[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[APPLe list] general internet news - April 3
**********************************************************
Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
**********************************************************
Don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.
Also, for those with an interest, I am now working on a blog dealing with telecommunications news, looking at broadband, convergence, ENUM, governence, IPTV, mobile, telecom, VoIP and WiMAX issues.
So if any of this is of interest, check out Telco News at http://www.telconews.com/.
***************************************************
British children flock to social networks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7325019.stm
UK Home Office calls for better security on social networking sites
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3667347.ece
Computers to merge with humans
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7325004.stm
Phone-reliant Britons in the grip of 'nomo-phobia'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/phonereliant-britons-in-the-grip-of-nomophobia-802722.html
Flirting by Text Message, Indians Test Social Limits
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/world/asia/31flirt.html
Spam blights e-mail 15 years on
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7322615.stm
Tackling cybercrime: guidance on sharing Internet data
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/02/business/cybercrime.php
The Facebook tool which turns your mobile into a snoop
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3656103.ece
MySpace music venture to take on iTunes
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-myspace3apr03,1,1646549.story
IOC warns China over web access
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7324155.stm
Web filtering must be necessary and transparent, says Council of Europe
http://out-law.com/page-9000
Australian law chiefs plan ban on race-hate sites
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23464021-5013404,00.html
Mobile broadband subscribers increase by 850% [IDG]
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9073338
VoIP System Security: Time to Worry, or Maybe Not
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/voip-system-security-time-to-worry-or-maybe-not/
**********************
INTERNET USE
**********************
Email archive to immortalise Australian life
We use them to arrange meetings, share news, complain and even flirt. Now, in an Australian first, the emails of ordinary people are going to be archived for prosperity. The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney is asking people to send in emails they think are significant in their life.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/01/2204768.htm
Yahoo Thinks It Knows What Women Want
Seeking to tap deeper into a key demographic for advertisers, Yahoo on Monday launched Shine, a Web site meant to become an Internet starting point for women between the ages of 25 and 54.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Yahoo-Thinks-It-Knows-What-Women-Want-62372.html
'Dongles' to revolutionise mobile web access
... Vodafone, claims the product "is flying off the shelves", which is why it has hired an extra 450 frontline staff to help sell mobile broadband at the same time as laying off staff at Vodafone HQ. Mobile provider 3 has also seen this shift towards USB modems, with more than 20 per cent of new customers to their monthly packages purchasing dongles. A report by Arthur D Little and Exane BNP has suggested half of all consumers in Europe will have mobile broadband access by 2012.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/02/cmdongle102.xml
PC and internet use on the rise in Ireland
Some 865,500 households had a computer connected to the internet as of February 2007, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures were described as a "milestone" for internet access by Tommy McCabe, Director of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation.
http://www.enn.ie/article/10124144.html
Why (most) authors and publishers need not fear online piracy
In a dire article in London's Times yesterday, reporter Ben Hoyle opened with the self-evidently ludicrous statement that "book piracy on the Internet will ultimately drive authors to stop writing unless radical methods are devised to compensate them for lost sales." Internet piracy, no matter how pervasive, is not about to bring the worldwide production of literature to a grinding halt, just as rampant music piracy isn't stopping my neighbor's kid from playing his drum kit in the garage every day before dinner. But the piece does raise the real question of whether the best writers will continue to work to their full potential in a world where their main product can be had for free.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080401-why-authors-and-publishers-need-not-fear-online-piracy.html
Mobile video getting bigger everyday
The continued growth of video content and video advertising on wireless devices is a popular theme at CTIA Wireless 2008 this week.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9074538
**********************
SOCIAL NETWORKING
**********************
British children flock to social networks
More than a quarter of eight to 11-year-olds in the UK have a profile on a social network, research shows. Most sites, such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook, set a minimum age of between 13 and 14 to create a profile but none actively enforce the age requirement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7325019.stm
Q&A: Children and safer net use
Many teenagers and younger children are signing up for social networking sites says telecoms regulator Ofcom in a report. In a research exercise covering 3,000 children it found that about a quarter of those aged between eight and 11 have a profile page on sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7326246.stm
Adult social networking sites attract young users
Millions of children are using social networking websites intended for older users, according to a study by the media regulator, Ofcom.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/02/socialnetworking.ofcom
Social sites protect children, says Bebo
Social networking websites are taking their duty to protect younger users more seriously following a sea change in attitudes, according to Bebo's safety officer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/02/bebo.digitalmedia
UK Home Office calls for better security on social networking sites
Social networking sites should carry the telephone numbers of child welfare agencies, the police and confidential hotlines under guidance to be published tomorrow, aimed at improving online security.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3667347.ece
Children’s social network pages ‘must have privacy lock’
Two and a half million children aged between 8 and 17 have created profiles on social networking sites, according to research. But parents fail to realise that poor security means that about four in ten personal pages are open for anyone to look at.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3663312.ece
uk: Facebook, MySpace to carry 999 link
Facebook and other social networking sites would have to advertise the 999 emergency number on their pages under new Government guidelines to improve the safety of children online.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/04/02/dlsafe102.xml
uk: Shock report reveals how millions of girls are at risk from paedophiles and bullies online
Parents are alarmingly ignorant of the danger posed to millions of girls by social networking websites, a report reveals.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=553348&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490
Ofcom warns parents over children's networking sites
Nearly half of all children who have access to the internet have a profile on a social networking site, according to Ofcom, but they are not being protected adequately.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/374d4f2a-005a-11dd-825a-000077b07658.html
Social Networking: Online Chat, as Inspired by Real Chat
Compared with other forms of human interaction, online social networking is really not all that social. People visit each other’s MySpace pages and Facebook profiles at various hours of the day, posting messages and sending e-mail back and forth across the digital void. It’s like an endless party where everybody shows up at a different time and slaps a yellow Post-it note on the refrigerator.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/technology/31chat.html
Facebook eyes China, but challenges loom
Facebook has indicated that it plans to speed up its move into China dramatically, inviting English-speaking users of the site to help translate the site into Chinese.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3653828.ece
Second Life Founder Addresses Congress On Virtual World Safety [Reuters]
The founder of virtual world Second Life sought to reassure U.S. lawmakers Tuesday that the online community is able to police itself.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001146
**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
**********************
Computers to merge with humans
By 2020 the terms 'interface' and 'user' will be obsolete as computers merge ever closer with humans. It is one of the predictions in a Microsoft-backed report drawn from the discussions of 45 academics from the fields of computing, science, sociology and psychology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7325004.stm
Phone-reliant Britons in the grip of 'nomo-phobia'
Being out of mobile-phone contact is as stressful as moving house or breaking up with a partner for nearly one in five phone users, according to a survey which suggests many Britons are in the grip of "nomo-phobia".
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/phonereliant-britons-in-the-grip-of-nomophobia-802722.html
Flirting by Text Message, Indians Test Social Limits
In this romantically corseted society, Ashish Chettri is as close as you get to a Don Juan. He is an irrepressible flirt: a skirt chaser who claims to pursue three women at a time, a loquacious utterer of compliments, a ceaseless seeker of dates. And that is just with his thumbs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/world/asia/31flirt.html
330 Million Africans Will Own Cellphones in 2008
Africa is projected to experience a 22 per cent jump in its mobile phone subscriber base during 2008, with the number of people owning a phone increasing from the current 270 million to 330 million.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803311767.html
Brain cancer fears over heavy mobile phone use
A top Australian neurosurgeon says the world's heavy reliance on mobile phones could be a greater threat to human health than smoking and even asbestos.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/31/1206850768836.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/31/1206850768836.html
Mobiles 'more harmful than smoking'
Mobile phones will overtake asbestos and smoking as a leading public health danger, a top neurosurgeon says.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23459441-1702,00.html
Smartphones will soon turn computing on its head
There's almost as many people buying smartphones as there are people buying laptops, and that trend is about to turn the computing industry on its head. "We do see that gravitational pull of the single-use device being played out in the market," said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian, during the opening presentations of Smartphone Summit here at CTIA 2008. "This is not just about multiple devices, it's about knocking aside some other forms of communication."
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62039585,00.htm
Blinkx enters online TV market
Blinkx, the Aim-listed video search group, will today enter the increasingly crowded market for online television.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d6ee25a8-001a-11dd-825a-000077b07658.html
NZ Texting and driving statistics 'staggering'
Two-thirds of young people freely admit to texting while driving - despite mounting calls for the potentially fatal practice to be banned.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4461907a11.html
**********************
SPAM
**********************
Spam blights e-mail 15 years on
Spam continues to blight e-mail exactly 15 years after the term was first coined and almost 30 years since the first spam message was sent. The term is thought to have been coined by Joel Furr, an administrator on the net discussion system Usenet, to refer to unsolicited bulk messages. More than 90% of all e-mail is spam, according to anti-spam body Spamhaus.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7322615.stm
Spam, spam, lovely spam
"Spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam," sang the group of Vikings in the famous Monty Python sketch of 1970. Eight years later the first spam message was sent, while it took another 15 years before unsolicited bulk e-messages were given the popular moniker.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/03/spam_spam_lovely_spam.html
Canning The Real Spam Kings
In May of last year, federal cybercrime cops had what seemed like a big win: After years of investigation, they had finally bagged the man they called the "Spam King," otherwise known as Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle. Earlier this month, Soloway pleaded guilty to charges of mail and e-mail fraud that together carry a sentence of up to 26 years in federal prison.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/03/31/cybercriminals-hacking-jail-cx_ag_0331cybercrime.html
The War on Spam: A Battlefield Report [IDG]
When the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a US$2.9 million settlement with online marketing firm ValueClick this month, it was a record monetary settlement under the 4-year-old CAN-SPAM Act.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143944/article.html
**********************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
**********************
The low-cost laptop offer Microsoft can't refuse [IDG]
Low-cost laptops don't pack enough power to run Windows Vista, so Microsoft must either revamp its OS strategy or concede that growing market segment to Linux
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/31/The-low-cost-laptop-offer-Microsoft-cant-refuse_1.html
**************************
ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
**************************
uk: BT advert trials were 'illegal'
Trials of the online ad system Phorm carried out by BT involving more than 30,000 of its customers were potentially illegal, says a leading digital rights lawyer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7325451.stm
BT and Phorm secretly tracked 18,000 customers in 2006
BT secretly intercepted and profiled the web browsing of 18,000 of its broadband customers in 2006 using advertising technology provided by 121Media, the alleged spyware company that changed its name to Phorm last year.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/01/bt_phorm_2006_trial/
uk: YouTube under fire over 'rape' footage
YouTube, the video-sharing website owned by Google, yesterday came under attack from MPs after admitting that an error in its review procedure meant it had failed to remove footage apparently showing a gang rape.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/02/youtube.internet
Google admits YouTube rape video was 'a mistake'
Google today resisted calls to screen videos before they appeared on YouTube, despite admitting it had been too slow to take down a clip which showed a 25-year-old mother being gang-raped.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3662228.ece
Tackling cybercrime: guidance on sharing Internet data
The Council of Europe settled on voluntary guidelines Wednesday to strengthen cooperation between the police and Internet service companies, starting a long process to build support for a common global system to combat cybercrime.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/02/business/cybercrime.php
Council of Europe, ISPs Draft Anti-Cybercrime Guide [IDG]
A set of guidelines to help European ISPs and law enforcement cooperate on cybercrime investigations is almost done. A set of guidelines to help European ISPs and law enforcement agencies cooperate on cybercrime investigations are close to being complete.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144011-c,cybercrime/article.html
EU Debates Cybercrime Law Enforcement [AP]
Two groups working separately to boost Europe's defenses against online crime will present proposals this week, almost a year after most of the nation of Estonia's links to the Internet were disrupted for days or weeks.
http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/361633.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/03/31/financial/f131651D04.DTL
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CYBERCRIME
Apple sued over missing millions of colours it claims for new iMac
Apple's latest iMac desktop monitor boasts the broadest rainbow palette in the computer world with a capacity to display "millions of colours", according to its marketing material. Or does it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/02/apple.mediabusiness
**************************
PRIVACY
**************************
The Facebook tool which turns your mobile into a snoop
Husbands who are not where they are supposed to be could soon be in danger of being “sniffed” out by a mobile phone service that gives suspicious partners an electronic map showing the location of their spouse. The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (Sniff) is a new application, accessed via Facebook or mobile phone, which could bring an end to frantic “Where r u?” text messages.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3656103.ece
CIA enlists Google's help for spy work
Google has been recruited by US intelligence agencies to help them better process and share information they gather about suspects.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3652494.ece
BT admits tracking 18,000 users with Phorm systems in 2006
BT Broadband has admitted that it carried out secret trials on 18,000 user accounts in autumn 2006 with technology from 121Media, which became the targeted advertising company Phorm. Though BT has not yet said where the trials were done, the systems were used to analyse web traffic and then serve selected adverts on a number of selected websites.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/03/privacy.telecoms
**********************
FILE SHARING
**********************
MySpace music venture to take on iTunes
News Corp.'s MySpace, the largest online social networking site, will unveil as early as Thursday a joint venture with the world's top three music labels, according to several people familiar with the matter.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-myspace3apr03,1,1646549.story
IFPI demands $2.5m in damages from The Pirate Bay
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is demanding $2.5m in damages from Swedish torrent tracking site The Pirate Bay.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/01/ifpi_wants_damages_from_pirate_bay/
Pirate Bay on IFPI lawsuit: Labels can "go screw themselves"
The four main backers of The Pirate Bay could be personally on the hook for 15 million kroner ($2.5 million) after record labels requested the amount in damages from the Stockholm District Court yesterday. Gottfrid Warg of The Pirate Bay responded with the elegance that always characterizes the group's pronouncements, telling Sweden's The Local that "the record companies can go screw themselves."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080401-pirate-bay-on-ifpi-lawsuit-labels-can-go-screw-themselves.html
Warner Music seeks to offer 'all you can eat' digital music
Consumers can look forward to unlimited music downloads as part of their broadband contracts, following confirmation that Warner Music is in talks with the main British internet service providers.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3661348.ece
Danish ISP bundles free music subscription - But there's a catch
TDC, Denmark's biggest ISP, is bundling a free music service with its broadband offering. And no, it's not a 1 April story - as we'll see from the caveats. While the service, PLAY, offers songs from three of the four biggest labels, it's not a "legal P2P file-sharing" service of the kind we so often discuss here.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/01/danish_isp_free_music/
**********************
CENSORSHIP
**********************
IOC warns China over web access
China must ensure open access to the internet during the Beijing Games, Olympic officials have warned. Inspectors from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said China was obliged under its Games contract to provide journalists with web access.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7324155.stm
IOC pressures Beijing over Internet access [Reuters]
International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspectors have told Beijing organisers that the Internet must be open for the duration of the 2008 Olympics.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKSP28073320080401?sp=true
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKSP28073320080401
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318360/1676920
Yahoo fund aids 'cyber dissidents' in China [AFP]
A fund set up by Yahoo to atone for revealing "cyber dissidents" to Chinese officials is aiding people jailed there for human rights views posted on the internet, its overseer said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/03/2206758.htm
Indonesia seeks to block YouTube over anti-Koran film
Indonesia has asked Internet providers to block access to the YouTube Web site for carrying a film made by a right-wing Dutch lawmaker which accuses the Koran of inciting violence, an official said on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKSP23588120080402
id: Online porn law won't affect business, say Internet cafe owners
Internet cafe (warnet) owners say a new law banning online pornography will not affect their business because it will do little to stop people from accessing adult sites.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=89634
************************************************
CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
************************************************
Web filtering must be necessary and transparent, says Council of Europe
The body behind the European Convention on Human Rights has said that internet users must be told when content is being filtered, and that governments should not filter content except in very specific circumstances.
http://out-law.com/page-9000
Council of Europe: Internet filtering needs strong limits
With Internet filtering of all kinds becoming such big news (and such big business), especially in Europe, it's no surprise that a body like the Council of Europe would eventually weigh in with a set of filtering "best practices." The CoE, which was set up in 1949 and is separate from the EU, last week adopted a set of filtering standards that attempt to balance concerns over pornography, violence, and racism online with freedom of expression and an open Internet. How did they do?
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080331-council-of-europe-internet-filtering-needs-strong-limits.html
Fight clubs active in NZ schools
There is fresh evidence that fight clubs are active at New Zealand's schools. ONE News has been investigating a variety of videos posted on-line and discovered a vicious fight club was operating at Catholic boys school St Paul's College.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1681449
NZ College shocked by fight videos
A Catholic school in Auckland is said to be devastated that its students have been glorifying violence in a video they made for the internet.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411365/1681449
'Fight Club' Aims to Test Pornography Filters
Untangle next week at the RSA conference will conduct a "fight club" to see how well six leading Web content filters really are at stopping pornography from reaching the user.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=149679
uk: Infamy, infamy ... they had it in for me
As taskforces tackle the issue of cyberbullying, teacher David Buckley tells his story of unpleasant reading: When my eldest son was three, he undressed for dinner and sat naked beside me in a frame tent somewhere in Eskdale, trying to cope with a large baguette and a small mouth. With seriously enlarged and tragic eyes he looked upwards as he passed me a bit of sandwich he thought he shouldn't eat, saying, "My willy's been on that bit".
http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,2269579,00.html
nz: Coping with troubled boys
The death of a mentally ill Auckland teenager has prompted debate over who is responsible. Toran Henry's mother claims the troubled boy's school failed him but now questions are being asked about whether schools are equipped to cope with such cases.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411365/1671306
Safer surfing for the kids
As the father of four twenty--somethings I stop-ped worrying about what they were doing on the internet long ago (and started worrying about other things, such as whether one of them should sign up for a stint in Baghdad).
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7cfce04e-fc68-11dc-9229-000077b07658.html
Porn filters set for 'fight club' test
It is the surely the first security demonstration in history to draw inspiration from a notorious 1970s porn flick and a more recent Brad Pitt film, based on the underground bare-knuckle fighting scene.
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11872
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;869142115;fp;2;fpid;1
**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
**************************
Australian law chiefs plan ban on race-hate sites
Race-hate websites could be banned under an internet censorship proposal being considered by state and federal attorneys-general. The plan, which is in its early stages, has aroused concern among civil libertarians who fear it could be used to stifle political debate.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23464021-5013404,00.html
NZ government-assisted ICT forum cautiously welcomed
ICT associations are cautiously welcoming the new “digital sector forum” announced last week and to be established with taxpayer funding. It’s not immediately clear how existing industry associations will link with the new forum, says InternetNZ executive director Keith Davidson.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/1211C32471F7B601CC25741A000BA6A8
ISO adopts OOXML format as international standard
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has adopted an international standard based on Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) document format.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;518104227;fp;2;fpid;1
US Congress to Take Testimony on Internet Gambling Ban
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 made it illegal for banks and other financial institutions to process online wagers. The goal was to find an indirect way to regulate offshore casinos, which are outside the jurisdiction of American law enforcement. In short: the casinos are out of reach, but not the banks in the United States that process their transactions.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/congress-to-take-testimony-on-internet-gambling-ban/
Banks: Planned Net-gambling curb could disrupt e-commerce
Banks, credit card companies, and some Democratic members of Congress are predicting that forthcoming restrictions on Internet gambling will ensnare innocent customers and threaten the viability of e-commerce.
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9909501-38.html
*********************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
*********************************
Microsoft Drums Its Fingers on the Table While Yahoo Sweats
Despite widespread belief it would dig deeper into its pockets if necessary to land Yahoo, Microsoft has no plans to sweeten its offer for the Web portal, according to published reports. Microsoft sees no reason to boost its bid at this time, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources close to the company.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Microsoft-Drums-Its-Fingers-on-the-Table-While-Yahoo-Sweats-62397.html
Working the Angles in Tech Wars
When Microsoft Corp. announced its plan to acquire Yahoo in February, the Center for Democracy and Technology was far from the only advocacy group to question the deal on privacy and antitrust grounds. It was, however, the only advocacy group voicing those concerns that counts the Seattle software giant as a major financial backer. "They're reasonable concerns, and at Microsoft we take them very seriously," says Frank Torres, the company's head Washington lobbyist.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1207133075557
**********************
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
**********************
Calls for monopoly to boost broadband
Private think-tank the New Zealand Institute is calling for a regulated monopoly company to lay swathes of fibre optic cable to jumpstart New Zealand's broadband capability.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10501469
NZ last-mile fibre monopoly proposed for broadband
The New Zealand Institute suggests in its final report on broadband that a single company be given monopoly ownership of “last-mile” connections between exchanges or street cabinets and user premises.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/F2FCD3770C7ACF0ACC25741E006F9E8F
Telecom NZ faces "Separation Day" -- Who's next?
It is "separation day" today for Telecom NZ, as the New Zealand Communications and Information Technology Minister announces his approval of the company's plan to split itself into three operational segments.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Telecom-NZ-faces-Separation-Day-Who-s-next-/0,130061791,339287778,00.htm
Ministries probe NZ's converged media habits
Just how New Zealanders use electronic media is the subject of research being undertaken by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and Te Puni Kokiri. The aim is to look at the future of broadcasting and “broadcasting-like content” in what is becoming an increasingly digital information landscape.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/489E12415BAFEE9ECC25741A000CC765
NZ Telecom forced to keep rural services
The Government is forcing Telecom to maintain rural services in a shake-up for industry subsidies to country customers. A review of the Telecommunications Services Obligations (TSO) includes suggestions that some of the subsidies paid out of industry levies should be scrapped, the Telecommunications Carriers Forum says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10501738
NZCS sets out proposed ‘chartered’ roadmap
ICT still has a serious image problem that is holding it back. Changing that image, so ICT is seen as a “worthwhile and valuable profession” is the key, says NZ Computer Society CEO Paul Matthews.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/EAB4E1C26750A1CCCC25741A000D990A
Australian govt scraps Optus regional broadbrand scheme
The Federal Government has terminated the $1 billion OPEL contract the previous government signed with an Optus-led joint venture for the creation of a broadband network for regional Australia.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/02/2205603.htm
OPEL broadband network cancelled - and so are 500 SA jobs
HOPES of creating 500 jobs in Adelaide by 2012 have been dashed after the Federal Government cancelled a $958m OPEL broadband contract.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23471271-5006301,00.html
Conroy kills $1bn OPEL rural broadband contract [AAP]
The federal government has cancelled the contract for Optus and Elders to build a WiMAX broadband network, the companies say.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Conroy-kills-1bn-OPEL-rural-broadband-contract/0,130061791,339287846,00.htm
Telstra welcomes scrapping of Optus rural broadband
Telstra has been quick to respond to the Federal Government's decision to scrap a contract to roll out broadband to rural and regional areas.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/02/2206115.htm
Europeans telecommunications companies hit by prediction of lower rates
Shares of telecommunications companies including Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica fell in European trading Monday after Morgan Stanley said that regulators would cut rates "aggressively" for calls between fixed and mobile phones.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/31/technology/rates.php
US mobile operators avoid potential regulation
It seems mobile operators have dodged a regulatory bullet by promising to open up their networks on their own. On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he was rewarding U.S. wireless operators for their efforts to open up their networks by not pushing for more regulation.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9907928-7.html
**********************
MOBILE/WIRELESS
**********************
Global Mobile Broadband Connections Increase Tenfold Over The Past Year [news release]
The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the mobile industry, today announced that there are now more than 32 million Mobile Broadband (HSPA) connections worldwide compared with just over 3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2007. Mobile Broadband continues to gain momentum as more and more operators upgrade their 3G networks with HSPA technology in parallel with a wealth of advanced HSPA handsets on the market.
http://www.gsmworld.com/news/press_2008/press08_24.shtml
Mobile broadband subscribers increase by 850% [IDG]
The number of mobile broadband subscribers using 3G HSPA has increased by 850% worldwide in the past year, according to the GSM Association. But carriers are also running the risk of becoming a victim of their own success, according to some analysts.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9073338
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143980-c,mobilebroadband/article.html
Shock at huge rise in mobile broadband users [IDG]
The worldwide number of mobile broadband subscribers using HSPA has increased by 850 percent over the past year, according to the GSM Association. But carriers are also running the risk of becoming a victim of their own success. ... There are several reasons for mobile broadband's increased popularity. Everything from lower pricing, to improved ease of use and the convenience of being able to surf the Internet almost everywhere has played a role, according Newman and Högberg.
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11847
Japanese mobile firms may unite on standards
Japan's giant mobile operators look likely to adopt the same technology for their next-generation networks, local media has reported. The change is likely to benefit the country's 102 million mobile users, and may belatedly remove one of the stumbling blocks that has hindered Japanese mobile phone makers' entry into the international market.
http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2213218/japanese-mobile-firms-unite
**********************
VoIP
**********************
VoIP System Security: Time to Worry, or Maybe Not
As computer-based technologies, Voice over Internet Protocol telephone systems (VoIP) are as vulnerable to attacks as PCs. The problem is, says one telecommunications security company, few people ever think that their voice conversations–and their user accounts– can easily be spied upon, recorded, and stolen. “Nobody takes VoIP security seriously enough,” contends Rick Dalmazzi, chief executive of Ottawa-based VoIPshield Systems, Inc., a VoIP security firm. Consumers who use telephone systems from such companies as Vonage are using VoIP technology.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/voip-system-security-time-to-worry-or-maybe-not/
The Essential Guide to VoIP Security - What you need to know about securing IP telephony systems
It's a well-known fact that VoIP technology sends voice data over networks in the form of data packets. Data-networking technology allows IP telephony to provide an array of powerful and flexible call-management options at a rock-bottom cost. The downside to VoIP's data-focused structure is that it exposes IP telephony systems to many of the same threats that imperil enterprise data networks and computers — and in some cases extends their range, making them more difficult to detect. Many observers believe that these security threats represent the biggest challenge that VoIP adopters currently face.
http://www.voip-news.com/feature/essential-guide-voip-security-033108/
Research Exposes Vendor-Specific VOIP Vulnerabilities
VOIPshield Systems on April 2 will seek to set itself apart among voice-over-IP security providers when it launches what officials claim is the first database of vulnerabilities specific to the IP PBXes of market leaders Cisco Systems, Avaya and Nortel Networks.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Research-Exposes-Vendor-Specific-VOIP-Vulnerabilities/
UAE cyber cafes work around the ban to provide VoIP services
Acting illegally, some Internet cafes are becoming the 'third service providers' in the UAE by offering VoIP services to their loyal customers.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/April/theuae_April39.xml§ion=theuae&col=
**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
**********************************
au: Child sex victims urged to come forward [AAP]
POLICE are appealing for young girls believed to be the victims of an alleged pedophile to come forward after charging a man with child sex and pornography offences.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23465805-5005962,00.html
au: Police officer pleads guilty to child pornography offences
An ACT police officer has pleaded guilty to possessing 20 images of child pornography.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080331/21/16b6u.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(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
