[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[APPLe list] general internet news - March 6
Don't forget to check out 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/
**********************************************************
Internet TV slow to catch on in the UK despite BBC iPlayer
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3474399.ece
Thai monks told to behave on networking Web sites [Reuters]
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBKK20373820080304
NZ broadband still not up to speed
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10496551
Broadband users overtake dial-up in NZ
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4428325a28.html
Broadband connection overtakes dial-up in NZ [news release]
http://www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/media-releases/internet-service-provider-survey/internet-service-provider-survey-sep07-mr.htm
Aussie broadband value: stagnant or stingy?
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1251443176;fp;2;fpid;1
http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/2007/
Social Networking Moves to the Cellphone
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/technology/06wireless.html
Nokia smartphones to turn on Microsoft's Silverlight
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066518
Greenpeace: What is a green electronics product? [news release]
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/green-electronics-050308
Bamboo laptop is star of CeBIT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/05/greentech.computing
Court Nixes Free Speech Claim, Upholds First-Ever Spam Felony Conviction
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/61933.html
Virginia Supreme Court Says Spam is not Protected Free Speech
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10924
Attacking the great digital divide in Australia's outback
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/03/1204402367663.html
Spurned British internet-dater faces jail for spreading nude pics
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3447080.ece
Warner drops DRM locks across Europe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7277884.stm
Council of Europe declaration on protecting the dignity, security and privacy of children on the internet
http://www.coe.int/t/dc/press/NoteRedac2008/20080221_adoption_en.asp
nz: Telecom's separation knock-back
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10495762
UK children rescued from worldwide sex abuse ring
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/06/ukcrime.internationalcrime
International Child Porn Ring Uncovered [AP]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7357981
**********************
INTERNET USE
**********************
Internet TV slow to catch on in the UK despite BBC iPlayer
Consumers still seem unwilling to embrace the idea of watching TV on the internet, despite the launch of the BBC iPlayer and services on several other networks, research suggests. Less than one Briton in five streamed or downloaded traditional TV programmes from the web using legal services offered by networks or internet services providers such as Tiscali, according to a survey of the nation's digital entertainment habits.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3474399.ece
Something just clicked
Long-standing assumptions about the bitter rivalry between TV and the internet are being swept aside as Britain's terrestrial broadcasters venture more online TV on demand, streaming content and near-live simulcasting via the web. Ever since broadband speeds made it feasible to share large files over the net, users have been able to obtain hours of illegally-distributed broadcast content from the web. Accessing content online these days is easier than ever.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/tvtoday/story/0,,2261636,00.html
Cutting TV time makes children healthier, says US study
Stopping children from watching TV really does make them healthier and less fat, according to one of the few studies to observe the effects of intervening directly in their watching habits.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/04/medicalresearch.health1
Europe hits one million FTTH broadband connections
The number of countries with fibre to the home (FTTH) connections is continuing to expand, according to an updated global ranking issued by the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) Councils of Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. Last week, an Informa report said there were already one million FTTH broadband connections in Europe.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/03/ftth_deployment_spreads/
Number of U.S. Computers Accessing the Internet Via Mobile Broadband Soars 154 Percent in 2007 [news release]
comScore released the results of a study of U.S. Internet usage via mobile broadband. The study examined the usage and characteristics of mobile broadband users through data collected from computers where Internet access via mobile broadband ISPs occurred. ... The number of computers using mobile broadband technology to access the Internet grew by 154 percent in Q4 2007 versus the same period in 2006.
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2099
Microsoft takes on Google with web-based Office
Microsoft has launched its most audacious attempt yet to seize the initiative back from Google in the race to harness the internet as the computing platform of the future.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3478146.ece
Thai monks told to behave on networking Web sites [Reuters]
Thai officials urged Buddhist monks on Tuesday to avoid using social networking Web sites to woo women after an advocacy group found some monks were doing just that.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBKK20373820080304
YouTube most popular UK networking site
YouTube is now the most popular social networking website in the UK, overtaking the user-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia with 10.4 million unique users during January.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/05/digitalmedia.youtube
NZ broadband still not up to speed
InternetNZ today welcomed news that the number of broadband subscribers has overtaken their dial-up counterparts, but said broadband connections were still too slow.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10496551
Broadband users overtake dial-up in NZ
New Zealand's broadband, or high-speed internet, users have overtaken dial-up users for the first time. Statistics New Zealand said today broadband subscribers rose 14.4 per cent to 829,300 in the six months to September 2007. Subscribers with dial-up connections fell 8.6 per cent from March to 675,800 by September.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4428325a28.html
Broadband connection overtakes dial-up in NZ [news release]
The number of broadband subscribers in the six months to September 2007 overtook the number of dial-up subscribers for the first time ever, Statistics New Zealand said today. Broadband subscribers continued to increase – up 14.4 percent in the six months to September 2007, to reach 829,300. However, this growth rate has slowed from an increase of 28.6 percent in September 2006 and 18.5 percent in March 2007. Subscribers with dial-up connection fell 8.6 percent from March 2007, down to 675,800.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/media-releases/internet-service-provider-survey/internet-service-provider-survey-sep07-mr.htm
R.I.P. dial-up - NZ internet users expect more [news release]
InternetNZ (the Internet Society of New Zealand Inc) welcomes the ISP Survey released today by Statistics New Zealand, as a turning point in New Zealand’s Internet history.
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2008/ripdialup
Aussie broadband value: stagnant or stingy?
Australian Internet users feel broadband value has not improved over the past twelve months, according to Whirlpool's 2007 Australian Broadband Survey, released this week. Among the survey's key findings, 50% of those surveyed felt broadband value remained stagnant over the past 12 months, while 30% felt value for money had taken a turn for the worse - up from 9.5% and 19.4% in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1251443176;fp;2;fpid;1
au: Whirlpool 2007 survey results available
Australian Broadband Survey 2007 The results of Whirlpool's 2007 Australian Broadband Survey are now available.
http://whirlpool.net.au/survey/2007/
Firefox's market share up fourth consecutive month
Mozilla's Firefox owned more than 17% of the browser market in February, the fourth consecutive month that the open-source browser has boosted is share, says a web measurement company.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/4A1E1B79B2CC20FACC257401006B2683
Microsoft to make IE8 standards compliant by default
In an about-face it credited to a renewed companywide emphasis on interoperability, Microsoft Corp. said Monday it will make its upcoming Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) browser default to a new, standards-compliant method of displaying Web pages, rather than the existing, more Microsoft-centric one.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066583
**********************
SOCIAL NETWORKING
**********************
US seeks terrorists in web worlds
The US government has begun a project to develop ways to spot terrorists who are using virtual worlds. Codenamed Reynard it aims to recognise "normal" behaviour in online worlds and home in on anomalous activity.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7274377.stm
Social Networking Moves to the Cellphone
Social networks may be nothing new to habitués of the Internet. Several years of competition among Facebook, MySpace and Friendster have generated tens of millions of members. But now the market is teeming with companies that want to bring the same phenomenon to the cellphone. There are so many “mobile social networking” upstarts, in fact, that when New Media Age magazine in Britain tried to identify the “ones to watch,” it ended up naming 10 companies.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/05/technology/wireless.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/technology/06wireless.html
Survey: Generation Facebook's skills wasted at work
The tech savvy of "Generation Facebook" is going down the drain at work, new research has found. People who have left school in the past three years have strong confidence in their IT skills, but the organizations they work for are not always making the most of this skill set, according to database software company FileMaker, which commissioned the research.
http://www.news.com/2100-1022_3-6232995.html
Facebook Goes Multilingual [Reuters]
The social networking site allows members to translate the site into German, joining Spanish as a language option. ... More than 2,000 German-speaking Facebook members volunteered to translate the site from English to German in under two weeks, the company said in a statement.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0230464220080304
**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
**********************
Should Europeans pay to receive phone calls? EU report calls for an end to termination fees
A new report commissioned by the EU recommends the abolition of termination fees, the proportion of call costs which is paid to the receiving network, on the grounds that the internet survives without them and the internet is going to be everything, anyway.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/05/eu_termination_fees_report/
Apple gears up for June launch of 3G iPhone
Apple may be planning to release a 3G version of its hugely popular iPhone as early as the middle of the year, according to reports.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3460650.ece
EU's high-speed research network goes global
Europe's high-speed research network, Géant, is to be linked up with similar networks worldwide, the European Union announced on Friday.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39359187,00.htm
Microsoft targets the mobile web
Microsoft has launched a bid to capture a segment of the growing market for rich web content on mobile phones. The software firm has signed a deal with handset manufacturer Nokia to bring its Silverlight platform to millions of mobile phones.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7276907.stm
Making plans for the web's future - Microsoft's Silverlight
Microsoft's Silverlight software is starting to get some attention and here the BBC News website explains why the technology is important. When Microsoft unveiled Silverlight at the NAB Show in April 2006, industry commentators instantly dubbed it a "Flash killer" and said it spelled serious competition for Adobe's widely used animating tool.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6678097.stm
Nokia smartphones to turn on Microsoft's Silverlight
Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it will deliver a version of its Silverlight media player for Nokia Corp.'s market-leading S60 platform for smartphones by the end of this year.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066518
Microsoft, Nokia Put Silverlight On Mobile Devices
Microsoft's bringing Silverlight to cell phones, partnering with Nokia to bring the rich Internet app browser plug-in to devices that use Nokia's popular S60 software platform.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206901441
Greenpeace: What is a green electronics product? [news release]
The Sony Vaio TZ11 laptop, Sony Ericsson T650i mobile phone and Sony Ericsson P1i PDA have come out on top in our first survey of greener electronics products. Some products were more advanced than others, but there's definitely room for improvement as none of them scored over 5/10. Greenpeace conducted a survey of the main brands of desktop PCs and notebooks, mobile phones, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), assessing them on their use of hazardous chemicals, energy efficiency, overall product lifecycle (recyclability and upgradeability) and other factors such as the promotion of environmental friendliness and innovation.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/green-electronics-050308
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4147
Greenpeace unimpressed at 'green' CeBIT [AFP]
CeBIT, the world's biggest technology fair, talks green but the industry has some way to go to improve its environmental credentials, Greenpeace said. "Manufacturers still have a long way to go," Greenpeace campaigner Yannick Vicaire said at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23328025-15306,00.html
More suppliers announce enhanced mobility at CeBIT
Katrin Ohlmer of Berlin's Ohlmer Marketing & Kommunikation has sent in another report from CeBIT, currently underway in Hannover in Germany and given some great updates on what companies such Navigon, Yahoo, RIM and others are planning in 2008, and again, many of these applications are about enhancing mobility.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4138
Mobile the highlight at CeBIT
Katrin Ohlmer of Berlin's Ohlmer Marketing & Kommunikation is currently attending CeBIT, currently underway in Hannover in Germany, and has given a wrap on what is happening at CeBIT there, and what caught her eye. Katrin's highlights for the last day available here.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4130
Intel presents its mobile future at CeBIT
Katrin Ohlmer of Berlin's Ohlmer Marketing & Kommunikation has one last dispatch from CeBIT, this time outlining a presentation from Intel, and again, mobility is the key here. Intel said the penetration rate of laptops even in established markets is still lower than 50 per cent. The main reason for this is the short battery life according to a study by Intel and Loudhouse in December 2007.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4159
Germany’s Hesitance Slows Technology Cooperation With France
At the opening this week of Cebit, the European technology fair, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France surprised his hosts by suggesting that France and Germany work together to develop a supercomputer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/technology/05compute.html
Bamboo laptop is star of CeBIT
It's not often that computers are sold on their "spiritual warmth" and "refreshing fragrance" but the star of the world's biggest IT fair was something different. Instead of shiny plastic it was encased in laminated bamboo strips. The result, said its Taiwanese makers, Asus, was "both aesthetically pleasing and good for the environment".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/05/greentech.computing
How Apple Will Sell 10 Million iPhones
Investors are agonizing over Apple's stock price. Analysts are worried about iPod sales. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has even fretted about the MacBook Air's lack of an optical drive. But don't worry. Despite some recent doubts, Apple should meet its goal of selling 10 million phones in 2008.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/03/04/apple-iphone-jobs-tech-wire-cx_bc_0304iphone.html
**********************
SPAM
**********************
Court Nixes Free Speech Claim, Upholds First-Ever Spam Felony Conviction
The Virginia Supreme Court's ruling that the state's antispamming law did not violate spammer Jeremy Jaynes' free speech rights is a good thing, said John Palfrey, executive director of Harvard Law's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "I'm a strong believer in the First Amendment, but there is a point where the First Amendment doesn't protect criminal activity."
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/61933.html
Virginia Supreme Court Says Spam is not Protected Free Speech
Upholding the conviction of one of the world’s most notorious spammers, a tight 4-3 ruling in Virginia’s Supreme Court determined that spam is not a form of protected free speech.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10924
Company settles smut-spam charges [IDG]
An adult Web site whose affiliates sent pornography-related spam to unsuspecting recipients will pay US$413,000 to settle a complaint from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066598
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143109-c,spam/article.html
First Spam Felony Conviction Upheld
Spammers beware: despite some doubt that the first spammer to ever be convicted under the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act would actually go to jail for his deeds, the former junk mailer will indeed spend time behind bars for his crime. On Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court [PDF] to sentence Jeremy Jaynes to nine years in prison.
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/15921/first_spam_felony_conviction_upheld
Virginia Supreme Court Rejects First Amendment Challenge to Spam Statute by Venkat Balasubramani
Thanks to Prof. Goldman I see that the Virginia Supreme Court issued its opinion in Jaynes, the state-law criminal spam case that has wound its way through the courts there. It affirms the conviction and rejects the various challenges to Virginia's spam statute... As a side note I should say that it's not often one is actually excited to read an order in a case you're not involved with. This is definitely one of those instances where the excitement is palpable... The news reports billed the case as the first felony conviction for sending spam.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/82293_virginia_court_first_amendment_spam_jaynes/
The botnets behind our spam
A handful of botnets are responsible for 85 per cent of spam, according to web security experts. Marshal's TRACE team, which monitors spam, phishing and virus activity around the world, has identified the six botnets that it says are sending the bulk of spam.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=55&objectid=10496081
**********************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
**********************
Attacking the great digital divide in Australia's outback
It is transforming the world. But is it leaving indigenous Australia behind? Cynthia Karena travelled to the Northern Territory to investigate the digital divide in our Australia's backyard.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/03/1204402367663.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/03/1204402367663.html
Indian rural-urban digital divide widens
The gap between rural and urban India is widening as far as teledensity is concerned. When telecom boom started rural India had a teledensity of just four per cent compared to urban India's 20 per cent.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080306/r_t_ht_nl_general/tnl-rural-urban-digital-divide-widens-7244580_1.html
**************************
ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
**************************
uk: YouTube criticised for gang rape video
YouTube is facing criticism for making it too easy for people to upload violent or sexually explicit content to the internet after a 25-year-old mother was filmed while being raped. A three-minute film showing the mother sexually assaulted by three boys after her drink had been spiked was uploaded soon after the incident, which took place in November.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3482663.ece
Clip of mother being gang-raped posted on YouTube
Footage of a mother repeatedly raped in front of her screaming children posted on YouTube has sparked calls for the video sharing website to be moderated.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23322566-2,00.html
French court tells Web site not to mark teachers [Reuters]
A French court ruled on Monday that a popular Web site can no longer let pupils name and shame their own teachers.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0344940520080303
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6232855.html
Spurned British internet-dater faces jail for spreading nude pics
A internet-dater who sent naked photos of his online girlfriend to everyone in her e-mail address book in a fit of jealous rage was today facing a possible jail sentence.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3447080.ece
it: Man jailed for posting porn pics of ex-girlfriend [Reuters]
An Italian man was jailed for more than two years for putting pornographic pictures of his ex-girlfriend on the internet and sending them out in more than 15,000 emails.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0458597120080304
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10496282
Cybercriminals to target Beijing Olympics?
It appears that the Beijing 2008 Olympics will draw more than just the best sporting talents worldwide, according to security vendor Websense.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,62038518,00.htm
Scrabble Makers Say Scrabulous Doesn't Play by the Rules
Mattel and Hasbro threatened to legally act against two brothers in Calcutta, India, who created a popular online version of Scrabble, it was reported. Hasbro sells Scrabble in North America and Mattel markets it in other parts of the world. The companies said the online game Scrabulous was piracy and threatened to take legal action against software development company operators Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, according to a Sunday report. The companies reportedly said they hoped the solution would not include shutting down the game.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/61949.html
**************************
PRIVACY
**************************
Use of radio ID tags faces limits
Thousands of garments in the sprawling men's department at the Galeria Kaufhof are equipped with tiny wireless chips that can forestall fashion disaster by relaying information from the garment to a dressing-room screen.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/29/business/RFID.php
Why are there no spam or trolls on Twitter?
Because it's rather like an RSS feed — you choose to read it - and nobody so far has worked out how to spam a feed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/06/socialnetworking.spam
**********************
FILE SHARING
**********************
Nine Inch Nails Gives Music Away On Web
Music from the band's latest album, "Ghosts I-IV," is available through their Web site in packages ranging from free to $300. Trent Reznor, leader of the rock band Nine Inch Nails, is the latest major artist to bypass major record labels and distribute his music over the Web.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206901395
Nine Inch Nails puts CD online for free, for mash-ups
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has been looking for alternatives to the traditional album-release model for years now. Last October, when the band worked out of its obligations to the record business, Reznor declared on the NIN Web site, "I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate."
http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/03/03/nin_ghosts/
Warner drops DRM locks across Europe
Warner Music has signed a deal with media site 7digital.com to offer its music without copy protection. Customers in the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Germany will be able to download albums by artists such as Madonna and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7277884.stm
7digital secures Warner Music deal
UK-based digital music store 7digital has secured the first deal to exclusively sell Warner Music's full catalogue in the rights-free format across Europe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/04/digitalmedia
il: IFPI Pressure Forces ISPs to Block Another File-Sharing Site
Following pressure from the IFPI, a court has ruled that ISPs should be forced to block access to a file-sharing link site. The Haifa District Court in Israel has ordered that the country’s three largest ISPs should block access to HttpShare.com, a BitTorrent and http hyperlink-only website.
http://torrentfreak.com/ifpi-forces-block-of-file-sharing-site-080306/
**********************
CENSORSHIP
**********************
Iran May Block Internet on Election Day
Iran’s government might block private access to the Internet on its election day, March 14, two Iranian news outlets reported Monday. But the two accounts appeared to differ on the rationale.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/04/africa/04iran.php
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/03/africa/tehran.php
Why we should keep an eye on those who are watching us by Peter Tatchell
Like millions of other viewers, I was gripped last night by the latest plot twists in BBC1's thriller series The Last Enemy, which depicts the dystopian future of a complete surveillance society, where everyone is data-based, ID-carded and CCTV-monitored 24/7. It is Big Brother writ-large, with all-pervasive remote sensors, facial recognition software, iris scans, vehicle tracking and eavesdropping.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/03/television.idcards
Cyber-Rebels in Cuba Defy State’s Limits
A growing underground network of young people armed with computer memory sticks, digital cameras and clandestine Internet hookups has been mounting some challenges to the Cuban government in recent months, spreading news that the official state media try to suppress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/world/americas/06cuba.html
Seeking Tighter Censorship, Repressive States Target Web 2.0 Apps
It's not the governments who censor keywords that worries Ethan Zuckerman, whose job it is to help dissidents around the world. He fears that governments will simply decide to go after the Web 2.0 tools that activists are using to publish.
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/etech-what-happ.html
An op-ed by Professors John Palfrey and Jonathan Zittrain: Choices for Turkey in the digital age
The core boon and bane of the combined Internet and personal computer is its "generativity." Generativity means the ability for people all over the world -- people without particular credentials or wealth or connections -- to use and then share the power of technology for a variety of ends. Many of these uses have been unanticipated or, if anticipated, would never have been thought to be valuable at first. When the Internet was first created, no one would have imagined that the world's largest encyclopedia could be written entirely by amateurs, and yet we have Wikipedia. ... In Turkey, the Internet has been largely free from government controls. Free expression and innovation have found homes online, in ways that benefit culture and the economy. But there are signs that this freedom may be nearing its end, just as the benefits to be reaped are growing. When the state chooses to ban entire services for the many because of the acts of the few, the threat
to innovation and creativity is high. Those states that have erected extensive censorship and surveillance regimes online have found them hard to implement with any degree of accuracy and fairness.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2008/03/05_palfreyzittrain.php
************************************************
CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
************************************************
Task Force Faces Complex Issues in Protecting Children Online: CDT Appreciates Opportunity to Participate, Remains Skeptical [news release]
The Center for Democracy & Technology today announced its participation in the newly formed Internet Safety Technical Task Force, created to examine technologies that might be used to protect children from inappropriate material or contacts on the Internet.
http://cdt.org/press/20080228press.php
Council of Europe declaration on protecting the dignity, security and privacy of children on the internet
The traceability of children’s activities on the internet may expose them to criminal activities (for example the solicitation or “grooming” of children for sexual purposes, discrimination, bullying, stalking and other forms of harassment).
http://www.coe.int/t/dc/press/NoteRedac2008/20080221_adoption_en.asp
Guardian Tech Weekly podcast: Safer surfing, better search
Surfing safely is becoming a greater concern, so we hear from one group about their vision. And with Google so powerful, can you build a better search?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/audio/2008/mar/04/interviews.news
Australian govt sticks to guns on internet porn filters
Porn on the net is a massive industry, with a very high request rate across all search engines. But while it may be legal for adults, children are accessing porn on the net and in large measures, and very little is being done to stop it.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/06/2181828.htm
E-security lessons for Aussie kids
Students will be taught to identify and protect themselves against online threats under a new federal Government program to embed a "culture of security" in the next generation of internet users.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23323338-5013040,00.html
au: R rating for games dismissed as 'porn'
The head of Australia's videogames industry body says there is a way to solve the R18+ videogame rating issue but the South Australian attorney-general has dismissed it as "pornography".
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23295683-15319,00.html
**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
**************************
us: Deal Close on Wiretap Law, a Top Democrat Tells CNN
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee hinted Sunday that a battle over an expired eavesdropping law might be moving toward a conclusion that gave phone companies the retroactive legal protections long sought by President Bush.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/washington/03fisa.html
*********************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
*********************************
Microsoft to aim for coup if Yahoo! fails to enter talks on takeover
Microsoft is to attempt a boardroom coup at Yahoo! within a week in an effort to force the online search engine to start serious talks or accept its $41 billion (£20.6 billion) hostile bid, The Times has learnt.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3471761.ece
**********************
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
**********************
nz: Telecom's separation knock-back
With Telecom's plan for handling operational separation getting the thumbs down from the Government on Friday it is up in the air as to whether everything will be drafted, lawyered and approved by the March 31 "separation day" everyone initially had in mind.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10495762
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/griffins-tech-blog/2008/3/5/blog-telecoms-separation-knock-back/
**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
**********************************
UK children rescued from worldwide sex abuse ring
Detectives in three continents believe they have broken one of the most sophisticated paedophile rings ever. Eight British children between six and 14 years old have been rescued and arrests made in the UK, Australia and the US. The ring used advanced techniques to avoid detection and one member boasted of belonging to the "greatest group of paedos ever to gather in one place".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/06/ukcrime.internationalcrime
International Child Porn Ring Uncovered [AP]
After James Freeman was vetted and approved for membership in what police describe as a highly sophisticated child porn network, he expressed his appreciation by posting two folders online: one labeled :mild," the other "wild."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7357981
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=4387119
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030401914.html
14 Americans arrested in child porn sting
Fourteen Americans are in custody as part of a global crackdown on a well-organized child porn ring that used sophisticated encryption technology, the FBI and Justice Department announced Tuesday.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/04/child.porn.arrests/
Aussie paedophile arrests 'not enough'
A national lobby group for child abuse prevention has praised Australian law enforcers for cracking a major international paedophile ring, but say the number of people arrested is a drop in the ocean.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/06/2181394.htm
Eight children rescued as porn ring smashed
Two British men have been arrested and eight children from the UK rescued after a world-wide paedophile ring was broken with the help of Australian detectives.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/06/1204402587200.html
Australians accused over child porn ring
Australian detectives who helped break a world-wide paedophile ring say children as young as two were filmed and photographed being sexually abused to fulfil orders from an online pornography network. More than 40 children have been identified as victims of the paedophile ring, which operated in Australia, the United States, England, Canada and Germany.
http://news.theage.com.au/australians-accused-over-child-porn-ring/20080305-1x5q.html
Members of Vast Child Exploitation Enterprise Indicted in the Northern District of Florida [news release]
A federal grand jury in Pensacola, Fla. has returned a 35-count indictment against 12 individuals who engaged in a criminal enterprise involving the advertisement, transportation and shipment of child pornography over a two-year period, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Gregory R. Miller, and FBI Executive Assistant Director J. Stephen Tidwell announced today.
http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/08_crm_166.html
au: Perth man arrested for child pornography
A 59-year-old man from the Perth suburb of Forrestfield has been charged with possessing child pornography.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/06/2181726.htm
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080306/21/16242.html
au: Net predators: first charge under new law
A Sydney man has been charged under new laws with using the internet to groom a teenage girl for sex, police say. The 39-year-old Liverpool man is alleged to have made contact with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl via an internet chat room in February.
http://news.theage.com.au/man-charged-over-grooming-teen-for-sex/20080306-1xfe.html
http://news.smh.com.au/man-charged-over-grooming-teen-for-sex/20080306-1xfe.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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(c) David Goldstein 2008
---------
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
Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address.
www.yahoo7.com.au/y7mail
