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 January 31 edition of the news include: The dangers of 'locking down' the Internet by Michael Geist | Federal Register: Notice of Public Meeting Regarding Mid-term Review of the Joint Project Agreement between NTIA and ICANN | Closing of cybersquatting loophole is 'excellent news' for brand owners | Domain Tasting to Go Away for Real This Time by John Levine | One Step Back on ICANN Resolution by Bret Fausett | The Internet Is Your Business: ICANN Seeks Volunteers | Phishers use DNS tricks to direct users to bad sites | MySpace wins UK domain name that pre-dated its service | CADNA Releases Study on Domain Name Drop-Catching | DNS celebrates 25th birthday And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** EU aims to clarify legal status of IP addresses [IDG] http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1856222936;fp;2;fpid;1 The web weans itself off the US http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3253464.ece ICANN makes case for freedom from US oversight http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080124-icann-makes-case-for-freedom-from-us-oversight.html Estonia fines man for 'cyber war' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7208511.stm Google Takes Aim At Domain Tasting Profiteers http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205918984 The Google Effect on Tasting by Bret Fausett http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/27/3490380.html Why Google Can't Stop Domain Tasting by Bret Fausett http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/25/3485986.html Are domain names recession-proof? http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/25/are-domain-names-recession-proof/ ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** EU aims to clarify legal status of IP addresses [IDG] During discussions this week regarding Google's plan to buy DoubleClick, a European Parliament committee considered whether an IP address is legally private. Europe's top data protection officials are working to clarify a grey area of Internet law: the legal status of an IP (Internet Protocol) address. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1856222936;fp;2;fpid;1 What’s in a name? The History and Future of the Domain Name System A seminar on the history and future of the domain name system will be hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute in London on January 28. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3829 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/01/27/whats-in-a-name-the-history-and-future-of-the-domain-name-system/ http://www.domainnews.com/general/2008012283/whats-in-a-name-the-history-and-future-of-the-domain-name-system/ http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=171 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN issues plea for liberty The overseer of the net's addressing system has asked the US government to be freed from official control. Icann made the plea in a lengthy report sent to the US Department of Commerce. The report will be the focus of a meeting to consider Icann's progress on objectives the US government set it in preparation for independence. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7205609.stm The web weans itself off the US ICANN may become independent from the US Government for the first time, paving the way for one of the world's most important resources to be run by the private sector. ICANN has written to the US Government asking to be released from an agreement under which it it answerable to the US Department of Commerce, which began delegating the responsibility for running the internet ten years ago. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3253464.ece ICANN makes case for freedom from US oversight ICANN has submitted a report (PDF) to the US Department of Commerce in which it argues that the time has come to end US oversight. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080124-icann-makes-case-for-freedom-from-us-oversight.html ICANN Issues Plea for Independence From US Government ICANN has made a plea to the US government to be freed from official control. http://www.domainnamenews.com/icann-policy/icann-issues-plea-for-independence-from-us-government/1397 ICANN wants independence from US govt ICANN has formally asked the US government to let it be transferred to the private sector. It was originally set up by the US government in 1998, but its joint project agreement (JPA) with the government is due for a "mid-term review" in March, and it wants out. http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10007149o-2000331761b,00.htm ICANN Asks For Independence ICANN is requesting that the U.S. government allow it to become independent. ICANN made the request in a detailed report sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The report will be the topic of a meeting to decide ICANN's progress on objectives the U.S. government has put in place that would lead to the organizations independence. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/01/24/icann-asks-for-independence ICANN has outgrown JPA - Thrush The chairman and board of directors of ICANN,Chairman, Mr. Peter Dengate Thrush, says ICANN has 'outgrwon' the expectations of the JPA. http://hana.ru.ac.za/article.cfm?articleID=1856 http://allafrica.com/stories/200801280117.html ICANN Makes Case for Independence ICANN says it's ready to be operate without the oversight of the U.S. Department of Commerce. http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/15535/icann_makes_case_for_independence http://www.osnews.com/thread?297963 ICANN, Security And Nation States by Monika Ermert [sub req'd] The future of ICANN will remain an important topic in Internet governance in 2008, the tenth anniversary of the private global coordination body for Internet addresses and domain names. Yet experts also expect security in its different facets to be on the rise in Internet governance debates and point to the further growing interest of nation states in exercising their sovereign governance rights in cyberspace. And it is increasingly the case that governance of the Internet can affect access to online content. http://ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=895 ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** Historical First Batch of .Asia Auctions Completed with Success DotAsia Organization is pleased to announce today the historical smooth completion of the first batch of domain auctions for the .Asia “Sunrise” (i.e. priority registration period intended for intellectual property rights owners). http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-2008-01-25_EN.pdf Poland's .eu domains grew by almost 50% in 2007 [news release] By the end of 2007, the number of registered .eu domain names in Poland had grown to 102,138, a staggering rise of 48.64 percent compared to the year before, according to recent statistics from EURid, the organisation that manages the .eu Internet top-level domain. http://www.eurid.eu/content/view/243/33/lang,en/ Opening in Pisa marks fourth and final .eu registry office [news release] EURid has opened its fourth and thereby final .eu office, in Pisa, Italy. EURid previously has opened offices in Prague, the Czech Republic, Stockholm, Sweden and has its headquarters in Diegem outside of Brussels in Belgium. http://eurid.eu/content/view/242/33/lang,en/ Purely numeric .nl domain names available from 28 February [news release] SIDN, the .nl registry, has announced that purely numeric .nl domain names will be available to everyone from 28 February 2008 12.00 hrs (CET). Numeric domain names are names made up entirely of numbers (e.g. 1234.nl), or of numbers separated by hyphens (e.g. 12-34.nl). In the first few days after registration begins, SIDN expects a ‘landrush’ of people racing to get the ‘best’ combinations. The registry has therefore put special measures in place to prevent its systems becoming overloaded. Full details of the start-line arrangements can be found at www.sidn.nl. http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,5509,,,,Purely_numeric_nl_domain_names_available_from_28_February.html https://www.centr.org/main/news/4046-CTR.html Peru set to launch Spanish IDNs The Peruvian namespace .PE will soon be open to Spanish character domain names. An initial priority registration period is currently underway. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/161/peru-set-to-launch-spanish-idns.php se: Internetdagarna, .SE:s yearly conference about Internet, will this year be held on October 21-22 at Folkets Hus in Stockholm. Covering everything from deep technical topics to matters of public policy, Internetdagarna is the ideal meetingplace for everybody involved in Internet business ande politics in Sweden. The programme contains over 30 seminars in five parallell tracks: Networking, Security, Public policy, Mobility and Domain names. This year much emphasis will be on IP version 6, which is set to replace the aging IP version 4 within the next few years. https://www.centr.org/main/news/4047-CTR.html uk: Nominet EPP and automaton update Nominet have announced you can now register for the live EPP service that is scheduled to launch on 4 February 2008. If you register before the actual launch date you can be sure that you will be ready to use the service immediately. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=4740 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Student fined for attack against Estonian Web site A 20-year-old Estonian student has been fined for participating in a cyberattack that paralyzed Estonian Web sites and soured the country's relationship with Russia, a government official said Thursday. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1588609133;fp;2;fpid;1 Estonia fines man for 'cyber war' A 20-year-old ethnic Russian man is the first person to be convicted for taking part in a "cyber war" against Estonia. Dmitri Galushkevich was fined 17,500 kroons (£830) for an attack which blocked the website of the Reform Party of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7208511.stm Estonia fines man for Web hacking during riots [Reuters] An Estonian court has fined a man in the only conviction linked to cyber attacks on official Web sites during last year's riots over the relocation of a Soviet-era war memorial, it said on Thursday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL246774220080124 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** us: Disagreement between MU, fan blogger resolved The licensing representative for MU athletics has withdrawn consideration of taking action against a man running a fan Web site devoted to the university’s sports programs, an MU spokeswoman said Thursday. Mary Jo Banken of the MU News Bureau confirmed that a disagreement between the Collegiate Licensing Company, who handles usage of all university trademarks, and Richard Lozano, a St. Louis attorney who owns the domain name missouritigers.com, had been resolved. http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/01/24/disagreement-between-mu-fan-blogger-resolved/ us: Highway patrol union wants judge to reconsider The New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association wants a judge to throw out a ruling that found the group broke cyberpiracy laws and engaged in trademark infringement against the union for state troopers. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=427198e1-16fa-40b0-8526-5e57a903abec ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** Is IPv6 A Solution In Search Of A Problem? A few weeks ago, David Siegel of Global Crossing looked at some high-profile websites and found that none of them have made the switch to IPv6, the supposed replacement for today's 32-bit Internet addressing scheme. The IPv6 protocols have been finalized for a decade, and major operating systems have supported it for several years, so one would expect Internet-savvy companies like Google and Microsoft to have started running IPv6 versions of their sites. http://www.addict3d.org/news/288321/Is%20IPv6%20A%20Solution%20In%20Search%20Of%20A%20Problem ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** U.S. Businesses Rush Their Choice Of Web Address U.S. small businesses are rushing their choice of web address, with 42 percent investing under 1 hour of thought in the decision, according to a survey released today by 1&1 Internet Inc., the world's largest web host by known servers. A survey of 1,074 American businesses revealed that the average business spends less than 12 hours choosing their main domain name. Some 60 percent of business owners sought no second opinion before making a selection and over half (57 percent) did not consider options such as .biz or .net at all. Most recognized that their domain name could have a lasting effect on their business, with one third of businesses (37 percent) believing that their revenue would improve as a direct result of having a better web address, and 1 in 4 businesses (28 percent) admitting they had 'concerns' about the effectiveness of their web address. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/1/prweb642361.htm In ex-Yugoslavia, Tito-era nostalgia ... Nearly 5,000 Slovene youths made a pilgrimage to Belgrade, Yugoslavia's political and cultural capital, to celebrate the New Year. Cross-border investment among the six republics of the former Yugoslavia has seldom been higher. The .yu Internet domain name remains popular for Web sites. Croats have been discarding past ethnic rivalries to vote for Serbian songs during the Eurovision Song Contest. Basketball, a unifying passion in the former Yugoslavia, is still played in a league that includes top teams from across the region. http://iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/europe/nostalgia.php Afilias Joins Anti-Phishing Working Group Steering Committee To Help Combat Online Fraud [news release] Afilias announced that it has been elected to serve on the Steering Committee of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), the global industry and law enforcement association focused on eliminating identity theft and fraud perpetrated online through phishing, spamming, and crimeware. http://www.afilias.info/news/press_releases/pr_articles/2008-01-28-01 ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Google Takes Aim At Domain Tasting Profiteers In January 2007, VeriSign said that among the top 10 domain registrars, 95% of all deleted .com and .net domain names were the result of domain tasting. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205918984 Google Combats Domain Name Loophole [AP] The online advertising leader Google Inc. said Friday it would help make it less lucrative to tie up millions of Internet addresses using a loophole and keep those domain names from legitimate individuals and businesses. http://news.smh.com.au/google-combats-domain-name-loophole/20080126-1oam.html http://news.theage.com.au/google-combats-domain-name-loophole/20080126-1oam.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/297071.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/25/financial/f142450S20.DTL The Google Effect on Tasting by Bret Fausett In an email over the weekend, Jay Westerdal said that my view of tasting is out-of-date and that, in 2008, the majority of tasting is from those who don't want to pay any registration fee. I take seriously anything he says, expecially on domain markets, so I'll be interested to read follow-ups to his post last week. http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/27/3490380.html Why Google Can't Stop Domain Tasting by Bret Fausett ... Call me deeply skeptical. Google cutting off the ad revenue from tasting won't change anything because it doesn't address the underlying reason people taste domains in the first place. Few people taste domains for the incidental revenue earned during the taste period. You taste a domain name to see if it has traffic. http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/25/3485986.html Google May Knee Cap Domain Tasting Google is said to be considering banning newly registered domain names from participating in the Google for Domain Names program, severely hampering the practice of domain tasting. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/24/google-may-knee-cap-domain-tasting/ Has Google delt a fatal blow to domain tasting? Internet rumours point to a possible move by Google to stop monetizing any domain if its less than 5 days old, effectively putting an end to any Google-related profit from domain tasting. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/163/has-google-delt-a-fatal-blow-to-domain-tasting.php Porn sells; Satinpanties too The real estate investors packing the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles this week don't have to worry about interest rates, exploding mortgages and foreclosures. The addresses they buy and sell are on the Internet, where a good name might attract millions of people and pull in big bucks from advertising. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-domain24jan24,1,5999453.story Google to kill Domain Tasting Google ChartA confidential informant says Google will stop monetizing all domains if they are less then five days old. This potential new policy change by Google could stop all Domain Tasting in its tracks. http://blog.domaintools.com/2008/01/google-to-kill-domain-tasting/ Domainers Choice Awards: Ammar, Elliot and Frank take home the Gold The first Domainer’s Choice Awards were announced last night at the closing dinner for DomainFest. Ammar Kubba’s company TrafficZ, won the award for best Parking Company. http://www.thedomains.com/2008/01/24/domainers-choice-awards-ammar-and-elliot-take-home-the-gold/ Fusu -- The Domain Stock Exchange -- Announces Public Beta and Key Partnership Fusu, the world's first Domain Stock Exchange opens up to a wider audience; Announces strategic partnership with EuroDNS to solidify the road to launch and beyond. Our company is proud to participate in a great venture that could become essential to domainers and Internet users worldwide. http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/01/26/fusu-the-domain-stock-exchange-announces-public-beta-and-key-partnership/ ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Are domain names recession-proof? Global markets are in a state of panic. Credit markets are all but closed. And recession fears are everywhere. But at the conference I attended in Hollywood this week, called DomainFest, you’d have little clue that the financial world was melting down. The domain world - the people that buy and sell names and make money from pay-per-click ads on their websites - is booming. Downturn? Bring it on. http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/25/are-domain-names-recession-proof/ Maximize Domain Value By Selling To Established Companies With A Specific Need Matching domain names with established services makes great sense for forward thinking companies. The sale of bookmarks.com also reinforces the reality that domainers are more likely to obtain Rick Schwartz level domain sales if they match their domains directly to established companies with specific domain needs. http://tcattorney.typepad.com/anticybersquatting_consum/2008/01/maximize-domain.html DOMAINfest Notes for Day 2 and 3 by James Koole In addition to the auction, Bill attended a number of sessions over the last few days and provided some notes to summarize what was presented: http://about.tucows.com/2008/01/24/domainfest-notes-for-day-2-and-3/ Computers.us to be Auctioned at T.R.A.F.F.I.C Domainion has announced the possible sale of the premium domain name ‘Computer.us’. The domain previously sold at T.R.A.F.F.I.C in 2007 for $2.1 Million. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=24041 February T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Auction Could Be Record-Setting It’s been six months since Moniker and TRAFFIC teamed up to shatter a domain name auction record, selling over $10M in domains in an afternoon. Since that time no auctions have come close to this record. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/01/25/february-traffic-auction-could-be-record-setting/ For More Domain Sales, Categorize Your Domains If you list your domains for sale on sites such as Afternic and Sedo, you should take the extra time to properly categorize your domains. According to NameMedia, domains on Afternic that are categorized (e.g. “Education”, “Events”) are 2.8 times as likely to sell as domains that are not categorized. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/01/24/for-more-domain-sales-categorize-your-domains/ Lance Armstrong Takes "Significant" Stake in Demand Media; Launching Wellness Site Together Demand Media, the heavily capitalized Santa Monica-based online domain monetization and media company, has made an interesting turn: it has tied up with cycling legend and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong and his foundation, to launch a health-and-wellness site LiveStrong.com. http://biz.yahoo.com/paidcontent/080127/1_319178_id.html sport.co.uk Acquired Through Sedo for £135,000 [news release] Sedo has announced that sport.co.uk has sold for £135,000. The domain name, sport.co.uk, was sold through Sedo by one of its customers to Media Corporation plc, an Internet media and advertising company. It will develop sport.co.uk during the first quarter of 2008 with the aim of it becoming a worldwide provider of comprehensive sports statistics and information. All facts and figures on matches, athletes, teams, results, competitions tournaments, stadiums and sponsors will be provided in what eventually aims to be one of the world's largest sports information websites. http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/01/28/sportcouk-acquired-through-sedo-for-135000/ http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2008012286/sportcouk-acquired-through-sedo-for-135000/ yemen.com sells for $100k As the evening draws to a close the bidding certainly doesn't. Yemen.com just went under the hammer for $100k. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2008/01/24/yemencom-sells-for-100k/ Porn.net goes under the hammer for $410k One of the more obvious domains to attract an audience today was porn.net. Considering you can't even register porn.ie, I was interested to see how the auction for this domain would fare. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2008/01/24/pornnet-goes-under-the-hammer-for-410k/ photograph.com sells for $195k Photograph.com sells for $195k http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2008/01/24/photographcom-sells-for-195k/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Newspaper Web sites draw record viewers [Reuters] A record number of readers visited U.S. online newspaper sites last year, according to figures released on Thursday, confirming the Web as one of the few bright spots for the struggling newspaper industry. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2424356120080125 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Emerging markets help Nokia to win race for mobile supremacy The buzz around mobile-phone maker Nokia is unmistakable, like a ringtone breaking the quiet of a church service or a cinema screening. While rivals, notably Motorola, are foundering, the Finnish giant’s market share passed 40% at the end of 2007 and could already be closer to 42%, say analysts. Either way, chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is hungry for more. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3256298.ece Nokia Increases Profit and Market Share Nokia said that it had extended its dominant share of the global mobile phone market to a record 40 percent in the fourth quarter as profit surged 44 percent on rising sales. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/technology/24cnd-nokia.html http://iht.com/articles/2008/01/24/technology/nokia.php au: Mobile phones and young brains Australian scientists are investigating if children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of radiation from mobile phones. A study of 110 adults at the Australian Centre for Radiofrequency Bioeffects Research, partly funded by the Federal Government, confirmed mobile phones cause a change in brain function by altering brainwaves known as alpha waves. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/26/1201368996791.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/01/26/1201368996791.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Web vigilantes attack Scientology website A shadowy internet group has succeeded in taking down a Scientology website after effectively declaring war on the Church and calling for it to be destroyed. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3250934.ece Hackers hit Scientology with online attack [IDG] A group of hackers calling itself "Anonymous" has hit the Church of Scientology's Web site with an online attack. The attack was launched Jan. 19 by Anonymous, which is seeking media attention to help "save people from Scientology by reversing the brainwashing," according to a Web page maintained by Anonymous. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9059338 http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141839/article.html Scientology Writes; Gawker Rises ... At Scientology’s request, YouTube and other sites took down the copyrighted video, but Gawker refused, instead posting and mocking the reproachful letter sent by a Los Angeles lawyer representing the church. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/business/media/28cruise.html jp: Land of the online death pact fights to save lives from the web In the country where the world's first internet suicide pact was forged, the battle to save lives is a desperate one. Cyberpatrols, web whistle-blowers and a special online suicide-watch police division have become the new front line in Japan's half-decade battle with a scourge that first came to light on its shores. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3248107.ece uk: Scramble to curb suicide websites The dangers of internet sites that encourage suicide and discussion about taking your own life are to be part of an official review of child safety on the web. The Ministry of Justice is also examining new curbs in the law to stop internet sites giving out information about different ways of committing suicide. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3254272.ece uk: Classmates seek help as another girl in Bridgend tries to commit suicide A dozen pupils at a Bridgend secondary school have asked for counselling after the attempted suicide of a 15-year-old girl. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3248103.ece uk: Suicide: a teen’s way to instant fame Suicide is far from painless, both for the people who do it and for the ones they leave behind. The cluster of seven suicides in Bridgend, south Wales, has left scores of grieving relatives and friends and the rest of us stunned at the thought that these young people - some pictured partying just days earlier - could take their own lives. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article3255942.ece Suicide 'axis' crosses Welsh valleys Bridgend, the south Wales town thrust into the spotlight after 13 of its young people killed themselves in the past year, is part of a Welsh valleys axis with higher than average levels of suicide, particularly among young men, it has emerged. Statistics show that Merthyr Tydfil and the Rhondda, Cynon and Taff valleys are also battling with a problem that has, so far, defeated experts. And as police review the spate of recent deaths in Bridgend, The Observer can reveal that far from being an isolated pocket, the rash of suicides has been a concern in the area for some time. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2247541,00.html Bridgend deaths: Police warn of Bebo 'internet suicide cult' For millions of teenage fans, the internet site Bebo is a place to swap photos, gossip and while away the long hours of boredom that are part and parcel of growing up. But for a significant minority, the social networking site is more, much more. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/bridgend-deaths-police-warn-of-bebo-internet-suicide-cult-774532.html Antipiracy group's tactics violate Swiss law Logistep, which supplies information on suspected file sharers to law firms around the world for use in copyright violation cases, has until Feb. 9 to respond to charges http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/25/Antipiracy-group-tactics-violate-Swiss-law_1.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Yes, AT&T is losing its mind (and might filter the Internet) In a thoroughly enjoyable Slate piece last week Tim Wu, law professor extraordinaire, asked the only question a reasonable soul can muster after hearing about AT&T's unnecessary, infeasible, legally dubious, and most likely financially calamitous attempt to stem copyright infringement in the United States by closely scrutinizing the traffic that passes over its Internet lines: Has AT&T "simply lost its mind?" Yesterday we got something of an answer: AT&T may not yet have lost its mind, but keep the doctors on speed dial because things aren't looking good. http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/01/24/att_filtering/ US censors Arctic scientists' findings as it prepares for oil and gas auction [This article isn't about the internet] The United States has blocked the release of a landmark assessment of oil and gas activity in the Arctic as it prepares to sell off exploration licences for the frozen Chukchi Sea off Alaska, one of the last intact habitats of the polar bear. Scientists at the release of the censored report in Norway said there was "huge frustration" that the US had derailed a science-based effort to manage the race for the vast energy reserves of the Arctic. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/us-censors-arctic-scientists-findings-as-it-prepares-for-oil-and-gas-auction-771714.html uk: MPs press for ban on SS camp ‘video nasty’ FILMS with graphic violence, including one simulating the rape, torture and incineration of concentration camp victims, are being freely sold on the high street, prompting demands by MPs for a reform of the censorship laws. SS Experiment Camp is one of a clutch of violent films banned 20 years ago by the director of public prosecutions that have been approved for general release by Britain’s film censors and are on sale in shops. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3257530.ece China's mobile network: a big brother surveillance tool? [AFP] Serious concerns were raised in Davos last week about the ability of the Chinese government to spy on the country's 500 million mobile phone users. The head of China's biggest mobile phone company, which has more than 300 million subscribers, stunned delegates by revealing that the company had unlimited access to the personal data of its customers and handed it over to Chinese security officials when demanded. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/28/2147712.htm http://www.todayonline.com/articles/234557.asp http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Chinas_mobile_network_a_big_brother_surveillance_tool_999.html http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2008/01/28/140851/Is-mobile.htm ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ Internet law gives free rein to paedophiles [AFP] Scores of paedophiles are going unpunished in Greece where an outdated privacy law forbids the disclosure of suspect details, the head of the Greek police unit against electronic crime has revealed. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=4220992 San Jose councilman chides head librarian on porn-filter report San Jose City Councilman Pete Constant accused the city's head librarian Wednesday of foot-dragging and shoddy research on his proposal to filter pornography out of library computers. http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_8063065 jp: 76% consider Internet filtering necessary for minors About 76% of Japanese people responding to a government survey feel that Internet filtering is necessary to restrict minors under 18 years old from accessing dating service or pornography websites, the Cabinet Office said Saturday. In the survey on securing safety on the Internet, the Cabinet Office said a total of 76.3% of the respondents either said it is "necessary" or "rather necessary" to use Internet filtering. http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/426229 ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** us: Bush Order Expands Network Monitoring President Bush signed a directive this month that expands the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems. The directive, whose content is classified, authorizes the intelligence agencies, in particular the National Security Agency, to monitor the computer networks of all federal agencies -- including ones they have not previously monitored. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012503261.html us: Veto of Wiretap Measure Is Threatened The White House warned Democratic leaders yesterday that President Bush would veto a proposal to extend an expiring surveillance law by 30 days, saying that Congress should quickly approve a Senate bill favored by the Bush administration. The move is aimed at forcing Congress to renew and expand the Protect America Act -- which is due to expire at the end of the day Thursday -- and escalates a national security showdown between Democrats and the White House just before the president's annual State of the Union address. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/26/AR2008012601770.html us: Cheney Pushes for Permanent Warrantless Wiretapping Power Storm clouds are roiling anew over Washington this week as the impending expiration of the Protect America Act brings surveillance legislation to the forefront of congressional attention once again. Not least among the rumbles of thunder was an address delivered Wednesday by Vice President Dick Cheney at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, in which he urged Congress to make permanent changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 that were only temporarily provided last summer by the Protect America Act, which is set to expire next week. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Cheney-Pushes-for-Permanent-Warrantless-Wiretapping-Power-61370.html Bush orders NSA to snoop on US agencies Not content with spying on other countries, the NSA (National Security Agency) will now turn on the US's own government agencies thanks to a fresh directive from president George Bush. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/27/bush_nsa_internal/ cn: SARFT Issues New Mobile Media Broadcasting Standard China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has issued a circular on its website on the release of a new mobile multimedia broadcasting standard for data broadcasting. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2008/01/28/6340-sarft-issues-new-mobile-media-broadcasting-standard/ uk: Crackdown on sales of violent video games VIDEO games will get movie-style age ratings under a Government plan to tackle the growing fear that exposure to on-screen sex and violence is warping a generation of children. http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Crackdown-on-sales-of-violent.3715425.jp nz: Website falls foul of new electoral law A 21-year-old man has taken down his website after the Electoral Commission said it breached new electoral laws. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4377691a28.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally With CD sales in free fall and legal downloads yet to fill the gap, the music industry has reluctantly embraced the file-sharing technology that threatened to destroy it. Qtrax, a digital service announced today, promises a catalogue of more than 25 million songs that users can download to keep, free and with no limit on the number of tracks. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3261591.ece http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23119698-15306,00.html French plan email warnings for illegal downloads Legislation allowing the French government to send email warnings to anyone downloading music tracks without paying for them should be passed by the summer, a senior official said on Sunday. ... After two warnings, another breach would mean internet service providers would have to block a person’s web access. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/735ff0c2-ccf6-11dc-8df7-000077b07658.html All this online sharing has to stop The IFPI - the International Federation of Phonographic Industries - is the global music industry organisation whose very name tells you how long ago progress overtook it. On Thursday it published its digital music report for 2008, which says boldly that "the spread of unlicensed music on ISP networks is choking revenues to record companies and investment in artists, despite a healthy increase in digital sales in 2007, up approximately 40% on the previous year". (If you're wondering, those sales were $2.9bn (£1.45bn) for the year, including ringtones.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/25/music.filesharing Digital music sales up worldwide [AP] Record companies' revenue from digital music sales rose 40% to $2.9 billion over the past year, but the growth is still failing to cover losses from collapse of international CD sales, the music industry's global trade body said Thursday. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2008-01-24-digital-music_N.htm Web disconnection threat to downloaders Internet users who illegally share music could face having the plug pulled on their web connection after record labels yesterday called for new legislation to tackle digital piracy. New figures showed music sales continued to decline, down by about 10% in 2007 as strong growth in digital revenues failed to offset the continuing slump in CD sales and the effects of piracy. Global sales via the internet and mobile phones grew by 40% to an estimated $2.9bn (£1.48bn). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jan/25/media.internet Music industry takes a swipe at ISPs The music industry took a firm swipe at internet service providers (ISPs) today, accusing them of being in large part responsible for the dramatic loss in profits record labels have suffered as a result of illegal downloading. In a strongly worded statement, the IFPI - the music industry body - called for the EU to draw up legislation that would place obligations on ISPs to monitor the traffic across their networks, and to suspend the accounts of customers who broke the law. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3247758.ece Global music sales fell around 10 pct in 2007 [Reuters] Sales of music fell at a faster rate in 2007 than 2006 despite digital sales soaring, and the gatekeepers of the Web must act if the industry is to beat piracy, the international trade body said on Thursday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL2336020420080125 Illegal downloads outnumber bought music 20 to 1 [Reuters] Illegally downloaded tracks now outnumber legally bought music tracks by 20 to 1, the international trade body said today. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10488757 nz: ISPs try to turn torrent CallPlus has upped the ante in the cold war between Internet service providers and peer-to-peer file sharing services that threaten to slow down web surfing. The junior telco has invested in Cisco equipment that will let it "throttle" the bandwidth available for BitTorrent traffic, sources say. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4373936a28.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Overwhelming Response to eLA 2008 Call for Papers! To date, more than 380 proposals have been received for eLearning Africa 2008! The deadline for submitting proposals was Friday, December 7th, 2007 and although the Call for Papers is now officially closed, we still welcome submissions. Late submissions will be considered although preference is given to proposals received by the deadline. Please refer to the “Call for Papers” section for more details. The 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training will take place from May 28 to 30, 2008 in Accra, Ghana under the Patronage of the Ghanaian Minister for Education, Science and Sports, the Hon. Prof. Dominic K. Fobih. http://elearning-africa.com/ Microsoft exceeds profit expectations and issues bright forecast Microsoft reported quarterly sales and profit gains that surpassed Wall Street's expectations and delivered an optimistic outlook on Thursday, suggesting that a weakening economy would not slow it down. http://iht.com/articles/2008/01/25/technology/msft.php ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** nz: Incentives favour Telecom, say users Last-minute changes to staff incentives under Telecom's planned split could be to the detriment of opening up the industry to greater competition, industry and user groups say. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=93&objectid=10488911 InternetNZ recommends Minister not accept draft Undertakings [news release] InternetNZ has responded to Telecom’s amended operational separation plan, advising the Government that significant amendments will still be needed to meet the requirements of the Telecommunications Act and ensure long term benefits to end users. http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2008/opsep250107 au: Telstra sends Next G evangelists to the bush In an effort to persuade lingering CDMA users to switch to Next G, Telstra has enlisted the help of "coverage advocates" to spread the word across Australia. http://www.cnet.com.au/mobilephones/phones/0,239025953,339285391,00.htm http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Telstra-sends-Next-G-evangelists-to-the-bush/0,130061791,339285391,00.htm ********************** VoIP ********************** Patently Absurd - Verizon's VoIP patent lawsuit Fresh off its court victory versus Vonage Holdings Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. is now taking aim at the cable industry with a VOIP patent suit filed against MSO Cox Communications Inc. It appears Verizon hopes to use its IP (intellectual property) to thwart VOIP competition from cable operators. Not content with life as a 10-ton gorilla, Verizon is working to make itself over into a patent troll, too. http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=144045 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2008 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Make the switch to the world's best email. Get the new Yahoo!7 Mail now. www.yahoo7.com.au/worldsbestemail --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
