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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/ ********************************************************** Google's Evil EyeDoes the Big G know too much about us? by Michael Agger http://www.slate.com/id/2175651/ The German Supreme Court is skeptical about covert online searches http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/97237 Fixing the US's fraying Internet infrastructure http://www.news.com/2010-1034_3-6212819.html Bush and the Phone Companies: Partners in Crime by Timothy Karr http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/bush-and-the-phone-compan_b_67992.html Former Phone Chief Says Spy Agency Sought Surveillance Help Before 9/11 http://nytimes.com/2007/10/14/business/14qwest.html 61 Billion Searches Conducted Worldwide in August [news release] http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1802 Google 'dominates world search' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7039114.stm Survey finds 75 pc of Kiwis shop online http://nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=19207 us: Porn spammers jailed for five years http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/14/internet.crime http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_crm_813.html Legal downloads rise by 80 percent [Reuters] http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1230596220071012 uk: Wireless computer network risks to be investigated http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/13/internet.internetphonesbroadband French child porn raids net 300 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7040839.stm ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Broadband Big Brothers Few images capture the ugliness of Myanmar's recent military crackdown quite like the photos of a Buddhist monk's mud-covered corpse displayed in a slide show on the Web site of the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Burmese advocacy group based in Norway. The outraged messages posted in response show the Web's power to connect supporters around the world with the long-suffering citizens of an isolated and repressed country. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/12/internet-respessive-regimes-tech-cx_ag_1012netregimes.html Burma Restores Some Internet Access [AP] Myanmar's ruling junta restored Internet access but kept foreign news sites blocked, partially easing its crackdown as a U.N. envoy arrived in Thailand on Sunday to rally neighboring governments around demands for democratic reforms in the country. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3728282 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101400208.html China's Internet controls tightened ahead of sensitive political congress [AP] At first, Liu Xiaoyuan just fumed when his online journal postings disappeared with no explanation. Then he decided to do something few if any of China's censored bloggers had tried. He sued his service provider. "Each time I would see one of my entries blocked, I'd feel so furious and indignant," said Liu, a 43-year-old Beijing lawyer. "It was just so disrespectful." http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696145356.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696145356.html A "Journey to the Heart of Internet censorship" on eve of party congress In partnership with Reporters Without Borders and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Chinese Internet expert working in IT industry has produced an exclusive study on the key mechanism of the Chinese official system of online censorship, surveillance and propaganda. The author prefers to remain anonymous. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23924 Turkmenistani Government urged to pursue liberalisation after opening website to comments Reporters Without Borders voiced surprise and hope today on learning that it became possible yesterday for the public to post comments on the government website, www.turkmenistan.gov.tm, which has sections in English and Russian as well as Turkmen. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23952 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: Software to target cyber-bullying New computer software to tackle cyber-bullying is being rolled out across schools in London. The software monitors computer activity on the internet, instant messaging, e-mail and other applications for inappropriate behaviour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7039217.stm uk: Dr Tanya Byron seeks views on internet and video games [news release] Clinical psychologist Dr Tanya Byron has launched a "call for evidence" to gather information advice and views about the risks to children and young people of exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and video games. http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.211.htm ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Japanese woman 'found killer on internet' Police in Japan have arrested a man on suspicion of carrying out a woman's request to kill her after she contacted him via the internet. http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,2189375,00.html Survey finds widespread violations of EU consumer law on Internet Hundreds of airline and travel Web sites in Europe could be breaking the law by adding extra charges to the advertised price of flights or publishing ticket conditions in languages customers cannot understand. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/12/europe/ticket.php The video bait-and-switch Not long after Los Angeles musician Lani Trock began posting videos of herself singing and playing guitar online, a message arrived in her in-box offering a bit of time-tested advice about how the young musician could grow her fan base. "If you want more viewers . . . change you [sic] tags!" wrote the user, whose sobriquet was JapaneseBeachGirls. The tags he was referring to are keywords that creators attach to their videos so that search engines -- and the people using them -- can quickly find the type of video they're looking for. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ca-webscout14oct14,1,1422388.story ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Google's Evil EyeDoes the Big G know too much about us? by Michael Agger Except for a moody period in my early 20s, I have not kept a journal. Yet, like many people, I do have a place where I regularly confide my fears, insecurities, and dreams: "cell phone cancer link," "michael agger slate," "pennsylvania farm for sale." Google is always willing to listenand to cough up details about high-school classmates. Although I knew that Google was recording my searches, tucking them away on some server somewhere, I never really worried about it. Maybe I should have. http://www.slate.com/id/2175651/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** The German Supreme Court is skeptical about covert online searches After the hearing pertaining to the Constitutional Protection Act from the state of North Rhine/Westphalia (NRW), experts do not believe that the controversial regulation, which would allow IT systems to be searched online, stands much of a chance. In a number of critical questions, the Court's First Chamber indicated to the government of NRW that its Act was not clearly formulated, thus violating the requirement that regulations be clear. The Court's president Hans-Jürgen Papier also announced that a ruling would be handed down on the general constitutionality of covert online searches "far beyond" the current NRW case. He said that "basic issues of liberty and security" have to be weighed off against each other in light of the changing nature of recent terrorist threats. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/97237 Fixing the US's fraying Internet infrastructure In our industrial and information society, our daily lives depend on things we take for granted: electricity, fresh water, communications and our road system. The infrastructure underlying each has a limited useful life and is designed to meet the expected demand when deployed. But demand changes, and without proper planning and investment all infrastructure will eventually fail. http://www.news.com/2010-1034_3-6212819.html http://news.zdnet.com/2010-1035_22-6212819.html Bush and the Phone Companies: Partners in Crime by Timothy Karr Phone companies have opened a new front in their campaign against the free flow of information. This time they've found a powerful ally in the White House. AT&T and Verizon have already shown their disdain for free speech and Net Neutrality, and their eagerness to let government spies lurk on our phone calls. Now, their lobbyists have teamed with President George Bush to strong arm Congress into granting full immunity for a disturbing array of illegal and unconstitutional acts. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/bush-and-the-phone-compan_b_67992.html Former Phone Chief Says Spy Agency Sought Surveillance Help Before 9/11 The phone company Qwest Communications refused a proposal from the National Security Agency that the companys lawyers considered illegal in February 2001, nearly seven months before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the former head of the company contends in newly unsealed court filings. The executive, Joseph P. Nacchio, also asserts in the filings that the agency retaliated by depriving Qwest of lucrative outsourcing contracts. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/14/business/14qwest.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119240248793758652.html Illegal US Government Surveillance Opens Door to More Privacy Violations The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) told a congressional committee today that the government's illegal dragnet electronic surveillance opens the door to even more privacy violations for ordinary Americans. http://www.eff.org/press/releases/2007/10#005482 us: FCC Faces High-Speed Internet Access Decision [Reuters] U.S. regulators are expected to decide on Thursday whether to grant a request by AT&T to lift some regulations that govern what it can charge rivals for access to the company's high-speed Internet lines. The Federal Communications Commission is facing a deadline of midnight on Thursday to rule on a petition by AT&T to scale back the regulations. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138330-c,internetlegalissues/article.html us: House panel votes to extend Net tax ban [IDG] A U.S. House of Representatives committee has voted to extend an Internet tax moratorium for four years, but declined to make the tax ban permanent, as some lawmakers had advocated. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/11/House-panel-votes-to-extend-Net-tax-ban_1.html uk: Internet will banish bureaucracy, says Cameron David Cameron sought to drive home the message that he, not Gordon Brown, represents the future in a speech laying claim to the internet as a tool of conservatism today. The day after telling Mr Brown to make way in the first Commons question time since the Prime Minister called off an autumn election, the Tory leader travelled to California to address a conference at the headquarters of Google, the global search-engine. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2641255.ece Swiss to pioneer 'unbreakable' encryption method in upcoming elections [AP] A new "unbreakable" encryption method will be keep votes safe for citizens in the Swiss canton of Geneva in the country's upcoming national elections, officials said Thursday. The city-state will use individual particles of light - or quantum technology - to encrypt election results as they are sent to the capital on Oct. 21, said Nicolas Gisin of the University of Geneva. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696134876.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696134876.html au: Labor fires first tech shots in official election fight On the first official day of the federal election campaign, Labor has placed IT at the centre of its agenda for growth, arguing that improved broadband and better government tendering processes will be essential to Australia's future competitiveness. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Labor-fires-first-tech-shots-in-official-election-fight/0,139023166,339282932,00.htm ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** 61 Billion Searches Conducted Worldwide in August [news release] The Asia-Pacific region, which includes large markets such as China, Japan and India, saw 258 million unique searchers conduct 20.3 billion searches. Europe reported the second-most searchers (210 million) and searches (18 billion), followed by North America, with 206 million searchers and 16 billion searches. The Latin American region demonstrated the heaviest search activity per person, with more than 95 searches per searcher in August. The search market in the Middle East-Africa region is the most underdeveloped thus far, with the fewest searchers (30 million), searches (2 billion), and searches per searcher (70). ... Google Sites ranked as the top worldwide search property in August with 37.1 billion searches conducted. Of that total number, 31 billion occurred at the Google search engine and 5 billion occurred at YouTube.com. Yahoo! Sites ranked second with 8.5 billion searches, while Baidu.com, a Chinese language search engine, followed in third place with more than 3.2 billion searches. Microsoft Sites ranked in fourth place worldwide, while Korea's NHN Corporation, which owns Naver.com, ranked fifth with 2 billion searches worldwide. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1802 Google 'dominates world search' Google powered more than half of all search requests carried out around the world in August, according to a report. A global study by analysts comScore revealed that more than 61 billion searches were performed by more than 750 million users in the month. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7039114.stm http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/5FED1A95DEAB2DC8CC257371000E0AE2 Survey finds 75 pc of Kiwis shop online Three quarters of New Zealanders say they now shop online, according to research by Visa International. http://nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=19207 Skype in deal with 3 to offer free mobile telephone calls in the UK The attack on the mobile phone market from some of the internets biggest names is escalating, with Skype planning to offer free mobile calls to Britons. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article2648590.ece ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Internet2 Goes Nationwide Internet2 has gone nationwide. At its annual fall member meeting this month, the nonprofit advanced network consortium announced that it had completed its new nationwide network infrastructure, which has an initial capacity of 100Gbps and bandwidth-on-demand capabilities. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138335-c,broadband/article.html Plasma TVs: The SUVs of the Living Room That sleek flat-panel TV may look small, but it could well be a big power hog. When the Australian government wanted to create a six-star system to rate the energy efficiency of television sets, it found that most of the big plasma sets wouldnt meet its minimum requirements. They could be banned as a result. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/plasma-tvs-the-suvs-of-the-living-room/ ********************** SPAM ********************** us: Porn spammers jailed for five years One of the world's first successful prosecutions against internet 'spammers' has seen two men sentenced to five years in jail in Arizona. The two, who sent millions of unsolicited pornographic emails and netted millions of dollars, were the subjects of the first US prosecution under new federal anti-spam laws, US Department of Justice officials said. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/14/internet.crime http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/us/14spam.html [AP] Two Men Sentenced for Running International Pornographic Spamming Business [news release] Two men have been sentenced to more than five years in prison for organizing and running an international pornographic spamming business that grossed over $1 million, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Interim U.S. Attorney Dan G. Knauss of the District of Arizona announced today. Jeffrey A. Kilbride, 41, of Venice, Calif., and James R. Schaffer, 41, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell of the District of Arizona in a hearing that began on Sept. 24, 2007, and concluded yesterday. Kilbride was sentenced to 72 months in prison and Schaffer was sentenced to 63 months in prison. Kilbride received a higher sentenced based on the courts finding that he had obstructed justice by attempting to prevent a government witness from testifying at trial. Kilbride and Schaffer were fined $100,000 and ordered to pay $77,500 in restitution to AOL Inc. Judge Campbell also ordered the defendants to jointly forfeit more than $1.1 million, the amount of illegal proceeds from their spamming operation. http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_crm_813.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Legal downloads rise by 80 percent [Reuters] Legal digital downloads of music and video in Britain rose by 80.6 percent during the past year to 112 million pounds, researchers said on Friday. The market is predicted to grow to 163 million pounds in 2007, retail analysts Verdict Research said in a report "UK Music and Video Retailers 2007". http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1230596220071012 If the RIAA Wins, You Really Lose! by Shelly Palmer Last week the RIAA won its lawsuit against Jamie Thomas, a Minnesota woman who put 24 songs in her Kazaa shared folder. The judgment, now being appealed, was for US$222,000 ($9,250 per song). It's a big number, and because it's so big, it is excellent fodder for sensationalists on both sides of the issue. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-palmer/if-the-riaa-wins-you-rea_b_68215.html A blockbuster for Radiohead's "In Rainbows"? The British music Web site Gigwise is reporting that Radiohead has sold 1.2 million digital copies of its latest album, "In Rainbows," since sales began on Tuesday. If true (and that might be a big "if"; see below), the number would be a blow-out, suggesting the wisdom of the band's decision to sell its wares directly to fans without the aid of a record label. http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/10/11/radiohead_sales/ Online music: The slow death of digital rights How can the music industry make money online? Events in recent days have hinted at the diverging strategies of record labels and the musicians themselves. Earlier this month a jury in America sentenced a mother of two who makes US$36,000 a year to pay $222,000 in damages for having made copyrighted songs available on a file-sharing network. Then on October 10th Radiohead, one of the world's most successful rock bands, made good on their promise to bypass record labels altogether by making their new album available online -- and letting fans set the price they are willing to pay for it. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9963252 Radioheads Warm Glow I didnt pay anything to download Radioheads In Rainbows last Wednesday. When the checkout page on the bands Web site allowed me to type in whatever price I wanted, I put 0.00, the lowest I could go. My economist friends say this makes me a rational being. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/opinion/14sun3.html Commercial music downloads in Germany grew by 37 percent in Q3 According to figures released by Media Control 9.3 million "digital products" were sold in and downloaded from the Internet in Germany in the third quarter of 2007. This amounts to a 37.1 percent rise when compared with the same period of the year before. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/97283 ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* A new private jet for Google's founders Google is expanding the fleet of aircraft that has privileges to take off from a NASA airfield near the company's Californian headquarters http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2639522.ece Once king, BBC staggers into digital age Television viewers in Whitehaven, England, who tune in to BBC Two the old-fashioned way will be out of luck as of Wednesday. The town is the first in England where analog broadcasts are to be turned off, under a nationwide plan to replace them with digital hookups. BBC Two is the first channel to be switched. On the same day in London, the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, is set to meet with the BBC Trust, the board that oversees the publicly funded broadcaster, to update members on a scandal over misleading video footage of Queen Elizabeth. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/14/business/bbc15.php ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** au: Bare facts about 'naked DSL' Australian ADSL broadband providers are gearing up to launch "naked DSL" plans, enabling users to for the first time bypass costly line rental charges. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696156893.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** uk: Wireless computer network risks to be investigated The government has ordered a wide-ranging investigation into wireless computer networks amid concerns over the potential health risks they pose for millions of schoolchildren and office workers. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) will spend two years conducting lab tests and monitoring exposure levels to the wireless signals in classrooms, homes and offices, before compiling a health risk report on the technology. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/13/internet.internetphonesbroadband http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7042334.stm ********************** VoIP ********************** us: House bill would give VoIP companies direct access to 911 system A U.S. House committee is moving toward consideration of a bill that would allow voice-over-IP telephone carriers to connect directly to the nation's 911 system backbone. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9042278 ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** French child porn raids net 300 Police in France have arrested more than 300 people suspected of trading in child pornography over the internet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7040839.stm http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1237594420071012 us: Former Motivational Speaker Re-Sentenced to 20 Years for Transporting Child Pornography [news release] Michael Fortino, 47, a motivational speaker whose original prison sentence was recently vacated, was re-sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for transporting child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Balfe for the Western District of Arkansas announced today. Chief U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren also ordered Fortino to pay a $250,000 fine, serve a lifetime of supervised release, and forfeit contraband-containing computer equipment seized in the investigation. http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_crm_817.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
