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 May 29 edition of the news include: Icann makes a very British compromise over net policing | US Politicians Express Concerns on ICANN's Future | ICANN Calls for Expressions of Interest to Host 2009 Asia Pacific Meeting | ICANN Monthly Magazine - May Edition Published | ICANN warning against registrar impersonation phishing attacks | Bruce Tonkin Outlines .au Registration Policy Changes Effective June 1 | ENISA talks up European security plans | An unlimited source of Internet addresses to be on stream in Europe by 2010 | European Commission Urges Rapid Adoption of IPv6 | Action needed as IP addresses run out | TRAFFIC Down Under Announces Keynote Speakers And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Information Society on the move: ITU issues WSIS stocktaking report http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2008/NP04.html New gTLDs discussed at INTA meeting http://domainesinfo.fr/english/204/new-gtlds-discussed-at-inta-meeting.php "Worst Spam Offenders" Notified by ICANN http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-23may08.htm The strange case of the .ASIA auctions http://domainesinfo.fr/english/203/the-strange-case-of-the-asia-auctions.php ca: Internet registry moves to protect privacy http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080524.winternetcdn0524/BNStory/Technology/ .nl Domain Names Increase 23% in 2007 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/05/23/nl-domain-names-increase-23-in-2007/ uk: Increased phishing activity in .uk namespace [news release] http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5098 US Congress Alarmed At Cyber-Vulnerability Of Power Grid http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/22/cyberwar-breach-government-tech-security_cx_ag_0521cyber.html Africa: Mobile Internet Take-Up is Speeding the Take-Up of IPV6 http://allafrica.com/stories/200805260002.html ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Information Society on the move: ITU issues WSIS stocktaking report The WSIS Stocktaking 2008 Report, an effective tool for fostering development of the information society, was released today. This Report is an update on the activities undertaken by governments, business, civil society and other organizations aimed at the achievement of the objectives and targets of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) from end 2005 until mid 2008. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2008/NP04.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** New gTLDs discussed at INTA meeting The International Trademark Association's 130th meeting closed yesterday in Berlin. Domain names were once again a major topic, with ICANN invited to speak about new gTLDs and IDNs. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/204/new-gtlds-discussed-at-inta-meeting.php "Worst Spam Offenders" Notified by ICANN In order to clarify the system for dealing with incorrect ?Whois? domain name registration information, and deal with community concern, ICANN is releasing the following information regarding its compliance work. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-23may08.htm ICANN Recommendations Could Significantly Increase New Generic Top-Level Domain Names [reg req'd] There was a time when companies only concerned themselves with the ".coms" and ".nets" of the world as part of their trade-mark and domain name strategies. But now, with specialized generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) like ".travel" and ".pro," it may be time for companies to re-examine their domain name portfolios. Indeed, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) moving forward with the potentially dramatic expansion of gTLDs, this re-examination may become more pressing. http://mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=60918 ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** The strange case of the .ASIA auctions Both .ASIA auction operator Pool and registry DotAsia have had to go into major damage control after being accused of rigging the auction process. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/203/the-strange-case-of-the-asia-auctions.php DotAsia and IFACT-GC Partner to Promote Online Protection Against Movie Piracy on .Asia Domains [news release] Hong Kong ? the DotAsia Organisation (DotAsia) and the International Federation Against Copyright Theft ? Greater China (IFACT-GC) representing the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Hong Kong, are proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a cooperative mechanism for the online protection of movies. The signing took place today at the ISP Symposium 2008 being held at the Hotel Royal Macau on May 22 and 23. http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-2008-05-22_DotAsia_MOU_IFACT-GC_EN.pdf ca: Internet registry moves to protect privacy Sweeping changes to Canada's home on the World Wide Web will put the country on the vanguard of Internet privacy. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080524.winternetcdn0524/BNStory/Technology/ http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/canada/article/58167 http://www.am770chqr.com/News/National/Article.aspx?id=22732 http://www.canadaeast.com/article/305604 CZ.NIC Launching the Project h?ckyc?rky.cz [news release] Www.?radpr?ce.cz ? this is what the Czech domains might look like in future. Such names would be enabled by implementation of the IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) system, which would facilitate working Internet domains containing characters from national alphabets. In addition to greater freedom in selecting address names, IDN brings several arguable issues. The CZ.NIC association, administrator of the .CZ top-level Internet domain, is therefore launching the website www.h?ckyc?rky.cz to provide information about IDN and support the discussion among the Czech Internet users on whether IDN should be implemented in the Czech Internet or not. http://www.nic.cz/page/455/cz.nic-launching-the-project-hackycarky.cz-/ .DK burning The other night I was trying to access the website of the Danish Registry Operator DK-Hostmaster, but strangely the request was timing out all the time and the website appeared unaccessible. ?Weird!?, I thought, not exactly the type of behaviour one would expect from this type of institutional sites. Then yesterday morning I found an explanation to the strange events of the night before: Computerworld.dk was in fact reporting about a small fire that affected Interxion?s datacenter in the outskirts of Copenhagen, and which caused some downtime to the servers of a large number of big Danish companies hosted there. http://www.dedominibus.com/2008/05/24/dk-a-fuoco/?lan=english IEDR celebrates 100,000th .IE registration The IE Domain Registry, the managed registry for Ireland?s official internet address dot.ie today announced that the number of dot.ie domain name registrations in Ireland had passed the 100,000 mark. Internet community leaders, dot.ie resellers, business and consumer groups gathered in Dublin last night to celebrate this significant achievement for Ireland?s top level domain. This milestone figure indicates new levels of growth and e-commerce activity amongst Ireland?s growing online population. http://www.iedr.ie/NEWS/News-22May08.php Translation of "JP Domain Name Registry Report 2007" Posted JPRS posted English translation of "JP Domain Name Registry Report 2007." This is an annual report for 2007, briefing that year's activities performed by JPRS, in relation to its management and administration of .JP top-level domain. http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/080522.html .nl Domain Names Increase 23% in 2007 SIDN, .nl-registry, announced in their 2007 annual report there was an increase of more than 509,000 domain names in 2007, an increase of 23 per cent. The total number of .nl-domain names as of January 1, 2008 was 2,695,454. There were an average of 1,760 domain names registered each day and 340 domain names cancelled. http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/05/23/nl-domain-names-increase-23-in-2007/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/.nl-domain-names-increase-23-in-2007.html Increased phishing activity in .uk namespace [news release] Recently we have seen a marked increase in the number of .uk domain names being used for phishing purposes. One phishing syndicate seems to be particularly prolific and may attempt to register domains through you. If you are targeted you may be contacted by various security companies, the police or trading standards about the activity that is occurring on these domains. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5098 Special general meeting of .za DNA members. new All .za DNA members are invited to attend a special general meeting to approve the proposed amendments to the .za DNA Memorandum and Articles of Association. http://zadna.org.za/ ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** US Congress Alarmed At Cyber-Vulnerability Of Power Grid Last June, the Department of Homeland Security leaked a video documenting a disturbing experiment. Using only digital means, researchers hacked into a power plant's generator and caused it to cough and shake before shutting down in a cloud of black smoke. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/22/cyberwar-breach-government-tech-security_cx_ag_0521cyber.html Battling Botnets and Online Mobs: Estonia?s Defense Efforts during the Internet War by Gadi Evron What would happen if tomorrow the Internet ceased to function? To most critics, and particularly state officials and policy makers, the possibility that the Internet could one day suddenly disappear is no more than a mere speculation, a highly improbable concept. On May 2007, the events that took place in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, proved everyone wrong. On that day, Estonia fell victim to the first-ever, real Internet war. http://ciaonet.org/journals/gjia/v9i1/0000699.pdf DHS moves to strengthen domain name servers The Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate has awarded a contract to Secure64 Software to increase the security of the Internet?s Domain Name Servers (DNS). http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/46337-1.html Hacked? Don't blame China, blame Denmark Forget pointing the finger at China when government systems and defence contractors are compromised ? it's the dirty work of Danish hackers, says Finnish security researcher, Mikko Hypp?nen. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Hacked-Don-t-blame-China-blame-Denmark/0,130061744,339289179,00.htm Holiday spirit helped double Storm worm Storm kicked off its holiday spam-and-malware campaign on the day before Christmas, sending off a flurry of e-mail that invited victims to visit a Christmas-themed strip show on Web sites such as Merrychristmasdude.com. Victims who downloaded the strip show found their PCs attacked by malicious software. This site, and about 14 other Storm-related domains, was registered using a Russian domain name registrar called Nic.ru, where staff was largely unavailable during the holidays, according to Richard Cox, the chief information officer with the Spamhaus anti-spam effort. http://www.pcworld.ca/news/article/6962ed140a010408015d84e08719406a/pg0.htm us: Thieves troll for execs with new Tax Court phish scam Security researchers and the U.S. government today warned of on-going targeted phishing attacks disguised as overdue tax notices from federal courts. The attacks take aim at top-level executives, including one who works for security vendor McAfee Inc. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=cybercrime_and_hacking&articleId=9088938 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** in: Cybersquatters encash on big names Quick. What is the official website address of Amitabh Bachchan? You are wrong if you thought it is www. AmitabhBachchan.com. You are again wrong if you thought it is www. AmitabhBachchan.in or .net. All these domain names are booked by someone else. Most top stars are guilty as well. Salman Khan, Rajinikanth, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan don't own their own domain names. It's not just film stars who are dumb when it comes to online brand consciousness. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1414025 Damien Hirst in name rage Damien Hirst is currently involved in a dispute with another artist over his domain name. http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.19259 vn: Domain name blackmailer arrested Ho Chi Minh City police arrested a man Wednesday at a construction company office for domain name blackmailing, the police of District 1?s Ben Nghe Ward said Friday. http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=38789 ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** ph: CICT proposes incentives for early IPv6 adoption Hoping to encourage local telecommunications networks and Internet service providers to move to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) is proposing incentives to early adopters, an official said Thursday. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080523-138289/CICT-proposes-incentives-for-early-IPv6-adoption The Internet is running out of IP addresses: Shift to new IPv6 standard urged The present number of Internet addresses in the world is expected to run out soon; therefore there is a need for steps to tackle this issue by migrating to IPv6, the technical standard that will enable continued growth of Internet use in the future. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/may/26/yehey/techtimes/20080526tech1.html Africa: Mobile Internet Take-Up is Speeding the Take-Up of IPV6 A few years ago Africa's new Internet Numbers Registry, AfriNIC looked more of a dream and a prayer than a reality. But the take-up of IPv4 Internet addresses, which has almost reached 85% of those allocated, has shown that it can do its job and do it well. It's now experiencing a second wave of growth as mobile companies buy IPv6 addresses to keep up with the expansion of mobile data services. Russell Southwood spoke to AfriNIC's CEO Adiel Akplogan about what it all means. http://balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html http://allafrica.com/stories/200805260002.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** VeriSign Takes Aim at Open Source DNS At the heart of the Internet is DNS, the system that translates domain names into IP addresses. For the last two decades, the world of open source DNS has been dominated by a single technology -- BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain). http://www.opticallynetworked.com/news/article.php/3748486 Uprooting of the DNS Root By Danny McPherson The folks at Renesys pointed out earlier this week some interesting activity surrounding the L-root name server, highlighting some activity that should give us all yet another reason to be concerned about the security and integrity of the Internet DNS... considering that a great deal of malware today tends to corrupt the DNS resolution path in order to further exploit compromised end-systems, and that corruption, or any other actual end-system compromise, might well be unnecessary if the root were compromised -- well, think of the possibilities! http://www.circleid.com/posts/852211_uprooting_the_dns_root/ Fight to protect your reputation in tricky times As the effects of the credit crunch continue to bite, it's time to review and protect your business assets. And it is vital that you do not overlook your branding. A strong brand can make the difference between commercial success and failure, particularly for Westcountry businesses with all the geographical challenges and opportunities we face.Most successful brands comprise a variety of assets, including business name, products and services, intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyright, personnel and internet presence, including domain names. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=142326&command=displayContent&sourceNode=142321&contentPK=20695358&folderPk=79876&pNodeId=142331 RIPE 56: Meeting Report RIPE 56 began on Monday with 297 attendees checked in by the end of the day. We also welcomed 99 first-time attendees on the first day of the meeting. Highlights of Monday's Plenary sessions were Anja Feldmann's (I-Labs/TU-Berlin) presentation on a new system for managing P2P traffic in ISP networks that prompted lengthy discussion, and the various analyses produced by the RIPE NCC's Science Group and ROMA Tre University, using tools from the RIPE NCC Information Services suite. http://ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-56/report.html ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** GreatDomains' May Auction Starts Today! This month?s GreatDomains Auction has been creating some serious buzz. With premium names like America.com, Import.com and Cognac.com up for bid... http://www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=1744 Does Domain Name Registration Length Impact SEO? The question of domain name registration and its impact on SEO is not a new one. However, every so often, the question comes up. Would it be better to register your domain name for 5 years instead of renewing it for just another year? http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/017216.html Bellevue.com Books Top Spot on the Weekly Domain Sales Chart A nice geodomain, Bellevue.com, changed hands for $150,000 in a private transaction this week to take the #1 position on our new weekly Top 20 chart. Those of you in the Pacific Northwest know that Bellevue is a beautiful city of more than 100,000 located directly across Lake Washington from Seattle. This is the highest geodomain sale reported so far in 2008 and it also ranks among the 20 biggest biggest sales of the year. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2008/domainsales05-20-08.htm Moniker Domain Name Auction: GasPrices.com Sells for $225,000 The live domain name auction in Orlando has started. About 75 people are in the room, and many more are watching and bidding on the internet. The auction started with .com domains, and then moved into other extensions such as .net and .info. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/05/23/moniker-domain-name-gas-prices-sells-for-225000/ Overheard at TRAFFIC Here?s a quick summary of what?s gone on at TRAFFIC the past 24 hours. The mood at TRAFFIC is somewhat subdued right now, but that may be the massive hangover from last night?s TrafficZ party. A lot of beer was consumed and things didn?t settle down until four in the morning. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/05/22/overheard-at-traffic/ Live Blogging the Traffic Auction I'll be live blogging the Traffic Auction for the first few hours (at 5 pm EST I have to pick up my son from school). It will be interesting to see how the auction goes given all the concerns with the bad economy. If it goes badly, expect people to say that timing was bad, long weekend, late in the day, low attendance at Traffic, etc. But it will do the market a lot of good if this auction is successful - so I really hope that it is. http://www.domainbits.com/traffic-auction/ Targeted TRAFFIC East, May 2008 live auction results Once more we will be live blogging the auction results from the Moniker auction at Targeted TRAFFIC East 2008 in Florida today. Please note that these are not the official results and while we will do our best to avoid mistakes there may be errors in this list. $2,544,000 sold according to Monte. http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-auction/targeted-traffic-east-may-2008-live-auction-results/1598 TRAFFIC East 2008 Live Auction Results Moniker?s TRAFFIC East 2008 live auction took in just under $2,600,000 yesterday. I didn?t really expect a better outcome, although I had hoped for more, of course. But before drawing any conclusions let?s first look at the domains that were sold. http://www.dmueller.com/2008/05/24/domain-names-domains/traffic-east-2008-live-auction-results/ ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** The Internet and Consumer Choice: Online Americans use different search and purchase strategies for different goods The internet plays an important role in how people conduct research for purchases, but it is just one among a variety of sources people use and usually not the key factor in final purchasing decisions. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/248/report_display.asp ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Next-gen Internet will create bigger digital divide [AP] The lack of high-speed Internet access in some areas of the U.S. has been hotly debated, even as that digital divide has narrowed. But a new, wider gap is being created by technology that will make today's broadband feel as slow as a dial-up connection. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-05-22-next-generation-internet_N.htm http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10512046 http://news.smh.com.au/technology/access-to-nextgen-internet-may-be-uneven-20080523-2hdv.html http://news.theage.com.au/technology/access-to-nextgen-internet-may-be-uneven-20080523-2hdv.html Web users 'getting more selfish' Web users are getting more ruthless and selfish when they go online, reveals research. The annual report into web habits by usability guru Jakob Nielsen shows people are becoming much less patient when they go online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7417496.stm Online love is often blind, brief: study Matches made over the Internet often do not last because people end up choosing unsuitable partners and forming emotional bonds before meeting face-to-face, an Australian university researcher has found. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKEIC24283020080522 nz: Internet can save some '$721 a year' on fuel The price of petrol is driving people in rural areas to use the internet rather than their cars, says rural broadband provider Farmside. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4560917a28.html Browsers Are a Battleground Once Again The browser, that porthole onto the broad horizon of the Web, is about to get some fancy new window dressing. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/26/technology/26firefox.html 'Hyperconnected' users on the increase: survey Enterprises are facing an exploding "culture of connectivity", with global information workers using an increasing number of devices and applications, according to an IDC study. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/mgmt/40820667AD5633AFCC25745200095219 Internet key to Obama victories With Barack Obama moving close to victory in the Democratic presidential primary campaign, the internet has proved one of the key tools to his success. And it may well give the Democrats a big advantage during the Presidential race itself. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7412045.stm Txt msgng in Frnc: Parlez-vous SMS? A new threat to the French language The baccalaur?at exam season approaches, and with it ritual agonising over the standard of French spelling. These days, fingers are pointed not only at progressive teaching, the decline of the dict?e or the legacy of May 1968. The new culprit is text-messaging. http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11412629 in: Online gaming companies await demand boom Companies are struggling to grow India's nascent online games market by collecting content and building distribution channels, as they wait for higher broadband penetration for sizeable returns, company officials say. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBOM21779720080523 Computers and the environment: Buy our stuff, save the planet The internet could become as ungreen as aviation. A self-serving solution beckons: ... Data centres consumed 0.6% of the world's electricity in 2000, and 1% in 2005. Globally, they are already responsible for more carbon-dioxide emissions per year than Argentina or the Netherlands, according to a recent study by McKinsey, a consultancy, and the Uptime Institute, a think-tank. If today's trends hold, these emissions will have grown four-fold by 2020, reaching 670m tonnes. By some estimates, the carbon footprint of cloud computing will then be larger than that of aviation. http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11412495 Dial I for internet: Phone-book companies are heading for a long, slow decline When the drains are blocked, the air-conditioning has given up or your life depends on someone delivering a take-away, you pick up the phone book. In most countries the companies that produce them have big chunks of the advertising market and enjoy some of the fattest margins in the media business. But now, because of the internet, investors have taken fright. Shares in Yell, which owns phone books in Britain, America and Spain, fell by 26% on May 20th when it announced its results. That was partly due to concerns about slowing economic growth and the company's debt load, but also because of worries about its long-term future. The firm's shares have now fallen by 75% in the past 13 months. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413206 Craigslist tops US mobile browsing [IDG] Mobile Web surfers in the U.S. spend more time on classified-ad site Craigslist than on any other Web site, and they spent nearly twice as much time browsing as their British counterparts in March. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;2076266713 http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/052308-craigslist-tops-us-mobile.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,146214-c,businesscenter/article.html MIT researchers: morphing Web sites could bring riches Web sites that automatically customize themselves for each visitor so they come across as more appealing or simply less annoying can boost sales for online businesses by close to 20%, MIT research says. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/052208-mit-researchers-morphing-web-sites.html German post prints Hess stamps German neo-Nazis have used a personalised stamp service to send letters bearing the image of Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7412827.stm uk: ABCe: Web traffic standards to be reviewed The web measurement standards for the UK's national newspaper websites are to be reviewed after rival publishers questioned Telegraph.co.uk's dramatic recent traffic growth, adding 6.3 million unique users in two months. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/22/abcs.telegraphmediagroup ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Web worlds 'useful' for children Virtual worlds can be valuable places where children rehearse what they will do in real life, reveals research. They are also a "powerful and engaging" alternative to more passive pursuits such as watching TV, said the BBC-sponsored study. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7415442.stm uk: Schools ?must monitor gang tags, clothing and Facebook? School staff should trawl social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo to identify whether their pupils are gang members, according to advice in a government report. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article3987758.ece uk/it: Chat room youth and a good deed that went bad An Italian teenager swore never again to use internet chatrooms after being held in Britain for nearly a month when he tried to see a girl who had complained of being maltreated. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3987882.ece Popular blogger ignites uproar over Twitter harassment Some Web enthusiasts find microblogging service Twitter to be addictive because you can say absolutely anything you want--as long as it's 140 characters or less. So what happens when "saying anything" translates into harassment? http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9951197-36.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** 'Wireless Telephone' Now 100 Years Last week marks the 100th anniversary of what is thought to be the first ever patent for a wireless telephone device. http://allafrica.com/stories/200805220317.html World's mobile phone users top 3.3 billion [AFP] The number of mobile phone users worldwide soared to over 3.3 billion by the end of 2007, equivalent to a penetration rate of 49 per cent, the International Telecommunications Union said in a report this week. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/25/1211653822824.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/25/1211653822824.html ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Least developed countries need low-cost computers, expert tells UN meeting [news release] Mobile phones were not the solution to the problems of least developed countries, an information and communication technologies (ICT) expert said today at a United Nations meeting in Kuala Lumpur that brought together 150 participants from around the world. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26726 UN telecommunication official warns of widening Internet broadband divide [news release] With more than half of the world?s population now becoming mobile telephone subscribers the digital divide in such phones has been largely bridged, but there remains a widening risk of an Internet broadband divide, the head of the United Nations agency for telecommunication warned today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26712 UN's information technology alliance to focus on major concerns [news release] A leading United Nations body working to spread the benefits of information technology should concentrate on the areas that most concern people around the world, the chair of that body said today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26704 European Commission launches the 2008 European e-Inclusion Awards to help fight the digital divide [news release] The European Commission has just launched the first ever European e-Inclusion Awards. As part of the European Commission's e-Inclusion Initiative, the Awards will celebrate the best and most imaginative uses of Information and Communications Technology to reduce digital and social exclusion. http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=4116 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Yahoo! Successfully Disposes Of Trade Mark Infringement In Relation To Sponsored Links by Matthew Hall, SWaab Attorneys Are you a trade mark owner? Have you done a search on Google or Yahoo recently to see what results are returned when your trade mark is entered? Are there a number of sponsored sites, possibly competitors, whose results are returned? The use of trade marks as sponsored keywords by search engine operators has become a great concern to trade mark owners. To date the courts have sided with search engine operators. On 20 February 2008 the English High Court gave judgment in the favour of Yahoo! UK Ltd and its sister company Overture Services Ltd (Yahoo!), in relation to a claim brought by a Mr Wilson, for infringement of his Community Trade Mark by Yahoo! in relation to sponsored links. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=5039 http://domainpulse.com/2008/05/22/yahoo-successfully-disposes-of-trade-mark-infringement-in-relation-to-sponsored-links/ Web Site Puts Focus on the Fix in Sports Bets With Internet gambling predicted to surpass $20 billion in 2008, and with illegal wagering accounting for $150 billion in the United States, by some estimates, the temptation for those seeking to influence the outcome of games has never been greater. Now, a raft of gambling scandals in sports, from cricket to soccer and most recently tennis, has raised an uncomfortable question: Are the games we watch fixed? http://nytimes.com/2008/05/25/sports/othersports/25betfair.html Cops Describe International Phishing Gang Police in the U.S. and Romania have arrested 38 people accused of running one of the most sophisticated international phishing operations ever uncovered. http://techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=101572 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146290/cops_describe_international_phishing_gang.html Aussies lose millions to Nigerian scams Nigerian authorities are presently prosecuting nine "advance fee" fraudsters who conned unsuspecting Queenslanders, but millions of dollars continue to flow out to African scammers, Queensland Police warns. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23741774-15306,00.html QLD, Nigeria partner with industry to combat million dollar cybercrime Local victims of Nigerian online scams now have a new ally in the fight against fraud with a partnership between the Queensland Police Service, Nigeria's Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and industry. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;993738251 nz: $500,000 ... that's not right A Hamilton student has been drawn into an internet money-laundering scam by a mystery $500,000 deposit which has led to her bank freezing her account. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4558214a28.html German Parents Offer Baby on eBay [Reuters] German police are investigating a couple after their 8-month-old son appeared for sale on the auction Web site eBay. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/europe/25ebayby.html Real or Illusory ? Legal Rights in a Virtual World? [reg req'd] The question of whether video gamers acquire real-world legal rights for their in-game property has spilled over into the US Southern District Court of Florida. A longtime player of World of Warcraft commenced a class action lawsuit against Internet Gaming Entertainment, Ltd. (IGE), claiming IGE breached the World of Warcraft terms of use and End User License Agreement (EULA). He accuses IGE of "gold farming" ? it allegedly pays workers in developing counties to amass currency in the game, which it then sells to other users for real money. In January, IGE filed an answer to the suit, denying the allegations. The action has yet to be certified. http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=60750 Canadian police losing battle with cyber-criminals A survey by the Canadian Association of Police Boards (CAPB) has found that online crime is fast approaching the number one crime in the country. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2217481/survey-finds-cyber-crime ca: Report finds huge boom in online crime Canadians are more likely to be victims of crime on the Internet than they are on the streets, suggests a new survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Police Boards. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1e697c84-1a96-483b-866a-fe01fddff9ad ************************** PRIVACY ************************** US lawmaker questions Google over privacy practices The top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee asked Google chief executive Eric Schmidt on Wednesday to detail the search engine's privacy practices since it acquired rival DoubleClick. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN2142539620080521 us: Big Brother is watching: companies snoop e-mail to combat leaks Forrester Consulting has published the results of its annual Outbound E-mail survey, which is commissioned by the e-mail security company Proofpoint. The survey reveals widespread concern among businesses about the potential for unauthorized information disclosure via e-mail, instant messaging, and social networking services. The survey indicates that companies are turning to systematic snooping in order to reduce the risks. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080522-companies-fear-e-mail-and-blog-leaks.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** YouTube: 'In the right place at the right time' YouTube's co-founder and chief executive talks to Owen Gibson about the challenge of raising ad revenue, harnessing Google's power to improve the site - and why passion, not wealth, drives his ambition http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/26/digitalmedia.youtube ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Singaporean Blogger Arrested, Charged With Racism [IDG] A 24-year-old Chinese man was arrested in Singapore on May 20 and charged with posting racist comments on his blog, according to the Singapore Police Force. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146169/singaporean_blogger_arrested_charged_with_racism.html Singapore bans two porn websites in symbolic move Singapore has banned access to two pornographic websites in a "symbolic statement" of the country's societal values, its media regulator said on Friday. http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-33729420080523 us: Editorial: Joe Lieberman, Would-Be Censor The Internet is simply a means of communication, like the telephone, but that has not prevented attempts to demonize it ? the latest being the ludicrous claim that the Internet promotes terrorism. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/25/opinion/25sun1.html Thai Government steps up online censorship, creates toll-free number for Internet users to call to report websites that criticise monarchy Reporters Without Borders is alarmed about the comments made by Man Pattanotai, the Thai minister of information and communication technology (ICT), in a radio interview on 14 May. He said prosecuting websites because of their content would cause a ?big scandal? and that it was better to just ?suppress the news? by closing them down or blocking access. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=27082 Almost 20 websites blocked as Iranian online censorship grows Reporters Without Borders today criticised the Iranian government for falsely trying to improve the country?s image by shutting down at least 14 feminist websites, summoning their editors before courts and ordering Internet service providers (ISPs) to censor content. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=27122 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: Censors go online to clean up murky world of digital videos The hitherto lawless world of online entertainment has began to adopt the same ratings system that governs British cinemas. The British Board of Film Classification said yesterday that its online ratings scheme, BBFC Online, which features the familiar U, PG, 12A, 15 and 18 certificates, would give parents unprecedented information about what their children were watching via the internet. Online stores and services that sign up to the voluntary scheme will be required to rate downloaded and streamed films, video games and television programmes. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3981130.ece au: Schools program to promote cyber-smart behaviour [news release] The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has welcomed an Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) cyber-smart initiative to teach children how to be responsible cyber-citizens. http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2008/037 au: New information pack promotes safe internet use for children in public libraries [news release] The Australian Communications and Media Authority has released an information pack designed to assist library staff in promoting safe internet use in public libraries, particularly for children. The pack will be delivered to every public library in Australia. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311170 au: Labor's Cyber-Safety Budget 2008-2011 Although the Labor Government constantly refers to the problem of 'child pornography' in promoting its mandatory ISP blocking 'plan', there is minimal evidence to suggest that the Government is serious about doing anything effective about reducing child sexual exploitation/abuse and the use of the Internet to distribute such material. http://libertus.net/censor/ispfiltering-au-govplan.html#budget nz: Fruity link too juicy for kids A healthy food website promoted to children on hundreds of bags of pre-packed mandarins has turned out to be a link to hardcore pornography. ... Lee Chisholm, of Netsafe, said that extreme violence or sex- ually explicit material was often a couple of mouse clicks or a mis-spelt word away. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10512298 nz: Bully girls spark violence in schools Girls' violence is rising in schools as the effects of cyber-bullying and reality television turn them into "Barbie Bitches", experts say. http://stuff.co.nz/4558605a11.html us: Megan Meier's MySpace by Stephen Balkam ... So what can we learn from this awful story? One thing that is clear is that we all need to address our collective responsibility about our and our children's actions on the web. While we teach our kids not to give out their personal information or to engage in risky behavior, we parents have a mountain to climb to get a hold of our duties of care in this new online landscape. Not only must we immerse ourselves in the new technologies and feel comfortable using them, but parents have to take the time to get familiar with the social networking sites, chat rooms, IM tools and texting language which is the new lingua franca of the 21st Century. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-balkam/megan-meiers-myspace_b_103316.html Call for coalition to fight against child pornography A report by the international law firm Allen & Overy on behalf of Missing Children Europe creates a framework for a coalition of privacy authorities, financial institutions and internet services to fight against child pornography. http://saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/0508/missing_children_europe.htm ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** The Sad State of U.S. Broadband Although the Internet was started here, the U.S. can't seem to catch up with other developed nations when it comes to giving citizens access to high-speed connections. http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc20080522_340989.htm Does the U.S. need a new broadband policy? [IDG] Advocates for new policy say nation is falling behind others in key broadband statistics, while providers claim they're spending billions to expand and improve networks. Ken Hubbard worries that broadband speeds in the U.S. aren't adequate for the next wave of Web content. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/23/Does-US-need-new-broadband-policy_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,146271-c,businesscenter/article.html Broadband Policy: The Connected Nation Model [IDG] In recent debates over whether the U.S. should have a more comprehensive broadband policy, one group claims significant success: Connected Nation. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146270/broadband_policy_the_connected_nation_model.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/23/Broadband-policy-Connected-Nation-model_1.html Broadband: How the US Stacks up [IDG] Groups calling for a more robust broadband policy in the U.S. say the county has fallen behind in several key statistics. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146269/broadband_how_the_us_stacks_up.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/23/Broadband-How-US-stacks-up_1.html us: Gross and Inappropriate Expansion of Federal Power to Regulate Speech [news release] The Center for Democracy & Technology Tuesday, May 20, will hold a call-in media briefing to discuss the how the indictment by the U.S. Attorney?s office in Los Angeles of the St. Louis woman at the center of the MySpace suicide case, perverts the legitimate anti-hacker federal statute and cheapens a tragic situation. http://cdt.org/press/20080519press.php ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Cloud Computing: So You Don?t Have to Stand Still Cloud computing is the jargon of the moment in the technology industry. Google, I.B.M., Microsoft and Yahoo are just some of the big companies talking up the cloud, and a bunch of smaller ones are, too. What, you may be thinking, is cloud computing? Basically, it means obtaining computing resources ? processing, storage, messaging, databases and so on ? from someplace outside your own four walls, and paying only for what you use. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/25/technology/25proto.html Microsoft touts research projects in search, privacy Characterizing research as critical to the company's survival, Microsoft officials Thursday offered glimpses into multiple research efforts in areas such as privacy and search. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/23/Microsoft-touts-research-projects-in-search-privacy_1.html Microsoft Offers Rebates to Shoppers Using Its Search With its share of the Internet search market in steady decline and its pursuit of an alliance with Yahoo in doubt, Microsoft is taking a new approach to jump-starting its search engine: offering rebates to people who use it to find and buy some products. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/22/technology/22soft.html Google's Mobile Ambitions Google never intended to become a wireless carrier, even though it had heavy involvement in the Federal Communications Commission's recent wireless spectrum auction, said Larry Page, Google's co-founder, in a talk he gave on Thursday morning. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/22/larrypage-google-tech-wire-cx_ew_0522larry.html Microsoft-Yahoo, Version 2.0 Every day it looks more likely that Yahoo! co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo will lose control of the company they built into the Net's first iconic brand. Days after they appeared to have dodged an unsolicited $47.5 billion acquisition bid from Microsoft, raider Carl Icahn began buying millions of Yahoo shares, building up a 4.3% stake. http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086000351097.htm Yahoo Gets Ready for Proxy Fight The company nominated 9 of its 10 existing directors for re-election to its board, setting the stage for a showdown with dissident shareholders at its annual meeting, which has been postponed until late July. http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKN2253586220080523 http://nytimes.com/2008/05/23/technology/23yahoo.html http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/23/business/23yahoo.php Yahoo postpones board meeting, director resigns [IDG] Facing a battle for its board, Yahoo on Thursday pushed back its annual meeting until the end of July and announced the resignation of a board member. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/22/Yahoo-postpones-board-meeting-director-resigns_1.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/052208-yahoo-postpones-board-meeting-director.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,146211/article.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** uk: North Solihull community will ?plug? into free Internet over power lines An innovative project in North Solihull plans to bridge the ?digital divide? by delivering free or subsidized broadband to residents in council owned multi-storey housing blocks using a cutting edge ?leased-lines-in-the-sky? wireless technology. Internet connectivity will be distributed to individual flats via electric plug sockets. http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=15835 NZ Broadband plan 'underwhelming but pragmatic' The Government's $350 million five-year funding boost to speed up the roll out of faster broadband in yesterday's budget was underwhelming but pragmatic, an analyst says. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10512127 Broadband gets NZ Budget funding boost (+video) A $350 million five-year funding boost to speed the roll out of faster broadband is among a package of infrastructure measures announced in today's Budget. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10511885 nz: Clark Vows to Hit Back on Fibre PRIME MINISTER Helen Clark has signalled that Labour will counter the National Party's $1.5 billion fibre plan with its own policy initiative that will not favour Telecom. http://redorbit.com/news/business/1396915/clark_vows_to_hit_back_on_fibre/ nz: Funding to improve broadband access Government funds have been directed at improving broadband uptake, which will be welcome news to business and the general public alike. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1792373 Vodafone in mobile internet struggle Vodafone is likely to undertake more acquisitions to beef up its internet services for mobile phone customers, according to people familiar with the situation. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b32523b2-2a7a-11dd-b40b-000077b07658.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Is Mobile Internet Really Such a Good Thing? by Joi Ito Just about everyone I talk to is very excited about mobile Internet. In 2006, the Japanese government proudly announced that more people used the Internet through their mobile phones than through their computers. Online services are all talking about their ?mobile strategy? and VCs are flocking to fund the latest ?mobile startup?. http://www.circleid.com/posts/85238_questioning_mobile_internet/ Global Dreams for a Wireless Web ... Three years ago, aiming to create a global wireless network, [Martin Varsavsky] founded FON, a company based in Madrid that wants to unlock the potential power of the social Internet. FON?s gamble is that Internet users will share a portion of their wireless connection with strangers in exchange for access to wireless hotspots controlled by others. The swaps, in theory, would allow ?Foneros? to have ubiquitous, global wireless access while traveling for business or pleasure. But despite $55.2 million in backing from such corporate heavyweights as Google and BT, the former British Telecom, as well as newer enterprises like Skype and a handful of venture capital firms, FON and Mr. Varsavsky are still missing a crucial ingredient: scale. http://nytimes.com/2008/05/25/technology/25web.html Google's White-Space Fixation Google co-founder Larry Page made a rare trip to Washington this week. No, he wasn't lobbying for net neutrality or being grilled about Internet censorship in China. It was all about the white spaces?and Google's growing fixation with wireless communications. http://businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc20080522_623138.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (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 Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. www.yahoo7.com.au/mailReceived on Thu May 29 2008 - 02:01:55 UTC
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