Articles by date
07 January 2009
Baidu Web site apologises for pornography charge (Washington Post)
[AP] China's most popular search engine Baidu apologized Wednesday for hosting links to pornographic content after it was criticized by the government, saying it was sorry for the negative impact on society.
Chinese Internet portals argue porn crackdown easier said than done (Sydney Morning Herald)
Leading Chinese Internet portals said Tuesday they would do what they could to stamp out pornography in line with a new government crackdown, but said it would be hard to carry out in practice.
Australian government flags closer relationship with IT industry over e- (ARN)
Australian Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, and Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, have flagged closer relationships with the IT industry and ISPs as necessary to improving the nation's e-security.
Google comes in third on top 10 list of spam enablers (Computerworld)
Google Inc. has yet to stop a rising number of spammers from abusing Google Docs, its Web-based collaboration and spreadsheet application, according to junk mail watchdog Spamhaus.
Apple to end music restrictions (BBC)
Apple Inc has agreed to start selling digital songs from its iTunes store without copy protection software.
06 January 2009
Twitter accounts of Obama, Britney Spears hacked (ABC News)
The Twitter accounts of US president-elect Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears and other prominent figures were hacked on Monday (US time) and fake messages sent out in their names on the micro-blogging service.
Many American teens display risky behaviour on MySpace (Reuters)
More than half of teenagers mention risky behaviours such as sex and drugs on their MySpace accounts, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
British Police 'encouraged' to hack more (BBC)
The Home Office has signed up to an EU strategy against cybercrime that "encourages" police across Europe to remotely access personal computers.
China cracks down on 'vulgar' websites (The Guardian)
Chinese officials yesterday launched a crackdown on "vulgar" websites including Google and the country's leading search engine, Baidu.
Andrew Keen: This healthy industry now has the printed word in its sights (The Independent)
American President-elect Barack Obama gets my award for the new media star of 2008, probably the most digitally eventful year of the 21st century.
05 January 2009
Internet censorship and the revolt of the masses (Ovum)
Democratic governments have toyed with the idea of Internet censorship for years. ISP-level filtering technology is slowly progressing, but the changing politics of Internet usage is undermining public support for censorship.
Online is the future and the future is now (The Guardian)
With bosses focused on commerce and ratings, papers are falling behind where it really matters, says Roy Greenslade - creating online material and innovations people are prepared to pay for
The shape of things to come: Clay Shirky (The Guardian)
A self-confessed 'pretty unlikely early adopter', the digital guru Clay Shirky still proved to be uncannily prescient about the impact of the web - which is why Tom Teodorczuk is getting his media forecast for 2009
Wikipedia to stay free as readers rush to the rescue (The Independent)
Users of Wikipedia have seen off a threat that the website would be forced to carry advertisements or charge for access, after one of the most successful online fundraising campaigns ever.
More and More, US Schools Got Game (Washington Post)
Lifelong gamer Russell Alford, 15, usually has to wait until his homework and chores are finished before he can play Call of Duty 4, but this semester he got to play another video game at school. His finance class at Marshall High School in Fairfax County designed avatars and saved a virtual city from an oil spill -- earning points for teamwork, research on the world's water supply, business ethics and negotiating skills.
Twitter and Facebook hit by phishing attacks (The Observer)
Twitter users have become used to giving their Twitter passwords to other sites, and now they've been hit with a phishing attack
BT faces tough year as broadband nears saturation (Daily Telegraph)
Telecoms group BT will face "one of its toughest ever years" in 2009 as revenue from landline phone calls continues to decline and broadband reaches saturation point, according to a new report.
04 January 2009
Filtering in Oz: Australia's Foray into Internet Censorship by Derek E. Bambauer [Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper] (Social Science Research Network)
Abstract: Australia's decision to implement Internet censorship using technological means creates a natural experiment: the first Western democracy to mandate filtering legislatively, and to retrofit it to a decentralized network architecture. But are the proposed restrictions legitimate?
How Green Is Apple? (Wall Street Journal)
Apple Inc.'s eye-catching logo - an apple with a bite taken from it - has come in many colors in the past. Now, the iconic computer company is trying to prove its commitment to the color green.
Reboot the FCC by Lawrence Lessig (Newsweek)
We'll stifle the Skypes and YouTubes of the future if we don't demolish the regulators that oversee our digital pipelines, writes Lawrence Lessig in Newsweek.
Tough year ahead for IT industry, warns OECD (OECD)
The economic downturn will hit the Internet economy hard in 2009, according to the latest available OECD estimates.
Bringing Broadband to America's Urban Poor (BusinessWeek)
To make good on a pledge to prioritize high-speed Internet access, President-elect Obama must address inner cities, where many go without a connection
Mobiles give Africa's farmers the chance to set out their stall (The Observer)
The latest technology is enabling villagers to bypass middlemen and find out the prices their crops will command
British police set to step up warrantless hacking of home PCs (Sunday Times)
The Home Office has quietly adopted a new plan to allow police across Britain routinely to hack into people's personal computers without a warrant.
For the Blind, Technology Does What a Guide Dog Can't (New York Times)
T. V. Raman was a bookish child who developed a love of math and puzzles at an early age. That passion didn't change after glaucoma took his eyesight at the age of 14. What changed is the role that technology -- and his own innovations -- played in helping him pursue his interests.
