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 April 10 edition of the news include: DARPA: The Idea Factory That Spawned the Internet Turns 50 | Denmark has world's best IT networked economy: WEF | Study Gives High Marks to U.S. Internet | ICANN Posts Schedule for Paris Meeting 22-26 June | International domains to debut next year? | Com.au - a rich resource for domainers | au: Beat the domain name gold rush | Lessons from Cyber Storm II | Better co-ordination the key to fighting cyber-attacks: Cyber Storm II Outcome | RSA: Cyber Storm II Builds Network To Defend Against Cyber Crisis | Internet Error: Baidu Will Welcome Bad Internet Requests In China | .net Interview: Vint Cerf | Yahoo! Gets In Bed With Google And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Video boom threatens to gridlock the internet http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/06/internet.digitalmedia Web could collapse as video demand soars http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/07/nweb107.xml Coming soon: superfast internet http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3689881.ece Australian broadband network soon to be obsolete http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23496663-15306,00.html ICANN Issues Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-03apr08.htm NTIA Shrugs by Milton Mueller http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/4/2/3617576.html Happy second birthday .eu! http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4508 Estonia prepares for repeat of cyberattacks on anniversary http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/07/hitechcrime.internet The evolution of CyberCrime Inc. http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/04/technology/cybercrime07.php US Cyberwarfare Prep Includes Offense [AP] http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/06/financial/f103540D82.DTL nz: Extra cyber defence team considered http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4468208a28.html Craigslist bullies unofficial blog over domain, trademarks http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080406-craigslist-bullies-unofficial-blog-over-domain-trademarks.html Are Domain Name Registrars Ready for IPv6? by Patrick Vande Walle http://www.circleid.com/posts/84410_domain_registrars_ipv6/ Pizza.com cooked for $2.6m http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4489 ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Sealing the cracks: a proposal to update the anti-cybersquatting regime to combat advertising-based cybersquatting by Christopher T. Varas [Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice] Legal context: Recent years have seen a resurgence in the practice of cybersquatting, and in particular cybersquatting that monetizes domain names through pay-per-click advertisements. Existing statutory and administrative anti-cybersquatting tools were not designed to cope with the advertising-based model of cybersquatting. As a result, brand owners lack effective tools to combat modern cybersquatting. http://jiplp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/4/246 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Video boom threatens to gridlock the internet They are calling it the broadband crunch. Experts have warned that the amount of data travelling across the internet is growing so fast that the network could become overloaded and grind to a virtual standstill. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/06/internet.digitalmedia Web could collapse as video demand soars The internet could grind to a halt within two years under the pressure of booming demand for online video, experts have warned. Soaring visitor numbers to video websites such as YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer are putting the copper wires, which underpin parts of the internet, under severe strain. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/07/nweb107.xml Coming soon: superfast internet The internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds. At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, ?the grid? will be able to send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3689881.ece Australian broadband network soon to be obsolete By the time Australia upgrades its broadband, the network could be obsolete - thanks to a high-speed internet network developed in Geneva. The new network, called "the grid", is more than 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23496663-15306,00.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Launches Contractual Compliance Newsletter ICANN launched the Contractual Compliance Newsletter, a newsletter that offers a snapshot of the wide range of compliance work being done by ICANN. Each issue of the newsletter will cover enforcement statistics, an in-depth look at part of the compliance process, information about audits and studies, and upcoming events. The Newsletter will also include new advisories for registries and registrars to help them understand and continue to improve their compliance with ICANN contracts. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-03apr08.htm ICANN Issues Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Due to perceived confusion within the registrar community concerning the circumstances under which registrars may validly deny transfer requests pursuant to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy, on 19 September 2007, ICANN issued a Notice of Intent to Issue Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer (Notice). http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-03apr08.htm Public Comments Requested on Discussion Draft of Fast Track Mechanism for Introduction of a Limited Number of IDN ccTLDs The first Discussion Draft of the Interim Report of the IDNC Working Group (IDNC WG) has been published for comment and input from the ICANN community. This document has not been signed-off on by the IDNC Working Group whose members will continue to provide their own comments and input during this consultation period which is scheduled to end on 25 April 2008. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-04apr08.htm ICANN organizational structure image conspiracy uncovered by Kieren McCarthy One of the most difficult things about working at ICANN is keeping all the conspiracies under wraps. With an eagle-eyed community keeping tabs on the organisation?s every move, the tiny tweaks that, left noticed, would irreversibly alter the entire domain name system keep getting picked up before they can work their magic. http://blog.icann.org/?p=294 NTIA Shrugs by Milton Mueller The NTIA has released a short announcement about the mid-term review of ICANN. The announcement tells us very little except that the administration hasn't changed its position on anything important regarding its supervisory relationship to ICANN. The US is reasonably comfortable with the status quo and won't move until someone makes them very uncomfortable. Nothing they heard in February did so. Clearly, NTIA was not looking for information about what needs to be done, but seeking confirmation of its prior tendency to do nothing. It will leave to a future Presidential administration the issue of whether to continue to be the unilateral "ruler of the root" http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2008/4/2/3617576.html Revisiting the Registry-Registrar Split? by Bret Fausett I found this bit from the most recent Board minutes intriguing: "Charles River Associates has been commissioned to undertake a study on....the market of maintaining or not maintaining the separation between registrars and registries." I didn't think the issue of "not maintaining" the registry-registrar split was even on the table for discussion. http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/3/3618519.html Tucows continues fight for domain name portability After a long wait, ICANN has issued a much needed clarification describing how it interprets its domain name portability policy. Tucows has been an advocate of strong domain name portability policy since the early days of ICANN. We believe that consumer choice is a fundamental element of a healthy market. Without strong domain name portability policies the domain market will never be as strong as it should be. http://about.tucows.com/2008/04/04/icann-clarifies-domain-portability-rules/ NomCom seeks nominees into ICANN Independent entity in the Internet community, the Nominating Committee (NomCom) is seeking for nominees into the various leadership positions in ICANN and its subsidiary agencies. http://itrealms.blogspot.com/2008/04/nomcom-seeks-nominees-into-icann.html ICANN's meeting in UAE to discuss Arabic domain names The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is co-hosting the ICANN Regional Meeting in cooperation with ICANN. http://bi-me.com/main.php?id=18695&t=1&c=33&cg=4 ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** Domain names for .arabia Internet users in the Middle East may be able to petition to have domains names that end regionally specific, such as .arab, by the end of the year. If things go according to plan, those domain names may even be in Arabic. http://www.gulfnews.com/technology/internet/10203231.html US domain name costs rise as Australian regs loosen The US domain name registry VeriSign has announced an increase to the cost of domain names sold on its behalf by smaller registrars. ... Brendan Lewis, Executive Director of the Churchill Club innovation forum, doesn?t expect the announced increases will have a big effect on local Australian business as most local domain names are registered as ?dot au?. He says the retail end of the internet hosting business is highly competitive and many domain names are offered free of charge in a package. http://www.smartcompany.com.au/Free-Articles/The-Briefing/20080404-Costs-rise-yet-domain-dollars-remain.html Excellent results of DNS BE satisfaction survey You can find the results of the DNS BE satisfaction survey, in Dutch and in French, at: http://www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=414 .BIZ and INFO's anti-tasting measures okayed ICANN has just approved modifications requested a few weeks ago by the .BIZ and .INFO registries to limit domain tasting. From now on, no registrar will be able to freely delete more than 10% of the names it registers monthly. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/187/biz-and-info-s-anti-tasting-measures-okayed.php Happy second birthday .eu! The .eu TLD is celebrating its second birthday and over 2.8 million registrations, 300,000 of these in 2007, the European Union said on Saturday. It is also the fourth most popular TLD in Europe and ninth worldwide. The announcement of the milestone notes Milka, Bridgestone and Versace all are using the .eu TLD. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4508 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/04/05/happy-second-birthday-eu/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/.eu-celebrates-second-birthday.html Europe's .eu domain celebrates second birthday [AFP] The European .eu web domain has picked up 2.8 million customers in its first two years of existence and ranks in the global cyber top ten, the EU commission said Saturday. http://news.theage.com.au/europes-eu-domain-celebrates-second-birthday/20080405-23u3.html http://news.smh.com.au/europes-eu-domain-celebrates-second-birthday/20080405-23u3.html http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?from=rss_IOLTechHome&iSectionId=2883&iArticleId=4341368 Europe's .eu domain celebrates 2nd birthday in world top ten The European .eu web domain has picked up 2.8 million customers in its first two years of existence and ranks in the global cyber top ten, the EU commission said Saturday. http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1207319772.74 .eu web domains - guide During the past two years, businesses, NGOs and EU residents have secured over 2.8 million European internet identities, making .eu, at its second birthday today, the fourth most popular Top Level Domain in Europe and the ninth worldwide. By promoting an online identity that is distinctly European, .eu helps citizens and businesses to reap the full benefits of the single market and the freedoms that this provides. http://www.eubusiness.com/Internet/.eu-web-domains-guide Over 300,000 .eu web domains created in 2007: Frequently Asked Questions What is .eu? .eu is the European Union's Top Level Domain (TLD) that has been available since 7 April 2006 to all organisations with a seat in the EU and to every person resident in the EU. It does not replace the existing national country code TLDs in the EU (such as .de, .uk or .fr), but complements them and gives users the option of having an EU-wide identity for their ?online presence? ? such as websites and email addresses. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/218 "Application Evaluation Report Regarding IDN TLD" Posted JPRS has published on its website "Application Evaluation Report Regarding IDN TLD" which was co-authored by CNNIC, NIDA (KRNIC), TWNIC and JPRS. This report consists of the results of the tests carried out by each of these co-authors on a voluntary basis. The objective of the report is to provide with common criteria for the evaluation of IDN TLDs on applications and to encourage relevant entities to join the evaluation. http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/080402.html nl: Many numeric domain names returned to SIDN for reissue SIDN, the dot-NL registry, has today published the results of its review of the numeric domain name introduction process implemented on 28 and 29 February, and its outcome. The study revealed that there was a great deal of activity in the first hour of the landrush, but that two registrars in particular had monopolised much of the available registration capacity. SIDN has since taken the matter up with the parties concerned, with the result that many of the numeric domain names registered by them have now been relinquished. SIDN will therefore be able to make the names in question available again for general registration. http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,5577,,,,Many_numeric_domain_names_returned_to_SIDN_for_reissue.html?ACE_Id=751345be9cd9b696a281bb4218ed872c Cooperation Continues Between ICANN and Coordination Center for TLD RU ICANN and the Coordination Center for TLD RU (the manager of the .RU Internet country code top level domain) have been working over the past year to make sure Russian Internet users are aware of and a part of Internet development. "Our aim is to assure that the Russian Internet community is a part of the global processes defining how the Internet develops," said Veni Markovski, ICANN?s Manager of Regional Relations for Russia and the CIS region. "Our work with the Coordination Center for TLD RU is living proof of the success of the bottom-up, consensus driven model ICANN uses to develop policies. The Coordination Center has been a valuable participant in different levels of the ICANN work". http://cctld.ru/en/news/index.php?id20=120 Request to allow an AXFR query from Nominet We have joined up with RIPE NCC in running their Hostcount++ project. Hostcount is a project coordinated by RIPE NCC to count all hosts and effectively measure the breadth and depth of the Internet. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=4903 Over 62,000 .vn domain names granted The number of websites with the .vn domain name is rapidly increasing, according to the Viet Nam National Internet Centre (VNNIC) under the Ministry of Information and Communications. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01INF050408 First domain names created by the AFNIC under .wf (Wallis and Futuna) The AFNIC recently registered the first thirteen domain names under .wf, upon request from the French Government and Wallis & Futuna local Authorities. Within the context of broadband now being available in Wallis & Futuna, this move aims at supporting the development of local Internet use. http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/general/CP20080404_en ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Estonia prepares for repeat of cyberattacks on anniversary Estonia is bracing itself for a repeat of the internet attacks which nearly brought its government to a halt last year, the Guardian has learned. ... With the anniversary of the attacks looming, senior officials are preparing for a repeat performance. One official said there had been many smaller attempts to hack into government systems during the last 12 months but they were not as organised or successful as last year's attacks. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/07/hitechcrime.internet The evolution of CyberCrime Inc. Electronic crime is maturing, and with its evolution, criminals are adopting conventional approaches like supermarket-style pricing and outsourcing to specialists. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/business/worldbusiness/07cyber.html http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/04/technology/cybercrime07.php US Cyberwarfare Prep Includes Offense [AP] U.S. military officials seeking to boost the nation's cyberwarfare capabilities are looking beyond defending the Internet: They are developing ways to launch virtual attacks on enemies. But first the military will have to figure out the proper boundaries. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/06/financial/f103540D82.DTL http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/367523.html http://news.smh.com.au/us-cyberwarfare-preparations-include-offensive-measures-not-just-defense-of-networks/20080407-245b.html http://news.theage.com.au/us-cyberwarfare-preparations-include-offensive-measures-not-just-defense-of-networks/20080407-245b.html nz: Extra cyber defence team considered The New Zealand government is considering establishing a national Computer Emergency Response Team to plug a gap in cyber defences. The Government Communications Security Bureau says its role would be to improve the security of Internet and computer networks. Teams have been set up in many countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States. Their functions include identifying and addressing cyber threats, issuing alerts and receiving incident reports. An Asia- Pacific cert coordinates the activities of teams in the region. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4468208a28.html New FTC Videos Help Consumers Spot Phishing Scams The Federal Trade Commission has released three 60-second videos to help alert consumers to phishing scams. Phishing uses deceptive spam to trick consumers into divulging sensitive or personal information, including credit card numbers and other financial data, through an email or a link to a ?copycat? site. The goal of the videos is to offer practical, useful, and memorable messages. http://ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/vids.shtm ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Where Have All the Good Domain Names Gone? While President Bush's advisers were taking offers on an ideal spot for his library and museum, they probably should have paid more attention to the virtual real-estate market. Officials finally settled on Southern Methodist University in Dallas to house the US$250 million complex. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/62424.html Why GoDaddy Spent Lobbying Money on Pharmacy Issues In February I wrote about GoDaddy and its 2007 $580,000 lobby bill on capitol hill. One thing struck me as odd: one of the issues GoDaddy spent money on was pharmacy. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/04/03/why-godaddy-spent-lobbying-money-on-pharmacy-issues/ Go Daddy Cheers Passage of Online Pharmacy Legislation [news release] Go Daddy applauds this week's Senate passage of "The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008.? The legislation, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is key to reducing the proliferation of illegitimate pharmacies on the Internet. The bill, which is now awaiting action in the House of Representatives, would amend the federal drug law by requiring that Web-based companies only dispense controlled substances to individuals who have a valid prescription and have been examined at least once by a health care provider. https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/news/release_view.asp?news%5Fitem%5Fid=152&app%5Fhdr= Sk*rt Skirts Losing Its Domain I wrote about Sk*rt, pronounced skirt, and its horrible domain name sk-rt.com last November. I don?t need to go into the details about why this is such a bad name, but I hypothesized that the owners of Skirt.com would go after Sk-rt.com: http://domainnamewire.com/2008/04/03/skrt-skirts-losing-its-domain/ YouTube Chases Down YouTube.net Google and its YouTube division have filed for arbitration under UDRP to get control of the YouTube.net domain name. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/04/04/youtube-chases-down-youtubenet/ Craigslist bullies unofficial blog over domain, trademarks Not everyone is fond of the flaky characters who make or respond to posts on Craigslist, but the company itself has a fairly clean, people-friendly reputation. It's certainly not typically known for going on bullying sprees around the 'Net in an attempt to protect its own trademarks, ala Apple and the use of the word "pod" or, say, logos that also happen to contain representations of apples. But that reputation could be changing, as Craigslist recently issued legal threats against a blogger over trademark infringement. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080406-craigslist-bullies-unofficial-blog-over-domain-trademarks.html Craigslist demands surrender of URL Craigslist has served a takedown notice on the fan website Craigslist Blog. Craigslist fan Tim White launched his Blog last month but is not employed there. At that time, Craigslist did not have a blog site of its own. That's since changed, as Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster now writes an official Craigslist blog. Now he wants White to surrender his fan website domain name. http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/05/craigslist-demands-fan-blog ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** Cisco Speaks at FOSE on IPv6 Enterprise Architecture Transition by Dan Campbell "The world is flattening," says Dave Rubal at the FOSE Conference and Exhibition this week in Washington, DC. "The race for IT dominance is on, and it is coming west." Mr. Rubal, Cisco's Worldwide Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Task Force Lead, spoke of the tremendous race in IT dominance that is occurring, stating that the "mainstay technologies at the Beijing Olympics will be IPv6-powered." IPv6 is in line to replace version 4, but Rubal hinted that China and other Far East countries may be adopting the new version faster than the United States. http://www.circleid.com/posts/84410_cisco_ipv6_enterprise_architecture_transition/ Are Domain Name Registrars Ready for IPv6? by Patrick Vande Walle Now that ICANN has added IPv6 name servers for the root zone, and that many registries have enabled IPv6 on their DNS servers, I thought it would have been easy to update the DNS records pointing to my domain to mention a IPv6-only DNS server. This way, we could have native name resolution end-to-end in IPv6. We are not there yet, it seems. http://www.circleid.com/posts/84410_domain_registrars_ipv6/ U.S. carriers quietly developing IPv6 services For a decade, IPv6 has been the classic chicken-and-egg conundrum: There has been little North American demand for IPv6, so U.S. carriers haven't introduced IPv6 services; without commercial IPv6 services available from carriers, U.S. government agencies and businesses can't migrate to the next-generation Internet technology. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040208-ipv6-carrier-services.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Domain Name Price Jump: Moore?s Law or Parkinson?s Laws? by Antony Van Couvering As expected, VeriSign raised the price of domain names, effective in October. New prices wholesale prices (to the registrar) for .com domain names are going from $6.42 to $6.86, while .net will increase from $3.85 to $4.23. This news came a few days ago in a letter to registrars. (Hint to consumers: renew your domains now.) http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_price_jump_moores_law/ 10 Ways the Internet (As We Know It) Will Die We often think of the Internet as a platform for unfettered global communication, where information flows freely, innovators can launch new applications at will, and everyone can have a voice. But it?s unlikely that our children?s Internet will look anything like what we have now. http://gigaom.com/2008/04/06/10-ways-the-internet-will-die/ Netcraft March 2008 Web Server Survey In the March 2008 survey, we received responses from 162,662,052 sites. Growth has continued to rise over the past few months, with this month seeing a gain of four and a half million new sites. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2008/03/26/march_2008_web_server_survey.html ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Pizza.com cooked for $2.6m The Sedo auction for pizza.com has finished with the domain name selling for a hot and spicy US$2.6 million. The domain was originally registered 14 years ago by Charles Clark from North Potomac in Maryland, the United States. "It's crazy, it's just crazy," Clark, who recently launched a software company, told The Baltimore Sun. "That amount of money is significant. It will make a significant difference in my life, for sure." http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4489 http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/pizza.com-goes-for-a-hot-and-spicy-2.6m.html http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/04/03/pizzacom-cooked-for-26m-2/ Marylander gets big slice of Web pie Fourteen years ago, Chris Clark shelled out 20 bucks to register the domain name "pizza.com." This afternoon, he sold it for $2.6 million. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-pizza0403,0,2593624.story http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=6d1ffa28-44f4-47a6-ad86-c1a1346302f2 US man gets $2.6m for domain name A US man has sold the domain name pizza.com for $2.6m (?1.3m) - after maintaining the site for just $20 a year since 1994. Chris Clark, 43, accepted the offer from an anonymous bidder after a week-long online auction. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7331042.stm Auction nets $2.6 million for domain name The investment of $20 a year to maintain ownership of the Internet domain name "pizza.com" netted the U.S. owner a hefty return of $2.6 million Thursday. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Business/2008/04/03/auction_nets_26_million_for_domain_name/7433/ Parking Pages Can Create Risk Of A Finding Of Bad Faith Under the UDRP Auto-generated websites equal bad faith under the UDRP: This lack of direct control is often a central theme in a cybersquatter?s response to a UDRP complaint. At least one UDRP panel bought this argument. See Admiral Insurance Services v. Dicker, WIPO Case No. D2005-0241 (?the Panel accepts that the terms under which Google makes its Adsense advertisements available do not permit the Respondent to control them . . .?). However, that panel included David Sorkin, which makes its findings suspect. (He rules for complainants less than 1/3 of the time, and has earned more than $100,000 in UDRP panelist fees. Do the math). http://tcattorney.typepad.com/anticybersquatting_consum/2008/04/parking-pages-c.html Media agencies attack Google's trademark plans Google is planning to allow any online advertiser to bid for trademarked names on its UK and Irish search sites, in a move that has been attacked by digital media agencies as a cynical attempt to raise revenues that could ultimately confuse consumers. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/04/google.google Roundtable Session - Emerging Trends, Emerging Companies The domain industry consistently improves - adapting to latest trends, technologies and changes. This is evidenced in the relentless emergence of new companies with improved products and fresh perspectives and existing companies enhancing their platform and tool offerings to better serve their customer. A panel session at the Domain Roundtable Conference emphasizes this very topic. Guaranteed to be interesting. This is a valuable panel you will not want to miss. http://blog.domaintools.com/2008/04/roundtable-session-emerging-trends-emerging-companies/ Yahoo Promises to 'Amp' Up Ad Platform [AP] Yahoo Inc. believes it's poised to revolutionize online advertising after years of being outmaneuvered by rival Google Inc. But the slumping Internet pioneer might not get the chance to show off the latest improvements to its online advertising platform unless it can convince increasingly impatient investors that the new approach will produce a bigger payoff than Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited offer to buy the Sunnyvale-based company for more than $40 billion. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Yahoo-Advertising.html http://news.theage.com.au/yahoo-promises-to-amp-up-ad-platform/20080407-249t.html http://news.smh.com.au/yahoo-promises-to-amp-up-ad-platform/20080407-249t.html Yahoo Reveals Some Details of Its New Ad Sales System Yahoo is beginning to pull the wraps off an online advertising system that the company said would help it and its partners drive sales of graphical and other premium ads. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/business/media/07yahoo1.html Internet advertising: The case of the missing clicks What does it mean when people click on Google's ads less often? Did Google, the world's largest web-search engine, peak last November 6th, when its share price hit an all-time high of $742? Some people on Wall Street seem to think so. They now value the firm at around 40% less. Part of the blame belongs to the general turmoil in the stockmarket. But the bigger part, investors fear, is that Google, at the ripe old age of nine, might already be over the hill. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10962700 Trio of Six Figure Sales Reign Over This Week's Expanded Domain Sales Chart A huge wave of completed sales from last month's Moniker/SnapNames Live domain auction at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West hit this week's chart so, as we have done in the past, we are expanding our usual Top 20 chart to 40 positions. That keeps the everyday venues from getting lost among the many special event sales. All told, Moniker/T.R.A.F.F.I.C. sales accounted for 20 of the 40 chart entries with another auction sale from Moniker's live event at the Affiliate West Summit also making a big impact as it hit the Big Board in the #1 position. That name was Offer.com, a domain that commanded $180,000. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2008/domainsales04-01-08.htm At 25, Sean Stafford is transforming the world of Internet domain names Sean Stafford was a support representative at Louisville-based Modern Gigabyte when his idea led to the founding of the domain name platform company DNZoom (Domain Name Zoom) in June 2007. http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/04/07/story13.html ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** A New First Amendment Model for Evaluating Content-Based Regulation of Internet Pornography: Revising the Strict Scrutiny Model to Better Reflect the Realities of the Modern Media Age by Patrick M Garry [Brigham Young University Law Review] Abstract: ... Part I of this Article outlines the case against the Court's current use of strict scrutiny. This approach hinges on a single factor: whether or not a regulation of speech hinges on a content distinction. Once such a distinction is found, the law is almost always struck down, regardless of the speech burdens actually imposed by the law, whether the subject speech is in plentiful supply in other media venues, or whether the laws would result in a banishment of certain ideas from the public discourse. This myopic focus on content discrimination is outmoded in today's multimedia world and prohibits regulations of speech even when the burdens imposed by the law are slight and the speech remains available and accessible in the broader marketplace of ideas. Part II of the Article proposes a new judicial model for evaluating content-based laws regulating media programming that is not political speech. This new model examines the actual burdens placed on the subject speech. It also considers perhaps the most vulnerable freedom in the current media environment - the freedom of the unwilling recipient to avoid unwanted and offensive media speech. Furthermore, the new model - a variation of the intermediate scrutiny approach now used for so-called content-neutral regulations of speech - takes into account and incorporates the realities of the modern media world. It does so by recognizing that there is a vast array of media channels through which any one type of speech can flow, and that a restriction of speech in one venue may not rise to the level of an unconstitutional censorship. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1115344 Omniveillance, Google, Privacy in Public, and the Right to Your Digital Identity: A Tort for Recording and Disseminating an Individual's Image Over the Internet by Josh Blackman Abstract: Internet giant Google recently began photographing American streets with a new technology they entitled Google Street View. These high-resolution cameras capture people, both outside, and inside of their homes, engaged in private matters. Although the present iteration of this technology only displays previously recorded images, current privacy laws do not prevent Google, or other technology companies, or wealthy individuals, from implementing a system that broadcasts live video feeds of street corner throughout America. Such pervasive human monitoring is the essence of the phenomenon this Article has termed omniveillance. This threat is all the more realistic in light of projected trends in technology, and the path of future Internet developments. This Article proposes the right to your digital identity, a tort to balance privacy rights with free speech, and provide a remedy for victims of omniveillance. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1116776 Data Mining and Internet Profiling: Emerging Regulatory and Technological Approaches by Ira Rubenstein, ronald D Lee and Paul M Scwartz [University of Chicago Law Review] Abstract: ... This Article begins by examining governmental data mining. In Part II, this Article reviews widely held views about the necessary safeguards for the use of data mining. In Part III, this Article considers dataveillance by private corporations and how they have compiled rich collections of information gathered online in the absence of a robust legal framework that might help preserve online privacy. This Article then discusses some of the techniques that individuals can employ to mask their online activity as well as existing and emerging technological approaches to preventing the private sector or government from linking their personal information and tracing their activities. This Article concludes by briefly considering three topics: (1) whether and how to regulate the potential impact of identity management systems on counterterrorism efforts; (2) the requirements of transparency and understanding of the underlying models used in either data mining or identity management systems as a necessary prelude to the creation of rules on appropriate access and use; and (3) the need for research in several further areas. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1116728 MySpace is Also Their Space: Ideas for Keeping Children Safe from Sexual Predators on Social-Networking Sites by Susan Duncan [Kentucky Law Journal] Abstract: A growing number of disturbing incidents involving minors as victims of sexual solicitation, assault and even murder have been traced to a fairly new type of Internet communication, social networking sites. These sites, hugely popular with teens, provide unique and largely independent and unsupervised channels of self expression and socialization for children. Yet the sites also present real dangers to today's youth, the most serious being child victimization by sexual predators. ... The Article concludes by offering additional solutions for keeping children safe based on current research. A multi-faceted approach is necessary based on different causes of risk taking. Social networking sites should be encouraged to segregate different age groups but the burden should not be theirs alone. To further promote segregating age groups, children and adults should be punished for misrepresenting their age when registering on social networking sites. Record companies used a fear of punishment strategy when deciding to sue individual file sharers for copyright infringement. Only when the risk of punishment outweighed the benefits of the peer-to-peer sharing option did behavior change. These results offer hope that a similar strategy with social networking sites may be effective in changing teens' behavior. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1114203 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Revealed: secrets of choosing an online dating name What?s in a name? Quite a lot, it seems, if you are internet dating. New research has found those looking for love online should take care what screen name they use to maximise their digital appeal. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3677778.ece In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece ? not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06sweat.html Chinese Rural Internet Has Huge Potentiality for Development and Its Annual Growth Speed Exceeds That of the City by Three Times (CNNIC) On March 28, 2008, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the "Survey Report on Internet Development in Rural China", one of the 2008 serial reports on the development of the Internet in China. The Data by December 31, 2007, the number of rural netizens in China was 52.62 million, and its annual growth rate reached 127.7%, far higher than that of urban netizens, which was 38.2%. It benefit from Chinese economy development and the primary support policy of government for rural Internet development. The rural Internet has demonstrated good potentiality for development. http://www.cnnic.net.cn/html/Dir/2008/04/01/5038.htm http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4507 Think You Know Your Web Traffic? Think again. The scramble for online measures If you hopped into a time machine that spat you out sometime between 1996 and now, you could almost pinpoint the year by the words used to describe an organization?s Web traffic. Hits? That would be 1998 or so. Page views? 2003-2005. Unique visitors? 2006-2007. Odds are that 2008-2009 is going to be the year of ?time spent,? as in, ?an average user spends four minutes and thirty-five seconds on our site.? http://www.cjr.org/on_the_job/think_you_know_your_web_traffi.php ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Australia key to Facebook safety guide [AAP] Australian authorities have welcomed new international guidelines for the safer use of social networking internet sites such as Facebook and MySpace. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/04/03/1206851098469.html http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=472649 http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/new-guidelines-for-social-websites/20080403-23hf.html http://news.smh.com.au/new-guidelines-for-social-websites/20080403-23hf.html Safe Internet guidelines ignore Aussie feedback New international guidelines aimed at improving the safety of youngsters using social networking sites will be released today -- but privacy advocates are concerned that no young Australians were consulted. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Safe-Internet-guidelines-ignore-Aussie-feedback/0,130061744,339287942,00.htm ACMA welcomes release of international guidelines for safer online social networking [news release] New international guidelines for safer use of social networking services, such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, will be launched today in the UK Parliament?s House of Lords in London. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has been an important contributor to the development of the guidelines to help providers of social networking services everywhere. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311043 Web gets safer New international guidelines designed to make social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace safer for children were launched in Britain's parliament overnight. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23482800-5013040,00.html Government Moves To Control Facebook, MySpace & Bebo New international guidelines for safer use of social networking services, such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo were released in the UK today, in a move some say is a harbinger of things to come in Australia. http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Comment/G6C4S8N8 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Cloudy Judgment: Web-based applications are all well and good, but there's still no beating the desktop computer. I had just finished a Photoshop how-to for Wired when the software's maker announced a new free online version, Photoshop Express. Great, I thought: Instead of telling readers to spend 100 bucks, I can point them to the free, no-installation-required version. After a few minutes of noodling, though, it was clear that Photoshop Express couldn't perform the basic vacation-shot-enhancement tricks I'd written up. Neither can Picnik or Phixr, two other popular Web-based photo editors. As of yet, no Web-based photo manipulation tool is even as sophisticated as Photoshop Elements 5, the previous PC edition. Buy a copy on eBay for $40?you'll thank me the next time your Web connection conks out. http://www.slate.com/id/2188015/ Cellphones carving deep into landline business Harris Interactive today published comprehensive survey results on the use of cellphones. For the very first time, more people are using cellphones than landline phones. The market research firm concluded that new technologies are likely to reshape the telecommunications landscape within the next decade as most 18-29 year olds have dropped landlines already and use cellphones and the Internet as their only communication tools. http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36798/118/ Older Adults Shifting To Mobile Phones From Landlines The number of people without traditional landline phones is increasing, as a growing number of U.S. adults use only mobile phones, a market research firm said Friday. http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/voice/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001937 Aussies buy almost 10 million mobiles a year In 2007, 9.64 million mobile devices were shipped to Australia and 3.55 million of these shipped in the fourth quarter, the highest quarter on record. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;366950171;fp;2;fpid;1 Will Microsoft Deliver Windows 7 Next Year? [IDG] Microsoft hints that the next version of its Windows operating system will arrive in 2009. Microsoft has dropped two strong hints in the past two days that the next version of its Windows operating system will arrive in 2009, shaving up to a year off previous expectations. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144152/article.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/04/Will-Microsoft-deliver-Windows-7-next-year_1.html http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9075018 Gates: Windows 7 may come 'in the next year' Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday indicated that Windows 7, the next major version of Windows, could come within the next year, far ahead of the development schedule previously indicated by the software maker. http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9911470-56.html Windows 7 in 'next year or so', says Gates [Reuters] Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he expects the new version of Windows operating software, code-named Windows 7, to be released "sometime in the next year or so." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10502471 ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** us: Miami tries to bridge its digital divide In the basement of a Catholic church, a woman loudly shouts the word "three," and a chorus of seniors repeats the word several times as part of their regular English lessons. A few yards a way, a small flea market features a display of clothes and other items. But next door to the flea market is the crown jewel of the Gesu Senior Center: its computer lab. http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9912320-56.html my: Internet connectivity to be top priority in rural Sabah, Sarawak The government is to give top priority to internet connectivity, 24-hour power and treated water supply to rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak to provide quality living for rural folks. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/NewsBreak/20080405164004/Article/ ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** The evolution of CyberCrime Inc. Electronic crime is maturing, and with its evolution, criminals are adopting conventional approaches like supermarket-style pricing and outsourcing to specialists. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/business/worldbusiness/07cyber.html http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/04/technology/cybercrime07.php US Cyberwarfare Prep Includes Offense [AP] U.S. military officials seeking to boost the nation's cyberwarfare capabilities are looking beyond defending the Internet: They are developing ways to launch virtual attacks on enemies. But first the military will have to figure out the proper boundaries. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/06/financial/f103540D82.DTL http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/367523.html http://news.smh.com.au/us-cyberwarfare-preparations-include-offensive-measures-not-just-defense-of-networks/20080407-245b.html http://news.theage.com.au/us-cyberwarfare-preparations-include-offensive-measures-not-just-defense-of-networks/20080407-245b.html nz: Extra cyber defence team considered The New Zealand government is considering establishing a national Computer Emergency Response Team to plug a gap in cyber defences. The Government Communications Security Bureau says its role would be to improve the security of Internet and computer networks. Teams have been set up in many countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States. Their functions include identifying and addressing cyber threats, issuing alerts and receiving incident reports. An Asia- Pacific cert coordinates the activities of teams in the region. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4468208a28.html US ISPs Hog Rights in Fine Print [AP] In their subscriber contracts, some Internet providers explicitly absolve themselves of obligations that, it seems, no one would imagine they had in the first place. For instance, Verizon Communications Inc. makes broadband subscribers agree that the company assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of things they may read on the Internet, or receive in e-mails. So don't complain to the company if that Wikipedia entry on wombats misstates their gestational period. http://news.theage.com.au/isps-hog-rights-in-fine-print/20080405-23ui.html http://news.smh.com.au/isps-hog-rights-in-fine-print/20080405-23ui.html http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/I/ISP_FUNNY_PRINT New FTC Videos Help Consumers Spot Phishing Scams The Federal Trade Commission has released three 60-second videos to help alert consumers to phishing scams. Phishing uses deceptive spam to trick consumers into divulging sensitive or personal information, including credit card numbers and other financial data, through an email or a link to a ?copycat? site. The goal of the videos is to offer practical, useful, and memorable messages. http://ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/vids.shtm ca: Internet Jurisdiction In The Global Age: Desjean v. Intermix and the Adaptation of the Real and Substantial Connection Test: Desjean v. Intermix [sub req'd] The last decade has witnessed two important developments that are quickly reshaping Canadian society. On the one hand, the Internet revolution has changed the way that we access information, communicate with one another, and trade goods and services throughout the world. On the other hand, the proliferation of class actions, which can group together thousands and even millions of consumers into a single lawsuit, has radically transformed the legal landscape. In Desjean v. Intermix,1 a class proceeding filed in the Federal Court, these two phenomena ? the emergence of the Internet and class action litigation ? intersect in a compelling way. The issue raised by the case is a relatively novel one: Can an individual who acquires a web product sue the provider in the forum where that product was downloaded? What test should be applied to determine whether a Canadian court can assert jurisdiction? http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=58648 UK media agencies attack Google's trademark plans Google is planning to allow any online advertiser to bid for trademarked names on its UK and Irish search sites, in a move that has been attacked by digital media agencies as a cynical attempt to raise revenues that could ultimately confuse consumers. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/04/google.google us: Men fall harder than women for Internet fraud, study finds [IDG] When it comes to being taken in by Internet fraudsters, men have a knack for losing cash, according to a new report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9074839 http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/7D248D25D41A3725CC25742100183DC7 http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144129-c,scamshoaxes/article.html Internet Crime Report: The FBI's Top Scams of 2007 In 2007, the Internet Crime Complaint Center received 206,884 complaints, leading to a reported dollar loss of nearly $240 million, an all-time high. http://www.fbi.gov/page2/april08/ic3_report040308.html Record amounts being lost in US internet scams [AFP] Fewer Americans fell for internet fraudsters last year but those who did parted with a record $US239.09 million, an annual report by the FBI said Thursday. Just under 207,000 complaints of online fraud were reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2007, down from 207,492 complaints the previous year and more than 231,000 in 2005, the report said. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/04/04/1207249412902.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/04/1207249412902.html US Internet Fraud Loss For 2007 Tops $239 Million The dollar loss reported from Internet crime reached an all-time high in 2007, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) 2007 Internet Crime report. http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001919 Reported Dollar Loss From Internet Crime Reaches All Time High [news release] According to the 2007 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 206,884 complaints of crimes perpetrated over the Internet during 2007. Of the complaints received, more than 90,000 were referred to law enforcement around the nation, amounting to nearly $240 million in reported losses. This represents a $40 million increase in reported losses from complaints referred to law enforcement in 2006. All complaints received by IC3 are accessible to federal, state, and local law enforcement to support active investigations, trend analysis, and public outreach and awareness efforts. ?The Internet presents a wealth of opportunity for would be criminals to prey on unsuspecting victims, and this report shows how extensive these types of crime have become,? said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director James E. Finch. ?What this report does not show is how often this type of activity goes unreported. Filing a complaint through IC3 is the best way to alert law enforcement authorities of Internet crime.? http://ic3.gov/media/2008/080403.htm Deutsche Telekom Faces Massive Lawsuit by Shareholders Deutsche Telekom is the dock from Monday in a landmark lawsuit filed by 16,000 shareholders who feel cheated by the former public phone company and are suing the telecoms giant for up to 80 million euros ($126 million). http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3248422,00.html Number of viruses to top one million by 2009 The total number of viruses will reach one million by year's end, according to security experts. Malware writers have been forced to create new types of viruses and exploits more regularly as businesses and individuals improve security practices, the experts said. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9075118 UK man wins record Internet libel damages A British property executive won record Internet libel damages from a court on Thursday, in one of the country's first cases stemming from online harassment by a business rival. http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSPAR35799720080403 Straight or gay? U.S. court says Web site can't ask [Reuters] A roommate-finding site cannot require users to disclose their sexual orientation, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday, in the latest skirmish over whether anti-discrimination rules apply to the Web. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN0347688720080404 http://www.news.com/2100-1030_3-6236605.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6236605.html us: Craigslist hoaxers arrested after house looted The perpetrators of a hoax online classified ad that led to a man's house being looted as he watched helplessly have been tracked down and arrested. Police say the incident, far from a malicious joke, stemmed from an attempt by two thieves to cover their tracks from an earlier robbery. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/03/1206851064915.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/04/03/1206851064915.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** The Already Big Thing on the Internet: Spying on Users In 1993, the dawn of the Internet age, the liberating anonymity of the online world was captured in a well-known New Yorker cartoon. One dog, sitting at a computer, tells another: ?On the Internet, nobody knows you?re a dog.? Fifteen years later, that anonymity is gone. It?s not paranoia: they really are spying on you. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05sat4.html uk: 'Illegal' ad system scrutinised Technical analysis of the Phorm online advertising system has reinforced an expert's view that it is "illegal". The analysis was done by Dr Richard Clayton, a computer security researcher at the University of Cambridge. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7331493.stm BT 'allowed customers to be spied upon' The telecoms giant BT is under investigation for alleged privacy breaches after it secretly allowed a company to monitor the web activities of thousands of broadband customers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/04/nbt104.xml Privacy: What should Google do? Public interest groups, academics and members of the press have hammered Google for its lax privacy policies. The criticism has mostly focused on the log deletion practices and browser cookie policies at the search giant. Google claims that search quality and user privacy are a zero-sum game: deleting log data makes it more difficult to improve search results. Perhaps the company is right. However, there are several other pro-privacy steps that Google could take to significantly protect its customers--which it has not done, and continues to reject. http://www.cnet.com/8301-13739_1-9909637-46.html Every Click You Make The online behavior of a small but growing number of computer users in the United States is monitored by their Internet service providers, who have access to every click and keystroke that comes down the line. The companies harvest the stream of data for clues to a person's interests, making money from advertisers who use the information to target their online pitches. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304052.html us: Google sued for invasion of privacy A couple in the US state of Pennyslvania are suing internet company Google for invading their privacy by showing pictures of their home on the 'Street View' website. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/05/2208794.htm ca: Watchdog probes Net hijack claims Canada's privacy office is looking into allegations that federal human-rights investigators tapped into an unwitting woman's Internet connection to post messages on white supremacist websites, a spokesman said Friday. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2008/04/04/5197256-cp.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** UK ISP fires shot across bows of music industry on piracy TalkTalk, the internet service-provider owned by Carphone Warehouse, has flatly rejected demands from the music and film industries that it should "police" the internet and cut off some broadband customers in an attempt to stem the flood of illegal file-sharing. The record industry, in the form of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), has suggested persistent illegal file-sharers should be warned by their service providers and then be cut off under a "three strikes and you're out" rule. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/04/internet.technology Carphone Warehouse will not be 'internet police' Charles Dunstone, the chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, has said that he would refuse to disconnect internet users caught illegally downloading copyright music and other items. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3680998.ece Carphone Warehouse stares down BPI and UK.gov on three strikes Carphone Warehouse has called the government's bluff by stating that it will not cooperate with the record industry to clamp down on copyright infringement over peer-to-peer networks. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/04/arphone_bpi_three_strikes_rejection/ Policing internet 'not ISP's job' The head of one of Britain's biggest internet providers has criticised the music industry for demanding that he act against pirates. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7329801.stm The Record Labels' Digital Future On Apr. 3 the recording industry sent a clear signal about its changing attitude toward the Internet. The social networking site MySpace and three of the four major record labels unveiled MySpace Music, which will let fans listen to music online for free and buy songs for download, along with merchandise and concert tickets. Warner Music, Sony BMG, and Universal Music, the three labels that signed up for the deal, say the joint venture is an important evolution of their business model. "We think of ourselves as undergoing a very fundamental transformation from being a CD company to a multirevenue stream, multibusiness company," says Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG's global digital business. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2008/tc2008043_871448.htm Digital music firms pay heavy price for labels' support [Billboard] A stark truth facing any aspiring digital music service these days is that working with record labels is going to carry a hefty price. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0548272020080405 Norwegian ISPs refuse to finger P2P users for movie biz While copyright holders once told consumers, "Don't copy that floppy," the Norwegian Consumer Council has a new message: "Don't sign on the dotted line." Late last week, it came to light that Internet users who have been picked out for distributing movies are being asked to sign a letter admitting guilt and making a pledge not to engage in illicit file-swapping again (no word on whether a blood oath is required). The NCC is telling people not to sign, however. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080403-norwegian-isps-refuse-to-finger-p2p-users-for-movie-biz.html iTunes 'biggest US music seller' Apple's iTunes has overtaken supermarket group Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US, an independent study has said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7329886.stm ITunes records a sales milestone [AP] Apple Inc. has surpassed Wal-Mart to become America's No. 1 music store, the first time that a seller of digital downloads has ever beaten the big CD retailers. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-itunes4apr04,1,4873885.story MySpace Music Buddies Up With Record Labels MySpace announced Thursday a joint venture with three of the world's four largest record companies -- Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music -- to launch a new online music service. The service will add new features to the social network's existing music portal, MySpace Music. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/MySpace-Music-Buddies-Up-With-Record-Labels-62435.html MySpace Music: Here comes the latest iTunes killer Imagine digital music without Apple as the marquee act. That's what the music labels want. For years, they have wished for a legitimate challenger to wrest away some of the bargaining power Apple has wielded as the No. 1 online music seller. So, here we go again: it's another iTunes killer. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9910931-7.html MySpace announces plans for iTunes rival MySpace, the world?s largest social networking group, has announced plans to set up a music downloading service to rival Apple?s iTunes. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3678203.ece ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Iranian Blogosphere Tests Government?s Limits Troll through the Iranian blogosphere and you can find all manner of unexpectedly harsh critiques denouncing the government of the Islamic Republic, from reformists who revile it as well as conservatives who support it. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/world/middleeast/06iranblog.html Yahoo's Yang: No easy answers in China Net-censorship debate The last time Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang was called from Silicon Valley to the nation's capital, politicians lambasted him as a moral "pygmy" and subjected him to multiple hours of grilling about the company's role in the conviction of a Chinese cyberdissident. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9910846-7.html China allows access to English Wikipedia [Reuters] Chinese authorities appeared to have lifted a block on the English-language version of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but politically sensitive topics such as Tibet and Tiananmen Square are still off limits. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKPEK8634220080405 http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6236737.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144187-c,sites/article.html Olympic Committee accepts China's Internet-access assurances [IDG] China is progressing well toward the Olympic Games with fewer than 130 days remaining, and organizers have given assurances that Internet and media access will meet Olympic standards, an International Olympic Committee official said yesterday. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9074920 Indonesian Internet providers start blocking Dutch film: report [AFP] Indonesian Internet providers have started blocking websites or blogs posting an anti-Islamic film that has sparked widespread protests, a report said Saturday. http://news.smh.com.au/indonesian-internet-providers-start-blocking-dutch-film-report/20080405-23xc.html http://news.theage.com.au/indonesian-internet-providers-start-blocking-dutch-film-report/20080405-23xc.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ au: Young, savvy - and the bane of online predators Jessica Negus, just 18 years old and a few months into her career with the federal police, is already playing a pivotal role in some of the biggest and most complex investigations being undertaken by the force. The daughter of a federal police officer and a graduate of St Clare's College in Canberra, Negus was hired as the AFP's youth adviser under a program devised by the Commissioner, Mick Keelty. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/04/1207249460465.html Andrew Keen on New Media: Telling children what to do is not the best way to protect them Let me be unfashionably authoritative and award grades for the Byron Review's Safer Children in a Digital World report. It gets an A+ for its schmooze, an A- for its wisdom about video gaming, a B+/C- on its understanding of the internet and a D for its inappropriate title. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/comment/andrew-keen-on-new-media-805349.html UK sex offenders face website bans Paedophiles will be banned from social networking websites such as Facebook, under measures announced by ministers today. Convicted child sex offenders will be forced to disclose their email addresses to police, who will then pass the details to websites to block access. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sex-offenders-face-website-bans-804638.html UK sex offenders face website bans Sex offenders' e-mail addresses are to be passed to social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo to prevent them contacting children. Under government proposals, offenders who do not give police their address - or give a false one - would face up to five years in jail. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7328170.stm Paedophiles face curbs on internet use The home secretary will today outline plans to increase protection for children surfing the web, including new jail terms for convicted paedophiles who use social networking websites. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/apr/04/ukcrime.childprotection Paedophiles to be forced to disclose e-mail addresses Paedophiles will have to disclose their e-mail addresses to police when they go on the sex offenders register as part of measures to increase online safety. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3680392.ece uk: Paedophiles forced to register email details Convicted child sex offenders will be forced to give their email addresses to police as part of a drive to stop them "grooming" children online, the Home Office will announce today. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/04/npaedo104.xml us: Virginia first state to require Internet safety lessons, tells students to beware online [AP] On a screen at the front of a classroom, Gene Fishel flashed an online social-networking profile of "hotlilflgirl," which said she was 15, enjoys being around boys and wants to meet new people. The next image revealed the real "hotlilflgirl" _ a mug shot of a 31-year-old man who was convicted of sexually abusing 11 children he met online and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. http://news.smh.com.au/virginia-first-state-to-require-internet-safety-lessons-tells-students-to-beware-online/20080407-245e.html http://news.theage.com.au/virginia-first-state-to-require-internet-safety-lessons-tells-students-to-beware-online/20080407-245e.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Microsoft Sets Deadline for Yahoo to Make Deal Microsoft warned the board of Yahoo on Saturday that if a merger agreement was not completed in the next three weeks, Microsoft would make its offer directly to Yahoo shareholders, probably at a lower price. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06soft.html Microsoft gives Yahoo three weeks Microsoft has given Yahoo a three-week deadline to respond to its offer to buy out the internet company for US$44.6bn (?22.3bn). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7332916.stm Microsoft sets 3-week deadline in Yahoo takeover bid Microsoft Corp. today gave Yahoo Inc. three weeks to accept a 2-month-old takeover offer worth about $40 billion, warning that it might otherwise try to win control of the Internet company by running a slate of directors that shareholders could elect to the board. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-microsoft6apr06,0,6541025.story Microsoft gets cold feet on $42bn Yahoo! bid Microsoft is seriously reconsidering its US$42bn (?21bn) bid for Yahoo! in light of the search engine's continued rejection of its takeover offer. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/05/cnmicro105.xml Lines Drawn for Microsoft and Yahoo, and Neither Is Ceding Ground The standoff between Microsoft and Yahoo appears to be growing more tense. A meeting of senior executives from the companies this week to discuss Microsoft?s hostile takeover bid was icy from the start and ended with no progress, people briefed on it said. Microsoft and Yahoo both declined to comment. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/technology/05yahoo.html Stop Wasting Time, Microsoft Tells Yahoo! After waiting more than two months for a response to its bid to acquire Yahoo!, Microsoft has given the Internet portal three weeks to accept its buyout bid before it launches a proxy fight and possibly lowers its offer price. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/04/05/yahoo-microsoft-deadline-tech-ebiz-cx_wt_0405yhoodeal.html Companies struggle as Safari pops up on networks [IDG] Network administrators are complaining that Apple's recent decision to offer users its Safari Web browser as part of an iTunes and QuickTime update has made their lives harder, as they struggle to remove the software from PCs on their networks. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9075138 http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/04/Companies-struggle-as-Safari-pops-up-on-networks_1.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Keeping patchwork of telecoms regulations will cost EU billions of Euros [news release] Europe?s economy could benefit by as much as 1,300 billion Euros over the next 20 years with the development of seamless pan-European electronic communications services, according to a new study released by Indepen Consulting. http://www.btplc.com/news/articles/showarticle.cfm?articleid=%7b2f555100-3b39-463a-9381-35edbaf6db3f%7d New trans-Tasman cable coming Kordia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia?s Pipe Networks to build a new, private fibre-optic cable that will link New Zealand and Australia. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/D5B1F34357E507C9CC25742400006EF2 Kordia in deal to build NZ-Aust fibre cable A new trans-Tasman subsea cable providing an alternative link for internet traffic between New Zealand and the rest of the world will be built by state-owned enterprise Kordia and Australian-listed submarine cable operator Pipe Network. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4468328a28.html Pipe dreams come true with new trans-Tasman fibre link The news is just in that state-owned broadcasting and telecoms provider Kordia is to build a fibre-optic link between New Zealand and Australia in conjunction with Australian network infrastructure player Pipe Networks. http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/griffins-tech-blog/2008/4/7/pipe-dreams-come-true-new-trans-tasman-fibre-link/?c_id=5 Internet cable upgrade means faster, cheaper web for Kiwis A New Zealand state owned enterprise and an Australian telecommunications company have teamed up to bring faster, cheaper, safer internet to New Zealand through a new submarine cable to be laid across the Tasman. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10502559 Southern Cross upgrade lifts capacity to 860Gbps The Southern Cross Cable Network is supporting the move to high speed broadband in Australia and New Zealand with the completion of the first stage of a big capacity upgrade. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/F0D6F61E327FDBD7CC2574220033F19C InternetNZ calls for debate on fibre investment vehicle [sub req'd] http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=209963 Nigeria - Leading Communications Revolution in Africa In this report, Efem Nkanga looks at how Nigeria can leverage on its growing importance in the global economy especially in the light of its emergence and recent official endorsement as the largest telecoms market in Africa. http://allafrica.com/stories/200804030653.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** An Auction That Google Was Content to Lose Google had little desire to own a premium slice of the nation?s airwaves, but a week into a federal auction for wireless licenses, it found itself at risk of being the winning bidder for the coveted spectrum. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/technology/04auction.html Mobile Phone Industry Takes Aim at the iPhone Last year, the wireless industry obsessed over the iPhone. This year, the industry is buzzing about how to beat it. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/technology/04phone.html CTIA - Mobile video getting bigger everyday The continued growth of video content and video advertising on wireless devices is a popular theme at CTIA Wireless 2008 this week. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1015805725;fp;2;fpid;1 CTIA: Mobile Web Still Faces Interference After a couple of years of hype, the mobile Web of the future was on display at the big CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas this week. Intel, Motorola, and WiMax startup Clearwire gave journalists rides in a GM SUV equipped with a high-speed 2 Mbps WiMax connection. And companies from Microsoft to Nokia showed off technology and services to give mobile consumers and workers the full, rich experience of the fixed Internet over mobile devices -- anywhere, anytime, and at any speed. http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207001410 After the hype, where are the Mobile Internet Devices? [IDG] For all the fanfare surrounding the recent launch of Intel Corp.'s Centrino Atom chip set, there was a notable shortage of new products based on the chips, apart from a few concept designs rolled out for the occasion. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9074598 Intel Says Ultra Mobiles Will Rival PC Market in 5 Years With Intel Corp. betting so heavily on the mobile Internet device market exploding in the next several years, industry analysts are wondering if the fledgling business can live up to the expectations. Intel this week unveiled its new low-power Atom processors, which are aimed at the embedded and mobile Internet device markets that Intel has heavily targeted. And they're betting big that it will quickly become a major business. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144131-c,systems/article.html AT&T Jumps on Board with Google's Android [IDG] AT&T was absent from the initial list of mobile service providers that said they'd sell phones with Android, Google's open source mobile operating system, but the operator is changing its tune after a recent meeting with the search giant. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144099-pg,1/article.html ********************** VoIP ********************** Russian officials forced to use Skype CNews found out the Russian state agencies were considering the possibility to use Skype as an internal standard. Market participants ascribe the given innovation authorship to the most IT advanced officials not naming them. However, the final decision will be made in May, when the president and government are replaced in Russia, not to agitate the ministers before they leave their posts. http://eng.cnews.ru/news/top/indexEn.shtml?2008/04/01/294897 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2008 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. www.yahoo7.com.au/y7mailReceived on Thu Apr 10 2008 - 06:23:22 UTC
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