[APPLe list] general internet news - June 26

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

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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, already online!


And see 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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INTERNET USE
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At Google, Slow Growth in News Site
Six years after its start, Google News is far from achieving the kind of dominant position in news that the company has in other areas.
http://nytimes.com/2008/06/24/technology/24google.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/business/google.php

Chrysler will offer wireless Internet access in 2009 models
The struggling automaker's announcement comes shortly before California enacts a law that requires hands-free cellphone use while driving.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wificar25-2008jun25,0,1676276.story

Al-Qaeda's Growing Online Offensive
... The exchange was part of the latest propaganda coup orchestrated by al-Qaeda: an online chat between Zawahiri -- one of the world's most wanted fugitives -- and hundreds of curious people around the globe. After announcing in a Web forum in December that he would entertain questions on virtually any topic, Zawahiri received 1,888 written queries from journalists and the public. He patiently answered about one-fifth of them, even hostile postings that condemned al-Qaeda for harming innocents and perverting Islam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062302135.html

Japanese telco institutes upload caps... of 30GB... daily
Japanese broadband operator NTT Communications plans to begin implementing a new upload limit in August. If you've got to have caps, 30GB per day is probably doable.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080625-japanese-isp-institutes-upload-caps-of-30gb-daily.html

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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Facebook is "educational", says US uni
Social networks like Facebook and MySpace have reputations as tools for procrastination but a new study from the University of Minnesota, US says contests this.
http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39250348,00.htm

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Company scores plummet in Greenpeace Greener Electronics Guide [news release]
With expanded and tougher criteria on toxic chemicals, electronic waste and new criteria on climate change only Sony and Sony Ericsson score more than 5/10 in our latest Guide to Greener Electronics. Nintendo and Microsoft remain rooted to the bottom of the Guide. 
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/guide-greener-electronics-8-edition-250608

Nintendo 'least green tech firm'
Games firm Nintendo has come bottom of a ranking of the world's most eco-friendly electronics firms. The quarterly Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics ranks 18 electronics firms by how green their production processes and products are.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7473366.stm

Greenpeace updates tech rankings
Greenpeace has released the latest edition of its Green Technology rankings. Sony starred in the new rankings; the company itself placed second overall, while its joint venture with Ericsson was number one of the list. Greenpeace credited Sony Ericsson with an almost perfect score in reduction of hazardous chemicals, but noted that the company's recycling program was 'pitiful.'
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2220064/greenpeace-updates-tech

PC population reaches one billion
The total number of PCs in use today has broken the one billion mark, according to new figures from Gartner. The analyst house has calculated that the installed base of PCs grows by around 12 per cent a year. If this continues the number of systems will reach two billion by 2014.
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnunet/news/2219840/pc-population-reaches-billion
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2219846/pc-population-hits-billion
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=79016

Gartner expects 2 billion PCs will be in use by 2014
As the number of PCs in use around the world passed the 1 billion mark, a research firm is estimating that the total will double in just another six years.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9102438

Gartner Says More than 1 Billion PCs In Use Worldwide and Headed to 2 Billion Units by 2014 [news release]
The number of installed PCs worldwide has surpassed 1 billion units, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts estimate the worldwide installed base of PCs is growing just under 12 percent annually. At that pace, it will surpass 2 billion units by early 2014.
http://gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=703807

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Internet for Everyone campaign aims to bridge digital divide
An all-star panel of Internet academics, activists, and entrepreneurs gathered at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York today to launch Internet for Everyone, a campaign calling for a national broadband policy to bridge the "digital divide." The group—the members on hand today included such luminaries as Vint Cerf, Lawrence Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, and Tim Wu—is urging political action to provide universal, affordable high-speed broadband in the United States.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080624-internet-for-everyone-campaign-aims-to-bridge-digital-divide.html

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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Judge asks Google: what does obscene mean?
A defendant in Florida will use data about searches on Google to argue that material he sold on the web was not obscene
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4204237.ece

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PRIVACY
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US Internet Provider Halts Plan to Track, Sell Users' Surfing Data
Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, announced yesterday that it has backed off a plan to monitor customers' Internet transmissions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401033.html

ISP backs off behavioral ad plan [IDG]
Charter Communications Inc., one of the largest providers of cable-based broadband service in the U.S., has backed off a plan to insert advertisements onto Web pages based on its users' Web-surfing habits. Privacy advocates had called the program an "attack on users."
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9103358

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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The Pirate Bay moves to counter Swedish wiretapping law [IDG]
The Pirate Bay is adding encryption to its Web site in order to counter a new Swedish law that allows wiretapping of Internet and phone traffic. The site is one of the most widely used BitTorrent trackers for music, movies and software.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9102598
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147471/the_pirate_bay_moves_to_counter_swedish_wiretapping_law.html

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CENSORSHIP
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What’s Obscene? Google Could Have an Answer
In a Florida trial, Google data will be used to argue that explicit material doesn’t violate community values. Judges and jurors who must decide whether sexually explicit material is obscene are asked to use a local yardstick: does the material violate community standards?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/technology/24obscene.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/24/technology/24obscene.php

Belarus Cracks Down on Internet News [AP]
Belarussian lawmakers gave final approval on Tuesday to a crackdown on Internet journalism. The new measures require that all Internet sites originating in the country be registered with the government.
http://nytimes.com/2008/06/25/world/europe/25belarus.html

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Leopard claws into kids' mobile use
Parents can control their children's Optus mobile phone usage completely - including what websites they can visit, who they can contact and when they can use the built-in camera - using new Australian software.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/24/1214073201833.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/06/24/1214073201833.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4595403a28.html

nz: Online games used for sexual abuse grooming
Online games are making it easier for sex offenders to groom children over the internet, says the Customs Service
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200806260920/3bd9750
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200806260843/bd973c

uk: Plan to protect children online unveiled
The government has unveiled an action plan to make the internet safer for children with a £9m ad campaign promoting "e-safety" and setting up a council on child internet safety.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/24/digitalmedia.children

se: Children concerned over parent’s internet habits
The annual report from Barnens Rätt i Samhället (BRIS), which runs a children’s helpline in Sweden, has revealed growing numbers of children are worried by their parents use of the internet.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2220066/children-concerned-parent-internet-abuse

uk: Traders caught selling violent games to children, online and off
Thirty-eight online traders and three high street shops have been caught selling 18-rated video games to children in a series of undercover investigations. Such sales are illegal and businesses can be punished by prison sentences and fines.
http://out-law.com/page-9202

eu: EDPS Opinion on safer Internet for children: data protection is an essential prerequisite to the safety of children online
Today, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an Opinion on the proposed multiannual Community programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies, which was presented by the European Commission in February 2008.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=EDPS/08/7
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=EDPS/08/7

Summer Vacation Spent on the Internet?
The school year is ending and kids are getting ready for weeks of sun, relaxation, camps and hanging out - online. From Club Penguin to MySpace, YouTube and the latest next big thing, Ning.com, children will be spending more time online than ever before. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 94 percent of teens go online with nearly 60 percent keeping their online profiles on sites such as Facebook up to date. So where in the online world are your kids going to be this summer?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-balkam/summer-vacation-spent-on_b_108940.html

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Sarkozy lays out plan for Internet tax [AP]
France will ban prime-time advertising on public television as of Jan. 1 and plans to tax Internet, phone and commercial broadcasting companies to replace the lost funding, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/06/25/business/nettax.php

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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nz: Fibre policies to offset NZ isolation problem - Tuanz
The fibre optic policies of both National and Labour will offset this country's isolation problem, a Telecommunications Summit in Auckland was told today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=1501833&objectid=10518103

Fibre optic can offset NZ's isolation [NZPA]
The fibre optic policies of both National and Labour will offset this country's isolation problem, a Telecommunications Summit in Auckland was told.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4595332a28.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10518095

ISPs urged to sell the 'content experience'
ISPs should be doing deals with content sites to share network revenue and provide service level agreements (SLAs) for consumers based on "content experience", according to Juniper Networks.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2219914/isps-should-write-slas-consumers

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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au: 'Child porn' officer blamed sons
The wife of a senior NSW police officer accused of possessing child pornography has denied using the images to her own advantage.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/24/1214073208955.html
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080624/2/17ezd.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/child-porn-officer-blamed-sons-20080624-2vwo.html

au: Officer 'kept child porn on a disc'
The former wife of a senior police officer has told a Sydney court she found an image of child pornography in a box of his personal assets.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/24/2284158.htm

au: Qld man bailed in child porn sting [ABC]
A north Queensland man arrested in an international internet child pornography sting has been ordered to appear in court again in September.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080624/21/17ezn.html

nz: NZ girl in kiddie porn
Parents are being warned to show more interest in their children's online activity.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/080625/2/6cu2.html

uk: Nazi supporter guilty of terror plans and possessing child porn
A Nazi sympathiser, described by police as extremely dangerous, has been found guilty of planning acts of terrorism and of possessing child pornography after investigators found homemade bombs and indecent images of children at his home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/25/uksecurity.thefarright

ca: Quebec police say baby was victim of porn ring that netted 27 arrests [Canadian Press]
Quebec provincial police allege a baby only a few months old was one of the victims of an international child pornography ring that operated over the internet.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/06/25/qc-pornring0625.html

27 Quebec men arrested on child-pornography charges
Twenty-seven men from various parts of the province face child pornography charges after police discovered a group were secretly using a website based in Germany to exchange computer files.
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=afa98d7b-7949-47fd-9dc6-8dde38aec2b1

Spain makes internet porn arrests
Spanish police have arrested 41 people accused of possessing or sharing child internet pornography.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7473244.stm

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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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(c) David Goldstein 2008



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David Goldstein
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AUSTRALIA
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