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[APPLe list] general internet news - May 5
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.
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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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Mobile TV gathers momentum
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/04/technology/MOBILETV.php
The Dark Side of Web Anonymity
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_19/b4083064456431.htm
Spam reaches 30-year anniversary
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7380788.stm
How China Leads the World in Web Censorship
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,551110,00.html
nz: Younger kids get internet safety advice
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/4505321a22395.html
Just Between Us: Telecoms and the Bush administration talked about how to keep their surveillance program under wraps
http://www.newsweek.com/id/134930
Study: U.S. needs stronger broadband policy [IDG]
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/01/US-needs-stronger-broadband-policy_1.html
Filthy as a loo seat: hazard of computer keyboards
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/01/computing.health
Microsoft Withdraws Its Bid for Yahoo
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/04/technology/04soft.html
Yahoo, Microsoft Left Searching
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc2008054_977513.htm
AOL contacts Microsoft as Steve Ballmer walks away from Yahoo! bid
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/mergers_and_acquisitions/article3872866.ece
What Microsoft Will Buy Now
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/03/microsoft-yahoo-deal-tech-enter-cx_ec_0503end.html
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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Identity Theft and the Gullible Computer User: What Sun Tzu in The Art of War Might Teach by Joseph Savirimuthu [Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology]
Abstract: Securing trust is now a priority. Identity theft, phishing and pharming have exposed shortcomings in the criminal law. The online environment is now seen as the playground of criminals. Online criminal activities pose significant social and economic costs. Apparently, the Fraud Act 2006 is the instrument that will now neutralise the threats posed by phishers and identity thieves. This concept paper is an attempt to chart a less tenuous path of claim and counterclaim that often rears its head when the subject turns to personal Internet security. Accordingly, the paper aims to initiate a debate on how we can begin to think about information security and the role of law against the growing threats posed by identity thieves and phishing. I draw on the insights of Sun Tzu in The Art of War as way of understanding how best we can manage and reduce complexity. The debates have all too often focussed on liability rules and legal reform. The resulting
impasse can be overcome if the problem is first of all properly characterised. A balanced policy debate requires an understanding of two key matters - ‘trivergence’ and the gullible computer user. The hypothesis is that before we can think about regulatory tools to curb practices like phishing an identity theft we need a better understanding of the interactions between data, devices and networks.
http://jiclt.com/index.php/JICLT/article/view/65
Explaining International Broadband Leadership [Special Report]
A report examining broadband promotion policies in 9 nations finds that while we shouldn’t look to other nations for silver bullets or assume that practices in one nation will automatically work in another, U.S. policymakers can and should learn from broadband “best practices” in other nations. Emulating the right policies here will enable the U.S. to increase our broadband performance faster than in the absence of proactive policies. Based on the findings from other nations, the report proposes 11 policy recommendations to spur both deployment of more ubiquitous and faster networks and adoption of broadband by consumers.
http://www.itif.org/index.php?id=142
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1128203
>From Child Porn to China, in One Cleanfeed by Lilian Edwards [SCRIPT-ed]
Abstract: Few people seem to have noticed an apparently routine parliamentary question reported in May, about controlling access to child porn on the Internet. By the end of 2007, said the Home Office, all ISPs offering broadband are to block access to all websites containing illegal images of child abuse, identified by the Internet Watch Foundation. If this target is not met voluntarily - then, it is heavily hinted, mandatory laws will be put in place.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1128062
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INTERNET USE
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Mobile TV gathers momentum
Every day in Switzerland, 40,000 people watch a 100-second television news broadcast on their cellphones. In Italy, one million people pay as much as €19 a month to watch up to a dozen mobile TV channels.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/04/technology/MOBILETV.php
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/05/business/media/05mobile.html
Cuba lifts ban on home computers
The first legalised home computers have gone on sale in Cuba, but a ban remains on internet access. This is the latest in a series of restrictions on daily life which President Raul Castro has lifted in recent weeks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7381646.stm
More than 100 million young Chinese netizens keen on updated blog space [news release]
On April 25, 2008 China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) issued the Research Report of China Youth Internet Behaviors. The data illustrates that up to December 31, 2007,the number of young netizens who under the age of 25 has reached 107 million, holding for a half of the overall size of Internet users. This is the largest age group among Internet users in China which reflected a good potential for growth and development.
http://www.cnnic.net.cn/html/Dir/2008/04/29/5127.htm
The Dark Side of Web Anonymity
Malicious gossip posted by unidentified users is sparking a new debate about free speech online
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_19/b4083064456431.htm
au: ACCC extends eBay deadline
THE deadline for submissions to the competition regulator investigating eBay's PayPal-only payment proposal has been extended for selected parties.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23646550-15306,00.html
Russians learning to watch out for Web 'friends'
A new Web site is seeking volunteers to provide personal information to the Federal Security Service of Russia, known as the FSB.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/04/business/russnet.php
Japanese official demoted for accessing porn sites 780,000 times during office hours
A Japanese civil servant was demoted for viewing pornographic Web sites more than 780,000 times during office hours over a nine-month period, an official said Friday.
http://news.smh.com.au/japanese-official-demoted-for-accessing-porn-sites-780000-times-during-office-hours/20080502-2a8y.html
http://news.theage.com.au/japanese-official-demoted-for-accessing-porn-sites-780000-times-during-office-hours/20080502-2a8y.html
Internet addiction: threat or menace?
Internet AddictionAn editorial in a recent issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry presents the case for “Internet addiction” as a legitimate disorder deserving of inclusion in the DSM. (The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–the official compendium of the conditions and syndromes that afflict humanity. If you want to get insurance coverage for your mental problem, it has to be in the DSM.)
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8458
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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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uk: Husband 'murdered wife before killing himself' after she confessed on Facebook she was leaving him
A husband is believed to have murdered his wife before killing himself after she told friends on Facebook they were splitting up, it emerged yesterday. Tracey Grinhaff's body was found in a shed in the back garden of the family home she shared with her husband, Gary, and their two young daughters, aged 14 and four.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=563934
Husband and wife dead after Facebook confession
A woman and her husband found dead near their home had been in the process of splitting up, it emerged yesterday. Tracey Grinhaff, 42, was found in a shed in the back garden of the family’s home in Wombwell, South Yorkshire, on Friday morning. She had head injuries. An hour later, police discovered the body of her husband, Gary, in nearby woodland with self-inflicted head and facial injuries.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3871098.ece
uk: Facebook murder rocks 'perfect little family'
A jealous husband is believed to have murdered the mother of their two children and then killed himself after she told the world via Facebook that they were splitting up, London's Daily Mail reports.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/05/1209839506126.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/05/1209839506126.html
Web social networks friendly to identity thieves
Michael Maris became an unwitting spammer. The 22-year-old college student from Chicago received messages last year from annoyed friends on MySpace, wondering why he had used the social networking site to send them pitches for male enhancement products.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-socialid5-2008may05,0,6836474.story
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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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US Democrat wants to require disability-friendly Internet phones, video
At the moment, most TVs and telephones must be outfitted with special features for people with hearing, vision, and speech impairments under U.S. law. Now an influential Democratic congressman wants to expand those requirements to their Internet counterparts.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9933597-7.html
At Kodak, Some Old Things Are New Again: How the Move to Digital Affected Kodak
Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the first digital camera at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, remembers well management's dismay at his feat. "My prototype was big as a toaster, but the technical people loved it," Mr. Sasson said. "But it was filmless photography, so management's reaction was, 'that's cute -- but don't tell anyone about it.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/technology/02kodak.html
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SPAM
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Spam reaches 30-year anniversary
Spam - the scourge of every e-mail inbox - celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend. The first recognisable e-mail marketing message was sent on 3 May, 1978 to 400 people on behalf of DEC - a now-defunct computer-maker.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7380788.stm
On Spam's Birthday, Three Cheers for 'Delete'
Happy birthday, spam. P.S.: Now go away. It was 30 years ago this Saturday that users of Arpanet, a U.S. government-designed precursor to the Internet, logged onto their accounts to find what is considered the first piece of unsolicited commercial e-mail ever sent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203767.html
Spam turns 30 - still no end in sight [AAP]
This week, the world marks an anniversary that has changed the face -- and other anatomical regions -- of e-mail inboxes everywhere: the first known spam e-mail was sent 30 years ago on Saturday.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Spam-turns-30-still-no-end-in-sight/0,130061733,339288622,00.htm
100 E-mail Bouncebacks? You've Been Backscattered [IDG]
The bounceback e-mail messages come in at a trickle, maybe one or two every hour. The subject lines are disquieting: "Cyails, Vygara nad Levytar," "UNSOLICITED BULK EMAIL, apparently from you." You eye your computer screen; you're nervous. What's going on ? Have you been hacked? Are you some kind of zombie botnet spammer? Nope, you're just getting a little backscatter -- bounceback messages from legitimate e-mail servers that have been fooled by the spammers.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145449/100_email_bouncebacks_youve_been_backscattered.html
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1698505531;fp;2;fpid;1
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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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us: Nigerian gets 18 months for cyber attack on NASA employee
A Nigerian man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for wooing a NASA employee so he could sneak malware onto her work computer and steal passwords, banking information and 25,000 screen shots.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9081838
Cybercrims sell malware online - complete with EULA
Even criminal hackers want to protect their intellectual property, and they've come up with a method akin to copyrighting - with an appropriate dash of internet thuggery thrown in.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10508021
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PRIVACY
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The law of Phorm
EDITORIAL: Critics have branded Phorm a regulatory rogue. Its targeted advertising technology will bend our laws and even break them. But these will be hairline fractures – even if Phorm's operation makes you wince.
http://out-law.com/page-9090
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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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Now when films release on DVD, iTunes will sell them too
Apple's agreement with movie studios puts it on a par with traditional retailers and other digital stores. It also shows Hollywood has a growing comfort level with downloads.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-itunes2-2008may02,0,782966.story
Apple to sell new-release films on iTunes
Apple has announced a new service that will allow customers to download films from the iTunes website on the same day they are released on DVD.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3855597.ece
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CENSORSHIP
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US Bill would penalize companies for aiding Internet censorship
US-based companies could be held liable for helping officials in other countries censor the Internet, if a bill proposed by House Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) is approved. Smith recently announced his plans to push the Global Online Freedom Act (HR 275) to the House floor for voting after having lobbied human rights organization Reporters Without Borders for support. Among other things, the Global Online Freedom Act will bar US companies from disclosing personally-identifiable information about a user, except for "legitimate foreign law enforcement purposes."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080501-bill-would-penalize-companies-for-aiding-internet-censorship.html
Google - 'don't do evil' in China
Google is continuing to cooperate with Chinese authorities to censor the internet from material deemed ‘sensitive’ by the Chinese Government. In doing so, Google is complicit in violating the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and information of Chinese citizens.
http://action.amnesty.org.au/centre/action/12480/
The new predators of press freedom [news release]
Reporters Without Borders is today issuing an updated list of its “predators of press freedom” for World Press Freedom Day. For the past seven years Reporters Without Borders has exposed the world’s “predators of press freedom” - men and women who directly attack journalists or order others to. Most are top-level politicians (including presidents, prime ministers and kings) but they also include militia chiefs, leaders of armed groups and drug-traffickers. They usually answer to no-one for their serious attacks on freedom of expression. Failure to punish them is one of the greatest threats to the media today.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=26790
Risks faced by journalists in europe [news release]
On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2008, Reporters Without Borders publishes for the first time an investigation into violence against journalists within several countries of the European Union (EU). There is genuine press freedom within the EU. No state has ordered the murder or imprisonment of a journalist and official censorship is a thing of the past. Media express a diversity of opinion and a pluralism of ideas is generally assured. But the situation is not perfect for all that.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=26769
How China Leads the World in Web Censorship
Just in the time for the Olympics, the Chinese government has proved itself to be a pioneer as well as a top exporter in cutting-edge online censorship methods. And Western firms still give Beijing their active support.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,551110,00.html
US senator: China wants hotels to filter Internet [IDG]
US Senator Sam Brownback contends China is requiring US-owned hotels there to filter Internet service during the Olympic Games
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1747783510;fp;2;fpid;1
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1747783510;fp;2;fpid;1
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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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nz: Younger kids get internet safety advice
Internet safety is being drummed into students earlier because more are using social network and trade sites.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/4505321a22395.html
au: Pornography, abuse blamed for sexually problematic children
A sexual assault support service for children in Hobart has embarked on a project to tackle what is considered a growing social problem. Galileo House says the proliferation of internet pornography, as well as child sex abuse, is turning very young people into perpetrators.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/02/2233341.htm
us: Virginia Tries to Ensure Students' Safety in Cyberspace - State-Mandated Classes on Internet Take Shape
... Virginia public schools will soon launch Internet safety lessons across all grade levels, responding to a state mandate that is the first of its kind in the nation. Even though today's students have known no life without the Internet, only a couple of states have laws that recommend schools teach online safety.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203831.html
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Just Between Us: Telecoms and the Bush administration talked about how to keep their surveillance program under wraps
The Bush administration is refusing to disclose internal e-mails, letters and notes showing contacts with major telecommunications companies over how to persuade Congress to back a controversial surveillance bill, according to recently disclosed court documents.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/134930
Study: U.S. needs stronger broadband policy [IDG]
A complicated mix of factors, including population density and the cost of broadband, contribute to U.S. residents lagging behind several other nations in buying high-speed Internet service, but the government can take some steps to improve the numbers, according to a report released Thursday.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/01/US-needs-stronger-broadband-policy_1.html
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9081758
Russia: database owners to be registered
The Russian Federal Supervisory Service on Communications, Mass Media and Culture Protection (Rossvyazohrankultura) introduces a special registry for various database owners. Every user will have the access to the given list.
http://eng.cnews.ru/news/top/indexEn.shtml?2008/04/28/298752
US Government wiretaps—the ones we know about—up 20% for 2007
Data released this week on 2007 wiretaps shows that nearly all intercepts are for "portable devices" and 80 percent of all taps target drug criminals. Secret FISA warrants are also up, and no one knows what's happening with warrantless surveillance at the NSA.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080504-government-wiretapsthe-ones-we-know-aboutup-20-for-2007.html
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Filthy as a loo seat: hazard of computer keyboards
Another peril can be added to the hazards of the innocent-looking computer keyboard. Not content with encouraging repetitive strain injury, the type-pads sometimes harbour more filth than the average loo seat and house millions of bacteria which can cause diarrhoea and vomiting, a study has shown.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/01/computing.health
Microsoft Withdraws Its Bid for Yahoo
Microsoft said Saturday that it was abandoning its blockbuster bid to acquire Yahoo after it raised its offer by $5 billion but Yahoo rejected it as still too low. The about-face followed a meeting on Saturday morning in Seattle between Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, and Yahoo’s chief and co-founder, Jerry Yang, according to a person familiar with the talks.
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/04/technology/04soft.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/04/business/04soft.php
Microsoft walks away from Yahoo
Software giant Microsoft has dropped its three-month-old bid to buy internet firm Yahoo because the two sides cannot agree on an acceptable sale price. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer formally withdrew the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7382572.stm
Yahoo, Microsoft Left Searching
As nearly every company involved with the Internet reels from the implications of Microsoft's surprise May 3 withdrawal of its unsolicited $45 billion bid for Yahoo, two questions remain unanswered: Does Steve Ballmer's "no" really mean no? And if it does, what's next for Yahoo and Microsoft?
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc2008054_977513.htm
AOL contacts Microsoft as Steve Ballmer walks away from Yahoo! bid
AOL, the internet arm of Time Warner, has approached Microsoft about a possible tie-up as a deal between the software group and Yahoo! unravelled, The Times has learnt.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/mergers_and_acquisitions/article3872866.ece
What Microsoft Will Buy Now
Expect to hear more from Steve Ballmer. Ballmer's objective wasn't to buy Yahoo!. He instead is only interested in one goal: trying to speed up how fast Microsoft can become a credible player in the Internet world. That meant he made a profoundly rational decision Saturday: Instead of a prolonged battle with Yahoo!, he folded his hand. But he's still on the prowl.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/03/microsoft-yahoo-deal-tech-enter-cx_ec_0503end.html
Pressure rises on Yahoo to placate investors
Microsoft's decision to abandon its blockbuster bid for Yahoo is expected to cause a sharp drop in Yahoo's stock price Monday morning, raising pressure on the company's chief executive, Jerry Yang, to placate investors with a new strategy.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/04/business/deal.php
News Analysis: A Step Back for Microsoft
Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, walked away from a Yahoo deal on Saturday still looking for an answer to his company’s fundamental problem: its time-tested recipe for success isn’t working against Google, the leader in the current wave of Internet computing.
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05soft.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/05/technology/05soft.php
After Deal Dies, Yahoo Weighs Its Next Move
How low will Yahoo’s stock go on Monday? And how long will it stay there?
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05yahoo.web.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/05/technology/05yahoo.php
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Faster Broadband! Thrill! Thrill!
The curve of acceleration for faster residential broadband seems to be kicking in at long last, but coverage lags and costs are still high. We in the U.S., and particularly me in Seattle, Wash., suffer from the heartbreak of slow-broadband-paralysis. A large percentage of U.S. residents can't obtain speeds that are typical in Japan, South Korea, and some countries in Europe.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,145375-c,dslcablesatellite/article.html
Delays dog new NZ mobile services
Orcon is doubling the number of customers it can host on its high-speed broadband network but has still not put a start-date on its mobile phone service.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/delays-dog-new-mobile-services
nz: Clark vows to hit back on fibre
Prime Minister Helen Clark has signalled that Labour will counter the National Party's $1.5 billion fibre plan with its own policy initiative that will not favour Telecom.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4507747a28.html
Optus to push for tender extension
Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan says the federal Government should offer a five-month extension for bidders for the $4.7 billion national broadband contract or risk the Singapore government-owned telco boycotting the tender process.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23646335-15306,00.html
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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Sydney's free Wi-Fi plans scrapped
The NSW government has scrapped plans to offer free Wi-Fi in Sydney, citing spiralling costs and overseas failures for killing the project.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Sydney-s-free-Wi-Fi-plans-scrapped/0,130061791,339288643,00.htm
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(c) David Goldstein 2008
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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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