[APPLe list] general internet news - May 12

[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, including an RSS feed - 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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au: 3G services largely unused: report
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4521638a26834.html

Half retail purchases involve online by 2012
http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/growing/finance/wider-world-of-web-913330294.html

Penthouse Gets Pious: Internet porn is forcing adult magazines to diversify their business
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136306

Brits addicted to social networking
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/05/brits_addicted_to_social_netwo.html

The future of social networking: mobile phones
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3897340.ece

us: Facebook agrees child safety plan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7391170.stm

MySpace to let users share profile data with other sites [AP]
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-myspace9-2008may09,0,2920396.story

Facebook users let their bosses in [Reuters]
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10509149

Burma's emergency telecoms delay
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7393026.stm

Australians prefer mobiles over landlines: study
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2240229.htm

Australians giving fixed phones the flick [AAP]
http://news.theage.com.au/aussies-giving-fixed-phones-the-flick/20080509-2ckk.html

Singapore homes to be wired up with fibre optic link
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=92031

Spam Moves to Cellphones and Gets More Invasive
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/10/technology/10spam.html

Digital divide a threat to Indonesia's unity: president [AFP]
http://news.smh.com.au/digital-divide-a-threat-to-indonesias-unity-president/20080509-2cqp.html

Extremists hone Internet skills: US Senate report
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0841712720080508

Asian ISPs prepare for video explosion
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62041158,00.htm

China won't guarantee Olympic web freedom
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4518154a28.html

Childnet helps parents get web savvy
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39215329,00.htm

Cyber bullying an issue for Australian youth, poll finds
http://stuff.co.nz/4521636a28.html

au: Crackdown on pupils cyber-defaming teachers
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,23675282-3102,00.html

NZ cartoon policeman and dolphin to warn UK children about online paedophiles
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3892949.ece

au: RBA wary of eBay's PayPal push
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2240239.htm

UK mother's porn law campaign ends
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7389476.stm

Microsoft looks at $15bn takeover of Facebook
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3890497.ece

Google: We Like Yahoo, and We Like It Independent
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/google-we-like-yahoo-and-we-like-it-independent/

Silicon Valley executives join forces against Yahoo!'s Yang
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/11/yahoo.microsoft

Microsoft and Yahoo! No deal: Microsoft walks away from Yahoo!, and both companies lose
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11332396

Advocacy groups take aim at Google-Yahoo partnership
http://businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D90IC1200.htm

Inside Microsoft's War Against Google
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_20/b4084036492860.htm

Microsoft starts appeal against €899m EC fine
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/10/microsoft.microsoft

US arrests paedophile suspect after global manhunt [AFP]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2239610.htm

Global manhunt leads to US child sex arrest [AP]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/global-manhunt-leads-to-us-child-sex-arrest-824854.html


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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Interconnection and Competition Among Asymmetric Networks in the Internet Backbone Market by Eric Jahn & Jens Prufer [Information Economics and Policy]
Abstract: We examine the interrelation between interconnection and competition in the Internet backbone market. Networks that are asymmetric in size choose among different interconnection regimes and compete for end-users. We show that a direct interconnection regime, peering, softens competition as compared to indirect interconnection since asymmetries become less influential when networks peer. If interconnection fees are paid, the smaller network pays the larger one. Suffiently symmetric networks enter a Peering agreement while others use an intermediary network for exchanging traffic. This is in line with considerations of a non-U.S. policy maker. In contrast, U.S. policy makers prefer that relatively asymmetric networks peer.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1131151

Child Pornography: A Comparative Study of India, USA and EU by Dyutimoy Mukherjee [Calcutta Criminology Law Journal]
Abstract: Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar international sex trade industry. INTERPOL has cited Germany as one of the major producers of child pornography, with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as the major distribution centers. United States is one of the largest markets of demand for child pornography, though more interest has shifted to South East Asia in recent years. The development of child pornography is fuelled by mainly two factors, the inception and availability of home movies, videos, digital cameras, computers and software, which made the making of child pornography relatively cheap and secondly, the development of Internet technology, which has increased ease of production and distribution of this material to amazing heights. There is constant debate as to how the child pornography industry can be stopped. One of the major aspects of the debate is answering seemingly simple question: how does one define the age of a minor?
 This is because; different countries set different age for "hardcore" pornography and "soft-core" pornography.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1129686

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INTERNET USE
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au: 3G services largely unused: report
A third of Australian consumers own a 3G-capable phone but two thirds of these do not use the available 3G services, a new report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority has revealed.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131230265.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131230265.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4521638a26834.html

Half retail purchases involve online by 2012
By 2012 almost half of all retail purchases will in some way involve the internet but many retailers are failing to integrate the web into their operations, according to an American cross-channel retailing expert. Deloitte principal Kasey Lobaugh says that while 7% of purchases in the US are made online - a figure forecast to increase to 11% by 2012 - another 38% of consumers are expected to use multiple channels in making their purchase decision. Often this involves customers browsing and comparing prices online before making the purchase in store.
http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/growing/finance/wider-world-of-web-913330294.html
http://smallbusiness.smh.com.au/growing/finance/wider-world-of-web-913330294.html

Penthouse Gets Pious: Internet porn is forcing adult magazines to diversify their business
Christian dating web site BigChurch.com's motto is "Bringing people together in love and faith." A pointed quote from the Old Testament ("A man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Gen. 2:24) precedes the site's Bible-verse search library. Further testimonial from a fresh-faced woman leaves little doubt as to the site's higher purpose: "I feel like my prayers of finding a respectable man have been answered! Thanks BigChurch!!"
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136306

us: Comcast Considers Pinching Pipes on Broadband Plans
In a move sure to renew debate over how broadband access should be sold, Comcast is reportedly mulling a cap on how much data a customer buying its basic high-speed Internet access package can use each month. Comcast, the No. 2 provider of high-speed Web access in the U.S., would establish a preset monthly data usage level and then charge a fee for users who exceed that level.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Comcast-Considers-Pinching-Pipes-on-Broadband-Plans-62931.html

uk: Touts score £10m off finals fans
Tickets for football's biggest matches resold online at inflated prices up to 2,000 per cent higher
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/11/championsleague.uefa

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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Brits addicted to social networking
It seems that Britons are more addicted to poking and tweeting and writing on each other's walls than anyone else in Europe. Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace reached 9.6 million users in the UK in 2007, according to a new report from Datamonitor. This puts it ahead of bigger countries, including France with 8.9 million and Germany with 8.6 million. Spain is in fourth place with just 2.9 million.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/05/brits_addicted_to_social_netwo.html

The future of social networking: mobile phones
Picture this: a young woman goes to a party. She doesn't know anyone but it's fine because she has her mobile with her. A few clicks and she accesses the profiles of a dozen people at the party, including their pictures. She's in luck: two of them turn out to be friends of friends. She messages them and they start to chat. ... This is not science fiction - it is the future of social networking and it is just around the corner.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3897340.ece

It’s not all just geek talk and texts – phones are first with the news
Northern Virginia is a relatively quiet place. Seismically speaking. So when the ground started rumbling violently on Tuesday afternoon, the locals had an idea something was wrong. But what? For the first few minutes, there was no official news except for a series of “Tweets” — mini alerts broadcast by wired locals tapping what they saw, felt and heard into their mobile phones and on to their Twitter web pages. Twitter, a popular micro-blogging site that counts more than a million users, became the only news source on a fast-breaking story in those tense first minutes. About 90 minutes later, a local radio station was able to report what Twitter users had been Tweeting all along — it was a rare earthquake, measuring 1.8 on the Richter scale, that had hit the East Coast. This was not a first. Twitter users used the technology to offer on-the-ground reportage of the San Diego wildfires last autumn and specific detail from the US presidential
 election trail.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3896667.ece

GodTube, Where Networking Is More Spiritual Than Social
GodTube.com, a YouTube knockoff for the evangelical set, seems to be one step closer to building a kingdom on earth.
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/12/business/media/12tube.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/05/11/business/tube12.php

us: Facebook agrees child safety plan
Facebook is to add a slew of new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyber bullies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7391170.stm

Facebook Agrees to Devise Tools to Protect Young Users
The social network Facebook has reached an agreement with 49 state attorneys general to institute a broad set of principles intended to protect young users from online predators and inappropriate material.
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/09/technology/09face.html

Facebook, 49 states agree on user privacy plan
The social networking website follows MySpace in acting on safety concerns. Protections will include controls on age and minors' contact with unknown adults.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-facebook9-2008may09,0,3437798.story

Facebook's statement on its new safety agreement
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-facebookbox9-2008may09,0,7182655.story

Facebook steps up safeguards
Popular social networking site Facebook has bowed to pressure to step up its safeguards against bullies and sexual predators. The move has been welcomed by internet watchdogs in New Zealand but they warn there are other ways predators can get to children on the net.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1320238/1773726

Facebook, MySpace work with states for predator safeguards
With all the commotion over the rise of social networking sites, parental groups and government bodies have been asking for someone to think of the children. In response to rising concerns that Facebook and MySpace have become beacons for sexual predators and bullies, these two leading sites have agreed to add over 40 new safeguards aimed at protecting young users.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080508-facebook-myspace-work-with-states-for-predator-safeguards.html

MySpace Turns Social Network Sharing the Right Direction
Amid all the initiatives in which Internet companies are supposed to make friends with each other—such as Facebook’s Platform and Google’s rival OpenSocial initiative—the announcement today by MySpace may well be the most useful to ordinary people and thus the most important.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/myspaces-open-approach-to-opening/

MySpace to let users share profile data with other sites [AP]
Social networking site MySpace said Thursday that it would soon enable users to quickly share profile data with websites operated by Yahoo Inc., EBay Inc. and others.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-myspace9-2008may09,0,2920396.story
http://news.smh.com.au/myspace-to-allow-users-to-share-data-with-yahoo-others/20080509-2cew.html
http://news.theage.com.au/myspace-to-allow-users-to-share-data-with-yahoo-others/20080509-2cew.html

Can Facebook Build a Better Passport?
It didn’t take long for Facebook to react to the announcement by MySpace Thursday that it would enable other Web sites to tap into information about its users and their friends. Facebook’s announcement, in a blog post Friday afternoon, is a bit sketchy on the details and has all the appearance of being rushed to match MySpace. Still, what the company calls Facebook Connect offers many of the same capabilities and a few more, too.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/can-facebook-build-a-better-passport/

Facebook users let their bosses in [Reuters]
While many Facebook users may be secretly surfing the social networking site on the job, many Canadians say they are willing to let their employer look at their profiles, according to a poll released this week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10509149

Spanish teenagers to take embarrassing ailments to Second Life doctors
Spanish health authorities launched a virtual portal through the Second Life website yesterday designed to help young people too embarrassed to speak to a doctor about sexually transmitted disease or a drug problem.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/10/secondlife.spain

Facebook: Friends with Money
The social network taps a fresh source of funds for $100 million and will buy more servers to support its growth in users and applications
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc2008059_855064.htm

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Burma's emergency telecoms delay
Foreign aid workers dedicated to delivering emergency telecoms in disaster areas have been prevented from going into cyclone-hit Burma. Like many charity groups, the Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) organisation has so far been denied entry visas by the military-run government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7393026.stm

Emergency in Burma: Télécoms Sans Frontières Asia still on standby
A Télécoms Sans Frontières team is presently on stand-by and ready to deploy to Burma following the deadly passage of category 3 cyclone Nargis. ... Electricity and communications have been cut off and the military-based government has declared a state of emergency in 5 regions: Rangoon, Irrawaddy, Pegu, Mon and Karen states.
http://tsfi.org/tsfispip/article.php3?id_article=224

Australians prefer mobiles over landlines: study
A report has found that nearly half of all households use mobile phones instead of fixed-line phones as their main voice communication.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2240229.htm

Australians giving fixed phones the flick [AAP]
Australian phone users are turning their backs on the standard landline and reaching for the mobile, a government report says.
http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=481198
http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/aussies_giving_fixed_phones_the_flick_546570
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/aussies-giving-fixed-phones-the-flick/20080509-2ckk.html
http://news.smh.com.au/aussies-giving-fixed-phones-the-flick/20080509-2ckk.html
http://news.theage.com.au/aussies-giving-fixed-phones-the-flick/20080509-2ckk.html
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=560420
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Aussies-giving-fixed-phones-the-flick-EGH28

Mobiles Challenge Fixed Line Phones
According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), 90 per cent of household consumers have both a fixed line phone and mobile phone, with nearly half (45 per cent) preferring to use mobiles as their main voice communications.
http://smarthouse.com.au/Accessories/Mobile_Phones/U8W3X3E3

Australians Increasingly Prefer Mobiles to Landlines
A report released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows that 90 per cent of household consumers have both a fixed line phone and mobile phone, with nearly half (45%) preferring to use mobiles as their main voice communications.
http://cellular-news.com/story/31029.php

Fixed phone lines to go way of the dodo?
New report from ACMA indicates pent-up interest in dropping fixed telephone line services. Could this be the big break Naked DSL's been waiting for?
http://www.crn.com.au/News/75602,fixed-phone-lines-to-go-way-of-the-dodo.aspx

Singapore homes to be wired up with fibre optic link
Besides phone and cable points, Singapore homes will soon get one more jack in the wall -- for a thin fibre optic cable to hook up to ultra-fast broadband.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=92031

Video games don't create killers, new book says
Playing video games does not turn children into deranged, blood-thirsty super-killers, according to a new book by a pair of Harvard researchers.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0725760620080509

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SPAM
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Symantec's The Spam Report
Symantec's monthly spam report for the month of April 2008 shows that while spam may have reached its 30th birthday at the start of May, there's no sign of volumes of unwanted mail slowing down.
http://www.itp.net/news/518831-the-spam-report-may-2008

Spam Moves to Cellphones and Gets More Invasive
If you thought spam on your computer was a bother, brace yourself: spammers want to find you on your cellphone.
http://nytimes.com/2008/05/10/technology/10spam.html

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Digital divide a threat to Indonesia's unity: president [AFP]
The yawning divide between the haves and the have-nots of the digital revolution is a "threat to national unity" and even world security, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday.
http://news.theage.com.au/digital-divide-a-threat-to-indonesias-unity-president/20080509-2cqp.html
http://news.smh.com.au/digital-divide-a-threat-to-indonesias-unity-president/20080509-2cqp.html

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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Extremists hone Internet skills: US Senate report
Al Qaeda and other radical groups have dramatically increased their use of the Internet in recent years to lure and train recruits worldwide, a U.S. Senate report warned on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0841712720080508
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0841712720080508

Fake media file snares PC users
Almost 500,000 people have been caught out by a booby-trapped media file, says security firm McAfee. The fake file poses as a music track, short video or movie and has been widely seeded on file-sharing networks to snare victims.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7389529.stm

Half a million computers infected with 'malware' in just seven days
Experts are warning internet users to be on their guard after more than half a million computers were infected with a single piece of malicious software.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/09/internet.hacking

France Says Canada Considering "Three Strikes and You're Out" ISP Policy by Michael Geist
Last month I wrote about the pressure to adopt "graduated response," a policy that is better described as "three strikes and you're out" for ISP subscribers. While Canada has yet to take a public position on the issue, a new French document cites Canada as an example of a country that is negotiating an ISP three strikes policy. In particular, the latest Olivennes bill draft submitted by the Conseil d'Etat, states:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2915/125/

B.C. Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissal of Crookes Cyberlibel Suit by Michael Geist
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision that dismissed a libel suit launched by Wayne Crookes against Yahoo!, MySpace, and a group of individuals. The court rejected the view that a court should presume that something posted online on a restricted access site has been widely read by people in the local community.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2914/125/

Comprehensive ranking of the world's IP jurisdictions [news release]
New research has for the first time established a statistical ranking of 22 of the world's leading economies and trading nations in relation to protecting and enforcing intellectual property. The Global Intellectual Property Index (GIPI), launched today by European law firm Taylor Wessing, presents a statistical comparison to date of how jurisdictions are viewed in terms of ‘IP competitiveness’. Jurisdictions are rated as places in which to obtain, exploit, enforce and attack the three main types of IP: trademarks, patents and copyright. It is most useful to consider the results of the GIPI in terms of five groupings or ‘tiers’ of IP competitiveness. There are five tiers with three countries on tier one (UK, USA, Germany) and six countries on tier two (Netherlands, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, France).
http://www.taylorwessing.com/news/recent-news/details/comprehensive-ranking-of-the-world-s-ip-jurisdictions.html

Dutch want banks help to fight illegal Web casinos
Dutch authorities intend to crack down on illegal online casinos and are calling on banks to stop providing financial services to them, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL1049768220080510
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL1049768220080510

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PRIVACY
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us: Internet Archive Wins David-and-Goliath Privacy Tussle With FBI
The Internet Archive revealed Wednesday that the FBI dropped an effort to secretly obtain information about the online activities of one of the digital library's users. The Archive revealed that it had been served a National Security Letter by the FBI last year about one of its patrons.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/62927.html

Bell Canada Hit With Privacy Complaint Over Deep Packet Inspection Practices by Michael Geist
CIPPIC has filed a privacy complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada over Bell's deep packet inspection practices. With CAIP raising the privacy issue in its submission to the CRTC, it was only a matter of time before the Privacy Commissioner was asked to intervene. CIPPIC highlights several privacy concerns with Bell's network management practices including:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2916/125/

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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How Viacom can sink the pirates
Sumner Redstone, who controls the twin media giants Viacom and CBS, is leaning on Internet service providers and online media outlets to do his heavy lifting. Speaking at the Seoul Digital Forum 2008, the 84-year-old media mogul came down particularly hard on YouTube, equating the video platform with piracy and demanding that ISPs and web sites do more to police content.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080508-how-viacom-can-sink-the-pirates.html

Asian ISPs prepare for video explosion
Most network infrastructures today may be coping well with the increases in Internet traffic, but any existing overcapacity would very quickly be consumed by the advent of video. The good news is, ISPs in the Asia-Pacific region are already preparing for an online video explosion.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62041158,00.htm

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CENSORSHIP
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China won't guarantee Olympic web freedom
China will not guarantee it won't censor the internet over this summer's Beijing Olympics, nor can it guarantee to stamp out piracy of Olympic-branded goods, officials said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKPEK14583520080508
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4518154a28.html

China refuses to guarantee open Internet during Olympics
China is refusing to guarantee that it won't censor the Internet during this summer's Olympic Games, but insists that the international media will still be able to function normally. Officials from China's Technology Ministry took a somewhat odd opportunity to speak about its censorship plans during a press conference after the Olympic torch relay crossed Mount Everest. They said that while the government would be able to "guarantee as much [access] as possible," there's no way that China would turn off the Great Firewall entirely during the Games.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080508-china-refuses-to-guarantee-open-internet-during-olympics.html

Government steps up Internet censorship, blocking access to collaborative news website and filtering email
Reporters Without Borders condemns the Tunisian government’s censorship of the international French-language news website Come4news, to which access has been blocked in Tunisia since 10 March.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=26918

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Childnet helps parents get web savvy
Internet awareness charity Childnet International has produced an interactive learning resource for parents who want to know more about the internet, so that they can guide their children through it safely.
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39215329,00.htm

Kids' websites 'exploiting' youngsters
Children are frequently manipulated by commercial websites claiming to be child friendly, according to research released this week. A study released by Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Mediatech Foundation found that it is common for children as young as two and a half to go online, and that the most popular children's sites are "moderately" to "heavily" commercialised.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216186/children-manipulated-commercial-sites

Cyber bullying an issue for Australian youth, poll finds
Cyber bullying is affecting more than one in five young Australians, a youth survey has found. The internet plays a critical role in the lives of 15- to 20-year-olds, with 64 per cent having a social network site such as MySpace or Facebook, the poll found.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131251440.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131251440.html
http://stuff.co.nz/4521636a28.html

au: Crackdown on pupils cyber-defaming teachers
Students who defame their teachers on internet sites will be automatically suspended and possibly expelled in a crackdown launched by schools.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,23675282-3102,00.html

NZ cartoon policeman and dolphin to warn UK children about online paedophiles
Child abuse experts are targeting children as young as five for the first time to teach them about the dangers of online paedophiles. Pupils in primary schools across the country will be introduced to Hector’s World, a series of five animated characters including Hector the dolphin and PC Jim, who will explore how to use the internet safely.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3892949.ece

Child web-safety guide launched
New teaching resources aimed at helping primary school children surf the web safely have been launched.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7389584.stm

Cartoon dolphin to teach children about online paedophiles
Cartoons starring an animated policeman and a dolphin are to be used for the first time to warn children as young as five about the dangers of online paedophiles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1938641/Cartoon-dolphin-to-teach-children-about-online-paedophiles.html

NZ animations used to warn UK kids about paedophiles (+ photos)
New Zealand computer animations in which a dolphin named Hector warns children as young as five about the dangers of on-line paedophiles are to be used in Britain.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10509167

NZ cartoon to teach UK children
An animated Hector's Dolphin created in New Zealand is set to take the online safety message to thousands of 5 to 7-year-olds in the United Kingdom.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10509249

NZ software to help keep British kids safe
Kiwi-designed software that uses animated characters to help keep children safe in cyberspace is spreading internationally, with British authorities poised to introduce it in schools.
http://stuff.co.nz/4516592a28.html

NZ animation to warn UK kids of online paedophiles
New Zealand computer animations in which a dolphin named Hector warns children as young as five about the dangers of online paedophiles are to be used in Britain.
http://tv3.co.nz/NZanimationtowarnUKkidsofonlinepaedophiles/tabid/412/articleID/55291/cat/73/Default.aspx

NZ’s Hector Protector® swims north to help UK children stay safe [news release]
Today, in a London primary school, New Zealand’s internationally recognised online safety education, Hector’s World™ is being launched as the core online-safety resource for 5-7 year olds throughout the United Kingdom. UK law enforcement agency, CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) has chosen the NZ-born educational resource as their key resource for keeping younger children safe from sexual abuse and grooming online. 
http://netsafe.org.nz/keeping_safe.php?pageID=274

Children and web porn
Anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with the Internet knows that it is clogged with sexual imagery and pornography, the Nelson Mail said in an editorial on Thursday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/nelsonmail/4516357a23218.html

us: FTC: Kids Finding It Harder to Buy M-rated Video Games [IDG]
Teenagers in the U.S. are having a more difficult time buying M-rated mature video games in stores than in past years, according to the results of an undercover operation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145654/ftc_kids_finding_it_harder_to_buy_mrated_video_games.html

IWF Welcomes CEOP’s Online Safety Programme For 5-7 Year Olds [news release]
Children as young as five years old are the focus of a new online safety programme being launched today, Thursday 8th May 2008, by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.232.htm

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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au: RBA wary of eBay's PayPal push
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised concerns about online retailer eBay's attempt to change its payment system.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2240239.htm

UK mother's porn law campaign ends
Jane Longhurst, 31, was strangled by Graham Coutts, 39, from Hove, Sussex. He was jailed for at least 26 years. Her mother Liz, from Berkshire, backed by Reading West MP Martin Salter, campaigned for three years to ban violent online porn. The ban is part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7389476.stm

uk: Extreme porn bill gets final reading
It must be ever so vexing to pass a law that you think will make you the most popular boy in class – only to be greeted by a mass chorus of “you still stink!”.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/08/crime_bill_passes/

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Microsoft looks at $15bn takeover of Facebook
Microsoft is believed to have approached Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, over a possible acquisition of the social networking site.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3890497.ece

Facebook users give thumbs down to Microsoft
Microsoft will likely meet with stern resistance from within the Facebook community should its reported approach to the fast-growing social networking site gather momentum.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3893228.ece

News Corp no longer in active talks to divest MySpace
News Corporation, parent company of The Times, said last night that it was no longer in active negotiations about a possible divestment of MySpace, its social networking site, in the week after Microsoft abandoned its pursuit of Yahoo!
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3890283.ece

Google: We Like Yahoo, and We Like It Independent
Will you do a search advertising deal with Yahoo? How will you do it in a way that avoids antitrust objections? Are you relieved that Microsoft withdrew its offer for Yahoo?
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/google-we-like-yahoo-and-we-like-it-independent/

Silicon Valley executives join forces against Yahoo!'s Yang
Eric Jackson, the dissident investor seeking to oust Jerry Yang as chief executive of Yahoo!, is today holding emergency talks with Silicon Valley executives closely linked to Microsoft's failed $45.7bn (£24bn) bid to buy the troubled internet company.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/11/yahoo.microsoft

Yahoo! chief searches for some allies
The long-drawn-out and ultimately abortive takeover battle between Microsoft and Yahoo! was lowered into the grave of history last week. But the saga is far from over. Shareholders in both companies are unhappy, while questions about the viability of Jerry Yang, the Yahoo! chief executive, and Steve Ballmer, his Microsoft counterpart, are growing louder by the day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/11/yahoo.microsoft1

Microsoft and Yahoo! No deal: Microsoft walks away from Yahoo!, and both companies lose
Rather as John McCain cannot be displeased to have seen Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fighting it out, Google has for the past three months enjoyed watching its only two serious rivals, Yahoo! and Microsoft, tear each other to pieces. Yahoo!, once an internet pioneer, has fallen far behind Google in web search and related advertising. Microsoft still dominates desktop computing but lags behind Google as software moves online. So Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's boss, dared ask Yahoo!: what would be wrong with making, if not exactly a dream team, at least a joint effort out of it?
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11332396

Advocacy groups take aim at Google-Yahoo partnership
An online advertising partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. is facing opposition from consumer and civic groups that didn't wait for an official deal announcement to voice their discontent.
http://businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D90IC1200.htm

Inside Microsoft's War Against Google
With Yahoo off the table, Microsoft plans to challenge Google's online-ad juggernaut alone. A behind-the-scenes look at its provocative strategy: It's April, and Microsoft's top U. S. salesman for online advertising, Keith Lorizio, is visiting clients in New York City. In a midtown office tower, he sits down with Nicholas Utton, the gregarious chief marketing officer at online broker E*Trade. Utton is plenty impressed with Microsoft's technology, and he's a big advertiser on the company's MSN Money site. But when it comes to Internet search sites, the largest and most lucrative advertising market online, Utton makes it clear that Microsoft is, as he sees it, way behind front-runner Google. "They're not getting much of our search dollars," he says.
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_20/b4084036492860.htm

Microsoft starts appeal against €899m EC fine
Microsoft yesterday raised the stakes again in its long-running legal battle with the European commission by lodging an appeal against the record €899m fine imposed on it this year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/10/microsoft.microsoft

Microsoft’s battle with Europe goes on as fine is challenged
Microsoft has lodged an appeal against a record €899 million (£713 million) fine handed out in February by the European Commission for defying sanctions imposed on the company for abusing its dominant position in the software market.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3904904.ece

Can Craigslist Stay Oddball?
The Web phenom was never into maximizing profits. A scrap with eBay may change things: For years, I've been amused to watch craigslist—the stupefyingly successful, mostly free online classified ad site—leave many business types red-faced and exasperated. Here is a homely, text-heavy site that's among America's top 10 in monthly page views and time spent on it. Yet to a remarkable degree it staunchly refuses to turn on any moneymaking machinery. It's also very tough to beat, as many newspapers with double-digit revenue declines have discovered, since it's hard to compete with free.
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_20/b4084075556029.htm

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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WI-FI SECURITY: Some Advice from the FBI
You’re at the airport waiting for your flight. With time to kill, you’re thinking of connecting your laptop to the airport's Wi-Fi to check your office e-mail...do some personal banking...or shop for a gift for your spouse.
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/may08/wifi_050608.html

Free Sydney broadband quietly shelved on day of boating crash
The NSW State Government would have known a year ago that its promised free wireless broadband network for the Sydney business district and surrounding centres was unviable, analysts said, but chose to announce its decision to scrap the project on the day six people were killed in the Sydney Harbour boat tragedy.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131264199.html

UWB in doubt after TI pulls out
Ultra-wideband, the fast short-range wireless link which was supposed to be in handsets and PCs by now, is on the brink of failure after Texas Instruments pulled out of the technology.
http://techworld.com/mobility/news/index.cfm?newsID=101449

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VoIP
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Slow growth in VoIP take up in Australia
A new report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority has revealed that half of the people who own a 3G phone do not use the 3G services - which include mobile internet, video calling and music streaming.
http://www.voip-news.co.uk/2008/05/09/slow-growth-in-voip-take-up-in-australia/

Hungary - VoIP consultation [reg req'd]
The Hungarian Communications Authority (NHH) has issued a consultation document to IP-based voice service providers, seeking responses by 30 May 2008.
http://www.law-now.com/law-now/2008/hunvoipconsultation.htm

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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US arrests paedophile suspect after global manhunt [AFP]
US immigration agents arrested a suspected paedophile just two days after Interpol launched a global hunt for a man who abused South-East Asian boys, the police agency said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/09/2239610.htm

Global manhunt leads to US child sex arrest [AP]
A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/global-manhunt-leads-to-us-child-sex-arrest-824854.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1738772,00.html

Suspected pedophile actor nabbed in US
An actor who played Santa Claus and painted children's faces was arrested on child sex charges in the US on Thursday after an international manhunt, just the second time Interpol sought the public's help to find a suspected pedophile.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131202259.html

Interpol appeal unmasks US actor as child abuse suspect
A man matching the description of a suspected child abuser who became the target of an international manhunt earlier this week has been arrested in the US.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/08/operation_ident_arrest/

nz: Man met teen sex targets online
Three Auckland girls fell victim to a sexual predator who groomed them over the internet. This was revealed yesterday as their attacker was sentenced to five years in jail.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10509001

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David Goldstein
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