globalization.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/05/Global-computer-usage-and-cell-phone-ownership-jump_1.html
Google says closing gap with China rival [Reuters]
Web search leader Google said on Thursday it is closing the gap with rival Baidu in China, after years of trying to increase market share in the world's second-largest Internet arena. ... Baidu led China's market in the second quarter with a 58.1 percent share, but rising only about 1 percentage point from the previous quarter's 57 percent, while Google gained a 22.8 percent market share, up around 4 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to Analysys International.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6211718.html
Official Saudi website for fatwas
Saudi Arabia has launched an official website to publish Islamic legal rulings, or fatwas.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7032140.stm
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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au: MySpace willing to back sex predators operation
Social networking website MySpace says comparing user profiles with a national database of sex predators would be a useful development to improve internet safety.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/09/2054440.htm
au: Scammers target social networking sites, police warn
Police warn internet-based social networking and dating sites are providing fertile ground for online scammers and fraudsters.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/09/2054265.htm
uk: Identity theft warning to web networkers
An advertising campaign to warn of the dangers of disclosing too much personal information should be launched on social networking websites, according to a report by MPs on identity theft.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/06/1
The Fakebook Generation: Op-Ed Contributor
... Facebook did not become popular because it was a functional tool ? after all, most college students live in close quarters with the majority of their Facebook friends and have no need for social networking. Instead, we log into the Web site because it?s entertaining to watch a constantly evolving narrative starring the other people in the library.
... For young people, Facebook is yet another form of escapism; we can turn our lives into stage dramas and relationships into comedy routines. Make believe is not part of the postgraduate Facebook user?s agenda. As more and more older users try to turn Facebook into a legitimate social reference guide, younger people may follow suit and stop treating it as a circus ring. But let?s hope not.
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/06/opinion/06mathias.html
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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Room for improvement for Finns in safer use of mobile phone - Information security guidelines provide advice for consumers in plain language [news release]
In recent years, mobile phone users may have become victims of malicious software and minor virus epidemics. Information security attacks against mobile phones have so far been infrequent, but annoying for the users.
http://www.ficora.fi/en/index/viestintavirasto/lehdistotiedotteet/2007/P_8.html
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SPAM
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Spam accounts for 70 percent of emails
Spam in the form of HTML email is still rampant, while PDF, image and e-card spam is on the decline, a new report finds.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39289868,00.htm
France kicks off nationwide spam fight [IDG]
France is hoping to shut down spammers more quickly through a system that makes it easier for users to notify ISPs when unsolicited e-mails are coming from their network. The French government funded the development of an open-source toolbar for Microsoft's Outlook and Mozilla's Thunderbird e-mail programs that people can use to report suspected spam, said John Graham-Cumming, an Englishman who built the software for the project, called Signal Spam.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/05/France-kicks-off-nationwide-spam-fight_1.html
Spam menace spreads to Briton's mobile phones
The scourge of spam has spread to mobile phones, with Britons being bombarded by more than one million unwanted text messages every day. A report from uSwitch.com, the consumer website, also showed that security groups are losing their battle with the criminal gangs behind conventional e-mail spam.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article2591888.ece
uk: Bluetooth spam on the way as watchdog gives marketers green light
The Information Commissioner will no longer regulate the use of Bluetooth mobile technology, prompting fears of a wave of 'bluetooth spam'. The Commissioner no longer considers the wireless connection technology to be covered by the UK's privacy laws.
http://out-law.com/page-8533
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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Cell Phones Help Narrow Digital Divide
Increased computer usage and better e-mail and Web access may narrow the digital divide, although globalization critics may perceive such changes as a threat to local cultures and economies, a new Pew Research Center study suggests. The globalization survey released last week by Pew Research Center said that while technology inequality between countries has lessened, an ongoing backlash threatens globalization.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138146-pg,1/article.html
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=10948
Study: US Disabled Less Likely to Be Online [AP]
Americans with disabilities and other chronic conditions are less likely to use the Internet, but those who are online are among the most avid consumers of health-related information, a new study finds.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695855142.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695855142.html
http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/194999.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTERNET_HEALTH
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FILE SHARING
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Music industry has Aussie pirates in the crosshairs
The anti-piracy arm of the Australian music industry has threatened to start suing individuals for illegal downloading if internet providers do not exert more control over their users.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/08/1191695804646.html
us: EFF to Weigh in on First RIAA Downloading Trial Appeal
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is litigating the government's secret wiretap program, said Monday it will lend a legal hand to Jammie Thomas, the nation's first pirate to lose a federal jury trial in a case brought by the Recording Industry Association of America.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/10/eff-to-weigh-in.html
Woman ordered to pay for file-sharing will appeal [IDG]
Jammie Thomas, who was ordered to pay $220,000 for downloading and sharing copyrighted music files, is appealing the case
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/08/Woman-ordered-to-pay-for-file-sharing-will-appeal_1.html
us: Labels Win Suit Against Song Sharer
In a crucial legal victory for record labels and other copyright owners, a federal jury yesterday found a Minnesota woman liable for copyright infringement for sharing music online and imposed a penalty of $222,000 in damages. The verdict against Jammie Thomas of Brainerd, Minn., brought an end to the first jury trial in the music industry?s protracted effort to rein in piracy with lawsuits against individual computer users. Since 2003, record labels have brought legal action against about 30,000 people, accusing them of trafficking in copyrighted songs.
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/05/business/media/05music.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7029229.stm
A jury deliberates the first file-sharing trial
If Jammie Thomas is found guilty of downloading 24 songs, she could face millions in fines. Is this the outrage to finally prompt a change in copyright laws?
http://www.salon.com/tech/machinist/blog/2007/10/04/file_sharing_suit/
us: Record Companies Win Music Sharing Trial [AP]
The recording industry won a key fight Thursday against illegal music downloading when a federal jury ordered a Minnesota woman to pay $222,000 for sharing copyrighted music online.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/05/1191091340084.html
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-copyright5oct05,1,3431071.story
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/05/1191091340084.html
RIAA wins key victory, accused file sharer must pay $220,000
A Minnesota woman must pay $220,000 to six of the top music labels after a federal jury found on Thursday that she violated their copyright.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9791383-7.html
Ok computer: Why the record industry is terrified of Radiohead's new album
Radiohead are the latest ? and greatest ? band to shun the conventional CD release. Their new album is available online ? and you don't have to pay for it
http://arts.independent.co.uk/music/features/article3027709.ece
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Inside the Googleplex
Japanese massage chairs, scooter parking in the corridors, a room dedicated to lego and a plethora of purple lava lamps. It can only be the self-conscious wackiness of Google, which had an open day at its New York office this week.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/onamerica/story/0,,2184350,00.html
Google: Search and Data Seizure
Should we be worried about Google? Ten years after the search engine was launched by two Stanford University graduate students, Google has become an empowering force and a adopted behavior that has transformed the way we access news and information, shop for goods and services and--increasingly--how we engage in politics. Who would have imagined four years ago, that Google and its subsidiary YouTube would co-sponsor debates in which ordinary citizens could directly engage with presidential candidates?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071015/chester
us: Google and I.B.M. Join in ?Cloud Computing? Research
Even the nation?s elite universities do not provide the technical training needed for the kind of powerful and highly complex computing Google is famous for, say computer scientists. So Google and I.B.M. are announcing today a major research initiative to address that shortcoming.
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/08/technology/08cloud.html
Google, IBM promote 'cloud' computing at universities [IDG]
Google Inc. and IBM have teamed up to offer a curriculum and support for software development on large-scale distributed computing systems, with six universities signing up so far.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9041438
For Google, advertising and phones go together
For more than two years, a large group of engineers at Google has been working in secret on a mobile phone project. As word about their efforts has trickled out, expectations in the tech world for what has been called the Google phone, or GPhone, have risen, the way they do for Apple loyalists ahead of a speech by Steven P. Jobs. But the GPhone is not likely to be the second coming of the iPhone ? and Google's goals are very different from Apple's.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/08/business/08googlephone.php
http://nytimes.com/2007/10/08/business/media/08googlephone.html
Google advances on Europe
At five o?clock on a Friday afternoon at Google?s engineering centre in Zurich, the Heidi song comes over the loudspeakers. ?Hei-diii, Hei-diii, deine Welt sind die Bergen...Halaladidi halaladidi...? The yodelling is a signal that Google?s weekly ?Thank God It?s Friday? meeting is about to begin ? time for several hundred software engineers and support staff to collect in the canteen for a beer.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/29104cf4-6c45-11dc-a0cf-0000779fd2ac.html
Google shares cross $600 threshold for first time [Reuters]
Shares of Web search leader Google hit a new benchmark of $600 in early trading on Monday, fueled by investor confidence in the strength of its Internet advertising technology.
http://www.news.com/2100-1014_3-6212289.html
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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Wi-fi sharing plan launched in UK
The UK's wireless net credentials are boosted with the launch of a wi-fi sharing community backed by BT.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7027871.stm
McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi in restaurants
The fast food chain McDonald's is to introduce free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 restaurants by the end of the year in a move which will make it the UK's biggest provider of such a service.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/06/internet
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0572055620071005
BT invites homeowners to share their broadband with passers-by
Homeowners are being invited to share their internet connections with passers-by in return for the right to access the network via other people?s connections.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2599604.ece
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VoIP
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VoIP Quality Improving, Study Says
VOIP and PacketCable have continued to improve, but both services still lag behind PSTN, according to a study by Keynote Systems. ... "Our key finding here is that there has been significant improvement for VOIP services, but there is still a difference in terms of quality of calls," says Rajeev Kutty, VOIP product manager at Keynote.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/138027/voip_quality_improving_study_says.html
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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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Interpol in rare sex abuse appeal
Interpol has launched an unprecedented global public appeal to help identify a man shown sexually abusing children in photographs posted on the internet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7033182.stm
Hundreds respond to Interpol appeal to identify pedophile [Reuters]
Interpol said on Monday it was hopeful of identifying a serial pedophile after posting his picture on the Internet in an unprecedented public appeal that drew hundreds of responses from around the world.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6212344.html
http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6212344.html
Interpol in rare global appeal for Web paedophile [Reuters]
Interpol on Monday launched an unprecedented worldwide public appeal to track down a man shown sexually abusing children in images posted on the Internet.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0513314820071008
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/10/08/interpol_in_rare_global_appeal_for_web_pedophile/
Interpol Hunts Suspected Pedophile [AP]
He apparently traveled the world sexually abusing young boys, but remained unidentifiable - until now. Police in Europe have unscrambled digitally altered images found on the Internet to reveal the face of a man shown abusing boys in Vietnam and Cambodia.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695851386.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695851386.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/08/international/i121001D82.DTL
Interpol Unscrambles Digitally Masked Face of Pedophile, Issues Global Appeal
Interpol agents now have a clearer image of a man suspected of sexually abusing children in Vietnam and Cambodia. Thanks to image enhancement software, the international cops were able to unscramble digital images that the suspect posted of himself online. The photos had a blurred swirl over the man's face.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/hmBZyv1sFE1JqL/Interpol-Unscrambles-Digitally-Masked-Face-of-Pedophile-Issues-Global-Appeal.xhtml
au: Farmer used internet child porn ro escape stresses
A FARMER who accessed and transmitted child pornography on the internet was looking for fantasy to escape stresses in his private life, a court was told today.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22535355-2682,00.html
us: NJ Nabs 41 in Online Child Porn Sweep
In one of the most sweeping domestic law enforcement actions against online child pornography in recent times, New Jersey officials arrested 41 people and charged them with possession or distribution of graphic images of child molestation. Dubbed "Operation Silent Shield," the roundup was the culmination of a two-month investigation.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/iDYGVWZUai9suF/NJ-Nabs-41-in-Online-Child-Porn-Sweep.xhtml
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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.
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(c) David Goldstein 2007
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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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AUSTRALIA
email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
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