internet news - 14/2

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

Domain Name News
Resale of domain names goes bust along with the dot-com era (Silicon
Valley)
Timothy Lee prompted some head-scratching two years ago when he said
he turned down $8 million cash and $30 million in stock for the
``cool.com'' Web address he had registered years earlier for free.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/personal_technology/2666167.htm

Second thoughts on domain name rule (China Daily)
Chinese experts are cautioning the Internet's main standards-setting
body against hastily approving a controversial set of specifications
on internationalized domain names.
 http://www.chinadaily.net/cndy/2002-02-11/56462.html

From BNA Internet Law News
News On Upcoming ICANN Meetings
Two developments of note regarding upcoming ICANN meetings -first,
ICANN announced yesterday that its June meeting will be held in
Bucharest, Romania. Second, Ben Edelman of the Berkman Center, which
had been involved in previous webcasts of ICANN meetings, has
announced that the Center will not be involved in webcasting the
upcoming Accra, Ghana meeting in March. Should the upcoming meeting
not be webcast, this would raise considerable concern since given the
distant meeting location for many involved in the ICANN process, one
would have thought that the Ghana necessitates full remote
participation.
 http://www.icannwatch.org/article.php?sid=545
 http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-13feb02.htm

From BNA Internet Law News
ICANN Warns Firms Of Domain-Registration Back Doors
ICANN has issued a warning to authorized Internet address marketers
who let other companies dip into the domain registration system,
reminding them that they are not allowed to let unauthorized third
parties access the complex systems behind the registration, transfer
and deletion of addresses. Access lending appears to be popular among
domain-name speculators fighting for the attractive monikers that
become available when their current owners fail to renew their
registrations.  Warning at
 http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-12feb02.htm
Coverage at
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174465.html

Internet News
Porn watcher ready for action (Silicon)
The UK's web porn watchdog will mark the arrival of its new chief
executive with a crackdown on illegal internet material.
 http://www.silicon.com/a51286

Internet Watch Foundation tightens newsgroups policy (Internet
Magazine)
Child pornography watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is
hardening its attitude towards newsgroups known to include illegal
material. 
 http://www.internet-magazine.com/news/view.asp?id=2291

Hunting Criminals in Cyberspace (allAfrica.com)
The creation by government of a cyberspace inspectorate which will
trawl the internet in search of purveyors of pornography, women and
child abuse and other crimes is in the pipeline.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200202130212.html

España es el país europeo con mayor aumento en accesos de banda ancha
(ZDNet)
Según datos de IDC, España es el país europeo en el que más creció el
número de accesos de banda ancha el año pasado, con un crecimiento de
un 140%, lo que le sitúa entre los países más desarrollados en este
terreno.
 http://www.zdnet-es.com/canales/zdnn/mostrarnoticias_n.html?id=3762

Huge Flaw Threatens Net Traffic (Wired)
Much of the Internet's network devices from desktop computers to
traffic management systems have a security flaw that could allow
hackers to shut them down or gain control of the devices, a
government-funded research group warned Tuesday. 
 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50379,00.html

SafeWeb's Holes Contradict Claims 
SafeWeb's anonymous-surfing technology turns out not to be very safe
after all. 
A pair of researchers has unearthed flaws in the CIA-funded product
that contradict the company's claims of "complete privacy" and reveal
the supposedly confidential information of customers. 
 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50371,00.html

The Future of Cellphones Is Here. Sort Of. (New York Times)
For the last few years, ever since a cellphone became nearly as
commonplace as a wallet, the telecommunications industry has promoted
the potential of wireless Internet access.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/14/technology/circuits/14FUTU.html
(DG comment - it appears the USA is quite behind Europe and other
countries in their deployment of mobile phone telephony, and that
this article would be news about 12 months ago in Europe!)

Sony chips back in game war (Australian IT)
Sony has hit back at claims by the consumer watchdog that allowing
mod-chips in PlayStation consoles would result in a better variety of
games at cheaper prices. 

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3772682%5E15319%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

Britain's net champions named
The Home Office has been chosen by the UK's net industry as its
internet villain for 2002. 
The government department was judged to have done the most to upset
Britain's net community by the Internet Service Providers Association
which handed out the prize at its annual award ceremony on Wednesday.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1820000/1820036.stm

Microsoft eyes new turf to conquer 
While Microsoft is focusing much of its energy these days on
developing Web services and on tightening the security of its
software, it hasn't stopped exploring new markets. 
The Redmond, Wash.-based company plans to make deeper forays into the
areas of security software and storage through two upstart divisions.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-837319.html

Microsoft unveils internet software (Financial Times) 
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, on
Wednesday revealed Visual Studio .Net, a set of development tools
that should permit programs from different vendors to be linked
together easily over the internet in a "plug-and-play" manner. 

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3A5CDFNXC

Shielding ISPs from criminal liability (CNET)
A new bill is floating in Congress, and this time it's not about spam
or privacy, but rather the criminal liability of Internet service
providers. 
Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., introduced legislation Tuesday designed
to guarantee that Internet service providers will not be held liable
under federal law for the criminal actions of third-party users. 
 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-837137.html

Broadband Internet's Growth Is Global - Study (Newsbytes)
A new global forecast by technology consultancy the Yankee Group
predicts by 2006, the broadband services market will generate $33
billion in Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific combined.
 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174486.html

PayPal, Palm and patents (CNET)
If you've been ignoring patent law--either as an online business or
simply as a consumer--it's time to wake up. Recent events show that,
for better or worse, this important form of intellectual property
protection cannot be overlooked.
 http://news.com.com/2010-1075-836237.html

EU move on digital tax disappoints U.S. (CNET)
The Treasury Department on Wednesday reacted negatively to a European
Union move to require non-EU companies to impose a tax on products
delivered online to consumers, such as downloaded software or music.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1017-837235.html

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