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://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** ICANN Remains Committed to Nairobi and Africa by Rod Beckstrom http://blog.icann.org/2010/01/icann-remains-committed-to-nairobi-and-africa/ First 4 IDN ccTLDs through String Evaulation by Tina Dam http://blog.icann.org/2010/01/first-4-idn-cctlds-through-string-evaulation/ ICANN's Nairobi Meeting To Go Ahead Despite Security Concerns http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=10167 Internationalized Domain Names Advance http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/internationalized-domain-names.php ICANN approves Internet addresses in Arabic, Cyrillic script [Relax News] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/icann-approves-internet-addresses-in-arabic-cyrillic-script-1877447.html ICANN approves Internet addresses in Arabic script [AFP] http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/icann-approves-internet-addresses-in-arabic-script-20100122-mpz2.html Non-Latin web domain names get clearance [AP] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/net-addresses-to-go-global/story-e6frg6so-1225822662896 The At Large Board seat should represent the public by Milton Mueller http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/1/22/4435548.html The Internet is a better place ? ICANN replaces policy head http://kierenmccarthy.com/2010/01/23/the-internet-is-a-better-place-icann-replaces-policy-head/ au: Bolton's cork pops at Bottle http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Bolton-s-cork-pops-at-Bottle/0,130061744,339300564,00.htm Kentucky Supreme Court Still Silent on Internet Gambling Case http://www.pocketfives.com/online-poker-scene/kentucky-supreme-court-still-silent-on-internet-gambling-case-5129472 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Remains Committed to Nairobi and Africa by Rod Beckstrom We have listened to the community. Many are looking forward to Nairobi, some expressed concerns, particularly in light of the events in downtown Nairobi on January 15. Accordingly, ICANN staff and board have reexamined the security situation http://blog.icann.org/2010/01/icann-remains-committed-to-nairobi-and-africa/ First 4 IDN ccTLDs through String Evaulation by Tina Dam The first four IDN ccTLD requests has just been announced as having completed the String Evaulation portion of the Fast Track Process. http://blog.icann.org/2010/01/first-4-idn-cctlds-through-string-evaulation/ First Four Internationalized Domain Names Pass Key Approval Milestone ICANN today approved the first four internationalised top-level domain names. Egypt, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have passed the language character (string) evaluation, intended to avoid confusion with other top level domain names. These countries may now request that their Internet names be included in the Internet domain names root system, so they can be accessed by all users globally by mid-2010. http://icann.org/en/news/releases/release-21jan10-en.pdf First IDN ccTLDs Requests Successfully Pass String Evaluation ICANN is pleased to announce the successful completion of the IDN ccTLD Fast Track String Evaluation for four (4) proposed IDN ccTLDs. The requests are associated with: Egypt, the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-21jan10-en.htm Discussion Draft: Affirmation Reviews ? Extension of Public Comment Period As requested by Members of the Community, the public consultation on the discussion draft paper addressing the Affirmation review requirements has been extended from the end of January to the 10th February 2010. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-21jan10-en.htm ICANN's Nairobi Meeting To Go Ahead Despite Security Concerns Following a special meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors on Friday, Rod Beckstrom, ICANN?s CEO, has announced via a posting on the ICANN blog that the Nairobi meeting will go ahead as planned in March. http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=10167 http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/01/23/icanns-nairobi-meeting-to-go-ahead-despite-security-concerns/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/icann-s-nairobi-meeting-to-go-ahead-despite-security-concerns.html Good news: Nairobi meeting confirmed After much worrying, talking, arguing and hesitating, ICANN has gone and done the right thing. Despite certain security concerns from participants from countries like the United States or the UK, the Nairobi meeting is on. http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/302-Good-news-Nairobi-meeting-confirmed.html Safety Concerns Now Cast Doubt on Nairobi Internet Conference Unease following the arrest of radical Islamic preacher Abdullah al-Faisal threatens to jeopardise Kenya's chances of hosting a key global meeting to discuss the future of the internet. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company Industry/-/539550/847166/-/t4k7a0z/-/index.html http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company Industry/-/539550/847166/-/t4k7a0z/-/ http://allafrica.com/stories/201001210924.html ICANN Meeting in Nairobi to Go Ahead Despite Safety Concerns A special board meeting was held today by ICANN in order to address the upcoming meeting in Nairobi and security concerns raised by the community as a result of recent events in the city. ICANN has reaffirmed it's commitment to the meeting in Nairobi and an announcement was made via a blog post by Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and CEO: http://www.circleid.com/posts/icann_meeting_in_nairobi_to_go_ahead_despite_safety_concerns/ ICANN Meeting #37 Will Take Place In Kenya The ICANN board voted in a special meeting held today to keep the 37th ICANN meeting in Nairobi, Kenya from March 7-12, 2010. http://www.domainnamenews.com/up-to-the-minute/icann-meeting-37-will-take-place-in-kenya/6979 Internationalized Domain Names Advance The group that manages the Internet address system said Thursday that it has given preliminary approval to four countries to, for the first time, write Internet addresses entirely in their native languages. ICANN said Egypt, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have passed the language character evaluation, which is aimed at ensuring there is no confusion with other Internet top-level domains. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/internationalized-domain-names.php ICANN approves Internet addresses in Arabic, Cyrillic script [Relax News] The global agency overseeing Internet domain names on Thursday said Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates can begin creating online addresses in their native languages. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/icann-approves-internet-addresses-in-arabic-cyrillic-script-1877447.html ICANN approves Internet addresses in Arabic script [AFP] The global agency overseeing Internet domain names said Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates can begin creating online addresses in their native languages. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/icann-approves-internet-addresses-in-arabic-script-20100122-mpz2.html http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/icann-approves-internet-addresses-in-arabic-script-20100122-mpz2.html Non-Latin web domain names get clearance [AP] Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first countries to win preliminary approval for internet addresses written entirely in their native scripts. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/net-addresses-to-go-global/story-e6frg6so-1225822662896 http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nonlatin-web-domain-names-get-clearance-20100122-moqu.html http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-world/nonlatin-web-domain-names-get-clearance-20100122-moqu.html http://www.nzherald.co.nz/connect/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501833&objectid=10621759 http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3253671/ http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/nonlatin-web-domain-names-get-clearance-20100122-moqu.html Comment: Internet - New shot in the arm for US hegemony The Internet originated on American soil. In 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Defense Department established the world's first testing packet-switched network (PSN) to connect four universities on US soil. http://english.eastday.com/e/100123/u1a4972925.html http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-01/22/c_13147269.htm http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91345/6876608.html The At Large Board seat should represent the public by Milton Mueller In August 2009 the ICANN board decided to give its At Large community a voting position on the board. This change was hailed by many advocates of democratizing ICANN as a small but significant step toward improving ICANN's accountability to the public. Ideally, the new board position would be democratically selected by the world's Internet users to represent the voice of the public in ICANN. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/1/22/4435548.html The Internet is a better place ? ICANN replaces policy head Of the hundreds of people I have worked with, some of them very difficult, I have only truly disliked two. Not so much for their personalities but for the fact that they infected the whole work environment with destructive and negative behaviour. One was an incompetent bully of a news editor on a weekly PC magazine; the other was the head of policy at ICANN until yesterday. http://kierenmccarthy.com/2010/01/23/the-internet-is-a-better-place-icann-replaces-policy-head/ Does a new ICANN policy chief make the Internet a better place? Although unconfirmed at this stage, the ICANN grapevine has been buzzing the last few days with the news that ICANN's Vice President for policy development Denise Michel was about to be replaced. http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/301-Does-a-new-ICANN-policy-chief-make-the-Internet-a-better-place.html ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** au: Bolton's cork pops at Bottle Embattled domain name registrar Bottle Domains today apologised for a mistake that saw it send emails to customers yesterday alerting them that they had transferred their domain name to another registrar associated with owner Nicholas Bolton. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Bolton-s-cork-pops-at-Bottle/0,130061744,339300564,00.htm Dot-ca registration to get easier later this year CIRA, the non-profit corporation in charge of dishing out Canadian domains, is changing its registry system and streamlining the process that consumers and business go through to purchase a dot-ca address. Find out the motivation for the changes and what it will mean for Canadian Web site owners http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/dot-ca-registration-to-get-easier-later-this-year/139766 .cn registry remains in gray zone The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which is responsible for registering domain names, is under fire for what appears to be flip-flopping positions on whether sites that end with .cn could be used by private individuals. http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/technology/100237201-1-.cn-registry-remains-gray-zone.html Record number of fi-domain names granted in 2009 A record number of fi-domain names were granted last year, 48 009 in all. http://www.ficora.fi/en/index/viestintavirasto/uutiset/2010/P_3.html Madrid Enters The Race for Top Level Domain The growing list of contenders for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) has seen the Spanish city of Madrid enter the race with a proposal for .MADRID. http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/01/25/madrid-top-level-domain/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/madrid-enters-the-race-for-top-level-domain.html rs: Tender for the procurement of equipment The Serbian National Register of Internet Domain Names has announced a public invitation for collecting offers for provisioning hardware and accompanying software. The deadline for obtaining documentation is 10 days and the deadline for submitting offers is 8 February 2010. http://rnids.rs/en/node/67?lang=en Nominet gives registrars right to cancel names on allegations of criminality The body in charge of the UK's domain names, such as those ending in .co.uk, has given domain name registration companies the power to suspend any name if it is presented with evidence of suspected illegal activity. http://out-law.com/default.aspx?page=10683 uk: Nominet renewal warning email On 20 January our software release caused a delay to the renewal of some domain names that were set to automatically renew. As a result some customers may have received an email from us stating that their domain name had passed its expiry date and was due for renewal. In these cases the domain name has now been renewed. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=7045 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Has DNSSEC Been Compromised Again? The Domain Name System is supposed to have its own security system, but it looks like that system itself has been found vulnerable yet again. http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3860301 http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2010-01-22-009-35-NW-NT ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Kentucky Supreme Court Still Silent on Internet Gambling Case On Thursday, many in the online poker industry expected the Kentucky Supreme Court to hand down a decision in the case involving the seizure and potential forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. http://www.pocketfives.com/online-poker-scene/kentucky-supreme-court-still-silent-on-internet-gambling-case-5129472 Kentucky Supreme Court Ruling For Internet Case May Come In March While Kentucky lawmakers debate expanded gambling at state racetracks, there still is a case pending before the Kentucky Supreme Court. The ruling on the Internet gambling domain name case was expected this past Thursday. http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gambling-news/gambling-law/kentucky_supreme_court_ruling_for_internet_case_may_come_in_march_53754.html Kentucky Supreme Court ? No Decision Reached The online poker industry was waiting for a decision this past Thursday to come from the Kentucky Supreme Court but it didn?t happen. The case in question involved poker where 141 online gambling domain names were seized and subject to forfeiture. Included in the gambling domains were Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. http://www.4flush.com/online-poker-news/kentucky-supreme-court-no-decision-reached/4462/ Utah Legislator Introduces State Anti-Cybersquatting Proposal The state of Utah will soon be considering an interesting anti-cybersquatting proposal as part of a comprehensive bill to update the state's laws on phishing, pharming, spyware, and other online ills. http://pblog.bna.com/techlaw/2010/01/utah-legislator-introduces-state-anticybersquatting-proposal.html ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** ICANN Urges Adoption Of IPv6 The available number of unallocated Internet addresses using the older IPv4 protocol has dropped below 10 percent, according to ICANN. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/01/21/icann-urges-adoption-of-ipv6 http://community.ecmta.org/blogs/news/archive/2010/01/21/icann-urges-adoption-of-ipv6.aspx >90% of IPv4 address space used; IPv6 move looking messy The Number Resource Organization warns that less than 10 percent of the IPv4 address space remains; it's time to start adopting IPv6. The warning comes after APNIC, the registry that hands out IP addresses in the Asia-Pacific region, obtained an additional 33.5 million IPv4 addresses from IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. This brings the size of IANA's global pool of free IPv4 address space down from 26 to 24 blocks of 16,777,216 addresses ("/8s"). http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/01/90-of-ipv4-address-space-used-ipv6-move-looking-messy.ars ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Video on How the DNS Works CENTR, the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries, has produced the following video to help explain the functioning of the Domain Name System (DNS). http://www.circleid.com/posts/video_on_how_the_dns_works/ Internet 2009 in numbers What happened with the Internet in 2009? How many websites were added? How many emails were sent? How many Internet users were there? This post will answer all of those questions and many more. Prepare for information overload, but in a good way. http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/ Internet Commerce Association: September 2006 ? January 2010 R.I.P Dead, Gone & We Are On Our Own? Is The Internet Commerce Association (the ?ICA) dead? Phil Corwin who?s Washington Law firm has represented the Association at ICANN meetings, and through its various committees and workshops, and represented domainers interests in matters from the Snowe Bill to the Kentucky Domain Seizure case, to the Uniform Rapid Suspension, contract with the ICA ended on December 31, 2009. http://www.thedomains.com/2010/01/24/internet-commerce-association-september-2006-january-2010-r-i-p/ ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Blockbuster French ccTLD Sale at Sedo Gets the 2010 Domain Sales Season Off on the Right Foot The New Year's first full week of domain sales is now in the books. Sedo helped get 2010 off to a rousing start by closing a huge ?587,500 ($851,875) sale of Credit.fr (French ccTLD). That sale also served notice that the surge in country code sales that we've seen over the past couple of years is not likely to subside any time soon. The Credit.fr sale is more than three times higher than the top ccTLD sale reported in all of 2009. That was Spel.se ("games" in Swedish), sold last June for $266,000 - also by Sedo. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2010/20100120.htm The State of the Industry January 2010: We Asked 16 Domain Experts If We Hit Bottom in 2009 and Will See a Rebound in the New Year The severe global recession that started in 2008 and continued through 2009 hasn't been kind to many businesses, including our own. Yes, we have fared better than most others, especially the traditional media platforms with whom domain owners and developers directly compete for advertising revenue. However, this high flying industry has had to shoulder more than a little pain of its own. http://dnjournal.com/cover/2010/january.htm The Domain Name Business: Sedo's Jeremiah Johnston explains how entrepreneurs can acquire, improve, and sell domain names During the early years of the Internet, there was furious competition for Web site domain names, accompanied by lawsuits and huge sums paid for well-known names. Last year the buying and selling of Web site domains amounted to a $77 million enterprise, says a recent study by Sedo.com, an international company that offers domain transfer and escrow services. At any given time, Sedo lists 12 million to 15 million domains for sale, says Chief Operating Officer Jeremiah Johnston, who runs the firm's Boston office. He spoke recently to Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein about the domain market and how entrepreneurs can acquire, improve, and sell domains. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2009/sb20090717_925271.htm DOMAINfest Adds Second PITCHfest Session Due to an unexpectedly large number of good submissions for the PITCHfest session scheduled forTuesday, January 26, at DOMAINfest Global, a second PITCHfest session has been added. The submissions received have been extremely relevant to attendees and, accordingly, to accommodate all that deserve attention,it was decided to replace the LAUNCHfest session (scheduled for Thursday, January 28) with a second PITCHfest session. http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/01/23/domainfest-adds-second-pitchfest-session-due-to-demand/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/domainfest-adds-second-pitchfest-session-due-to-demand.html ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Google's Sales Rose 17% in Quarter, Fastest Pace in a Year Google may be facing a potentially turbulent confrontation with China, but the company?s online advertising business is picking up speed, helping Google to widen its lead over rivals. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/technology/companies/22google.html New York Times wants paying, but will it make money? The shock waves rippled worldwide. Finally the New York Times had decided to rebuild a pay wall around its online news. Here, at last, was a supposedly game-changing decision defining all newspapers' future. To charge, or not to charge? To side with Rupert Murdoch and the great Grey Lady of American journalism, or keep following the free road as pioneered by the Telegraph, Guardian and (for the moment) most non-specialist papers around the world? Let the trumpets of momentous choice sound out. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/24/new-york-times-pay-wall Internet 2009 in numbers What happened with the Internet in 2009? How many websites were added? How many emails were sent? How many Internet users were there? This post will answer all of those questions and many more. Prepare for information overload, but in a good way. http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/ A Conversation With Google?s Chairman and CEO Google CEO Eric Schmidt has long defended his company's decision to do business in China despite the restrictions that Beijing imposes on Internet freedom. Nevertheless, last week the company abruptly threatened to pull out after suffering hacker attacks believed to have originated in China. Schmidt explained why to NEWSWEEK's Fareed Zakaria in an exclusive interview. Excerpts: http://www.newsweek.com/id/231117 Hungry for New Content, Google Tries to Grow Its Own in Africa The farmer and the cowman should be friends? is the hopeful refrain of Oklahomans in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ?Oklahoma.? After all, their activities rhyme: ?one likes to push a plow; one likes to chase a cow.? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/technology/25link.html comScore Reports Global Search Market Growth of 46 Percent in 2009 [news release] ... The total worldwide search market boasted more than 131 billion searches conducted by people age 15 or older from home and work locations in December 2009, representing a 46-percent increase in the past year. This number represents more than 4 billion searches per day, 175 million per hour, and 29 million per minute. The U.S. represented the largest individual search market in the world with 22.7 billion searches, or approximately 17 percent of searches conducted globally. China ranked second with 13.3 billion searches, followed by Japan with 9.2 billion and the U.K. with 6.2 billion. Among the top ten global search markets, Russia posted the highest gains in 2009, growing 92 percent to 3.3 billion, followed by France (up 61 percent to 5.4 billion) and Brazil (up 53 percent to 3.8 billion). http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/1/Global_Search_Market_Grows_46_Percent_in_2009 ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** au: Facebook urged to switch off hate sites Facebook sites inciting anti-Indian sentiment continue to flourish despite protests from Indians in Australia. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/facebook-urged-to-switch-off-hate-sites-20100123-mrow.html Goodbye cruel web: legal row as social networkers escape in ?suicide machine? Online lives can be hard. Friendships made through social networking sites can seem false and then there is the inane chatter. Many sign up to the likes of Facebook and Twitter and quickly realise they want out. Have you ever thought about ending it all? http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6999245.ece British troops using Twitter endanger security says MoD Careless tweets cost lives. Some military personnel are being disciplined after leaking secrets on Twitter and Facebook, the Ministry of Defence has admitted. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6999928.ece The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now [ReadWriteWeb] In December, Facebook made a series of bold and controversial changes regarding the nature of its users' privacy on the social networking site. The company once known for protecting privacy to the point of exclusivity (it began its days as a network for college kids only - no one else even had access), now seemingly wants to compete with more open social networks like the microblogging media darling Twitter. http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2010/01/20/20readwriteweb-the-3-facebook-settings-every-user-should-c-29287.html Global Study Reveals Proliferation of Consumer-Based Social Networking Throughout the Enterprise and a Growing Need for Governance and IT Involvement [news release] Cisco today released the results of a third-party global study designed to assess how organizations use consumer social networking tools to collaborate externally, revealing the need for stronger governance and IT involvement. The research is the first of a two-part series that Cisco has commissioned to explore the impact of social networking and collaboration applications in the enterprise. http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2010/prod_011310.html Facebook's Virtual Farm Game Attracting Millions [AP] ... With more than 72 million monthly users worldwide, FarmVille is the biggest of a growing number of online farm games. Grimes says she likes FarmVille's neighborly feel and getting rewarded for such things as helping an online neighbor. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/25/us/AP-US-Farm-Scene-FarmVille.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** Swedish Music Fans Start to Steer Clear of Pirates Martin Thornkvist, who runs a record label in Sweden, was looking online for the new album from the American band Vampire Weekend a few weeks ago. He turned first to Spotify, a free, legal digital music service; unable to find it there, he eventually bought it from Apple?s iTunes music store. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/technology/internet/25iht-music.html HP deal strengthens Omnifone's position in digital music battle The latest salvo in the digital music war will be fired today when British group Omnifone announces it has clinched a crucial deal with Hewlett-Packard, the largest PC manufacturer in the world, to have its MusicStation unlimited track download service pre-loaded onto computers and laptops. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/25/hp-bundles-omnifone-music-downloads MusicDNA ? new digital file that is son of MP3 unveiled A new way of experiencing music ? billed as the most significant development in digital music since the invention of the MP3 ? was unveiled at the biggest ?conference in the music industry calendar today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/24/musicdna-digital-music-file Multimedia MP3 'could help to tackle music piracy' A new digital music file that its designers hope will help to tackle piracy has been unveiled at the biggest conference in the music industry calendar. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7068204/Multimedia-MP3-could-help-to-tackle-music-piracy.html UK schools to spend thousands to access YouTube Schools and councils are planning to spend thousands of pounds every year so that classes can access videos on YouTube. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7068246/Schools-to-spend-thousands-to-access-YouTube.html Piracy continues to cripple music industry as sales fall 10% The rise of new services such as Spotify and legal crackdowns on online pirates failed to stem tumbling music sales last year, according to industry figures that show a dramatic slowdown in digital growth. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/21/music-industry-piracy-hits-sales Australian record labels cry poor as piracy chokes growth The Australian music industry has shrunk by 30 per cent since 2001 and record labels claim $200 million has been lost to piracy in the last five years. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/record-labels-cry-poor-as-piracy-chokes-growth-20100122-mp71.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/record-labels-cry-poor-as-piracy-chokes-growth-20100122-mp71.html Reduced award called too high in US music piracy case A federal judge's decision today to substantially lower the damages in a music piracy case involving Minnesota native Jammie Thomas-Rasset should come as no surprise, considering the massive size of the original $1.9 million jury award against her. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9147598/Reduced_award_called_too_high_in_music_piracy_case_ ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Haiti's Mobile Phones Ring Again as Telecom Operator Voil? Revives Network Cellphones are starting to ring here again, more than a week after a massive earthquake knocked out telecommunications services across Haiti. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703405704575015270690427744.html au: Telco giants cash in on the great SMS swindle Australians are being charged up to 10 times more to send text messages than mobile phone users in other countries, with the nation's telecommunication giants pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars for providing the virtually cost-free service. http://www.theage.com.au/national/telco-giants-cash-in-on-the-great-sms-swindle-20100123-mrql.html http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/consumers-being-abused-by-text-message-price-rort-20100123-mroo.html Aussies being ripped off on SMS [AAP] Australians are paying the highest prices in the world for text messages, which cost the mobile networks practically nothing but earn them millions in profit each year, industry experts say. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Aussies-being-ripped-off-on-SMS/0,130061791,339300571,00.htm 3G brings a boom to Chinese mobile phone industry When the Chinese government issued the long awaited third generation (3G) license to three domestic telecom operators a year ago, few imagined the number of the country's 3G users would reach nearly 15 million within one year. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2010-01/25/content_9369290.htm ********************** SPAM ********************** Facebook users told to beware fresh wave of spam and phishing attacks A tidal wave of spam has been predicted this year as cyber criminals target social networks such as Facebook. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article7000676.ece IIA: Funding needed for ISPs to crack-down on unruly spammers The Federal Government may be asked to fund an upcoming code requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to crack-down on spamming computers. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/333716/iia_funding_needed_isps_crack-down_unruly_spammers/ ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Computer security: fraud fears as scientists crack 'anonymous' datasets Computer scientists in the US have discovered ways to "re-identify" the names of people included in supposedly anonymous datasets. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/24/computer-security-crime-anonymous-datasets Call to banish virus-hit computers in Australia from internet Computers infected with viruses could be "expelled" from the internet under a new industry code to control Australia's plague of contaminated PCs. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/call-to-cut-net-link-on-virus-hit-computers/story-e6frg6n6-1225823060022 Australians at risk from computer zombies Australia is one of the top 10 targets for cyber crime, according to McAfee, one of the largest manufacturers of antivirus software. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/25/2800880.htm Obama weighs into Google-China furore US President Barack Obama is "troubled" by cyberattacks on Internet giant Google and wants answers from China, the White House said on Friday. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/23/2799500.htm Clinton Urges Global Response to Internet Attacks Declaring that an attack on one nation?s computer networks ?can be an attack on all,? Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a warning on Thursday that the United States would defend itself from cyberattacks, though she left unclear the means of response. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/world/asia/22diplo.html Hillary Clinton calls on China to probe Google attack The US has called on Beijing to investigate the recent cyber attacks on Google, which have prompted the search giant to threaten to leave China. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that companies such as Google should refuse to support "politically-motivated censorship". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8472683.stm Hacking - easy as abc123 You may be leaving the door to your online accounts wide open. An analysis of tens of millions of leaked passwords reveals the most common are basic number strings such as "123456" and obvious keywords including "password" and "abc123". http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/hacking-online-accounts-is-easy-as-abc123-20100122-mpni.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3255140/ http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/hacking-online-accounts-is-easy-as-abc123-20100122-mpni.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Italian Government wants to clamp down on online video Reporters Without Borders is concerned about a proposed government decree drafted by communications undersecretary Paolo Romani that would require all websites showing videos to obtain a licence from the authorities. http://www.rsf.org/Government-wants-to-clamp-down-on.html Google's run-in with China shows that internet is now a real battleground One useful spin-off from the developing story of Google's difficulties with the Chinese communist regime is that it may finally spur the west to discard the rose-tinted spectacles through which it has chosen to view China in the past decade ? and not before time. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/24/google-china-internet-freedom-control China's media lashes out at Clinton's internet demands China's media have reacted angrily to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for China to lift restrictions on the internet and investigate Google's complaints of cyber-attacks. Several papers argue the issue has been politicized to enable Google to cover up its failure to dominate the Chinese search market. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8474466.stm China Rebuffs Clinton on Internet Warning Tensions between China and the United States over Internet policy deepened Friday, with the Chinese government accusing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of jeopardizing relations between the two countries with her criticism of Chinese censorship. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/world/asia/23china.html China hits back at US over internet censorship US calls for greater internet freedom could damage bilateral ties, China warned today as it hit back at Hillary Clinton's critical speech. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/china-warns-us-internet-freedom China accuses US of online warfare in Iran The United States used "online warfare" to stir up unrest in Iran after last year's elections, the Chinese Communist party newspaper claimed today, hitting back at Hillary Clinton's speech last week about internet freedom. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/24/china-us-iran-online-warfare China Ups the Ante in Internet Row With U.S. China stepped up its verbal feud with the U.S. over the Internet, with a commentator in the Communist Party's main newspaper saying America is seeking to control the Internet and alleging that the U.S. used the Web to incite election protests in Iran last year. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704375604575023953019948336.html China steps up defense of Internet controls [Reuters] China widened its attack against U.S. criticisms of Internet censorship on Monday, raising the stakes in a dispute that has put Google in the middle of a political quarrel between the two global powers. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60O0XG20100125 http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-45642020100125 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/24/AR2010012403023.html U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn't that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated -- we knew that already -- it's that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers. http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/23/schneier.google.hacking/index.html China says Internet controls here to stay China has every right to punish citizens using the Internet to challenge Communist Party power and ethnic policies, a senior official said Monday, pressing Beijing's counter-offensive against Google Inc. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60L5OS20100125 The Google war: China calls US an 'information imperialist' China responded with a fierce broadside yesterday after Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, attacked its record on internet freedom. The country labelled Washington an "information imperialist" and said accusations that China was manipulating the internet for its own ends were false. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-google-war-china-calls-us-an-information-imperialist-1876409.html China returns fire against US in Google-war China inflamed the international row with America over cyber-attacks on Google yesterday, denouncing Hillary Clinton?s criticism of the country's internet curbs as ?information imperialism?. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article6998017.ece China Hits Back at U.S. on Net Freedom The strained relationship between Beijing and Washington took another hit Friday as China accused the Obama administration of leveling "groundless charges" after allegations that Chinese hackers penetrated computer systems of dozens of U.S. companies, including Google Inc. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704509704575018491868895922.html Hillary Clinton criticises Beijing over internet censorship Hillary Clinton today called on Beijing to hold a thorough and open investigation into the hacking of human rights activists' email accounts. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/21/hillary-clinton-china-internet-censorship Obama 'troubled' by Google cyber-attacks in China US President Barack Obama continues to be "troubled" by alleged cyber-attacks originating in China on the internet search giant Google, officials say. A White House spokesman said Mr Obama wanted "some answers" and agreed those responsible should "face consequences". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8475965.stm Obama troubled by Google cyber breach in China U.S. President Barack Obama continues to be troubled by a cyber security breach at Google in China that has the company threatening to pull its operations out of China, the White House said on Friday. http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-45617920100122 China says it needs no Internet lessons from U.S. China needs no lessons about its Internet from the United States, the head of an online media association said through official media on Saturday after the United States rapped Beijing over information freedom. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60M0IS20100123 Hillary Clinton calls for Web freedom, demands China investigate Google attack Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Thursday for a global Internet free of censorship and demanded that China investigate claims by Google that e-mail accounts belonging to human rights activists had been targeted by hackers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012101699.html Clinton presses for open access Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday urged China to investigate cyber intrusions that led Google to threaten to pull out of that country -- and challenged Beijing to openly publish its findings. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-clinton-google22-2010jan22,0,7328634.story Clinton speech boosts anti-filter campaign Australia and the United States appear to be on a collision course on the issue of internet censorship. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/22/2799369.htm Senator Conroy defends Internet filtering and criticises Chinese censorship Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has supported the American Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton?s criticism of China and other countries that censor the Internet. http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/333557/ ********************************* MISCELLANEOUS ********************************* Web Filters Cause Name Change for a Canadian Magazine In 1920 when the Hudson?s Bay Company began publishing a magazine for its 250th anniversary, The Beaver: A Journal of Progress probably seemed to be a good title. The company, which controlled much of the landmass that is now Western and Northern Canada, owed much of its early fortune to the trade in beaver pelts. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/business/media/25history.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** NZ watchdog ok with just one 4G network New Zealand's competition regulator has said that it is open to different mobile phone operators sharing a single 4G network. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/NZ-watchdog-ok-with-just-one-4G-network/0,130061791,339300581,00.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2010 --------- David Goldstein email: goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au web: http://davidgoldstein.tel/ http://goldsteinreport.com/ phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/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 __________________________________________________________________________________ See what's on at the movies in your area. Find out now: http://au.movies.yahoo.com/session-times/Received on Mon Jan 25 2010 - 04:55:20 UTC
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