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[APPLe list] general internet news - April 28
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Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
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Don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.
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The domain name news is supported by auDA
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China Tops US for Internet Population Lead [IDG]
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9080583
China reports it's tied US for most Internet users [AP]
http://news.theage.com.au/china-reports-its-tied-us-for-most-internet-users/20080424-28cv.html
Europe leapfrogs US in broadband take-up
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215263/europe-leapfrogs-broadband
One in five Britons don't know how to use email
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3808251.ece
A Google Prototype for a Precision Image Search
http://nytimes.com/2008/04/28/technology/28google.html
The mobile future is calling
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7366403.stm
McKinsey: ignore Second Life at your peril
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3803056.ece
Class war hits social networking sites: Facebook for toffs, MySpace for plebs, claims report
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2192887/class-war-hits-social
France to require apartments to come wired
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/24/technology/fiber.php
Get ready for the 30th anniversary of email spam
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37140/113/
FBI's Net surveillance proposal raises privacy, legal concerns
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9929085-38.html
Australian music industry opens new front on piracy
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/25/1208743215717.html
nz: BigPond makes a splash
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/griffins-tech-blog/2008/4/28/long-tentacles-law/
Russians face internet Iron Curtain
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215216/russians-face-iron-curtain
Bloggers offer glimpse of uncensored Cuba [AP]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/28/BU6510B8A0.DTL
nz: Parents use spyware to keep watch on kids
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4498614a6407.html
The Real Threat to Google
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2008/tc20080427_580014.htm
Yahoo! and Microsoft: Still No - Yahoo!'s Jerry Yang braces himself for Microsoft's hostility
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11090055
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RESEARCH PAPERS
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The Content/Noncontent Distinction in Internet Surveillance Law by Matthew J. Tokson - University of Chicago - Law School
Abstract: Whether a component of an Internet communication is classified as "content" or "envelope" information determines in large part the privacy protection it receives under Constitutional and statutory law. Courts and Internet law scholars have yet to offer a means of determining the content/envelope status of unique aspects of Internet communications from email subject lines to Web browsing data. As a result, the level of legal protection afforded to such communications remains a vexing and unresolved question of Internet law. This article develops a legal framework for distinguishing content from envelope information in unique areas of Internet communications. Drawing on a practical analysis of the structure of the Internet and an evaluation of relevant common law and Fourth Amendment doctrines, the Article proposes that information which can reveal the underlying text or subject matter of an Internet communication must be classified as content.
The Article identifies several areas where application of this principle is necessary to resolve difficult questions about the legal status of an Internet communication, and gives, for the first time, a comprehensive account of the content status of Internet communications, from email body text to website IP addresses. The proposed framework provides a judicially manageable and normatively attractive means for courts to determine the legal status of novel communications technologies, present and future. Ultimately, resolving the content/envelope distinction has the potential to clarify other unanswered and controversial questions in Fourth Amendment and statutory privacy law.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1123304
The Perpetration and Prevention of Cybercrimes by Stanley Kratchman, Jacob Lawrence Smith and Murphy Smith [Internal Auditing]
Abstract: A major problem facing e-business is its vulnerability to cybercrime. Cybercrime includes any criminal activity committed on the Internet, such as phishing, spoofing, botnet, and denial of service attacks that cause e-business websites to lose money. This article describes how some common cybercrimes are perpetrated and provides examples of some companies affected. In addition, some guidance is offered on preventing crimes. Understanding types of cybercrime and basic prevention techniques will benefit internal auditors, as they can help evaluate whether a company has adequate defenses against cybercrime.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1123743
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INTERNET USE
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China Tops US for Internet Population Lead [IDG]
China has proclaimed itself the world's largest Internet market, with 221 million Internet users, state media reported Thursday.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145108/china_tops_us_for_internet_population_lead.html
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9080583
China reports it's tied US for most Internet users [AP]
By some measures, China has tied the United States as the online population leader with its government reporting that the number of Internet users there has soared to 221 million.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-chinatech25apr25,1,1865051.story
http://news.smh.com.au/china-reports-its-tied-us-for-most-internet-users/20080424-28cv.html
http://news.theage.com.au/china-reports-its-tied-us-for-most-internet-users/20080424-28cv.html
Europe leapfrogs US in broadband take-up
The number of European broadband users has topped the 100 million mark, according to the European Commission's latest study on broadband usage.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215263/europe-leapfrogs-broadband
http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2215263/europe-leapfrogs-broadband
One in five Britons don't know how to use email
One in five adult Britons is unable to open a word processing document on a computer, and just under 20 per cent still cannot use e-mail, a survey suggests.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3808251.ece
The internet addiction phenomenon in Greece
According to recent results of a survey conducted by the Greek Node’s partner, the Adolescent Health Unit (A.H.U.) of the Second Department of Paediatrics at the University of Athens, among 1021 adolescents in Attica, 1% of Greek youngsters are addicted to the internet and 18.2% of adolescents are at risk of being a web addict.
http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/0408/addiction_greece.htm
A Google Prototype for a Precision Image Search
Google researchers say they have a software technology intended to do for digital images on the Web what the company’s original PageRank software did for searches of Web pages.
http://nytimes.com/2008/04/28/technology/28google.html
The mobile future is calling
Developers are being asked to devise applications for mobile devices so users can "access it, mix it up, save it, and store it". The plea to harness the creativity of the internet and apply it on mobile phones was made by Mitchell Baker the chair of Firefox developer Mozilla.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7366403.stm
Mobile phone trio agree internet project
Two of the world’s largest mobile phone operators on Thursday signalled their determination to profit more from the growing popularity of wireless internet. Vodafone, the world’s largest operator by revenue, and China Mobile, the largest by number of customers, announced a research project aimed at speeding the roll-out of mobile internet services. Softbank, Japan’s third largest mobile operator, is also part of the project, to be known as the joint innovation lab.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c9d4b706-1217-11dd-9b49-0000779fd2ac.html
When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web
It's almost like Googling someone: Log on to Facebook. Join the Washington, D.C., network. Search the Web site for your favorite school system. And then watch the public profiles of 20-something teachers unfurl like gift wrap on the screen, revealing a sense of humor that can be overtly sarcastic or unintentionally unprofessional -- or both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702213.html
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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McKinsey: ignore Second Life at your peril
Virtual worlds such as Second Life will become an indispensible business tool and vital to the strategy of any company intent on reaching out to the video-game generation, one of the world's leading consultancies has said.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3803056.ece
Class war hits social networking sites: Facebook for toffs, MySpace for plebs, claims report
New research into social networking sites claims to have uncovered sharp online class divisions. The college educated turn more to Facebook, according to the report, while MySpace caters largely for those who leave school early.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2192887/class-war-hits-social
Social networking applications can pose security risks [AP]
Sarah Brown is unusually cautious when it comes to social networking. The college sophomore doesn't have a MySpace page and, while she's on Facebook, she does everything she can to keep her page as private as she can.
http://news.smh.com.au/social-networking-applications-can-pose-security-risks/20080428-28xa.html
http://news.theage.com.au/social-networking-applications-can-pose-security-risks/20080428-28xa.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042701073.html
A few social networking privacy tips [AP]
A few ways social networkers can help protect their privacy:
http://news.smh.com.au/a-few-social-networking-privacy-tips/20080428-28x9.html
http://news.theage.com.au/a-few-social-networking-privacy-tips/20080428-28x9.html
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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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France to require apartments to come wired
The French government said Thursday that it planned to require builders to install fiber-optic cables in new apartment buildings to increase the introduction of fast broadband Internet.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/24/technology/fiber.php
Urban miners look for precious metals in cell phones
Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics -- many of which are enjoying near-record prices.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKT13528020080427
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SPAM
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Two thirds of Britons say they have been victims of mobile spam
Research commissioned by messaging security firm Cloudmark shows 66% of UK mobile phone users have received spam text messages.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/04/24/230419/two-thirds-of-britons-say-they-have-been-victims-of-mobile.htm
Google's pointers on countering Web spam
It's no secret that spam now pollutes Web sites as well as email in-boxes. But Web site operators can take actions to combat it, a Google expert in the area said Friday.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9929073-7.html
Get ready for the 30th anniversary of email spam
In 1978, the first unsolicited e-mail was sent, to hundreds of users of the government computer network Arpanet. The phenomenon would later be demarkated as "spam" and revered as one of the most lucrative and controversial trends in Internet history.
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37140/113/
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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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FBI's Net surveillance proposal raises privacy, legal concerns
The FBI director and a Republican congressman sketched out a far-reaching plan this week for warrantless surveillance of the Internet. During a House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearing, the FBI's Robert Mueller and Rep. Darrell Issa of California talked about what amounts to a two-step approach. Step 1 involves asking Internet service providers to open their networks to the FBI voluntarily; step 2 would be a federal law forcing companies to do just that.
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9929085-38.html
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PRIVACY
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Office snooping software attacked by privacy groups
Companies are coming under fire from privacy campaigners for rolling out a computer program which enables them to track the communications and contacts of their staff.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3815236.ece
Identity theft isn't just personal, it's corporate
Do you know where your personal and corporate identity information resides or may be lurking? According to two Canadian security experts, personal and corporate identity theft is quickly becoming commonplace in the market and more vigilance and formal corporate policies are needed in order to help combat this issue.
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/Home/News.asp?id=48130
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;473871739;fp;2;fpid;2
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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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Australian music industry opens new front on piracy
Australia's largest internet provider has shrugged off threats of legal action by the music industry as record labels overseas continue to drag ISPs through the courts in a desperate battle to stop music piracy.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/04/25/1208743215717.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/25/1208743215717.html
nz: BigPond makes a splash
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, the country's largest internet provider Telstra BigPond has said it is prepared to fight legal challenges from the music industry if it tries to force the ISP to shut down customers who are downloading pirated content. ... New Zealand ISPs currently have no legal obligation to scan their networks for sources of illegal material and downloaders of pirated content. But the Copyright Amendment Act passed this month introduced a "notice and takedown" system whereby ISPs have to take down content when approached by copyright holders claiming the content is being used in breach of the Copyright Act.
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/griffins-tech-blog/2008/4/28/long-tentacles-law/
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CENSORSHIP
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Russians face internet Iron Curtain
Russian government officials are proposing tough censorship laws for the country's 29 million internet users. State newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported that prosecutors have proposed an amendment to bring the internet under the same rules as traditional media "within a month".
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215216/russians-face-iron-curtain
Bloggers offer glimpse of uncensored Cuba [AP]
Only a month has passed since ordinary Cubans won the right to own computers, and the government still keeps a rigid grip on Internet access.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/28/BU6510B8A0.DTL
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24316406/
http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/388199.html
Spain's military banned from websites showing models or giving sports results
When Spain's Socialist leader appointed a pregnant Defence Minister the conservative Spanish military establishment mostly grinned and bore it. But many members of the armed forces are now angry about Carme Chacón's first act in office - banning them from websites featuring football or naked women.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3818636.ece
Saudi Activist Blogger Freed After 4 Months in Jail Without Charge
Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger has been released after serving four months in prison without charge.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042601470.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/27/1209234704740.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/04/27/1209234704740.html
Israeli soldier jailed for Facebook photo
A member of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has been jailed for 19 days after posting a picture of himself on Facebook without permission.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215177/soldier-jailed-facebook-photo
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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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uk: Schools vow to delete the cyber bullies
Headteachers are being told to draw up new rules on mobile phone use in city schools amid a growing number of cyber- bullying cases.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Schools-vow-to-delete-the.4020792.jp
au: ACMA flooded with child porn complaints
Horrified computer users have alerted Australia's online regulator to more than 1200 web pages depicting child porn over the past three years.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=453741
au: Bishop uses YouTube to warn of internet dangers
The Catholic Bishop of Wollongong is appearing in a YouTube video warning parents and adults of the dangers the internet poses to young people.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/28/2228777.htm
nz: Parents use spyware to keep watch on kids
New Zealand parents are spying on their children with special software secretly reading every Google search, website hit, chatroom conversation, email and MSN message and even every keystroke the child makes.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4498614a6870.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4498614a6407.html
Internet porn ‘encourages teenagers to have sex early'
Exposure to internet pornography leads teenagers to lose their virginity at a "much younger" age, researchers have found. A peer reviewed study from the journal CyberPyschology and Behaviour revealed that males aged between 12 and 17 who regularly viewed porn had sex at an earlier stage in their lives and were more likely to initiate oral sex, apparently imitating what they had watched.
http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2228388.0.internet_porn_encourages_teenagers_to_have_sex_early.php
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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'Extreme porn' law could criminalise millions
Analysis: If you use the internet for any purpose that might be construed as other than respectable – be afraid. Be very afraid. Almost unreported, the UK Criminal Justice Bill is slowly wending its way toward becoming law. It includes a section (Clause 63) on "extreme pornographic images" that may, or may not, affect a very large proportion of the adult population in the UK. But that – the Bill's uncertain scope – is part of the problem.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/25/justice_bill_extreme_pron/
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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The Real Threat to Google
Google's biggest threat may not be Microsoft or Yahoo!. No, one of the most formidable challenges facing Google is likely sitting in your pocket or purse. It's your cell phone, and it will put added pressure on Google and other Internet companies to revamp the way they handle online marketing. As more people use cell phones and their tiny glass screens to gain access to the Internet, Google and its fellow online advertisers will have less space, or what's called ad inventory, to place marketing messages for customers. Google makes money selling ad inventory. And its ad inventory is diminished on a cell phone.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2008/tc20080427_580014.htm
Yahoo! and Microsoft: Still No - Yahoo!'s Jerry Yang braces himself for Microsoft's hostility
Even by the low linguistic standards of earnings calls, Yahoo!'s have long been stultifying. Jerry Yang, the internet company's boss and co-founder, and his top lieutenants read a prepared statement of banalities and clichés in a robotic monotone, then recycle them when pretending to answer questions from Wall Street analysts—until the tedium overwhelms all concerned. This week, however, Mr Yang had listeners hanging on his every word. That is because he spoke four days before Microsoft was due, on April 26th, to carry out its threat to turn its takeover offer for Yahoo! hostile, by launching a proxy battle to oust Mr Yang and the other directors.
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11090055
Microsoft/Yahoo deadline passes with no deal
Yahoo failed to agree to an acquisition deal with Microsoft by Saturday, the deadline Microsoft had set for wrapping up negotiations.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/C2CB02F26784422ACC25743800764C4D
Microsoft issues final threat to scotch Yahoo deal
Microsoft Corp gave Yahoo Inc no hope of a higher takeover price, saying it was ready to go hostile or even call off its bid if Yahoo maintains "unrealistic expectations" of a better deal.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2435171420080425
Google optimistic regulators won't bar Yahoo: source
Google Inc believes regulators would not bar a potential business deal with Yahoo Inc because it would be "non-exclusive" and falls short of an outright merger, a person familiar with Google's thinking said on Friday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN2543490820080425
Microsoft Shows Gains, but Also Weaknesses
Microsoft’s pursuit of Yahoo may have run into some bumps, but its big software business is humming along smoothly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/technology/25soft.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/24/technology/24cndsoft.php
Microsoft considers hostile bid for Yahoo!
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, is considering launching a hostile bid for Yahoo as early next week if Yahoo does not begin talks soon, chief financial officer, Chris Liddell, said yesterday after the world’s biggest software maker reported an 11 per cent drop in its third-quarter profit to $4.39 billion.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3812281.ece
Microsoft’s New Threat to Yahoo: We’ll Buy Someone Else
Microsoft made one thing clear on its conference call with investors this afternoon: We tech bloggers don’t have to work this weekend.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/microsofts-new-threat-to-yahoo-well-buy-someone-else/
Microsoft Presses Yahoo on Deal
Microsoft yesterday reported strong quarterly earnings and warned that there is no reason to raise its bid for Yahoo and that "speed is of the essence" for completing a deal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042402481.html
Final threat: Microsoft ready to get hostile [Reuters]
Microsoft gave Yahoo no hope of a higher takeover price, saying it was ready to go hostile or even call off its bid if Yahoo maintains "unrealistic expectations" of a better deal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10506215
Microsoft: Yahoo ‘unrealistic’; Deadline stands; Quarter mixed
Microsoft CFO Christopher Liddell said Thursday that Yahoo had “unrealistic expectations” about the price it could fetch and reiterated the software giant could walk away from the deal.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8604
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Across the Tasman, two cables better than one
When state-owned Kordia said this month that it was working on a plan for a fibre optic cable across the Tasman, its significance was less to do with faster international internet access than with security.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10506086
New Zealand Herald Editorial: Broadband initiative a sound line
David Skilling, the outgoing head of the New Zealand Institute think-tank, is fond of noting that distance from markets will be much less a tyranny for this country if there is no skimping on investment in technology, especially that involving high-speed access to the internet. Only last month, this credo led him to outline an ambitious plan to lay swathes of fibre-optic cable to jump-start broadband capability. Doubtless he is delighted that soon afterwards much of the thrust of his FibreCo model has been adopted by the National Party. Details are scant but it is clear that pragmatism is underpinning a drive for faster and cheaper broadband.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10506542
Number of mobile phones now exceeds Australia’s population [news release]
For the first time, there is now more than one mobile service for every Australian, with 21.26 million mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007, a 7.6 per cent increase from 19.76 million the year before, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority Communications Report 2006-07, released today.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311135
Number of Mobile Phones Now Exceeds Australia's Population
For the first time, there is now more than one mobile service for every Australian, with 21.26 million mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007, a 7.6 per cent increase from 19.76 million the year before, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
http://cellular-news.com/story/30809.php
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VoIP
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Skype tests application for mobile phones
EBay-owned Skype has released into open beta testing a client for mobile phones that supports phone calls, chat, and other features of the popular VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) application.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/25/Skype-tests-application-for-mobile-phones_1.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145113/skype_tests_application_for_mobile_phones.html
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(c) David Goldstein 2008
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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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