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[APPLe list] general internet news - June 16
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Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
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Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!
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The domain name news is supported by auDA
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Mobile internet use 'rocketing in Europe'
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62042538,00.htm
Internet use doubles in White House race: survey
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/16/2275350.htm
Canadian teens driving up use of the Internet [Canadian Press]
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/442010
EBay delays PayPal policy
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23857981-15306,00.html
eBay to fight ACCC PayPal ruling
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/13/1213321602934.html
us: ISPs: We're limiting our own Usenet groups, not blocking others
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9967004-38.html
EU scales back plan for telecommunications regulator
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/12/business/regulate.php
Mozilla Girds for Mobile Browser Warfare
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080612_114801.htm
Google-Yahoo! deal under competition scrutiny
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article4133270.ece
Consumer telecoms spending to hit $2tn by 2012
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218932/consumer-telecoms-spending-hit
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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Guiding the Censor's Scissors: Assessing Internet Filtering by Derek Bambauer [Brooklyn Law School]
Abstract: On-line censorship is on the rise, in democratic states - including the U.S. - as well as authoritarian ones. It is no longer sufficient to employ a country's mode of governance as a proxy for the legitimacy of its Internet restrictions. In addition, attempting to apply one state's normative views regarding on-line content to practices of other states is likely to devolve, unhelpfully, into accusations of cultural colonialism or repression. This Article seeks a new approach to evaluating the legitimacy of Internet filtering by focusing on the process by which censorship decisions are made, the protections available for content owners and users, and the narrowness with which these choices are implemented. It hopes to engage a range of stakeholders - from governments to watchdogs to activists to corporations - in assessing filtering regimes through quantitative metrics, and then to utilize these measurements in both public and private
decisionmaking.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1143582
The internet and the US 2008 election [news release]
Fully 46% of all Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others. Further, the proportion of Americans going online on a typical day at the tail end of the primary season to get political news or information has more than doubled since a comparable point in the 2004 race—from 8% of all adults in spring 2004 to 17% of all adults in spring 2008.
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/303/press_release.asp
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INTERNET USE
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Lost in Email, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast
The onslaught of cellphone calls and e-mail and instant messages is fracturing attention spans and hurting productivity. It is a common complaint. But now the very companies that helped create the flood are trying to mop it up.
http://nytimes.com/2008/06/14/technology/14email.html
Mobile internet use 'rocketing in Europe'
Europe has taken to 3G faster than any other region in the world and usage is growing rapidly as networks proliferate, according to research commissioned by mobile operator body the GSM Association (GSMA).
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39244960,00.htm
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62042538,00.htm
Internet use doubles in White House race: survey
A new study says the internet now plays a central role in US politics, with nearly half of all Americans using the web and other new media to follow the presidential campaign.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/16/2275350.htm
Internet report shows digital divide in Canada
Almost 75 per cent of Canadians aged 16 or older surfed the Net last year, but factors such as age, income, education and place of residence contribute to a “digital divide” in the country, a new Statistics Canada report says.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080612.winternet0612/BNStory/Technology/
More Canadians hooking up to faster internet
More Canadians are connecting to the internet through faster broadband connections, leading to an increase in activities such as downloading music or movies, according to a new study from Statistics Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/statscan-internet-study.html
Canadian teens driving up use of the Internet [Canadian Press]
Almost all 16-and 17-year-olds in Canada have used the Internet either for doing school work, sending text messages, playing video games or listening to music, according to a study released Thursday.
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/442010
http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/323770
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080612/canada_internet_080610/20080612
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080612/canada_internet_080610/20080612/?hub=TorontoNewHome
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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Social networking sites and confidential information [reg req'd]
A recent application before the High Court focused on the tension between businesses encouraging employees to use social networking websites for professional reasons and later restraining the release of confidential information at the end of their employment. The Court ordered a previous employee of Hays Recruitment to provide pre-action disclosure of various documents relating to business contacts he had accumulated on a social networking site, LinkedIn, during his employment with the company. The case is likely to be of interest to employers concerned both about the strength of their confidentiality agreements and also their policies on the use of social networking websites at work.
http://www.law-now.com/law-now/2008/socialjun2008.htm
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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Korea protests a proving ground for gadgets and geeks
When tens of thousands of Koreans converged in the center of Seoul on Tuesday for a mass protest against the new president, many were clutching two vital items: a candle and a mobile phone loaded with snazzy features.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0534545220080613
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-34038320080612
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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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EBay delays PayPal policy
EBAY has delayed plans to force its Australian customers to use its PayPal payment service with its online auction house.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23857981-15306,00.html
eBay to fight ACCC PayPal ruling
Online auctioneer eBay says it will challenge the Australian competition watchdog's ruling to block its plan to force its users onto a PayPal-only payments system.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/06/13/1213321602934.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/13/1213321602934.html
ACCC thwarts eBay PayPal plan
The competition watchdog has flagged its intention to scuttle a plan by online auctioneer eBay to force its Australian users on to a PayPal-only payments system.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/06/12/1212863822348.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/12/1212863822348.html
ACCC plans to reject eBay's PayPal push 13/06/2008 10:06:00
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is proposing to revoke a notification lodged by eBay.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;559064227
Australia calls shenanigans on eBay PayPal-only policy
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a notice to eBay over its plans to go PayPal-only in Australia later this month, saying that it plans to reject the proposal. The group says that eBay's plans could allow eBay to abuse its power and eliminate competition in the market where PayPal operates.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080612-australia-calls-shenanigans-on-ebay-paypal-only-policy.html
us: Jail sentence for botnet creator
A hacker who hijacked hundreds of PCs to create a botnet has been sentenced to 41 months in jail by a US court. Robert Matthew Bentley of Panama City, Florida also faces $65,000 (£33,000) in fines and will be under supervision for three years on his release.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7451268.stm
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PRIVACY
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uk: BT off hook for secret Phorm trials
The Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO) has decided not to take BT to court over its secret trials of the Phorm personalised web advert serving system. The trials, conducted in 2006 without the consent of BT broadband users, have created huge controversy. Several prominent privacy and security experts have stated that the trials were unlawful, and cast doubt on the legality of the Phorm service itself.
http://www.heise-online.co.uk/news/BT-off-hook-for-secret-Phorm-trials--/110887
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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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us: ISPs: We're limiting our own Usenet groups, not blocking others
An announcement this week by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that three Internet service providers would "block" sources of child porn has caused a surprising amount of confusion.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9967004-38.html
nz: InternetNZ announces major investment in Hector’s World [news release]
InternetNZ (Internet Society of New Zealand Inc) is to provide up to $200,000 in funding for the ongoing development of Hector’s World™, a world-leading cybersafety resource for young children. Hector’s World is produced by Hector's World Limited (HWL), an innovative social entrepreneurship venture and charitable subsidiary of New Zealand’s cybersafety organisation NetSafe.
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2008/inz%20hectors%20world
Spain treats child phone addicts
Two children in Spain have been admitted to a mental health institution to be treated for addiction to their mobile phones, Spanish media report.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7452463.stm
Danish filter catches Romanian child-porn sites
With 86 sites, Romania is the country with the most domains caught in a Danish child-pornography filter. However, the generic domains .com, .info, .biz and .net totaled 3,240 out of 3,864 domains caught by the filter in early 2008.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9097018
Cyber playgrounds
It's no wonder parents are confused and troubled about which websites to let their children visit when cyber stalking is almost daily news.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4582856a28.html
uk: Boy found hanged suffered website abuse, says family
The family of a teenager thought to have killed himself believe bullying about his taste in music on a social networking site may have contributed to his death.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/12/socialnetworking.internet
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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EU telecom ministers dismiss plan for regulatory body [IDG]
The 27 telecommunication ministers of the European Union unanimously dismissed Commissioner Viviane Reding's plans to create a powerful central telecom regulatory body at a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/061208-eu-telecom-ministers-dismiss-plan.html
EU scales back plan for telecommunications regulator
The European Commission on Thursday scaled back plans to create a Europe-wide telecommunications regulator, apparently making a tactical retreat as it attempted to win support for more controversial measures to regulate the sector.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/12/business/regulate.php
Swedish National Defense Radio Agency to Wiretap All Internet Traffic
Several people abroad have started mailing me and others asking if rumors of new legislation to be passed in Sweden on the 17th of June is for real. There are also reports in international forums starting to pop up. This is fairly old news, and I think that most of us are surprised that this has not generated more press both inside and outside Sweden earlier. This legislation will allow for the Swedish National Defense Radio Agency (FRA) to wiretap Internet traffic leaving the country.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/861293_swedish_defense_wiretap_internet_traffic/
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Mozilla Girds for Mobile Browser Warfare
When Mozilla releases its Firefox 3 browser update June 17, it hopes to set the first-ever Guinness world record for number of Internet software downloads in 24 hours. The target: 5 million. That would be quite a feat, since the last Firefox update netted just 1.6 million downloads. But it's no mission impossible. Firefox 3 speeds up browsing and adds a host of improvements, including the ability to adapt to your preferences as you use it. Over the past half-decade, Mozilla, an open-source software company, has gained grassroots support from some 170 million users and amassed an 18% worldwide market share, according to Web metrics outfit Net Applications. In the process, it has broken Microsoft's grip on the critical browser market.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080612_114801.htm
Google-Yahoo! deal under competition scrutiny
The advertising and search deal secured on Thursday night between Yahoo! and Google could still be unravelled after the chairman of an anti-cartel Senate committee in Washington pledged to launch an investigation into the transaction.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article4133270.ece
Google-Yahoo Poses Ad-Rate Worries
Some marketing executives said they are fearful that a new partnership between Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. may raise advertising rates while reducing control over where their ads are displayed. But others cautioned that the impact of the deal -- announced Thursday as Yahoo ended talks about selling its search business to Microsoft Corp. -- remains unclear. They said a lot hinges on how Yahoo chooses to implement the complex agreement and whether Yahoo continues to give advertisers incentives, such as higher placements, for working with it directly.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121340486730674061.html?mod=2_1571_topbox
Google's Yahoo Rebound Play
With Microsoft out of the picture, Web search king Google strikes a search ad deal with Yahoo. But where does that leave the struggling portal? After more than four months of Sturm und Drang, the blockbuster Internet deal of the year is over, with only one clear winner: Google. On June 12, Microsoft and Yahoo said they ended talks that focused on, at turns, an outright takeover by the software giant to a combination of the companies' Web-search operations. Within hours, Google swooped in with a long-discussed alternative deal that involves placing search ads on Yahoo pages.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080612_745212.htm
Yahoo! succumbs to the power of Google
The firm's advertising tie-up wounds Microsoft but hurts its own future too, says John Naughton: Truly, you couldn't make it up - unless perhaps you were a script consultant for a soap opera. Here's the plot line so far: Microsoft, a successful but ageing computer company with a vast deposit account, decides it needs an attractive acquisition to enable it to keep up with the younger - Web 2.0 - generation. So it makes a generous offer to Yahoo!, a fashionable but faltering younger company. But Yahoo! doesn't want to be ravaged by an older corporation and embarks on all kinds of crazy schemes to repulse its offer, including making overtures to Google, the new boy on the block.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jun/15/technology.mediabusiness
Yahoo-Google agree online ad deal
Yahoo has agreed a deal with Google which will see Yahoo use the search engine giant's advertising technology. Under the agreement, Google ads will appear alongside some Yahoo search results in the US and Canada.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7451946.stm
Yahoo spurns Microsoft for advertising deal with Google
Yahoo cut off all merger talks with Microsoft last night as it clinched a search advertising deal with Google. Yahoo said the ending of talks, which had been off and on since Microsoft made its approach public in January, had come after Microsoft made it clear in a meeting on Sunday that it was no longer interested in buying the company outright, even at the price of $33 per share which Microsoft had last suggested. That would have valued Yahoo at up to $47.5bn (£23.5bn).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jun/13/yahoo.microsoft
Yahoo partners with Google on ads after Microsoft talks fall apart
Microsoft's four-month-long courtship of Yahoo has finally thrown Yahoo into the arms of their biggest common rival, Google.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/13/technology/13yahoo.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/technology/13yahoo.html
Follow the leader - Apple ditches its unusual business model to boost handset sales
ALMOST a year after launching what he thinks is the phone to change all phones, Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, took to the stage again this week to introduce its second version, the iPhone 3G. In the past year Mr Jobs, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, has visibly aged. Looking emaciated, he farmed out large parts of his speech, which is usually a big marketing and media event, to other presenters. But he still held the crowd in thrall as ever.
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11543761
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Consumer telecoms spending to hit $2tn by 2012
Revenue from consumer telecoms network services will hit $2tn globally by 2012 as the digital divide between developed and developing nations deepens, market watchers predict. In-Stat expects the sector to grow at a steady annual pace of about 5.7 per cent, on average, over the next five years.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218932/consumer-telecoms-spending-hit
Shock report ranks New Zealand 38th for broadband
A fresh perspective has been added to the OECD broadband rankings commonly used to benchmark New Zealand’s network capabilities — and that perspective isn’t flattering. The report comes from network caching company Akamai, which has servers in the network all around the world and says it is well positioned to measure actual network performance.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/655531390B23FA91CC257468008042BD
TelstraClear and Orcon lead ComCom broadband survey [NZPA]
TelstraClear and Orcon, a subsidiary of state-owned Kordia, have come out top in the first of a new series of quarterly broadband surveys released by the Commerce Commission. The Epitiro-IDC New Zealand Broadband Index, commissioned by the commission, measures 13 internet service providers (ISPs) every 15 minutes over 24 hours across 11 sites in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/telstraclear-and-orcon-lead-comcom-broadband-survey
In NZ, smaller broadband providers do better
Most of the biggest telecommunications companies deliver the worst broadband services, according to a report commissioned by the Commerce Commission. Broadband services from Telecom, Vodafone and Slingshot all scored average or below average in the March quarter. But those of their much smaller competitors, including MaxNet, Snap and Compas, consistently out-performed the industry average.
http://stuff.co.nz/4584881a13.html
Telecom and Vodafone broadband worst - Commission (+report)
Two of NZ's biggest broadband providers are the worst performers, says the Commerce Commission. A report issued yesterday ranked Telecom, Vodafone and smaller company Slingshot the worst performers. The three companies scored average to below average in tests, including time taken to connect to the internet, download speeds and the time taken to send and receive emails.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10516545
Melbourne club's broadband bid
DIRECTORS of some of Australia's most powerful companies and organisations - including Leightons, the Macquarie Infrastructure Group and the ABC - have emerged as backers of the mysterious Acacia syndicate which wants a slice of the Rudd Government's $15 billion broadband network.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23856950-5013040,00.html
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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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WiMax 'more appealing' to consumers
Experts predict that WiMax wireless broadband services are likely to be shunned by businesses but taken up by consumers. Analyst firm In-Stat said that WiMax has the "right balance" for consumers, but that businesses will provide more of a challenge to WiMax operators because of the need for ubiquitous coverage.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218902/wimax-appealing-consumers
Telstra's media ambitions pay off
TELSTRA'S bid to turn itself into a media company is paying dividends, according to BigPond chief Justin Milne, who yesterday told the Cannes Advertising Festival that the number of people viewing media content on the carrier's 3G network had grown 43 per cent in the past six months, and that they had spent 45 per cent more than 2G users.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23868444-643,00.html
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VoIP
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Compressed web phone calls are easy to bug
Plans to compress internet (VoIP) phone calls so they use less bandwidth could make them vulnerable to eavesdropping. Most networks are currently safe, but many service providers are due to implement the flawed compression technology.
http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14124-compressed-web-phone-calls-are-easy-to-bug.html
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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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Brazilian cops alert Poland to child porn ring [AFP]
Polish police announced on Thursday the detention of 37 people suspected of copying and distributing child pornography over the Internet during a recent swoop in 12 Polish cities.
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=4451883
Brisbane man latest charged in child porn blitz
A Brisbane man is the latest to be charged as part of a major child pornography investigation.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/14/2274656.htm
Another man arrested in child porn bust
A BRISBANE man is the latest to be charged as part of a major international child pornography investigation.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23862208-5006786,00.html
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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.
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(c) David Goldstein 2008
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David Goldstein
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