Articles by date
04 July 2009
UK government warns public against swine flu drugs from internet (The Guardian)
The government's chief medical officer has warned the public against panic-buying swine flu drugs online after it was revealed that the number of new cases of the virus could reach 100,000 per day.
03 July 2009
Cybersecurity Plan to Involve NSA, Telecoms (Washington Post)
The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.
How Much Did Michael Jackson Rock the Web? (New York Times)
As news of Michael Jackson's death began to spread last Thursday, the crush of people flocking to the Web for information overloaded several Web sites and services, causing AOL's instant messaging service, news sites, Twitter and Wikipedia to buckle under the strain.
Operation Ore: legal challenge to British web child abuse inquiry (The Guardian)
One of Britain's biggest online paedophile inquiries is to be challenged in the court of appeal amid allegations from campaigners that hundreds of men have been wrongly convicted in a mass miscarriage of justice.
U.S. Couple Gets Prison Time for Internet Obscenity (PC World)
Husband and wife owners of a California company that distributed pornographic materials over the Internet have been each sentenced to one year and one day in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Iran 'lifts block on SMS texting' (BBC News)
Reports from Iran say that SMS text messaging services have been unblocked for the first time since disputed presidential elections.
American online advertisers propose self-regulation principles (Reuters)
Online advertisers are proposing a mix of consumer education, disclosures about what information is being collected and special protections for children and sensitive information in an effort to head off tough legislation.
Das Internet wird lokal (Die Zeit)
Weil das Internet zu voll geworden ist, fordern Initiativen die Einführung lokaler Internet-Endungen wie .berlin. Ihr Plan könnte schon im nächsten Jahr Realität werden
L'Icann n'a toujours pas statué sur la protection des marques (Le Monde)
La 35e réunion publique de l'Icann n'a pas résolu le problème de la protection des marques. Ces dernières sont en effet menacées par la possible création de centaines de noms de domaines personnalisés sur Internet.
MySpace cyberbulling conviction tentatively dismissed (Los Angeles Times)
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday tentatively threw out the conviction of a Missouri woman for her role in a cruel Internet hoax on a teenage girl who ended up committing suicide.
U.S. Inquiry Is Confirmed Into Google Books Deal (New York Times)
The Justice Department confirmed on Thursday that it was conducting an antitrust investigation into the settlement of a lawsuit that groups representing authors and publishers filed against Google.
Australian broadband network debate continues (ABC News)
It has been three months since the Government announced plans to form a new company that, together with the private sector, will invest up to $43 billion over eight years to build a high speed National Broadband Network.
02 July 2009
China's Green Dam internet filter will go ahead; already installed on over 500,000 Chinese computers (The Guardian)
China's controversial plan to install Green Dam internet filtering software on all computers will go ahead despite being postponement, a government official told state media today.
Google isn't making us dumb - or smart. That's the problem (The Guardian)
Last year, Nick Carr wrote a forceful article for the Atlantic magazine, arguing that Google was making us stupid. It's not just Google, of course, but the whole chaotic wave of technology that seems to be sweeping us into the future, surrounded and sometimes battered by the flotsam and wreckage of old certainties. And that was before Twitter hit the big time.
Buyer of Pirate Bay Plans to Go Legal (New York Times)
Free music and movies, mostly pirated, abound on the Internet. But Hans Pandeya says he thinks he has an even better offer. He wants to pay Web users to share songs or films -- with the full approval of the copyright owners.
Nokia's N97 brings a clash of two cultures (The Guardian)
Smartphones are booming - even in the middle of a recession - but their design and functionality can differ remarkably
Google: Spammers regroup after ISP takedowns (Network World)
Spammers are pumping out an increasing number of garbage messages as they regain their capacity to send spam through hacked PCs, according to the latest statistics released by Google on Wednesday.
Facebook simplifies privacy settings, calls them too complex (Computerworld)
Facebook will simplify the way in which it offers privacy options to its users, as it gets ready to give its members for the first time the option to make the content they post on their profiles available to anyone on the Internet.
Chinese bloggers hail Green Dam 'victory' (Financial Times)
A garden party in east Beijing billed as a protest against a government plan to fit all computers with Green Dam, a controversial web filtering software, turned into a celebration on Wednesday after the programme was postponed.
Greenpeace guide frowns on HP, still loves Nokia (CNET)
Greenpeace released its latest Guide to Greener Electronics on Wednesday, revealing that promises aren't always kept.
How wide is the world's digital divide, anyway? (ars technica)
New broadband penetration data shows that the majority of the world has almost no home access to high-speed Internet access; in Africa, for instance, only 2% of homes have broadband. Ars takes a look at the worldwide digital divide.
NZ Telecom offers unlimited downloads (Stuff)
Telecom will begin selling a broadband plan on Tuesday that will offer unlimited downloads for $69.95 a month.
Future of Australia's newspapers is bright, says News Ltd chief (The Australian)
The head of Australia's largest newspaper company, John Hartigan, has delivered an optimistic verdict on the future of journalism, arguing that Australian newspapers are holding up well compared with their counterparts in Britain and the US.
Six areas picked to start Australian broadband network (Australian IT)
The Rudd government has named six broadband-deprived areas as the first recipients of its $250 million cash injection to kickstart the $43 billion national broadband network in rural areas, reports The Australian.
01 July 2009
Firefox 3.5: Excellent for fans, but competition getting tougher (CNET)
Firefox 3.5 brings the world's second-most popular browser up to speed with current browsing technology and trends, and perhaps nudges it just a bit ahead of the competition. However, it is by no means the leap ahead that its predecessor Firefox 3 was, and it's clear that the competition isn't going away anytime soon.
