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Headlines from the 9 July edition of the news include: IGP Proposal Highlights Global Nature of Digital Security | In dispute over Gmail brand, Hamburg firm defeats Google | IETF DNS Working Group defines DNS as "critical infrastructure" by Brenden Kuerbis | What is ICANN's definition of progress? | Nominet reaches six million domain registrations (news release) The domain name news is supported by auDA. Don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Internet Governance Forum still searching for something to govern by Burke Hansen http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/03/igf_icann_critical_internet_resources/ After attacks, US government sending team to Estonia http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/US-government-sending-team-to-Estonia_1.html Kremlin Critics Say Russian Cyberspace Alive With DoS Attacks http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=GF0LIPDV4HFBEQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200900283 Time to let a thousand domains bloom? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6262386.stm Speculators ready for '.asia' web address rush http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2025789.ece iPhone.com acquired by Apple http://macnn.com/articles/07/07/03/apple.owns.iphonecom/ ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Internet Governance Forum still searching for something to govern by Burke Hansen Although this topic looked appetizing on the schedule, it's clear that the IGF has a lot of work to do if it is to be considered anything more than a highly vocal yet castrated version of ICANN. Indeed, the IGF bares an uncanny resemblance to that other impotent, internationalized and highly vocal institution, the UN General Assembly. That's not to say that it does not have value - it's just the political equivalent to a visit to the therapist's office. We all need to get stuff off our chest from time to time. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/03/igf_icann_critical_internet_resources/ ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** The Cold-War Fight Against Domaining Continues by Frank Schilling "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win!" quote by Gandhi pretty much summarizes the evolution of the domain name monetization and development business. I have watched this business come of age for more than half a decade... In the beginning nobody cared... then when people started talking about how great it was, 'smart people' and the "legitimate web" laughed. Then the trucks with money showed up... A significant double-digit percentage of global Internet traffic is now owned by domain holders with generic names. So the fight is on. http://www.circleid.com/posts/cold_war_fight_against_domaining/ Google faces landmark legal action after defamation claim Google is facing unprecedented legal action after a UK businessman filed a defamation claim. The internet search engine is being threatened with legal action by Dotworlds -— a UK domain name registrar — in a case that will seek to make search engines responsible for content on the internet. http://legalweek.com/Articles/1036505/Google+faces+landmark+legal+action+after+defamation.html ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** After attacks, US government sending team to Estonia Two months after much of Estonia's online infrastructure was targeted by an online attack, the U.S government is sending cyberinvestigators to help the Baltic state better understand what happened. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/US-government-sending-team-to-Estonia_1.html Kremlin Critics Say Russian Cyberspace Alive With DoS Attacks Cyber unrest continues throughout Russia and the Baltic states with reports of media and political Web sites being shut down through attacks similar to those that took down parts of Estonia's cyberinfrastructure in late April and early May. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, Monday reported the presence of politically motivated cyberattacks occurring in Russian cyberspace. The Web site for Russia's United Civil Front, run by former chess champ turned political activist Garry Kasporov, experienced problems staying online, and hackers tried to break into the main site of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, Oleg Panfilov, the center's director, told InformationWeek. He added that the sites of the several organizations "engaged in the protection of human rights" were also exposed to hacker attacks. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=GF0LIPDV4HFBEQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200900283 ********************** - ICANN ********************** Time to let a thousand domains bloom? Tight control over domain names will damage the internet, says the BBC's Bill Thompson. One of the Internet's main governing bodies, Icann, has just finished its latest public meeting in Puerto Rico. After a week of debates on subjects like Accountability and Transparency Management, and workshops on Domain Tasting, delegates, representatives and interested observers are all heading home, wondering whether anything useful has been achieved. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6262386.stm Aging the Internet Prematurely, One PDP at a Time by Wendy Seltzer After blogging about ICANN's new gTLD policy or lack thereof, I've had several people ask me why I care so much about ICANN and new top-level domains. Domain names barely matter in a world of search and hyperlinks, I'm told, and new domains would amount to little more than a cash transfer to new registries from those trying to protect their names and brands. While I agree that type-in site-location is less and less relevant, and we haven't yet seen much end-user focused innovation in the use of domain names, I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I think ICANN is still in a position to do affirmative harm to Internet innovation. http://www.circleid.com/posts/new_domain_names_internet/ http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2007/07/01/aging_the_internet_prematurely_one_pdp_at_a_time.html Through Thick & Thin: ICANN RFP for Registrar Data Escrow Services by Frank Michlick As a result of the Registerfly disaster, ICANN has been collecting proposals for Registrar Data Escrow Services that ensure that if a registrar goes out of business, the registrant’s and doman data is protected and available to ICANN. Let us take a closer look at what actually happened at RegisterFly that caused ICANN to issue this RFP and then look to see if the proposed solution is a viable and workable answer to this problem. http://domainnamenews.com/editorial/through-thick-thin-icann-rfp-for-registrar-data-escrow-services/ PITA and ICANN sign agreement A closer working relationship has been established between the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and ICANN after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding early this year. http://islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17537/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** Speculators ready for '.asia' web address rush Cyber-speculators and counterfeiters are preparing to hijack web addresses launched under a new internet domain, .asia, British businesses have been warned. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2025789.ece Asia top-level domain to launch in October Asia truly has arrived on the internet, and in October the continent will get its own “.asia” top-level domain. http://bizreport.com/2007/07/asia_toplevel_domain_to_launch_in_october.html http://hostsearch.com/news/netnames_news_6091.asp ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Ultimate Media gives away key domain names relating to Middle East developments worth hundreds of billions of dollars (news release) Ultimate Media, a London based communications agency that specialises in the internet, is warning developers of large projects in the Middle East to make sure they secure the primary domain names relating to their projects BEFORE they release information about them. The Company have recently carried out a major study of internet use in the tourism and construction industries in the Middle East and found is that many owners and developers of major projects are not securing the main domain names relating to these projects. http://zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20070702050000/secIndustries/pagMedia Dirty tricks of the sex.com scam by Kieren McCarthy Sex.com is one of the most valuable properties on the internet, worth $100 million a year and with 5 million page views a day. In 1995 it was stolen from its owner Gary Kremen - who fought for 12 years to win it back. In this extract from a new book by Kieren McCarthy, he tells the story of this ingenious scam. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/02/1183351124286.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/02/1183351124286.html The Story of Sex.com by Larry Seltzer Opinion: Sex.com, a new book by Kieren McCarthy, relates the earliest known example of domain name theft. http://www.channelinsider.com/article/The+Story+of+Sexcom/210743_1.aspx GoDaddy.com suggests domain names for babies Looking for a unique gift for a baby shower? Why not purchase a website name for a newborn? http://dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=25463 ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** iPhone.com acquired by Apple It has been confirmed that Apple has finally succeeded in purchasing the domain name iPhone.com from Michael Kovatch. http://macnn.com/articles/07/07/03/apple.owns.iphonecom/ http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/5346 After the iPhoria ... Apple reportedly bought the web domain name iPhone.com for an undisclosed, seven-digit price. Some 450 iPhone-related domain names were registered after the January announcement, and hundreds more have been registered per day since the Friday launch. One analyst predicts there will be about 8,000 iPhone-related domains registered by the end of the year. http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/feature/17787F217A8E7E6CCC25730E00720BDB http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/65599004FA8E9937CC25730E001D39C6 Domaining & Subdomaining In The Local Space - Part 1: by Chris Silver Smith The practices of domaining and subdomaining have steadily grown into increasingly hot topics in the local search marketing space for the past few years. "Domaining" is the practice of buying domains mainly for their potential keyword value. Speculators purchase keyword domains with a view towards selling those properties at considerable markup, and/or using those domains to host relevant affiliate content links and/or contextual ads to derive profit from the traffic, clicks, and purchases resulting from the users who arrive at the sites by typing their URLs directly into browser address fields. Subdomaining is the practice of delivering sections of content on sites under third-level domain names. http://searchengineland.com/070423-154346.php Domaining & Subdomaining In The Local Space, Part 2: by Chris Silver Smith In the earlier installment of this article I covered the topic of local-oriented subdomaining. In this second installment, I'm covering domaining. As you may recall, I described "domaining" as the practice of buying domains mainly for their potential keyword value. Speculators purchase keyword domains with a view towards reselling those properties at a considerable markup, or to get revenue by "parking" the domains with minimal content and lots of ads. The "local space" version of domaining is where a domainer has set up shop on a name which includes some sort of locality parameter like a ZIP code, city name, or regional name. How beneficial is this, and is it valuable for generating revenue? http://searchengineland.com/070702-083246.php Chinese.com Sells For €810,001 An auction for the domain Chinese.com ended today at €810,001. http://domainnamenews.com/domain-aftermarket/chinesecom-sells-for-810001-euro/ Quintet of Six-Figure Sales Headline a Fabulous Fortnight for the Domain Market Sedo.com led the charge with the €150,000 ($201,792) sale of Masculin.com ("masculine" in French). SnapNames.com claimed the runner-up slot with the $171,750 sale of DreamLife.com. HotProperty.com landed in the #3 position after being acquired by Australia's Transparence Group for $120,000 in a private sale. Moniker then took the spotlight with the first of three sales that ranked among the top eight, WifeLover.com at $100,930. Afternic.com/BuyDomains.com also broke the six-figure barrier with #5 MyFinance.com banking an even $100,000. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales07-03-07.htm ********************** OTHER INTERNET NEWS ********************** Website bomb-making lessons to be outlawed across Europe Placing instructions on how to make a bomb on the internet will become a criminal offence across Europe under plans outlined by Brussels yesterday. Arguments about freedom of expression will not be allowed to stand in the way of criminalising the publication of bomb-making information that could be used by terrorists, a senior EU official said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023030.ece Q&A: Censoring the net Q. Is it possible to police content that is posted online? A. It is extremely difficult. There are many hundreds of millions of pages on the internet; some are hosted on servers in Europe, a great many are hosted abroad. Even if the EU passed a law placing responsibility on EU-based internet service providers (ISPs) to police content on their servers, it would not apply to servers based outside the EU. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2023088.ece Protest in China: Mobilised by mobile (AP) Organised by text messages and internet chats, China's middle classes are daring to protest, and giving the government a fright: Information technology in China is once again making political waves. In the tropical seaport of Xiamen citizens still talk excitedly about how an anonymous text message on their mobile phones last month prompted them to join one of the biggest middle-class protests of recent years. And in Beijing politicians are scrambling to calm an uproar fuelled by an online petition against slave labour in brick kilns. Chinese officials have had reason to worry before about the rallying power of the internet and mobile phones. Two years ago they helped activists organise protests against Japan in several Chinese cities. http://economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9367055 Thailand softens Internet censorship, YouTube ban stays Thailand has softened its hardline against political and controversial websites, but a ban against video-posting website YouTube remains. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969118.htm th: Minister loses right to censor websites The cabinet agreed on Tuesday to revoke the military junta's order for the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to block websites deemed harmful to the military council and to the national security. http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=73117 http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBKK24588120070703 us: MySpace predators exposed MORE than 140 sex offenders convicted in New Jersey had profiles on the networking web site MySpace, the state's attorney general has revealed. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22015568-16123,00.html http://ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=5017917 http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0321042320070703 Google Appeals Belgian Copyright Ruling Google Inc. has scheduled an appeal for July 17 in its copyright dispute with Belgian newspaper publishers, although the two sides expect to request an extension while they try to resolve the conflict amicably, spokespeople for Google and the publishing group, Copiepresse, said on Tuesday. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134131-pg,1/article.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/Google-appeals-ruling_1.html http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739346-7.html More Evil Than Google? No matter how many times Google chants its "Don't be evil" mantra, its critics just won't disappear. In fact, the crowd of detractors who see Google as the Mountain View monster is only growing: Last month, Privacy International placed Google dead last in its evaluation of Internet service companies in terms of consumer data protection, labeling the search giant "hostile to privacy." The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google's acquisition of DoubleClick constitutes a monopoly, and the company faces a $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom for YouTube's alleged copyright infringement. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/07/03/google-evil-competition-tech-techbiz-cx_ag_0703googevil.html uk: Islamist trio admit using internet to incite jihad Three Islamist "cyber-terrorists" have admitted urging British Muslims to wage violent holy war against all non-believers. Tariq al-Daour today joined Younes Tsouli and Waseem Mughal in pleading guilty to inciting terrorism at Woolwich Crown Court, claiming that global jihad against "kuffars" was necessary to combat a worldwide conspiracy to wipe out Islam. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2026521.ece uk: Man guilty of using internet to promote jihad A third man with close links to al-Qa'eda in Iraq has admitted using the internet to urge Muslims to wage a violent holy war against all non-believers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/04/nwebsite104.xml http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351293920.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0485000520070704 uk: Phone chips helped UK Police SEVERAL people arrested in connection with the British terror attacks were traced after mobile telephones found intact in the failed London car bombs yielded crucial information. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22013223-5013040,00.html Researcher: Hackers don't time exploits for impact It's not always the case that attackers are highly skilled and doing careful planning, says McAfee researcher http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/C156344D6AE46D6DCC25730C0018B21D us: Second Life sex bed spawns virtual copyright action A bed which allows residents of the virtual world Second Life to have sex is at the centre of the first known case to be brought in virtual copyright. A Florida-based businessman who sells the bed inside Second Life claims another man has copied his creation, and is now bringing an action against his competitor in the real world, even though the bed is not real. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2025713.ece Top executives face personalized e-mail attacks Online miscreants have targeted 500 key business executives in what is believed to be the first mass-targeted malicious-software attack, according to security vendor MessageLabs. http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6194497.html nl: Murder, She Texted: Wireless Messaging Used to Fight Crime Three weeks ago, when police in The Hague in the Netherlands got a report that a boat had been stolen, they sent out a text message about the case to residents who had signed up to receive neighborhood crime alerts on their cellphones. An hour later, a woman bicycling along a canal who got the message notified police via a phone call that she saw a boat that met the description. The boat was found and the thief arrested. "They're the eyes on the street," says a spokesperson for The Hague's police department. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118334106678254898.html uk: New e-waste recycling laws begin A much-delayed law that makes British producers and importers of electronic goods responsible for the recycling of their products has come into force. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires 4kg of "e-waste" to be recycled per person. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6250080.stm eu: Google's DoubleClick deal runs into consumer resistance Google's £1.5bn takeover of online advertiser DoubleClick has run into new turbulence with a formal protest by a consumers' group. BEUC, backed by consumers in Germany, Italy and Spain, has urged the competition commissioner Neelie Kroes to investigate the deal, arguing in a letter seen by the Guardian that it "may have a negative impact on the selection of online content available to consumers and on privacy". The US federal trade commission is already investigating on similar grounds. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2116979,00.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351298988.html eu: Consumer group hits at Google $3bn move Beuc, the European consumer rights group, has joined the growing criticism over Google’s proposed $3.1bn acquisition of Doubleclick in an official letter to Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4b7018a6-28c5-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html EU launches public consultation to explore global IT market The European Union (EU) on Monday launched a public consultation to help explore new markets worldwide for its already competitive information and communication technology (ICT) industry. "Our ICT industry in Europe needs to think and be global," said the EU's Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "While we have been working hard to create a single telecoms market in Europe, we must not lose sight of the global picture." http://english.people.com.cn/200707/03/eng20070703_389718.html http://bbj.hu/main/news_28438_eu+launches+public+consultation+to+explore+global+it+market.html Sexy clip lifts EU YouTube debut When the EU opened its own channel on YouTube, no-one could have predicted it would get upwards of 20,000 hits a day. But while videos on the CAP and road safety are barely getting touched, a clip of sex scenes from European cinema has become a runaway success. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6263430.stm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351238299.html Peer-to-Peer Telephony: a new Legislative Challenge Internet phone applications or peer-to-peer telephony is likely to become the common telecommunication means in the near future. Indeed, peer-to-peer telephony is slowly but steadily imposing its convenience and cost advantages over traditional telephony services. The development of this new telecommunication method, though, posts many legislative challenges. For instance, it is not clear yet what is the regulatory treatment applicable to this Internet application; should exiting telephony laws be applied to peer-to-peer telephony? Tax revenue is another major defy posted by Internet phone applications. Will traditional local tax charges disappear? These two colossal queries are just some of the reasons precluding and immediate legislative response to the peer-to-peer telephony service. Answers to these questions entail long and intensive encounters with interest groups like telecommunication giants and local governments. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1800 au: IIA push on cable net choke Australia's peak internet industry group has increased pressure on the federal Government to control charges for links that feed overseas internet services to local broadband users. http://australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22005653-16123,00.html au: Senate Passes New Online Content Laws – National Industry Body Responds The Internet Industry Association has today moved to establish an industry taskforce for the development of an industry code of practice for online content service providers in Australia. This follows the passage by the Senate last night of the "Content Service" amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=573 au: Content Services Bill Passes Senate - IIA Moves Immediately to Form Taskforce to Develop Code As anticipated, the Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Bill 2007 (the Bill) passed the Senate last night (20/6/07). This is highly complex legislation and will have a profound impact on the way the online content services sector will evolve in Australia. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=572 Gadgets 'threaten energy savings' The growing popularity of hi-tech devices, such as flat-screen TVs and digital radios, threaten to undermine efforts to save energy, a report says. UK consumers spend £12bn a year on electronics, much of which is less efficient than older technology, a study by the Energy Saving Trust found. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6266082.stm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351260726.html Tech Firms Tap Into the 'Green' Movement Being ''green'' is all the rage with technology companies these days, but what's not clear is whether or not the environment-friendly approach is bringing in more greenbacks. http://nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Technology-Green-Approach.html South Korean search engine beats Google and Yahoo by tapping wisdom of the crowd Thanks to Cho In Joon, 50, a seller of lottery tickets in Busan, and tens of thousands of other volunteer respondents, Web users in one of the world's most-wired countries seldom "Google" anything - they "Naver" it. Tapping a South Korean inclination to help one another on the Web has made Naver.com the undisputed leader of Internet search in the country. It handles more than 77 percent of all Web searches originating in South Korea, thanks largely to content generated, free of charge, by people like Park and Cho. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/technology/naver.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/technology/05online.html Niche search engines emerge in the shadow of Google Does the world need another Google? Naima and Daniel Moore, a husband-and-wife team based in Atlanta, believe it does. On Monday, they unveiled Megaglobe, an international search engine that comes in 45 languages whose claim to fame is that it is designed to fight "click fraud," where advertisers get ripped off when hits on their ads are not from genuine consumers. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/technology/ptend05.php Nanoseconds Of Happiness: You're Going to Love Your iPhone, Until the Next Gizmo Calls So you've got the latest gadget, but is our desire to consume proving too all-consuming? ... Benjamin R. Barber, a professor at the University of Maryland, argues in his recent Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilise Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole that modern capitalism drives grown-ups "to retrieve the childish things the Bible told us to put away, and to enter the new world of electronic toys, games, and gadgets that constitute a modern digital playground for adults". Indulging our desire for gadgets, Professor Barber warns, makes adults selfish, sad and infantile. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201656.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/03/1183351217520.html Why Buying the iPhone is a Reactionary Act Apple made a choice in selecting AT&T. Steve Jobs could have used the immense leverage Apple had in launching the iPhone to demand concessions that changed the wireless market. He did not. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kieschnick/why-buying-the-iphone-is-_b_54689.html Mobile users must wait for wireless power Analysts warn that, although innovations by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are promising, the transmission of power without cables is still in its infancy http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000066,,00.htm Social networking sites betrayed by unfaithful users A survey has revealed the ‘promiscuity’ of many members of social networking sites and raised doubts over surging valuations: Social networks are spawning a generation of internet tarts, research suggests: online consumers with little brand loyalty and no qualms about keeping several sites on the go at once. Users of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are “chronically unfaithful”, a survey by Parks Associates, the analysts, has found. Half of users regularly use more than one site, most of which are free. One in six actively uses three or more. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2017224.ece The Last Stand of Internet Radio? New royalty rates may doom many small stations and the struggling musicians who depend on them. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1639084,00.html au: Surprising links Call it the ultimate compliment from a competitor. Next was bemused to discover that when you enter "youtube.com" into an Australian Google search, it returns a sponsored link to Microsoft's Live Search site hosted at Ninemsn. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/02/1183351124244.html Study: Broadband Growth Slowing in U.S. (AP) The rate of broadband adoption is slowing in the United States, partly because service providers already have grabbed the easiest converts, a study has found. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351246142.html http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/03/financial/f131234D66.DTL http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TECHBIT_BROADBAND_STUDY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-07-03-16-12-34 Warning of data ticking time bomb The growing problem of accessing old digital file formats is a "ticking time bomb", the chief executive of the UK National Archives has warned. Natalie Ceeney said society faced the possibility of "losing years of critical knowledge" because modern PCs could not always open old file formats. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6265976.stm At the end of the day iPhone is no phone Now that the iPhone is out in the hands of real reviewers rather than the selected Apple friendlies who got previews prior to release, the real story is emerging. The gist of it is that Apple's new baby is a ripper of a multi-function device but if you're looking for a good high-end mobile phone don't buy an iPhone. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13299/1023/ iPhone battery plot thickens Replacing battery will take three days and require full data wipe, Apple says http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/03/iphone-battery-replacement_1.html Spammers phish for iPhone fans As Apple's newest gadget starts selling in U.S. stores, spammers are exploiting the surrounding product craze by sending e-mails that try to dupe recipients into thinking that they have won an iPhone of their own. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6194485.html http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2193302/iphone-scams-begin http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6194485.html uk: Digital divide becoming chasm, research reveals Movement on the digital divide has stalled with only marginally more people online today than three years ago. UK online centres, managed by the University for Industry, have issued a report which says that bridging the digital divide is the responsibility of the public, private, and third sector working together. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/03/digital_divide_deepening/ UK digital divide is widening Efforts to bridge the digital divide with disadvantaged classes in the UK are failing, according to a new report. The ground-breaking Understanding Digital Inclusion, from Freshminds, brings together information from more than 80 sources, says the number of digitally disadvantaged people has hardly changed since 2004. It says 75 per cent of people counted as socially excluded are also digitally excluded, by not having the benefits or opportunities that computers and Internet access can bring. Not only is the divide widening, but deepening, according to the report, with those "stuck on the wrong side" more deeply excluded and harder to reach than ever before. http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2193280/uk-fails-span-digital-divide http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2193342/local-authorities-government Africa and the EU Bridging the digital divide is a key theme of the EU’s relationship with Africa, writes Viviane Reding in the latest issue of the Parliament Magazine's Research Review. "The fight against the digital and scientific divides in Africa have been identified as key development and cooperation priorities of the Joint Strategy between the EU and the African Union (AU) to be adopted at the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon on 7-8 December 2007. http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200707/a161021c-05d7-4592-9095-0a362bc30b9e.htm Russia shuts down Allofmp3.com Music download site that threatened to scupper Moscow's accession to World Trade Organisation has been shut http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2016297.ece http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2117653,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6264266.stm Russian Music Site Down, Sister Site Up (AP) A music download site that was the poster child for U.S. anti-piracy crusaders and an obstacle to Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization has been shut down by Russian authorities, according to the U.S. government. The victory, however, was short lived: The same company behind Allofmp3.com has launched a similar site that resembles the shuttered service, provides the same legal disclaimers and sells songs at a fraction of the price of iTunes. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/business/mp3.php http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/04/1183351246146.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_6290685 Universal balks at long-term iTunes contract Universal Music has opted not to sign a long-term renewal with Apple’s iTunes, which could give the world’s largest record company more flexibility to back rival digital music services http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bc9e2aa8-28df-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html Universal iTunes bluff will not work on Apple Lately, Universal Music Group has displayed a penchant for flexing its muscles by taking on some of the world's most powerful media players. First it was Google's YouTube over alleged copyright infringement, then it was News Corp's MySpace, and now it is Apple iTunes. The fact is UMG is probably all bluff. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13311/1023/ The new Web shows why they call it world wide Masses of many nations are networking and creating user content their own way. Big companies find they have to localize their global footprint: For Japanese Internet users of all ages, Mixi has become a favorite place to network online. In France, Dailymotion draws a big audience for its user-generated videos. And in South Korea, Cyworld has long been a popular destination for teenagers who want to hang out. As the so-called Web 2.0 phenomenon represented by social media sites like these ripples around the world, new national champions have emerged. Social networking, video- and photo-sharing and blogging destinations are becoming the new hot properties. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ft-internet2jul02,1,2796370.story Yahoo moves to catch up with Google in tailored advertising Yahoo SmartAds would help marketers create custom advertisements on the fly, using information on individual buyers and information on real prices and availability from the vendors. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/02/business/yahoo.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/technology/02yahoo.html Google: You ain't seen nothin' yet Forget iPhone, BlackBerry, Bell and Telus. Google is preparing to be the next giant of telecommunications: Anyone can get the Web on their cellphone these days. But now it seems Google is interested in so much more than that. It has reportedly approached the Federal Communications Commission recently about obtaining wireless spectrum, the base upon which mobile-phone networks are built, in the U.S. agency's next auction. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=0d0fa453-8a22-4dd0-b244-53f03146da8e&k=11216&p=1 Canada To Create National Do-Not-Call List Canada's telecommunications regulator laid out new rules for a national do-not-call list that will enable consumers to prevent unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=DGP4SSFCLFFHGQSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=200900310 au: IIA push on cable net choke Australia's peak internet industry group has increased pressure on the federal Government to control charges for links that feed overseas internet services to local broadband users. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22005653-15306,00.html au: National Internet Industry Body Warns - Are We Heading for a Broadband Cost Crunch? (news release) The Internet Industry Association today warned that unless we address our international capacity issues, Australian's use of high speed broadband networks could become cost-prohibitive. "Promises from political parties to deliver faster services, while very welcome, may have the perverse effect of bringing our international capacity constraints to a head sooner rather than later" said IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=575 au: Bandwidth bogey must become talking point, says IIA The Internet Industry Association has warned that a lack of intra-industry understanding is keeping bandwidth bottlenecks locked and allowing the implementation of politically-driven broadband solutions that will exacerbate data cost issues for the country’s ISPs. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=576 EU fines Telefónica €151.85 million for unfair wholesale Internet prices European Union regulators on Wednesday fined Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications company, €151.85 million, saying it had unfairly squeezed rivals by setting wholesale Internet access prices too high to allow them turn a profit. http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/04/business/telef.php eu: Broadband Bullying Banned First, it was France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom. Now, it’s Telefónica. The European Union has levied one of the largest fines ever – 152 million euros – against Spanish telecom operator Telefónica for allegedly engaging in a “margin squeeze” in the Spanish broadband Internet access market, thus impeding competition. Telefónica is expected to appeal the decision at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1798 Experts: Enterprises Must Focus on VOIP Security As the number of VOIP deployments is expected to continue to increase, IT professionals and researchers are urging enterprises not to forget about security. Voice-over-IP security threats are viewed as more theoretical than actual. But the few cases that have come to light have been brazen and costly. For example, investigators arrested two people in 2006 for a scam in which they were accused of hacking into the networks of several unnamed companies and hijacking their VOIP bandwidth for resale. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2154629,00.asp +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo!7 Mail has just got even bigger and better with unlimited storage on all webmail accounts. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
