Byte Into It - 11 Feb 09

Apple takes 10 per cent of operating system market - News - PC Authority

Apple
now has more than 10 per cent of the operating system market, according
to data from market research firm Net Applications.

Apple's
share grew to 9.93 per cent in January, as Windows fell to 88.26 per
cent. In addition, the iPhone operating system was used by 0.48 per
cent of users.

Net Applications reported strong interest in
Windows 7, meanwhile, which Microsoft released as a beta on 9 January.
The beta was so popular that Microsoft had to suspend its usual
download limits on the software.

"This is an indication of
strong interest in Windows 7, since it does not come pre-installed on a
computer, like Vista," said Net Applications.

"Beta users are
taking the time and effort to install it on their home computers, since
corporations generally prohibit beta operating systems in production
environments."

The Net Applications data was not such good news
for Linux distributions, however. Fewer than one per cent of computer
users have Linux installed, despite an upturn with the growth of the
netbook market.

New Ubuntu OS debuts on HP Mini 1000 Mi Netbook - News - PC Authority

Ubuntu
has crossed over into the netbook space and has debuted on the HP Mini
1000 Mi. And strangely enough, it weighs less than the same Windows
model.

Looking at the HP Mini website, we can confirm that
Ubuntu has found its way over into the expanding netbook space. But not
just any Ubuntu interface it seems, but one that appears to have been
custom designed for the HP Mini 1000 Mi netbook.

Unfortunately,
the awkwardly named HP Mini 1000 Mi may leave some Australian readers
scratching their heads, and that's understandable considering this
particular netbook model hasn't even arrived on Australian shores yet.

However,
specs based on the 1000 "Mini" Mi (get it?) appear to be identical to
the recently released Aussie HP Mini 1000, except for a couple of
unique changes: weight and price.

The following specs apply for both versions of the Mini 1000:

* Sleek design (less than 1" profile)
* 10.2" screen
* Intel Atom processor
* 3 cell battery
* 60GB HD or 16SD

Odd Specs:
The
US HP website reveals the Mini 1000 Mi weight starts at 1.03kg with
Ubuntu (depending on configuration). The Mini 1000 XP model starts from
1.11kg, meaning that either the new Mi has been redesigned to be a
touch lighter or that Windows is truly the heaviest OS in the world.
Some might argue for the latter.

In addition to this, for all
the costs of a Microsoft licence, HP will charge just $US20 more than
the Mini 1000 XP version. Not too shabby for the Linux option.

Social media lights up as Victorian bushfires rage - web - Technology

As the worst bushfires in Australia's history raged across Victoria,
Twitter, Flickr and Facebook lit up with condolences and horrific
first-hand accounts, while many used innovative online mapping tools to
assess the risk of the fires reaching their own homes.

Mainstream news outlets, battling to provide comprehensive coverage of the
tragedy, have incorporated accounts published on the social networking
sites extensively in their reports.

Using online social media to spread vital information and personal stories is becoming increasingly commonplace in times of crisis, but this may be the first time the social networking sites have been used extensively during an Australian
disaster.

Google's engineers have created a map containing the latest up-to-date information about fire locations and their status,
based on data provided by Victoria's Country Fire Authority (CFA).

The map, updated in real-time with information about the number, type and
size of fires in a particular location, buckled as thousands of web
users sought out updates. But the site appeared to be working as normal
this morning.

Google created the map after the CFA's website
struggled to cope with the surge in people looking for information
about the fires.

"We hope that it's of some use to people who
may be affected, to emergency services personnel, and that it takes
some load off other websites which are being inundated," Google wrote
in a blog post.

Aus-emaps.com created its own map of the fire
locations - derived from data provided by Federal Government body
Geoscience Australia through its Sentinel national bushfire monitoring
system - before Google but also reported slowdowns due to high demand.

On Twitter, "bushfires" is as of this morning the No.1 "trending topic" as
users traded first-hand accounts, news, and information on how to
donate and seek help.

bushfires - Twitter Search

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(21) bushfires - Twitter Search

RT Free legal help line for people affected by bushfires 1800 113 432

Twitter / 774melbourne

774 ABC Hotline for those offering material help to people affected by bushfires 03 9626 1752

HTC Dream takes on iPhone, Windows Mobile - News - PC Authority

HTC
took the wraps off its HTC Dream today, marking the debut of the first
phone powered by Google's Android operating system in Australia.

HTC
and Google were asked what would make people line up outside an Optus
store for the HTC Dream, and to be honest we didn't find their answer
particularly compelling: something about the Dream being an "online
phone", and the next evolution in mobile Internet "experience".

That's not to say it isn't a promising device - the interface, physical design, are looking very good

Much has already been said about the Google Android, and in a nutshell there are several reasons the Dream is worth a look:

* Extended Home screen - smartphone interfaces (Windows Mobile, we're
looking at you) have a habit of being way too awkward and intimidating
to navigate. HTC's Dream presents a simple to use home screen, with
multiple pages. Swipe your finger to drag open a new screen.
*
Touchscreen and keyboard - unlike the iPhone, this is a touchscreen
phone with a QWERTY keyboard. It's physically thicker than an iPhone,
but if Blackberry-type functionality is what you're after, the keyboard
will certainly help.
* Google - the HTC Dream has Google apps like Google Talk, Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube and others built-in.

* Offline Gmail - Google Gmail became an even more enticing proposition
for business owners and home users when Offline Gmail arrived recently.

* Apps - there's apparently hundreds of apps available for Google
Android phones, though time will tell whether these will be as useful
as those on Apple's iPhone App Store.

The phone is only
available via Optus from February 16. Optus Post-Paid customers can buy
the Dream on four plans, starting from $59 (plus handset costs). We're
told data plans from 500MB to 3GB are in the works. Great news, though
we'll be keen to see other carriers come on board.

Vodafone and 3 to merge Australian operations - BizTech - Technology

Mobile phone operators Vodafone Australia Ltd and Hutchison Telecommunications (Aust) Ltd have agreed to merge their businesses in Australia.

Each company will own 50 per cent of the joint venture, VHA Ltd.

VHA will market its products and services under the existing Vodafone brand, and retain the exclusive rights to the 3 brand, which is owned by Hutchison.

Amazon Kindle 2 gets official - News - PC Authority

PC Authority > News > Amazon Kindle 2 gets official
Amazon Kindle 2 gets official
Amazon Kindle 2 gets official
by Stuff.tv on Feb 10, 2009
Tags: Amazon | Kindle
2 Comments
Sequel to best–selling eReader announced in New York – and the Kindle 2 is thinner than an iPhone.

Amazon hasn't exactly done a good job of keeping its new eReader, the Kindle 2, under lock and key. Pics of the sequel to the best selling gadget have been plastered all over the web, with plenty of chat about cool new features that'd finally bring an end to those pesky paperbacks for good.

Well, at last, the bookish types have come clean, officially unveiling the Kindle 2 in New York. And it really does look like a leap in the right direction. Gone is the clunky design, replaced by something a lot slicker and thinner than an iPhone at just 0.36in.

They're also promising two weeks reading on a single charge, wireless delivery of papers and mags straight to the device, plus text to speech, so you can listen to your latest Mills and Boon novel when your eyes get tired. You'll be able to shoehorn more on there too, with seven times extra space. Even better if you're off on a schlep around the globe

r2 Studios - Software
When Windows loads it's Startup file, it attempts to load every program in there at the same time. Therefore if you have quite a lot of programs starting when Windows starts, each program will try and grab CPU time so that it can load.

If each program tries to do this at the same time, you soon notice the slow down that occurs, due to your CPU trying to help all the programs to load, and your hard disk accessing multiple files.

Startup Delayer allows you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started, to load each program.

Mozilla Labs » Blog Archive » Introducing Ubiquity

Ubiquity, a Mozilla Labs experiment into connecting the Web with language in an attempt to find new user interfaces that could make it possible for everyone to do common Web tasks more quickly and easily.

The overall goals of Ubiquity are to explore how best to:

* Empower users to control the web browser with language-based instructions. (With search, users type what they want to find. With Ubiquity, they type what they want to do.)
* Enable on-demand, user-generated mashups with existing open Web APIs. (In other words, allowing everyone–not just Web developers–to remix the Web so it fits their needs, no matter what page they are on, or what they are doing.)
* Use Trust networks and social constructs to balance security with ease of extensibility.
* Extend the browser functionality easily.

Foxmarks bookmark syncing service comes to Safari - Ars Technica

synchronizing your bookmarks. One way to do that is with Foxmarks, a free bookmark backup synchronization tool that was recently rolled out for Safari.

Foxmarks works a bit like a cloud computing service for bookmarks, since it provides both bookmark syncing and bookmark backup functions. Foxmarks will also let you view your bookmarks on the Web and on mobile devices like an iPhone or a BlackBerry. The service also allows users to share bookmarks with others, as well as maintain various bookmark "profiles" for different locations or computers. It will even let you sync passwords if you're using Firefox 3.

Speaking of browser versions, Foxmarks works with Firefox and Safari (although Leopard is required), but it's also available for Internet Explorer if you'd like to keep track of your bookmarks at work, or if you're a masochist. Additionally, the Windows version of Safari and Google Chrome are both on the list of browsers that will be supported soon. Best of all, Foxmarks is free

Google turns on Exchange for iPhone and Windows Mobile users - Ars Technica

Continuing
its productivity war on Apple, Microsoft, and everyone in between,
Google on Monday enabled Exchange support for iPhone and Windows Mobile
device owners. This is in addition to Google's existing tool for
BlackBerry phones, but the company is also including contact sync
support for other phones via the standard SyncML protocol.

Wrapped
under the product umbrella of Google Sync, Gmail contacts and Google
Calendar events can now be synchronized via over-the-air (OTA) push
between Windows Mobile devices and both first- and second-generation
iPhones (note, however, that iPhone OS 2.2 is required). Configuration
for these devices is performed via their respective, built-in
ActiveSync and Exchange configuration features, respectively, though
Google Sync strangely does not support push e-mail for these devices
yet. Microsoft says that Google licensed the Exchange ActiveSync, and
these features are available for free today for both general consumers
and, for once, Google Apps users at the same time.

Tips for returning students & people wanting to buy a cheap mac:

• Students get an automatic discount from Apple and should look for
deals that include free or discounted software, bags, printers, ipods
and so on.

• Apple has an academic/student section for it's Australian store: http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/education_routing?mco=MTIxODk0Nw

• Apple also have a Back To Uni includes a $179 rebate : http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/campaigns/back_to_school/2009?mco=MTQ2Njg

• Some resellers have campus stores:

Computers Now - RMIT (City Campus) & Monash Uni (Clayton Campus) : http://www.compnow.com.au/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=248&op=page

Next Byte - Melbourne Uni (Parkville Campus) & Latrobe Uni (Bundoora Campus) : http://www.nextbyte.com.au/pages/content.aspx?id=65#unimelbourne

• Seriously think about AppleCare: http://www.apple.com/au/support/products/

• Also think about laptop insurance - but read the policies and be clear on what you are and are not covered for.

• Be caution of Rent Smart and other hire/purchase finance - you
will pay a lot more for that computer in the long run, if it breaks or
gets stolen - you still have to pay out the loan. Look for a student
loan from your Student Union or Bank if you need the money to buy.

• Apple have refurbished machines available also. These machines
may be new machines that have had problems and have been fixed and
ex-demo machines. A word of caution these machines can be prone to more
issues, but you are covered by a warranty. You are also eligible for
AppleCare. Thanks to Jonathan from Xero (Elgin Street, Carlton).

• Apple refurbished page: http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/specialdeals?mco=MTE3Njg

• Check the Apple product cycle using the MacRumors Buyers Guide.
When new machines are released, old ones get discounted to clear stock.
Also check this so you don't get caught when buying a new machine only
to have it updates shortly after. http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

• Companies like New Wave Systems offer trade-in deals. See link below

• Resellers also have refurbished machines, clearance items & specials:

Computers Now - clearance: http://compnow.com.au/downloads/CompNow-Clearance-List.pdf

Designwyse - http://www.designwyse.com.au/general/clearance/

New Wave Systems (2nd hand Mac specialists) - http://www.newwavesystems.com.au/nws/home.html

Next Byte - refurbs: http://www.nextbyte.com.au/pages/bestbuys.aspx

Next Byte - clearance: http://www.nextbyte.com.au/pages/content.aspx?id=63

Palaeographics - clearance: http://www.buymac.com.au/store/other/clearance

Palaeographics - auctions: http://stores.ebay.com.au/Palaeographics-com-au-Auctions

Streetwise - specials: http://www.streetwise.com.au/specials.php

• Other resellers to check out:

Xero - Elgin Street, Carlton (close to Melbourne Uni & Collingwood TAFE) : http://www.xero.com.au/

Beyond The Box - Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds : http://www.beyondthebox.com.au/

• Training:

CAE - Flinders Lane

March Course: http://www.cae.edu.au/?class=SRN26201

April Course: http://www.cae.edu.au/?class=SRL88402

Tequp - http://tequp.pbwiki.com/tequpMelbourne

Apple Retail Store - Chadstone: http://www.apple.com/au/retail/chadstone/ (Youth Programs, Genius Bar, Workshops, One to One)

MacAdvice - Ross House, Flinders Lane http://www.macadvice.com.au/

Computers Now: http://www.compnow.com.au/training/

Streetwise: http://www.streetwise.com.au/training.php

Beyond The Box: http://www.beyondthebox.com.au/index.php?EXP=640

Xero: http://www.xero.com.au/workshops

Apologies to those resellers that I may have missed or not included
some of your services! Please contact me with info via
twitter.com/byronscullin and I'll up-date the info for you.

Byte Into It - 04 Feb 09

Belkin fake reviews case raises broad questions about peer ratings - Network World

Belkin's admission that an employee has been offering to pay for favorable
Web-based peer reviews of its network gear raises the question of not
only how widespread such practices are but whether they undermine
community and trust in the connections and relationships that the Web
seems to foster so easily.

Lucky schoolkids get 10,000 netbooks - News - PC Authority

Education departments are all in a lather over netbooks, and obviously think they're the best new thing to come along since Décor lunchboxes.A whopping 10,000 Acer and Lenovo netbooks are to land in the laps of kids across 344 schools in Victoria as part of a three year trial. Schools will own the units, which are worth $900 including accessories, but students can take them home.

The netbooks will come with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium and Google Sketchup.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac now runs Windows 7 - News - PC Authority

Virtualisation software, Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, has had a bit of an upgrade, now offering both more CPU and RAM capacity as well as the ability to run Windows 7.The latest updates mean Parallels no longer lags embarrassingly far behind VMware Fusion, or Sun's free VirtualBox for OS X in the race to virtually win over Apple hardware users.

Running Parallels for Mac requires a minimum of an Intel Core Duo, 1.66GHz processor and can use to eight CPU cores and a maximum of 8 GB of RAM, or 256 MB of RAM on the video adapter.

Parallels has also bunged security tools from Kaspersky Labs into its new Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, with the first year of the subscription covered by the cost of the Parallels license. The package also includes data management and back up tools from Acronis, free of charge.

Apple righting iTunes Plus upgrade snafus - Ars Technica

Last week, Apple introduced a more flexible iTunes Plus upgrade policy. Users can now choose which tracks and albums they want to upgrade, rather than having to upgrade an entire library at once. Now, you can upgrade all the songs you really want to keep and skip the othersUnfortunately, some of these upgrades aren't going as smoothly as one might hope. It turns out that some customers were being charged $9.99 for their three-dollar album upgrades; i.e. they were charged the full album price rather than the upgrade amount. If you were affected by the pricing glitch, we suggest that you contact Apple. Go to your purchase history by signing into your account and then click Report a Problem.

Apple has apparently been quite responsive to these reports and reimbursements are being processed back to the purchasers. Christopher Breen at Macworld was issued five courtesy song credits in addition to the amount of the error, for example.

Déjà vu all over again: Apple patent hints at tablet - Ars Technica

Apple has filed yet another patent that describes yet another tablet-like device. The latest patent application, which was published in January, is really for a "Display Housing for Computing Device" and largely describes ways to design an external housing for a display. However, one part of the patent describes a housing for an actual computer, once again spurring speculation that Apple is planning a Mac tablet

10 Things That WON'T Happen in 2009 - Network World

1. Organizations will pay greater attention to security And pigs will fly! In spite of a series of security breaches in 2008 and increased awareness on the need to secure data, organizations will not heed the warning signs any more than they did in 2008. The 'it won't happen to me' syndrome will strike again and thousands of records will be put at risk

BBC NEWS | Technology | Google Earth dives under the sea

Google has lifted the lid on its first major upgrade to its global mapping software, Google Earth.Google Ocean expands this map to include large swathes of the ocean floor and abyssal plain.

Users can dive beneath a dynamic water surface to explore the 3D sea floor terrain.

The
map also includes 20 content layers, containing information from the
world's leading scientists, researchers, and ocean explorers.

Al
Gore was at the launch event in San Francisco which, Google hopes, will
take its mapping software a step closer to total coverage of the entire
globe.

Microsoft reveals five Windows 7 versions - News - PC Authority

Choosing your Windows 7 version will be far easier than for Vista, but XP users will have to do a full install.One
of the most confusing aspects of Vista’s release was that it came in
six product versions, without clear information differentiating between
them. It meant that the high-end Vista products looked too expensive
for what they offered, and for anyone looking to upgrade from XP, the
choice was bewildering.

Microsoft is set to continue with
multiple versions in Windows 7, opting for five versions: Windows 7
Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate form the
full range. A version of Home Basic will only be available in emerging
markets, sold on new computers.

Most new computers sold in
Australia, once Windows 7 has launched, will come with either Home
Premium or Business. Netbooks will likely carry Windows 7 Starter or
Home Premium.

Microsoft’s sop to those who found Vista’s range
confusing is to make sure that from Starter up, each version contains
the features of the version before it. So you won’t find that the
Professional or Enterprise versions lack a Media Center that Premium
contains, for example.

In addition, the Windows Anytime Upgrade
function in Windows 7 will allow you to upgrade electronically to a
higher-end product. If you buy Home Premium, and really need Ultimate,
it should be a simple matter of a few clicks and a small amount of
installing to upgrade.

While there will be upgrade versions for
those people currently using Vista, you won’t be able to upgrade from
XP to Windows 7, or from 32-bit Windows to a 64-bit version. In those
cases, you’ll have to perform a clean install, though you will be
eligible for a discounted 'upgrade' version of Windows 7 if you move
from XP.

Microsoft announces 20 editions of Windows 7! (j/k) - Boing Boing Gadgets

But
if there's an instinct that Microsoft will find hard to put to bed,
it's the one that led to more versions of Vista than can be counted on
one hand. The place is run by a sales guy, after all! Click through for
our exclusive leaked ad covering the 20 separate editions of Windows 7,
straight from our anonymous sauce

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How Harvard Law threw down the gauntlet to the RIAA - Ars Technica

In retrospect, Harvard's eventual involvement was obvious. As far back as 2007, we noted that RIAA prelitigation letters had yet to be sent to Harvard, and one reason for that may have been the quite public opposition of Harvard Law School to the entire RIAA legal campaign.Law professor Charles Nesson and John Palfrey, director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society (which Nesson co-founded), made their position clear. "Recently, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America, Cary Sherman, wrote to Harvard to challenge the university administration to stop acting as a 'passive conduit' for students downloading music," they wrote in 2007. "We agree. Harvard and the 22 universities to which the RIAA has sent 'pre-litigation notices' ought to take strong, direct action... and tell the RIAA to take a hike."

EFF to judge: Let's webcast the RIAA's lawsuit - Boing Boing

EFF filed a really well-done brief today in support of Professor Nesson and Harvard's Berkman Center and their quest to provide a live webcast of the defense they providing to students against the RIAA.Public.Resource.Org and the Internet Archive have offered to host the video. We've previous worked with the provider here, Courtroom View Network, to put the Nifong disbarment trial on-line (link). All that video is hi-res with no restrictions on re-use.

Media Access Project, Free Press, and the California First Amendment Coalition, and even attorney Ben Sheffner have joined this call to open up the court proceedings.

Sony BMG lawyer takes over as RIAA litigation chief - Ars Technica

Jennifer Pariser, the Sony BMG attorney who testified memorably at the Jammie Thomas file-sharing case in 2007, has just landed a new job at the RIAA. Pariser will become the Senior Vice President of Litigation and Legal Affairs for the music industry trade group, meaning that she will head up the RIAA's new approach to addressing rampant illegal file-sharing.The recording industry recently pledged to abandon its mass lawsuit strategy, hoping instead to address P2P file-sharing through voluntary "graduated response" agreements with ISPs in the US. In her job at Sony BMG, Pariser was actively involved in that lawsuit campaign, one which she admitted in court was losing money for the record labels.

Kiwis get strict copyright, three-strikes law at month's end - Ars Technica

"It is a strange fate we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," says Boromir in the recent movie adaptation of the Lord of the Rings. The scene, shot in New Zealand, might pop into the minds of many Kiwis these days, as one tiny legislative change to copyright law is poised to bring "graduated response" (or "three strikes") rules to the country. And disconnection of users isn't just on the table—it's mandatory.

Microsoft: employee stole documents for patent lawsuit - Ars Technica

Microsoft is accusing ex-employee Miki Mullor of using his inside access to download internal documents for a patent complaint that his startup company, Ancora Technologies, has since filed against Dell, HP, and Toshiba. The suit alleges that the companies are infringing on Ancora's patent by selling computers with Windows Vista preactivated, which is possible thanks to one of Microsoft's anti-piracy technologies, System Locked Preinstallation (SLP). When Seattle Tech Report covered this story, the publication noted that Ancora's website described the case as follows:To secure each copy of (Windows), without burdening the honest user, (PC makers) use a technology known as System Locked Pre-Installation (SLP) to protect Windows against piracy. SLP is Ancora's technology and is covered by our pioneer patent, US Patent 6,411,941. This lawsuit is about protecting our patent rights from being infringed by HP, Dell and Toshiba. This is not David vs. Goliath. This is David vs. three Goliaths.

SEC inquiry into Steve Jobs' health may set precedent - Ars Technica

A number of investors raised questions about Steve Jobs' health disclosures when his original quips that he needed "simple and straightforward treatment" became a leave of absence from the company. Those investors would like to know just what Steve Jobs and Apple's directors knew when Jobs made the disclosures, and this sentiment may have prompted a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. According to Bloomberg, the SEC inquiry may break new ground, since executive health is not normally discussed or disclosed.

Week in tech policy: "First thing, let's kill all the lawyers" edition - Ars Technica

The recording industry is clearly not amused that the target of one of their remaining file-sharing lawsuits has not only decided to fight back, but gotten Harvard law prof Charles Nesson to defend him. While they attempt to persuade an appeals court to prevent a hearing in the case from being webcast, RIAA attorneys are also seeking sanctions against Nesson himself for a variety of alleged procedural errors they say constitute "frivolous legal action." Can you copyright the sound of a thousand Ars readers' irony detectors simultaneously overloading?You've probably seen those seat-belt promoting highway signs that remind you to "Click it or Ticket." Now one congressman wants to apply the same rule to cell phone cameras. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has introduced legislation that would require device makers to make it impossible to silence the sound a phone makes when a photo is taken, in hopes of deterring the sneaky, geeky, and creepy from engaging in illicit digital voyeurism.

Judge's ruling that WoW bot violates DMCA is troubling - Ars Technica

Blizzard notched another victory in its legal campaign against World of Warcraft bots when a judge on Wednesday ruled that a leading bot violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. MDY Industries LLC, the firm that develops and sells the Glider bot, already suffered a major setback last summer when the judge granted Blizzard summary judgment on several key issues. This week's decision deals with the issues the judge believed could not be decided until the conclusion of this month's trial. The judge ruled that Glider violated the DMCA's ban on "circumvention devices," and he also found that MDY's founder, Michael Donnelly, was personally liable for the actions of his firm.As we've noted before, Blizzard's legal arguments, which Judge David G. Campbell largely accepted, could have far-reaching and troubling implications for the software industry. Donnelly is not the most sympathetic defendant, and some users may cheer the demise of a software vendor that helps users break the rules of Blizzard's wildly popular role playing game. But the sweeping language of Judge Campbell's decision, combined with his equally troubling decision last summer, creates a lot of new uncertainty for software vendors seeking to enter software markets dominated by entrenched incumbents and achieve interoperability with legacy platforms.

Electronic Frontiers Australia slams the Great Firewall of Australia - Boing Boing

"Electronic Frontiers Australia vice-chair Colin Jacobs joins the growing chorus of those opposed to the Australian Government's plans for mandatory ISP-level filtering."The Government wants the power to add any page it sees fit to a secret blacklist, yet law enforcement and child-welfare organisations will not benefit at all. Technical obstacles remain intractable. Any eventual scheme will be trivial for children or lawbreakers to circumvent, yet the technology will come at an enormous cost to the taxpayer and will severely impact ISPs' ability to deliver the much-hyped broadband improvements our country needs.

Melbourne Twestival 2009

Entry will be via $5 donation - you can buy tickets now at Amiando or simply pay at the door. Any extra donations are welcome, with all money from every ticket and each donation going straight to charity: water. We’ll have limited free drinks (kindly provided by Zendesk - get there early!), Twitter DJs and the chance to meet other members of the Twitter community in Melbourne, all for a good cause. Spread the word now - follow @MelbTwestival on Twitter, retweet updates and RSVP to the Facebook event.

Byte Into It - 28 Jan 09

Wikipedia may tighten editing rules - web - Technology - theage.com.au

Wikipedia is considering tightening its rules on who can edit the online encyclopedia after vandals last week changed the entries of two US senators to erroneously report that they had died.

Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, proposed the change, which is being called "Flagged Revisions," after the vandalism of the entries on Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Robert Byrd.

The proposal, which was approved 60-40 by participants in an online poll, would not allow first-time or anonymous users to make instant edits but would require that they be approved first by trusted users.

The proposed changes at Wikipedia come as Encylopedia Britannica's is beefing up its online presence and inviting registered users to edit exisiting articles on britannica.com.

"This nonsense would have been 100 per cent prevented by Flagged Revisions," Wales wrote on the Wikipedia user forum page.

The proposal has sparked a heated debate on the forum. Wikipedia prides itself on allowing anyone with an internet connection to contribute or edit content.

Wales expressed concern that the new procedure could delay the publication of some items but said he believed it was necessary.

He gave opponents two weeks to come up with another proposal.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Britannica reaches out to the web

The Encyclopaedia Britannica has unveiled a plan to let readers help keep the reference work up to date.

Under the plan, readers and contributing experts will help expand and maintain entries online.

Experts will also be enrolled in a reward scheme and given help to promote their command of a subject.

However, Britannica said it would not follow Wikipedia in letting a wide range of people make contributions to its encyclopaedia.

User choice

"We are not abdicating our responsibility as publishers or burying it under the now-fashionable 'wisdom of the crowds'," wrote Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica in a blog entry about the changes.

He added: "We believe that the creation and documentation of knowledge is a collaborative process but not a democratic one."

Battle of the browser: Microsoft IE 8 RC1 now available for download - News - PC Authority

Microsoft may have finally answered your browsing prayers. The release of IE 8 RC1 looks to have ironed out a significant portion of the browser's previous bugs.
If you’re a die-hard IE fan and haven't switched over to Firefox or Google Chrome in the past, the latest version of IE8 RC1 might finally be the release worth waiting for.

In addition to a cleaned-up and speedier interface, Microsoft have unveiled a number of interesting features including:

- InPrivate Filtering: Acts as phishing filter that doesn’t allow the site you're visiting to send information to third-party sites without your consent.
- Clickjacking protection: Stops hackers from placing invisible buttons underneath (or on top) of legitimate buttons.
- Integration of Microsoft live maps with address bar.
- Automatic crash recovery: probably the best feature of the new release. IE finally catches up to Firefox and Google Chrome and remembers your browser tabs for next time after your browser goes on the blink.

Torvalds warns of Windows 7 threat - News - PC Authority

In an interview with Computerworld, Torvalds said that Windows 7 is better than Vista and the Vole may have a huge PR advantage as people will compare it to Vista and think it is good so, "angels will sing again." This is what happened with Windows 95 compared to Windows 3.1.

He thinks that Microsoft may have even done this on purpose.

The Vole realised the Windows development cycle is way too long and it would be insane to do that again, however they might aim for a two-year development cycle and Torvalds think that is too long.

Torvalds thinks that Vole should disconnect the operating system from the applications and release products sooner.

He said for Linux six months is quite tight and the bits that are thrown together sometimes don't work properly. However an annual release cycle is a reasonable cycle for doing a whole distribution.

Microsoft wanted people to rent the software, but users don't want to. If you do development over five years and make so many changes it is more painful for the user. The cost of the pain is likely to be higher than the cost of the operating system which is why people are slow to upgrade, he said.

iPhone and Android developers to score in 2009 - Mobility - iTnews Australia

The main winners in the mobile world this year will be independent iPhone developers, and handset manufacturers and developers for the Android platform, according to digital innovations consultancy Fjord.

Christian Lindholm, former vice president of global mobile products at Yahoo, and now director of Fjord, told vnunet.com that 2009 will see a raft of innovative applications and services driven by the low cost and superior user experience of Apple's App Store.

"What we now see is a functional business ecosystem on the iPhone where developers can really turn their passion as a hobby into a useful business," he said.

"And the [low] cost of buying an application creates mass purchasing behaviour on an impulse level."

Lindholm highlighted a new trend of mobile viral advertising via free downloadable apps, such as the Carling iPint, a virtual pint of beer which he said makes advertising a physical and social act.

Byte Into It - 17 Dec 08 - The Wrap Up Show!

Internet Explorer flaw bigger than expected - Network World

A day after its massive Patch Tuesday release, Microsoft last week warned of a new Internet Explorer vulnerability that could be used to steal user information. At the time, it was thought that only IE7 that was affected. Turns out all versions of IE are vulnerable and hackers are taking action, according to the SANS Internet Storm Center. Microsoft has not yet released a patch for the flaw, which affects everything from IE5 to IE8 beta. The company is recommending a number of risk-mitigating steps, but it might be best to use a different browser until patches are available. If you haven't yet patched IE to protect against the XML exploit, visit Microsoft's December 2008 security advisory. This Web page, which began as an announcement of the Redmond company's planned patch, changes automatically to information about installing the patch as soon as the fix is released.

Songbird - Open Source Music Player

Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that's under active development.

We're working on creating a non-proprietary, cross platform, extensible tool that will help enable new ways to playback, manage, and discover music.

Songbird: Killer Add-ons Make Songbird So Much Better

Songbird's developers chose wisely when it came to the extensions it recommends installing when you first load Songbird. iPod Device Support, QuickTime Playback and Windows Media Playback give owners of protected files, and iPods, access to their tunes with few hitches. Shoutcast Radio and Last.fm integrate nicely as streaming players, and Concerts tells you whenever an artist you dig in your library is swinging by town to play a live gig. Last, but certainly not least, mashTape gives you all kinds of web-driven contextual content on your played artist, putting artist info, news, photos, and videos from a wide variety of popular sources—Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia, Digg, etc.—in your bottom tray. All worthy of installation, and, in some cases, hard to imagine music browsing without.

Those familiar with Seeqpod's find-and-stream MP3 search engine can smile at its seamless Songbird integration. A search bar and results listing pops open in a new tab, and you can queue up over-the-net tracks or download them directly to your library or specific playlists. Downloads head into your standard Songbird downloads window, and, well, that's it—it just works, and it expands your library exponentially, assuming you're down with the kind of quasi-legality involved.

As a long-time iTunes user, this is the add-on your long-suffering editor is probably most excited about. The Exorcist adds two views to your media listing options, Ghost Tracks and Duplicate Tracks, that do exactly what you'd hope—list songs referenced in your library without a related media file, and list any songs that seem to be similar in file size or metadata. Better still, those views show you the full path of duplicate files, and offer buttons to just clear out all duplicates or find your missing tracks.

If a single play/pause button just doesn't do it for you, you can add a stop button that looks built-in with this tiny, helpful extension. Not the sexiest of extensions, for sure, but a good indicator of the Firefox-like potential to customize Songbird to whatever shape you want it in—once more add-ons make the list and get updated.

Tune Up: Your music collection is a mess, TuneUp fixes it

Best Of 2008: Most Popular Free Windows Downloads of 2008

Best Of 2008: Most Popular Free Mac Downloads of 2008

Best Of 2008: Most Popular Free Linux Downloads of 2008

Conroy and Trujillo break Mexican standoff over NBN? > Silicon Lust > Blogs > PC Authority

Sol Trujillo and his amigos at Telstra have been holding the country's technological future to ransom during the debate over who will control the next generation of Australia's internet infrastructure. Finally someone has the cojones to stand up to them.

Telstra's arrogance in filing an NBN proposal that it knew didn't meet the requirements was a strategic gamble that most people expected to pay off. Had Communications Minister, Senator Conroy conceded and accepted the proposal, it would have made a mockery of the process - giving Telstra a green light to walk all over the government.

Over the weekend Conroy delivered a rather rude shock to Sol by rejecting Telstra's bid. This would seem to put Telstra out of the race, leaving the field wide open for the five other bidders.

Google Flu Trends

It's been found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in US states up to two weeks faster than traditional systems

Macworld 2009 rumour mill: Windkintosh? > News > PC Authority

One rumour that seemingly won't die is the idea of a Mac OS X Netbook PC.

Apple's remaining mum, but that hasn't stopped the Hackintosh community from "porting" OS X to a variety of Netbooks, albeit with limited functionality -- most notably, a lack of Wireless functionality due to the absence of suitable drivers.

Asking a company to provide OS X drivers for their netbooks has, up until now, been met with silence, and probably a little quaking on the vendor side as they wait for the heavy footsteps of Apple's army of lawyers.

It seems, however, that Realtek, who provide the WiFi chip found in the MSI Wind U100, are dipping their toes into the legally iffy world of the Hackintosh. Forum users at MSIWind.Net asked politely for drivers, and after a lot of patience, Beta drivers were provided.

There's still a few catches; aside from the obvious legal issues, the drivers get WiFi functionality working, but not via Airport. Instead, what you end up with looks like a Bluetooth connection to OS X, which could be interesting if you wanted to pair with a mobile phone as well.

Macworld 2009: Apple says it's the last hurrah > News > PC Authority

come Macworld in January 2009, where we're hoping to see the likes of Snow Leopard on display, Jobs will not be gracing the stage. In news bound to send dismay into the hearts of the Apple faithful, Apple says the Macworld keynote - usually where Jobs takes the glory - will this time be delivered by Philip Schiller, Apple's senior worldwide marketing vice president (that's the shortened version).

That's not all. Apple says the January 2009 event will be Apple's "last year" at Macworld, an event which began in 1985.

Yahoo: Yahoo Mail to Get Third-Party Applications

The beta version of Yahoo Mail is getting third-party applications like Xoopit, WordPress, Flixster, and Flickr—and other Yahoo products are also seeing upgrades, TechCrunch reports.

In what at first appears to be an answer to Gmail Labs, Yahoo Mail is getting third-party apps that let you do things like attach one of your Flickr images to a new messages easily. More interestingly, the new "social" Yahoo Mail will be able to prioritize your incoming email by the people with whom you have an established relationship. TechCrunch writes:

When you view your inbox, you can choose to view messages from just your “connections”, letting you filter out all of the email that ostensibly means less to you. Contacts (which includes everyone in your address book) are different than connections, which are suggested by Yahoo’s algorithm and explicitly identified by users. Invitations to connect are either generated by Yahoo’s algorithm or sent manually by your contacts. Connections appear to be like “friendships” on social networks like MySpace and Facebook, but Yahoo is insisting that the relationships will be used in a variety of ways not found on traditional social networks (such as this mail filtering).

Wikipedia: Wikipedia Officially Launches Mobile Version

Popular user-edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia has finally released a mobile-friendly version of the web site at mobile.wikipedia.org.

The site offers a trimmed down version of Wikipedia proper, supports 14 languages, and even has a mysterious Spoken Wikipedia setting that—though currently not enabled, may presumably one day read Wikipedia articles to you.

Gartner Identifies Top Ten Disruptive Technologies for 2008 to 2012 | eHomeUpgrade

Social networking technologies, web mashups, multicore and hybrid processors and cloud computing are amongst the ten most disruptive technologies[1] that will shape the information technology (IT) landscape over the next five years, according to research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.

2008's top ten most-searched tech terms : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

Some are surprises, some not so much. Either way: Here are the top 10 terms for 2008, as dictated by you.

10. Garmin - The GPS maker (with a 56% market share) considerably outclassed searches for "GPS." Competitor Tom Tom was the #13 search term.

9. iPod - Now seven years old, ye olde iPod is still a perennial top search on the web.

8. PS3 - The PlayStation 3 is crawling into its own this year, with more games, new models, and an improved online experience.

7. Skype - Though growth is slowing, interest in the leading provider of VOIP calls continues to be high.

6. BlackBerry - With the new BlackBerry Bold and the upcoming BlackBerry Storm, interest in the venerable RIM smart phone continues to surge.

5. PSP - Surprise: The PSP outranks both the PS3 and the Nintendo DS when it comes to the sheer volume of web searches.

4. Xbox 360 - Another game console on the list, no big shock. The Xbox continues its popularity this year thanks to some big price cuts, awesome games, and its upcoming new dashboard.

3. Wii - No mystery on this one. Wiimania continues its run in 2008. "Wii Fit" alone was the #12 search term of the year.

2. iPhone - Have you heard of this device? Apparently Apple has some sort of mobile telephone product out now. Sounds interesting! Must research this.

1. Digital Camera - Check this out! Never mind your iPods, your iPhones, and your gaggle of video game consoles, it's the humble, generic "digital camera" that was the top tech search term this year to date

Top 10 Best Gadgets of 2008 - Breakthrough Awards - Year's Best Toys - Popular Mechanics - which includes:

Microsoft Photosynth -This remarkable software, which can be downloaded for free, analyzes dozens (or hundreds) of photos taken of a location or subject—the Eiffel Tower, say, or a room in a museum. It looks for overlapping points in the images, then arranges the snapshots into a browsable 3D model. The result is a fresh way to organize and share photography—opening up new possibilities for a 180-year-old art form.

Spore - Few video games have built up as much anticipatory buzz as Spore, and it’s not just the game’s pedigree (it was designed by Will Wright, the mastermind behind SimCity and The Sims) or its grand scope (players guide the evolution of a universe). It’s the technology. Spore doesn’t rely on stock characters stored in a library of animations. Instead, the software uses sophisticated logic to allow players’ creations to interact spontaneously.

Amazon Kindle - Like previous e-book
readers, the Amazon Kindle relies on an easy-to-read E Ink display that
needs no backlight and draws power only when loading a new page. (It
can handle thousands of pages between charges.) The Kindle’s key
innovation—the one that blazes the way for digital paper products—is
its inclusion of a high-speed EVDO antenna and a deal with Sprint that
allow users to download books quickly, from nearly anywhere.

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen - Smart pens, which
digitize handwriting for later manipulation on a PC, have been more
like novelties than productivity tools. Not this one. The Livescribe
Pulse smart pen uses an integrated microphone and a revolutionary
method to record and retrieve audio. The user taps his or her
handwritten notes to get the pen to play the appropriate audio.

Potenko PCG1 Power Generator - The Potenco PCG1
pull-cord generator creates electricity for portable gadgets with far
greater efficiency than hand-cranked devices. The PCG1 is the geek-chic
version of a generator for the developing world. It weighs 14 ounces,
has both an internal NiMh battery and a mini-USB output jack and can
convert 2 minutes of effort into 40 minutes of cellphone talk time.

Intel Atom Processor - In addition to being a marvel of miniaturization (47 million transistors on a single 26 x 26 mm chip), the Atom processor is brilliantly efficient, with a power specification ranging from below 1 watt to 2.5 watts. Chips such as the Atom, made possible by a new Intel manufacturing process, can bring computer-level power to highly portable devices—further blurring the distinction between cellphones and computers.

Byte Into It - 10 Dec 08

BBC - Newsbeat - Technology - Facebook users hit by virus

Facebook's 120 million users are being targeted by a virus designed to get hold of sensitive information like credit card details.

'Koobface' spreads by sending a message to people's inboxes, pretending to be from a Facebook friend.

It says "you look funny in this new video" or "you look just awesome in this new video".

By clicking on the link provided they're then asked to watch a "secret video by Tom".

When users try and play the video they're asked to download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

If they do, that's when the virus takes hold and attacks the computer.

Guy Bunker works for Symantec, who make Norton AntiVirus, and says there are two ways Koobface gets people's credit card details.

"It can either wait for you to buy something online and just remember the details you type in on your keyboard.

"Otherwise it can search your computer for any cookies you might have from when you've bought something in the past, and take them from there."

Take Jane: a video from NO2ID on the dangers of Britain's burgeoning surveillance state - Boing Boing

The UK NO2ID group has produced a video about one of the dangers of Britain's new database state: Take Jane tells the story of a woman whose vengeful ex- is able to follow her around because she has to update the national ID database every time she moves, and any database that has that many people who are allowed to consult it will have someone her ex-husband can bribe to let him know where she's living at all time.

How the Great Firewall of Britain works - Boing Boing

Here's a flowchart showing how Cleanfeed -- the secret British national firewall that is presently restricting access to Wikipedia - operates: Translation: a third party now monitors every request made to Wikipedia from the six ISPs that participate in the Great Firewall of Britain.

IWF backs down on Wikipedia censorship - Internet - iTnews Australia

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has lifted its ban on Wikipedia, which slowed access to the site to a crawl in the UK.

On Saturday the IWF placed Wikipedia on its watch list, a group of web sites that are identified to internet service providers as hosting child pornography. The listing came after the site was reported to be hosting a picture a young naked girl, which was the cover The Scorpions album ‘Virgin Killer’.

The IWF listing slowed access to the site to a crawl as ISPs sought to block it and stopped edits being made by British users. However, the IWF has no rescinded its ban.

“Following representations from Wikipedia, IWF invoked its Appeals Procedure and has given careful consideration to the issues involved in this case,” said the group.

“The procedure is now complete and has confirmed that the image in question is potentially in breach of the Protection of Children Act 1978. However, the IWF Board has today (9 December 2008) considered these findings and the contextual issues involved in this specific case and, in light of the length of time the image has existed and its wide availability, the decision has been taken to remove this webpage from our list.”

However, the founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales has now said he is investigating wether legal action can be taken against the group for its actions.

"There's no question that it's a dodgy picture, but it's an artistic protest made many years ago," he told Channel 4 News.

"But my concern isn't so much about the image. It's the ambiguous way that they are behaving. It's not clear if they are over-reaching their authority."

"As a result of their actions, the image is actually being seen by more people, it's appearing on thousands of blogs today. It will continue to be passed on. What are they going to do? Are they going to block all of the web if it continues to be spread?

Open source USB key to $2bn laptop plan - Hardware - iTnews Australia

The Rudd Government’s promise of a laptop for every child could fail without at least $2 billion in public funding, but an alternative USB ‘computer’ system pioneered in France may be its saviour.

Speaking to iTnews, Cybersource CEO Con Zymaris said a $2 billion funding injection – double the original commitment – would be needed to put some four million netbooks on the desks of Australian school students.

The Federal government estimates the total cost per laptop to be up to $2,500 over four years.

But that amount could be too high to put one in the hands of every student unless the government doubles its financial commitment or alternate proposals are considered, according to Zymaris.

“With the costs the states are putting forward, there’s no way a billion dollars will buy a laptop for every student,” said Zymaris.

“The current approach will mean one netbook between every five or ten kids.”

Cybersource is proposing a variation of a model adopted by French schools , where students are issued with a 2-4 GB USB key that contains a self-booting Linux operating system ‘and all the core applications they need’.

The USB key can be plugged into any computer – personal or shared – and the student’s data can be accessed either directly from the key or the cloud.

Under the Australian variation, students would receive a USB key and either a personal netbook or a laptop that can be shared between two students, depending on the final amount of government funding to be made available.

Cybersource has created a free online kit that state education departments and schools can use to assess and implement its proposal.

“Everyone is proposing a plan with one laptop and one set of systems and data per person,” said Zymaris.

“We’re saying you can shift away from that model in schools. You can still give students something that’s intrinsically theirs [the USB key] – essentially a ‘computer’ without a netbook terminal – and then provide terminals that are interchangeable.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for December 2008: eight bulletins

Microsoft will issue eight Security Bulletins on Tuesday, and it will host a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins the following day (December 10 at 11:00 AM PST, if you're interested). Six of the vulnerabilities are rated "Critical," and two are marked as "Important." Seven of these earned their rating through a remote code execution impact, meaning a hacker could potentially gain control of an infected machine. At least four of the eight updates will require a restart.

Microsoft pledges to purge search info - Security - iTnews Australia

Microsoft is pledging to become the first company to meet European Commission guidelines on search anonymisation.

The company said in a letter to the commission earlier this week that it would be willing to undertake a programme which reduced the retention time of search information to just six months.

The commission first introduced the suggestion in an April report and has been pressing the major search providers to meet the guidelines.

Google did announce a plan to significantly cut its retention time in September. The nine month mark, however, was still too long for the EC's tastes.

Telstra out of Conroy's filtering trial: News - Communications - ZDNet Australia

Telstra has decided not to participate in the government's controversial ISP filtering trial, for which expressions of interest were due today.

(Credit: ZDNet.com.au)

The company said its decision had been reached "primarily due to customer management issues" and stressed that Telstra would keep working with the government on filtering outside of the trial, including evaluating technology to block blacklists, since it had "no fundamental difficulties with a legislated regime for blocking a defined ACMA blacklist of illegal sites".

The six-week trial, which was scheduled to start 24 December, involves either just blocking access to websites on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's black list or additionally filtering non web-based applications such as peer-to-peer networks.

There have been concerns about the costs involved and the accuracy of filtering technology with many other service providers opting out of the trial. ZDNet.com.au rang around to see who had put in an expression of interest to be part of the trial and who had not.

www.stopthecleanfeed.com

Australians Against Internet Censorship
The Australian government is currently quietly going ahead with plans to filter all Australian's access to the internet in a manner similar to the People's Republic of China and Iran.

This is despite the facts that

* The filter will significantly slow down the internet for all Australians
* The filter will not be able to prevent distribution of illegal material anyway
* The filter represents a dangerous erosion of our freedom.

So, before this terrible idea is enacted we call on Australians to

get informed.
get connected.
get organised.
and Stop The Clean Feed.

Nationwide protests on the 13th of December - Click here for details

Hundreds protest net filtering on Conroy’s new blog - Internet - iTnews Australia

Just 24 hours since its launch, hundreds of people have used Senator Conroy's new blog as a place to protest against his proposed net filtering scheme.

The Digital Economy Future Directions blog was launched by Senator Conroy yesterday as a place for people to comment on various areas of digital policy.

Conroy noted that an upcoming blog post, "How do we maintain the same civil society we enjoy offline in an online world?", would touch on the issue of filtering. "We welcome your feedback about the [filtering] issue in response to this post," he said.

But readers didn’t wait for that post to go live, instead flooding Minister Tanner’s welcome post with over 400 posts in less than 24 hours.

Digital Economy blog | Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy has announced that the Australian Government will develop a Future directions paper for the digital economy—a roadmap for Australian businesses, households and government to maximise participation in the digital economy. And we would like you to help us create the roadmap.

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The National Human Rights Consultation provides an opportunity for you to share your views on human rights in Australia.

GetUp! Campaign Actions

This government consultation is a once in a lifetime chance to call for a Human Rights Act to permanently protect human rights in Australia.

Make your submission below - it can be as long or as short as you wish. We have included some handy talking points below help you out, but try to put your thoughts in your own words, and feel free to talk about how human rights protection might affect you.

Online journalists now jailed more often than other media

If you think it's tough to be a blogger because your Google AdWords revenue has been in the toilet lately, the Committee to Protect Journalists wants to remind you that Internet journalist—including bloggers—can and do suffer much more around the world. According to the group's new report, Internet journalists now make up the largest single group of imprisoned journalists.

Of the 125 journalists imprisoned around the world for doing their jobs, 45 percent are "bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors." China continues its ten-year winning streak when it comes to tossing writers into jail, with Cuba, Burma, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan next in line.

Australia's Internet filtering too ambitious, doomed to fail

It's tough being a government these days; who has the energy to clean up the Internet after a hard day's work bailing out the financial sector? Not the Australian government, it seems. Rather than actually doing something about illegal content, they just make a list of it and tell ISPs to filter everything that's on the list. Sidestepping the murky political details and—for the moment—the civil liberties problems inherent in this approach, let's take a closer look at the technical aspects of such a plan.

Government, EFF spar in court over telecom immunity

Lawyers for the Electronic Frontier Foundation faced off against government attorneys Tuesday, as Judge Vaughn Walker heard arguments in a legal fight over telecoms' role in warrantless wiretapping that began almost three years ago. At issue is the constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act, passed by Congress this summer, which could end the suit against the telecoms by retroactively immunizing them for their participation in the controversial National Security Agency eavesdropping program.

Danish court says ISP must block The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay has made a habit out of pointing and laughing at Big Content serving up thousands of links to copyrighted content to its 25 million+ users. The MPAA, IFPI, and other industry organizations have been left fighting skirmishes in courts around the world in an attempt to get TPB taken offline, or, at the very least, have access to it blocked. Big Content won a minor victory on Thanksgiving Day as a Danish court upheld a lower court decision forcing a Danish ISP to keep its customers from accessing the BitTorrent site.

Does the Drew verdict make ToS breakers potential felons?

The guilty verdict against Lori Drew, prosecutors crowed, would send an "overwhelming message" to online bullies. Though she escaped conviction on felony charges, the 49-year-old Missouri mom could still face three years in prison or fines of up to $300,000 for launching an online harassment campaign that ended in the suicide of a teenage neighbor. But the "message," legal observers worry, may be that anyone who uses a Web site without paying close attention to those ubiquitous Terms of Service risks committing a federal crime.

Patent suit targets iPhone, all mobile web pages ever

It's a new week, which means yet another lawsuit has been filed against Apple. The latest lawsuit comes in the form of patent infringement accusations from EMG Technology, LLC regarding Mobile Safari's viewing, zooming, and scrolling capabilities on the iPhone.

EMG asserts that Apple's built-in software on the iPhone violates patent number 7,441,196, titled "Apparatus and method of manipulating a region on a wireless device screen for viewing, zooming and scrolling internet content." In brief, the patent describes a method by which a website would be rendered to create a "sister site" so that it can be presented on a TV, handheld device, or cell phone, and blocks of the site would be broken up in the code so that they could be zoomed in on easily when the user selects it. Sound sort of like Mobile Safari when you double-tap a section of the page? EMG thought so too.

But that's only part of it. According to statements made by EMG attorney and "IP expert," Stanley Gibson, the company is suing Apple over various other companies making mobile versions of their websites for easy display and navigation on the iPhone. "For example, to access NBC on a computer the URL is NBC.com. For the mobile site on the iPhone, the URL would be m.NBC.com," Gibson said in a statement. "The '196 patent covers the simplified interface of reformatted mobile content to provide optimum viewing and navigation with single touches on a small screen." Which is totally why EMG is suing Apple and not, say, NBC. Or Motorola, which also displays mobile-formatted web pages. Or Palm. Or Microsoft. Or anyone, really.