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 February 25 edition of the news include: Domain Name Disputes Involving Trademarks in Australia | What does the IDN wiki give us? by Tina Dam | se: Women Register 3 Times More Domains than Men for Blogs | .travel registry sold -- again | au: Property business sunk after domain dispute | Domain Pulse 2008: Internet Governance the Focus of Day One | Domain Pulse Day 2 Focuses on DNS Security And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Internet Law Expert Larry Lessig Is Considering Run for Congress http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120354879337281243.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Will VeriSign control the root? by Brenden Kuerbis http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/2/15/3525996.html '.Asia' web addresses fail to connect with firms http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3404073.ece Wikileaks domain name yanked in spat over leaked documents http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9874167-38.html Claimed ignorance of magazine foils Economist over domain name http://out-law.com/page-8877 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Internet Law Expert Larry Lessig Is Considering Run for Congress Larry Lessig, a Stanford University professor who studies the intersection of law and the Internet, has announced he is considering a run at an open congressional seat in the San Francisco Bay Area in a match-up that would pit him against a highly popular former state senator. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120354879337281243.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Lessig considers running for Congress Lawrence Lessig, the cyberlaw author and advocate for free software and online civil liberties, is considering a run for the U.S. Congress, he announced on his blog Wednesday. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/20/Lessig-considers-running-for-Congress_1.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Will VeriSign control the root? by Brenden Kuerbis Just who will be "it" and control the secure DNS root took another turn this week at ICANN-Delhi, when VeriSign unexpectedly announced it would implement a DNSSEC test bed for the root zone either later this year or the beginning of next year. In a discussion that covered root zone management process improvement and DNSSEC test bed implementation, VeriSign's Ken Silva acknowledged that the current process is somewhat of a "black box." The 20+ year telecommunications and security industry exec and former executive technical director at the NSA, cited their current role as publisher of the root zone and its need to be familiar with all the anticipated components that will go into future root zone database management as reason for the initiative. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/2/15/3525996.html ICANN Friday New Delhi by Susan Crawford Calling all interested civil society groups, universities, and academics - please be involved in ICANN working groups. There’s a worry - it’s a personal worry of mine, and I’m speaking only for myself - that ICANN isn’t getting enough input from these actors. The GNSO restructuring will include a broadening of the “stakeholder group” for noncommercial registrants as well as a focus on open working groups as the atomic unit for policymaking. This means that thoughtful, persuasive people from the noncommercial side (as well as the commercial side, of course) will have an opportunity to get involved in a single-issue working group without having to navigate all the complexities of ICANN’s structures and politics. http://scrawford.net/blog/icann-friday-2/1117/ ICANN: Contribute to the ALAC Review by Wendy Seltzer [Old Delhi infrastructure, a metaphor for ICANN?] Every three years, ICANN’s bylaws call for the review of its component parts. The GNSO review produced many good recommendations for restructuring of the GNSO Council and its Policy Development Process. The triennial wheel has turned to the At-Large Advisory Committee, and ICANN, through Westlake Consulting, is calling for input as they consider “whether the ALAC has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure; and, If so, whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness.” http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2008/02/14/icann-contribute-to-the-alac-review.html Investigation finds no evidence of front running A committee of the body responsible for the internet's addressing system has found no evidence of front running, a form of deceptive domain name acquisition. http://out-law.com/page-8881 Frontrunning A Ghost In The Machine The domain frontrunning issue isn't exactly an open-and-shut case. In fact, it's more like an X-Files case. ICANN can't find evidence the practice really exists, and the one entity who says he has proof won't provide that proof. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/02/20/frontrunning-a-ghost-in-the-machine ICANN grills domain-hogging Network Solutions Is Network Solutions attempting to reinvent reality? ICANN's looking into it. Last week, at its meeting in New Delhi, ICANN grilled the popular domain registrar about its recent efforts to protect/bilk loyal customers. Network Solutions is now self-registering domains its customers show interest in, and though it claims this is merely an effort to prevent "domain front running," ICANN used its New Delhi meeting to reveal that a recent investigation into domain front running turned up exactly "zero cases" of this nefarious net practice. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/19/ican_questions_network_solutions_over_front_running/ Network Solutions Defends Holding Domains Hostage If you recall, back in January Network Solutions found themselves under fire for purchasing and holding certain domains for five days after they're searched for at the company's website. http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Network-Solutions-Defends-Holding-Domains-Hostage-91951 ICANN proposes allowing domain names like ‘pdf’ Internet addresses ending in “.pdf” or “.mp3” could appear under a new proposal, while domain name suffixes consisting entirely of numbers would likely be rejected. http://www.timesleader.com/business/20080219_19_briefs_tech_biz_ART.html No evidence of ‘front running’ [sub req'd] An Internet committee investigating suspicious domain name transactions has found no evidence that insider information is being used to snatch desired Internet addresses to make money off the individual or business that actually wants to register them. http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20080220090956858 ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** '.Asia' web addresses fail to connect with firms The ".asia" internet domain being created to provide a new route to the world's largest internet community appears to have flopped, with only about 31,000 businesses registering for one of the new web properties. About ten times as many businesses had signed up to register a ".eu" internet address at the same point in its creation, in 2006. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3404073.ece Land rush begins on .asia domains The DotAsia Organisation has announced that .asia domain names are now open to all-comers having been restricted to applications from governments and organisations for several months. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=70546 http://www.crn.com.au/News/70532,land-rush-begins-on-asia-domains.aspx jm: Country domain names - part 2 This is the second of a two-part article. Last week, the author explored the problems which countries like Jamaica have in protecting their names as domain names: At the meeting of the WIPO General Assembly in September 2002, a majority of delegations recommended that the UDRP be amended to provide protection for country names in the Domain Name System. The Standing Committee on the Law of Trademark, Intellectual Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) continued discussion of these issues at its Ninth Session, and delegations supported the view that protection should be extended to the long and short names of countries, as provided by the United Nations Terminology Bulletin. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20080219T210000-0500_132712_OBS_COUNTRY_DOMAIN_NAMES___PART___.asp .TEL to open towards end of 2008 Details of the .TEL launch programme are still being finalised, but the new suffix is not expected to open before Q4 2008. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/169/tel-to-open-towards-end-of-2008.php UK domains at risk as .asia opens to public UK brands have been slower than their US and German counterparts to register for the new .asia domain name, which opens to the public tomorrow. http://www.netimperative.com/news/2008/february/18/uk-domains-at-risk-as-.asia-opens-to-public Regensburg is the new German domains capital The domain statistics implemented by German registry Denic show that on average, every eighth German citizen has a ".de" domain. A total of almost 10.2 million addresses had a registered entry with Denic in 2007. The number of new registrations across Germany increased by six percent compared to the year before. According to Denic, this puts Germany in third place in Europe behind the Netherlands and Denmark. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/103664 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Hackers able to reroute Net traffic They're called "servers that lie." Mendacious machines controlled by hackers that reroute Internet traffic from infected computers to fraudulent Web sites are increasingly being used to launch attacks, according to a research paper by researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Google Inc. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/19/BU97V1RI9.DTL Russian hosting network running a protection racket, researcher says The Russian Business Network, a notorious hacker and malware hosting network, runs a protection racket that extorts as much as $2,000 a month in fees for "protective Web services" from borderline sites, a researcher alleged today. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063418 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Wikileaks domain name yanked in spat over leaked documents A federal judge in California has pulled the plug on Wikileaks.org, a Web site that specializes in posting leaked documents often provided by whistleblowers. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White on Friday ordered that the domain name be disabled at the behest of a group of Swiss bankers who filed a lawsuit alleging that confidential information appeared on Wikileaks.org. http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9874167-38.html Julius Baer's court order springs a leak The US court order shutting down the website Wikileaks today appeared to backfire on the Swiss bank that sought the legal action, as bloggers and other fans of the site gave new life to leaked documents the bank was working to suppress. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/20/news.usa Whistleblowing website vows to defy court gag An international website that claims to blow the whistle on corporate and governmental fraud vowed yesterday to defy attempts by a US court to close it down. Wikileaks allows whistleblowers to anonymously post documents in an attempt to expose corruption and wrongdoing. Its owners said yesterday that a Californian judge had ordered that the site be taken offline last week, after an injunction from a Swiss bank. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/19/news.usa U.S. orders shutdown of Web site specializing in leaks In a move that legal experts said could present a major test of First Amendment rights in the Internet era, a U.S. federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the disabling of a Web site devoted to disclosing confidential information. http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/20/technology/wiki.php Whistleblowers' site taken offline The whistleblowers' favourite Wikileaks.org has been forced offline after a ruling by a court in California that ordered a permanent injunction against the site. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/02/whistleblowers_site_taken_offl.html Incredibly, Wikileaks is deleted from the internet via DNS Wikileaks has certainly annoyed some people with its determination to publish leaked documents from all over. And finally, it properly annoyed someone who had the money for lawyers. A US district court judge ordered Wikileaks.org deleted from the DNS (domain name server) by its Californian host Dynadot following a complaint from a Swiss and a Cayman Island bank. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/02/18/incredibly_wikileaks_is_deleted_from_the_internet_via_dns.html US judge arranges summary execution of Wikileaks.org The US arm of Wikileaks, a website that makes it easy for whistleblowers to leak documents, has been cut off after hosting evidence that claimed a bank located in the Cayman Islands engaged in money laundering and tax evasion. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/19/wikileaks_shut_down_in_us/ us: GOP nabs domain name of opposing candidate The state Republican party has hijacked the domain name of a 25-year-old Democratic congressional candidate, posting pictures of him drinking and smoking gleaned off the social networking site Facebook. The state party got the jump on Max Yashirin, registering www.maxyashirin.com last week, said Matt Miltenberger, executive director of the state Republican Party. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/feb/19/gop_nabs_domain_name_opposing_candidate/ Claimed ignorance of magazine foils Economist over domain name Financial magazine The Economist has failed in its attempt to gain control of the internet address theeconomist.com. The address was not transferred to it because the owner claimed that he had never heard of the magazine when he registered the name. http://out-law.com/page-8877 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/19/economist_wipo_ruling/ Registrant/ Respondent of OnePhone.com Wins WIPO Case Brought By Trademark Holder It's not often that a domain-name holder accused of cybersquatting actually prevails in a dispute with the party that filed the complaint. It's rarer still for that entity to then win a counterclaim of attempted reverse domain-name hijacking. http://tcattorney.typepad.com/anticybersquatting_consum/2008/02/registrant-resp.html ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** Can an IPv4 stock market stave off address depletion, IPv6? There are many uncertainties surrounding the depletion of the IPv4 address space and the move to IPv6. Currently, five Regional Internet Registries give out address space to anyone who can show a reasonable need for it and pays some administration costs. If nothing changes, that practice will end around 2012 when we run out of unused IPv4 addresses. One possible solution is creating an IP address space market, allowing people who need IPv4 addresses can buy them from those who have a surplus, so that IPv4 address space remains available for a few more years. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080218-can-an-ipv4-stock-market-stave-off-address-depletion-ipv6.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Melbourne IT upbeat on earnings Melbourne IT has pledged another year of sales and earnings growth as it pumps up capital investment and eyes potential acquisitions. However, the company has cautioned that revenue and profit increases in 2008 will not match sharp improvements that were recorded last year thanks to the purchase of Brisbane web hosting firm WebCentral. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23240142-15306,00.html Melbourne IT posts 118% profit lift Melbourne IT Ltd has doubled its net profit and says volatile markets have created plenty of acquisition opportunities. Melbourne IT posted a 118 per cent increase in net profit for the full year ended December 31 to $13.9 million, up from $6.4 million in 2006. http://news.theage.com.au/melbourne-it-posts-118-profit-lift/20080219-1t0s.html http://news.smh.com.au/melbourne-it-posts-118-profit-lift/20080219-1t0s.html Tucows Reveals Key Domain Name Portfolio Assets [news release] Tucows announced that as of February 14, 2008 the Company had over 150,000 Internet domain names in its private domain name portfolio, including the following: http://about.tucows.com/media/news/tucows-reveals-key-domain-name-portfolio-assets/ Introducing Tucows Personal Names Service [news release] As a company that powers the services of many large web hosting and ISPs, we are acutely aware of how competitive these areas can be. In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions I receive from our customers is, “how do I make my company stand out?” Historically, the answer has largely been price, service and marketing. While these factors will always be important, I’m extremely excited to introduce a new service that will give Tucows resellers another competitive edge. http://about.tucows.com/2008/02/19/introducing-tucows-personal-names-service/ Tucows at TRAFFIC Las Vegas 2008 The spring T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference is getting underway in Las Vegas today. Bill Sweetman, General Manager, Domains Portfolio for Tucows is taking in the show. As he did with DOMAINfest, Bill will be providing news and notes over the course of the four-day event. http://about.tucows.com/2008/02/18/tucows-at-traffic-las-vegas-2008/ Technology Pioneers Dr. Vinton G. Cerf and Dr. Martin E. Hellman Join VeriSign Scientific Advisory Board [news release] VeriSign announced that two of technology's most accomplished and recognized innovators have agreed to serve on its newly formed Scientific Advisory Board. http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_043335.html ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Lease to Own a Domain Name by Elliot J. Silver I was giving advice to someone today about buying a domain name that is currently generating significant parking revenue. The owner is using a min-site with Adsense to generate this revenue (we’ll say $5,000 annually for the sake of this post), and the potential buyer thinks he could earn much more if he develops it further. The owner’s asking price is steeper than the buyer is willing to spend (let’s say $100,000), but I think the buyer can get creative with his offer in an effort to strike a deal. http://www.elliotsblog.com/index.php/2008/02/19/lease-to-own-a-domain-name/ GreatDomains' Auction-Bid to Win! [news release] GreatDomains’ Premium Auction Event will begin on Thursday, February 21st, 2008. The auction is powered by Sedo and will run for seven days, ending on February 28th, 2008. This will be the second of the New Year following January’s auction. With over 200 bidders from 35 different countries, the January auction brought in impressive results. Expectations have been set even higher for this February auction as new and competitive domains like eggs.com, coworker.com and table.net are up for sale. So hurry in and bid! http://www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=1654&tracked=&partnerid=&language=e Fusu, the Domain Stock Exchange, Rings Opening Bell Today marks the official launch date for Fusu, the world’s first Domain Stock Exchange, premiering at T.R.A.F.F.I.C., the largest and most successful Domain event, with a list of premium generic Domain Names that combine a value of almost $1.5 million. http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2008022559/fusu-the-domain-stock-exchange-rings-opening-bell/ http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/19/fusu-the-domain-stock-exchange-rings-opening-bell/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Backpackers, bullies and internet myths Imagine the scene: a man stands on a pedestal while hundreds of people take it in turns to heap scorn on him. At first, they take issue with something he has written, but then, as the crowd works itself into a frenzy, they abuse him as the embodiment of some social evil. Perhaps you are imagining a scene from China's Cultural Revolution - a student accused of bourgeois tendencies, head bowed, harangued by classmates. Or perhaps, if you were reading the Guardian's travel site last week, you have a picture in your mind of Max Gogarty, a 19-year-old aspiring writer who posted a blog about his gap-year plans. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/rafael_behr/2008/02/backpackers_bullies_and_intern.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Piggybacking on Facebook CLIFFORD LERNER knew within minutes of its debut that his newest Facebook application, an online dating service called Are You Interested, was going to be a success. The server traffic showed that people on Facebook, the social networking site, were installing Are You Interested at a furious clip, Mr. Lerner said. Better still, they were telling their friends. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20date.html nz: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em online, says Cosgrove An educational website with features similar to Facebook and Bebo is being used by the Government to help make children active and eat healthy food. ... NetSafe operations manager Lee Chisholm said designers had worked hard to make the site safe, including allowing users to block friends and messages. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4407545a11.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Toshiba shares surge on expected HD-DVD exit Shares in Toshiba jumped 6 per cent in Tokyo on speculation that the Japanese electronics giant it is about to abandon its HD-DVD standard of next-generation DVDs. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3388376.ece 'Cancer link' to heavy mobile use Heavy mobile phone use may be linked to an increased risk of cancer of the salivary gland, a study suggests. ... Those who had used the phone against one side of the head for several hours a day were 50% more likely to have developed a salivary gland tumour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7250372.stm ********************** SPAM ********************** Can E-Mail Authentication Kill Spam? A study by the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) shows that more than half of all email is authenticated. However, the Alliance wants the industry to push for higher adoption. AOTA has issued a call to action to implement email authentication at the top level corporate domain within the next six months. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Can-E-Mail-Authentication-Kill-Spam-61732.html Japan brings down Godzilla of spam Japanese police have arrested a "prolific spammer" who allegedly bombarded inboxes with hundreds of millions of messages punting internet gambling and dating sites. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/19/japan_spam_godzilla_arrest/ ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** au: YouTube used as evidence South Australian police will be monitoring internet sites such as YouTube for videos of illegal acts. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/19/2166936.htm ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** 'Hacker' launches iTunes copying The release of software from a firm run by a notorious Norwegian hacker is likely to cause waves in the music and film download world. Jon Lech Johansen became the "enfant terrible" of the DRM industry when he released software which cracked the encryption codes on DVDs, aged just 15. His firm, DoubleTwist, has now released software allowing users to share digital media files across devices. It would allow songs bought on Apple's iTunes to be shared on other devices. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7253542.stm DVD code cracker goes legitimate Like Napster and others before him, "DVD Jon" has gone legitimate. But is it too late? Has the sun already set on digital rights? http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/20/technology/PTEND21.php ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Bill Gates says Internet censorship won't work [IDG] Efforts by countries like China to restrict the exchange of information on the Internet are ultimately doomed to failure, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told an audience of Stanford University students Tuesday. "I don't see any risk in the world at large that someone will restrict free content flow on the Internet," he said. "You cannot control the Internet." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063598 http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142640-c,techindustrytrends/article.html us: Judge Shuts Down Web Site Specializing in Leaks In a move that legal experts said could present a major test of First Amendment rights in the Internet era, a federal judge in San Francisco on Friday ordered the disabling of a Web site devoted to disclosing confidential information. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/us/20wiki.html Don’t Worry, WikiLeaks Yesterday a federal judge ordered WikiLeaks off the internet. Nice try. You see, on Friday the secrecy-shrouded leaked-document Web site posted documents and an accompanying article claiming numerous examples of financial hanky-panky and whistleblower harassment by a Cayman Islands bank with Swiss ties. The bank did not take this kindly, and asked a U.S. court to kill the site’s account at a San Mateo-based host. The judge—against both law and common sense—obliged. http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/dont_worry_wikileaks.php Whistle-blower site taken offline A controversial website that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously post government and corporate documents has been taken offline in the US. Wikileaks.org, as it is known, was cut off from the internet following a California court ruling, the site says. The case was brought by a Swiss bank after "several hundred" documents were posted about its offshore activities. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7250916.stm Court orders whistle-blower site offline in U.S. [IDG] A California district court has shut down a controversial Web site in the U.S. that allows whistle blowers to post corporate and government documents online anonymously. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063218 Privacy, civil rights advocates castigate Wikileaks ruling Privacy and civil rights advocates are expressing their dismay over a pair of decisions made by a California District Court judge last week to shut down Wikileaks.org, a controversial Web site that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously post corporate and government documents online. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063478 Row highlights Internet censorship in Finland [IDG] A case of Internet censorship in Finland has garnered a lot of attention and may alter the secretive way Web sites are blocked, according to a privacy organization. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063439 Finland censors anti-censorship site Finnish police are blocking more than 1,000 legal websites, including one belonging to a well-known internet activist, under a secretive system designed to prevent access to foreign sites that contain child pornography, according to a group that advocates for individual rights online. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/18/finnish_policy_censor_activist/ Finnish Internet censorship Recent developments in the Finnish Internet censorship system. The Finnish police censors much more than was originally intended. http://www.effi.org/blog/kai-2008-02-18.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ Study rejects Internet sex predator stereotype [Reuters] The typical online sexual predator is not someone posing as a teen to lure unsuspecting victims into face-to-face meetings that result in violent rapes, U.S. researchers said Monday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6231050.html uk: 'Happy slapping' teenager convicted Police warned yesterday that those who take part in the trend of filming violent attacks on their mobile phones will not escape the law, after the first conviction was secured against a teenager who recorded a so-called "happy slapping" incident. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/happy-slapping-teenager-convicted-782558.html au: CSIRO cracking down on cyber crime Making internet transactions safely has been one of the great challenges facing computer users. Now, CSIRO has developed a prototype portable device which will make the internet safer. The Trust Extension Device (TED) is software loaded onto a portable device, like a USB memory stick or a mobile phone. In this podcast, Dr John Zic from CSIRO’s ICT Centre explains how the TED minimises the risk associated with performing transactions in untrusted and unknown computing environments. http://www.csiro.au/multimedia/CyberCrime.html Oz admits $85m p0rn filtering FAIL The Australian government has admitted that the AUS$85m it spent trying to protect kiddies from internet porn was AUS$85m too many. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/20/australian_adult_content_filter_failure/ Australian Government Calls Porn Filters A Failure The Australian government is calling its $85 million plan to filter online pornography a failure. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/02/20/australian-government-calls-porn-filters-a-failure ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Of All the Hurdles to a Merger, View on Technology Is the Highest If Microsoft succeeds in its conquest of Yahoo, what then? Microsoft would face the task of integrating the culture of Yahoo into its own. Merging corporate cultures is generally a major undertaking in any acquisition. What would set this integration apart, though, is where the culture clash is likely to occur — in the two companies’ basic philosophies on technology. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/technology/18integrate.html Smeared on the internet? Then call in the cleaners YOURS for a few thousand pounds: a freshly laundered online reputation. Internet surfers suffering campaigns of written abuse and the dredging up of humiliating pictures from their past are being offered the opportunity to bury their embarrassment under reams of positive coverage. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3382175.ece Gates explains why Microsoft needs Yahoo ... Gates spoke to CNET News.com on Tuesday about how Microsoft needs Yahoo's engineering talent, how Windows 7 will make the keyboard and mouse less essential, though far from obsolete, and what journalism will look like in the future. http://www.news.com/2008-1014_3-6231341.html ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: Brisbane man charged with child-porno offences A 45-year-old Acacia Ridge man will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning after being charged by the Australian Federal Police with accessing child pornography and online grooming offences. http://www.scopical.com.au/articles/News/2830/Brisbane-man-charged-with-child-porno-offences- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (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 Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. www.yahoo7.com.au/y7mail --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
