[DNS] domain name news - 5 March

From: David Goldstein <david> Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 11:18:58 +1100 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat Sep 09 2017 - 22:00:11 UTC

Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.

And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings.

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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Google's Schmidt: Don't Let the United Nations Rule the Internet
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcoursey/2012/03/02/googles-schmidt-dont-let-the-united-nations-rule-the-internet/

Our vaunted multistakeholder institutions spring into action by Milton Mueller
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2012/3/1/5008119.html

Public Comment: Proposal to Protect International Red Cross and International Olympic Committee Names at the Top Level in New gTLDs
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-02mar12-en.htm

auDA Board publishes response to Independent Review into the Governance of .au
http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-28022012/

Bodog.com case sends warning to all Canadian websites: Michael Geist
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1140589--bodog-com-case-sends-warning-to-all-canadian-websites

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GOVERNANCE
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Google's Schmidt: Don't Let the United Nations Rule the Internet
Google?s Eric Schmidt is warning against a United Nations proposal to give regulation of the Internet to International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcoursey/2012/03/02/googles-schmidt-dont-let-the-united-nations-rule-the-internet/

Our vaunted multistakeholder institutions spring into action by Milton Mueller
With the ICANN meeting in Costa Rica only a week away, it?s a good moment to conduct a survey of what?s happening in our multistakeholder Internet governance institutions ? you know, the ones that are there to preserve internet freedom and prevent a UN takeover. In truth, the IGF front looks rather lame - and so does ICANN. 
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2012/3/1/5008119.html

Internet Society Delivers Statement at the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council [news release]
Speaking this week at the Human Rights Council panel on the right to freedom of expression on the Internet, Markus Kummer, Internet Society Vice President for Public Policy, emphasized the importance of a multistakeholder dialogue to further this objective. In the Internet Society?s first statement in the Human Rights Council, Kummer emphasized that the same standards should be applied to both the online and offline worlds.
http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-delivers-statement-19th-session-human-rights-council

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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Public Comment: Proposal to Protect International Red Cross and International Olympic Committee Names at the Top Level in New gTLDs
Purpose (Brief): Public comment is being sought by the IOC/RC Drafting Team established by the GNSO Council on an expedited basis as a matter of urgency on a proposal developed in collaboration with the GAC and the IOC/RC Drafting Team to implement certain protections for Red Cross/Red Crescent and International Olympic Committee names at the top level commencing with the first round of New GTD applications.
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-02mar12-en.htm

Call for Videos: New gTLD Applicant Stories and Learnings Sought
As the steward of the global expansion of new gTLDs, ICANN maintains strict confidentiality about applicants and their applications. However, we know from interacting with our community that many applicants have fascinating stories ? along with key learnings that could help other applicants.
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-02mar12-en.htm

Threats Against DNS Root Servers
We have been receiving questions from various parties concerning the recent threat against the Internet?s root servers that is purported to have originated with the group Anonymous.
http://blog.icann.org/2012/03/threats-against-dns-root-servers/

ICANN and Registrar Negotiation Team Post Summary of RAA Negotiations
In advance of the Costa Rica meeting, ICANN and the Registrar Negotiation Team have prepared a summary of the negotiations on the Registrar Accreditation Agreement.
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-01mar12-en.htm

REMINDER NOTICE: 29 March is Last Day to Register as New gTLD Applicant
In one month, ICANN will close registration in its TLD Application System.
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-29feb12-en.htm

Icann urged to investigate NAF
A trade body representing domain investors has urged Icann to investigate UDRP practices at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), following two suspicious decisions
http://www.managingip.com/Article/2985929/Archive/Icann-urged-to-investigate-NAF.html

Dot-brand explosion will shell-shock lazy coders - ICANN
Millions of internet users face being locked out of popular websites unless software developers pay attention to the forthcoming explosion in new TLDs.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/01/dev_support_for_gtld/

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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auDA Board publishes response to Independent Review into the Governance of .au
... The Board has now published its response to each of the recommendations contained in WCL?s report, as agreed at the Board meeting on 20 February 2012. The response also includes an implementation plan for each recommendation.
http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-28022012/

... Neustar Announces A New Program, Promotional Offer, and Contest to Celebrate 10 Years of .BIZ Success
Neustar will be running a fully integrated program that includes paid media advertising, featuring a landing page with .biz success stories, inviting .biz website owners to ?tell their success story? and initiating a quarterly ?Best of .biz Award? through 2012.
http://neustarregistry.biz/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/February_Newsletter_2012.html

.com beholden to Maryland law
A recent domain seizure has shown that the US Government doesn't need the Stop Online Piracy Act to do something about websites that contravene its laws and principles.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/com-beholden-to-maryland-law-339332813.htm

cz: The First Final Version of the Knot DNS Server is Released
An exceptional day is a fine occasion to report an exceptional event. Today the CZ.NIC Association released the first final version of its own Knot DNS server, not quite four months after it was introduced at the November meeting of the RIPE organization in Vienna.
http://www.nic.cz/page/1023/the-first-final-version-of-the-knot-dns-server-is-released/

AFNIC publishes its reply to the public consultation by ARCEP
AFNIC has published its reply to the launch of the public consultation by ARCEP on "Monitoring the quality of Internet access service on fixed networks".
http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/5711/show/afnic-publishes-its-reply-to-the-public-consultation-by-arcep.html

Claranet Soho gains Afnic registrar accreditation
Hosting and managed network services provider Claranet France has received accreditation from French internet registry organisation Afnic for its Claranet Soho hosting service for SMEs and very small businesses.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/claranet-soho-gains-afnic-registrar-accreditation

India and APNIC reach agreement on National Internet registry at APNIC 33
Today saw the launch of a new National Internet Registry (NIR) for India, following the successful conclusion of talks between the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and the Government of India.
http://www.apnic.net/publications/news/2012/nir-india

pt: Sunrise Period
>From March 1 to April 30, all individuals and collective entities wishing to register a constituted right that they own, may do so. These are the accepted rules and examples:
https://www.dns.pt/periodo-de-sunrise

Andrei Kolesnikov appointed CEO of Coordination Center for TLD RU
During the Coordination Center's council meeting, Andrei Kolesnikov was appointed CEO of Coordination Center for TLD RU for the second time. In compliance with Coordination Center rules, the CEO of the noncommercial organization is to be appointed every three years.
http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=3473

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 - NEW TLDS
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Perpetuating New gTLD Misinformation by Elisa Cooper
With so much misinformation about the new gTLD program still being circulated, some companies are being pressured to apply by so-called New gTLD consultants. At first, some of these consultants were speculating about whether there would even be a second application round, even though ICANN had clearly stated that the intention was to begin the second round ?as quickly as possible.?
https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/perpetuating-new-gtld-misinformation/

European Regulators Say 'Non!' to New Domain Names
Possible new web address endings for banks are still in the works, but the hypothetical web handles are already capturing negative attention from a European group that claims they are unsafe and a magnet for web crime and potentially onerous legal costs.
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_43/eba-questions-new-domain-security-1047167-1.html

China cracks down on new gTLD applicants
Chinese companies planning to apply to ICANN for a new gTLD will have to get a permit from the government, it has been announced.
http://domainincite.com/china-cracks-down-on-new-gtld-applicants/

Nominet To Apply For .Wales and .Cymru
In the run up to the launch of new TLDs there were a lot of rumours about which organisations would apply for which strings. Detractors might pick holes in the entire project, but it?s very hard to argue against the merits of new TLDs specifically in the context of cultural linguistic communities that fall outside the realm of ccTLDs.
http://www.internetnews.me/2012/03/03/nominet-to-apply-for-wales-and-cymru/

The Directi Group launches Radix and appoints ARI Registry Services for new Top-Level Domain project
In an announcement set to shake up the domain name industry, ARI Registry Services has announced it has been appointed as the exclusive registry services provider for Radix, a new entity within the Directi Group, that will be focussed on obtaining and running new generic TLDs. The Directi Group runs multiple successful businesses in the web services space including ResellerClub, LogicBoxes, BigRock and WebHosting.info.
http://www.ariservices.com/news-directi_group_launches_radix.php

Directi emerges as new gTLD applicant
The India-based domain name registrar Directi plans to apply for a bunch of new gTLDs, using ARI Registry Services as its back-end registry provider.
http://domainincite.com/directi-emerges-as-new-gtld-applicant/

M+M in bizarre Bengaluru gTLD bid
Minds + Machines is to apply to ICANN for .bangaluru, a TLD for the Indian city of Bengaluru.
http://domainincite.com/mm-in-bizarre-bengaluru-gtld-bid/

The Future of Domain Names: 100,000 Top-Level Domains
ICANN has just reported that there are now 144 registered applicants each allowed to file up to 50 separate dot-brand name applications. Would this add up to just 144, or 144 times 50 ? 7200 gTLDs? If in this round there were only few successes with brilliant strategies, the global demand will multiply many folds to fill each vertical market. With 5 million well-to-do businesses around the world seeking higher visibility, many will easily jump on the bandwagon, as these few successes open the floodgate. Currently, there are some very smart people, with smart monies, playing some very smart games. The real curtain will rise on May 1, 2012, when the list of applied names will be announced.
http://www.adotas.com/2012/03/the-future-of-domain-names-100000-top-level-domains/

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Hackers attack Russian largest domain name registrar
Hackers have attacked DNS-servers of Russian domain name registrar RU-CENTER, said Andrei Vorobiev, RU-CENTER Public Relations Director.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/97038/

Anonymous Knocks Interpol Offline With DDoS
Anonymous launched a sustained distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that knocked Interpol's public-facing website offline for several hours Tuesday.
http://www.darkreading.com/security/attacks-breaches/232601845/anonymous-knocks-interpol-offline-with-ddos.html

SECURE IT Act: Senate Republicans Introduce Softer Cybersecurity Bill
Eight top Republicans introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday aimed at stopping an overarching, bipartisan measure proposed earlier this month in order to better protect critical infrastructure.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/01/cybersecurity-usa-congress-idINDEE8200MY20120301
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/secure-it-act_n_1314213.html

Supporters Of Competing Cybersecurity Bills Prepare For Debate
Sponsors of the 2012 Cybersecurity Act are trying to round up support for their bill as several Republican committee leaders plan to introduce competing cybersecurity proposals.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/03/supporters-of-competing-cybers.php

No government takeover of Internet in GOP cybersecurity bill, McCain says
Assuring potential critics that the government doesn't need to take over the Internet in order to protect it, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joined a bevy of other Republican committee leaders on Thursday to introduce cybersecurity legislation.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120301_3927.php

us: Defense Department Wants More Control over the Internet
The U.S. Department of Defense may have funded the research that led to the Internet, but freewheeling innovation created the patchwork of privately owned technology that makes up the Internet today. Now the U.S. government is trying to wrest back some control, as it adjusts to an era when cyberattacks on U.S. corporations and government agencies are common.
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39816/

FBI: Cyberattacks could shove aside terrorism as No. 1 threat to US
The leaders of the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation this week separately expressed concern over the increasing numbers of cyberattacks, with FBI Director Robert Mueller saying that while terrorism remains the FBI's top priority, "in the not too distant future, we anticipate that the cyberthreat will pose the No. 1 threat to our country."
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/030212-fbi-cyberattacks-256890.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/251198/fbi_cyberattacks_may_soon_be_no_1_threat_to_us.html
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/417335/fbi_cyberattacks_could_shove_aside_terrorism_no_1_threat_us/

Hackers Winning Security War, Said Executives At RSA Conference
Technology security professionals seeking wisdom from industry leaders in San Francisco this week saw more of the dark side than they had expected: a procession of CEO speakers whose companies have been hacked.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/rsa-hacking-idINDEE8210H820120302
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/hackers-winning-security-war_n_1317150.html

Could Anonymous really shut down the internet?
In a statement posted online last month, hacker collective Anonymous announced plans to shut down the internet. Yes, you read that right. Operation Global Blackout, planned for March 31, is apparently a protest against ?SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act], Wallstreet (sic), our irresponsible leaders and the beloved bankers who are starving the world for their own selfish needs?. So how serious are these threats?
https://theconversation.edu.au/could-anonymous-really-shut-down-the-internet-5573

Cyberterrorism threat shouldn't be underestimated, some security experts say [IDG]
Concern about cyberterrorism was evident this week among security experts at the RSA security conference in San Francisco, who find that some people with extremist views have the technical knowledge that could be used to hack into systems.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/417307/cyberterrorism_threat_shouldn_t_underestimated_some_security_experts_say/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/030212-cyberterrorism-threat-shouldn39t-be-underestimated-256883.html

Anonymous web weapon backfires with hidden banking Trojan
Anonymous supporters queuing up to participate in denial-of-service attacks are being tricked into installing ZeuS botnet clients.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/02/trojan_attack_tool_targets_hacktivists/

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Don't bet on "Linsanity": US seizes online gambling domain over sports wagers
As the result of a long-running investigation that dates back to at least 2006, the US Attorney?s Office for the District of Maryland unsealed on February 27 a two-count indictment against Bodog Entertainment Group and four Canadian individuals for allegedly (1) conducting an online sports betting business in violation of the Illegal Gambling Business Act and (2) engaging in a money laundering conspiracy since 2005.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/03/dont-bet-on-linsanity-us-seizes-online-gambling-domain-over-sports-wagers.ars

Bodog.com case sends warning to all Canadian websites: Michael Geist
Imagine a scenario in which a country enacts a law that bans the sale of asbestos and includes the power to seize the assets of any company selling the product anywhere in the world. The country tests the law by obtaining a court order to seize key assets of a Canadian company, whose operations with hundreds of employees takes a major hit. The Canadian government is outraged, promising to support the company in its efforts to restore its operations.
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1140589--bodog-com-case-sends-warning-to-all-canadian-websites

Online Gambling Domains May Soon Change After Bodog Indictment
This week, the US Department of Justice finally indicted one of the biggest executives in the history of online gambling. Calvin Ayre had flaunted for years the idea that he was skirting US laws on his way to becoming a billionaire through his Bodog network of online gambling sites. The sports betting site is one of the most popular in the world for gamblers.
http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gambling-news/online-casino/online_gambling_domains_may_soon_change_after_bodog_indictment_57711.html

US shuts down Canadian gambling site with Verisign's help
The Department of Homeland Security has seized a domain name registered outside of the US, by individuals who are not American citizens, and who registered with a Canadian registrar.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/01/bodog_shut_via_verisign/

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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NCC Group and CoCCA Launch Program to Extend Assurance Services to ccTLD registries
NCC Group, the world?s largest IT assurance and software/data escrow company, and the Council of Country Code Administrators Incorporated (CoCCA), a not-for-profit society of ccTLD managers, today announce a program to provide both registry data escrow and software escrow protection to CoCCA members and users of the CoCCA registry system.
http://cocca.org.nz/index.php/cocca-news/data-source-ncc.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/?p=7847
http://www.domainnews.com/en/ncc-group-and-cocca-launch-program-to-extend-assurance-services-to-cctld-registries.html

ICANN staffer linked to hacked intelligence firm
Former ICANN director Veni Markovski, who currently heads Eastern European relations at the organization, has been fingered by Wikileaks as a Stratfor source.
http://domainincite.com/icann-staffer-linked-to-hacked-intelligence-firm/

We're taking on the Big Three: ARI's CEO talks gTLDs [subscription]
Adrian Kinderis, CEO of Melbourne-based ARI Registry Services, says he expects his company to file more than 100 applications for TLDs by the time the ICANN application window closes in April.
http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/01/03/kinderis-talk-gtlds

Overstock Tells Investors O.CO Was A ?Bad Call?
... What?s clear is that O.co didn?t work for them. However that does not mean that it will not work for you. A survey of one is close to meaningless. Large brands should be taking away some lessons learned from the Overstock experience including:
http://www.simonjohnson.co/dotanything/overstock-tells-investors-co-was-a-bad-call/

O.co loses 61% of its traffic to O.com
Overstock.com?s decision to rebrand itself O.co had a disastrous effect on the internet retailer?s traffic, according to its CEO.
http://domainincite.com/o-co-loses-61-of-its-traffic-to-o-com/

.COM, .CO, .INFO, O.My!
In the latest on the march to rebrand Overstock.com as O.co, the company this week launched O.info, which it is billing as a portal for customer reviews of Overstock.com's?excuse me?O.co's products and services, as well as information about company policies.
http://www.domainnamestrategy.com/2012/03/02/com-co-info-omy

Neustar Announces Partnership with the National Small Business Association
Neustar, Inc., a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to Internet, telecommunications, entertainment, advertising and marketing industries, announced a partnership today with the National Small Business Association (NSBA), the nation?s first small-business advocacy group.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/neustar-announces-partnership-with-the-national-small-business-association-2012-02-23

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 - WEBHOSTING
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Google offers California small businesses free websites
Hey, small businesses of California, Google wants to help you build a website. On Thursday the company launched a program called "California Get Your Business Online" that offers small businesses in the Golden State the opportunity to get a free customizable website, as well as access to in-person training on how to build a successful online business. Google will spring for the domain name and provide free Web hosting for the first year, then businesses will pay $2 monthly for the domain name and $4.99 monthly for Web hosting.
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-google-california-small-business-training-20120301,0,4758223.story

Most Reliable Hosting Company Sites in January 2012
Top of the table this month is Swishmail, which offers a variety of managed web hosting plans in addition to their core service of enterprise-grade email hosting.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2012/02/07/most-reliable-hosting-company-sites-in-january-2012-2.html

Most Popular Web Hosting Companies ? February 2012
Every month, at the Web Host Directory, we compile a list of the Top 25 Most Popular Web Hosting Companies based on the amount of unique visitors each profile receives.
http://uk.webhostdir.com/news/ShowItem.aspx?ID=91163

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Entrepreneur is a master of his domains
For Rick Singer, a serial Web entrepreneur, the seed to a business concept begins with a good online domain name. In 2007, he purchased ?RaiseCapital.com? and turned it into a site that pairs business startups and investors.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120302/SMALLBIZ/120309982

Co-CEO shakeup at Oversee.net: Domeyer is CEO, Morrow out
That didn?t last long. Oversee.net?s co-CEO arrangement with Debra Domeyer and Scott Morrow is over. Domeyer has been promoted to (sole) CEO and Morrow is leaving the company.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/03/02/co-ceo-shakeup-at-oversee-net-domeyer-is-ceo-morrow-out/

Oversee.net Makes Another Change at the Top - One Co-CEO is Elevated While the Other Exits 
Just before the 2012 DOMAINfest Global conference got underway in late January, the show organizers, Oversee.net, announced that Debra Domeyer and Scott Morrow, who had been serving as the company's Co-Presidents since June 2011, had been appointed Co-CEOs, filling a role that had been held by Jeff Kupietzky before he left the company. Today Oversee announced that Morrow has decided to leave the company to pursue other interests and that Ms. Domeyer has been promoted to sole CEO.
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2012/dailyposts/20120302.htm 

Market's Mid-Range Flexes Its Muscles This Week With Over Three Dozen Solid Five-Figure Sales
While no six-figure domain sales were publicly reported this past week there was plenty of strength in the market's mid-range with 39 five-figure sales ranging from $10,000 to $59,000 entering the books.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2012/20120229.htm

.PRO continues to soar with premium auction results
RegistryPro?s recent premium auction of one-, two-, and three-character domain names is the most successful .PRO auction to date.
http://registry.pro/press-releases/2012/0214.shtml

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INTERNET USE
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New Study In Germany Finds Fears Of The Internet Are Much Higher Than Expected
The divide between ?digital natives? and ?digital immigrants? is vast, and a new study of Internet use in the land of Gutenberg finds that twice the number previously believed barely go online at all.
http://worldcrunch.com/new-study-germany-finds-fears-internet-are-much-higher-expected/4780

For Impatient Web Users, an Eye Blink Is Just Too Long to Wait
... Remember when you were willing to wait a few seconds for a computer to respond to a click on a Web site or a tap on a keyboard? These days, even 400 milliseconds ? literally the blink of an eye ? is too long, as Google engineers have discovered. That barely perceptible delay causes people to search less.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/technology/impatient-web-users-flee-slow-loading-sites.html

Why the Web Hasn?t Hurt TV
Every ambitious Internet company wants some of the billions consumers and advertisers spend on TV. It?s an article of faith among the digerati that dollars will follow eyeballs, which means big money for everyone from Facebook to Google to Apple.
http://allthingsd.com/20120303/why-the-web-hasnt-hurt-tv/

Canada tops globe in Internet usage
... Whatever the reason, Canadians are spending more time online than any other country, including highly wired societies such as China, South Korea and the United States. The average Canadian spends about 45 hours a month browsing the Internet, according to new figures from ComScore Inc. The majority of that time is spent on social networking sites such as Facebook.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/canada-tops-globe-in-internet-usage/article2355533/

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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au: Nurses resist Facebook censorship
The bitter dispute between nurses and the Victorian government has taken a modern twist after lawyers for the state ordered the union to censor inflammatory comments on its Facebook page.
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/nurses_resist_facebook_censorship_ma4vTj2DOaykvh8xL2NV0K

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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'Twisted' waves could boost capacity of wi-fi and TV
A striking demonstration of a means to boost the information-carrying capacity of radio waves has taken place across the lagoon in Venice, Italy. The technique exploits what is called the "orbital angular momentum" of the waves - imparting them with a "twist". Varying this twist permits many data streams to fit in the frequency spread currently used for just one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17221490

Huawei lets loose its technological ambition
Huawei may call it a ?stand? but the hangar that looms over part of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona leaves little doubt about the scale of the Chinese telecoms group?s ambitions.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/208bbd58-62f3-11e1-b837-00144feabdc0.html

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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Born to Not Get Bullied
When she was in high school, Lady Gaga says, she was thrown into a trash can. The culprits were boys down the block, she told me in an interview on Wednesday in which she spoke ? a bit reluctantly ? about the repeated cruelty of peers during her teenage years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/opinion/kristof-born-to-not-get-bullied.html

Filtering Software Companies Should Follow Websense's Lead
EFF is pleased to see that Websense, a company that produces Internet filtering technology, has issued a statement against Pakistan?s call for proposals for companies to assist with their pervasive censorship plans. Websense?s statement, posted on their website also calls upon other producers of filtering technology to refuse complicity with Pakistan?s plans, which run counter to the right to free expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/03/filtering-software-companies-should-follow-websenses-lead

au: Telstra blocks child porn 700 times per day
Telstra blocked 84,000 attempts to access websites believed to contain child abuse material in less than four months last year, the government's classification review has revealed.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/telecommunications/child-porn-blocked-700-times-per-day/story-fn4iyzsr-1226287450013

au: Cyber sex fiends targeted
PAEDOPHILES who use the internet to lure children and ''groom'' them for sex face a state government crackdown amid fears that young people are increasingly at risk.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cyber-sex-fiends-targeted-20120303-1ua4b.html

sg: Online shenanigans may lead to cyberbullying legislation
In quick succession, Singapore authorities recently announced arrests and launched investigations to look into several bad online behavior. 
http://www.zdnetasia.com/blogs/online-shenanigans-may-lead-to-cyberbullying-legislation-62304075.htm

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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New OECD report released on developments in mobile termination rates [news release]
As part of the OECD?s ongoing work to stimulate competition and innovation in mobile phone markets (see here for most recent news release on mobile roaming), this new paper aims to contribute to the current debate among regulators in OECD countries who are reducing or considering the phasing out of the fees telecommunication network operators pay for delivering telephone calls to mobile wireless providers, known as mobile termination rates (MTRs). This is because mobile operators have a monopoly over the termination of calls on their networks.
http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3746,en_2649_34225_49805065_1_1_1_1,00.html

China World?s Biggest Mobile Subscriber Population, But Still Has Plenty of Room to Grow
China has become the first country in the globe to have more than 1 billion mobile phone subscribers, according to government statistics. It has reached 951.6 million October last year with additional 39 million users per quarter.
http://www.techwireasia.com/2118/china-worlds-biggest-mobile-phone-population-but-still-has-plenty-of-room-to-grow/

China?s Mobile Masses Top One Billion
China, the world?s most populous nation, has long been its largest mobile market as well. Now it has claimed a new title: First country in the world to reach one billion mobile phone subscribers.
http://allthingsd.com/20120302/chinas-mobile-masses-top-one-billion/

Et Tu, Google? Android Apps Can Also Secretly Copy Photos
It?s not just Apple. Photos are vulnerable on Android phones, too. As Bits reported this week, developers who make applications for Apple iOS devices have access to a person?s entire photo library as long as that person allows the app to use location data.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/android-photos/

us: Revising the Limits for the Unlimited
... Some of the nation?s largest wireless phone companies are getting around those plans by slowing down a smartphone?s Internet transfer speeds for heavy users. The practice serves as a backdoor limit of data by making some downloads impossible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/technology/some-wireless-carriers-revise-limits-for-the-unlimited.html

AT&T Ends All-You-Can-Eat: Flooded With Web Data, No. 2 Wireless Carrier Puts Cap on Heaviest Users
AT&T Inc. pulled the plug on its all-you-can-eat plan for smartphone customers, telling subscribers they will see much slower speeds if they exceed a new monthly usage cap.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203986604577255532947217336.html

Apps Seek to Help Phone Users Track Data
Cellphone carriers are forcing customers to think about how much data they are slurping up as they watch YouTube and stream music from Pandora. In the United States, customers with unlimited plans who use a lot of data have found themselves forced into a network slow lane.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/technology/apps-seek-to-help-phone-users-track-data-use.html

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SPAM
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nz: Microsoft blocking TelstraClear emails
TelstraClear has confirmed Microsoft has blocked all of its customers from sending emails to Microsoft's popular Hotmail service or to Windows Live and MSN email addresses because of an issue with spam.
http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/microsoft-blocking-telstraclear-s-spam-attack-4751762

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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au: Cybercrime legislation a backward step
Legislation to help foreign nations cooperate on fighting cybercrime is misguided and misses the point, according to the Asia-Pacific director of the Global Institute for Cyber Security and Research, Dr Craig Wright.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/cybercrime-legislation-a-backward-step-339332911.htm

Anonymous Hackers Claim They Were Infiltrated [AP]
People identifying themselves as activists in the Anonymous hacker movement said Wednesday it wasn't technical prowess but police infiltration that yielded 25 arrests in a sweep in Europe and South America.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/03/01/world/americas/AP-Hacking-Anonymous.html

Frenchman sues over Google Views urination photo
A Frenchman took Google to court Thursday over a photo published online by its Street View application showing him urinating in his front yard which he believes has made him the laughing stock of his village in rural northwest France.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/oukin-uk-france-google-idUKTRE82102A20120302

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SECURITY
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SECURE IT Act: Senate Republicans Introduce Softer Cybersecurity Bill
Eight top Republicans introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday aimed at stopping an overarching, bipartisan measure proposed earlier this month in order to better protect critical infrastructure.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/01/cybersecurity-usa-congress-idINDEE8200MY20120301
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/secure-it-act_n_1314213.html