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Highlights of today's news are: Criminal Checks Needed For Tasting, Kiting, Spying | Apster - APNIC's newsletter for the Asia Pacific Internet community | hk: Views sought on domain name administration| 55,000 .iran and .ir domain names registered so far | Nominet board vote passes off without cockups | 'Squatters' nab names of victims for Web | Mapping the Internet, one node at a time by Kim Davies | Welcome to the Internet .ASIA The domain name news is supported by auDA. And don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates in between postings. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 'Brandjacking' on the Web http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2007/tc20070501_555089.htm MarkMonitor: More than a quarter-million cybersquatting attacks in first quarter of 2007 http://scmagazine.com/us/news/article/654163/markmonitor-quarter-million-cybersquatting-attacks-first-quarter-2007/ Lockheed Martin Corporation loses domain case against cannabis site ukskunkworks.co.uk http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/02/lockheed_martin_domain_case/ Nigeria moves closer to hosting Internet address http://businessdayonline.com/?c=51&a=12935 Loyalty for .uk domains http://net4now.com/isp_news/news_article.asp?News_ID=3874 London eyes its own net domain http://www.contractoruk.com/news/003227.html Why the Fiji Islands need to be part of ICAAN: Interview with Savenaca Vocea http://islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17410/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl New Russian Law Deals with WHOIS data by Veni Markovski http://blog.icann.org/?p=110 500,000 .mobi domains registered http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8259 ICANN lowers Registrar Transaction Fee http://www.gadgetell.com/2007/05/icann-lowers-registrar-transaction-fee/ VeriSign Reports First Quarter 2007 Results (news release) http://www.verisign.com/static/042058.pdf ICANN Internationalized Domain Names - Glossary http://icann.org/topics/idn/idn-glossary.htm ICANN Nominating Committee Extends Deadline for Statements of Interest to 18 May 2007 http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-30apr07.htm ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** MarkMonitor Releases First Quarterly Brandjacking Index (news release) MarkMonitor released a report that reveals cybersquatting poses greatest threat to brands, while phishing and domain kiting are on the rise. Financial services and media companies were found to be the top targets. The report, "Cybersquatting Poses Greatest Threat to Brands", reveals an excess of 300,000 incidents of abuse for 25 of the top brands. The report found cybersquatting is the most frequent form of abuse with more than 275,000 instances recorded. Media companies, online only and traditional, were the industry sector most at risk. Next threat was domain kiting. The study found “more than 980 kited sites targeting financial brands, more than double that of any other segment.” Third were phishing attacks against financial institutions which were found to outnumber auction attacks. Phishing attacks against financial services companies, including large banks as well as credit unions, represent 41 percent of all phishing attacks in Q1 2007, compared to 29.4 percent in Q1 2006. There is widespread media coverage of the report. http://markmonitor.com/news/press-070430.html 'Brandjacking' on the Web A new study by MarkMonitor finds that cybersquatting and other abuses against big companies with well-known brands are on the rise http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2007/tc20070501_555089.htm http://www.cio-today.com/news/New-Study-Looks-at-Web-Brandjacking/story.xhtml?story_id=0010003B3T19 Major brands see rise in online fraud (Reuters) Corporate brands face multipronged assaults from fraudulent online attackers, according to a report published Monday that quantifies the scope of the most common threats. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6180176.html http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2123899,00.asp MarkMonitor: More than a quarter-million cybersquatting attacks in first quarter of 2007 Cybersquatting is an ever-growing threat to brand reputation, with more than a quarter-million such attacks recorded this year, according to a report released Monday by MarkMonitor. http://scmagazine.com/us/news/article/654163/markmonitor-quarter-million-cybersquatting-attacks-first-quarter-2007/ Tracking the 'brandjackers' (video report) MarkMonitor's EMEA General Manager Charlie Abrahams speaks to Reuters Technology Correspondent Matt Cowan about the findings of the company's first Brandjacking Index. The report features Charlie Abrahams, EMEA General Manager, MarkMonitor and Matt Cowan, Reuters Technology Correspondent. http://uk.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=50715 Lockheed Martin Corporation loses domain case against cannabis site ukskunkworks.co.uk Defence company Lockheed Martin Corporation has lost its attempt to gain control of a web address currently hosting a site devoted to cannabis paraphernalia. The ruling on the .co.uk domain was an appeal from an earlier ruling. ... The domain ukskunkworks.co.uk is owned by UKSkunkworks Ltd, a company which sells cannabis seeds and smoking paraphernalia related to cannabis. Skunk is a slang term for a particularly strong strain of cannabis. Lockheed Martin tried to gain control of the domain because it has in times of war operated a secret laboratory developing new products which it called Skunk Works. It owns several UK and community trademarks related to the term. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/02/lockheed_martin_domain_case/ Nigeria moves closer to hosting Internet address The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) will this morning in Lagos hold its Annual General Meeting. Nigerians are hoping that the activities of NIRA, will culminate before long in the country hosting its top level domain name, the .ng TLD locally so that Nigerian addresses on the Internet can be appropriately tagged - .ng. This facility is currently being hosted abroad by a Technical Point of Contact person, authorised by ICANN. http://businessdayonline.com/?c=51&a=12935 Loyalty for .uk domains British Internet users are six times more likely to choose a .uk rather than .com address when looking for information via an Internet search engine. http://net4now.com/isp_news/news_article.asp?News_ID=3874 London eyes its own net domain London should be the first city to have its own net domain name, either through adding ‘.ldn’ before ‘.uk’ or through the creation a new system of addresses that end in ‘.london.’ http://www.contractoruk.com/news/003227.html ".hk" Chinese domain name launched (webcast) Speaker: Jonathan Shea, CEO, Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited http://webcast.tdctrade.com/070321_01/e.htm Why the Fiji Islands need to be part of ICANN: Interview with Savenaca Vocea Since the arrival and gradual deployment of the Internet worldwide, Pacific Islands countries have been able to partly lessen the economic challenges of their isolation through better connectivity and access to increasingly faster and cheaper methods of communication. http://islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17410/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl The Internet challenge The rise of the Internet has created extraordinary marketing opportunities for companies, and many challenges for trademark lawyers. An example is "Taking on the cybersquatters". While the number of cybersquatting cases and domain name disputes may be on the rise, the good news for trademark owners is that of the 7,328 gTLD cases resolved, the Center has ordered the domain name to be transferred to the complainant in 84 percent of cases. http://managingip.com/default.asp?page=9&pubID=198&SID=684345&ISS=23690 New Russian Law Deals with WHOIS data by Veni Markovski There’s a new law on data protection in Russia, and under its provisions, information for web site owners should not be accessible online. The .ru WHOIS database has almost three years to fulfill the law requirements (until January 1, 2010), but Ru-Center, (largest registrar for .ru), says they have discussed the issue with RIPN (the technical contact for .ru) may be ready to implement it in the coming months. http://blog.icann.org/?p=110 VeriSign Reports First Quarter 2007 Results (news release) VeriSign reported total revenue of $379 million for the first quarter of 2007, compared with $373 million for the first quarter of 2006. VeriSign ended the first quarter with Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Short-term Investments of $740 million and deferred revenue of $662 million. http://www.verisign.com/static/042058.pdf 500,000 .mobi domains registered Dublin-based dotMobi has claimed 500,000 .mobi domain names have been registered since it was set up last October. http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8259 500,000 .mobi Names Registered (news release) dotMobi announced more than 500,000 .mobi domains have been registered in 104 countries since the domain's commercial launch in October 2006. http://www.sys-con.com/read/369789.htm http://redorbit.com/news/technology/921682/500000_mobi_names_registered_showing_continued_demand_for_useful_mobile/ ICANN lowers Registrar Transaction Fee ICANN has lowered their Registrar Transaction Fee from $.25 cents to $.22 cents. This lower price goes back to any domain that was registered or renewed as far back as July 1, 2006. So a credit may be owed to you by your current registrar. If you are a GoDaddy customer you may have already received your credit notification via email. http://www.gadgetell.com/2007/05/icann-lowers-registrar-transaction-fee/ INQ writer hits GoDaddy gold with refund for ICANN Fee overpayment It is not everyday that a vendor writes you to give you money, but GoDaddy just did. First it was targeted Superbowl ads, now generosity and philanthropy. This is what makes me come back again and again to do business with them. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39348 GoDaddy Refunds ICANN Fee Overpayments Domain registrar GoDaddy is refunding domain name registration and renewal fees due to a change in ICANN fees. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/05/02/godaddy-refunds-icann-fee-overpayments/ ICANN Internationalized Domain Names - Glossary In an attempt to ensure that discussions regarding IDNs take place in a consistent manner ICANN has published an IDN Glossary. The glossary terms can be used freely and is expected to be expanded over time. http://icann.org/topics/idn/idn-glossary.htm ICANN Nominating Committee Extends Deadline for Statements of Interest to 18 May 2007 In order to provide additional time for candidates to submit Statements of Interest, the 2007 ICANN Nominating Committee has extended the deadline for Statements of Interest until 18 May 2007. The 2007 Nominating Committee has received 33 Statements of Interest, 29 of the candidates are male, while 4 are female. 14 candidates are from Europe, 6 are from Asia/Australia/Pacific, 5 are from Latin America/Caribbean, 5 are from North America, and 3 are from Africa. 25 candidates have declared a willingness to serve on the ICANN Board, 12 have declared a willingness to serve on the GNSO Council, 7 have declared a willingness to serve on the ccNSO Council, and 7 have declared a willingness to serve on the ALAC. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-30apr07.htm ICANN: RegisterFly Has Flown A US Federal judge granted ICANN the right to terminate RegisterFly's accreditation and to transfer domains from the company. RegisterFly failed to meet the conditions of a temporarty restraining order, issued on April 16, demanding that the company turn over current and accurate data for all of RegisterFly's domain names. Beginning today (30/4), ICANN is inviting statements of interest from accredited registrars to act as a transfer provider, ensuring registrants have full access to their domains. That registrar will act as a temporary domain holder and aid in the transfer of domain names to any ICANN-accredited registrar of the registrant's choice. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/04/30/icann-registerfly-has-flown http://www.domaininformer.com/news/press/070502RegisterFly.html GoDaddy Selected as Top Domain Name Registrar GoDaddy, the world’s largest registrar with about 20M domains registered (including reseller sites), was voted as the best registrar in the 2007 Domain Name Wire survey, taking 33% of the vote. Last year GoDaddy was also tops but received only 28% of the vote. Although not without controversy, GoDaddy has grabbed market share by offering domain names for affordable prices and investing heavily in marketing. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/05/01/godaddy-selected-as-top-domain-name-registrar/ Survey: Price, Security Top Considerations When Registering Domains Registration prices and security of domains are the top factors when choosing a domain registrar, according to the 2007 Domain Name Wire survey. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/05/02/survey-price-security-top-considerations-when-registering-domains/ Why advertiser ROI matters more then CTR While Jennifer Slegg is looking at this from the view of a Search Engine Marketer, it is important for domain investors to remember that the click-through-rate (CTR) for a domain name might be an important measurement for the domain name owner, but in the end the return-on-investment (ROI) for the advertiser is what matters the most. In the end, the advertisers are the ones paying for the clicks on our parked pages and their return on investment is what matters. http://www.domaineditorial.com/archives/2007/05/02/why-advertiser-roi-matters-more-then-ctr/ Fabulous.com launches their Domain Name Distribution Network As per an Email from Fabulous.com to Frank Schilling, Fabulous.com has launched their domain distribution network (DDN), allowing Domain Portfolio owners to list their domains for sale via Fabulous’ various partners. http://www.domaineditorial.com/archives/2007/04/30/fabulouscom-launches-their-domain-name-distribution-network/ SEO and Domain Name Monetization test by DotVentures comes through with flying colors! Prior to the first of four weekly Internet radio shows back in late February; on Domain Investing and Monetization, I decided to follow Search Marketing's 7 step process for monetizing domain name's and the radio show marked the first 30 days of the test. I purchased the domain name oprahsschool.com a couple days before the first show and the site was already up (blog) just prior to the first show. http://domainnews360.com/2007/05/seo-and-domain-name-monetization-test.html DOMAINfest Amsterdam Announces First Ever Auction (news release) DomainSponsor announced that it had partnered with NICIT to bring attendees the finest quality domain names for bidding in a live auction setting. DOMAINfest Amsterdam is a two-day regional seminar and networking event created specifically to respond to the needs of domainers operating in the European business environment. The event will be held May 16-17, 2007 at the Hilton Amsterdam Hotel. http://verivox.de/News/ArticleDetails.asp?aid=50136&pm=1 http://www.pressebox.de/pressemeldungen/secura/boxid-104349.html http://domainfest.com/ Build your digital identity by certified pro-domains (news release) The pro-domains are an exclusive domain. Only if you are a lawyer, medical doctor,accountant(cpa) or engineer,you are entitled to get a pro-domain. Other liberal professions will be perhaps later in the position, also to order a pro-domain. A self certification that you belong to one of these groups is necessary. http://www.verivox.de/News/ArticleDetails.asp?aid=50136&pm=1 Get ready for dot-asia DotAsia is asking registrars to comment on its proposals for handling the launch, which includes a plan to hold auctions for domain names where more than one applicant has applied for the name. http://managingip.com/default.asp?page=9&PubID=198&SID=684499&ISS=23789 ICANN’s WDPRS Report and Plan to Clean Up Whois Records ICANN's recently released report, ICANN's Whois Data Accuracy and Availability Program: Description of Prior Efforts and New Compliance Initiatives, is a summary of the Whois Data Problem Report System's (WDPRS) reports spanning a one-year period that concluded at the end of Fenruary 2007. In case you're not familiar with the WDPRS, it's system that tracks complaints about inaccurate or incomplete whois entries. Notable facts from the report include: There were 50,189 reports for which ICANN received follow-up responses during the year. http://www.circleid.com/posts/icanns_wdprs_report_clean_up_whois/ http://domainnamewire.com/2007/04/30/icann-launches-initiative-to-clean-up-whois-records/ ICANN Releases Toolkit ICANN announced on Friday it has released a toolkit to help Web publishers fix problems caused by a couple of recently added domain names. http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/050107_ICANN_Releases_Toolkit.cfm http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/111757/icann-releases-automatic-domain-checking-toolkit.html Final Wave of Domain Auction Sales Washed Ashore This Week With Four 6-Figure Deals Riding the Tide The last remaining sales from Moniker.com's live and silent auctions at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West conference in Las Vegas last month were finalized this week. The big guns were Settlement.com at $200,000 and a trio of two-letter .coms; OL.com ($150,000), UB.com ($129,420) and PX.com ($120,000). http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales05-01-07.htm Demand Media, eNom to release .TV domain names Demand Media and its subsidiary and wholesale registrar, eNom, will make .TV domain names available as of 1 May 2007. http://dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=24059 ********************** OTHER INTERNET NEWS ********************** Google urges shareholders to permit censorship Google Inc.'s board of directors has recommended shareholders next week vote down a proposal that would require the company to legally resist government censorship efforts and to notify users when the company is required by governments to censor search results. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9018439 http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/05/02/google-urges-censorship_1.html ca: Lawsuits put online free speech at risk by Michael Geist Despite garnering only limited media attention, two recently filed defamation lawsuits in British Columbia have the potential to reshape free speech on the Internet in Canada. The suits pit Wayne Crookes, a B.C.-based businessman, against a who's who of the Internet, including Yahoo!, MySpace and Wikipedia. Those companies are accused of defaming Crookes not by virtue of anything they have said, but rather by permitting their users to post or link to articles that are allegedly defamatory. http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/208639 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1907/135/ When bloggers are silenced, the world must speak for them Democracy and the hunger for free speech are creeping across repressive societies, and the revolutionaries leading this charge are often the unlikeliest of soldiers — lone thinkers with minds for change and keyboards as their weapons. Linked to other warriors via the Internet, bloggers are finding that their views from politics to religion to pop culture share a unifying battle cry: a desire to speak freely. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2007-05-01-opcom_N.htm http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/05/when_bloggers_a.html Google, Yahoo urged to boost rights policies in restrictive nations Google and Yahoo should adopt policies to protect privacy and human rights in countries with authoritarian governments, New York City's comptroller said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_5798720 Digg Users Revolt Against 'Censorship' The rules of the road were fairly clear to Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, until this week. Users generally were given free rein, except when they violated the site's terms of use -- for example, by linking to porn or racial hate sites, or to illegal downloads. Recent events have thrown Rose off his stride, though. Digg received a cease-and-desist letter from an unnamed source requesting that it remove stories containing a single code that provided a way to crack HD DVD encryption. At first, Digg complied -- at least, it tried to. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/57196.html au: Teacher fury at rating website Teachers are trying to sue and shut down a website that names and shames them and gives them a mark out of five. The website names individual schools and teachers, scoring their performance, and in many cases defaming them. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/05/02/1177788228075.html nz: Net Risks Highlighted Awatapu College students will team up with Internet Safety Group education manager Richard Beach to demonstrate some of the benefits and risks of internet use at a public meeting on Thursday night at the college. The producers of the NetSafe programme and Keeping Kiwi Kids Safer in Cyberspace are in Palmerston North primarily to support teachers from Awatapu, Freyberg and St Peter's with their professional development. http://redorbit.com/news/technology/922659/net_risks_highlighted/ E-Gold founder fires back at indictments In a lengthy rebuke, the founder of online-payment system provider E-Gold and its parent company disputed a four-count indictment that accused the company of turning a blind eye to child pornography and stolen credit card numbers. http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-6180552.html Why doesn't the US government like online gold? Because in its view E-Gold, a company offering an online money transfer system, "has been a highly favoured method of payment by operators of investment scams, credit card and identity fraud, and sellers of online child pornography". Now it has charged E-Gold and its parent company, Gold & Silver Reserve, along with their three owners, with money laundering and unlicensed money transmission. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2070573,00.html Google rejects liability in $1 billion Viacom suit Responding to Viacom's $1 billion copyright infringement suit over video clips on YouTube, Google says it will not back off, declaring that the law is on its side. "We are not going to let this lawsuit distract us," Michael Kwun, managing counsel for litigation at Google, told reporters Monday. http://iht.com/articles/2007/05/01/news/google.php http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article1736454.ece Google: Viacom Suit Endangers Net Freedom Google filed documents with the U.S. District Court Monday, addressing the $1 billion lawsuit it faces from Viacom. In the response, filed in the Southern District of New York, Google contends that it has not violated the rights of the media conglomerate based on a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, enacted in 1998. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/57178.html il: The Haifa District Court defines the criteria for ordering an ISP to disclose the identity of internet end users The Haifa District Court gave an important decision explaining the criteria for ordering an ISP to disclose the identity of an end user who published dafamatory statements in talkbacks and forums. http://www.copyright.co.il/site/flash/flashDetail.asp?flash_id=98760 uk: Your chance to tell politicians: it's we who are watching you In an article in The Observer, Henry Porter says in part, "For the voters next Thursday, here are some of the liberties and rights you've lost or are in the process of losing: Your communications are no longer private. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, 500,000 emails and pieces of mail are intercepted every year." http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2068009,00.html uk: Internet Association advises ISPs how to help police The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) has published its latest best current practice (BCP) document on dealing with requests from law enforcement agencies (LEAs). http://net4now.com/isp_news/news_article.asp?News_ID=3867 E-mail Wiretap is Permissible in Australia... for now An amendment to the Australian Telecommunications (Interception) Act makes it easier for the police and state authorities to read citizens’ e-mails and text messages. The Australian House of Representatives passed the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment (Stored Communications) Act 2004 which amends the Australian Telecommunications (Interception) Act of 1979, with regard to electronic messages (e-mail) and text messages (SMS). This law, the Australian government’s third attempt to amend the said Telecommunications (Interception) Act, enables the police, several Federal and State authorities, private investigators, Internet service providers and other business owners – to access e-mail messages, SMS messages, and voice messages which are temporarily stored during transfer – without a telecommunications interception warrant, even in cases the suspected offence is not grave in nature. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1749 Australian call for internet copyright laws Australian laws must be drastically updated to protect consumers' rights to access information on the internet, says a legal expert. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4045862a28.html Oklahoma Spammer Fighter Loses Even Worse by John Levine Last December I wrote about Mark Mumma, who runs a small web hosting company in Oklahoma City and his battle with Omega World Travel a/k/a cruise.com. Mumma lost his CAN SPAM suit agains them in December, but Omega’s countersuit for defamation went to trial last week, and I hear that the jury awarded Omega $2.5 million in damages, which Mumma is not likely to be able to pay. This may be painted in some circles as a huge defeat for anti-spam activists, but it’s not. http://www.circleid.com/posts/oklahoma_spammer_fighter_loses/ Enough! The Briton who is challenging the web's endless cacophony Andrew Keen finds himself in the eye of a storm. The author and entrepreneur has stunned his adopted country with a book, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy, that accuses bloggers and other evangelists for the web of destroying culture, ruining livelihoods and threatening to make consumers of new media regress into 'digital narcissism'. Keen questions the euphoria surrounding the rise of citizen journalism, online communities such as MySpace and user-generated websites including online encyclopedia Wikipedia and video-sharing site YouTube. On his own blog last week, Keen noted growing support for his views: 'It's game on. Now the fun begins.' Oliver Kamm, an author and columnist, has accused bloggers of 'poisoning debate'. Blogger Kathy Sierra called for an end to the culture of online abuse after going into hiding because of death threats on other blogs. Tim O'Reilly, who coined the phrase 'Web 2.0', and Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, proposed a code of conduct including a stipulation that people not say anything online 'that we wouldn't say in person'. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068107,00.html Firefox claws more users from Microsoft When the Firefox web browser was launched in 2004, the then head of Microsoft Australia Steve Vamos was quoted as saying he did not believe it would pose a real threat to Internet Explorer's market share. ... Firefox continues to claw users away from IE - the most recent measure by web analyst NetApplications shows Firefox has a worldwide market share of 15 per cent, compared with 78 per cent for IE. Recent measures from another firm, XiTi Monitor, say Firefox enjoys an almost 25 per cent share of the market in Oceania - larger than its share in Europe, Asia and America. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/05/02/1177788202450.html http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4044480a28.html Lonelygirl15 honoured with Webby New Zealand internet star Jessica Lee Rose is set to be honoured with a special Webby award for best actress for her performance in her globally popular video blog, "lonely girl 15". http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/1095467 YouTube, eBay win internet Oscars Video sharing website YouTube, the eBay online auction community and rock icon David Bowie were among the winners announced today of this year's Webby Awards, the so-called "Oscars of the internet". http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/05/02/1177788189431.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN3044864720070501 uk: So who is winning the online newspaper [EMAIL PROTECTED]@nda [EMAIL PROTECTED] In terms of monetising eyeballs, metrics matter. As we all know. So the advent of the "ABCe" figures, providing audited data on unique users and page impressions on a monthly basis ... No, come back, please. You have not stumbled into anorak's corner by mistake. No more jargon, except in quotes. Promise. Now a number of these website people do talk like this, but many don't. These are usually the journalists. But what they lose in cyber jargon, they make up for in sledging competitors - just as they did in newspapers and at awards dinners. The news websites are now tremendously important, the life-saver in an age of declining newspaper sales. Or so some think, and all hope. http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2494126.ece BBC ups the stakes with downloads The BBC will face criticism tomorrow if it goes ahead with an internet service that will broadcast the corporation's television output to computers. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068019,00.html uk: ITV unveils Internet TV (Reuters) ITV unveiled plans for the 20 million pound re-launch of its ITV.com service, which will provide live programmes, a 30-day catch-up service and access to its archive via the Internet. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL019614220070501 The Joy of Text Couples talk less than ever but text and e-mail with increasing frequency. Our correspondent charts the ups and downs of broadband love. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article1720309.ece GodTube - where the rightwing Christians surf Imagine for a moment a parallel universe where everything looks familiar, but where everyone is a rightwing fundamentalist Christian and Darwinism is widely seen as a crackpot fairytale. Well, now you can visit such a world any time you want: GodTube, Christianity's answer to the heathen YouTube, is a clearing house for Christian music videos, user-generated sermons, evangelical short films and anti-evolution cranks. One of the most popular videos is an excruciating four-part parody of those Mac v PC adverts - Christ-follower v Christian; another features a preacher with a microphone berating a street performer dressed as Gene Simmons from Kiss. http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2068355,00.html Vista: Too Pricey for Emerging Asia? Microsoft has to do more if it wants to boost Windows Vista sales in Asia's emerging markets as affordability is still an issue, an analyst says. http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070501_494488.htm http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62009740,00.htm uk: Album giveaway could ignite music revolution An acclaimed indie band will next month leap into the unknown by becoming the first established act to give away an entire album for nothing in a move which could spark a music industry revolution. Convinced that changes in the industry and the spread of digital piracy have made it ever more difficult to make money from selling records, the Crimea plan to turn the economics on their head by giving away downloads of their self-financed second album, Secrets of the Witching Hour. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2068618,00.html Internet advertising Google is hardly an inflationary force in the world. That is unless you are sitting at Yahoo’s Sunnyvale headquarters. Not content with upping the stakes in Silicon Valley’s war for talent, the search giant has helped ratchet up the price of key internet assets. Take Yahoo’s acquisition of Right Media. In October, Yahoo spent about $40m on 20 per cent of the company, which auctions non-premium advertising inventory. It is now buying full control at a valuation more than four times higher. That can in part be justified by the synergy opportunities that come with full control. But the sneaking suspicion is that Yahoo was bounced into action at such a high price by Google’s recent $3.1bn purchase of DoubleClick. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6adea562-f748-11db-86b0-000b5df10621.html The unique genius that is Google "Last week, in a new research report, Google was named the world's number one brand. If it had still been called BackRub, would it have topped the list?" ... Sergey Brin and Larry Page began looking for a way to pull sharper data from an ever-sprawling bundle of information called the internet. Their breakthrough was when they realised they could rank sites according to the amount of sites that linked back to them, so they called their search engine BackRub. Last week, in a new research report, Google was named the world's number one brand. If it had still been called BackRub, would it have topped the list? http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2068260,00.html iGoogle more than eye candy Already synonymous with looking things up on the internet, Google is creating a new name for stamping a personal touch on its website - iGoogle. Google plans to debut the new iGoogle logo on 3 May when it will also introduce a new set of customisation tools designed to encourage more people to log in to its internet-leading search engine more frequently. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/05/01/1177788104033.html Jobs pledges 'a greener Apple' After years of being tight-lipped about the company's environmental efforts, Apple CEO Steve Jobs posted an 1,880 word open letter online Wednesday about the computer maker's work to be green. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/Jobs-pledges-a-greener-Apple-/0,130061702,339275232,00.htm http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_5802599 au: Broadband war in Australia gets vicious Telstra's threatened advertising blitz against broadband regulatory policy shows it is trying to hold the federal government to ransom, the telco's rivals say. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Broadband-war-in-Australia-gets-vicious-/0,130061791,339275226,00.htm au: Telstra not necessarily broadband partner: Rudd Labor will not give telecommunications giant Telstra carte blanche to build a national broadband network if it wins government, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Telstra-not-necessarily-broadband-partner-Rudd/0,130061791,339275238,00.htm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/05/02/1177788192704.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. 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