I forgot to include this...

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INTERNET USE
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Report: Australian broadband performance on the rise
Australian Internet surfers enjoyed significant improvements in performance during the last quarter of 2008, according to new international research.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/273529/
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273529/
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/273529/

How the web is undermining reading
For as long as humans have been developing new technology, we've been worrying that our inventions will cause our brains to decay.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/20/internet-homer

Google ends efforts to sell newspaper ads
Google's efforts to expand its advertising empire beyond the confines of the Internet have hit their first major setback.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/21/technology/internet/21google.html
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/20/technology/21google.php

Google gives up on newspaper advertising partnership
Google Inc. said Tuesday that it would shut down an advertising partnership with more than 800 newspapers, a key part of the Internet giant's effort to expand into offline media, because it didn't make enough money.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google21-2009jan21,0,3213436.story

Online Video of Inauguration Sets Records
Millions of cubicle dwellers across the country helped set records for Internet traffic on Tuesday as they watched online video of the inauguration ceremonies ? or at least tried to. The overwhelming demand meant that some Web sites and data networks had trouble keeping up, forcing many people to turn to less cutting-edge forms of media.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21video.html
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/21/america/21video.php

Barack Obama inauguration: record demand crashes BBC's live internet feed
The BBC's live online video feed of President Barack Obama's inauguration was brought to a standstill by the "sheer volume" of people trying to access it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4301367/Barack-Obama-inauguration-record-demand-crashes-BBCs-live-internet-feed.html

Google's inauguration searches show a changing Internet
People weren't just sitting back and watching President Barack Obama's inauguration yesterday.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126502
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/012109-googles-inauguration-searches-show-a.html

Children spending half as much time in class as they do looking at screens
Children are spending twice as much time in front of a TV or computer screen as in the classroom, according to a new book on how big business targets young consumers aggressively though new media.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5555797.ece

How advertisers are stalking your children
In a new book, Consumer Kids, Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn ask how many of us realise that when children go online, they're targeted by predatory advertisers
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article5554654.ece

Children's six-hour screen day
Television is now less than half of children's viewing time, in competition with the internet and computer games.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7837848.stm

New corporate firefighters
When advertisers launched a campaign last September for the pain reliever Motrin, they hoped to attract the attention of mothers whose backs might be sore from wearing baby-carriers. The advertisements implied that while baby-carriers might be fashionable, hauling a child around could be painful. ... The ?Motrin moms? episode illustrates the power of social media ? the expanding network of websites that allow users to interact with each other and, increasingly, with companies. It also demonstrates the perils for enterprises that are unprepared to interact with social media.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84b63f98-e7df-11dd-b2a5-0000779fd2ac.html

More Chinese teenagers losing selves in cyberspace
They can't sleep, can't concentrate and are wracked by bouts of anxiety or depression, and like anyone with a destructive bad habit, China's increasing number of Internet addicts need help, and need it fast.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-37550620090120

Internet usage in SA growing or slowing?
Internet usage in South Africa has increased dramatically since it first became publicly available in 1990. Current statistics show a 120 percent increase in Internet usage in South Africa over the last two years, with over 3,8 million unique browsers. This shows favourable growth, with an increase from 5,5 percent of the population using the Internet in 2002 to 10,3 percent in 2006.
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2884&iArticleId=4777045

Ugandan Internet users grow
UGANDA has been ranked seventh in terms of people who access the Internet in Africa. Nigeria leads the continent with 10 million people using the Internet, beating South Africa and Egypt.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/220/668592
http://allafrica.com/stories/200901200022.html

Brian Viner: Television, teenagers and pornography
My 15-year-old daughter Eleanor has just finished her mock GCSEs, and has done pretty well despite my conviction, aired at regular intervals, that she was spending too much time at the computer on social networking sites when she could have been revising. It is eerie to find history repeating itself, to say nothing of chemistry and physics. When I was 15, my mother took the draconian decision to have the television set removed. She asked Mr Williams from No 54 to store it in his garage while I kicked the habit.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/brian-viner/brian-viner-television-teenagers-and-pornography-1451423.html

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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British ISPs charge child abuse unit to track paedophiles
Internet firms are charging the authorities tens of thousands of pounds for information about paedophiles who trawl their sites trying to befriend children.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/4304741/Internet-firms-charge-child-abuse-unit-to-track-paedophiles.html

British child abuse unit paying ISPs for data
The unit set up to tackle child sex abuse in the UK has had to pay tens of thousand of pounds to internet firms for information, the BBC has learned.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7840924.stm

Anti-abuse unit chief blasts ISPs [Press Association]
The head of a child sex abuse police unit vented his anger today at having to spend thousands of pounds on buying valuable information from internet firms.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/antiabuse-unit-chief-blasts-internet-providers-1452487.html

How can I stop my daughter from having online sex chats with men?
A letter from the concerned mother of a tech-savvy teenager who has been using her mobile phone to access the internet
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article5547354.ece

US Justices Reject Pornography Law
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to consider attempts to revive a 1998 law intended to protect children from Internet pornography, ending a legal conflict dating to the administration of President Bill Clinton.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/22/washington/22scotus.html

Supreme Court deals death blow to antiporn law
The U.S. Department of Justice has been trying since 1998 to convince courts that a federal antiporn law targeting sexually explicit Web sites was constitutional.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10147171-38.html

Supreme Court Ends Government's Ten-Year Quest for Internet Censorship Standard
The Supreme Court Wednesday dealt the final blow to the government's 10-year campaign to place onerous restrictions on Internet content. The Court declined to hear the government's appeal of lower court rulings that declared the Child Online Protective Act as unconstitutional.
http://cdt.org/press/20090121press.php

Supreme Court rejects federal bid to restore Internet child safety law [IDG]
The U.S. Supreme Court today again refused to resurrect a federal law that required Web sites containing "material harmful to minors" to implement age-based access restrictions, presumably ending a 10-year fight over whether the law violated free-speech rights on the Internet.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126479
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273891/

Justices refuse to reconsider law restricting Internet porn
The Supreme Court has blocked further consideration of a federal law designed to keep sexual material from underage users of the Web.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/21/supreme.court.reject/

Online pornography law appeal denied
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand on Wednesday a ruling that a federal law designed to keep Internet pornography away from children violated constitutional free-speech rights.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE50K4A720090121
http://www.internetnews.com/breakingnews/article.php/3797731

us: Anti-porn online law dies quietly in Supreme Court [AP]
A federal law intended to restrict children's access to Internet pornography died quietly Wednesday at the Supreme Court, more than 10 years after Congress overwhelmingly approved it.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/antiporn-online-law-dies-quietly-in-supreme-court-20090122-7mu9.html
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/antiporn-online-law-dies-quietly-in-supreme-court-20090122-7mu9.html

au: Big brother filter plan insults parents by Nick Minchin
Underlying the Rudd Government's plan to screen the internet is an offensive message: that parents cannot be trusted to mind their children online.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/21/1232471392459.html

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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Are dicey stats leading copyright lawmakers down the garden path?
The international digital music industry body, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry claims that 95 per cent of all music downloads are illegal, should we be alarmed?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10552716

Google boss denies 'screwing' music industry and defends YouTube in Warner row
Google's management has denied "screwing the music industry" and defended its actions on YouTube after music label Warner removed its content from the site.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/4297069/Google-boss-denies-screwing-music-industry-and-defends-YouTube-in-Warner-row.html

Dutch government study: net effect of P2P use is positive
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned a study by research company TNO about how much Dutch Internet users download music, movies, and games, and what the social and economic effects of this downloading are. This resulted in a nearly 150-page report (Dutch) with many tables of percentages in it. The report differentiates between paid and unpaid downloads and talks about file sharing, eschewing the word "illegal." In the Netherlands, only uploading copyrighted music and movies is against the law. "Unpaid downloads" include officially licensed promotional content.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090120-dutch-government-study-net-effect-of-p2p-use-is-positive.html

UK government file-sharing options rejected by industry
None of the Government's proposed solutions to illegal file-sharing received the backing of the two main industries involved, the internet service provider (ISP) and content industries. The Government will publish fresh plans by the end of the month.
http://out-law.com/page-9717

The Pirate Bay once again blocked in Denmark
The largest ISP in Denmark, TDC, has gone to the extreme length of blocking Pirate Bay, the 'world's largest bit torrent tracker'.
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/the-pirate-bay-once-again-blocked-in-denmark-502440

How Canadian ISPs throttle the Internet
Canada's Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) famously decided last year to allow Bell Canada to single out P2P traffic for bandwidth throttling between the hours of 4:30pm to 2am. But even as it allowed a practice that the US Federal Communications Commission had just put the kibosh on, the CRTC also launched a much broader hearing on the entire issue of network neutrality.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090121-how-canadian-isps-throttle-the-internet.html

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Inauguration crowd will test mobile phone networks
The cellphone industry has a plea for the throngs descending on the nation's capital for the presidential inauguration: go easy on the mobile communications.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/19/technology/19cell.html
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/19/technology/19cell.php

Cellphone Abilities That Go Untapped
Most cellphones sold in the United States last year had GPS chips, can play video and accept extra memory cards. But only a fraction of consumers were aware of these features, according to data released by the NPD Group, a consumer research firm.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/19/technology/19drill.html

UK Gov't urged to consider 'spectrum for speed' swap
ISPs should be given radio spectrum in exchange for rolling out fibre, a quasi-governmental body has suggested.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39597076,00.htm

GS1 Australia develop implementation guidelines for RFID devices
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have ruled that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices with up to 4W of power may now be used in Australia in the 920-926MHz band.
http://www.ferret.com.au/c/GS1-Australia/GS1-Australia-develop-implementation-guidelines-for-RFID-devices-n821231

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SPAM
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Google should learn the difference between real sex and spam
Real sex is difficult for the Googlebot. If humans argue so much about distinguishing between erotica and pornography, imagine the difficulty search algorithms have with the topic. Two years ago, an admitted bug in a change to Google's ranking algorithm caused many respected and popular sexuality-related sites to suddenly lose their rank in search results. The bug was soon fixed, but not before it had made Google's treatment of sexual material into a prominent issue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/22/google-censorship

au: Fines Imposed for SMS Spam
A telecommunications provider has been fined $110,000 after allegedly sending 20,000 SMS messages without sufficient sender identification. The fine was imposed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for breach of the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) (Act).
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2196

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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US Feds to Shore Up Net Security
The U.S. federal government is accelerating its efforts to secure the Internet's routing system, with plans this year for the Department of Homeland Security to quadruple its investment in research aimed at adding digital signatures to router communications.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011509-bgp.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/157909/.html
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/273512/

Windows virus spreads quickly, but may be a dud [AP]
A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to nine million machines, according to a private online security firm. Fortunately, however, it may be a dud.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10552649
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/17/AR2009011701778.html

Downadup worm now infects 1 in every 16 PCs, says Panda Security
The computer worm responsible for the biggest attack in years has infected at least one out of every 16 PCs worldwide, a security company said today, and it may have managed to compromise as many as nearly one in three.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126482

Windows worm numbers 'skyrocket'
Infections of a worm that spreads through low security networks, memory sticks, and PCs without the latest security updates is "skyrocketing". The malicious program, known as Conficker, Downadup, or Kido was first discovered in October 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7832652.stm

us: DOJ seeks to block warrantless wiretap ruling
The Bush administration may have passed into history, but its legal briefs linger on. Earlier this month, a federal court held that an Islamic charity could proceed with a lawsuit alleging it was subject to warrantless surveillance by the NSA?and ordered that the government turn over classified documents for review by the judge. On the eve of the presidential inauguration, however, the Justice Department filed a motion urging the court to stay that ruling pending an appeal, citing the risk of irreparable harm to national security.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090121-doj-seeks-to-block-warrantless-wiretap-ruling.html

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PRIVACY
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One day, will we all have our own number online?
If Silvio Berlusconi gets his way, we might. Italy's conservative prime minister, born in 1936, has a plan to control the web. His interior minister, Roberto Maroni, has hinted it could mean every user having an "identification number".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/22/internet-privacy-berlusconi

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CENSORSHIP
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On Facebook, Sicilian Mafia Is a Hot Topic
Your college roommate is on Facebook. So are your cousins and colleagues and friends. But guess who else may find Facebook a great way to stay in touch?
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/20/world/europe/20italy.html
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/20/europe/mafia.1-411653.php

China blocks 244 new websites in porn crackdown
China has blocked 244 new pornographic websites over the last week, the official Xinhua news agency said, bringing the total number of sites shut down in a campaign against "vulgar" content to over 700.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-37541520090120
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE50F1MY20090120

China extends "lewd" crackdown to mobile phones
China has extended a crackdown on electronic porn to the country's mobile phones, after shutting down 1,250 websites because of their explicit content, the official Xinhua agency said Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE50K3Y320090121
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4826415a28.html

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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NZ telcos want delay in law on net piracy
New Zealand telcos want to delay the introduction of new copyright laws to police internet privacy by up to two months while they iron out "controversial issues".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10552598

ISPs: New copyright law puts business in the gun; scrap it
The internet service providers association of New Zealand (ISPANZ) has called on the government not to enact a controversial new copyright provision, due to come into force February 28. It says Section 92A of the Copyright Amendment Act could see businesses lose their internet connections thanks to the actions of a rogue employee.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/isps-new-copyright-law-puts-business-gun-scrap-it-39710

nz: Internet group opposes copyright law
The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPANZ) has joined calls for Section 92A of the Copyright Act, due to come into effect on February 28th, to be scrapped.
http://www.netguide.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=864&Itemid=16

nz: Industry keeps heat on govt over copyright
Telecommunications Carriers Forum head Ralph Chivers says it will be difficult to get a code in place by the end of February, to allow fair and practical implementation of Section 92A of the Copyright Act. This requires internet service providers to have in place and ?reasonably implement? a procedure for disconnecting ?repeat? illicit downloaders of copyright works.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/2AA367EE378B94B3CC257542008091DA

nz: Digital Development Council gathers broadband data
The Digital Development Council is collecting information on regional broadband initiatives, planning to see what ?gaps? exist and how they can be remedied by information transfer among the regions, says executive director Paul Alexander.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/E5C2D81C73B86977CC2575420081FAED

Scots possessing 'extreme' pornography to face jail
Scots found in possession of "realistic" rape images face jail sentences of up to three years under a crackdown on "extreme" pornography.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/4291494/Scots-possessing-extreme-pornography-to-face-jail.html

EU revives Microsoft antitrust case
A year after throwing in the towel in its epic legal battle with the European Union, Microsoft is facing new charges of abusing its dominant position with the Windows operating system.
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/19/technology/msft.4-411467.php

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Questions About Timing of Europe?s New Microsoft Inquiry
A year after ending its lengthy legal battle with the European Union, Microsoft, the software giant, is facing new charges of abusing its dominant position with the Windows operating system.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/20/technology/20soft.html

Disgruntled employees reveal dark side of Google
Google takes particular pride in being considered one of the world?s best companies to work for. Employees are pampered at on-site massage areas, told to spend twenty per cent of their time doing whatever they want and enjoy free sushi and H?agen-Dazs ice cream for lunch.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5547920.ece

China?s internet godfather
Every time a salesperson at online trading site Alibaba signs up an important new account, the entire sales department cheers in triumph. But today they have been asked to keep the noise down as Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the world?s largest online trading platform for businesses, is being interviewed in the open-plan office.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/109db374-e3e9-11dd-8274-0000779fd2ac.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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NBN winner could be a consortium
The federal Government may ask bidders for the $15 billion National Broadband Network to form a consortium after it receives a recommendation on the bids from its expert panel early next week.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24942087-15306,00.html

UK forges ahead with next gen net
Do-it-yourself broadband schemes are springing up around the UK as communities refuse to wait for big firms to roll out faster networks. That is the conclusion of a new report into the state of broadband in Britain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7841861.stm

South African Internet Access Set For a Sea Change
A world of possibilities will open up for consumers and businesses when the 15 000km Seacom undersea cabling system goes live at the end of June and South Africa gets cheap broadband.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200901190170.html

au: Phone companies not
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has revealed that the majority of telephone subscribers complaining about breaches of the Do Not Call Register were complaining about the activities of telecommunications companies.
http://www.psnews.com.au/Page_psn1529.html

Indonesian Islands to Be Linked by Submarine Cable [IDG]
A handful of Indonesia's best-known islands are to get a high-bandwidth path onto the world telecommunications network thanks to a new submarine fiber-optic cable that will be laid over the coming months.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/157953/.html

Does US Broadband Need a Stimulus?
This is the second of two posts on the Obama administration?s technology policy, exploring the subsidies for building broadband networks that are included in its proposed economic stimulus package.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/does-broadband-need-a-stimulus/

us: Battle Lines Drawn in Broadband Stimulus Debate
For the wide array of groups that have been calling for the government to take action to spur broadband deployment, the bill introduced Thursday in the House that would allocate $6 billion in stimulus money to that goal was welcome news. But there remains a lively debate as to just how that money should be used.
http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3797476

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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au: Man busted for surfing child porn in Internet caf?
A Sydney man has been arrested in an Internet caf? for allegedly surfing child porn.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/273630/
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273630/
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/273630/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/012009-man-busted-for-surfing-child.html

Man charged over child porn at cafe [AAP]
A MAN has been charged after accessing child pornography at a Sydney internet cafe in the middle of the day.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24936504-1242,00.html


 ---------


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



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