Articles by date
18 June 2007
uk: Copycat sex attacker found guilty (BBC)
A hospital worker has been convicted of assaulting a teenager in a sex attack he copied from an internet site. Carley Furness, 17, was saved by emergency surgery after being stabbed in the throat and stomach by 28-year-old Peter Anscombe.
uk: Webcam teen sex show warning (BBC)
The British government's internet child protection agency (CEOP) has warned of an increasing number of teenagers being approached online to perform sex shows on webcams.
Is there a difference between privacy and anonymity? (The Guardian)
That depends who you ask. Online privacy has been big news this week, with two of the net's most powerful names finding themselves at the forefront of rows over privacy issues. But despite being closely related, the two are often separate problems that become confused. The most high-profile accusations came in a report by the advocacy group Privacy International, which labelled Google "hostile to privacy".
Euro1bn in digital technologies for Europeans to age well (European Commission Information Society)
Responding to the needs of Europe's growing ageing population, the Commission has today adopted a European Action Plan for "Ageing Well in the Information Society". This Action Plan is accompanied by a new joint European research programme raising to over €1bn the research investment on information and communications technologies targeted at improving the life of older people at home, in the workplace and in society in general. These new EU initiatives will contribute to allowing older Europeans to stay active for longer and live independently. Together they promise a triple win for Europe: improved quality of life and social participation for older people in Europe, new business opportunities for Europe's industries and more efficient and more personalised health and social services.
Queen goes online with first email address (The Daily Telegraph)
The Queen's latest foray into the world of modern technology has led her to setting up her own email account, it has emerged. But, in true majesterial fashion, she does not actually type her emails herself - rather she dictates them. The 81-year-old monarch, already the proud owner of a mobile phone and an iPod mini, revealed her aquisition of an email address at a recent Buckingham Palace garden party.
Forrester: One Billion PCs In Use By The End Of 2008 (news release) (Forrester)
By the end of 2008, there will be more than one billion personal computers in use worldwide, according to a new report from Forrester Research. With PC use growing rapidly in emerging markets and high-profile programs in place to reach previously untapped markets, Forrester predicts that there will be more than two billion PCs in use by 2015, representing more than 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2003 and 2015.
AT&T Moves to Take Over the Internet (The Huffington Post)
Remember how the big phone companies tried to dismiss Net Neutrality as a "solution in search of a problem"? Well, here's the problem. In an interview this week with the Los Angeles Times, AT&T Senior Vice President James Cicconi revealed that AT&T is developing technology designed to detect and block "pirated" films, music and other media on its Internet networks. The announcement is a savvy way to start taking away your Internet freedom. Why savvy? Because by putting the focus on blocking "piracy" of movies, music and other copyrighted content, AT&T can win the support of powerful allies: movie studios, record labels and publishers. And hey, who supports pirates?
Safari for Windows: All About the Money? (PC World)
The debate is still on about why Apple decided to develop a version of its Safari browser for Windows.
Domain Names, Trademarks, and the First Amendment: Searching for Meaningful Boundaries by Margreth Barrett (University of California, San Francisco - Hastings College of the Law) (Social Science Research Network)
Abstract: This article argues that domain names for forum web sites are comparable to the titles of expressive works, and points out how existing principles defining and governing the regulation of non-commercial speech should apply when mark owners challenge incorporation of their marks into domain names for gripe sites and other forum sites that target the mark owner. Unfortunately, courts have generally ignored the Supreme Court's definition of noncommercial speech in this context, and the First Amendment implications of prohibiting the defendants' use. In particular, courts are equating commercial speech with the Lanham Act's recently expanded commercial use requirement. While the commercial use requirement has served in the past to ensure that Lanham Act protection is consistent with First Amendment principles, its recent expansion has seriously undermined its effectiveness to do so.
17 June 2007
Warnings of 'internet overload' (BBC)
As the flood of data across the internet continues to increase, there are those that say sometime soon it is going to collapse under its own weight. But that is what they said last year.
The Germans get their Flickrs in a twist over 'censorship' (The Observer)
Initially, there were few overt signs of Flickr's change of status following its takeover by Yahoo. Yahoo closed its own photo-hosting service. Then Flickr users were required to acquire a Yahoo ID to access their accounts. But, overall, things continued as before; until a few days ago, when Flickr users in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong and Korea noted that they were unable to alter one of their account settings: the 'safe search' option, which allows them to specify whether they want searches for images to filter out certain types of content. Under the new dispensation, Flickr users in these territories could only find images that had been flagged as 'safe' - which meant, as one disgruntled protester put it, 'only flowers and landscapes for Germans'. Nothing irritates internet users like censorship, whether real or apparent, and a revolt spread through the Flickr community.
Thai internet censorship critics fear new computer-crime laws (The Nation)
"Sorry! The website you are accessing has been blocked by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology." The steely eye on the cold green background has become a common sight to Internet-users in Thailand. Appearing at random, it denies access to websites on subjects ranging from car repairs to cooking. It popped up when Canadian CJ Hinke tried to enter one website looking for information on Thai-language books for his children.
Egyptian jailing of blogger sparks outrage (ITP.net)
Egypt's decision to jail a blogger has caused international outrage, with groups calling for the UN to abandon plans to hold the 2009 Internet Governance Forum in the country.
U.S. Internet defamation suit tests online anonymity (Reuters)
It bills itself as the world's "most prestigious college discussion board," giving a glimpse into law school admissions policies, post-graduate social networking and the hiring practices of major law firms. But the AudoAdmit site, widely used by law students for information on schools and firms, is also known as a venue for racist and sexist remarks and career-damaging rumours.
It started with a click (The Observer)
From online personals for 'friends with benefits' to illicit blogs and even an electronic 'poke' ... the digital age has created a technosexual generation hooked on no-strings casual sex. Hephzibah Anderson meets the people who aren't looking for love ... BT futurologist, Ian Pearson forecasts that in the next 10 or 15 years, urban positioning technologies will have enhanced messaging services to the extent that you'll be able to text the attractive stranger at the bar simply by pointing your phone at them
100Gbps Internet2 link spans US (The Register)
A 100Gbps link between the east and west coasts of the US has been established for the first time by the Internet2 project. The network is already providing high-speed networking resources for the US research and academic community.
16 June 2007
Change vs. Stability in Web Usability Guidelines - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)
Summary: A remarkable 80% of findings from the Web usability studies in the 1990s continue to hold today.
European concerns grow over IPv6 migration (ZDNet)
European businesses are being held back from migrating to IPv6 due to the way IP addresses are being allocated, according to the director of IT at Nominet. ... However, concerns have been raised about the way IPv6 addresses are currently allocated by RIPE and it appears that this situation will not change for at least four months. Nominet's IT director Jay Daley indicated that, unlike ARIN, RIPE was allowing only ISPs access to IPv6 addresses, leaving enterprises out in the cold. "We, for example, have our own IPv4 address allocation from RIPE, but we are unable to get an IPv6 allocation because their current allocation policy means we must be an ISP who gives addresses out to at least 200 customers. We don't give addresses to customers -- we are an enterprise, in the same way that a large enterprise might want their own address space for local management of internet connectivity."
More IPv6 Warnings on Why Organizations Must Plan Transition Now (Circle ID)
The IPv6 Portal reports on a paper titled "The Choice: IPV4 Exhaustion or Transition to IPv6", written by Jordi Palet, warning that organizations must start planning for IPv6 now or "be aware that some already have, and you are beginning to be at a disadvantage." From the report: "This is going to affect the business of existing ISPs and to a greater extent, at a certain point in time, the creation of new ISPs. As a consequence if may have a deeper impact in developing regions (Africa, Asia and Latin America/Caribbean) where the penetration of the Internet is not yet so widespread."
Countries worldwide turn to Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention (news release) (Council of Europe)
To fight ICT-based crimes like child pornography, money laundering, fraud and terrorism through the internet, countries worldwide are turning to the Council of Europe's innovative Cybercrime Convention, which includes provisions for a 24 hours per day, 7 days per week online crime-fighting network and facilitates public-private partnerships.
NATO says urgent need to tackle cyber attack (Reuters)
NATO defense ministers agreed on Thursday that fast action was needed to tackle the threat of "cyber attacks" on key Internet sites after Estonia suffered a wave of assaults on its computer networks last month.
us: Homeland Security to detail IT attacks (InfoWorld)
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will hold a hearing on Capitol Hill on June 20 to discuss the findings of an investigation into the agency's own problems in battling electronic attacks and IT systems intrusions. In a hearing labeled "Hacking the Homeland: Investigating Cyber-security Vulnerabilities at the Department of Homeland Security," officials including DHS chief information officer Scott Charbo and Gregory Wilshusen, director of information security issues at the Government Accountability Office are scheduled to detail their findings in response to requests from Congress to test the agency's IT security defenses.
Chinese Internet addict kills mother over cybercafe money (New Zealand Herald)
I reckon this is a little extreme, just because you can't go to a cybercafe.... A teenage boy in southern China, "heavily addicted" to the Internet, killed his mother and severely injured his father with a kitchen knife after he was refused money to go to a cybercafe, state media said.
Google power 'less than thought' as eBay starts boycott (The Times)
eBay's had a little hissy fit and decided to pull advertisements from Google. This follows Google's proposal to hold a party in the middle of an eBay conference, attempting to attempted to lure customers, technology experts and partners away from a major marketing event hosted by eBay in Boston. However, the interesting thing The Times notes is Hitwise has found it resulted in very little impact on traffic flowing from Google to eBay. So the question might be, how good are ads on Google? Anyway, there's press coverage from The Times, BBC and The Guardian available by clicking on the link below.
15 June 2007
The Domains Of The Day - making money from domain names (Business Week)
Making a living from buying and selling domain names is becoming a popular topic for the mainstream media. Recently Business 2.0 had an article about Kevin Ham, and this week Business Week has an article on Andrew Miller and Michael Zapolin who are buying generic domain names and building a business around creating content, and then come visitors and money. They own 17 generic domain names including chocolate.com, software.com and relationship.com.
