Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!
Headlines from the November 15 edition of the news include: Cerf sees government control of Internet failing | Brazil Net Forum Takes on Cybercrime | U.S. Internet control discussed in Brazil | UN conference tackles digital divide | CDT Warns of Risk in Debate on "Critical Internet Resources" | Steps taken to create multilingual internet | The End User: What's up with 'whois'? | Three Years With ICANN by Joi Ito | More than 15,000 applications received for new .Asia domain | VeriSign to Sell Off Firms, Strengthen Va. Operations And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** U.S. Internet Control Lead Topic in Rio [AP] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/09/1194329453336.html Rio forum to shine torch on the dark side of the Internet [AFP] http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/10/1194329548447.html Comment: Talking shop unlikely to wrestle net out of US hands http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10474854 New Zealand MPs among first to hear from new ICANN chair http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/088204E7E90A23AFCC25738D0078A58C New Icann chairman is a Kiwi http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4269683a28.html The World's Biggest Botnets http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=138610 Lindt chocolates trump Australian cybersquatter http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3200 IPv6 Will matter to the enterprise in five years http://arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;1273702821;fp;4;fpid;319049444 Domain name sells for record £150,000 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29eea074-8e52-11dc-8591-0000779fd2ac.html ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** U.S. Internet Control Lead Topic in Rio [AP] Debate over U.S. control of core Internet systems threatens to overtake an international meeting in Brazil next week that was meant to cover topics including spam, free speech and cheaper access. The Internet Governance Forum is the result of a compromise world leaders reached at a U.N. summit in Tunisia two years ago. They agreed to let the United States remain in charge. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/09/1194329453336.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/09/1194329453336.html http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/08/business/NA-FIN-US-Internet-Governance.php http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1682054,00.html http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/11/08/ap4319163.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/224066.html Rio forum to shine torch on the dark side of the Internet [AFP] The darker corners of the Internet are to be exposed under the bright light of Brazil's sun next week when a UN conference on how the web is run gets underway. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221458.asp http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=100089 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/10/1194329548447.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/10/1194329548447.html Global forum to look at U.S. control of Internet [McClatchy] When hundreds of technology experts gather here this week to hammer out the future of the Internet, the hottest issue won’t be spam or any other phenomena that bedevil users. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004007171_internet11.html http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-net1111.artnov11,0,7742652.story Comment: Talking shop unlikely to wrestle net out of US hands The contentious issue of taking away the United States Government's authority over the internet is on the table at an international meeting next week at which New Zealand will be arguing for the status quo. Discussion of the US role is something of a surprise inclusion on the agenda at the annual get-together of the internet Governance Forum, which gathers in Rio de Janeiro for three days from Monday. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10474854 US Control Over Core Internet Systems Called Into Question Next week, in Rio, an international meeting will get underway concerning the Internet and its current status. http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/igf/us-control-over-core-internet-systems-called-into-question-321303.php IGP Releases New Paper on "Net Neutrality as Global Principle for Internet Governance" by Brenden Kuerbis As a contribution to the 2007 UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF), IGP has released a new paper showing how network neutrality can serve as a globally applicable principle to guide Internet governance. The paper defines network neutrality as the right of Internet users to access content, services and applications on the Internet without interference from network operators or overbearing governments. It also encompasses the right of network operators to be reasonably free of liability for transmitting content and applications deemed illegal or undesirable by third parties. Those aspects of net neutrality are relevant in a growing number of countries and situations, as both public and private actors attempt to subject the Internet to more control. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2007/11/5/3342589.html NRO Report: "Continuing Cooperation" The Number Resource Organization (NRO) has participated in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and related activities since the beginning, and it is a process to which we are strongly devoted. In response to the Tunis WSIS agenda, the NRO has released "Continuing Cooperation - The NRO's Role in Internet Governance". This report illustrates the many efforts the Regional Internet Registries undertake in order to maintain and develop the Internet and its unique characteristics. The report focuses on the major themes of the 2007 Internet Governance Forum (IGF): Access, Diversity, Openness, Security and Critical Internet Infrastructure. The report was distributed this week at the IGF in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In an effort to further enhance mutual awareness and understanding the report is now available to all on the NRO website at: http://nro.net/archive/news/continuing-cooperation.html Internet Forum all about domain control Two years ago a crisis of sorts was avoided in Tunis when world leaders agreed to let the U.S. remain in charge of the Internet. Part of the deal was annual conference to discuss such issues as how domain names are assigned, a task currently under the control of ICANN. That meeting, the Internet Governance Forum, is happening right now in Rio — and developing nations are watching carefully to see if the forum has any teeth. http://government.zdnet.com/?p=3496 Industry heavyweights ride out for net neutrality Some of the biggest names in the computing industry have teamed up to form the Network Neutrality Squad. The group will set up an open forum of volunteers to monitor the activities of telecoms companies, and name and shame those that start to block open access to all internet sites. http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2203036/industry-heavyweights-ride-net Group Puts Broadband Providers on Net Neutrality Watch The Net Neutrality Squad will keep an eye out for ISPs that interfere with the free flow of Internet traffic. The network neutrality issue is heating up again. Lauren Weinstein, the founder of the new Network Neutrality Squad, wants to personally thank Comcast for providing the fuel. Philadelphia-based Comcast has nearly 13 million Internet customers and is the country's second-largest broadband provider. It is under fire for actively interfering with its users' ability to access legal content by cutting off peer-to-peer file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent and Gnutella, as well as business applications such as Lotus Notes. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2214707,00.asp ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Internet name frontier may rest in another language Suppose that the Internet had been invented in Thailand, and that every Web address ended with three letters in the Thai alphabet that you needed to type out. Allowing URLs in non-English language formats may spur a new wave of Internet usage, analysts say. In such a scenario, people who speak and read only English (or another language) would be dissuaded from using and exploring the Internet, and creating things on it. Technology leaders from the United States would appeal to some Thai organization in charge of domain names to please allow them to add a few English endings -- ".com" perhaps -- and then wait patiently for years for it to happen. http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/11/11/digital.domain/index.html New Zealand MPs among first to hear from new ICANN chair New Zealand MPs united in an informal non-partisan caucus last week were among the first to hear from the new Kiwi chairman of global internet body ICANN, Peter Dengate Thrush. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/088204E7E90A23AFCC25738D0078A58C New Icann chairman is a Kiwi Wellington barrister Peter Dengate Thrush doesn't expect his life to change much after being elected as the first non-American chairman of Icann. Mr Dengate Thrush says he will continue to live in Wellington, but expects to travel overseas more after taking up the highly prestigious role. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4269683a28.html ICANN - Data Escrow Implementation by Michele Neylon Michele Neylon has previously mentioned some of the concerns that have been raised in the ICANN community over the past year. One of the areas that was of particular concern in the aftermath of the RegisterFly meltdown was registrant data. In simple terms, if a registrar fails there could be a serious issue gaining access to the information linking registrants to their domain names. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2007/11/11/icann-data-escrow-implementation/ ICANN, through the eyes of a new board member What's it like to be a Frenchman on the board of an organization like ICANN, where the main language is still English? We tag along with Jean-Jacques Subrenat as he takes his first steps as a new board member. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/135/icann-through-the-eyes-of-a-new-board-member.php ICANN and NRO Reach Agreement on Formalization of Relationships ICANN is opening a public comment period on the formalization of its relationship with the Number Resource Organisation (NRO) and the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) through an exchange of letters. At the ICANN meeting in Los Angeles, the negotiating teams reached agreement on the documentation of their relations and commitments under the exchange of letters, and agreed to seek approval of the arrangement from their respective Boards in accordance with the approval process of each of the parties. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-09nov07.htm ICANN: Implementation of Registrar Data Escrow Program ICANN has concluded negotiations and entered into an agreement with Iron Mountain Intellectual Property Management, Inc. to provide escrow services under ICANN's Registrar Data Escrow (RDE) program. ICANN selected Iron Mountain through a competitive Request for Proposals process concluded earlier this year. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-09nov07.htm ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** .Asia opens up for business The second sunrise period for the .Asia country code top level domain (ccTLD) opens tomorrow with firms warned they have only two months to register before the close on January 15 next year. http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2203164/asia-opens-business The AFNIC names the members of its Technical Advisory Committee [news release] The AFNIC's Board of Directors has elected the members that form the Technical Advisory Committee, a new consultative body of the association on research and development problematics. http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/general/CP20071106?PHPSESSID=8d4a81e560517542bf5f434a3edaae69 .IN domain registrations pass 300,000 IN Registry has announced domain registrations for .IN (India) passed the 300,000 mark in October 2007. nz: Third consultation on RMC Policy Review [news release] InternetNZ, through the Domain Name Commission (DNC), is currently reviewing the Registering, Managing and Cancelling Domain Names policy. An initial call for comments on the policy review resulted in four submissions being received. http://dnc.org.nz/story/30287-29-1.html Second-Level Peruvian Domain Names Now Available (.PE) The Sunrise Period for second-level .PE registrations will be open October 8 - December 31. During this period, all third-level .PE registrants can request a corresponding second-level .PE domain name. http://blogs.verisign.com/brandprotection/2007/11/secondlevel_peruvian_domain_na.php ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** Cybercrime: How online crooks are costing us billions of dollars Somewhere in St. Petersburg, Russia's second city, a tiny start-up has struck Internet gold. Its dozen-odd employees are barely old enough to recall the demise of the Soviet Union, but industry analysts believe they're raking in well over $100 million a year from the world's largest banks, including Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7408419 http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_7408419 The World's Biggest Botnets You know about the Storm Trojan, which is spread by the world's largest botnet. But what you may not know is there's now a new peer-to-peer based botnet emerging that could blow Storm away. "We're investigating a new peer-to-peer botnet that may wind up rivaling Storm in size and sophistication," says Tripp Cox, vice president of engineering for startup Damballa, which tracks botnet command and control infrastructures. "We can't say much more about it, but we can tell it's distinct from Storm." http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=138610 Web Scammer Targets Senior U.S. Executives Email Hoax Believed To Dupe Thousands; Mr. Stewart's Pursuit For months, a sophisticated hacker has been stealing the personal data of American corporate executives. Hot on the hacker's trail is Joe Stewart. The former bass-guitarist-turned-cyber-sleuth stumbled onto the case in February. Since then, the 36-year-old Mr. Stewart has spent weeks in his office, in a nondescript building next to a half-abandoned strip mall here, virtually chasing the mysterious perpetrator across several continents. Mr. Stewart early on thought he had traced the scammer to China, then realized it was a false lead. Only when the perpetrator stumbled did Mr. Stewart get a break in the case. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119456922698387317-8NgwGNUFMUMRACalcmtkuwOGCXY_20071208.html ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Lindt chocolates trump Australian cybersquatter The Lindt chocolate company has won a dispute lodged with WIPO over "lindtchocolates.biz", "lindtchocolates.info", "lindtruffles.info" from an Australian cybersquatter. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3200 http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/11/09/lindt-chocolates-trump-australian-cybersquatter/ us: Feuding forces As Commissioner John Barthelmes considers merging the New Hampshire Department of Safety's two law-enforcement agencies, there appears to be growing animosity between the unions affiliated with state police and highway patrol officers. ... The New Hampshire Troopers Association sued the New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association in September 2006 alleging cyberpiracy and trademark infringement after highway patrol's union registered four Internet domain names: nhtrooper.com, nhtrooper.net, nhtrooper.org and nhtroopers.net. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Feuding+forces&articleId=c927191d-30d4-4ce4-aeb1-92d7ed098520 ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** IPv6 Will matter to the enterprise in five years Routing guru Jeff Doyle says there's no need to move to IPv6 now, offers design tips for OSPF nets, discusses Layer 2 vs. Layer 3 routing and shares more advice with attendees of his live Network World chat. http://arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;1273702821;fp;4;fpid;319049444 Rest in peace: Itojun, IPv6 pioneer It is with regret that ICANN mourns the passing of Jun-ichiro Hagino, better known as Itojun, aged 37. Itojun was a pioneer of IPv6 technology, best known for his extensive work in introducing the protocol into the BSD network stacks. http://blog.icann.org/?p=234 ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Google AdWords Domain Ads Exclusion : But Think Before You Block Google AdWords is running limited testing of a feature which lets its advertisers block domain parking sites which their AdWords ads will be served on; specifically ‘Domain Ads’ and ‘Error Page Ads. http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-adwords-domain-ads-exclusion-think-before-you-block-domain-ads/5968/ ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** recycle.co.uk sells for record £150,000 The highest price ever paid for a .co.uk internet domain name has been recorded after “recycle.co.uk” went under the hammer for £150,000 ($317,000). The sale, announced yesterday, breaks the record of £110,000 which was paid by J Sainsbury for taste.co.uk in 1997. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29eea074-8e52-11dc-8591-0000779fd2ac.html Recycle.co.uk Sold for £150,000 to Become the Highest Value for a .co.uk Internet Domain Name Sedo, the leading market place for Internet domain names and websites, has announced that recycle.co.uk has sold for GBP150,000. It is the highest figure paid for a co.uk internet domain name and breaks the last recorded value by GBP40,000 which was set by J Sainsbury plc when it purchased taste.co.uk for GBP110,000 in 1997. http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=212272 High Dollar Domain Sales Pile Up As Dozens of Live Auction Purchases Are Completed ... Four sales from the Domain Roundtable live auction share the top spot at $500,000 each; Rebate.com, Rebates.com, Invention.com and AZ.com (Rebate.com and Rebates.com were sold in a single lot for $1 million but were valued equally at $500,000 each). Another DRT sale, Event.com at $165,000, took the next spot. The highest non-auction transaction on the elite list was Sedo.com's $150,000 sale of #6 Guy.com. Sedo also put RCS.com in the top ten after commanding $95,000 for that prime 3-letter combination. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales11-06-07.htm FullTilt.com Domain Name For Sale The domain name FullTilt.com is up for sale, due to poker related traffic. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=22915 http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb567429.htm ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** us: "Don’t Shoot the Messenger: Telecommunications Carriers Deserve Immunity" ITIF has released a paper on proposed legislation to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and, in particular, on proposals to deny immunity to telecommunications carriers that complied with the federal government’s surveillance program post 9/11. The paper makes two key points. First, the Bush Administration was wrong in not working with Congress from the beginning in implementing its post-9/11 emergency surveillance program. Second, the focus of Congress’ efforts should be on updating FISA, not on holding telecommunications carriers legally liable for complying with what they believed was a legal government order. http://innovationpolicy.org/files/immunity.pdf ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ nz: ISPs agree to block child porn websites The Internal Affairs Department has begun working alongside ISPs to block access to websites dedicated to child pornography. Censorship manager Steve O'Brien says the department has drawn up a list of more than 7000 websites that host illegal material. Two Internet service providers agreed to block access to the sites in a trial which has been running for several months but which is still at "the very early stages". http://stuff.co.nz/4269675a28.html http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4269675a28.html au: Reward kids who dob in internet paedophiles PARENTS must reward children for reporting internet paedophiles and not scold them for chatting with predators, our most senior online child porn policeman said yesterday. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22722573-5006009,00.html au: Can we get back to you on that (after the election)? by Peter Mares IN MID-SEPTEMBER I interviewed Communications Minister Helen Coonan on ABC Radio National about the alarming statistics used in the Government's $22 million NetAlert information campaign. Statistics such as "over half of 11-to-15 year olds surveyed who chat online are contacted by strangers". http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/09/1194329514615.html us: The Net is a circuit of safety concerns If you watch TV or read the news, you know sexual predators hang out on the Internet, looking for underage victims. Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" features men being lured by the promise of meeting underage girls. Several state attorneys general recently have called on social-networking sites MySpace and Facebook to ban registered sex offenders and make their sites safer. Newspapers have been filled with stories about the dangers children face when they post too much personal information. And victims have testified recently at congressional hearings. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2007-11-07-online-dangers_N.htm Cyber bullying bedevils Japan For many Japanese children, a mobile phone is a social lifeline they can't imagine being without. For high school student Makoto, it became an instrument of mental torture that nearly drove him to suicide. http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=435892 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Project Seeks to Track Terror Web Posts [AP] The quivering images and militant writings are frightening: an exploding Humvee blankets passing cars with dust; a lab technician makes explosives, step by step; hatred oozes from "A guide to kill Americans in Saudi Arabia." Tens of thousands of Web pages are now devoted to terrorist propaganda designed to attract followers. On the surface, the messages and videos reveal little about their creators. But programmers and writers leave digital clues: the greetings and other words they choose, their punctuation and syntax, and the way they code multimedia attachments and Web links. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DARK_WEB http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071111/BIZ/711110040/-1/headlines German gambling ban overturned It is impossible to enforce a ban on internet gambling and so such a ban is 'null and void', according to a German court. The Court of Appeal in the state of Hessen reversed a ruling from a lower court banning an Austrian firm from operating. http://out-law.com/page-8619 Cybergang raises fear of new crime wave The most notorious player in global cybercrime has suddenly vanished from the web, sparking fears that the Russian-based group is set to re-emerge as an even greater threat from a new base in China. Security experts believe that the Russian Business Network (RBN), a shadowy organisation based in St Petersburg and run by a figure known only as "Flyman", has played a role in most of the online crime committed in the UK in recent years. Dubbed "the mother of cybercrime", RBN has been linked by security firms to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2844031.ece The cyber school for killers The YouTube killer who shot dead eight members of his school in Finland before turning his gun on himself had internet contacts with an American teenager who was planning a shooting spree in a high school in Philadelphia, it was claimed yesterday. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2842356.ece US man admits to massive computer fraud [Reuters] A Los Angeles man has admitted infecting 250,000 computers and stealing the identities of thousands of people by wiretapping their communications and accessing their bank accounts. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/10/2087317.htm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/10/1194329552174.html Botmaster owns up to 250,000 zombie PCs An American computer security consultant on Friday admitted using massive botnets to illegally install software on at least 250,000 machines and steal online banking identities of Windows users by evesdropping on them while they made financial transactions. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/09/botmaster_to_plea_guilty/ us: DOJ Cracks Down on Internet Pharmacy Six men face charges of illegally distributing drugs through an Internet pharmacy, and the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking forfeiture of more than US$40 million in profit from the operation. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139487-c,internetnetworking/article.html us: Northeastern University sues Google over search patent [IDG] Google has been sued by a university and a start-up company in the U.S. for allegedly infringing on a patented technology to run its online search service. The suit was filed by Boston's Northeastern University and by Jarg, a private company in Waltham, Mass., that specializes in distributed search technologies and one of whose cofounders, Kenneth Baclawski, is an associate professor at Northeastern. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9046320 ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Privacy laws should be overhauled, says European regulator Europe's top privacy regulator has said that European privacy laws will need to be overhauled in just five years' time. He also said that the rules governing which countries can be sent Europeans' data could be improved. http://out-law.com/page-8623 The fame generation needs to learn the value of privacy by Marina Hyde With Britain home to four million blogs, the inner monologue is in peril. But when everything is made public, something is lost ... These days, if it's in our heads, out it comes, edited to varying degrees into words and pictures, and presented to a real or imagined audience. Self-important? Perhaps. Often tedious? Certainly. But that doesn't matter as much as people make out. Even if there weren't the vaguest of ironies in newspaper columnists wondering why people feel the need to share their views on life with anyone, it does seem time to move beyond the sneering accusations of Pooterism that traditionally form the basis of mainstream media attacks on self-published alternatives. If all we had to worry about in this brave new world was preposterous self-regard comingled with a comic lack of self-awareness, then it might be an idyll indeed. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2208777,00.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** EU presses U.S. to change Internet gambling law [Reuters] The United States must change an Internet gambling law that discriminates against European companies by preventing them from offering services in the U.S. market, the European Union's top trade official said on Thursday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0823911220071108 Washington mayor rescinds citywide six-month e-mail deletion policy Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty chose to rescind a controversial e-mail retention policy earlier this week because of a storm of criticism from the public and city council members over his proposed plan. The mayor's e-mail policy, first introduced on Sept. 21 and set to kick in as a six-month pilot program on Jan. 5, 2008, will instead be open to discussion within a public forum. Timelines for those hearings have not been set, said the mayor's spokeswoman Carrie Brooks. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9046260 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Russia Has Fastest Growing Internet Population in Europe [news release] ... The European region recorded its largest ever Internet audience in September with a 5-percent year over year growth, reaching 226.7 million unique visitors age 15 or older. Russia had the fastest growing online audience this period, increasing 23 percent to 14.6 million unique visitors, followed by Spain, which grew 18 percent to 14.5 million unique visitors, and Ireland, which grew 16 percent to 1.5 million. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1885 Pakistanis find a haven on Internet A blogger alerts fellow students to an imminent campus demonstration. A chat room user offers up a poignant Urdu-language poem. Another message has more practical advice: a homemade tear-gas remedy. In the days since President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, many Pakistanis have found a haven in cyberspace, where they can share information, keep up with the news and stay in touch with friends and associates amid a roundup of thousands of opposition activists. About 15% of Pakistan's population of 160 million has Internet access. Amid the crisis, many who were previously only occasional Web surfers have become full-fledged devotees. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fg-pakchat8nov08,1,2114505.story ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Are Facebook’s Social Ads Illegal in New York? Mark Zuckerberg promised no less than a revolution with his idea that ads you see on Facebook will be attached to the names and photos of your friends who like the products being advertised. There is at least one problem with this idea: It may be illegal under a 100-year-old New York privacy law. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/are-facebooks-social-ads-illegal/index.html ********************** SPAM ********************** Vietnam seeks to restrict number of spam/day ... Spam senders that register with the Ministry of Information and Communications are permitted to send up to 5 spam emails to one address every day, base their servers in Vietnam, use .vn domain names, have systems to receive and process spam receivers’ refusals and archive refusals for 60 days. Particularly, spam messages sent to mobile phones must be delivered between 7am-10pm. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/11/753777/ ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** 'Village Phone' Initiative Aims To Improve Access In Developing Countries Grameen Foundation and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) have launched the Village Phone Direct Manual to help microfinance institutions and other organizations in developing micro-franchise Village Phone operations. The move, announced this week, is aimed at spreading affordable telecommunications access and business opportunities in poor, rural communities in the developing world. It coincides with the ITU Connect Africa Summit taking place in Rwanda this week, as well as Grameen's Microfinance Partner Conference in Bolivia. http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202800901 ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Nearly Half of all U.K. Downloaders Pay for New Radiohead Album ... During the first 29 days of October, 1.2 million people worldwide visited the “In Rainbows” site, with a significant percentage of visitors ultimately downloading the album. The study showed that 48 percent of U.K. downloaders of the album willingly paid to do so, with the remaining 52 percent choosing to pay nothing. The percentage of U.S. downloaders who willingly paid to do so was significantly lower at 40 percent - only marginally higher than the total worldwide figure of 38 percent. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1890 ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* WWF urges IT industry to reduce emissions The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is urging the tech industry to become greener to save the planet -- and also to boost business. The WWF wants the IT industry to take on the challenge of contributing the first billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emission reductions -- equivalent to 25 percent of Europe's annual total. http://hardware.silicon.com/servers/0,39024647,39169079,00.htm http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/WWF-urges-IT-industry-to-reduce-emissions/0,139023166,339283634,00.htm Technology in India and China: Running fast China and India have much to offer the world of technology, argues Simon Cox (interviewed here), but more still to gain from it Towards the end of the 11th century, while tardy Europeans kept time with sundials, Su Sung of China completed his masterpiece: a water clock of great intricacy and accuracy. Standing almost 12 metres (40 feet) tall, Su's “Cosmic Engine” wavered, it is said, by only a few minutes in every 24 hours. From twin tanks filled by servants, a steady flow of water was cupped and spilled by a series of buckets mounted on a wheel. The rotation of the wheel turned the clock, as well as an astronomical sphere and globe that charted the movement of the sun, moon and planets. Drums beat 100 times a day; bells chimed every two hours. A replica, painstakingly built with contemporary methods, now turns in Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science. http://economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10053169 ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** InternetNZ launches public consultation on Internet peering [news release] InternetNZ (the Internet Society of New Zealand Inc) today launches a public consultation on Internet peering, a subject that relates to the performance and reliability of the Internet. This follows the release of a report commissioned by the Society entitled “Issues regarding Internet peering and interconnection in New Zealand”. http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/mediareleases/peering71107 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** us: Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu: Opening the Airwaves In February, Tim Wu published a paper in the International Journal of Communication proposing a radical new vision of freedom for the U.S. wireless industry. He argued that the Federal Communications Commission should mandate that providers allow consumers to use any cell phone with any wireless operator, and install any programs they want on their phones as long as they were not illegal or harmful. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/60258.html ********************** VoIP ********************** Philippine regulator to ease VoIP rules The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has proposed new rules regarding interconnection agreements between telecom carriers and VoIP providers in the country. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62034245,00.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 Make the switch to the world's best email. Get the new Yahoo!7 Mail now. http://au.yahoo.com/worldsbestmail/viagra/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
