Don't forget to check out www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news. And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** ICANN Tries To Alleviate Concerns About Independence And Its Future by Monika Ermert http://ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1253 .CITY - Top-Level Domains for Cities are local Identity on the Internet by Dirk Krischenowski http://autourdesnouveauxnomsdedomaines.blogspot.com/2008/09/city-top-level-domains-for-cities-are.html European Hosts Sought for October 2009 ICANN Meeting http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-03oct08-en.htm How Can ICANN Improve Institutional Confidence? by Margie Milam http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081003_icann_improve_institutional_confidence/ Domain Name Consolidation: Verisign Acquires .Name Guys http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/03/domain-name-consolidation-verisign-acquires-name-guys/ Hurricane Katrina Cybersquatting Leads to Jail http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=6122 Google Deal With Yahoo Draws More Opposition http://nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/media/06adco.html Google and Yahoo Delay Ad Deal for Antitrust Review http://nytimes.com/2008/10/04/technology/internet/04google.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Tries To Alleviate Concerns About Independence And Its Future by Monika Ermert In September 2009, the joint project agreement between ICANN and the United States government comes to a close. Now the organisation responsible for coordinating the internet domain name, internet protocol address and protocol number systems is seeking to alleviate concerns about accountability and capture by internal or external parties like governments. http://ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1253 ICANN's DNSSEC root signing proposal d.o.a.? by Brenden Kuerbis What is technical and what is political? Some of you may recall various members of the technical community scolding us about how implementation of DNSSEC at the root was a "purely technical issue" and that the world should ignore the governance questions and just "get on with it." This plea of urgency gained steam this summer during the Kaminsky attack episode, with some blaming the Department of Commerce as the "the show-stopper." What some technical experts failed to recognize was the underlying power struggle involving ICANN, the U.S. Commerce Department and VeriSign over the arcane business of how the root zone of the DNS might be signed, an important step in the implementation of DNSSEC. And more importantly, how the US Government is making sure this process unfolds in a way that keeps it in control of the root. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/10/3/3899192.html Domain registrars warned on oversight The nonprofit association that oversees Internet addresses says it will sanction two major domain registrars unless they fix flaws in their system for investigating shady Web sites. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/03/domain-registrars-warned-on-oversight/ http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/10/02/analysis_bringing_law_to_the_internet/72bb/ http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/10/02/Internet_body_cracking_down_on_shady_Web_sites/UPI-80591222986148/ ICANN Sends Breach Notices, Which Prompt Us To Share Tips On Choosing A Registrar ICANN is often criticized for not taking an aggressive approach in the implementation of their policy. However, this week we saw yet another step in the right direction as ICANN announced that Joker.com and DNS.com.cn were the recipients of breach notices and given 15 days to correct inaccuracies in their Whois records. http://www.namesmash.com/?p=146 .CITY - Top-Level Domains for Cities are local Identity on the Internet by Dirk Krischenowski The Internet has long become a fundamental channel of communications, domains are the main place to maintain a permanent identity in this channel. Companies and individuals, but also civil administration rely on domains that are easy to communicate, as intuitive as possible and semantically comprehensible. With the Internet massively spreading sensible new domains have also become a scarce resource within the current top-level domains (TLDs). http://autourdesnouveauxnomsdedomaines.blogspot.com/2008/09/city-top-level-domains-for-cities-are.html European Hosts Sought for October 2009 ICANN Meeting Are you interested in hosting an ICANN meeting in 12 months' time? Are you based in Europe? If so, ICANN's meetings team would like to hear from you. From 25-30 October 2009, ICANN has scheduled its 36th international public meeting to be held in Europe. In response to requests for advanced planning, the organization plans to routinely prepare meeting locations 12 months ahead. So if you are interested, please review our meeting Request for Proposals and submit an Expression of Interest. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-03oct08-en.htm ICANN Seeks Interest in IDN ccTLD Fast-Track Process The IDNC WG recommended that as part of the implementation plan of the IDN ccTLD "fast-track" process a request for information (RFI) is sent out to all territories to gain an understanding of the interest of individual territories to participate in the Fast Track process. Participation in the RFI is not be mandatory to be eligible for an IDN ccTLD under the Fast Track. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-02oct08-en.htm ICANN Slaps Joker.com and DNS.com.cn by Michele Neylon If you have rules and regulations but don't enforce them then there's little point in having any rules or regulations in the first place. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081001_icann_slaps_joker/ How Can ICANN Improve Institutional Confidence? by Margie Milam This week ICANN held a public consultation in Washington, D.C., where ICANN's President's Strategy Committee (PSC) solicited remarks from a packed audience of intellectual property (IP) lawyers, domain name registrars and other Internet stakeholders on how the organization can improve institutional confidence. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081003_icann_improve_institutional_confidence/ ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** The AFNIC is involved in the registry services for the Internet of the Future and begins a partnership with GS1 France Registry for .fr and .re Internet Top Level Domains, the AFNIC is a valuation and ressource centre in France for all the aspects linked to the DNS (Domain Name System). This know-how is based on a permanent contribution to the Internet standardization and coordination projects as well as an R&D activity that focuses on increasing its competences and extending its action to other fields such as the Internet of Things. http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/general/CP20081002_en "Interim Report on DNAME Technical Evaluation" Posted JPRS has published on its website "Interim Report on DNAME Technical Evaluation" which was performed by JPRS. http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/080929.html .ME NOW AVAILABLE FOR SINGLE-YEAR REGISTRATIONS As of today, the .ME Registry has reduced the minimum requirement for a .ME domain name registration to a single year. This means customers can secure the most-popular new domain extension ever with just a one-year commitment, instead of two. http://www.nic.me/index.php?page=12&news=104 Domain Name Consolidation: Verisign Acquires .Name Guys Even as the number and type of domain names continues to expand, the number of companies that control all these assets dwindles. The most recent news: Verisign has acquired the London-based, Carlyle-backed company that runs the .name top level domain. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/03/domain-name-consolidation-verisign-acquires-name-guys/ nl: Local IPv6 connectivity doubled for .nl domain names SIDN, the .nl registry, has today brought on line a new name server for the .nl zone. The new server, ns2.nic.nl, is hosted by BIT in Ede and makes direct use of BIT?s IPv6 connectivity. The move doubles the IPv6 connectivity of the .nl zone in the Netherlands. http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,5929,,,,Local_IPv6_connectivity_doubled_for_nl_domain_names.html .OM Registry Contract Awarded Qinetics, a registry solution provider in Malaysia, announced on Sunday that they have been awarded the contract to manage the .OM ccTLD for the country of Oman. The entire company press release can be read at the end of the post. http://www.domainnamenews.com/miscellaneous/om-registry-contract-awarded/2837 .SE releases reserved geographic domain names On December 16, .SE releases reserved geographic domain names. http://www.iis.se/about/press?id=164 .SE will not charge for DNSSEC from January 2009 Interest in DNSSEC has exploded all over the world since this summer?s discovery of the Kaminsky bug, a security gap in DNS. DNSSEC is now the best way to prevent the Kaminsky bug from being exploited Therefore, .SE will not charge for DNSSEC from January 1, 2009, after a Board's decision. http://iis.se/about/press?id=165 uk: Nominet Foundation Trustees appointed Nominet announces the appointment of the Board of Trustees for the Nominet Foundation, the charitable organisation that will fund research and development initiatives in the Internet industry. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5627 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Vendors fixing bug that could crash Internet systems [IDG] Internet infrastructure vendors are working on patches for a set of security flaws that could help hackers knock servers offline with very little effort. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100308-vendors-fixing-bug-that-could.html http://nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C400693880002574D600704C00.html VeriSign's plan to sign the root by Brenden Kuerbis VeriSign has publicly released its proposal to sign the root, which it sent to the NTIA on September 22. Their proposal comes on the heels of ICANN submitting their own (yet to be publicly released) proposal to the NTIA on September 2. VeriSign adds a much needed dimension to the root signing debate, introducing a well known threshold cryptographic technique. But the proposal's reliance on root server operators needs to be considered carefully. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/9/28/3903803.html Estonia posts its cybersecurity strategy Eighteen months after a denial-of-service attack, the Estonian Ministry of Defense has posted a detailed report on the attacks. While focusing on specific steps the nation needs to take to prevent another attack, the report contains global recommendations as well. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,62046785,00.htm Targeted Attacks, DNS Issues Hit Home in New CSI Report Enterprises are beginning to feel the heat from two emerging classes of exploits that have emerged over the past year: targeted attacks and DNS vulnerabilities, according to a new study scheduled to be released next week. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=165196 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Beware of Online Brand Scams and Frauds We all know that the Internet offers new ways to do old things. We can work more efficiently, conduct financial business, enjoy recreational reading, socialize and perform a host of other tasks -- all online -- much faster and more easily than ever before. Yet, the Internet has also provided an almost unguarded playground to allow thieves and other criminals to develop and unleash sophisticated scams and frauds on unsuspecting users. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424991791 Hurricane Katrina Cybersquatting Leads to Jail Two brothers who registered the domain name salvationarmyonline.org on 3 September 2005, less than a week after Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, were sentenced to jail for more than eight and nine years jail for fraudulently collecting money for Hurricane Katrina victims on behalf of the Salvation Army. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=6122 http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/hurricane-katrina-cybersquatting-and-fraud-leads-to-jail.html http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/10/05/hurricane-katrina-cybersquatting-and-fraud-leads-to-jail/ US Government Cracks Down On Online Disaster Scammers More than 900 people who aimed to defraud disaster victims and their would-be benefactors have been swept up in a storm of litigation. http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210605649 Bodyguard wants a half-million for tribe's domain names When Steve Thiele registered himself as the owner of miccosukeetribeofindians.com, he thought one day he might be able to mine electronic gold. http://www.miamiherald.com/business/technology/story/712287.html Man takes on tribe over domain names A Florida Indian tribe is considering a lawsuit against a former bodyguard who has staked claims to Web domain names. http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/10/05/Man_takes_on_tribe_over_domain_names/UPI-91781223180800/ Kentucky lays out case on online casino operators [AP] Lawyers provided sharply conflicting views Friday about whether a Kentucky law against gambling can be enforced in cyberspace. http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/544519.html http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1894277925/ Kentucky Summit Media Advisory - Domain Seizure Order Internet Commerce Association to Participate in Emergency Summit on the State of Kentucky?s Domain Seizure Order http://www.internetcommerce.org/Kentucky_Summit Rocklin man weaves a Web of revenge A Rocklin man who claimed dozens of Web site domains in the names of local politicians says he won't budge until they're ousted from office. Joseph Scharrer, owner of a research and development company, registered the domains through GoDaddy.com and is using elected officials' own names against them. http://www.sacbee.com/389/story/1288129.html ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** IP address shortages limit Internet access The Internet may not be so limitless after all. The information superhighway is quickly running out of one of its necessary resources, IP addresses. http://media.www.dailyvidette.com/media/storage/paper420/news/2008/10/02/News/Ip.Address.Shortages.Limit.Internet.Access-3464682.shtml Africa's IPv6 adoption isn't world beating Over the next 36 months or so talk about IPv6 is likely to hit a feverish pitch as IPv4 addresses are finally exhausted. As such, it makes sense to try and figure who is leading in the race towards IPv6 adoption and who is lagging behind. ICANN staffer Leo Vegoda has made an interesting case for Africa being a leader in IPv6. http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2008/10/africas-ipv6-adoption-isnt-wor.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Netcraft September 2008 Web Server Survey In the September 2008 survey we received responses from 181,277,835 sites. Of the 4.5 million sites that have been gained this month, more than three-quarters are using Apache. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2008/09/30/september_2008_web_server_survey.html ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Canadian Domainer Association Launches A new domainer association is launching at the Domain Convergence conference in Niagara Falls next week. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/10/02/canadian-domainer-association-launches/ Network Solutions Implements New Technology that Enhances its Pay Per Click Advertising Services [news release] As the demand for pay per click advertising continues to rise, Web solutions leader Network Solutions launches new keyword optimization technology that monitors and improves keyword selections around the clock and includes enhanced reporting and geo-targeting capabilities. http://about.networksolutions.com/site/network-solutions-implements-new-technology-that-enhances-its-pay-per-click-advertising-services/ Moniker Online T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York Auction results [news release] Moniker?s Extended Online Auction at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York concluded last night with sales of more than $900,000, bringing the total sales for Moniker?s live and online domain auctions to nearly $4 million. Moniker?s Live Domain Auctions held at the New York conference logged sales of approximately $3 million. http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/10/05/moniker-online-traffic-new-york-auction-results/ Rss.com Up For Auction on Sedo Rss.com is to be put up for auction this month on GreatDomains.com this month with a US$750,000 reserve. http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/rss.com-up-for-auction-on-sedo.html http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/10/06/rsscom-up-for-auction-on-sedo/ Extremely Rare 2 Letter Domain 'LT.com' Trades for $100,000 Just last month a rare gem of a domain traded for 6-figures at the TRAFFIC NYC 2008 live auction. After looking at the new sold results from the extended live auction and revisiting the results from the Sept. premium live auction, LT.com stood out. http://insidedomaining.blogspot.com/2008/10/extremely-rare-2-letter-domain-ltcom.html People Are Still Buying Domain Names Domain parking revenue is down. The world economy is on the brink. The Dow dropped another 350 points today. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/10/02/people-are-still-buying-domain-names/ Google Deal With Yahoo Draws More Opposition The Justice Department?s antitrust investigation of the advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo has revealed the growing resentment and fear of Google?s power among some of the biggest players in the advertising industry ? the very customers that Google needs to keep expanding its business. http://nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/media/06adco.html Google and Yahoo Delay Ad Deal for Antitrust Review Google and Yahoo said Friday that they had agreed to delay the start of their search advertising partnership to give the Justice Department more time to investigate its antitrust implications. The deal calls for Google to place ads alongside some search results on Yahoo. http://nytimes.com/2008/10/04/technology/internet/04google.html Google and Yahoo Ad Deal Delayed Google and Yahoo will delay implementation of their joint advertising deal to give antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department more time to review the agreement, the companies said yesterday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100303573.html Going Once, Going Twice, SOLD! Wednesday, September 25, marked a new chapter in our history with the live auction held at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2008 Conference in New York. Everyone here was extremely excited about the results and it showed in the success of the completely new Auction Bidding Interface. As many of you already know we had to address several issues to make this a more worthwhile experience and feel that we were truly successful with Wednesday?s auction. http://blog.domaintools.com/2008/09/going-once-going-twice-sold/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Cash test shows people lie more by email, researchers say It could pay to be sceptical next time you check your inbox, according to research which suggests that people are more likely to lie in an email than in other forms of communication. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/02/email People 'more likely to lie in emails' People are more likely to tell lies in emails than in handwritten communication, research suggests. In tests carried out at US universities, students were given $89 (?50) and told to split it with somebody they didn't know and who was unaware of the total amount of money. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3120835/People-more-likely-to-lie-in-emails.html E-Mails and Lies E-mail has become one of the dominant forms of workplace communication, but new research suggests it also may be the most deceptive. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/emails-and-lies/ Nokia Aims to Be No. 1 on the Mobile Web With its series of new Internet phones, the global leader in handset sales aims to outrace rivals http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_41/b4103067214737.htm Merchant Group Blasts EBay [IDG] A powerful and vocal group of large eBay merchants has blasted the e-commerce giant for changes it has implemented this year, saying they have done more harm than good. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151820/merchant_group_blasts_ebay.html The rise and rise of the YouTube generation, and how adults can help Blogs and online diaries should be part of school curriculum, says thinktank: When Alex Day started keeping a video diary on YouTube, he wasn't sure how it would turn out. The teenager, from Hornchurch in Essex, admits that he was just looking for some frank feedback on his funny stories and songs. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/06/youtube.youngpeople YouTube blogs and diaries should be on the national curriculum Online blogs and diaries should be on the school national curriculum, a think tank has said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/education/secondaryeducation/3142541/YouTube-blogs-and-diaries-should-be-on-the-national-curriculum.html Korea to launch crackdown web rumours [AFP] South Korean police plan a crackdown on people who spread malicious rumours on the internet, a practice they blame for last week's suicide of a local actress. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,24450991-5003402,00.html http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=520029 Sex-based web search in Australian states Victorians are lonely, South Australians are kinky and Queenslanders and people from NSW are just mad for it, according to a survey of sex-based web searches. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24443250-5006784,00.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Scientists aim to deliver e-paper in full computerised colour Scientists in Cambridge have launched a ?12m three-year project to create the next generation of e-paper, which may herald the arrival of fully interactive, all-colour computerised newspapers and magazines. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/02/computing Flexible screen could lead to foldable computers Researchers have demonstrated a flexible television screen which could result in people folding up their computer and putting it in their pocket. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/10/03/dlscreen103.xml 'Intelligent' computers put to the test': Programmers try to fool human interrogators ... No machine has yet passed the test devised by Turing, who helped to crack German military codes during the Second World War. But at 9am next Sunday, six computer programs - 'artificial conversational entities' - will answer questions posed by human volunteers at the University of Reading in a bid to become the first recognised 'thinking' machine. If any program succeeds, it is likely to be hailed as the most significant breakthrough in artificial intelligence since the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. It could also raise profound questions about whether a computer has the potential to be 'conscious' - and if humans should have the 'right' to switch it off. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/05/artificialintelligenceai ********************** SPAM ********************** CAN-SPAM: What went wrong? Failure of law to deter spammers shows limits of U.S. legislation in a world of global cybercrime: Five years ago, the U.S. tech industry, politicians and Internet users were wringing their hands over the escalating problem of spam. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100608-can-spam.html Palin Easily Wins 'Spam Debate,' As Does Obama If only determining the winner of a debate was this easy. In a study released by Secure Computing on Friday, the amount of spam citing Gov. Sarah Palin topped her opponent, Sen. Joe Biden, by a ratio of 5 to 4 during the month of September. But in a top-of-the-ticket comparison, spam using the name of Sen. Barack Obama easily topped the use of his opponent, Sen. John McCain, by 6 to 1. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331779,00.asp Report: Palin, Obama lead in election-related spam Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Sarah Palin are both winners when it comes to spam. The amount of spam that mentioned Obama beat out that of his rival, Sen. John McCain, by a ratio of 6 to 1 during the month of September, according to a study released by Secure Computing. Likewise, Palin outranked her opponent, Sen. Joe Biden, by a ration of 6 to 1. The results were published Friday in a PCMagazine report. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10058470-38.html ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Bridging Brazil's digital divide This week the BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme is in Brazil. Here the show investigates how the country's enthusiasm for technology is now reaching schoolchildren from all backgrounds. There are an estimated 45m PCs in Brazil, making it the world's fifth biggest market for computers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7647114.stm Digital Planet: Bridging Brazil's digital divide A special edition of Digital Planet from our BBC studio in S?o Paulo in Brazil with presenter Gareth Mitchell and studio expert Bill Thompson down the line in the UK. Despite Brazil's enthusiasm for technology, around two thirds of its population have yet to use the internet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/digital_planet.shtml ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** EBay shoppers using PayPal get better protection EBay shoppers are to receive full refunds for faulty or non-existent goods bought on the site after a long campaign against the payment service PayPal. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3132769/EBay-shoppers-using-PayPal-get-better-protection.html PayPal to refund shoppers defrauded on eBay PayPal, the payment service used by 20 million online shoppers in Britain, has given in to consumer demands to offer full refunds to buyers defrauded on eBay. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4878132.ece Cyber crime on the rise in Australia Buying goods or services on the internet has become common practice for many Australians, but some cyber consumers have become victims to rogue sellers who fail to deliver. How common is online fraud and what are Australian authorities doing about it? http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2380759.htm [transcript] rtsp://media1.abc.net.au/reallibrary/730report/200810/20081002-730-ebay_16_9_bband.rm [Real Player video] http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200810/r298915_1292445.asx [Windows Media Player] Researcher finds evidence of massive site compromise Several criminal gangs have acquired administrative log-in credentials for more than 200,000 Web sites -- including the one used by the U.S. Postal Service -- and have used the compromised domains to attack unsuspecting users' PCs with a notorious hacker exploit kit, a researcher said today. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116138 British spies take war on terror into cyberspace Britain's security agencies are fighting a covert war in cyberspace against extremist Islamist internet sites as part of a new anti-terrorist strategy, senior Whitehall officials have revealed. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/spies-take-war-on-terror-into-cyberspace-949706.html http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10535531 ************************** PRIVACY ************************** British government will spy on every call and e-mail Ministers are considering spending up to ?12 billion on a database to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of everyone in Britain. GCHQ, the government?s eavesdropping centre, has already been given up to ?1 billion to finance the first stage of the project. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4882600.ece Skype admits China privacy breach [Reuters] Skype, eBay Inc's web communications unit, has admitted that TOM-Skype, its China venture with TOM Online Inc, has been monitoring and storing some of its users' text messages without Skype's knowledge. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/03/2381259.htm China 'spying on Skype messages' Chinese officials are censoring messages sent through the internet service Skype, Canadian researchers say. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7649761.stm ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** Digital music ruling ends Apple's threat to shut down iTunes A panel of US judges has decided to freeze the amount of royalties paid to songwriters for tracks downloaded from the internet ? halting Apple's threat to close down its iTunes music store. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/02/digitalmusic.apple Nokia offers unlimited music for one-off fee of ?130 Ten years after internet piracy began to destroy the music business, the world?s major record companies will this month offer consumers the chance to download and keep any song ever recorded. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4869808.ece First review: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Touchscreen mobile phones are the big thing at the moment, mainly thanks to the iPhone. Now, at last, Nokia has joined the fray and its Tube smartphone - or Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - has the potential to eat into Apple?s market share. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4869252.ece Nokia challenges iPhone with touchscreen and unlimited music Nokia hit back in its fight against Apple and Google yesterday with its first touchscreen phone and news that its unlimited mobile music service will launch in Britain in two weeks' time. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/03/nokia.nokia Handset review: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Touchscreen phones are the flavour of the month at the moment, thanks to Apple's iPhone, and Nokia's first attempt at a touchscreen handset has plenty to recommend it. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/10/02/dlnokia302.xml First video review: BlackBerry Bold challenges the iPhone Sleeker looks and a better web browser make the new BlackBerry a viable alternative to Apple's world-beating handset http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4530787.ece ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** China's online vigilantes: Virtual carnivores - Struggling to protect privacy behind the great firewall Untold legions police the internet in China to block information deemed politically threatening. But the world?s biggest online population still has a wild streak. Worries are growing about internet vigilantes who mount ?renrou sousuo?, or ?human-flesh searches?, to ferret out perceived wrongdoers. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342705 The censor's dark materials: Censorship is a terrible thing. So thank goodness it never works, says Philip Pullman When I heard that my novel The Golden Compass (the name in the USA of Northern Lights) appeared in the top five of the American Library Association's list of 2007's most challenged books, my immediate and ignoble response was glee. Firstly, I had obviously annoyed a lot of censorious people, and secondly, any ban would provoke interested readers to move from the library, where they couldn't get hold of my novel, to the bookshops, where they could. That, after all, was exactly what happened when a group called the Catholic League decided to object to the film of The Golden Compass when it was released at the end of last year. The box office suffered, but the book sales went up ? a long way up, to my gratification. Because they never learn. The inevitable result of trying to ban something ? book, film, play, pop song, whatever ? is that far more people want to get hold of it than would ever have done if it were left alone. Why don't the censors realise this? http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/29/philip.pullman.amber.spyglass.golden.compass.banned YouTube censors comedian's anti-Sharia video called 'Welcome to Saudi Britain' A comedian has been censored by YouTube for making a film in which he condemned the existence of Sharia courts in Britain. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3130883/YouTube-censors-comedians-anti-Sharia-video-called-Welcome-to-Saudi-Britain.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ UCLA study suggests most kids suffer from cyber-bullying A new UCLA study of nearly 1,500 12-to-17-year-olds finds that 72 percent of respondents self-reported "at least one incident" of bullying online, which can take the form of name-calling or insults, "most typically" through instant messaging or social networking sites. Further, nearly all (90 percent) said that they didn't report these incidents of cyber-bullying to an adult, and half of them said that they just "need to learn to deal with it." http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/10/03/bullying/ Cyberbullying: new phenomenon or the playground gone online? As kids have started pursuing more of their social lives online, their parents have become increasingly concerned that they are taking their bad habits with them. But the anonymity and lack of direct consequences facilitated by the online world has raised concerns that cyberbullying may be a completely distinct phenomenon from its real-world counterpart. A study that was published in the September edition of the Journal of School Health, however, suggests these fears may be misplaced. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081003-cyberbullying-takes-the-playground-online.html Kids keep parents in the dark about cyberbullying Online bullying could be more pervasive than you think. Three out of four teens were bullied online over the last year, according to a study released this week by psychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles. And while that number may seem high at the outset, only 1 in 10 of those kids told their parents or another adult about it, the study showed. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10058444-93.html Bullying Common In Cyberspace A new study in the Journal of School Health reveals that cyberbullying is common among teens who are frequent internet users, with 72 percent of respondents reporting at least one incident during the past year. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124159.php Tools Help Families Combat Cyber Bullying With Alerts, Tips Firms like CyberPatrol and LookBothWays keep up with Internet trends to block Web sites, manage time spent online, block downloads, restrict chat, and prevent inappropriate language. http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/cybercrime/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210605120 ACMA blocks Australian pedophile sites Acting on a tip-off registered in Ireland, the ACMA and the police worked with the domain hosts to block the illegal content. http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;94316007 http://techworld.com.au/article/262577/acma_blocks_australian_pedophile_sites au: NSW home cyber bully attack THE NSW state government is planning a crackdown on cyber-bullying, prompted by research showing that up to one in seven children is being bullied, harassed or abused online in a new trend called "flaming". http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24452313-15306,00.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24450224-2,00.html au: NSW Government moves to combat cyber bullying [AAP] Victims of cyber bullying are being encouraged to share their experiences in a bid to help the NSW government formulate a plan to deal with the problem. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/06/1223145235874.html http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5061002/nsw-govt-moves-to-tackle-cyber-bullying/ au: New bid to stop cyber-bullies [ABC] A campaign has been launched to help stamp out cyber-bullying amongst Tasmanian school students. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/5061215/new-bid-to-stop-cyberbullies/ Symantec Tests a 'Net Watchdog for Kids [IDG] Symantec has developed a new online service to protect children from Internet dangers. Called Norton Family Safety, the service is now being tested with a select group of several thousand parents, and Symantec expects to make a beta version public in about two months, said Anton van Deth, a Symantec marketing director. "We'd been hearing quite a bit from our customers that there was a need to do something in the family safety area," he said. "We wanted to create something that was built by parents for parents." http://www.pcworld.com/article/151854/.html http://www.itworld.com/tech-amp-society/55641/symantec-tests-net-watchdog-kids ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** nz: Copyright backdown ruled out by Tizard The Government has scotched speculation it will back down on a controversial change to copyright law as a split emerged among its opponents. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4717723a28.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4717723a26498.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Microsoft Unveils Plan for 3 Labs in Europe Microsoft said Thursday that it would set up research centers in Britain, France and Germany to improve its Internet search technology, describing the move as a vote of confidence in the European economy and in the company?s ability to close the gap with Google. http://iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/business/msft.php http://nytimes.com/2008/10/03/technology/internet/03soft.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** nz: Market 'won't deliver' on broadband The unbundling of Telecom and other industry reforms pushed through by the Government will fail to deliver the investment in broadband that is required for New Zealand to keep pace with its peers, according to a report by consultancy Network Strategies that was commissioned by InternetNZ. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4717727a28.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4717727a26498.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Can T-Mobile Become the Heroic Mobile Carrier We Need? In embracing Google's open Android platform for cell phones, T-Mobile can reinvent itself as an ideal mobile carrier. Here's how to do it http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2008/id2008101_342142.htm U.S. mobile users unplugging landlines [IDG] More than one-quarter of mobile-phone users in the U.S. have effectively stopped using their fixed-line phones for voice calls, according to a survey by research company J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151861/us_mobile_users_unplugging_landlines.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100308-us-mobile-users-unplugging.html http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/5E6872F1A1C95239CC2574D9006EFEBF Mobile networks key to online games take-off The lack, or slow development, of mobile infrastructure in some countries in Asia may have an impact on the mobile online games market, a new study by IDC has found. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62046819,00.htm At WiMAX World, a technology in search of its niche WiMAX has always been something of an oddball technology in the mobile data world. While most mobile broadband standards are based on such cellular technologies as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and GSM, WiMAX stands out as a data-only standard that is being billed as a wireless alternative to cable and DSL. At this week's WiMAX World conference in Chicago, many speakers pointedly downplayed any competition between WiMAX and its cellular rivals in the mobile data market. Rather, they said WiMAX could act as a complement to such current 3G cellular data standards as Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100208-wimax-role.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151796/at_wimax_world_a_technology_in_search_of_its_niche.html Orange to rate environmental impact of mobile phones Network operator Orange will rate the environmental impact of the fixed-line and mobile phones it sells, it said Friday. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116183 WiMax's struggle with in-building wireless is a boon to MobileAccess Even as WiMax promises faster average network speeds than other wireless networks, one company is banking on making money off one of WiMax's downsides: difficulty in penetrating the walls of large buildings. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116178 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151849/wimaxs_woes_are_a_boon_to_mobileaccess.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100308-wimax-troubles-with-in-building-wireless.html What's the big deal about WiMax? Sprint Nextel has made headlines all week as it's started lighting up its first 4G wireless network using a technology called WiMax. But what exactly is WiMax? And how does it fit into the future of wireless? Here's a primer to help you sort it out. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10057282-94.html WiMax Boosters See Opportunity in the Air Looking at the state of broadband Internet access globally, the WiMax Forum believes it is sitting pretty. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151879/wimax_boosters_see_opportunity_in_the_air.html ASEAN may slash mobile roaming fees by half next year: report [AFP] Roaming fees for mobile phone users in Southeast Asia making calls outside their own country may be cut by half early next year, according to report Sunday citing a Malaysian minister. http://news.smh.com.au/technology/asean-may-slash-mobile-roaming-fees-by-half-next-year-report-20081005-4u9l.html http://news.theage.com.au/technology/asean-may-slash-mobile-roaming-fees-by-half-next-year-report-20081005-4u9l.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (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 Yahoo!7 Mail! http://au.yahoo.com/y7mailReceived on Mon Oct 06 2008 - 04:25:50 UTC
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