[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[APPLe list] general internet news - February 10
**********************************************************
Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
Sponsored by EuroDNS and AsiaDNS - for your domain name registration
http://www.eurodns.com/
**********************************************************
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!
And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.
***************************************************
The domain name news is supported by auDA
***************************************************
Behind the Great Chinese Firewall
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/09/internet.china
Caught in the Web: A cultural critic - and former blogger - looks at the Internet and finds nothing good.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020702946.html
Internet service restored in Mideast and Asia [Reuters]
http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/10/business/cable.php
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0872927920080208
Password pain looks set to ease
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7234499.stm
Facebook can ruin your life. And so can MySpace, Bebo...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/facebook-can-ruin-your-life-and-so-can-myspace-bebo-780521.html
Freedom Of Information: Facebook – the new battleground in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/freedom-of-information-facebook-ndash-the-new-battleground-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-779766.html
Social networking in the classroom?!
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/social-networking-in-classroom.html
Teens posting personal info: Study
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/teens-posting-personal-info-study.html
Facebook translated into Spanish
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7234591.stm
Facebook pokes Vodafone in mobile tie-up
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3328527.ece
Google squares up to Microsoft with the Gphone
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3330854.ece
Another US spammer hit by CAN-SPAM [IDG]
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11323
Mobile phone companies join war on internet child porn
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/11/mobilephones.technology
nz: E-crime dangers on rise
http://stuff.co.nz/thepress/4391890a6009.html
PC Magazine on parental controls
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/pc-magazine-on-parental-controls.html
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp
Yahoo Expected to Reject Microsoft’s Takeover Offer
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/business/10yahoo.html
**********************
INTERNET USE
**********************
Behind the Great Chinese Firewall
210 million Chinese have web access and any day now China will have more users than the US. But instead of spreading freedom, the net has been tamed by Beijing's iron grip
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/09/internet.china
Caught in the Web: A cultural critic - and former blogger - looks at the Internet and finds nothing good.
... Siegel's book is a jeremiad against the ills the Internet has visited upon our lives. He raises important points, many of them previously made by others but forcefully recapitulated here: the Web's role in promoting social isolation; the confusion of popularity -- voting for favorites -- with true democracy; the economic motives driving the Web, and the use of "participatory culture" as a lure for customers; the constant delivery of undigested information bits, knowledge "withering away into information."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020702946.html
Internet service restored in Mideast and Asia [Reuters]
Services on two of three broken undersea cables providing Internet services to parts of the Middle East and Asia have been restored and repairs on the third were nearly complete Sunday, the cables' operators said.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/10/business/cable.php
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0872927920080208
Anchor caused cut in Internet cable in Persian Gulf, cause of Mediterranean cuts still unknown [AP]
An abandoned anchor was responsible for cutting one of the undersea Internet cables severed last week, causing disruptions across the Middle East and parts of Asia, the cable's owner said Friday.
http://news.smh.com.au/anchor-caused-cut-in-internet-cable-in-persian-gulf-cause-of-mediterranean-cuts-still-unknown/20080209-1r6b.html
http://news.theage.com.au/anchor-caused-cut-in-internet-cable-in-persian-gulf-cause-of-mediterranean-cuts-still-unknown/20080209-1r6b.html
One cable cut explained, but 4 others still a mystery [AFP]
A ship's anchor severed one undersea Internet cable damaged last week, it was revealed on Thursday amid ongoing outages in the Middle East and South Asia, but mystery shrouds what caused another four reported cuts. There has been speculation that five cables being cut in almost as many days was too much of a coincidence and that sabotage must have been involved.
http://news.theage.com.au/one-internet-cut-explained-but-four-others-still-a-mystery/20080208-1qx0.html
http://news.smh.com.au/one-internet-cut-explained-but-four-others-still-a-mystery/20080208-1qx0.html
Password pain looks set to ease
Using your favourite websites and services could soon mean memorising far fewer passwords. Tech giants Microsoft, IBM, Google and Yahoo have joined the board of the Open ID Foundation which aims to streamline login systems across the web.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7234499.stm
**********************
SOCIAL NETWORKING
**********************
Facebook can ruin your life. And so can MySpace, Bebo...
In the judicial backwater of a New Jersey federal court, a case is being heard that nominally affects two families but should also make millions of Britons think twice about something they do every day: put highly personal information on Facebook, MySpace or Bebo.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/facebook-can-ruin-your-life-and-so-can-myspace-bebo-780521.html
Freedom Of Information: Facebook – the new battleground in Iraq and Afghanistan
Social networking sites present a PR problem for the Army. Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, examines newly released papers showing how the generals intend to tackle the new media
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/freedom-of-information-facebook-ndash-the-new-battleground-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-779766.html
Social networking in the classroom?!
There was a debate going on recently over at The Economist, and the pro-social-networking side won. For parents or anyone interested in social networking's benefits and not just its risks, let me zoom you in on a very meaty discussion, starting with points from the Economist debate's opening arguments, both pro and con (not answers, not just good food for thought): From Prof. Michael Bugeja at Iowa State University: "Facebook or MySpace are programmed for revenue generation, especially the vending of marketing data and the advertising base that can be established because of that data. To do so, those networks rely on technology developed by military (to surveil) and industry (to sell). The fact that both happen simultaneously is no fluke because the programming is designed to amass psychographics on users too busy depicting each other like products to notice the surveillance.... Social networks advertise access to this diverse world while simultaneously
confining users to affinity groups so as to sell, sell, sell."
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/social-networking-in-classroom.html
Teens posting personal info: Study
For their safety online, kids have been cautioned for years not to give out personal information online. Well, we now know from researchers at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center that giving out such info isn't in itself a safety risk. We now have further insights into teens' info-sharing practices in the Journal of Adolescence. Here's what Profs. Justin Patchin and Sameer Hinduja found:
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/teens-posting-personal-info-study.html
Facebook translated into Spanish
Facebook has introduced a Spanish version of its popular social networking website as part of efforts to attract new audiences.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7234591.stm
Facebook Says Hola to Spanish Amigos [Reuters]
Facebook.com has introduced a version of the site for Spanish-language speakers, the first of several languages beyond English the social network site plans to offer, the company said on Thursday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0742117220080208
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020703368.html
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=20610633
Facebook pokes Vodafone in mobile tie-up
Social networkers will now be able to get messages and status updates sent directly to their mobile phones
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3328527.ece
Facebook Links Up With Vodafone on Mobile Platform [IDG]
Facebook took a new step into the mobile realm on Thursday, launching a platform for operators designed to make its social networking application work better on portable devices.
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18802573E80035C23D.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142239-c,pdacellphonehybrids/article.html
**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
**********************
Pushing Paper Out the Door - paper use plateaus
After rising steadily in the 1980s and ’90s, worldwide paper consumption per capita has plateaued in recent years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/business/10metrics.html
Google squares up to Microsoft with the Gphone
Google is preparing to shake up the mobile sector by unveiling the first “Gphone”. The search giant, which is angling for a chunk of the potentially highly lucrative wireless advertising market, is expected to produce a prototype mobile handset next week at the Mobile World Congress show.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3330854.ece
First Google Android phone to debut next week?
The first mobile phone to incorporate Google's open-source Android platform will debut at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a source close to British chipmaker ARM Holdings has told Reuters.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/07/google-android-phone_1.html
**********************
SPAM
**********************
Another US spammer hit by CAN-SPAM [IDG]
A US judge has ordered a Las Vegas company to stop making weight-loss and anti-ageing claims and to stop sending spam, the Federal Trade Commission has announced.
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11323
**************************
ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
**************************
Mobile phone companies join war on internet child porn
The mobile phone industry will today announce its intention to shut off all access to child pornography on mobile phones that can access the internet, making the mobile internet safer than the world wide web.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/11/mobilephones.technology
Malicious programs hit new high
The number of malicious programs found online has reached an unprecedented high, say security firms. Reports vary but some estimates suggest there were five times as many variants of malicious programs in circulation in 2007 compared to 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7232752.stm
India to train thousands more cyberpolice
Training centres for thousands more cyberpolice are planned in India as the country's IT industry tries to boost its security credentials.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39292697,00.htm
nz: E-crime dangers on rise
Almost 100,000 Kiwis have been victims of electronic identity theft and thousands more have been sent offensive or threatening emails.
http://stuff.co.nz/4391898a11.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4391890a6009.html
http://stuff.co.nz/thepress/4391890a6009.html
au: 'So sue me' taunt to agents over 'defamatory' web articles
CONSUMER advocate Neil Jenman has called on two South Yarra real estate agents to sue him for defamation after they launched legal action to stop internet access to two of his articles. Paul Castran, managing director of the firm Castran Gilbert, and the company's sales director Mark Forytarz say they have been defamed by allegations of improper or illegal behaviour.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/08/1202234210693.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/08/1202234210693.html
au: Teenagers reported over YouTube postings
Adelaide police have reported two teenagers from the north-eastern suburbs who are alleged to have posted videos of illegal incidents on the internet site YouTube.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/08/2158286.htm
Police probe fights, bullying on YouTube
Police have vowed to charge several Adelaide teenagers they say have been involved in illegal incidents that have been posted on the internet site YouTube.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/07/2157105.htm
RBN - pedopornography on the Internet
In recent days, many people have brought to my attention the existence of a provider, Russian Business Network (RBN), which, it would seem, is based in Russia, although there are no references made to the location of its offices nor is any address or server indicated. The provider hosts hundreds of paedo-pornographic sites.
http://www.ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/frattini/welcome/archives_2008_en.htm
************************************************
CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
************************************************
uk: Ministers plan clampdown on 'unsuitable' video games
A legally enforceable cinema-style classification system is to be introduced for video games in an effort to keep children from playing damaging games unsuitable for their age, the Guardian has learned. Under the proposals, it would be illegal for shops to sell classified games to a child below the recommended age. ... Ministers are also expected to advise parents to keep computers and games consoles away from children's bedrooms as much as possible, and ask them to play games in living rooms or kitchens facing outward so carers can see what is being played.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/09/games.digitalmedia
uk: From the Parliament of the UK: Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.— [Mr. Blizzard.] [6 Feb 2008 : Column 1089]
Mr. Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con): Seven or so years ago, a Home Office Minister said in a parliamentary answer on the task force for child protection that the “aim is to make the United Kingdom (UK) the best and safest place in the world for children to use the internet”.—[ Official Report, 4 February 2002; Vol. 379, c. 671W.] Last year, however, 32 per cent. of children said that they had received unwanted, nasty or sexual comments while on the web. Freedom of information and the unhampered exchange of that information are, of course, at the heart of a free world. What we do not want is Government control of the internet, such as exists in China and elsewhere. The internet is a space for creativity, communication and a fantastic tool for use in education. Too often, any discussion of internet safety leads to the internet being labelled as a bad thing. Clearly, the reverse is the case, but internet users should expect a degree of protection not
least from fraud and illegal content, and, for our children, from harmful content.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080206/debtext/80206-0024.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080206/debtext/80206-0025.htm
PC Magazine on parental controls
Parents might be interested in the latest reviews of filtering and monitoring software here at PC Magazine. The top-rated products are Net Nanny 5.6, Bsafe Online, Safe Eyes, and Webroot Child Safe.
http://netfamilynews.org/2008/02/pc-magazine-on-parental-controls.html
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp
au: Safer Internet Day: ACMA participates in worldwide event to promote cybersafety [news release]
School children from around the country will participate tomorrow in Safer Internet Day, an international program run in over 50 countries to raise awareness of the importance of cybersafety. ‘Safer Internet Day is a fun and effective way to raise awareness of issues affecting children online,’ said Chris Chapman, chairman of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which is co-ordinating Safer Internet Day activities in Australia through its cybersafety program.
http://acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310963
us: Parents seek more funds for child-porn victims
Parents of children kidnapped, tortured or murdered by sexual predators, citing new research that shows hundreds of thousands of child pornography leads go uninvestigated, planned to call today for increased funding.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-06-kidporn_N.htm
us: States push for cyberbully controls
The problem of cyberbullying gained national attention last November when the story surfaced of a 13-year-old Missouri girl who killed herself following an Internet hoax.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-06-Cyberbullying_N.htm
au: Labor‘s $30M technology funding cut will not affect the industry
The Labor government has taken a blade to some of the previous government's pre-election promises for the 2007-08 fiscal year, including $30 million from the federal technology budget. ... Cuts to technology related spending, include marketing dollars for the controversial NetAlert program, amount to $30 million.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=69791
NetAlert funding slashed in Labor bugdet cuts
The Labor government has cut funding to NetAlert, the previous government's home and public library free filtering scheme.
http://securecomputing.net.au/news/69792,netalert-funding-slashed-in-labor-bugdet-cuts.aspx
Porn-blocker hit as Razor Gang slash AU$30m off tech
The Rudd government's so-called Razor Gang has taken the blade to some of the Howard government's pre-election promises for the 2007-08 fiscal year, including AU$30 million sliced from the federal tech budget. ... The total spending cuts amount to AU$642.9 million, affecting environmental, cultural, communications and technology initiatives. Cuts to technology related spending, including marketing dollars for the controversial NetAlert program, amount to AU$30 million.
http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Porn-blocker-hit-as-Razor-Gang-slash-AU-30m-off-tech-/0,339028227,339285727,00.htm
**********************
FILE SHARING
**********************
us: RIAA boss: Move copyright filtering from ISPs to users’ PCs
... At a Washington, DC, tech conference last week, RIAA boss Cary Sherman suggested that Internet filtering was a super idea but that he saw no reason to mandate it. Turns out that was only part of the story, though; Sherman's a sharp guy, and he's fully aware that filtering will prompt an encryption arms race that is going to be impossible to win... unless users somehow install the filtering software on their home PCs or equipment.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080207-riaa-boss-spyware-could-solve-the-encryption-problem.html
*********************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
*********************************
Yahoo Expected to Reject Microsoft’s Takeover Offer
Yahoo's board plans to reject Microsoft's US$44.6 billion hostile bid in a letter on Monday, saying the offer undervalues Yahoo, people involved in the discussions said Saturday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/business/10yahoo.html
Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google: Giants in combat
This was the week that seemed to confirm the new balance of power in the technology industry. Computing is moving online, away from the desktop—and away from Microsoft, the desktop-software leviathan, to Google, master of online search. Microsoft's determination not to lose the struggle became clear when it bid $44.6 billion in cash and shares for Yahoo!, an ailing internet giant (see article). If the deal goes ahead, it will reshape the technology industry and clear the way for a straight fight between Microsoft and Google for dominance in the internet era. But whether Microsoft's bid succeeds or fails, it changes how all three firms are perceived.
http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10651824
Microsoft v Google - When clouds collide
The collision of two clouds is a gentle affair—except, that is, in the digital skies of the technology industry. But such a virtual collision is the best image to keep in mind when trying to understand why Microsoft, the world's largest software company, has bid a whopping $44.6 billion for Yahoo!, an ailing online giant. As computing moves online, the sources of power and money will increasingly be enormous “computing clouds”, as the cognoscenti call them, hosted on the internet. The Yahoo! deal is mainly about inflating Microsoft's cloud so that it can at last match that of its most dangerous rival, Google.
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10650607
Is It Too Late for Yahoo?
One of the first questions that Jerry Yang and his top lieutenants pondered after he became chief executive of Yahoo last summer was whether the company could remain independent. They quickly answered yes. But Mr. Yang, who founded Yahoo along with David Filo in 1995, had a harder time coming up with convincing answers for many of the more complex questions facing the company. How exactly would an independent Yahoo sharpen its focus, shed marginal projects and become a stronger competitor to Google, the runaway leader in online search and advertising?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/technology/08yahoo.html
Microsoft, the sleeping giant, wakes again
Bill Gates worried that something like Google would come along before it even existed. In 1995, the Microsoft leader recognized how a powerful Internet player could topple his company from the high-tech pyramid and launched an attack on all potential threats. Netscape, Sun Microsystems and other competitors paid the price.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-microsoft10feb10,1,863623.story
Facing Free Software, Microsoft Looks to Yahoo
Nearly a quarter-century ago, the mantra “information wants to be free” heralded an era in which news, entertainment and personal communications would flow at no charge over the Internet. Now comes a new rallying cry: software wants to be free. Or, as the tech insiders say, it wants to be “zero dollar.” A growing number of consumers are paying just that — nothing. This is the Internet’s latest phase: people using freely distributed applications, from e-mail and word processing programs to spreadsheets, games and financial management tools. They run on distant, massive and shared data centers, and users of the services pay with their attention to ads, not cash.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/technology/09free.html
Yahoo! In The Balance - Board weighs options
The Yahoo! board is reportedly meeting Feb. 13 to decide how it will respond to Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion buyout offer. In advance of the scheduled, all-day meeting at Yahoo!'s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Chief Executive Jerry Yang went over the company's options Friday in a phone meeting with board members, according to The Wall Street Journal's blog All Things D.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/08/microsoft-yahoo-merger-tech-intel-cx_wt_0208yhoo.html
Yahoo’s Directors Discuss How to Face Microsoft Bid
A week after Yahoo learned that it would be the target of a $44.6 billion hostile bid by Microsoft, the company’s board met on Friday to consider its options, a person briefed on the meeting said. The directors listened to a series of presentations from Yahoo’s management and its bankers, who argued that the company was worth more than what Microsoft has offered. The board was also presented with various options for maintaining Yahoo’s independence, this person said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/technology/09yahoo.html
Report: Yahoo Board Strategizes on Microsoft Bid [Reuters]
Yahoo Inc's board met by telephone on Friday and discussed strategy for getting Microsoft Corp to raise its $42 billion offer for the company and the possibility of hiring Google Inc to run Yahoo's search, the Wall Street Journal said. Chief Executive Jerry Yang did not present such a Google alliance as "a preferred choice," the newspaper said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0846502220080209
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020801350.html
**********************
VoIP
**********************
VOIP struggles to break into the mainstream
The engineers at Challenger Mobile, a software company in Stockholm, worked for more than a year to create an Internet telephone program with the goal of selling digital voice service to homes and businesses in Scandinavia. Two years later, Challenger's program is sitting on a shelf.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/08/technology/voip11.php
**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
**********************************
au/my: Child porn pilot convicted
A MALAYSIAN Airlines co-pilot has been convicted and fined for bringing child pornography into the country on his personal computer.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23179728-2682,00.html
au/my: Visiting pilot fined over child porn
A Malaysia Airlines pilot who was caught importing child pornography to Australia yesterday has faced court.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080208/21/15rza.html
Spanish police detain 76 in major Internet fraud probe [AFP]
Police in Spain have detained 76 people acrosss the country as part of what they described Sunday as their biggest-ever probe into Internet fraud.
http://news.smh.com.au/spanish-police-detain-76-in-major-internet-fraud-probe/20080211-1rex.html
http://news.theage.com.au/spanish-police-detain-76-in-major-internet-fraud-probe/20080211-1rex.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080210/tc_afp/spaininternetcrime_080210165558
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(c) David Goldstein 2007
---------
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
