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********************************************************** Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre Nanyang Technological University, Singapore http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/ ********************************************************** Website bomb-making lessons to be outlawed across Europe http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023030.ece Q&A: Censoring the net http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023088.ece Protest in China: Mobilised by mobile (AP) http://economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9367055 Thailand softens Internet censorship, YouTube ban stays http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969118.htm Gadgets 'threaten energy savings' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6266082.stm Tech Firms Tap Into the 'Green' Movement http://nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Technology-Green-Approach.html South Korean search engine beats Google and Yahoo by tapping wisdom of the crowd http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/technology/naver.php Nanoseconds Of Happiness: You're Going to Love Your iPhone, Until the Next Gizmo Calls http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201656.html Why Buying the iPhone is a Reactionary Act http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kieschnick/why-buying-the-iphone-is-_b_54689.html Social networking sites betrayed by unfaithful users http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2017224.ece Spammers phish for iPhone fans http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6194485.html UK digital divide is widening http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2193280/uk-fails-span-digital-divide Russian Music Site Down, Sister Site Up (AP) http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/business/mp3.php The new Web shows why they call it world wide http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ft-internet2jul02,1,2796370.story ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Website bomb-making lessons to be outlawed across Europe Placing instructions on how to make a bomb on the internet will become a criminal offence across Europe under plans outlined by Brussels yesterday. Arguments about freedom of expression will not be allowed to stand in the way of criminalising the publication of bomb-making information that could be used by terrorists, a senior EU official said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023030.ece Q&A: Censoring the net Q. Is it possible to police content that is posted online? A. It is extremely difficult. There are many hundreds of millions of pages on the internet; some are hosted on servers in Europe, a great many are hosted abroad. Even if the EU passed a law placing responsibility on EU-based internet service providers (ISPs) to police content on their servers, it would not apply to servers based outside the EU. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023088.ece Protest in China: Mobilised by mobile (AP) Organised by text messages and internet chats, China's middle classes are daring to protest, and giving the government a fright: Information technology in China is once again making political waves. In the tropical seaport of Xiamen citizens still talk excitedly about how an anonymous text message on their mobile phones last month prompted them to join one of the biggest middle-class protests of recent years. And in Beijing politicians are scrambling to calm an uproar fuelled by an online petition against slave labour in brick kilns. Chinese officials have had reason to worry before about the rallying power of the internet and mobile phones. Two years ago they helped activists organise protests against Japan in several Chinese cities. http://economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9367055 Thailand softens Internet censorship, YouTube ban stays Thailand has softened its hardline against political and controversial websites, but a ban against video-posting website YouTube remains. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969118.htm http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10449555 http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBKK24588120070703 th: Minister loses right to censor websites The cabinet agreed on Tuesday to revoke the military junta's order for the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to block websites deemed harmful to the military council and to the national security. http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=73117 http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBKK24588120070703 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ BBC Digital Planet - CRISP: ANTI-GROOMING SOFTWARE Around the world, parents agonise about their children's online safety. Now, there is new software about to be launched that its inventors believe will go a long way to re-assuring parents that their children are safe to surf online. The claim comes from Crisp - the firm behind a new "anti-grooming engine". Adam Hildreth, CEO and founder of Crisp, joins Digital Planet to discuss online child protection. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4849402.stm us: MySpace predators exposed MORE than 140 sex offenders convicted in New Jersey had profiles on the networking web site MySpace, the state's attorney general has revealed. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22015568-16123,00.html http://ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=5017917 http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0321042320070703 Rhodri Marsden: Cyberclinic - My daughter has put her details online. Should I worry? It's relentlessly drilled into us to be careful when using credit cards on the internet. But a recent survey by the security experts Symantec showed that one in 10 people are comparatively cavalier when it comes to revealing other kinds of personal information on blogs and social networking profiles. I'm as bad as anyone; although I'm not stupid enough to reveal my mother's maiden name on a daily basis, I do allow sites to tease personal information out of me and put this information on display to the world – such as my birthday. And I'm not alone. http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2734672.ece us: Will feds back free, no-porn Web plan? It's a potentially cutting-edge idea: A nationwide, wireless broadband service, free of charge and free of obscenity. That is the pitch M2Z Networks Inc., is making to federal regulators. http://sltrib.com/ci_6294059 *************************************** CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY *************************************** After attacks, US government sending team to Estonia Two months after much of Estonia's online infrastructure was targeted by an online attack, the U.S government is sending cyberinvestigators to help the Baltic state better understand what happened. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/US-government-sending-team-to-Estonia_1.html Kremlin Critics Say Russian Cyberspace Alive With DoS Attacks Cyber unrest continues throughout Russia and the Baltic states with reports of media and political Web sites being shut down through attacks similar to those that took down parts of Estonia's cyberinfrastructure in late April and early May. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, Monday reported the presence of politically motivated cyberattacks occurring in Russian cyberspace. The Web site for Russia's United Civil Front, run by former chess champ turned political activist Garry Kasporov, experienced problems staying online, and hackers tried to break into the main site of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, Oleg Panfilov, the center's director, told InformationWeek. He added that the sites of the several organizations "engaged in the protection of human rights" were also exposed to hacker attacks. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=GF0LIPDV4HFBEQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200900283 Google Appeals Belgian Copyright Ruling Google Inc. has scheduled an appeal for July 17 in its copyright dispute with Belgian newspaper publishers, although the two sides expect to request an extension while they try to resolve the conflict amicably, spokespeople for Google and the publishing group, Copiepresse, said on Tuesday. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134131-pg,1/article.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/Google-appeals-ruling_1.html http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739346-7.html More Evil Than Google? No matter how many times Google chants its "Don't be evil" mantra, its critics just won't disappear. In fact, the crowd of detractors who see Google as the Mountain View monster is only growing: Last month, Privacy International placed Google dead last in its evaluation of Internet service companies in terms of consumer data protection, labeling the search giant "hostile to privacy." The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google's acquisition of DoubleClick constitutes a monopoly, and the company faces a $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom for YouTube's alleged copyright infringement. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/07/03/google-evil-competition-tech-techbiz-cx_ag_0703googevil.html uk: Man guilty of using internet to promote jihad A third man with close links to al-Qa'eda in Iraq has admitted using the internet to urge Muslims to wage a violent holy war against all non-believers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/04/nwebsite104.xml http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351293920.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0485000520070704 uk: Phone chips helped UK Police SEVERAL people arrested in connection with the British terror attacks were traced after mobile telephones found intact in the failed London car bombs yielded crucial information. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22013223-5013040,00.html uk: The shambles over cybercrime Been the victim of online fraud? Until recently you would have reported it to the police, but now the onus on investigating such crimes lies not with the boys in blue but with the banking industry. On April 1, the Association of Chief Police Officers announced that it would no longer be responsible for investigating e-crime. That move marked the final straw for some. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2118146,00.html Social networking 'addiction' aids phishing Security experts warn of a new wave of crime with the drastic rise in personalised phishing campaigns, with social networking at the heart of the problem. AusCERT's general manager Graham Ingram said on Tuesday that social networking sites -- such as MySpace and Facebook -- are having an enormous impact on security because of people's willingness to share personal information. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Social-networking-addiction-aids-phishing/0,130061733,339279569,00.htm us: Georgia Court Says Internet Cache Not Proof Of Porn Possession The decision could make it more difficult for prosecutors to convict others for viewing child pornography. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=A4G3M53DMU1RWQSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200001917 Researcher: Hackers don't time exploits for impact It's not always the case that attackers are highly skilled and doing careful planning, says McAfee researcher http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/C156344D6AE46D6DCC25730C0018B21D us: Second Life sex bed spawns virtual copyright action A bed which allows residents of the virtual world Second Life to have sex is at the centre of the first known case to be brought in virtual copyright. A Florida-based businessman who sells the bed inside Second Life claims another man has copied his creation, and is now bringing an action against his competitor in the real world, even though the bed is not real. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2025713.ece Top executives face personalized e-mail attacks Online miscreants have targeted 500 key business executives in what is believed to be the first mass-targeted malicious-software attack, according to security vendor MessageLabs. http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6194497.html nl: Murder, She Texted: Wireless Messaging Used to Fight Crime Three weeks ago, when police in The Hague in the Netherlands got a report that a boat had been stolen, they sent out a text message about the case to residents who had signed up to receive neighborhood crime alerts on their cellphones. An hour later, a woman bicycling along a canal who got the message notified police via a phone call that she saw a boat that met the description. The boat was found and the thief arrested. "They're the eyes on the street," says a spokesperson for The Hague's police department. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118334106678254898.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** uk: New e-waste recycling laws begin A much-delayed law that makes British producers and importers of electronic goods responsible for the recycling of their products has come into force. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires 4kg of "e-waste" to be recycled per person. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6250080.stm eu: Google's DoubleClick deal runs into consumer resistance Google's £1.5bn takeover of online advertiser DoubleClick has run into new turbulence with a formal protest by a consumers' group. BEUC, backed by consumers in Germany, Italy and Spain, has urged the competition commissioner Neelie Kroes to investigate the deal, arguing in a letter seen by the Guardian that it "may have a negative impact on the selection of online content available to consumers and on privacy". The US federal trade commission is already investigating on similar grounds. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2116979,00.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351298988.html eu: Consumer group hits at Google $3bn move Beuc, the European consumer rights group, has joined the growing criticism over Google’s proposed $3.1bn acquisition of Doubleclick in an official letter to Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4b7018a6-28c5-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html EU launches public consultation to explore global IT market The European Union (EU) on Monday launched a public consultation to help explore new markets worldwide for its already competitive information and communication technology (ICT) industry. "Our ICT industry in Europe needs to think and be global," said the EU's Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "While we have been working hard to create a single telecoms market in Europe, we must not lose sight of the global picture." http://english.people.com.cn/200707/03/eng20070703_389718.html http://bbj.hu/main/news_28438_eu+launches+public+consultation+to+explore+global+it+market.html Sexy clip lifts EU YouTube debut When the EU opened its own channel on YouTube, no-one could have predicted it would get upwards of 20,000 hits a day. But while videos on the CAP and road safety are barely getting touched, a clip of sex scenes from European cinema has become a runaway success. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6263430.stm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351238299.html Peer-to-Peer Telephony: a new Legislative Challenge Internet phone applications or peer-to-peer telephony is likely to become the common telecommunication means in the near future. Indeed, peer-to-peer telephony is slowly but steadily imposing its convenience and cost advantages over traditional telephony services. The development of this new telecommunication method, though, posts many legislative challenges. For instance, it is not clear yet what is the regulatory treatment applicable to this Internet application; should exiting telephony laws be applied to peer-to-peer telephony? Tax revenue is another major defy posted by Internet phone applications. Will traditional local tax charges disappear? These two colossal queries are just some of the reasons precluding and immediate legislative response to the peer-to-peer telephony service. Answers to these questions entail long and intensive encounters with interest groups like telecommunication giants and local governments. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1800 au: IIA push on cable net choke Australia's peak internet industry group has increased pressure on the federal Government to control charges for links that feed overseas internet services to local broadband users. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22005653-16123,00.html au: Senate Passes New Online Content Laws – National Industry Body Responds The Internet Industry Association has today moved to establish an industry taskforce for the development of an industry code of practice for online content service providers in Australia. This follows the passage by the Senate last night of the "Content Service" amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=573 au: Content Services Bill Passes Senate - IIA Moves Immediately to Form Taskforce to Develop Code As anticipated, the Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Bill 2007 (the Bill) passed the Senate last night (20/6/07). This is highly complex legislation and will have a profound impact on the way the online content services sector will evolve in Australia. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=572 ug: Internet Crime Law in Offing Cabinet is currently scrutinising three bills aimed at thwarting increasing levels of electronic crimes, particularly those committed over the internet, according to the Minister for ICT, Dr Ham Mulira. http://allafrica.com/stories/200707031031.html http://allafrica.com/stories/200707040150.html ***************************** INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE ***************************** Gadgets 'threaten energy savings' The growing popularity of hi-tech devices, such as flat-screen TVs and digital radios, threaten to undermine efforts to save energy, a report says. UK consumers spend £12bn a year on electronics, much of which is less efficient than older technology, a study by the Energy Saving Trust found. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6266082.stm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351260726.html Tech Firms Tap Into the 'Green' Movement Being ''green'' is all the rage with technology companies these days, but what's not clear is whether or not the environment-friendly approach is bringing in more greenbacks. http://nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Technology-Green-Approach.html South Korean search engine beats Google and Yahoo by tapping wisdom of the crowd Thanks to Cho In Joon, 50, a seller of lottery tickets in Busan, and tens of thousands of other volunteer respondents, Web users in one of the world's most-wired countries seldom "Google" anything - they "Naver" it. Tapping a South Korean inclination to help one another on the Web has made Naver.com the undisputed leader of Internet search in the country. It handles more than 77 percent of all Web searches originating in South Korea, thanks largely to content generated, free of charge, by people like Park and Cho. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/technology/naver.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/technology/05online.html Niche search engines emerge in the shadow of Google Does the world need another Google? Naima and Daniel Moore, a husband-and-wife team based in Atlanta, believe it does. On Monday, they unveiled Megaglobe, an international search engine that comes in 45 languages whose claim to fame is that it is designed to fight "click fraud," where advertisers get ripped off when hits on their ads are not from genuine consumers. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/technology/ptend05.php Nanoseconds Of Happiness: You're Going to Love Your iPhone, Until the Next Gizmo Calls So you've got the latest gadget, but is our desire to consume proving too all-consuming? ... Benjamin R. Barber, a professor at the University of Maryland, argues in his recent Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilise Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole that modern capitalism drives grown-ups "to retrieve the childish things the Bible told us to put away, and to enter the new world of electronic toys, games, and gadgets that constitute a modern digital playground for adults". Indulging our desire for gadgets, Professor Barber warns, makes adults selfish, sad and infantile. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201656.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/03/1183351217520.html Why Buying the iPhone is a Reactionary Act Apple made a choice in selecting AT&T. Steve Jobs could have used the immense leverage Apple had in launching the iPhone to demand concessions that changed the wireless market. He did not. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kieschnick/why-buying-the-iphone-is-_b_54689.html Mobile users must wait for wireless power Analysts warn that, although innovations by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are promising, the transmission of power without cables is still in its infancy http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000066,,00.htm Social networking sites betrayed by unfaithful users A survey has revealed the ‘promiscuity’ of many members of social networking sites and raised doubts over surging valuations: Social networks are spawning a generation of internet tarts, research suggests: online consumers with little brand loyalty and no qualms about keeping several sites on the go at once. Users of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are “chronically unfaithful”, a survey by Parks Associates, the analysts, has found. Half of users regularly use more than one site, most of which are free. One in six actively uses three or more. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2017224.ece The Last Stand of Internet Radio? New royalty rates may doom many small stations and the struggling musicians who depend on them. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1639084,00.html au: Surprising links Call it the ultimate compliment from a competitor. Next was bemused to discover that when you enter "youtube.com" into an Australian Google search, it returns a sponsored link to Microsoft's Live Search site hosted at Ninemsn. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/02/1183351124244.html Study: Broadband Growth Slowing in U.S. (AP) The rate of broadband adoption is slowing in the United States, partly because service providers already have grabbed the easiest converts, a study has found. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351246142.html http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/03/financial/f131234D66.DTL http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TECHBIT_BROADBAND_STUDY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-07-03-16-12-34 Warning of data ticking time bomb The growing problem of accessing old digital file formats is a "ticking time bomb", the chief executive of the UK National Archives has warned. Natalie Ceeney said society faced the possibility of "losing years of critical knowledge" because modern PCs could not always open old file formats. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6265976.stm uk: Internet signals end of an era for Yorkshire dialect ... Miss Cremins, who was born in Yorkshire, believes there are two main reasons for the words vanishing from Yorkshire vocabularies - and the prime culprit is new media. "There is a worry now with the internet, texting and the media that things are becoming diluted and watered down," she said. "An international language is coming in, the sort of thing everybody speaks and can understand. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2733253.ece At the end of the day iPhone is no phone Now that the iPhone is out in the hands of real reviewers rather than the selected Apple friendlies who got previews prior to release, the real story is emerging. The gist of it is that Apple's new baby is a ripper of a multi-function device but if you're looking for a good high-end mobile phone don't buy an iPhone. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13299/1023/ iPhone battery plot thickens Replacing battery will take three days and require full data wipe, Apple says http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/iphone-battery-replacement_1.html Tests show viewers react to ads, TV networks say In new experiments for NBC, people are hooked up to sensors as they watch television, and researchers observe changes in their heart rate, palm sweat, eye movement and breathing patterns. But the panelists are not watching just NBC programs. They are watching commercials - in fast-forward mode. So far, the findings have been just what NBC hoped: Judging from the biological reactions, the test subjects were just as engaged while watching fast-forwarded advertisements as they were while viewing opening scenes from the NBC show "Heroes" at regular speed. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/technology/adco.php ********************** SPAM ********************** Spammers phish for iPhone fans As Apple's newest gadget starts selling in U.S. stores, spammers are exploiting the surrounding product craze by sending e-mails that try to dupe recipients into thinking that they have won an iPhone of their own. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6194485.html http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2193302/iphone-scams-begin http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6194485.html Filtering and reducing email spam and scams Spam and scams are a part of the Internet world we'll have to tolerate for the foreseeable future. Last year, there was a huge increase in spam, mostly owing to the new methods spammers employed to bypass message filters. Various tricks were used. By far the most common was the use of pictures in an email message. http://ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3914906 ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** uk: Digital divide becoming chasm, research reveals Movement on the digital divide has stalled with only marginally more people online today than three years ago. UK online centres, managed by the University for Industry, have issued a report which says that bridging the digital divide is the responsibility of the public, private, and third sector working together. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/03/digital_divide_deepening/ UK digital divide is widening Efforts to bridge the digital divide with disadvantaged classes in the UK are failing, according to a new report. The ground-breaking Understanding Digital Inclusion, from Freshminds, brings together information from more than 80 sources, says the number of digitally disadvantaged people has hardly changed since 2004. It says 75 per cent of people counted as socially excluded are also digitally excluded, by not having the benefits or opportunities that computers and Internet access can bring. Not only is the divide widening, but deepening, according to the report, with those "stuck on the wrong side" more deeply excluded and harder to reach than ever before. http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2193280/uk-fails-span-digital-divide http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2193342/local-authorities-government Africa and the EU Bridging the digital divide is a key theme of the EU’s relationship with Africa, writes Viviane Reding in the latest issue of the Parliament Magazine's Research Review. "The fight against the digital and scientific divides in Africa have been identified as key development and cooperation priorities of the Joint Strategy between the EU and the African Union (AU) to be adopted at the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon on 7-8 December 2007. http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200707/a161021c-05d7-4592-9095-0a362bc30b9e.htm ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Russia shuts down Allofmp3.com Music download site that threatened to scupper Moscow's accession to World Trade Organisation has been shut http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2016297.ece http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2117653,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6264266.stm Russian Music Site Down, Sister Site Up (AP) A music download site that was the poster child for U.S. anti-piracy crusaders and an obstacle to Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization has been shut down by Russian authorities, according to the U.S. government. The victory, however, was short lived: The same company behind Allofmp3.com has launched a similar site that resembles the shuttered service, provides the same legal disclaimers and sells songs at a fraction of the price of iTunes. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/business/mp3.php http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351246146.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_6290685 Universal balks at long-term iTunes contract Universal Music has opted not to sign a long-term renewal with Apple’s iTunes, which could give the world’s largest record company more flexibility to back rival digital music services http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bc9e2aa8-28df-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html Universal iTunes bluff will not work on Apple Lately, Universal Music Group has displayed a penchant for flexing its muscles by taking on some of the world's most powerful media players. First it was Google's YouTube over alleged copyright infringement, then it was News Corp's MySpace, and now it is Apple iTunes. The fact is UMG is probably all bluff. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13311/1023/ ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* The new Web shows why they call it world wide Masses of many nations are networking and creating user content their own way. Big companies find they have to localize their global footprint: For Japanese Internet users of all ages, Mixi has become a favorite place to network online. In France, Dailymotion draws a big audience for its user-generated videos. And in South Korea, Cyworld has long been a popular destination for teenagers who want to hang out. As the so-called Web 2.0 phenomenon represented by social media sites like these ripples around the world, new national champions have emerged. Social networking, video- and photo-sharing and blogging destinations are becoming the new hot properties. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ft-internet2jul02,1,2796370.story Yahoo moves to catch up with Google in tailored advertising Yahoo SmartAds would help marketers create custom advertisements on the fly, using information on individual buyers and information on real prices and availability from the vendors. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/02/business/yahoo.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/technology/02yahoo.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Google: You ain't seen nothin' yet Forget iPhone, BlackBerry, Bell and Telus. Google is preparing to be the next giant of telecommunications: Anyone can get the Web on their cellphone these days. But now it seems Google is interested in so much more than that. It has reportedly approached the Federal Communications Commission recently about obtaining wireless spectrum, the base upon which mobile-phone networks are built, in the U.S. agency's next auction. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=0d0fa453-8a22-4dd0-b244-53f03146da8e&k=11216&p=1 Canada To Create National Do-Not-Call List Canada's telecommunications regulator laid out new rules for a national do-not-call list that will enable consumers to prevent unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DGP4SSFCLFFHGQSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200900310 au: IIA push on cable net choke Australia's peak internet industry group has increased pressure on the federal Government to control charges for links that feed overseas internet services to local broadband users. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22005653-15306,00.html au: National Internet Industry Body Warns - Are We Heading for a Broadband Cost Crunch? (news release) The Internet Industry Association today warned that unless we address our international capacity issues, Australian's use of high speed broadband networks could become cost-prohibitive. "Promises from political parties to deliver faster services, while very welcome, may have the perverse effect of bringing our international capacity constraints to a head sooner rather than later" said IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=575 au: Bandwidth bogey must become talking point, says IIA The Internet Industry Association has warned that a lack of intra-industry understanding is keeping bandwidth bottlenecks locked and allowing the implementation of politically-driven broadband solutions that will exacerbate data cost issues for the country’s ISPs. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=576 EU fines Telefónica €151.85 million for unfair wholesale Internet prices European Union regulators on Wednesday fined Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications company, €151.85 million, saying it had unfairly squeezed rivals by setting wholesale Internet access prices too high to allow them turn a profit. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/business/telef.php eu: Broadband Bullying Banned First, it was France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom. Now, it’s Telefónica. The European Union has levied one of the largest fines ever – 152 million euros – against Spanish telecom operator Telefónica for allegedly engaging in a “margin squeeze” in the Spanish broadband Internet access market, thus impeding competition. Telefónica is expected to appeal the decision at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1798 ********************** VoIP ********************** Experts: Enterprises Must Focus on VOIP Security As the number of VOIP deployments is expected to continue to increase, IT professionals and researchers are urging enterprises not to forget about security. Voice-over-IP security threats are viewed as more theoretical than actual. But the few cases that have come to light have been brazen and costly. For example, investigators arrested two people in 2006 for a scam in which they were accused of hacking into the networks of several unnamed companies and hijacking their VOIP bandwidth for resale. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2154629,00.asp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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. Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (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 Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ APPLe mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/apple
