[DNS] domain name news - 27 April

[DNS] domain name news - 27 April

From: David Goldstein <goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:57:54 -0700 (PDT)
Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.


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


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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Beware surfers: cyberspace is filling up
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6169488.ece

IRT Draft Report on Trademark Protection Issues Now Available for Public Comment
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-24apr09-en.htm

GAC Responds to ICANN Regarding Protection for Geographic Terms in New gTLDs
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-24apr09-en.htm

Commerce Department: Headed Toward ICANN 3.0? by Brenden Kuerbis
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/4/24/4163284.html

Yet Another Opportunity to Take a Whack at ICANN
http://bnablog.bna.com/techlaw/2009/04/yet-another-opportunity-to-take-a-whack-at-icann.html

AusRegistry ICANN Sydney 2009 trailer
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7943

MarkMonitor Makes Wild Claims NZ Registry Provides Calm Response
http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2009/04/26/markmonitor-makes-wild-claims-nz-registry-pro/

InternetNZ appoints Acting CEO [news release]
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/media-releases-2009/internetnz-appoints-acting-ceo

Cyberwar: battle is joined - A behind-the-scenes conflict appears to be under way?but not the sort you might think
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527677

Domain Name Registries Must Do More to Protect Highly-Trafficked Domains
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090424_domain_registries_highly_trafficked_domains/


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GOVERNANCE
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Beware surfers: cyberspace is filling up
Internet users face regular ?brownouts? that will freeze their computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace, according to research to be published later this year.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6169488.ece

Internet users 'could suffer brownouts due to YouTube and iPlayer'
Internet users will endure slower and less reliable connections from next year as websites such as YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer cause online traffic to double, experts warn.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/5224306/Internet-users-could-suffer-brownouts-due-to-YouTube-and-iPlayer.html

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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IRT Draft Report on Trademark Protection Issues Now Available for Public Comment
The Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) was formed by ICANN's Intellectual Property Constituency in accordance with the 6 March, 2009 ICANN Board resolution. The resolution was in response to the request by the community seeking solutions for potential issues for trademark holders in the implementation of new gTLDs. The team reflects experiential and geographic diversity and is comprised of 18 members and two alternates.
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-24apr09-en.htm

GAC Responds to ICANN Regarding Protection for Geographic Terms in New gTLDs
In accordance with the 6 March, 2009 ICANN Board resolution, the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) responded to ICANN's 17 March, 2009 letter regarding Protection for Geographic Terms in New gTLDs.
http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-24apr09-en.htm

Yes, some people actually want new TLDs!
It sometimes seems as though ICANN's plan to open up the Internet's top level to an unlimited number of new suffixes is coming under constant criticism. That's partly because those sending the loudest "don?t do it" messages would have us believe that they speak for an overwhelming majority.
http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/218-Yes,-some-people-actually-want-new-TLDs!.html

ICANN IRT Report Open for Comment With Short Timeframe?
The Intellectual Property Constituency's draft report on trademark issues is now available for comment. The draft report was put together behind closed doors, which would appear to go against the normal policy development process at ICANN, which is quite worrying.
http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2009/04/25/icann-irt-report-open-for-comment-with-short/
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090426_icann_irt_report_comment_short_timeframe/

NTIA launches Web address inquiry as Hill interest rises
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration took an initial step today in what could become a contentious review of how much progress has been made in transitioning the Internet addressing system to private sector-led technical coordination and management.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090424_7046.php

Commerce Department: Headed Toward ICANN 3.0? by Brenden Kuerbis
The NTIA has published a Notice of Inquiry, Assessment of the Transition of the Technical Coordination and Management of the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System, in advance of the expiration of the Joint Project Agreement in September 2009. The document outlines the history and evolution of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Commerce (DoC) and ICANN, and the questions posed cover fairly standard territory.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/4/24/4163284.html
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090224_commerce_department_headed_toward_icann_30/

Yet Another Opportunity to Take a Whack at ICANN
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration published a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register this morning, seeking public comment on policy issues the government should consider as the Sept. 30, 2009, expiration date of the Joint Project Agreement between the government and ICANN approaches.
http://bnablog.bna.com/techlaw/2009/04/yet-another-opportunity-to-take-a-whack-at-icann.html

ccNSO Says ?No, No, No??
The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) doesn?t want geographical names operating as gTLDs and said as much to ICANN in their comments on version 2 of the draft application guide book.
http://www.namesmash.com/?p=274

Some think Roche paid too much for Genentech
... Dot-com, so 20th century: There are 170 million domain names worldwide, like sfchronicle.com, for example. Currently, there are 21 "generic top level domains" - .com, .net, .biz and so forth. Dot-com still has the lion's share of 7o percent, most of which are registered in the United States. That's about to change quite dramatically. According to the folks at ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the assigning of Web names and IP (Internet protocol) addresses, the number of registered domain names is projected to increase by 20 percent a year. The U.S. monopoly is fast fading.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/23/BU7H177F05.DTL

AusRegistry ICANN Sydney 2009 trailer
Anybody thinking of going to the ICANN Sydney meeting in June should check out this promo for the meeting by AusRegistry?s Adrian Kinderis. AusRegistry, along with auDA, are the hosts of the meeting.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7943
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/04/26/ausregistry-icann-sydney-2009-trailer/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/ausregistry-icann-sydney-2009-trailer.html

Politicians need their own slice of the 'Net
On the surface, Washington attorney Matt Sanderson would appear to be pitching a tough sell: special protection online for politicians and would-be politicians. However, because the villains here are predatory criminals and cybersquatters, it should be easy enough for all but the anarchists to see that he has point.
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/042309-net-buzz.html
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132062
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/04/23/politicians-need-their-own-slice-net
http://www.cio.de/news/cio_worldnews/882559/
http://techworld.nl/idgns/6295/politicians-need-their-own-slice-of-the-net.html

ICA Asks ICANN Ombudsman for Investigation
Internet Commerce Association Counsel Philip Corwin has sent a letter to ICANN?s ombudsman requesting an investigation of Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT). IRT was set up at ICANN?s Mexico meeting to suggest implementation procedures for new top level domain names. It primarily represents trademark interests.
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/04/23/ica-asks-icann-ombudsman-for-investigation/

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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coop: UK Co-operative TV advert [news release]
The cooperative business model got a ?70m shot in the arm in mid-February (16 February) when The Co-operative Group officially launched its new brand with a high profile advertising campaign using its www.co-operative.coop domain name.
http://www.nic.coop//News/coopNews-131.aspx

Inappropriate marketing of domain names targeted at fi-domain name holders - FICORA counsels caution [news release]
Many customers have contacted the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) regarding companies that do telemarketing for Finnish companies, associations or other organizations. Examples of these telemarketing products are domain names under the roots .com and .eu featuring the business names of the targets of marketing.
http://www.ficora.fi/en/index/viestintavirasto/uutiset/2009/P_14.html

AFNIC actively supports the development of BIND 10, the latest version of DNS BIND software [news release]
On the occasion of the development of the BIND 10, AFNIC has just signed a contract with ISC, the Internet Systems Consortium. Indeed, BIND 9, the current version of this software, has now reached its limits, due to the different needs of the users and major changes in technology. With this in mind, BIND 10 - more modular and flexible - will be elaborated by ISC with AFNIC 's active support.
http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/216/afnic-actively-supports-the-development-of-bind-10-the-latest-version-of-dns-bind-software.html

Domain .kg - Disputes Are Going On
On April, 22 the Kyrgyz non-governmental organizations asked the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev to cancel the signed decree about the transfer the administration of domain names .kg to Kyrgyz State Patent Service. Human rights activist and chairman of Association of NGOs Toktaiym Umetalieva said [ru], that the international society takes that decree as one of the evidence of drop of the democratic rights and freedoms in Kyrgyzstan.
http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2009/04/24/domain-kg-disputes-is-going-on/

Mauritius Government Gains Control of .MU ccTLD
The Mauritius Government has won control of their ccTLD .MU from Internet Direct Ltd in an agreement reached this week.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/04/24/mauritius-government-gains-control-of-mu-cctld/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/mauritius-government-gains-control-of-.mu-cctld.html

SIDN supports development of BIND 10 name server software
SIDN, the .nl registry, has signed a contract with the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC; www.isc.org) agreeing to contribute financially to the development of BIND10.
http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,6056,,,,SIDN_supports_development_of_BIND_10_name_server_software.html

MarkMonitor Makes Wild Claims NZ Registry Provides Calm Response
A recent post on MarkMonitor's corporate blog, which was also published on Circleid, dealt with the recent issues affecting several prominent .nz domains.
http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2009/04/26/markmonitor-makes-wild-claims-nz-registry-pro/

InternetNZ appoints Acting CEO [news release]
InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Currey as Acting CEO.
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/media-releases-2009/internetnz-appoints-acting-ceo

.PRO Announces The Best of .PRO Contest
RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .PRO top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet, announced today the upcoming launch of The Best of .PRO, a promotion designed to highlight the rich content that has been developed since the TLD expanded eligibility in September 2008.
http://registry.pro/press-releases/2009/0421.shtml

pt: FCCN accepted as a formal member of the ccNSO
The FCCN, as the entity responsible for the management of the .PT domain registration service, applied for membership of the ccNSO (Country Code Names Supporting Organisation), which was approved on 31st March 2009. Another important formal step has therefore been made in guaranteeing the presence of .pt as an active participant in the ICANN, understood to be the entity that technically manages global names and addresses on the Internet.
https://online.dns.pt/dns_2008/do?com=DS;2217917768;111;+PAGE(4000002)+K-NOTICIA(1000)+K-CAT-CODIGO(LNH)+RCNT(1);

The simple solution to the .SU problem by Milton Mueller
Discussions within ICANN are underway about what to do with the .SU top level domain. The .SU TLD was a country code when the Soviet Union existed. Obviously, that political entity no longer exists. There is now a debate about whether to close down the TLD or not. In the meantime, the people who run it (in some place called "Russia," which already has its own TLD, .ru) are registering new domains like mad. ICANN is in a conundrum.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/4/20/4159051.html

.tel Blackberry and iPhone Applications Launched
Telnic, the registry operator for the .tel TLD, announced the launch two new free and open source My.tel applications for Blackberrys and iPhones are now available for download.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/04/25/telnic-launches-tel-blackberry-and-iphone-applications/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/tel-blackberry-and-iphone-applications-launched.html

.tel for BlackBerry is here! [news release]
Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new communications-focused .tel top level domain (TLD), today announced the final release of its free BlackBerry? plug-in is available for download. Now, BlackBerry users can find public and private .tel contact information at the speed of their internet connection, dynamically and directly from their address book.
http://telnic.com/downloads/BlackBerry_application.pdf

Manage your .tel from your iPhone with My.tel [news release]
Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new communications-focused .tel top level domain (TLD), today announced that its free and open source My.tel iPhone application is now available for download from the Apple App Store.
http://telnic.com/downloads/Iphone_application.pdf

tel: Business 'cards' secure on Internet
Instead of unwrapping a new box of business cards for every contact change, professionals with a $10 Telnic Limited ".tel domain" can update and protect their information with a click.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/27/business-cards-secure-on-internet/

Keep in contact at kieren.tel
So after 18 months of retaining my UK phone while living in the US, I finally got tired of paying ?30 a month for absolutely nothing and killed the contract. It ends next week.
http://kierenmccarthy.com/2009/04/21/keep-in-contact-at-kierentel/

Nominet CEO: My 10th Anniversary by Lesley Cowley
I?m celebrating ten years working at Nominet today. As is traditional on such occasions, we?ve celebrated with cakes! I?ve also been thinking back to the early days and how much has changed?..
http://blog.nominet.org.uk/insight/2009/04/my-10th-anniversary/

uk: Independent Corporate Governance Review Recommendations Made Available to Members & Stakeholders [news release]
In response to a letter from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) in October 2008, Nominet announced an independent review of its current corporate governance structure, to be benchmarked against established best practice corporate governance standards. Nominet has now received recommendations from an independent review consisting of: a board evaluation study that compares Nominet's corporate governance with the 2006 Combined Code, led by Professor Bob Garratt, and a review by Mutuo, which focused on membership and stakeholder issues.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/releases/?contentId=6375

Nominet Independent Governance Review - outcome [news release]
Today we are publishing, for members and stakeholders, the outcomes of the Independent Governance Review carried out by Professor Bob Garratt. This review was conducted in response to concerns raised by BERR and our stakeholders about the composition of our membership, voting processes and the roles of the board.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=6374

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Cyberwar: battle is joined - A behind-the-scenes conflict appears to be under way?but not the sort you might think
It is the new frontier for military and intelligence activity: cyberspace. For years military experts and computer scientists have speculated about the possibility of a nation?s infrastructure being attacked using computers, rather than bombs. There have been dark warnings of the danger of a ?digital Pearl Harbour??an unexpected strike in which digital attackers shut down America?s electrical grid or air-traffic control systems, or hack into nuclear-power stations and cause them to overheat. In recent years such concerns have been heightened by the first real examples of large-scale cyber-attacks?on Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. In each case, government websites were brought down by a deluge of traffic, apparently from Russia. The actual damage done was minimal, but it has all added to the sense of urgency, in America in particular, about the need to protect critical infrastructure from such an attack.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527677

Obama cybersecurity adviser tackles "impossible" mission
Melissa Hathaway, President Obama's go-to adviser on cybersecurity, issued a rallying cry for the tech security community to begin earnestly collaborating on a "holistic approach" to slow rising cyber threats.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2009/04/melissa-hathaway-president-obamas-go-to-adviser-on-cybersecurity-issued-a-rallying-cry-for-the-tech-security-community-to-b.html

Domain Name Registries Must Do More to Protect Highly-Trafficked Domains
With the recent attacks against high-profile New Zealand domain names including Coca-Cola.co.nz and F-Secure.co.nz, fingers are naturally pointing to Domainz, the registrar of record for these domains, as the party responsible for this lapse in security. While domain name registrars certainly need to ensure the security and stability of their systems, domain name registries must also step up and take responsibility for mitigating risks posed by hackers.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090424_domain_registries_highly_trafficked_domains/

Conficker.E to self-destruct on May 5th?
The evolution of the multi-faceted Conficker worm is expected to take another turn this May 5th when the latest version, Conficker.E, will simply self-destruct on infected machines, say a number of security researchers.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042409-conficker-worm.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/163848/.html
http://computerworld.com.au/article/300729/

Conficker virus begins to attack PCs
A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE53N5GG20090424

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Globe Media Found Guilty By CIRA panel For Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (.CA)
Globe Media International Corp, a Canadian business whose contact person is Mr. Stefano Venneri, has been found guilty by a Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) panel of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking - a very serious offense that includes a potential penalty of $5000 - for trying to take the domain name ForSale.ca away from its rightful owner, Bonfire Development, a domain name acquisition company from Calgary, Alberta. It is the first time anybody has been found guilty of this offense by the CIRA.
http://www.domainnamenews.com/cctlds/globe-media-international-guilty-ca-reverse-domain-hijacking-decision/4905

First Canadian Reverse Domain Hijacking Finding
Globe Media International Corporation tried to grab the generic domain ForSale.ca from Bonfire Development, Inc., through a CDRP proceeding (the Canadian equivalent of the UDRP) and failed. Not only did it fail, but it resulted in Canada?s first ever finding of Reverse Domain Hijacking.
http://www.domainbits.com/reverse-domain-hijacking/

Cybersquatters Use India Courts To Stall Legal Action
A domain name registrar in India is exploiting the rules governing proceedings under ICANN?s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to frustrate trademark owners? efforts to retrieve domain names from cybersquatters.
http://www.namesmash.com/?p=272

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Currey becomes acting CEO of InternetNZ
InternetNZ has appointed Richard Currey as acting chief executive officer, it was announced today.
http://www.itbrief.co.nz/200904243374/currey-becomes-acting-ceo-of-internetnz.php

BIND 10 starts development
The Internet Systems Consortium has announced that it has received enough support from sponsors to launch the BIND 10 project, to create a replacement name server for BIND 9. BIND 9 began its development in 1998 and is the most widely used DNS server software on the Internet. Among the sponsors are the UK's Nominet and Germany's DENIC.
http://www.h-online.com/open/BIND-10-starts-development--/news/113137

Afilias Sponsors ISC and BIND 10 Deployment Initiative
Afilias, a global provider of internet infrastructure services, today announced that it is a sponsor of Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) and its BIND 10 development effort.
http://www.afilias.info/news/2009/04/22/afilias-sponsors-isc-and-bind-10-deployment-initiative

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Just What the Doctor Ordered - Physicians.com Changes Hands for $250,000 in One of the Year's Top Ten Sales
Last month Richard Gabriel sold Auction.com for $1.7 million in the year's third biggest domain sale to date. Gabriel is back on our weekly Top 20 chart this week, but this time as the buyer of Physicians.com, a name he acquired in a private transaction for $250,000. That sale also ranks among the ten biggest deals reported so far in 2009.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2009/04-21-09.htm

Five premium .travel names to be auctioned
Two of the biggest domain conferences in the country will take place over the next two weeks. The GeoDomain Expo will be in San Diego, CA on April 23-25, and the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference and Expo will take place in Silicon Valley April 27-30. At three different auctions, five hand-selected .travel domain names will be sold.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/30579-Five-premium-travel-names-to-be-auctioned

Leading Man: How Singer, Actor, Radio/TV Personality, Politician & Attorney Howard Neu Wound Up Starring on the Domain Industry Stage
When you hear the name Howard Neu the first things that probably pop into your mind are the groundbreaking T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference that Neu co-founded with Rick Schwartz and "domain attorney", as Neu is one of the world's leading counselors in that highly specialized field.
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2009/april.htm

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INTERNET USE
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Beware surfers: cyberspace is filling up
Internet users face regular ?brownouts? that will freeze their computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace, according to research to be published later this year.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6169488.ece

Internet users 'could suffer brownouts due to YouTube and iPlayer'
Internet users will endure slower and less reliable connections from next year as websites such as YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer cause online traffic to double, experts warn.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/5224306/Internet-users-could-suffer-brownouts-due-to-YouTube-and-iPlayer.html

Father of the Net sees future in 'space communications'
Twenty years after its commercial launch, the Internet is still at an early stage of its evolution and its future lies in space communications, with people or robots exploring planets, Vinton Cerf, one of the fathers of the Net, told EurActiv in an interview.
http://euractiv.com/en/infosociety/father-net-sees-future-space-communications/article-181615

The last log-off: death on the net
In the days before technology, death was a relatively simple affair: the belongings of the deceased could be sorted through and boxed up, divided among friends and family to act as a permanent and tangible reminder of a life.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-last-logoff-death-on-the-net-20090424-ai4e.html
http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-last-logoff-death-on-the-net-20090424-ai4e.html

Malaysian firms warm up to new media, slowly
Enterprises in the country are becoming more aware of the impact and reach of new media, but there is some ways to go before they use the platform widely, say industry players.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62053533,00.htm

US Congress Report: Personal Internet use at work out of control
Who cares about corporate IT policies? Not employees, who will take "whatever steps necessary" to install and run the applications they want on their work machines, including P2P apps designed to evade IT scrutiny.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/report-users-on-enterprise-networks-out-of-control.ars

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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OPINION: Employers need to get a grip on social media
Good old Andy Warhol was on the money when he said that in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, writes Steven Penning from Turner Freeman Lawyers.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/27/2553111.htm

Chirping about Twitter: how can it help in the classroom?
When you saw that this article was about Twitter, did you sigh and shake your head? Maybe even curse the micro-blogging craze that you can?t help but hear about every other day? It was no surprise then that when Sir Jim Rose?s latest review proposed that schools include it in the primary curriculum, the news was met with a mixture of horror and disdain.
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6012335&navcode=94

Facebook forced to give up users? private data
Facebook will change its terms of use after users voted on how the site handles personal data. The social networking website ran into criticism in February when users complained about changes to terms and conditions that appeared to give the site ownership of personal data, including pictures and profiles, even after accounts were deleted.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6164562.ece

Facebookers Approve New Policy, but Still Hate Redesign
After a weeklong public vote, Facebook members approved the company?s proposed changes to its terms of service.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/facebookers-approve-new-policy-still-hate-redesign/

Facebook Users Approve Terms Of Use
Facebook members will own and control their own information under the social networking site's new policies.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/social_network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217100353

Swiss woman sacked for Facebook surfing while she was off work sick [Reuters]
A Swiss insurance worker lost her job after surfing popular social network site Facebook while off sick, her employer said.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-39235120090424
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE53N3YQ20090424

Cybersecurity's Twitter-Fast Shifts
Twitter, despite its chirpy logo and its endorsement from Oprah, isn't as harmless as it seems. Throughout April, worms have ripped through the "microblogging" platform, infecting user accounts with malicious code that spread from profile to profile as Twitterers visited one another's compromised pages. Every time Twitter's administrators declared that they had cleaned up the infection, a new strain of malicious code would begin propagating through thousands of accounts, week after week.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/safe-browsing-tips-technology-security-web.html

nz: All Blacks to join Facebook, Twitter
The All Blacks are poised to kick off their social media game, with new Facebook and Twitter accounts leading the way.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/636DB8AD4FADE9B0CC2575A4006D3AE6
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/2366447/All-Blacks-to-join-Facebook-Twitter

Twitter's growth in Australia 'phenomenal' [AFP]
With celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey helping fuel Twitter mania, the micro-blogging website is soaring to stardom around the world, according to Hitwise.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/04/25/1240606638966.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/04/25/1240606638966.html

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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OPINION: Symantec service helps parents keep a cyber eye on the kids
Internet predators, cyberbullies, websites and social networks that may be inappropriate for children ? it's understandable why parents fret about their kids' activities in cyberspace. Especially because there's a wide perception that the youngsters understand technology better than Mom and Dad.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2009-04-22-symantec-norton-kids-parents_N.htm

nz: Online criminals target children
Organised crime has gone online in an attempt to scam parents who use internet banking on the same computers their children surf the web on, authorities warn.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/2364537/Online-criminals-target-children
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/national-news/2364677/Online-criminals-target-children
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/latest-news/2364677/Online-criminals-target-children

au: Developments in internet filtering technologies and other measures for promoting online safety [news release]
The following reports have been prepared by ACMA in response to a ministerial direction received in June 2007 to investigate developments in internet filtering technologies and other safety initiatives to protect consumers, including minors, who access content on the internet. The direction requires ACMA to report annually on its findings in this regard over three years. The third and final report will be prepared during 2009.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311304

au: The Bullies' Playground
Children across Australia talk about the alarming impact of bullying on their lives. Despite major efforts from governments, schools and teachers, bullying remains an intractable problem made worse by modern technology. Once it was fists, rocks and personal abuse - now bullies have the net, mobile phones and Facebook as their playgrounds for brutality. This isn't just concerning - it can be lethal, as reporter Quentin McDermott reveals.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2009/s2533505.htm

au: Bullying epidemic creating 'own personal hell'
Australia's top adolescent mental health experts are calling for action to stem the tide of cyber-bullying and bullying in schools.
http://apo.org.au/node/13791

nz: The Sex Education Show
Parents get a shock viewing of the pornography their children watch on the internet; Anna teaches a group of teenagers how pornography affects their body perception and self-esteem; a team of footballers get a lesson in condom size, and an anatomy lesson shows everything you ever wanted to know about male genitals but were too afraid to ask. Plus Anna strips bare to try out extreme bikini waxing, seductive underwear and Tantric sex in her quest to spice up sex in long-term relationships.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/2642005

Germany Forces ISPs to Agree to Web Filtering
For those who have been following the internet filtering debates, this latest development in Germany might ring a few bells. The German government and many of the German ISPs signed a ?voluntary? agreement to maintain and enforce a website blacklist - a list that will be held in secrecy. Australians may know this debate all too well.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86047/

**********************
ONLINE TV & MUSIC
**********************
Internet pirates beware: this man is out to stop you
For a man engaged in the political equivalent of herding cats, David Lammy seems in a remarkably good mood. As intellectual property minister, the former lawyer - and friend of fellow Harvard alumnus Barack Obama - is charged with the Herculean task of dragging the UK's copyright rules into the digital age.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/26/david-lammy-illegal-downloads-piracy

Prick up your ears ? you can download music online and keep it legal
The music industry claimed a victory earlier this month when four men behind file-sharing site Pirate Bay were sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay ?2.5m in damages for helping internet users to download music, films and computer games without paying for them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/25/download-music-online-legally

RealNetworks vs. Hollywood in DVD 'Ripping' Case Starts
RealNetworks and Hollywood studios are squaring off today in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco where Judge Marilyn Hall Patel will determine if the program RealDVD violates laws created to prevent the copying of DVDs that use digital-rights-management technology. RealDVD is a $30 software program that allowed you to copy DVDs onto your computer. Last year a judge halted the sale of the program.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/163818/.html

DVD Copying Case: Why You Should Care
RealNetworks and the major movie studios are gathering in San Francisco's U.S. District Court on Friday to, possibly, determine the fate of DVD copying.
http://www.macworld.com/article/140214/2009/04/.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/163821/.html

EU fights over cutting off pirates from the Net
A dispute has erupted in Europe regarding people's right to connect to the Internet. The core issue concerns legislation that would give Internet service providers the right and duty--without turning to the courts first--to cut off connections of people who download pirated material.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10225875-94.html

IWF statement regarding Pirate Bay [news release]
The IWF list contains only publicly available web based content and only URLs related to indecent images of children. We have no role regarding peer-to-peer traffic and have never taken any action regarding Pirate Bay as it is outside our remit.
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.256.htm

Pirate Bay judge denies 'conflict of interest'
The judge who presided over the recent Pirate Bay trial has denied he had a "conflict of interest", after a Swedish radio station revealed he is a member of the country's main copyright association.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/23/pirate-bay-judge

Pirate Bay trial - was judge biased?
Goodness me. The Pirate Bay case gets more bizarre by the day. Now a defence lawyer in the file-sharing case has demanded a retrial after the judge admitted he was a member of copyright-protection organisations.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/04/pirate-bay-trial-was-judge-biased.html

Pirate Bay judge accused of conflict of interest
The judge who ruled against The Pirate Bay defendants on Friday is a member of two copyright organizations, an alleged conflict of interest that could require the case to be tried again, Swedish press reported Thursday morning.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10226167-93.html

Why Pirate Bay judge shouldn't have heard case
... It's not that I think the verdict was especially right or wrong. Neither side seems especially winning. However, I was fairly turned to puree by the words of the judge in question, Tomas Nordstrom, as reported by CNET's Mats Lewan. Judge Nordstrom declared: "Every time I take a case, I evaluate if I consider myself having a conflict of interest. In this case I didn't find to have one."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10226681-71.html

Pirate Bay lawyers demand retrial
Lawyers for four men jailed for running The Pirate Bay file-sharing website are calling for a retrial, saying the judge could have had a conflict of interest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8014626.stm

Pirate Bay Judge Exposed as Member of Pro-Copyright Groups
One of the four men convicted in The Pirate Bay trial is seeking to have his guilty verdict thrown out after learning that the judge in the trial is a member of two pro-copyright groups, including one whose membership includes entertainment industry representatives who argued in the case.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/pirateconflict.html

Pirate Bay lawyers call for retrial [AFP/Reuters]
Defence lawyers representing men sentenced to jail in the Pirate Bay case have demanded a retrial, saying the judge's membership in several copyright protection groups meant he might have been biased.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/24/2551628.htm

Pirate Bay defence lawyer demands retrial
A defence lawyer for one of the four men sentenced to jail in the Pirate Bay case demanded a retrial on Thursday, saying the judge's membership in several copyright protection groups meant he might have been biased.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-39212520090423
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE53M5KB20090423

Pirate Bay retrial threat over judge's pro-copyright connections
A retrial has been demanded by the lawyers for the file-sharing website Pirate Bay after it emerged the judge who sentenced its founders to jail for making copyrighted material available for download has links with pro-copyright organisations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10568396

Pirate Bay lawyer demands retrial [AP]
A defense lawyer in the Pirate Bay file-sharing case said Thursday he will demand a retrial after the judge admitted he was a member of copyright protection organizations.
http://www.thestar.com/article/623042

Fund will help alleged Swedish pirates hit by new law
A sentenced Pirate Bay defendant and two politicians from Sweden's Green party are launching a fund to help people accused of copyright violations under the country's new antipiracy law.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10226118-93.html

German GEMA in talks with YouTube on video dispute
German music authors' society GEMA said on Thursday it was in talks with Google Inc's YouTube to resolve a dispute over royalty payments and the conditions under which music videos are made available online.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-39214620090423

**********************
MOBILE/WIRELESS
**********************
In Defense of Baby Shaking on the iPhone
There is already an uproar over a 99-cent game for the iPhone that involves shaking an image of a baby until it dies. The ?Baby Shaker? application went on sale Monday, and it appears to have been removed from Apple?s App Store on Wednesday.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/in-defense-of-baby-shaking-on-the-iphone/

Why the iPhone is giving Apple telephone-number profits
Nokia has just announced its worst-ever results. The mobile phone business is having to adjust to the idea that perhaps markets don't expand indefinitely. Gloomy forecasts abound. But then Apple unveils second-quarter profits of $1.21bn (?822m) and $8.16bn in sales - way ahead of Wall Street expectations. And this despite the fact that sales of the company's desktop and notebook computers were down by 3% - which could be a reflection of general economic conditions, or of the growing popularity of netbooks, a product-genre that Apple executives currently affect to despise. (So stay tuned for the Apple netbook.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/26/iphone-apple-sales

The call of the child: kids get upwardly mobile
There was a time when children's telecommunications meant two cans connected with string or, for some, a set of walkie-talkies. But today the mobile phone has become ubiquitous in school playgrounds, with children as young as five owning a handset.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-call-of-the-child-kids-get-upwardly-mobile-20090425-aitl.html
http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-call-of-the-child-kids-get-upwardly-mobile-20090425-aitl.html

**********************
SPAM
**********************
Canada's Conservatives introduce anti-spam bill [CBC News]
The Conservative government introduced anti-spam legislation on Friday to help crack down on those who send unsolicited and potentially harmful emails and cellphone text messages.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/04/24/anti-spam-legislation.html

Canada's Tories to crack down on Internet spam [CanWest]
The Conservative government will introduce anti-spam legislation on Friday to crack down on the most malicious forms of unsolicited e-mail and cellphone spam, Canwest News Service has learned.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=1527589

Canada Introduces Electronic Commerce Protection Act (aka Anti-Spam Bill)
Four years after the National Task Force on Spam unanimously recommended that the Canadian government introduce anti-spam legislation, the Government today took an important step forward by tabling Bill C-27, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (bill not online yet). Although the bill requires careful study before commenting in any detail, Industry Minister Tony Clement's introduction of the bill is welcome news and long overdue. Canada is one of the only major developed countries without anti-spam legislation and the prospect of developing into a true spam haven was becoming a very real possibility.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3891/125/

Government of Canada Protects Canadians with the Electronic Commerce Protection Act [news release]
The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, today announced that the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to protect consumers and businesses from the most dangerous and damaging forms of spam. The government has introduced legislation in Parliament that aims to boost confidence in online commerce by protecting the privacy and personal security concerns that are associated with spam, counterfeit websites and spyware.
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/04595.html

**********************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
**********************
In Developing Countries, Web Grows Without Profit
Facebook is booming in Turkey and Indonesia. YouTube?s audience has nearly doubled in India and Brazil. That may seem like good news. But it is also a major reason these and other Web companies with big global audiences and renowned brands struggle to turn even a tiny profit. Call it the International Paradox.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/start-ups/27global.html

Laptop 'magic' lures young back to school in remote Australia
Children from remote communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory are being introduced to the digital world with their very own laptops as part of an international program aimed at boosting school attendance.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25390394-5013404,00.html

British budget seeks to eliminate digital divide with BBC digital switchover surplus
The broadband industry will be able to use the estimated ?250m underspend in the BBC's digital switchover fund to bring internet access to everyone in the UK by 2012, under plans unveiled by the chancellor in today's budget.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/22/broadband-alistair-darling-bbc-digital-switchover

*************************
ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
**************************
Cybergangs use cheap labor to break codes on social sites
It's become the new front in cybercrime: scams and identity-theft programs that attack e-mail accounts and users of social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2009-04-22-captcha-code-breakers_N.htm

Security Expert Calls For New Model For 'De-Monetizing' Cybercrime, Botnets
A top U.S. botnet expert here today proposed a new approach to fighting cybercrime by hitting the bad guys where it hurts: in their wallets, by making online crime less lucrative and more risky to carry out.
http://www.darkreading.com/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217100239

nz: Call for Veitch email review [Sunday Star Times]
Legal experts are calling for judicial debate and closer scrutiny over emails and electronic documents used in court, in the wake of the debacle over altered character references for disgraced broadcaster Tony Veitch.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/latest-news/2364368/Call-for-Veitch-email-review
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/2364368/Call-for-Veitch-email-review
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/features/technology/2364368/Call-for-Veitch-email-review

Cyberwar: battle is joined - A behind-the-scenes conflict appears to be under way?but not the sort you might think
It is the new frontier for military and intelligence activity: cyberspace. For years military experts and computer scientists have speculated about the possibility of a nation?s infrastructure being attacked using computers, rather than bombs. There have been dark warnings of the danger of a ?digital Pearl Harbour??an unexpected strike in which digital attackers shut down America?s electrical grid or air-traffic control systems, or hack into nuclear-power stations and cause them to overheat. In recent years such concerns have been heightened by the first real examples of large-scale cyber-attacks?on Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. In each case, government websites were brought down by a deluge of traffic, apparently from Russia. The actual damage done was minimal, but it has all added to the sense of urgency, in America in particular, about the need to protect critical infrastructure from such an attack.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527677

Obama cybersecurity adviser tackles "impossible" mission
Melissa Hathaway, President Obama's go-to adviser on cybersecurity, issued a rallying cry for the tech security community to begin earnestly collaborating on a "holistic approach" to slow rising cyber threats.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2009/04/melissa-hathaway-president-obamas-go-to-adviser-on-cybersecurity-issued-a-rallying-cry-for-the-tech-security-community-to-b.html

Domain Name Registries Must Do More to Protect Highly-Trafficked Domains
With the recent attacks against high-profile New Zealand domain names including Coca-Cola.co.nz and F-Secure.co.nz, fingers are naturally pointing to Domainz, the registrar of record for these domains, as the party responsible for this lapse in security. While domain name registrars certainly need to ensure the security and stability of their systems, domain name registries must also step up and take responsibility for mitigating risks posed by hackers.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090424_domain_registries_highly_trafficked_domains/

Conficker.E to self-destruct on May 5th?
The evolution of the multi-faceted Conficker worm is expected to take another turn this May 5th when the latest version, Conficker.E, will simply self-destruct on infected machines, say a number of security researchers.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042409-conficker-worm.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/163848/.html
http://computerworld.com.au/article/300729/

Conficker virus begins to attack PCs
A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE53N5GG20090424

**************************
PRIVACY
**************************
UK watchdog clears Google Street View of breaking Data Protection Act
The privacy watchdog rejected a complaint against Google Street View today. The Information Commissioner said the service, which allows users to scroll around a montage of street-level photographs of Britain, does not breach the Data Protection Act.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/technology-gadgets/watchdog-rejects-google-street-view-complaint-14279582.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/watchdog-rejects-google-street-view-complaint-1673057.html

Google Street View cleared of breaking Data Protection Act
Google Street View, the controversial website that shows 360-degree street views of many of Britain's cities does not breach the Data Protection Act, the information commissioner ruled today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/23/google-street-view-data-protection-cleared

UK privacy watchdog rejects Street View complaints
Google?s controversial Street View service was today cleared by the UK Information Commissioner?s Office of any breach of the Data Protection Act.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6154092.ece

Google Street View cleared over privacy concerns by Information Commissioner
Google Street View will remain online after the Information Commissioner ruled that it does not breach data protection laws.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/google/5206569/Google-Street-View-cleared-over-privacy-concerns-by-Information-Commissioner.html

AT&T sends mixed message on behavioral advertising
AT&T's chief privacy officer told U.S. lawmakers Thursday that the company does not engage in behavioral advertising, but the company has apparently used the controversial technology to sell its products, according to a vendor of such services.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042409-att-sends-mixed-message-on.html

FBI deploys cyber agents worldwide
The FBI has made cybercrime one of its top three priorities and currently has full time cyber officers deployed in 60 countries, Shawn Henry, assistant director for the agency's Cyber Division, said at the RSA conference last week. ?Through those efforts we have arrested almost 100 people, recovered millions of dollars,? Henry said. ?There's been tremendous success; we want to deploy agents in more countries too.
http://www.securecomputing.net.au/News/143441,fbi-deploys-cyber-agents-worldwide.aspx

**********************
CENSORSHIP
**********************
China: Government Blocks Access to YouTube
The Chinese government has blocked YouTube, the video-sharing Web site run by Google. Beijing originally blocked YouTube in late March, then lifted the block for a brief period around March 27.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/24/world/asia/24briefs-Chinaweb.html

Wikipedia Art dispute pits artists against Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia uses plenty of copyrighted material and trademarks under the doctrine of fair use. But a trademark infringement lawsuit against a couple of artists would put the Wikimedia Foundation on the opposite side of the fair use fight.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/wikipedia-suit-could-put-it-on-the-wrong-side-of-fair-use.ars

**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
**************************
US Congress Begins Deep Packet Inspection of ISPs
Congress picked up its look at online privacy where it left off last year: whether Internet providers can look at where customers surf online.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/congress-begins-deep-packet-inspection-of-internet-providers/

US Lawmakers Target Deep Packet Inspection in Privacy Bill [IDG]
U.S. lawmakers plan to introduce privacy legislation that would limit how Internet service providers can track their users, despite reports that no U.S. ISPs are using such technologies except for legitimate security reasons.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/163740/.html

Every British phone call, email or website visit 'to be monitored'
Every phone call, email or website visit will be monitored by the state under plans to be unveiled next week. The proposals will give police and security services the power to snoop on every single communication made by the public with the data then likely to be stored in an enormous national database.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5215413/Every-phone-call-email-or-website-visit-to-be-monitored.html

us: Privacy experts urge panel to regulate Internet filtering method
Privacy experts urged the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee today to regulate a type of computer network filtering employed by broadband Internet providers for security because it could also be used to build extensive customer profiles and target content and advertising without consent.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090423_9155.php

A New Chance for Online Gambling in the U.S.
Is online gambling coming in from the cold? When the U.S. Congress cracked down on Internet betting in 2006, the big, publicly traded European companies that had dominated the business closed up shop in the United States. Growth in the booming industry shifted away from these companies, once the darlings of the stock market, to private operators in offshore locations like Antigua and the Isle of Man.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/internet/27iht-gamble.html

AT&T Doesn?t Want to Follow You (Except When It Does)
Kudos to Wendy Davis at MediaPost for catching AT&T in a case of ?Do as I say, not as I do.? Thursday, Dorothy Attwood, AT&T?s senior vice president for public policy and chief privacy officer, testified at the House subcommittee hearing looking at privacy issues and Internet providers.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/att-doesnt-want-to-follow-you-except-when-it-does/

*********************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
*********************************
Raising Bill Gates: Father describes what it took to turn an unruly 12-year-old into Microsoft's founder and world's richest man
Spend time with the family of Bill Gates, and eventually someone will mention the water incident. The future software mogul was a headstrong 12-year-old and was having a particularly nasty argument with his mother at the dinner table. Fed up, his father threw a glass of cold water in the boy's face.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124061372413054653.html

Microsoft Quarterly Revenue Falls for First Time in 23 Years
For the first time in Microsoft?s 23-year history as a public company, its sales dropped year-over-year.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/24/technology/companies/24microsoft.html

Microsoft Gets Stung by Global PC Slump
Microsoft Corp. posted a 32% drop in profit and the first decline in quarterly revenue in its 23-year history as a public company, as the global recession took a toll on nearly every segment of the software company's business.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124051825214249437.html

Microsoft reveals first revenue drop since going public in 1986
The world's biggest software company, Microsoft, has suffered its first drop in revenue since it went public in 1986 as the global economic downturn savages its once indestructible sales of computer operating systems.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/23/microsoft-revenue-plunges

Microsoft's Downbeat Outlook
There was little optimism in remarks by Microsoft executives when they reported fiscal third-quarter results on Apr. 23. Chipmaker Intel had said the PC business had bottomed when it announced earnings on Apr. 14. A few days later, IBM gave investors glimmers of hope that the economy may be turning around. And whole divisions of Apple seemed to shrug off the recession entirely when the company's results soundly beat analysts' estimates on Apr. 22.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2009/tc20090423_669380.htm

Microsoft revenues down for the first time; profits plunge 32%
In its latest quarterly results, Microsoft has posted the first year-on-year fall in revenue in its 23-year history, with a 5.6% fall to $13.65bn. Net income dropped by 32% to $3.0bn after Microsoft took $710mn in write-offs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/apr/23/microsoft-revenues-down

Mr Ellison helps himself: Oracle?s takeover of Sun Microsystems is a surprise, but fits an industry trend
?I am very surprised. I have to think about it.? That was the initial reaction of Steve Ballmer, the boss of Microsoft, the world?s largest software firm. It was also the response of many in the computer industry to the news on April 20th that Oracle, another software giant, was paying $7.4 billion to buy Sun Microsystems, an embattled computer-maker and Oracle?s neighbour in Silicon Valley.
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13527430

Amazon Posts Profit Gains as Offline Rivals Struggle
Amazon.com has joined Apple among the ranks of technology firms that are still growing robustly despite a shrinking economy.
http://nytimes.com/2009/04/24/technology/companies/24amazon.html

nz: Webby nomination for security site
Two Auckland-based companies have been collaboratively nominated for an international web award. NetSafe and design agency Apropos were nominated together for promoting computer security and cyber safety through website NetBasics.
http://www.itbrief.co.nz/200904273377/webby-nomination-for-security-site.php

**********************
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
**********************
Lisbon Consensus emerges at ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum - Focus on next-generation networks, Internet public policy to drive future development of ICT [news release]
The Lisbon Consensus adopted at the fourth ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF-09) addressed telecommunications policy and regulatory issues associated with technological change and convergence in the rapidly evolving world of information and communication technologies (ICT).
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2009/11.html

ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum opens in Lisbon - At stake is future development of ICT as economy heads towards recovery [news release]
The ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF-09) opened today in Lisbon, Portugal setting the course for the future development and growth of information and communication technologies (ICT). WTPF-09 focuses on key policy issues driving the current ICT environment and which will guide future regulatory and standardization efforts worldwide.
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2009/10.html

Fast-track for National Broadband Network in regional Australia [news release]
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today announced steps to fast-track the National Broadband Network in regional Australia.
http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/029

au: Federal Government to give the bush a $250 million NBN headstart
The Federal Government?s NBN plans for the bush are getting a kick start with an initial $250 million investment for backbone fibre optic transmission links announced by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/300515/
http://computerworld.com.au/article/300515/

Australian government seeks broadband experts
The federal Government has begun its search for an adviser to lead the implementation study that will determine how Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's $43 billion national broadband network (NBN) is built, financed and operated.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25380534-15306,00.html

Planning for Australia's spectrum future [news release]
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today announced a consultation for the future of mobile phone and wireless broadband licenses.
http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/030

au: Cyber highway slows up in regional areas
Hundreds of towns across NSW, including those home to sea-change professionals who rely on internet services, will receive only the snail-paced version of the Federal Government's broadband roll-out, the Opposition says.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/cyber-highway-slows-up-in-regional-areas-20090425-aiqq.html
http://www.theage.com.au/national/cyber-highway-slows-up-in-regional-areas-20090425-aiqq.html

British govt abandon hope of sharing out broadband spectrum
The government is considering capping the amount of radio spectrum owned by Britain's mobile phone companies as it tries to thrash out a deal that will fulfil Lord Carter's ambition of broadband for all.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/25/lord-carter-digital-britain-broadband

It will cost billions to bring broadband to the British countryside
Without more specific commitments to bridging the urban-rural 'digital divide', the countryside will seem further from the cities than ever, says Matt Warman.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/5209578/It-will-cost-billions-to-bring-broadband-to-the-countryside.html

**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
**********************************
au: Child porn conviction
A Wangaratta man who has disguised his appearance when defending pornography, stalking and harassment charges in Wangaratta Magistrates Court was yesterday convicted on eight offences.
http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/child-porn-conviction/1495720.aspx


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(c) David Goldstein 2009



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