Articles by date
11 July 2007
New Nielsen Web metric likely to hurt Google, help YouTube (ComputerWorld)
In a nod to the success of emerging Web 2.0 technologies like AJAX and streaming media, one of the country's largest Internet benchmarking companies will no longer use page views as its primary metric for comparing sites. Nielsen/NetRatings will announce Tuesday that it will immediately begin using total time spent by users of a site as its primary measurement.
Spammers Automatically Creating Hotmail And Yahoo Accounts (Information Week)
BitDefender researchers found that spammers are easily bypassing the captcha system, to automatically set up new e-mail accounts to use to send out waves of spam.
In Poorer Nations, Cellphones Help Open Up Microfinancing (New York Times)
In countries where A.T.M.'s are few or nonexistent, cellphones are helping microlenders bring financial services to poor and remote areas. Mobile devices have the potential to take financial markets outside urban areas, allowing banks to provide services like loans and savings accounts in rural regions, according to a report by Vodafone and Nokia, published last week.
Google buys e-mail security firm Postini (International Herald Tribune)
The deal underscores Google's ambitions to become a serious player in the business of selling software to companies and organizations, in competition with Microsoft and others.
10 July 2007
Music sales at lowest since records began (The Times)
Music sales worldwide are expected to plunge by about 11 per cent this year, making 2007 the worst year for the recording industry for more than a quarter of a century. At Easter, industry bosses forecast a 4-8 per cent decline in revenues, but at least one of the four biggest companies is preparing for an 11 per cent tumble as the shift to digital starts to make its impact felt.
IETF DNS Working Group defines DNS as "critical infrastructure" by Brenden Kuerbis (Internet Governance blog)
The IETF's DNS Working Group has defined the DNS as "a critical Internet infrastructure" according to this article by Brenden Kuerbis. However following the discussion on the mailing list where this was reported, there was also a comment that "'critical Internet infrastructure' is an heavily loaded buzzword, specially in governance contexts (ICANN, IGF, etc) which can even trigger legal consequences." The follow-up posting instead suggests "The DNS is, in practice, a mandatory component of most Internet services?" Kuerbis suggests, "One can read the Working Group's action as an indication from the prominent Internet standards body that the DNS (and technology which impacts it like DNSSEC and root signing) is on the table for discussion at the upcoming" IGF.
Israeli Ministerial committee approves bill to censor adult websites (Haaretz)
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a proposed bill that would only allow access to adult-content Internet sites for users who agree in advance to identify themselves. They will likely be required to state year of birth and I.D. number, and access would would be denied to any surfers who did not specifically sign up to receive it.
Faces of terror suspects: Breaking the rules? (International Herald Tribune)
... Britain has some of the tightest reporting restrictions in the Western world, limiting the ability of news organizations to publish pictures or articles about the subjects of criminal investigations. The rules are intended to ensure fair trials by keeping potentially prejudicial information out of the hands of would-be jurors. But critics say the restrictions seem increasingly out of step in an era of around-the-clock, global news flows, when Britons can turn to the Internet or other sources for unfiltered information on high-profile stories like terrorism. And, based on their coverage of the latest alleged bomb plot, news organizations seem unclear about how to apply the rules.
Wikipedia remains go-to site for online news (ZDNet)
Wikipedia has added about 20 million unique monthly visitors in the past year, making it the top online news and information destination, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. In May, Wikipedia had 46.8 million unique visitors, up 72 percent from June 2006, NetRatings said. Wikipedia also has finished on top of the news and information category every month this year.
comScore Publishes the First Comprehensive Review of Asia-Pacific Internet Usage (comScore)
comScore released the first comprehensive review of Internet behavior covering 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The comScore World Metrix study reveals that in May there were nearly 284 million people age 15 or older who accessed the Internet from either a home or work computer in the region. This represents 10 percent of the Asian-Pacific population 15 years of age and older. The average person in the Asia-Pacific region visited the Internet on 13.8 days in the month and spent 20.2 hours viewing 2,171 pages. This compares to the global averages of 17.1 usage days per month, 25.2 hours per month, and 2,519 pages per month, indicating that the Asia-Pacific region's PC-based Internet usage is somewhat lower than the rest of the world.
Facebook Sees Flood Of New Traffic From Teenagers And Adults (comScore)
comScore released the results of a study on the visitation to Facebook.com, which showed the site grew to 26.6 million unique visitors in the U.S. in May 2007, marking an 89-percent increase versus the same month last year. The dramatic growth comes on the heels of Facebook.com's decision in September 2006 to open up registration to the general public, a change from the previous policy requiring a valid email address from a university or a selected group of secondary schools and businesses.
Live Earth streaming sets record: MSN (ABC)
MSN declared itself the new record holder for the biggest online entertainment audience, reporting more than 10 million streams on Saturday for its coverage of Live Earth.
09 July 2007
BOOK REVIEW: YouTube if you want to ... Andrew Keen's The Culture of the Amateur (The Observer)
The internet is overrated and even harmful according to Andrew Keen's The Culture of the Amateur, says The Observer's Killian Fox
From the web to the White House - the web's role in the US presidential campaign (The Observer)
Since the 1960 face-offs between Kennedy and Nixon, televsion has been the dominant medium in US presidential election campaigns. But the advent of YouTube has changed all that. Now it's the internet that has become the key political battleground for 2008. But is this the birth of a new democraticatising medium - or just a passing fad?
07 July 2007
Google loses "Gmail.de" domain name
German courts have ruled that Google doesn't have the right to the gmail.de domain name. Daniel Giersch holds the "gmail" trademark in Germany, and registered the domain name in April 2004. Heise quotes Daniel Giersch's lawyer Sebastian Eble stating, "The Hanseatic Upper Court felt that the law was so clear that it has not even allowed its ruling to be appealed to a higher court." Giersch operates physical and electronic postal services under the Gmail brand, predating Googles own Gmail.
Nominet reaches six million domain registrations
Nominet have announced the six millionth .uk domain name has been registered. .uk is the second largest ccTLD worldwide. They've also taken advantage of this milestone to report on research carried out by YouGov demonstrating internet users were six times more likely to choose a .uk rather than .com address when looking for information via an Internet search engine.
Web search groups to yield on privacy (Financial Times)
Yahoo and Microsoft are preparing to announce concessions in their privacy policies in the next few weeks, as pressure mounts in Europe over the length of time internet search companies should be allowed to hold personal data.
Downed Electronic Jihad Site Flew Under The Radar (Information Week)
Although the "electronic jihad" Web site Al-jinan.org was offline for part of Thursday, the site has been able to survive for about four-and-a-half years for a number of reasons. While its domain name server registration features a number of contradictions that make tracing its origins difficult, the capabilities of the site's Electronic Jihad application are also limited.
Estonia calls for international convention to fight cybercrimes (Sydney Morning Herald)
Estonia's government on Thursday called for an international convention on combatting computer-based attacks like those directed against the Baltic state in late April-early May. Global ratification of the convention would establish "a strong legal basis to fight cyber crimes," the Economic Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Three jailed for engaging in 'cyber jihad' for al-Qaida (The Guardian)
Three men, including the top computer expert for al-Qaida in Iraq, were sent to prison yesterday for spreading extremist jihadi material through their websites. It was the first UK prosecution for inciting terrorist murder on the internet.
Terrorism's Hook Into Your Inbox (Washington Post)
A U.K. investigation reveals a significant link between Islamic terrorist groups and cyber crime, and experts say security officials must do more to understand and confront cyber crime as part of any overall strategy for combatting terrorism.
Court holds Belgian ISP responsible for file-sharing (InfoWorld)
A court has ruled that the Belgian ISP Scarlet Extended is responsible for blocking illegal file-sharing on its network, setting a precedent that could affect other ISPs in Europe, according to a recording industry group. One legal expert doubted that claim, however.
New British law will criminalise possession of extreme porn (Out-Law.com)
The Government has published a new law which will criminalise extreme pornography. The Government first indicated that it would criminalise the possession of violent pornography two years ago. A new Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill has had its first reading in Parliament, which means that it has been published and awaits debate and committee scrutiny.
Social networking shows explosive growth in Australia (IT Wire)
New research shows that the use of social media such as YouTube in Australia is soaring pushing Australians onto international sites at the expense of local destinations. The findings were released this week at a press briefing held by Future Exploration Network and Nielsen/NetRatings, in the lead-up to the Future of Media Summit 2007 being staged in Sydney on 18 July.
Awaiting Internet Access, Remote Brazilian Tribes Debate Its Promise, Peril (Washington Post)
When the sun sinks behind the palm and mango trees, candlelight flickers throughout a tiny village of thatched huts where about 100 Xavante Indians live. The villagers here lack electricity, but not technical ambition. Just beyond the semicircle of huts sits a new one-room school building, and a place inside has already been reserved for an eagerly anticipated local milestone: the village's first computer.
