********************************************************** Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre Nanyang Technological University, Singapore http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
********************************************************** Don't forget to check out www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, already online! And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Divorced - for having an affair in Second Life As divorce cases go, it is as explosive and sordid as it gets: a woman catches her husband having sex with a prostitute, forgives him, but finally throws in the towel after discovering he has been unfaithful again. Yet absolutely none of it happened in real life. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/divorced--for-having-an-affair-in-second-life-1017946.html Second Life affair leads to couple's real-life divorce For its many devotees, the Second Life virtual world is a place where the everyday constraints of normal life drop away and vivid fantasies can be played out. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/14/second-life-virtual-worlds-divorce Woman divorces husband after virtual affair A woman is divorcing her husband after she caught him having an affair with another woman in an online virtual reality game. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/3451728/Woman-divorces-husband-after-virtual-affair.html Real and virtual chase for Second Life divorce couple It was a story that unfolded in two very different venues. Half of it took place in a Cornish seaside resort - an old-fashioned media footrace for a decent story. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/15/secondlife-digitalmedia The net generation: The kids are alright ... The man who christened the “net generation” in his 1997 bestseller, “Growing Up Digital”, has no time for such views. In the past two years, Don Tapscott has overseen a $4.5m study of nearly 8,000 people in 12 countries born between 1978 and 1994. In “Grown Up Digital” he uses the results to paint a portrait of this generation that is entertaining, optimistic and convincing. The problem, he suspects, is not the net generation but befuddled baby-boomers, who once sang along with Bob Dylan that “something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is”, yet now find that they are clueless about the revolutionary changes taking place among the young. http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12591038 One Million UK Kids Make Illicit Online Purchases Nearly one million UK children are using their parents' credit cards to shop online without their knowledge, says CPP. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=106945&; http://www.pcworld.com/article/153842/.html Pirated articles costing publishers [AP] The audience for unauthorized copies of newspaper articles online is nearly one and a half times larger than the readership on the newspapers' own Web sites, a study released Thursday found. http://iht.com/articles/2008/11/13/business/papers.php Say Goodbye to BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe Sorry, Mr. President. Please surrender your BlackBerry. Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days. http://nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html Google Increases U.S. Search Dominance in October [IDG] Google continued to increase its U.S. search share dominance in October, widening its lead over Yahoo and Microsoft. http://www.pcworld.com/article/153869/.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Tech Industry, Long Insulated, Feels a Slump The technology industry, which resisted the economy’s growing weakness over the last year as customers kept buying laptops and iPhones, has finally succumbed to the slowdown. http://nytimes.com/2008/11/15/technology/15tech.html Study: OpenOffice five times more popular than Google Docs Confirming recent comments by Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer, an independent study released Friday found OpenOffice.org's free office suite to be five times more popular among adult U.S. internet users than Google Docs. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120418 Devices Become You: Sociologist Sherry Turkle on digital infatuations, Google and the iPhone Do you love your cellphone? Your laptop? And--be honest now--did you ever expect to have an emotional relationship with a gadget? Sherry Turkle figured you would. Turkle, a psychoanalytically-trained sociologist and psychologist who teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has spent decades studying technology's effect on relationships and one's sense of self. Her favorite mantra: We think with objects we love. We love objects we think with. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/11/14/sherry-turkle-love-tech-personal-cx_ew_1114turkle.html ********************** SPAM ********************** Hosting firm shutdown forces botnets to relocate The shutdown Tuesday of a California-based hosting company not only knocked down spam volumes but has also put a dent in malware-spreading botnets and other criminal activity, researchers said today. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120162 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/153879/.html Spam traffic plunges after report blames server hosting company The number of such e-mails falls about two-thirds worldwide after Internet providers cut off a server company accused of enabling nefarious activity. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-spam14-2008nov14,0,1102514.story Spam plummets as gang leaves net The closure of a web hosting firm that is believed to have had spam gangs as clients has led to a drastic reduction in junk mail. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7725492.stm Spam plummets after hosting service shuttered Spam volumes plunged by more than 40% after a major bot hosting network was shut down, researchers at IronPort Systems Inc. said Wednesday. http://computerworld.com.au/article/267169/ http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/267299/ Spam drops 75% as major host shut down Global spam levels have dropped by as much as 75 per cent following the shutdown of a US web host that provided the backbone for most of the world's spam. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/11/14/1226318899436.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/11/14/1226318899436.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** uk: Denial of Service and distributing hacking tools finally criminalised A law criminalising denial of service attacks and the supply of hacking tools has been brought into force in England and Wales after a number of delays. The law was already in force in Scotland. http://out-law.com/page-9592 Internet drug peddlers raided in nine countries Authorities in nine countries have raided businesses suspected of supplying medicines illegally over the Internet in an unprecedented global swoop coordinated by Interpol, officials said on Thursday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE4AC3W320081113 NZ internet drug peddlers targeted in global raids New Zealand is one of nine countries involved in global raids targeting businesses suspected of supplying medicines illegally over the internet. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10543025 uk: Facebook vigilantes identify mother of Baby P The identity of the 27-year-old mother of Baby P was last night being circulated on the internet with the names of her boyfriend and the third man convicted of causing the child's death, after online vigilantes began a campaign calling for violent retribution against them. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/facebook-vigilantes-identify-mother-of-baby-p-1019501.html us: Judge: Evidence of suicide OK at Web hoax trial Evidence from the suicide of a Missouri girl can be used by prosecutors against a woman charged with helping to create a false Internet identity that was used to harass the teenager, a federal judge ruled Friday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/14/AR2008111403060.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Google and Europe at odds over privacy When Google began hiring in Zurich for its new engineering center in 2004, local officials welcomed the U.S. company with open arms. Google's arrival is still bearing fruit for Zurich: 450 employees, about 300 of them engineers, work in Google's seven-story complex in a converted brewery on the outskirts of the placid mountain metropolis. http://iht.com/articles/2008/11/16/technology/google17.php Is There a Privacy Risk in Google Flu Trends? When Google released its Flu Trends service earlier this week, the Drudge Report flashed a headline that read: “SICK SURVEILLANCE: GOOGLE REPORTS FLU SEARCHES, LOCATIONS TO FEDS.” http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/does-google-flu-trends-raises-new-privacy-risks/ Privacy groups target Google Flu Trends Google's recent announcement that it may have found a way to predict U.S. flu trends has led to the inevitable expressions of concern from some privacy groups. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10097979-38.html us: Can One Lawsuit Kill Behavioral Ads? A lawsuit filed against NebuAd may cause the death of online behavioral advertising, or in the very least, provide a cautionary tale to ISPs. http://www.pcworld.com/article/153878/.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/111408-can-one-lawsuit-kill-behavioral.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** US law professor fires back at song-swapping lawsuits [AP] The music industry's courtroom campaign against people who share songs online is coming under counterattack. http://news.theage.com.au/technology/law-professor-fires-back-at-songswapping-lawsuits-20081117-687q.html http://news.smh.com.au/technology/law-professor-fires-back-at-songswapping-lawsuits-20081117-687q.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111600985.html http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TEC_MUSIC_DOWNLOADING ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Facebook Pulls Italian Neo-Nazi Pages After Outcry Facebook said on Friday it had removed several pages from its site used by Italian neo-Nazis to incite violence after European politicians accused the Internet social networking site of allowing a platform to racists. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE4AD3KZ20081114 http://nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-us-italy-facebook-racists.html YouTube pulls Columbine videos YouTube has removed a number of videos glorifying the Columbine High School killers, after a BBC investigation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7730679.stm ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ ITU launches Child Online Protection initiative [IDG] The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in collaboration with several U.N. agencies, Thursday launched an initiative to safeguard children, the Internet's most vulnerable users. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/111308-itu-launches-child-online-protection.html ITU launches initiative to protect children online [news release] ITU launched a new initiative today to safeguard children, the most vulnerable users of the Internet. Addressing ITU’s high-level meeting on cybersecurity by video message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "We have to protect against cyberthreats, especially when they target children. I welcome the ITU’s ‘Child Online Protection’ initiative and urge all States to support it." http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2008/33.html eu: Public Consultation: Age Verification, Cross Media Rating and Social Networking Results: A summary report of the results of the public consultation on social networking is now available. The responses to the public consultation came from industry actors and associations, child welfare organizations, public administration bodies, researchers and universities and a number of individuals. http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/public_consultation/index_en.htm Online Age Verification for Children Brings Privacy Worries WHEN it comes to protecting children on the Internet and keeping them safe from predators, law enforcement officials have vocally advocated one approach in particular. They want popular sites, like the social network MySpace, to confirm the identities and ages of minors and then allow the young Web surfers to talk only with other children, or with adults approved by parents. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16ping.html http://iht.com/articles/2008/11/16/business/ping17.php UK Web providers to be named and shamed over offensive content Politicians are ready to introduce league tables naming and shaming the speed with which internet service providers take down offensive material. The culture minister, Barbara Follett, and her Tory shadow, Ed Vaizey, have backed the idea that web providers must be embarrassed into dealing with violent, sexually explicit web content. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/15/internet-children Liability for cyberbullying outside playground gates The continued verbal and physical intimidation of a less powerful or popular student by another student or a group has, in days gone by, been seen as inevitable presence in education. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/14/2419488.htm Australian net filter could block 10,000+ sites A blacklist of around 10,000 sites will be tested during the Australian government's upcoming live ISP-level filtering trial, suggesting that if the policy is approved by parliament the number of censored sites could reach at least five figures. http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?type=article&id_article=11299 Australia planning to block 10,000 websites The websites will be blocked as part of a government-sponsored trial of its filter technology that will start before Christmas and last six weeks. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/3456216/Australia-planning-to-block-10000-websites.html au: Government unveils EoI for Content Filtering 'Live' Pilot [news release] The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has called for Expressions of Interest from ISPs interested in participating in a 'live' pilot to test a range of content filtering solutions in a real world environment, with the cooperation of ISPs (including mobile telephone operators) and their customers. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=684&Itemid=32 Australische Regierung will Internetfilter mit einer Blacklist von 10000 URLs testen Trotz Kritik will die australische Regierung am Plan festhalten, die Internetprovider des Landes zu verpflichten, für alle Internetnutzer Filter zu installieren. Die Telekommunikations-Regulierungsbehörde ACMA soll eine Liste mit URLs von Websites mit illegalen und nicht für Kinder geeigneten Inhalten erstellen. Bislang wurden von der Behörde 1300 Websites im Ausland für die Blacklist ausgemacht. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Australische-Regierung-will-Internetfilter-mit-einer-Blacklist-von-10000-URLs-testen--/meldung/118871 Australien will 10.000 Websites blockieren Die australische Regierung will die Internetprovider des Landes verpflichten, ein Filtersystem für "ungewünschte Webinhalte" zu installieren. Die zuständige Telekommunikationsbehörde Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) hat bereits begonnen, alle zu blockierenden Sites in einer Blacklist aufzulisten. http://www.zdnet.de/news/tkomm/0,39023151,39199001,00.htm Brazil Congress approves tougher child-porn law [AP] Brazilian lawmakers have approved a measure toughening prison terms for people convicted on Internet child-pornography charges. http://iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/11/news/LT-Brazil-Child-Pornography.php Making the Internet safe for kids, one vid at a time When you first look at it, KidZui seems a bit like a kiddified Flock, a Web browser with social networking rolled in. Children using Windows or Macs can find their favorite YouTube videos, rate content using tags, and share opinions, all from a colorful interface with big buttons and clear, clean labeling. http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10097709-12.html Violent video games alter childrens's heart rates: study A new Swedish study shows that playing violent video games can alter children’s heart rates, raising concerns about violent games’ long term physiological effects on youngsters. http://www.thelocal.se/15700/20081114/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** US Lawmaker plans bill on Web neutrality A senior U.S. lawmaker plans to introduce a bill in January that would bar Internet providers like AT&T Inc from blocking Web content, setting up a renewed battle over so-called network neutrality. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE4AC7SU20081114 Telcos: Don't mess up the Internet with regulation A congressional staffer said Net neutrality and broadband legislation will surely be reintroduced in the next Congress, but representatives of the telecom industry say there are better ways to keep the Internet open. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62048268,00.htm us: Opponents of Internet gambling ban like their odds in '09 Critics of long-awaited regulations issued this week by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board to enforce a federal ban on Internet gambling are betting on the Obama administration and Congress to overturn the rules. Lawmakers and financial services firms have complained that the proposed rules were vague, burdensome and not likely to stop millions of Americans from online betting, but the Bush administration worked hard to finish the guidelines, which stemmed from 2006 legislation, before the end of the term. http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081114_9319.php ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** InternetNZ: Nats must keep Broadband Investment Fund While it waits to see how the new government will spend $1.5 billion allocated to a new broadband network, Internet New Zealand has already decided one thing. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/internetnz-nats-must-keep-broadband-investment-fund-37855 nz: Telecom: ComCom demands waste of $18m Telecom has baulked at accounting rules the Commerce Commission wants to impose on the company, saying they go well beyond obligations set out in the Telecommunications Act and would cost $18 million to implement. http://www.businessday.co.nz/industries/4763628 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4763646a28.html Who's the fastest Kiwi ISP? [Reuters] Orcon has come up tops in the latest survey of Kiwi internet speeds. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4763638a28.html Telecom Warily Waits on 'Wired' U.S. President President-elect Barack Obama famously made the Web a pillar of his campaign, so it is not surprising that the man called the nation's first "wired" president has championed the idea of an open Internet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303830.html Telecoms switchers baffled by pricing info, say British MPs British punters are getting short-changed by telecoms companies because they struggle to get enough information to properly decide which tariff or deal to accept. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/13/pac_ofcom/ Gartner: Carriers should partner with Google on network initiatives In the 1960s, the rock band The Kinks sang, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." Today, one industry analyst said the nation's telecom carriers would benefit from showing some love toward Google Inc. instead of fighting over issues such as Net neutrality, white-space spectrum usage and selling software as a service over carrier networks. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120200 European Commission raises serious doubts about proposed Spanish broadband regulation The European Commission has informed the Spanish telecoms regulator, Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT), that it has serious doubts that the draft measures on the Spanish wholesale broadband access market, notified under the Electronic Communications Framework Directive, are compatible with EU law. http://www.broadband-europe.eu/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemID=403 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Wireless at warp speed: White space promises to put WiFi on steroids How much would you pay for unlimited access to WiFi hotspots that stretched for miles instead of a few hundred feet, provided unbroken connections even deep inside buildings, and offered broadband speeds ten times faster than today’s wimpy connections found in coffee shops, hotel lobbies, airport lounges and homes? How about nothing, or next to nothing? That could be on the cards within a couple of years, thanks to a decision taken this past week by America’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC). http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12581204 Most Mobile Users? Asia [MIS Asia] Asia will be home to more than half of the world's mobile connections by 2011, according to research house Ovum. Last year (2007), Asia accounted for 42 percent of global mobile connections. http://www.pcworld.com/article/153886/.html African Wireless Growth to Continue at More Moderate Pace, Ericsson Exec Says Zimbabwe’s economy is in the grip of hyperinflation and political turmoil and has all but collapsed. Yet incredibly, wireless networks continue to expand there—albeit it at a slower rate. “We are doing business in Zimbabwe,” says Jan Embro, Johannesburg-based president of Swedish telco equipment maker Ericsson’s operations in sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/europeinsight/archives/2008/11/african_wireles.html Asia to dominate global mobile base in 2013 Asia will be home to more than half the world's mobile subscribers in five years, but average revenues will be lower due to emerging markets, says Ovum. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62048281,00.htm Carriers' future uncertain in 'Wild West' of mobile Web Carriers and ISPs will soon face a do-or-die moment for their mobile Internet revenue streams, as increased competition and open networks take away their ability to tightly control what users download and how they experience the wireless Web, said panelists at a Mass Network Communications Council breakfast Thursday morning. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9120218 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/153880/.html Smartphones drive demand for Web browsing Mobile Web usage is on the rise as more fully featured browsers come to market on smartphones. Smartphones, which are designed to handle more sophisticated applications, are growing in popularity. In fact, Apple's iPhone was named the most popular phone during the third quarter of 2008, surpassing sales of Motorola's Razr, according to the NPD Group. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10096614-94.html DoCoMo's $2.7 Billion Investment in India Japan's DoCoMo is struggling with sales at home, so it's betting on the Indian cellular market with a 26% stake in Tata Teleservices http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2008/gb20081112_170510.htm ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: Friends dob in man over child porn [AAP] A 30-year-old man faces child pornography charges after concerned friends took his computer into a local police station. http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=2&ContentID=108335 Man charged after child porn found on computer Sydney police say they have charged a man with child pornography, after two people handed in a computer they had borrowed from him. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/16/2420999.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2008 --------- 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 Make the switch to the world's best email. Get Yahoo!7 Mail! http://au.yahoo.com/y7mail _______________________________________________ APPLe mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/apple
