Articles by date
27 November 2007
us: Anguish for mother of suicide girl as 'cyber-tormentor' escapes the law (The Observer)
A small US town is up in arms after a mother used MySpace to victimise her daughter's friend
ir: Asking the Persians to roll out the red carpet (The Independent)
Nigel Chapman, director of the BBC World Service, travelled this month to the annual Asian Broadcasting Union Conference in Tehran. It was a rare chance to meet key advisers in the Iranian government and discuss the arrival in 2008 of the BBC's Persian TV service
Is Facebook Overrated? (Time)
Whether you realize it or not, social networking is something you do every day. Each time you tell a friend about a good movie, bore a neighbor with pictures from your kid's birthday party or catch up on gossip at work, you are reaching out to people you know to share ideas, experiences and information. The genius of social-networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook lies in their ability to capture the essence of these informal exchanges and distill them online into an expanding matrix of searchable, linked Web pages.
Mobile Web: So close yet so far (New York Times)
On the surface, the mobile Web is a happening place. There's the iPhone in all its glory. More than 30 companies have signed up for the Open Handset Alliance from Google, which aims to bring the wide-open development environment of the Internet to mobile devices. Nokia, which owns nearly 40 percent of the world market for cell phones, is snapping up Web technology companies and has made an eye-popping US$8.1 billion bid for Navteq, a digital mapping service. There are also the requisite start-ups chasing the market.
Tracking the media audience, wherever it may be (International Herald Tribune)
The French media consumer is about to enter a brave new world where broadcasters and advertisers can study and dissect their habits wherever they are. Early next year, Médiamétrie, a French audience survey company, will roll out a new system using inaudible tones emitted from television broadcasts that can give a richer view of the popularity of shows by demographic group and format.
Consumer Web Access Could Be Shut Down For Sharing Illegal Content by Mira Veda (Huffington Post)
Have you ever downloaded a song or movie without paying for it? Maybe you thought it wasn't really stealing because when you think about it, music seems like its free right? You hear it in your car, free right? In stores while you shop, free right? At the restaurants and clubs...all free right?
Despite filters, tidal wave of spam bears down on emailers (USA Today)
Why, in 2007, is spam worse than ever? Let exasperated consumers count the ways: PDF spam. MP3 spam. Pump-and-dump spam. E-card spam. It may sound like a broken record, but spam continues to do just that -- break records. This year marks the first time the total number of spam e-mail messages sent worldwide, 10.8 trillion, will surpass the number of person-to-person e-mails sent, 10.5 trillion, according to market researcher IDC.
Mozambique Govt Praised for Computer Policies to Reduce Digital Divide (AllAfrica.com)
Mozambique has been praised as one of the Commonwealth members that has made good strides in reducing the digital divide, through the implementation of policies to expand access to ICT.
au: Think before pressing the send button (Sydney Morning Herald)
Australians are impulsive email users and oblivious to online etiquette, new research has found. The study among a representative sample of full-time workers in all Australian states found the majority are trigger-happy emailers who often send communications to the wrong person or in the wrong tone because they don't stop to think.
26 November 2007
A mass movement is needed to tackle the state's snoopers by Henry Porter (The Observer)
There's no time to crow over the government's loss of 25 million people's details; no time to rejoice at the obvious mortification of Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, his sidekick, Andy Burnham, Jacqui Smith and Harriet Harman. These people will not be deterred by the calamity of last week. They are shameless. In a month or two they will bounce back. The ID card scheme will be relaunched and Jacqui Smith will continue with her plans to demand 53 pieces of information from people before they travel abroad. The Children's Index, the Children's Assessment Framework, the National Health database, the ever-expanding police DNA database will all continue to scoop up information. Why? Because the control of the masses is coded in the deepest part of Labour's being.
25 November 2007
Results of the OECD online public consultation on the future of the Internet economy (OECD)
The OECD recently invited public comments on issues such as convergence, innovation and trust, all of which will be discussed at the June 2008 OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy. This consultation provided an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to contribute to the discussions from a wide range of viewpoints and expertise. Responses are now available on line.
Why We Don't Know Enough About Broadband in the U.S. (Pew Internet & American Life Project)
Half of all Americans now have broadband at home, according to the Pew Internet Project's September 2007 survey, marking the first time that as many as 50% of respondents say they have high-speed internet connections at home. This milestone in broadband adoption occurs at a time of close scrutiny of the data gathered by government agencies on broadband deployment. This article puts the rate of home broadband adoption in historical context before discussing in detail the issues surrounding broadband data collection and current legislation that seeks to make improvements.
The emerging Internet governance mosaic: connecting the pieces by William H. Dutton & Malcolm Peltu (Oxford Internet Institute)
The report highlights key Internet governance issues raised in relation to the authors' three-tier typology. The distinctive design and governance characteristics that underpin the global Internet phenomenon are then outlined, to indicate valuable governance lessons that can be built on. The crucial need for balance in inherently political multi-stakeholder processes is then addressed. This is assisted by an analytical framework for understanding the dynamics underlying such processes, which involve outcomes from decisions taken by many actors within overlapping and interacting policy arenas. The conclusion recommends an approach to improving international coordination of Internet governance activities.
Pondering the Politics of Private Procedures: The Case of ICANN by Jay P. Kesan & Andres A. Gallo (Social Science Research Network)
The creation of ICANN was sought by the United States government to promote international cooperation in the governance of the Internet based on a bottom-up system in which government intervention was limited, if not eliminated. However, as the Internet has become a global phenomenon this initiative has faced increasing opposition from the international community. As we have shown in this work, the evolution of ICANN reveals how it slowly departed from its mere technical role into a more political one, in which all groups and constituencies try to impose their preferences. During the reform movement initiated from inside ICANN, different constituencies tried to exploit the situation by gaining power positions in the new structure. The political strength of different groups and constituencies reversed some of the initial reforms and produced a totally new structure. Reform attempts from inside ICANN were challenged by the international community. These efforts concentrated on changing the main structure of ICANN into a multilateral organization controlled by international governments and removing the direct control of ICANN from the United States government. In the end, even though the proposals seem to look for different structures to regulate domain names and numbers on the Internet, they represent a political struggle between opposite points of view.
AMD v Intel: Oil money and hafnium (The Economist)
New twists in the long-running battle between the two biggest chipmakers: Faster chips are the fuel of the computer industry. So the announcement on November 16th that Mubadala Development, an investment arm of oil-rich Abu Dhabi, would pay about $622m for 8.1% of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a leading maker of microprocessors, seems somehow fitting. The deal is an unexpected twist in the race between AMD and Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, in which Intel is again making the running.
24 November 2007
China online users more likely to be Web "addicts" (Reuters)
Chinese Internet users are more likely to depend on their online experiences, and see the Web as a key to socializing and sharing opinions, than their U.S. counterparts, according to a study released on Friday.
Total Website Optimisation by Sedo (Sedo)
Sedo have published a short paper that looks at total website optimisation, looking above and beyond keyword selection. "When optimizing a portfolio, many domainers centre their attention exclusively on the advertising keyword. While advertising keyword selection is paramount to maximizing a domain's earning potential, there are several other optimization areas that deserve attention and can add an extra boost to a portfolio's overall performance," the paper says.
France Sets Sanctions Against Internet Piracy (Reuters)
Internet users in France who frequently download music or films illegally risk losing Web access under a new anti-piracy system unveiled on Friday. The three-way pact between Internet service providers, the government and owners of film and music rights is a boon to the music industry, which has been calling for such measures to stop illicit downloads eating into its sales.
OECD Broadband Portal launched (OECD)
The OECD broadband portal provides access to a range of broadband-related statistics gathered by the OECD. Policy makers must examine a range of indicators which reflect the status of individual broadband markets in the OECD. The OECD has indentified five main categories which are important for assessing broadband markets.
Nominet releases first Domain name industry report
Nominet has released their first 'Domain name industry report'. The key themes examined in the report are: an analysis of global domain name statistics; registrant statistics and trends within the UK and a close look at the UK registrar market. The findings of the report show that the domain name industry both globally and in the UK is healthy. The report demonstrates the extent of the uptake of the Internet in the UK. It reveals areas of potential future growth and gives pointers as to current trends in domain name registration and the changing nature of the UK registrar market.
uk: Privacy warning for young users of networking sites (The Guardian)
Official guidance for millions of people who use networking sites will be published today by the information commissioner amid growing concerns that young people are being naive about the personal details they put online. The watchdog fears that most youngsters do not realise that the information they place on websites such as MySpace and Bebo leaves an electronic footprint which could be traceable to them in the future. In a survey by the Information Commissioner's Office almost 60% of young people aged 14-21 said they did not realise the information they placed online could be permanently linked to them. Also includes links to stories from the BBC and The Independent and the Information Commissioner's Office news release.
23 November 2007
ICANN New Delhi meeting website online
ICANN have launched the website for their New Delhi meeting. The meeting, to be held from February 10-15 2007, is to be hosted by the Department of Information Technology, Government of India, as well as the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI). An outline of the agenda, information on hotels and the venue along with registration are all available.
uk: Brace yourselves for new wave of email scams, say security experts (The Times)
Banks and security experts expect a wave of scam e-mails and bogus mailshots after the loss of the personal data of 25 million people. Executives from the largest high street banks fear that if the data falls into criminal hands the most damaging attack could come in the form of fake direct mail campaigns, possibly conducted over several years.
Enterprises still dragging their feet on IPv6 migration (ComputerWorld)
Speaking at the IPv6 Summit in Canberra yesterday, Ladid said IPv6 continues to come under attack from multiple fronts forming part of the "world wars" of the Internet. Australia's ICT industry needs to focus on the possibilities of IPv6 and how the technology will transform online communities. The best way to drive up interest in IPv6 among consumers and business-users is to drive home the potential advantages the technology can bring, according to Bruce Sinclair, the CEO of Hexago.
Only a third of global ISPs on the way to IPv6 compliance (ComputerWorld)
Only a third of the world's top 21 ISPs have begun the move to IPv6, according to Latif Ladid, president of the IPv6 Forum. Speaking at the IPv6 Summit in Canberra yesterday, Ladid said IPv6 continues to come under attack from multiple fronts forming part of the "world wars" of the Internet.
