Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! Headlines from the 2 August edition of the news include: How do you build a new internet? | us: VeriSign Spent $570K Lobbying in 2007 | ICANN seeks to better protect domain name registrants | nz: Macaulay elected new InternetNZ president | Go Daddy & Afilias Announce Joint Venture Creating Alliance Registry in Support of usTLD Bid | Neustar Losing .us Could Be Good for .com Registrants | Rate of Link Decay by Bret Fausett And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. The domain name news is supported by auDA. *************************************************** Call for Domain Owner Code of Rights and Responsibilities by Robert A. Connor http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_owner_rights_and_responsibilities/ How to battle of the botnets: Why we're losing the fight against botnets http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=10232 ICANN Starts Consultation on How to Protect Registrants http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-27jul07.htm Defending the Typosquatter by Bret Fausett http://www.namebrief.com/content/view/20/1/ ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Governing the Internet Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: The Representative on Freedom of the Media Freedom and Regulation in the OSCE Region The freedom dimension of this issue has encouraged the OSCE media freedom Office to take a more detailed look at how the Internet is governed in the OSCE region. In this book the concept of Internet Governance is addressed from a number of different sides and examples from various countries in the OSCE region show how diverse issues of Internet Governance are being tackled by different stakeholders. Reflecting these diverse approaches to Internet Governance is the aim of this publication. The publication includes 3 chaperters - Internet Governance, Experiences from the OSCE Region and The Multi-stakeholder Approach to Internet Governance. Contributors include Bertrand de la Chapelle, Wolfgang Kleinw?chter and Yaman Akdeniz. [231p] http://www.osce.org/publications/rfm/2007/07/25667_918_en.pdf The Internet and Global Governance: Principles and Norms for a New Regime by Milton Mueller, John Mathiason & Hans Klein Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, efforts have been under way to construct an international regime for global Internet governance. Beginning with the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, efforts at regime construction were a main focus of the 2001?2005 UN World Summit on the Information Society. However, little progress was made toward an international agreement. This reflected policymakers' illadvised attempt to shortcut regime construction: they attempted to define regime rules and procedures without first defining underlying principles and norms. This article offers example sets of principles and norms of the type that are missing and that could provide the foundation for an Internet governance regime. The authors conclude that a framework convention would be the appropriate institutional mechanism for advancing regime construction. http://www.atypon-link.com/LRP/doi/abs/10.5555/ggov.2007.13.2.237 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** ISOC IGF Rio Ambassadors Program ? July 2007 Following on the successful ISOC Ambassador program to the WSIS in late 2005, we are pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest to participate in the ISOC Ambassador program to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting in Rio de Janeiro in November 2007. http://isoc.org/pubpolpillar/docs/igf_ambassadors.pdf Invitation to the second meeting of the IGF The inaugural Internet Governance Forum meeting in Athens, Greece, proved a great success. This year, the Government of Brazil has generously offered to host the second IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro from 12 to 15 November 2007. http://intgovforum.org/sg-letter-en_.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** Call for Domain Owner Code of Rights and Responsibilities by Robert A. Connor This article discusses grassroots progress toward the development of a ?Domain Registrant?s Code of Rights and Responsibilities.? This Code is an effort to create a balanced combination of the rights that domain name registrants should enjoy and the responsibilities that domain name registrants should fulfill. Discussion and survey results concerning this Code at domain-related forums show far greater grassroots consensus than one might think between what might be called the ?domainer? and ?intellectual property? communities. Informal surveys at some domain-related forums show very strong support (with votes running approximately 5 to 1) in favor of this Code. A consensus around such a Code could build a bridge between internet constituencies that are sometimes polarized and could improve the operation of the internet for everyone. http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_owner_rights_and_responsibilities/ ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** How to battle of the botnets: Why we're losing the fight against botnets Botnets - they're dangerous, deceptive, and very difficult to detect and deal with. What's more, according to recent surveys, the botnet threat is growing...rapidly. Experts say it's imperative that businesses and end users become aware of the acute and growing dangers posed by botnets, and take decisive and effective steps to counter them before it's too late. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=10232 ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Starts Consultation on How to Protect Registrants Increased protection for those registering domain names is ICANN?s goal as it launches consultations on its Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and the accreditation process for companies who register domains. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-27jul07.htm IANA's DNSSEC testbed signs root zone by Brenden Kuerbis Over the last few months much has been made of the digitally signing the root as a critical step in widely deploying DNSSEC. At our May Symposium on Internet Governance and Security, one panelist wondered aloud if ICANN/IANA would ever sign the root like they agreed to do in 2006. Similarly, RIPE's recent letter urged ICANN/IANA publicly to act, lest RIPE go ahead and create its own trust anchor repository as one large European ISP suggested. And finally, the FIPS requirement to deploy DNSSEC technology within medium and high impact federal IT systems is bearing down, with the effort taking on a new sense of urgency with the launch of the NIST/SPARTA/DHS SNIP testbed early this month. Well, it now seems that some of the pressure has started to work. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2007/7/25/3118003.html ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** my: Interested in DNS technologies? MYNIC, the ".my" domain administrator will be conducting a series of training workshops on the domain name system's latest technologies next month. Called the ".my Training Workshop Series 2007," it is aimed at increasing the knowledge pool on DNS. http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/7/27/technology/20070727165522&sec=technology Announcement on .myTraining Workshop Series 2007 MYNIC is pleased to present .myTraining Workshop Series 2007, a series of three comprehensive workshops that is more powerful than the year before. The .myTraining Workshop Series 2007 has been designed with you in mind, whether you are an ISP, educationist, researcher, ccTLD operator, DNS administrator and provider, systems administrator or a DNS enthusiast, these workshops are for you. http://mynic.net.my/newhp/announcements/mynic-9july07.html http://mynic.net.my/training/AUG07/ Announcement on myDNSIPv6 Test-bed trials for public MYNIC will be conducting trials of .my DNS on the IPv6 technology and is inviting you and/or your organization to participate in our test-bed starting from 17th July to 30th August, 2007. http://mynic.net.my/newhp/announcements/mynic-17july07.html The Internet in Kazakhstan: welcome to the land of US$3,355 per month DSL With DSL prices like these, it's no wonder Borat left Kazakhstan behind. A new report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe paints a grim picture of Internet access in Kazakhstan and shows how difficult life can be for those in poor and authoritarian countries who want to join the worldwide community of Internet users. ... Getting a connection is only the first step, though. Internet policy decisions?such as canceling domain name registrations?can seem a bit, well, arbitrary. Borat.kz, a domain registered by UK comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, was summarily shut down by the Association of a IT Companies in December 2005. The reason: "We've done this so he can't badmouth Kazakhstan under the .kz domain name," the head of the association told Reuters. "He can go and do whatever he wants at other domains." http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070727-the-internet-in-kazakhstan-welcome-to-the-land-of-3355-per-month-dsl.html DotAsia Auctions Aim to Address Problems of the Past The announcement this week that DotAsia will work with Pool.com on an auction system to introduce its new domain names is a good reaction to problems of the past. Previous launches worked (sometimes not well) on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, sex.eu had over 280 potential applications but only the first was even considered. Yet, today, nearly 2 years later, the domain application is still being reviewed. http://www.circleid.com/posts/dotasia_organisation_domain_auction/ An Open Invitation for .Asia Pioneers! [news release] The .Asia Pioneer Domains Program offers the ultimate first-mover advantage for brand development and e-commerce in Asia. Applicants are invited to submit a brief proposal for the domain of their choice. The best proposal wins the right to operate the best .Asia domains! http://pioneer.domains.asia/ Nevada Internet Domain Land Rush Begins August 1, 2007 [news release] In what is expected to be the most important Internet domain name to register with, the nv.com domain is scheduled to launch in five days. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070727005074&newsLang=en http://www.webknowhow.net/news/press/070727NvCom.html ch/li: Amendment of the General Terms and Conditions [news release] SWITCH is aligning the General Terms and Conditions for domain names to the current framework conditions and is now incorporating the registration conditions in a Domain Name Registration Agreement and in the GTCs. http://www.switch.ch/about/news.html?id=141 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** ICA responds to CADNA launch [news release] The domain name investors and developers of the direct search industry look forward to working with CADNA to effectively address their legitimate concerns about trademark infringement. The ICA supported the restocking fee implemented by Public Interest Registry that has eradicated abusive domain tasting on .org and we would welcome steps by ICANN and VeriSign to achieve the same result at .com. While we believe that such market based mechanisms are the best approach we will carefully review any legislation proposed by CADNA to assure that it respects and affirms the rights of domain name investors and preserves vigorous competition in consumer search models. http://internetcommerce.org/news/ica_responds_to_cadna_launch Typosquatting the Defenseless by Bret Fausett The auction/resale value of domain names based on typographical errors of Bigco web sites isn't based on normal metrics. You may have a name with a lot of traffic, but you always live in the shadow of the law. http://www.namebrief.com/content/view/18/1/ Technology, hotel companies team up to lobby for stricter measures against Internet fraud Well-known companies such as Dell Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Marriott International Inc. are lobbying Congress for tougher laws targeting online scammers who profit from their brand names. United as the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, 10 companies have hired the law firm Alston and Bird LLP to persuade federal lawmakers of the need to crack down against those who claim Web addresses, or domain names, that include _ or even resemble _ a legitimate company's trademark. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/27/1185339194171.html http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6471336 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003807280_webnetfraud26.html Film Company Wins thesimpsonsmovie.com From Cybersquatter. Doh! As the ?Simpsons Movie? rolls out on silver screens across the United States and Europe, word comes that its maker, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, has won the rights to the domain name ?thesimpsonsmovie.com? from a stand-up comedian who failed to strike the international arbitrator?s sense of humour. http://ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=702&res=1024_ff&print=0 http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/072707_Man_Gives_up_The_Simpsons_Domain.cfm India Broadcast Live welcomes court decision on domain name The US-based India Broadcast Live (IBL), which shows Indian TV programmes through the Internet, has welcomed a recent decision by the Delhi High Court allowing it to use its web address with a disclaimer. http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=96acc54d-a5fe-4780-b759-308ff5a9350e http://in.news.yahoo.com/070728/43/6iqn2.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Defending the Typosquatter by Bret Fausett When I was in college, I took a 'Philosophy of the Law' class, taught by famous libertarian John Hospers, which included as an assigned text "Defending the Undefendable." (Amazon: Defending the Undefendable: The pimp, prostitute, scab, slumlord, libeler, moneylender and other scapegoats in the rogue's gallery of American society.) It's a book that makes good, logical (and libertarian) arguments about why we shouldn't punish some of the 'undefendable' members of our society, neither in courts of law nor in the court of public opinion. http://www.namebrief.com/content/view/20/1/ VeriSign Earnings in Line VeriSign swung to a loss on a revenue drop of 6% in the second quarter and issued weak guidance for the third quarter. http://www.thestreet.com/s/verisign-earnings-in-line/newsanalysis/technet/10370536.html VeriSign Reports Second Quarter Results in Line with Prior Guidance VeriSign reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007. VeriSign reported total revenue of $368 million for the second quarter of 2007. These results include $4 million of revenue related to the Jamba Services business that is held for sale and which is reported under discontinued operations on the statements of operation. On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported a net loss of $5 million for the second quarter of 2007 and a net loss per share of $0.02 per fully-diluted share. http://www.verisign.com/static/042547.pdf Two thirds of Internet searchers use direct navigation Direct navigation?typing a generic category plus ?.com? directly into a Web browser?is growing, according to an Opinion Research Corp. survey for LeaseThis.com, a company that leases domain names at a flat rate. http://btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/FREE/70727004/1078 ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** Tucows Acquires ItsYourDomain.com [news release] Tucows Inc. announced it acquired ItsYourDomain.com, a privately held, profitable ICANN-accredited registrar offering domain services through a worldwide wholesale network of over 2,500 affiliates. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/TO30927072007-1.htm http://www.rttnews.com/sp/breakingnews.asp?item=154 Tucows Acquires ItsYourDomain.com [news release] Tucows announced it has acquired ItsYourDomain.com, a privately held, profitable ICANN-accredited registrar offering domain services through a worldwide wholesale network of over 2,500 affiliates. http://about.tucows.com/media/tucows-acquires-iyd/ Flights.eu Acquired by Flights.com Flights.com, a global travel website, announced today that it has acquired the domain ?Flights.eu? to further its expansion into the European travel market. http://www.pr.com/press-release/46448 GayCalifornia.com sells for US$250,000 Hammerberg & Associates, Inc. has acquired the domain name GayCalifornia.com for $250,000, the company said in a written statement. http://planetout.com/news/article.html?date=2007/07/26/4 http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/07/26/4 http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid47729.asp Yellow Pages Publisher To Buy Business.com R. H. Donnelley's $345 million acquisition proposal is significantly more than the $7 million paid for the Business.com domain name in 1999. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201201454 http://domainnamewire.com/2007/07/26/rh-donnelley-acquires-businesscom-for-345m/ ********************** OTHER RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Cyber Embargo: Countering the Internet Jihad by Gregory S. McNeal [Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson School of Law] Abstract: Terrorists are engaged in an online jihad, characterized by the use of the internet to fundraise, distribute messages and directives, recruit and proselytize. It is impossible to shut down the entire presence of terrorists on the internet; however, this article details a proposal which can have a marked impact on the presence of terrorists on the internet. Using existing statutes, it is possible to regionalize terrorist websites, limiting them to an extremely small number of countries from which they may receive internet services. Once the terrorist message is limited to a particular region, a modification of current laws can allow for a cyber embargo on jihadist websites and their supporters. These efforts coupled with diplomatic cooperation can further the effort to curb the impact of jihadist websites, while simultaneously increasing the ability of governments to monitor these websites and, when necessary, shut them down. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1002210 The Chilling Effect of Government Surveillance Programs on the Use of the Internet By Muslim-Americans by Dawinder S. Sidhu [Discrimination and National Security Initiative (DNSI); Stanford University - Center for Internet and Society] In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the American intelligence community learned that the al-Qaeda regime has used the Internet in order to covertly plan attacks and communicate with its members, among other things. Indeed, 9/11, as well as every major al-Qaeda terrorist plot since then, involved extensive use of the Internet. As a result, the government of the United States has entered cyberspace. In particular, the government has developed and utilized several programs that enable it to monitor Internet usage and gather relevant electronic evidence. The purpose of this article is to explore whether, and if so to what extent, these surveillance programs have resulted in a chilling effect on the Internet usage of Muslim-Americans. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1002145 Was I right about the dangers of the Internet in 1997? by David Shenk Ten years ago, HarperCollins pronounced me a "cyber-pundit" and sent me on to public radio and the Microsoft campus to explain my new book, Data Smog. The book had not been conceived as a direct response to the Internet, but there was no point swimming against the zeitgeist. In mid-'97, e-mail was reaching into homes in middle America, and the Web was hurtling past its early-adopter phase. (Slate was a mere toddler, not yet 1.) AOL was circulating millions of "Join Us!" floppy disks, trumping its new flat-rate policy (in the Times, one financial analyst called that "the ultimate degradation" of information value). No one knew for sure where things were heading, but there was considerable curiosity, plenty of greed, and some unease. The information revolution already had dozens of articulate optimists. For talk-show producers and beat reporters, I became the go-to skeptic. http://slate.com/id/2171128/ A Presumption Against Regulation: Why Political Blogs Should Be (Mostly) Left Alone by David Stevenson During the past several years, the number of web logs (?blogs?), particularly those of a political nature, has exploded, peaking around the time of the 2004 presidential election. The power of these blogs to shape politics and opinion has attracted the attention of politicians and the media. As political blogs have gained power, there has been an attempt to curb their influence and correct potential political abuses. Most notably, there is an ongoing effort to apply campaign finance reform laws to political blogs and other forms of Internet communication. Recently, the Federal Election Commission instituted a set of rules (?the new rules?) that apply current election laws to the Internet. The actions taken by the FEC have profound implications for American political discourse and free speech. Part II of this note will address the history of campaign finance reform, culminating in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the current FEC regulations regulating Internet political speech. Part III will address the history of blogs (especially political blogs), their many uses, and their infiltration of the ?mainstream media.? Part IV will address the current application and resulting problems of the BCRA?s press exemption to Internet speech by issue advocacy organizations, individuals, and the traditional media. Part V will address additional difficulties posed by the unique nature of Internet communication, particularly difficulties involving disclosure. Part VI will address the problems involved in creating appropriate remedies for violations of campaign finance reform laws on the Internet. Finally, Part VII will address the proposed solutions to these problems, assessing the balance between preservation of the integrity of political campaigns and preservation of the free flow of ideas. http://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/scitech/volume131/documents/Stevenson_WEB.pdf ********************** OTHER INTERNET NEWS ********************** OSCE media freedom representative asks Russian authorities to review extremism laws restricting free reporting The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mikl?s Haraszti, asked the Russian authorities today to re-examine the legal framework on extremism, especially the parts that touch upon the media's right to report on controversial issues. http://osce.org/item/25791.html Study: Internet censorship spreading [Reuters] State restrictions on use of the Internet have spread to more than 20 countries that use catch-all and contradictory rules to help keep people offline and stifle feared political opposition, a new report says. In "Governing the Internet", the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) presented case studies of Web censorship in Kazakhstan and Georgia and referred to similar findings in nations from China to Iran, Sudan and Belarus. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6199294.html OSCE Report Warns Against Too Many 'Net Rules (AP) Kazakhstan and Georgia are among countries imposing excessive restrictions on how people use the Internet, a new report says, warning that regulations are having a chilling effect on freedom of expression. http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/130331.html MySpace Backlash Builds Heat If executives at MySpace expected to win praise as good corporate citizens for ridding their Web site of 29,000 registered sexual offenders, those hopes have vanished by now. Since the news came out, criticism of the social networking site only seems to have grown among public officials, parent and watchdog groups, and the general public. To be sure, there are grounds for discontent. A few months ago, in response to inquiries from several attorney generals, MySpace gave the impression that there were only 7,000 registered sex offenders on the Web site and that it had shut them out. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/58528.html au: No one watching the online predators Sex predators remain free to prey on underage members of popular internet websites such as MySpace because Australian regulations do not keep sufficiently detailed records of their actions. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/25/1185339084507.html au: Internet paedophiles should be deleted: NSW Govt The New South Wales Police Minister, David Campbell, says the government is ready and willing to work with the Commonwealth to improve the monitoring of convicted sex offenders who use popular internet sites. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/26/1988845.htm The Internet and the Law: Work in Progress New laws and regulations inevitably follow massive technological changes as societies come to grips with new technologies. Given the extent of changes the Internet has fostered across nearly every aspect of modern life, innovations dealing with Internet-related technologies are proving fertile ground for innovation in the form of new laws, regulations, legal precedents and interpretations of existing law. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/58502.html Computer security: The bounty hunters An attempt to offer a legitimate outlet for hackers who want to earn an honest crust: Here is a dilemma. Suppose you are a computer hacker and you discover a bug in a piece of software that, if it were known to the bad guys, would enable them to steal money or even a person's identity. It would be a feather in your cap. But feathers do not pay the rent. So how might you sell your discovery for the highest price? Asking for cash from the company that sold the buggy software in the first place sounds a bit like blackmail. The implicit threat is that if the firm does not stump up, the knowledge might end up in disreputable hands. But, in truth, it is mainly that possibility which gives the bug value in the first place. What, then, is a fair price, and who is to negotiate it? http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9507422 Second Life says all bets are off In a sign of real-life authorities' increasing interest in the activities in virtual worlds, all forms of gambling in Second Life have been banned. Linden Labs, the company that runs Second Life, said that as of this week, its policy on 'in-world money wagering' was changing, and that casino games such as black jack, poker, roulette and slot machines would no longer be permitted. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/virtual_worlds/article2153545.ece Phishing gets between a rock and an easy place For those without strong technology skills who want to set up in the identity theft marketplace, phishing represents a great opportunity. There is even a plug-and-play kit that enables non-technical users to launch phishing attacks. At the other end of the technology skills scale, it appears that this year's most successful phishing attacks are being launched by one particular group. http://www.banking-business-review.com/article_feature.asp?guid=6EBD81C6-7464-4EA9-8BF9-32A69C9E8547 EU Charges Intel With Monopoly Abuse EU regulators said Friday they have charged Intel Corp. with monopoly abuse for blocking rival computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s access to customers. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/27/1185339259095.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-intel28jul28,1,5613129.story http://iht.com/articles/2007/07/27/business/chip.php Huge Chinese piracy ring tackled Pirated software worth $500m (?250m) has been seized as the FBI shuts down a world-spanning piracy outfit. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6917127.stm D'oh! Spammers exploit interest in The Simpsons Movie Springfield's favorite family used by cybercriminals trying to confirm email addresses are "live" [news release] Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, has reminded computer users of the importance of not responding to unsolicited email surveys following the discovery of a spam campaign exploiting interest in "The Simpsons Movie", due to be released in cinemas this month. http://sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2007/07/simpsons.html Google's culture of convenience Google is getting rid of its 2038 cookies. That?s the year 2038, when web browser cookies created by its websites over the past decade were set to expire. From now on, Google?s cookies will only last for two years from the date of your last visit to a Google site. Does that really change much for Google users? No. But it should be a warning flag for corporate IT. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/mgmt/A87CC4D23AA420B9CC2573250010E892 us: Net access tax compromise: A short extension? A political compromise could temporarily, but not permanently, renew the Internet access tax ban when it expires on November 1. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6199043.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-11153_22-6199043.html BBC online video service launches The BBC's flagship online TV service is being launched, offering viewers the chance to download their favourite programmes from the last seven days. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6916164.stm Six in 10 US BlackBerry users check emails in bed, survey finds They're doing it in bed, in the bath and in the back of cars. America's CrackBerry addiction has got worse. A survey by AOL and Opinion Research of 4,025 Americans over the age of 13 found that almost six out of 10 used their mobile email gadgets in bed. Four out of 10 said they kept them nearby as they slept so they could hear incoming mail. A similar proportion said they had replied to emails in the middle of the night. A further 37% responded to emails when they were driving. But the figure that will cause most alarm in this God-fearing country is that 12% admitted to sneaking a look at their BlackBerrys while sitting in a church or synagogue. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/28/blackberry Surfing at Work? Join the Club [Reuters] Americans who feel bored and underpaid do work hard -- at surfing the Internet and catching up on gossip, according to a survey that found U.S. workers waste about 20 percent of their working day. An online survey of 2,057 employees by online compensation company Salary.com found about six in every 10 workers admit to wasting time at work with the average employee wasting 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5 hour working day. Personal Internet use topped the list as the leading time-wasting activity according to 34 percent of respondents, with 20.3 percent then listing socializing with co-workers and 17 percent conducting personal business as taking up time. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135214-c,workplace/article.html Web goes wild for Philippine jailhouse rock It began as a fitness routine for old lags, but inmates in the Philippines have turned it into a worldwide phenomenon: hundreds of prisoners in serried ranks - decked out in orange jail-issue clothing - are the latest stars of the internet. More than 1.3 million viewers have downloaded the prisoners' performance of Michael Jackson's Thriller, one of nine clips posted on the YouTube video-sharing website. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2136595,00.html http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2155513.ece au: Staff exodus over net porn Eleven quarantine officers have been sacked and another 14 have resigned for calling up and storing pornography on work computers, with some of the material involving children. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/26/1185339167605.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22142554-421,00.html http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/26/1989274.htm Fastest Growing Instant Messaging Destinations Offer Online Access to Chat or Multi-Media Chat Functionalities, according to Nielsen//NetRatings [news release] Nielsen//NetRatings announced the fastest growing instant messaging destination in the last 10 months was Meebo.com, a Web site where visitors can log in to several different instant messaging services without downloading an Internet application. Meebo?s unique audience increased 354 percent, from 434,000 in August 2006 when it first fell above reporting cutoff to 2.0 million in June 2007. Google Talk also saw triple digit growth in this time period, increasing 149 percent, from 904,000 to 2.3 million unique visitors. Both Meebo and Google Talk make it possible to chat anytime and anywhere you?re online, a feature that seems to resonate with consumers http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_070726.pdf comScore Publishes First Review of Latin American Internet Usage comScore found Brazil had the largest online population with 15.8 million users, which is 11 percent of the country?s population over the age of 15. However Chile, with 45 percent of its population online, had the highest Internet penetration; the average Latin American Internet user spent 29 hours online during the month ? more than the global average of 25 hours; internet users in Argentina were the most active of all users in the region ? accessing the Internet an average of 18 days in the month; the Brazilian Internet user viewed, on average, 3,371 pages during the month ? 40 percent more than the Latin American average of 2,338. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1531 comScore Reports Traffic to Leading French Sites in June comScore found that the total French online population was 26.1 million people (age 15 and older) in June, an increase of 2 percent from May, with the average visitor spending over 27.5 hours online in the month. Google remained the most visited property in France with 18.1 million unique visitors in June, and it now reaches 70 percent of the total French online population. Microsoft and France Telecom remained the second and third most visited properties in France, with 16.4 million and 14.0 million unique visitors respectively. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1534 comScore Reports Traffic to Leading German Sites for June In June, Google was the most visited property in Germany,attracting 22.8 million unique visitors. Google reached 69 percent of the total German online population and recorded an average of 40 visits per visitor over the course of the month ? almost double that of any of the other Top 10 ranked properties. Microsoft Sites and eBay remain the second and third largest properties, growing slightly in June to increase their total traffic to 17.8 million and 17.4 million unique visitors respectively. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1537 uk: Research fails to detect short-term harm from mobile phone masts Mobile phone masts do not cause harmful short-term health effects, according to a study of people who say they experience symptoms when they are close to them. The study deals another blow to the notion that low-level electromagnetic fields from cellphones or base stations are dangerous. http://www.guardian.co.uk/mobile/article/0,,2134778,00.html http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4143032a28.html Paperless newspapers are virtually a reality Here's a question that can at last be asked openly. Which major newspaper will be the first to throw away its newsprint and scrap its presses - and peddle its wares by internet alone? Business Week in America doesn't just ask the question, it provides a plausible answer: the Hearst Corporation's San Francisco Chronicle, a seemingly perfect candidate in a web-centric town. For the Chronicle loses shedloads: more than $330m so far this century. Why on earth keep consigning more good money to the bottom of the bay? http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2136783,00.html PC Sales Will Top 250M Units in 2007; Worldwide Mobile PC Sales to Reach 91M Units [news release] In 2007 the worldwide sales of mobile PCs are projected to reach nearly 91M units?up from 15M mobile PCs ten years ago. In the next five years mobile PC sales will be 159M units?a compound annual growth rate of nearly 12%. These figures could be conservative if the One-Laptop-per-Child project and similar initiatives are successful. http://c-i-a.com/pr0707.htm au: DC Marketing issued with a $149,600 penalty for ?missed call? marketing [news release] The Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued DC Marketing Europe Limited with an Infringement Notice, carrying a penalty of $149,600, for extensive breaches of the Spam Act 2003. The penalty is the largest issued by ACMA since the Spam Act?s penalty provisions came into force in April 2004. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_310445 YouTube Preps Video Fingerprinting (AP) YouTube hopes recognition technology will be in place in September to stop the posting of copyrighted videos on the popular Web site, a lawyer Friday told a judge presiding over copyright lawsuits. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/28/1185339296839.html Google plans YouTube antipiracy tool for September Google is moving forward with plans to partially automate the process by which media companies can press for takedown of copyrighted material. Representatives for the company told a district judge in California that they expected to roll out the technology in the fall, "hopefully in September." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028280 FTC Testifies on Potential Risks of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing [news release] The Federal Trade Commission today told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that consumer use of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology can be risky and discussed the work the FTC has done to address these risks to consumers http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/07/p2p.shtm Getting real about business in Second Life ... The Sunday Times/PA conference, 'Getting real about business in Second Life' aimed to start a debate on whether, and how, businesses should take advantage of Second Life. The conference took place in front of a live audience of around 90 people. While numbers had to be capped for technical reasons the conference is believed to have been the largest event of its kind yet held in Second Life. Guests arrived from Shanghai to Surrey and from companies including ABN Amro, the BBC, BA, Cisco, Dell, FirstDirect, Shell and Reuters. Newbies were given training by PA to create virtual selves - or avatars - that represent them in Second Life. Had the conference taken place in the real world it would have cost thousands and generated somewhere between 120 and 180 and tonnes of carbon. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2157902.ece Notorious nobodies The internet allows anyone to become famous overnight. But is it incubating vacuous wannabes ? or the household names of tomorrow? Celebrity-crazy blogger Perez Hilton, aka Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr, is talking to me on the phone while being driven out of Manhattan to the airport. ?Before me, most blogs were very first person, like online diaries ? ?I woke up today, I had tea with my neighbour, I went for a walk in the park? ? blah, blah, blah. BORING! I didn?t want to talk about myself. I wanted to talk about celebrities and entertainment because they?re craaaaazzzzeee and they?re so much fun.? http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2139926.ece Mozilla, Thunderbird Facing Trial Separation Mozilla's CEO says the Firefox browser is the priority over its standalone e-mail client. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135114/article.html Wikipedia's founder builds an open-source search engine Jimmy Wales invests in a "distributed" effort to index the Web, part of his plan to build an open alternative to Google. http://www.salon.com/tech/machinist/blog/2007/07/27/wiki_search/index.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN272470320070727 http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135171-c,searchengines/article.html The truth about Kiwi broadband Many of New Zealand's broadband providers are over-promising and under-delivering on line speed, according to a survey of readers. A large number of subscribers are getting a lot less than they pay for, with some forking out for so-called broadband and being lumbered with not much more than dial-up pace. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10454199 kr/kp: Comprehensive Overview of the Trends and Developments in Telecommunications and Digital Media Markets in South Korea [news release] Research and Markets announced the addition of "2007 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Asia report - North and South Korea" to their offering. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in telecommunications and digital media markets in South Korea. http://au.biz.yahoo.com/070729/43/1c1v6.html uk: VoIP services must offer 999, says Ofcom Ofcom today proposed that all VoIP phone services allowing users to make calls to ordinary phone numbers must also offer access to make 999 emergency calls. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/26/ofcom_proposes_voip_999/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- 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 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo!7 Mail has just got even bigger and better with unlimited storage on all webmail accounts. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.cynosure.com.au/mailman/private/dns/attachments/20070802/3a101f1e/attachment-0001.htmReceived on Thu Aug 02 2007 - 09:20:08 UTC
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