[LINK] Newsletter - No 111 - October 12, 2001
by way of Tony Barry
D.Ziyasheva@unesco.org
Fri, 12 Oct 2001 20:52:30 +1000
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UNESCO OBSERVATORY ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/observatory
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Newsletter - No 111 - October 12, 2001
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!!! REMINDER !!!
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* NOW ONLINE...... *
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* International Recommendations on *
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* "Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace" *
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* See them and make your comments at: *
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* http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mul_recom/index.shtml *
* *
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The Briefs selection (below), is ordered into the major themes of the
Observatory:
- Action Plans and Policies
- Privacy and Confidentiallity
- Content Regulation
- Access to Public Domain
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Action Plans, Policies: international, regional and national levels
[AFR, INF - 12.10.2001] Mbeki to Host First Tech Task Team Meeting
(Allafrica.com)
Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and several other technology gurus
will arrive in SA next week to meet President Thabo Mbeki. The
meeting will be the first of a presidential technology task force
established in February to thrash out strategies to help SA benefit
from information technology. Its members have been asked to advise
Mbeki on issues such as increasing the availability of technology and
using it to boost the economy.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110110043.html
[AFR, VIR - 12.10.2001] Schools Chosen for IT Project (Allafrica.com)
Twenty-five SA schools have been chosen as the first recipients of
computer laboratories in a project to install computer facilities in
all Gauteng's 2400 public schools within three years. The
GautengOnline campaign is an attempt by the Gauteng education
department to fast-track education through the use of technology.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110110047.html
[EUR, EQU, INF - 12.10.2001] British broadband suppliers to receive
E48m incentive (Europemedia.net)
British broadband suppliers will be receiving GBP£30m (E48m) from the
UKís e-commerce minister Douglas Alexander as an encouragement to
provide broadband access to some of the UKís economically
unattractive rural areas.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=6026
[APA, CRY - 11.10.2001] Philippine Government OKs E-Signature Rules
(Newsbytes)
In what could be another milestone for the Philippine Internet
industry, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for Electronic
Authentication and Signatures has been signed by Trade Secretary
Manuel Roxas II and Secretary Estrella F. Alabastro of the Department
of Science and Technology (DOST).
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170986.html
[NAM, CRY, CRM - 11.10.2001] US names cyber-terrorism czar. (BBCnews)
The United States has heightened security across the nation, and on
Tuesday President Bush took steps to heighten security in cyberspace.
Richard Clarke was named special White House advisor for cyberspace
security. For several years, Mr Clarke has been warning of the
possibility of a devastating computer-based attack on the United
States.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1590000/1590398.stm
[AFR, INF - 10.10.2001] Crucial Telecoms Bill Debate Begins (Allafrica.com)
Parliament's communications portfolio committee begins two days of
nit-picking through telecoms legislation, with the spotlight expected
to fall on a controversial clause awarding Sentech a multimedia
licence. Opposition parties and some industry key players are
concerned that the Telecommunications Amendment Bill may be
unconstitutional... http://allafrica.com/stories/200110090106.html
[ARB, INF - 10.10.2001] Learning Smarter (EgyptPCWorld)
Schools are taking on a daunting task. Last year, computer science
was introduced in the Egyptian school curriculum. Now the Smart
Schools Project promises four hours of hands-on computer training for
each student. It seems computer education is taking off in a big way.
http://www.pcworld.com.eg/ton_learning_sept2001.htm
[EUR, EGO - 08.10.2001] Online voting 'within 10 years' (The Guardian)
The government today raised the prospect of a general election being
held online or over the phone within the next decade. The move could
come in the wake of voting pilots due to be held at next year's
council elections, with ministers encouraging the use of web and
telephone voting for the first time.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,563911,00.html
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Privacy & Confidentiality: transborder privacy, global e-commerce, cryptography
[ECO - 12.10.2001] Hungary gets its first bilingual online bookstore
(Europemedia)
Aside from the fact that the site provides users the option of
viewing and ordering in either English or Hungarian, the site also
allows users to ìplace a pre-order for currently unavailable titles.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=6024
[ECO - 12.10.2001] Money Laundering Bill Cracks Down On Net Gambling
(Newsbytes)
The House Financial Services Committee today approved a bill to
combat international money-laundering that includes provisions that
crack down on Internet gambling. The committee passed the bill 62-1,
with Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, supplying the one "no" vote.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171056.html
[ECO - 11.10.2001] Online prices on the rise (The Guardian)
The price of online goods has risen by an average 5.3% in the past
year, double the annual rate of inflation, according a to a new
survey. The latest figures from the e-tail Price Index, issued
monthly by credit card company Goldfish, show that the most
significant rises have been
http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,566265,00.html
[CRY, PRI - 11.10.2001] ISPcon: IT community resists Carnivore bill (IDG.net)
Despite calls for tighter national security, delegates at the ISPcon
tradeshow here expressed concern over a proposed bill that could pave
the way for broader implementations of Carnivore, the FBI's
top-secret Internet monitoring program, arguing that the advanced
packet sniffer could compromise civil liberties.
http://www.idg.net/ic_710098_1794_9-10000.html
[CRY, IPR, ACC - 11.10.2001] Pop Singer's Death Hoax A Top Story At
CNN.com (Newsbytes)
Using a mock-up of a CNN.com Web page at an external site and a quirk
in how Web browsers handle addresses or "URLs," a computer prankster
managed to fool thousands of people into thinking they were reading a
CNN.com article that reported the teenage pop singer had died in an
automobile mishap in Los Angeles.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170973.html
[CRY - 10.10.2001] Not just dumb bugs anymore (Yahoo)
When I've taught mba classes in quantitative methods, I've always had
a hidden agenda. Yes, the syllabus has always included linear
programming, forecasting and other number-crunching techniques. But
I've always managed to tuck in extra material on game theory, or
"decision making with an active opponent" (to use the formal label).
IT decisions must reckon with foes who have brains, tools and agendas
of their own.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20011008/tc/not_just_dumb_bugs_anymore_1.html
[ECO, CRY - 10.10.2001] Euro Stirs Y2K-Like Concerns (Wirednews)
Introducing a new currency may not be the kind of event to inspire
Hollywood blockbusters, but security experts and intelligence
agencies warn that the arrival of the euro in January 2002 has the
potential for at least a B-grade disaster movie.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47252,00.html
[ECO, IPR - 10.10.2001] Music subscriptions see "breakthrough" deal (Cnet)
The National Music Publishers Association, the Harry Fox Agency and
the Recording Industry Association of America have reached a
"breakthrough agreement" on the licensing of musical works for new
subscription services on the Internet, the RIAA said Tuesday. "This
agreement removes a major legal roadblock for the new online
subscription services," Hilary Rosen, RIAA's chief executive officer,
said in a statement.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7455299.html?tag=cd_mh
[ECO - 09.10.2001] Make Good Use of an IT Expert (Allafrica.com)
It is difficult not to get caught up in the hype surrounding advances
in information technology (IT), but start-up businesses need to be
prudent about their real needs.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200110080330.html
[ECO - 09.10.2001] Report Says Traffic Returns to Online Travel Sites (Yahoo)
Consumers returned to online travel sites during the last week of
September, with many sites regaining the audiences they had before
the September 11th terrorist attacks, according to a report released
Monday by Nielsen//NetRatings
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nf/20011008/tc/14000_1.html
[PRI - 09.10.2001] Foreign Laws Alter IT Privacy Policies (IDG.net)
IT managers have long known that privacy rules can have a direct
impact on database design and customer relationship management
systems, but now they're learning that foreign legal requirements can
also affect IT in ways that most wouldn't expect.
http://www.idg.net/ic_709049_4394_1-1681.html
[CRY - 08.10.2001] NSA offers supersecure Linux (Wirednews)
The National Security Agency, the government's security arm, along
with help from Network Associates, last week announced it has made a
security-enhanced version of Linux available for download. The NSA
said it realizes that operating system security is necessary and that
mainstream operating systems often lack critical security features
that could enforce the confidentiality and integrity of network
communications.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/10/04/nsa.linux.idg/index.html
[PRI - 08.10.2001] Phone number to e-mail service raises privacy
concerns (IDG.net)
An electronic numbering system proposed by the communications
industry that would link a telephone number to other Web service
addresses over the Internet is drawing criticism from privacy groups.
The Electronic Numbering system, or Enum, is a global standard that
was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to...
http://www.idg.net/ic_707426_1794_9-10000.html
[PRI - 08.10.2001] Net users lose a secret-alias tool (Cnet)
The company that pushed encryption and networking technology to the
limits to enhance people's privacy said Thursday that it has decided
to close its flagship anonymity network and focus on security
software for home users. Security software maker Zero-Knowledge
Systems announced that it would shut down the premium service
component of its Freedom Network
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7412015.html?tag=ch_mh
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Content Regulation: intellectual property rights, copyright, freedom
of expression
[IPR - 12.10.2001] Napster wins reprieve (BBCnews)
Online music-swapping service Napster has won a breathing space in
its long-running battle with US record companies. A San Francisco
court ruled that a summary judgment, bringing the two-year-old
copyright case to a rapid end, would be premature.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/new_media/newsid_1592000/1592652.stm
[CRM - 12.10.2001] Online blackmailer leaks hacked data (ZDnetasia)
An online gift certificate company said a hacker that blackmailed it
for weeks after pilfering its customer information has apparently
carried out threats of disclosing the data to its customers.
Webcertificate.com customers reported getting an e-mail message that
included their home and email addresses.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/story/0,2000024714,38024218,00.htm
[CRM, IPR - 11.10.2001] The "other" DMCA (Wirednews)
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act--a revision to U.S. copyright
laws--has taken a real beating recently, thanks in large part to a
high-profile case against a sympathetic computer programmer branded
as a criminal hacker. Despite this case, the DMCA is, at least in
part, a useful law that benefits e-commerce.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1276-210-7462687-1.html?tag=bt_bh
[IPR, ECO - 11.10.2001] VeriSign, RealNames push keyword browsing (Cnet)
VeriSign said Wednesday that it inked a deal with naming service
RealNames to sell simplified keywords through the company's network
of domain name registrars. Under terms of the deal, Mountain View,
Calif.-based VeriSign will make keywords available to its global
network of domain name registrars by the end of the year, adding to
their traditional Web addresses ending in .com, .edu and .gov, among
others. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7474720.html?tag=mn_hd
[IPR, CRM - 11.10.2001] Intellectual Property Rights in Egypt (EgyptPCWorld)
Pirated software and copyright infringements harm producers and users
alike. While working toward its goal of becoming a regional hub in
information technology, what's Egypt doing to safeguard local
intellectual property rights? Everybody wins when piracy drops. Egypt
wins when the local IT sector makes money and develops as an
industry; users get improved products when developers invest more in
research... http://www.pcworld.com.eg/ton_copyrights_may2001.htm
[IPR - 10.10.2001] Digital Free-Lancers Win Again (Wirednews)
In the second computer-age victory this year for free-lance
journalists who contend they were cheated by big media companies, the
Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday from National Geographic
over reprinted photos. The court, without comment, refused to take up
a lower court ruling that the magazine should have paid free-lance
photographers for pictures compiled on a compact disc.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47422,00.html
[CRM, ECO - 09.10.2001] E-tailers jittery as Net fraud grows (ZDnetasia)
Many Web retailers present anecdotal evidence that the increased
fraud has coincided with rule changes the card companies implemented
just over a year ago, requiring Web merchants to have a copy of the
customer's credit card or signature. Unless they do, the merchant is
liable for the charge should a customer dispute it.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/story/0,2000024714,38022495,00.htm
[CON, CRM - 08.10.2001] CD protesters take to the streets (BBCnews)
A national day of action is being held on 6 October to raise
awareness about the copy-protected CDs that are starting to appear in
record shops across the UK. The CDs are just one method that record
companies are experimenting with in their ongoing attempts to stamp
out piracy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1580000/1580814.stm
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Universal Access - Public Domain: access for all, on-line governance,
virtual libraries, multilingualism
[INF - 12.10.2001] Circuits That Bug Out Bugs (Wirednews)
Entomologists are warning of the growing risks that insects pose to
electronic hardware, but few electronics manufacturers in the United
States are aware of the danger. It turns out cockroaches like to nest
in the warmth and darkness that electronic equipment provides.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,47361,00.html
[INF - 12.10.2001] U.S. government seeks input to build its own Net (BBCnews)
Just one day after Richard Clarke was appointed to the newly created
post of Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security,
Clarke enlisted the help of the U.S. General Services Administration
(GSA) to gather information from the U.S. telecommunications industry
about the development of a special telecom network.
http://www.idg.net/ic_711466_1794_9-10000.html
[ACC, INF - 11.10.2001] Netherlands and Belgium ahead with broadband
internet (Europemedia.net)
6.5 per cent of Dutch households equipped with TV have broadband
internet access, the highest recorded number in the European Union,
while in Belgium this figure is 5.8 per cent and in Sweden 3.6 per
cent, according to a study by the Dutch agency Dialogic Innovatie &
Interactie. http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=6005
[VIR - 11.10.2001] Digital snapshot of history (BBCnews)
Within hours of the September attacks on New York and Washington,
American researchers rushed into action to capture how the web was
reflecting the disaster. The aim was to create a digital record of
the surge in activity on the web related to the hijack plane strikes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1589000/1589076.stm
[ACC - 10.10.2001] M'sia ISP ties up with postal service (ZDnetasia)
Internet service provider (ISP) Jaring's 600,000 subscribers will
soon be able to use the postal service's 636 nationwide branches to
access a range of Web-related services, information as well as
payment modes. Jaring's overseer, Mimos Internet Services (MIS), on
Monday signed a deal with Pos Malaysia...
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/story/0,2000024714,38023299,00.htm
[ACC, INF - 10.10.2001] 'Sonic boom' for Northern Ireland (BBCnews)
Ever wondered if a simultaneous broadcast from Belfast and Boston
could be possible via the internet? Pioneering research being carried
out in Belfast could mean that such a phenomenon could happen in the
future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_1588000/1588507.stm
[EQU - 10.10.2001] Network system to support visually impaired people
(IDG.net)
Visually impaired people often find that they go shopping and cannot
choose appropriate colors for the products they are buying, or do
laundry and cannot match pairs of socks. A new software system shown
at the Real World Computing Project's final exhibition, held last
week in Tokyo, is designed to solve such problems.
http://www.idg.net/ic_709540_1794_9-10000.html
[ACC - 09.10.2001] Visionary lays into the web (BBCnews)
PTed Nelson is a visionary who is credited with coining the term
hypertext. His ideas greatly influenced some of the developers of the
World Wide Web. But as he told BBC's Go Digital Tracey Logan, he is
highly critical of the internet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1581000/1581891.stm
[ACC - 09.10.2001] Afghanistan, on 50 Websites a Day (Wirednews)
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the international spotlight has been
trained on Afghanistan, the Central Asian country notorious for
housing one of the most repressive regimes on the planet as well as
suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47243,00.html
[ACC, INF - 09.10.2001] Electric Fences Cause Net Disruption In New
Zealand (Newsbytes)
The company that pushed encryption and networking technology to the
limits to enhance people's privacy said Thursday that it has decided
to close its flagship anonymity network and focus on security
software for home users. Security software maker Zero-Knowledge
Systems announced that it would shut down the premium service
component of its Freedom Network
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170900.html
[VIR - 09.10.2001] Fast times at digital high (Cnet)
Ten years ago, a school lesson on drought in sub-Saharan Africa might
have required students to read a textbook and, perhaps, to watch a
film. Today, with the help of computers and the Internet, that lesson
could be transformed from a one-way flow of information into an
interactive process.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-7423656-0.html?tag=cd_mh
[ACC - 08.10.2001] Catcha.com.my named top M'sia search engine (ZDnetasia)
Portal Catcha.com.my, has been voted as the top local search engine,
according to research company ACNielsen.consult. In its Internet User
Attitudes and Behavior Report 2001, ACNielsen.consult surveyed
several localized search engines, including Cari.com and Lycos
Malaysia, before determining the winner.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/story/0,2000024714,38022471,00.htm
[ACC, ECO - 08.10.2001] CNA Goes 'Cyber' With Nairobi ISP (Allafrica.com)
Africa Online, a Kenyan Internet service provider (ISP), has launched
a trial phase of Internet cafÈs through a joint venture with CNA. The
concept is branded as AfricaOnline@CNA. The joint venture between the
ISP and stationery retailer CNA saw the first pilot AfricaOnline@CNA
cyberzone opening in Umhlanga's new Gateway shopping centre last
week, with two more to open in Alberton City and the East Rand Mall
soon. http://allafrica.com/stories/200110050454.html
[INF, CRY - 08.10.2001] Danish researchers make quantum leap into
quantum internet (Europemedia.net)
Danish researchers Eugene Polzik and University of Aarhus colleagues
stumbled upon a breakthrough when they made two samples of atoms
interact at a distance without physical contact, known as ëquantum
entanglementí, which could bring us closer to high-speed quantum
computing and ëteleportationí.
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=5913
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