INTERNET
Internet Society Wins Control of ".Org" Domain
Internet Browser for Cell Phones, PDAs Developed
INTERNATIONAL
Net Reaches Bangladeshi Villages
Vietnam Issues New Rules for Setting Up Web Sites
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Hollywood's Demands Could Cripple Consumer Technology, Panelists Say
INTERNET
INTERNET SOCIETY WINS CONTROL OF ".ORG" DOMAIN
The Internet Society, a group of 11,000 engineers and other networking
experts, won their bid to ICANN for ownership of the ".org" domain, home to
the non-profit sector on the Web. VeriSign agreed to relinquish control of
.org as a part of its deal to maintain the .com domain, which remains the
Internet's most populous home. While the domain will be marketed to
non-profit and community groups, others will not be prohibited from
registering their sites in .org.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-14-dot-org_x.htm)
INTERNET BROWSER FOR CELL PHONES, PDAS DEVELOPED
Oslo-based Opera Software has developed a Web browser for wireless devices
that it says may drive demand for the mobile Internet. The product
reorganizes Web content such that vertical scrolling is all that is
necessary to view most pages, erasing a cumbersome step for current wireless
surfers. Critics claim that the software is no breakthrough for the wireless
market, predicting that many consumers will still be reluctant to pay for
wireless Internet services.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/software/2002-10-14-opera
-browser_x.htm)
INTERNATIONAL
VIETNAM ISSUES NEW RULES FOR SETTING UP WEB SITES
In an effort to curtail its citizens' access to content it deems subversive,
the Vietnamese government has issued new rules requiring government
permission before businesses and organizations set up new Web sites. The
Ministry of Culture and Information did not specify the penalties for
breaking the regulations, but under current law Internet offenses are
punishable by fines of up to $3,250 or up to three years in jail.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-14-vietnam-web-rules_x
.htm)
NET REACHES BANGLADESHI VILLAGES
In an effort to take the digital revolution into the Bangladesh countryside,
a non-profit organization, the Grameen Trust, has set up two Internet access
centers that use wireless links to connect to the Internet. Dial-up
connections in Bangladesh are expensive and unstable, with slow connection
speeds and frequent interruptions. The centre was set up a year ago to
provide low-cost training in computer skills such as word-processing and
graphics and design to villagers. "Our vision is to provide an information
technology service to local people who don't know about computers," said the
telecentre manager, Mohammad Alamgir Hossain.
[SOURCE: BBC News Online, AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2249597.stm)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
HOLLYWOOD'S DEMANDS COULD CRIPPLE CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY, PANELISTS SAY
The debate over copyright in the Digital Age took another step yesterday as
the Associated Press held a conference on the topic in San Francisco. Fred
von Lohmann, a civil liberties attorney who represents some of the
file-swapping companies that have recently been sued, said that the content
industry "is saying, 'We need to be able to tell the technology industry
what they can and cannot build.'" Warner Bros. CTO Chris Cookson reiterated
the restrictions proposed by Senator Ernest Hollings (D-SC) aren't aimed at
stifling consumers' fair use of content, but to prevent unlawful
distribution over the Internet.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jim Krane]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26723-2002Oct15.html)
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