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INTERNET
Filter-Bashing Alive and Well
Setting the Rules for ISPs and Spammers
Global Internet Laboratory Launches
DIGITAL DIVIDE
OneWorld ICT Case Study: Deepalaya
Toys Bridge Tech Divide for Children
Improving Connections for Refugees
COPYRIGHT
Washington Post Focuses on Digital Copyright
INTERNET
FILTER-BASHING ALIVE AND WELL
The stocks of filtering software providers such as N2H2, Websense and
SurfControl soared after yesterday's Supreme Court ruling to uphold
legislation requiring libraries to install Internet filtering software or
lose their federal technology funding. At the same time, groups such as the
American Library Association (ALA), the American Civil Liberties Union, and
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) lambasted the technology that was
at the heart of the court decision. "There's tremendous collateral damage
from the use of these products," said Will Doherty, executive director of
the Online Policy Group, which published a filtering study with the EFF.
The study found that for every webpage appropriately blocked by filtering
software, one or more was inappropriately blocked. Another concern is the
lack of information about the methodologies used to categorize sites for
filtering. Although the ruling allows for an adult to request that
filtering be turned off, the ALA contends that patrons might be too
intimidated to seek out content if they have to ask a librarian's permission
to disable filters. In addition, Rick Weingarten of the ALA said disabling
software could be technically difficult as well.
SOURCE: Wired; AUTHOR: Joanna Glasner
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59367,00.html
SETTING THE RULES FOR ISPs AND SPAMMERS
A federal judge in New York will hear oral arguments this week in a case
that will determine the role of Internet service providers in blocking
unsolicited emails. The case involves a New York independent film producer,
Peter Hall, whose ISP incorrectly identified him as a spammer, shutting down
his email account without warning him or notifying senders that their
messages would not reach him. According to Hall, EarthLink's actions caused
his recent film to flop, causing financial damages. The case would decide a
number of issues, including the legality of anti-spam blacklists such as the
Mail Abuse Prevention System and the recourse for account holders whose ISPs
hold their mail. It will also determine whether ISPs have a public interest
obligation not to immediately remove accounts that they believe to be
spamming. Though the issue has implications for the anti-spam movement, a
larger legal question of an ISP's ability to enforce its contracts is also
at stake.
SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh
http://news.com.com/2010-1071_3-1019814.html
GLOBAL INTERNET LABORATORY LAUNCHES
A coalition of more than 60 companies and universities has launched an
Internet laboratory that can simulate tens of thousands of Internet
computers. PlanetLab will be used to develop distributed computing programs,
which rely on the coordinated activities of thousands of personal computers,
as well as test software to combat Internet worms and develop
next-generation Internet protocols. The laboratory is actually a network of
170 servers around the world working in unison. Among the first experiments
running in the laboratory are CoDeen, a program to divert Internet traffic
from overloading servers, and Oceanstore, a system for protecting data by
spreading it around a network of computers rather than storing it in an
individual one. "The PlanetLab testbed will be an important addition to
cyber security research efforts across the country," says Shankar Sastry of
UC Berkeley. "The ability to conduct cyber-security research on a global
scale will have major consequences."
SOURCE: New Scientist; AUTHOR: Will Knight
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993862
DIGITAL DIVIDE
ONEWORLD ICT CASE STUDY: DEEPALAYA
Publishing the first in a series of OneWorld.net case studies exploring the
use of information and communications technologies in civil society, the
Digital Opportunity Channel profiles Deepalaya, a chain of schools in India
that helps train slum children how to use computers. Deepalaya started its
education program in 1979 with only five students and two teachers. Now they
have established 337 educational centers across India, as well as and seven
formal schools. Rather than offering computer training merely for building
job skills, Deepalaya works to improve the confidence and self-esteem of
slum children. Deepalaya students receive computer training starting in the
6th grade, running all the way through 12th grade.
SOURCE: Digital Opportunity Channel
http://www.digitalopportunity.org/fulltext/casestudies.shtml
TOYS BRIDGE TECH DIVIDE FOR CHILDREN
An 18-month study has found that using toys as a technology companion could
help children get comfortable with computers. "Having a toy also seemed to
increase the social interaction at the computer with the children talking to
each other and helping each other more," said Dr. Lydia Plowman, who led the
study at the University of Stirling in Scotland. However, she found that
electronic companions were no substitute for human interaction. The toys,
developed by Microsoft, looked like traditional soft toys but could also be
used with a CD-ROM and PC adaptor to act as an electronic helper for
children learning basic language and number skills on the computer. "The
toys were too limited for the tailored help young children need," said Dr.
Plowman. Microsoft has since withdrawn the toys, and their high price tag
(USD $99) is likely to have been a factor in their failure to catch on.
SOURCE: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3013926.stm
IMPROVING CONNECTIONS FOR REFUGEES
During World Refugee Week last week, London refugee communities had access
to a free Internet cafe set up temporarily in north London's Union Chapel.
But helping refugees bridge the digital divide takes much more than
providing them with Internet access: inadequate infrastructure, the cost of
hardware and software, training and sustainability are all major challenges.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) attempted to address some of
these problems with a project in Tanzania to provide Burundian refugees with
Internet access. Seventy percent of the electricity need to power the
computers is supplied by solar power and a biogas system using cow manure.
Still, only a small percentage of these refugees will make use of the
Internet. The same is true for Across Borders, which connects Palestinian
refugee camps via the Internet, offering space for "virtual reunification"
of a divided population.
SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited; AUTHOR: Julia Farrington
http://society.guardian.co.uk/asylumseekers/story/0,7991,980125,00.html
COPYRIGHT
WASHINGTON POST FOCUSES ON DIGITAL COPYRIGHT
The Washington Post Online this week features articles and online discussion
on the topic of digital copyrights. Robert MacMillan provides a short
history of copyrights in the Internet Age, including the advent of Napster
and other online file sharing systems, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
and efforts by the RIAA to prosecute copyright violators. David Maguire
authors a special report on the movie industry's fear that it will see the
same sort of lost revenue as the recording industry has seen if it fails to
embrace the Web as a means of distribution. A transcript of an online chat
with Grokster president Wayne Rosso is currently posted, and a conversation
with Motion Picture Association of America president Jack Valenti will occur
at 10am ET on Thursday.
SOURCE: The Washington Post
http://www.washtech.com
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