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. ********************************************************** Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre Nanyang Technological University, Singapore http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/ ********************************************************** Civil liberties under threat: The real price of freedom - It is not only on the battlefield where preserving liberty may have to cost many lives http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9833041 Turkey bans access to YouTube again, prompting criticism from watchdog group [AP] http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3629407 English schools urged to use police in crackdown on cyberbullying http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2173901,00.html Apple may be next in EU antitrust sights http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/303C9EB5AC275FF6CC25735B001536DC Microsoft: A matter of sovereignty - What the European Court's ruling means for the technology industry http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9832868 Editorial: Regulating Microsoft http://nytimes.com/2007/09/21/opinion/21fri4.html nz: Cybercriminals 'acting like pros' http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4212961a28.html Study says DRM violates Canadian privacy law http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1876635617;fp;2;fpid;1 http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1876635617;fp;2;fpid;1 au: Coonan seeks to censor the Web http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22451522-15306,00.html The slippery slope towards internet censorship continues http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20070921-The-slippery-slope-towards-internet-censorship-continues.html Government seeks to ban more websites http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1153283793;fp;2;fpid;1 http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1153283793;fp;2;fpid;1 uk: Ofcom plans talks on UK's broadband future http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2172553,00.html Korean internet speed, quality to be ranked http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=78301 Australians one connected lot - study http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22457125-15306,00.html us: Hooked on the web, no time for nookies [Reuters] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/20/1189881674785.html Mobile TV to reach 120 million users by 2012: report http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/20/mobile_tv_report/ Remote Vietnamese village gets Internet access via WiMax http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/21/Vietnamese-village-gets-Internet-access-via-WiMax_1.html Illegal file-sharing network eDonkey disabled http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2504723.ece Berners-Lee challenges 'stupid' male geek culture http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39289564,00.htm Has Google Plans to Lay a Pacific Cable? http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/google-plans-undersea-pacific-cable/ http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/09/rumor-control-g.html Child safety fears prompt Wi-Fi code for Welsh schools http://environment.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/article2990155.ece Cloud of worry gathers over wireless health risks http://iht.com/articles/2007/09/23/news/wireless24.php ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Civil liberties under threat: The real price of freedom - It is not only on the battlefield where preserving liberty may have to cost many lives "They hate our freedoms." So said George Bush in a speech to the American Congress shortly after the attacks on America in September 2001. But how well, at home, have America and the other Western democracies defended those precious freedoms during the "war on terror"? As The Economist intends to show in a series of articles starting this week, the past six years have seen a steady erosion of civil liberties even in countries that regard themselves as liberty's champions. Arbitrary arrest, indefinite detention without trial, "rendition", suspension of habeas corpus, even torture -- who would have thought such things possible? http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9833041 Turkey bans access to YouTube again, prompting criticism from watchdog group [AP] A Turkish court has ordered the country's telecommunications company to block access to the popular video-sharing site YouTube because of clips the court deems insulting to leading political figures. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3629407 http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/178901.html YouTube access again blocked by court order because of insulting videos Reporters Without Borders condemns a court ruling on 18 September ordering Internet Service Providers to block access to the video-sharing website YouTube because of videos deemed to insult President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the army and the Turkish republics founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23714 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ English schools urged to use police in crackdown on cyberbullying Ministers are urging schools to involve police in the most serious cases of cyberbullying of pupils and staff in a new crackdown on the "unaccceptable" and "insidious" use of new technology. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2173901,00.html http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2173987,00.html http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,,2173988,00.html Fight cyber bullies, schools English told Schools are being given guidance urging them to take firm action against pupils who use mobile phones and the internet to bully other children and teachers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7005389.stm Cyber-bullying: laugh and youll be considered guilty Children who think it is harmless fun to pass on digital images or messages designed to humiliate another child or a teacher are being targeted in a campaign to stamp out cyber-bullying. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2500477.ece Teachers 'open to cyber bullying' Cyber bullying is having a serious impact on teaching staff in Northern Ireland, a union has warned. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7006012.stm Childnet launches Cyberbullying guidance and "Digizen" resource [news release] Childnet International announced the launch of important new guidance for schools to help them tackle the problems of cyberbullying. Part of the overall anti-bullying guidance called "Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-bullying Work in Schools". http://www.childnet-int.org/news/articles/200907.html au: Sex abuse in the suburbs Organised crime groups in Eastern Europe are sexually abusing children on webcam to send to a growing market of thousands of suburban pedophiles in Australia, police have found. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22459370-953,00.html nz: Online abuse in Palmerston North schools Manawatu schools are battling to combat cyber-bullying on social networking sites, with more and more youths being singled out for humiliation. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4211368a6003.html nz: School attack on YouTube THE mother of a Kavanagh College pupil whose beating in class last Wednesday was apparently deliberately taped and put on YouTube two days later says little has been done to protect her 16-year-old son from physical and cyber bullying while at the school. http://odt.co.nz/article.php?refid=2007,09,24,1,00100,d63f7f7de278649adc9d0a97b794ee85 http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070923/3/1sbv.html Sex abuse by keystroke - battling online child porn ... "Eighty per cent of the abuse seen in online child porn is done by people the children know," said Leila Ben Debba, of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Chidren. http://www.bangkokpost.com/gadget/gadget.php?id=203 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Growing Google searches for balance When Google agreed to buy online advertising outfit DoubleClick five months ago, it put a lot of backs up. US behemoths from Microsoft to AT&T expressed concern at the groups newfound might. Antitrust regulators were alerted. Consumer groups complained. The deal was also one of the clearest illustrations yet of how Google has changed. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/27f246a2-67a8-11dc-8906-0000779fd2ac.html Apple may be next in EU antitrust sights With Microsoft's antitrust appeal now decided, the next US technology company to get a place on the European Union (EU)'s regulatory hot seat may be Apple, says an antitrust expert. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/303C9EB5AC275FF6CC25735B001536DC Microsoft: A matter of sovereignty - What the European Court's ruling means for the technology industry "You asked for it, now live with it." That was, in essence, the message spread by Microsoft's lobbyists after the European Court of First Instance upheld a landmark antitrust ruling against the world's largest software firm on September 17th, dealing it the most stinging defeat in nearly a decade of antitrust litigation. Emboldened by this decision, Europe's anti-monopoly squad will now go after other technology firms with high market shares, the lobbyists warn, forcing them to give up valuable intellectual property and curbing the incentive to innovate. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9832868 Editorial: Regulating Microsoft Microsofts resounding defeat in a European antitrust case establishes welcome principles that should be adopted in the United States as guideposts for the future development of the information economy. ... The courts decision puts Europe at the cutting edge of technology regulation. ... American regulators who have reacted to the European court decision as if it were a mortal blow against capitalism itself should embrace it as a healthy step in the growth of the information economy. http://nytimes.com/2007/09/21/opinion/21fri4.html Microsoft's problems are of its own making Microsoft was dealt a nasty blow by the European Court of First Instance this week. The court backed the European Commission's ruling in 2004 that the software group abused its near monopoly in personal computers to stymie competitors. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22452441-36375,00.html Why restraining Microsoft no longer matters perspective: Historians famously scorn generals who prepare to fight the previous wars. But what would they say about regulators still struggling to set proper rules of engagement for the technology business? http://www.news.com/2010-1014_3-6209284.html Berners-Lee: Web security a 'never-ending battle' The man credited with invention of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has warned that web security is a "never-ending battle". Speaking at a lecture hosted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London on Thursday, Berners-Lee said that, while he was against web censorship per se, both technological and educational means should be employed to tackle internet security issues. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39289560,00.htm INTERPOL urges integrated global cyber-crime investigation network to combat online threat [news release] INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble urged law enforcement agencies to establish integrated National Central Reference Points (NCRPs) to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of cyber-crime. Identified as a minimum legal standard by the Convention on Cyber-Crime of the Council of Europe, the creation of a network of NCRPs using INTERPOL's secure global police communications system, I-24/7, would enable police anywhere in the world to immediately identify and obtain assistance from experts in other countries 24 hours a day - considered essential in online investigations. http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200740.asp PluggedIn: Hackers control PCs while users unaware [Reuters] A few weeks ago Candace Locklear's office computer quietly started sending out dozens of instant messages with photos attached that were infected with malicious software. She was sitting at her desk, with no sign that the messaging software was active. By the time she figured out what was going on, several friends and colleagues had opened the attachments and infected their computers. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0923261120070921 http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4210014a28.html Russian election campaigners face cyber-war Now that politicians have discovered websites like YouTube, cyber crime has started to become a big issue in political campaigns. In Russia, there are fears that hacking into such sites has become the latest electioneering weapon. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/22/2040576.htm More than 200 child porn web-sites shut down in Russian Internet A total of 247 child pornography web-sites in Runet, the Russian Internet domain, have been shut down in the first six months of the year, a spokesman for Russia's Interior Ministry said. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070921/80367027.html nz: Cybercriminals 'acting like pros' Police e-crime lab director Maarten Kleintjes has voiced fears about the growing sophistication of cybercriminals, and security software maker Symantec has warned that hackers are starting to run their operations like professional software businesses. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4212961a28.html Al Qaeda German mouthpiece resurfaces [Reuters] A German-language mouthpiece for al Qaeda has re-emerged on the Internet, vowing to defy the authorities despite this month's arrest of suspects linked to it in Austria and Canada. On sites easily traceable via search engines, the German-language arm of the "Global Islamic Media Front" (GIMF) appeals for volunteer translators, inviting them to reply to a Hotmail address, and posts links to dozens of al Qaeda videos. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL2179642220070921 ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Study says DRM violates Canadian privacy law The study indicated that DRM is being used to collect, use and disclose consumers' personal information for secondary purposes. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1876635617;fp;2;fpid;1 http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1876635617;fp;2;fpid;1 ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** au: Coonan seeks to censor the Web The Federal Police commissioner will have the power to block and ban websites believed to be crime or terrorism related under an internet censorship amendment bill introduced into Parliament today. The bombshell web ban bill was tabled in the Senate at 9:58am, without prior notice. Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan proposes to expand the "black list" of internet addresses (URLs) currently maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to include terrorism and cyber-crime sites. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22451522-15306,00.html http://www.misaustralia.com/viewer.aspx?EDP://20070924000019439760 http://www.misaustralia.com/viewer.aspx?EDP://20070924000019439852 The slippery slope towards internet censorship continues The Australian Government continued down the slippery slope towards internet censorship yesterday by introducing bill to give the Australian Federal Police the power to nominate terrorism or crime related websites for filtering. http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20070921-The-slippery-slope-towards-internet-censorship-continues.html Australia pushes further Web censorship A bill introduced this week by Australia's Parliament would give the Australian federal police the power to control which sites can and cannot be viewed by Australian Web surfers. http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6209337.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6209337.html Government seeks to ban more websites The Australian Government has tabled a bill that will increase the power of police to ban websites that they deem crime or terrorism related. http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1153283793;fp;2;fpid;1 http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1153283793;fp;2;fpid;1 au: Australian Privacy Foundation on Internet Censorship Bill [news release] The Australian Privacy Foundation today expressed disbelief that the government of any country in the free world could table a Bill of the kind released this morning. Without prior warning, the Government, through Senator Coonan, is proposing to provide the AFP with powers to censor the Internet. http://privacy.org.au/Media/MR-IntCens-070920.pdf au: Web 'censorship' bill brings police state one stop closer Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has slammed moves to give the Federal Police powers to ban access to certain Internet content as "another step in Australia's descent into a police state". http://itwire.com/content/view/14570/127/ uk: Ofcom plans talks on UK's broadband future Ofcom is preparing to wade into the growing debate over the next generation of ultra-high speed internet access, with the launch next week of a major consultation as it tries to keep the UK in the upper echelons of the broadband league. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2172553,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7003113.stm Closing the loop on Irelands broadband woes Ireland is nearing the target of 700,000 broadband users and already the debate is on whether the average 1MB to 2MB of broadband available in 90pc of the country is enough. And will next-generation services like fibre to the home only be in urban areas? http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/closing-the-loop-on-irelandrsquos-broadband-woes-1084638.html Korean internet speed, quality to be ranked The Korean government plans to measure the speed and the quality of broadband Internet services from next year to provide a guideline for confused consumers. The Ministry of Information and Communication said Thursday that it will evaluate the quality of 14 Internet services from seven companies -- Korea Telecom (KT), Hanaro Telecom, LG Powercom, Tbroad, C& M, CJ Cablenet and HCN. http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=78301 us: At State Dept., Blog Team Joins Muslim Debate Walid Jawad was tired of all the chatter on Middle Eastern blogs and Internet forums in praise of gory attacks carried out by the noble resistance in Iraq. So Mr. Jawad, one of two Arabic-speaking members of what the State Department called its Digital Outreach Team, posted his own question: Why was it that many in the Arab world quickly condemned civilian Palestinian deaths but were mute about the endless killing of women and children by suicide bombers in Iraq? http://nytimes.com/2007/09/22/washington/22bloggers.html us: Bush Wants Spy Law Changes Set in Stone President Bush wants to renew and expand the controversial temporary surveillance legislation he rushed into law last month. The law, also known as the "Protect America Act," updates FISA by permitting warrantless surveillance of any targets located abroad, even if they are communicating with someone in the U.S. Because of a sunset clause, the law is due to expire Feb. 1, 2008. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/CPfZQehzabUZCu/Bush-Wants-Spy-Law-Changes-Set-in-Stone.xhtml U.S. Senate Panel Sets Sept. 27 Hearing On Google Deal [Reuters] A U.S. Senate subcommittee will hold a hearing next week to look at Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of Web advertising supplier DoubleClick. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201807992 us: Senators push for Internet tax ban John McCain, John Sununu, and Trent Lott want to make permanent a temporary measure banning taxes on Internet access that is due to expire November 1 http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/20/Senators-push-for-Internet-tax-ban_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137426/article.html Namibian Media Legislation Under Discussion The recent experience of rage at the current unlimited freedoms with regard to speech and expression demonstrated that the socio-political climate is not right to blindly start with [media] reforms, said Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, yesterday. http://www.newera.com.na/page.php?id=3755 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Australians one connected lot - study The vast majority of Australians have both a fixed landline and mobile phone, and Internet access. According to new research released today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, 90 per cent of Australians have both mobile and fixed line phones, and 80 per cent have Internet access (mostly through broadband). http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22457125-15306,00.html http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1069081774;fp;2;fpid;1 http://cellular-news.com/story/26191.php Australians have a voracious appetite for telecommunications [news release] Telecommunications are embedded in the lives of the vast majority of Australians, with nearly 90 per cent having both a fixed landline and mobile phone and 80 per cent of households having access to the Internet, mostly through broadband. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310702 http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_9058 Study: Friends Determine What Is Cool Among Young People When it comes to influencing young people, friends are often the best brand marketers. Thats one of the key takeaways from a new global study about youth and technology called The Circuits of Cool/Digital Playground from MTV, Nickelodeon and Microsoft, which used both qualitative and quantitative methodology to talk to 18,000 tech-embracing kids (8-14) and young people (14-24) in 16 countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. http://multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6462505 Blogs open communication in Cambodia [AP] A Cambodian blogger asked recently whether former King Norodom Sihanouk should be considered the country's founding father of blogging. ... But it is clear that young, tech-savvy Cambodians are joining Sihanouk in embracing blogs. The trend is changing their lives and their communication with people abroad -- even as electricity remains an unreachable dream for most households in this poverty-ridden nation of 14 million. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2007-09-21-cambodia-bloggers_N.htm us: Hooked on the web, no time for nookies [Reuters] Surfing the net has become an obsession for many Americans with the majority of US adults feeling they cannot go for a week without going online and one in three giving up friends and sex for the web. A survey asked 1,011 American adults how long they would feel OK without going on the web, to which 15 per cent said a just a day or less, 21 per cent said a couple of days and another 19 per cent said a few days. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/20/1189881674785.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/20/1189881674785.html http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9037838 Mobile TV to reach 120 million users by 2012: report Mobile TV is expected to reach almost 120 million users by 2012 - a significant increase from the current 12 million. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/20/mobile_tv_report/ uk: Job losses over eBay 'addiction' Three council workers have lost their jobs for spending too long on the internet auction site eBay. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7005703.stm Britain's gambling problem multiplies online More than 250,000 people in Britain are problem gamblers, according to a new report from the Gambling Commission. Problem gamblers are now estimated at 0.6 per centof the adult population. It is roughly the the same percentage shown in the last detailed study eight years ago. But among those involved in online betting the rate rises tenfold to six per cent and 7.4 per cent for online gamblers. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2979897.ece http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2493031.ece comScore Releases August U.S. Search Engine Rankings [news release] comScore released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the search marketplace. Among core search engines in August 2007, Google Sites remained the top search property with more than 5.5 billion core searches conducted, representing a 56.5 percent share of the search market. Time Warner Network was the only other core search engine property to increase share, up 0.1 share point to 4.5 percent, with 441 million searches. In comScores recently introduced expanded search report, the largest gains were recorded by YouTube and Craigslist, with 9.0-percent and 7.6-percent increases in their number of search queries. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1745 ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Social Networking: A Time Waster Or The Next Big Thing In Collaboration? Facebook and other social networks in the workplace can suck up employees' time and worse. But managed right, they may be the next breakthrough in business collaboration. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201808149 us: CONFERENCE: Legal Risk Management in the Web 2.0 World Join Pike & Fischer for this unique and groundbreaking one-day legal forum where we'll discuss and debate the growing array of legal risks associated with social networking, user-generated content (UGC) and other applications in the burgeoning Web 2.0 world. Learn about existing and potential liabilities and how you can manage the risks of your organization and those of your clients. http://pf.com/LRM/ ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Remote Vietnamese village gets Internet access via WiMax WiMax and a satellite connection are bringing broadband Internet access to a remote Vietnamese village, part of a collaboration between the public and private sector to narrow the digital divide in rural Vietnam. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/21/AR2007092100489.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/21/Vietnamese-village-gets-Internet-access-via-WiMax_1.html Buy a Laptop for a Child, Get Another Laptop Free Nicholas Negroponte, head of M.I.T. Media Lab, said orders have been disappointing for a rugged laptop intended for third-world children. http://nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/worldbusiness/24laptop.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/09/23/business/laptop24.php ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Illegal file-sharing network eDonkey disabled The second largest file-sharing network on the internet has been severely disabled in a significant coup for the music industry's fight against piracy. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2504723.ece Downloads cost more with iPhones Apples new mobile phone may look fabulous but you will have to pay over the odds to purchase your tracks http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2510803.ece Apple defends iTunes in Berlin, Brussels [Reuters] Apple CEO Steve Jobs reiterated his commitment to charging the same price for iTunes downloads across Europe as his lawyers defended the company on Wednesday against allegations its prices are not uniform. http://www.news.com/2100-1027_3-6208959.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Berners-Lee challenges 'stupid' male geek culture The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has called for an end to the "stupid" male geek culture that disregards the work of capable female engineers, and puts others off entering the profession. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39289564,00.htm Researchers study software gender gap FOR more than a decade, academics and technology executives have been frowning at the widening gender gap in computer science. Everyone has a theory, but no one has managed to attract many more women. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22470448-15306,00.html Microsoft in row over lobby tactics Microsoft is at the centre of an embarrassing row over an attempt by a lobby firm strongly linked with the Seattle computer giant to rally opposition against rival Google's proposed acqusition of internet marketing firm DoubleClick. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2174717,00.html The guardian of cyberspace - interview with Symantec's CEO John Thompson In the past decade cyber-crime has exploded from the bedrooms of teenage geeks to become the multi-million-pound business of sophisticated criminals. Few know more about its threat and prevalence than John Thompson. The 58-year-old American is chairman and chief executive of Symantec, the $17.5bn company that is effectively the 'guardian of the web'. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2174755,00.html Wikipedia 2.0 - now with added trust Wikipedia's entry on Albert Einstein looks good. Covering each phase of the physicist's life, from childhood to death, it tells readers about his politics, religion and science. Honours named after him and books and plays about his life are listed. But there is one snag: there is no way to tell whether the information is true. http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19526226.200 Wikipedia faces the facts over inaccuracy It might be visited by 7 per cent of internet users every day, and have helped to win many a pub quiz, but Wikipedia is still hampered by its inability to guarantee that information appearing on the website is true. To rectify this the online encyclopaedia is to tackle its reliability problem with a package designed to improve its trustworthiness and reliability. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2490895.ece ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Has Google Plans to Lay a Pacific Cable? Google is now threatening to buy wireless carrier spectrum and it is getting ready to hire ships that will lay a data communications cable across the Pacific as part of a project called Unity that would also include several telecommunications companies. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/google-plans-undersea-pacific-cable/ http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/09/rumor-control-g.html uk: BT eyes faster broadband network BT has dropped its hostility to considering a super-fast fixed-line broadband network, which could cost more than £10bn to build. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de83b736-6a2b-11dc-a571-0000779fd2ac.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Child safety fears prompt Wi-Fi code for Welsh schools New safety rules are to be drawn up for Wi-Fi in schools for the first time in Britain, after a local authority officially voiced concern last week about possible effects on children's health. Carmarthenshire County Council is drawing up a code of practice for using the technology that it plans to enforce on local schools and hopes will be adopted nationally. It says that the code is "absolutely necessary" as the safety of children should be "paramount". http://environment.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/article2990155.ece Cloud of worry gathers over wireless health risks While major cities around the world rush to blanket neighborhoods with free wireless Internet access, critics are questioning the health risks that might be created by a wired London or a Paris transformed from the City of Light to City of Hot Spots. The nagging fear is that electromagnetic waves emitted by wireless technology could become the tobacco smoke of the 21st century. http://iht.com/articles/2007/09/23/news/wireless24.php Google plans move into UK mobile and broadband market Google is considering a move into the UK wireless market after the regulator Ofcom yesterday proposed grabbing back more than a third of the mobile phone spectrum that Vodafone and O2 have been using for 22 years to auction it for new entrants. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2173800,00.html uk: Ofcom plans mobile spectrum auction Ofcom plans to grab back a third of the UK spectrum that Vodafone and O2 have been using for 22 years and auction it off. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2173328,00.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/20/UK-to-let-3G-services-run-on-2G-spectrum_1.html Wireless gets better - but not in UK WiMax technology will mean improved wireless networking for all. Except in Britain, where there is a fight over standards. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/20/guardianweeklytechnologysection.it For a simpler cellphone system, add software Vanu Bose is the son of a fabled engineer, but he garnered no mercy when he presented his big idea at a technical conference in 1996. Bose's graduate work at MIT involved using software to handle the radio function in a cellular phone. He remembers that after he successfully demonstrated his technology, an audience member stood up and dismissed it with: "Congratulations! You've just invented the world's most expensive cellphone." http://iht.com/articles/2007/09/23/news/proto.php ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: Charges laid after child porn raids [AAP] Two men have been charged with child pornography offences in separate Australian Federal Police (AFP) operations. The AFP arrested a 38-year-old man in Balranald, in the far south-west of NSW, after an undercover operation to infiltrate an internet chat room. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22470405-5001028,00.html au: First-class lounge porn download arrest A man has been arrested for downloading child porn in a first-class airport lounge in view of other passengers. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/24/1190486173845.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html _______________________________________________ APPLe mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/apple
