Articles by date
17 May 2012
Facebook.com received 9% of all U.S. Internet visits in April (CNET)
Experian Hitwise, which measures all sorts of traffic and activity on the Web, has released a new batch of stats around Facebook, helping to fuel all the hoopla in the run-up to Friday's IPO. For all the debate over its business model, Facebook obviously isn't hurting for traffic. In the U.S., one in every five page views was to Facebook.
Google bringing new smarts to search with Knowledge Graph (CNET)
Google has long sought to index the world's information -- and it's now taking things a step farther with an effort to create "a database of everything in the world." And it's bringing this effort to your search results pages.
In TV Race, Microsoft Has Lead, Forrester Says (New York Times)
When it comes to the underlying technology providers that matter for mobile app developers, there's Google, Apple and everyone else. Microsoft is one of the companies trying to claw its way out of the everyone else category.
Google to meet French regulator on privacy policy (Reuters)
Google will meet with France's data protection watchdog next week to answer questions about its new user privacy policy as part of a Europe-wide investigation being led by the French regulator.
Terahertz frequencies bring Japanese researchers 3Gbps in a WiFi prototype (Ars Technica)
A team of researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have transmitted data on the terahertz range of spectrum using a wireless radio no bigger than a 10-yen coin (roughly the size of a penny).
Cookies: Majority of UK government sites to miss deadline (BBC News)
Ahead of a nationwide deadline over regulating the use of cookies, the BBC has learned that the "majority" of the UK government's own websites will fail to comply in time.
The Pirate Bay hit by DDoS attack (BBC News)
File-sharing website The Pirate Bay (TPB) has been hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.
Children abused 'to order' on Skype (The Australian)
Online pedophiles are paying to have children in overseas countries sexually abused according to their preferences in an alarming development police have dubbed "made-to-order" child abuse.
Clear Correlation between Local Content, Internet Development and Access Prices (ISOC)
Research summarized in a study "The Relationship between Local Content, Internet Development and Access Prices" released this week at the WSIS Forum 2012 in Geneva shows a strong correlation between the development of network infrastructure and the growth of local content, and a connection between developed local Internet markets and lower reported prices for international bandwidth.
16 May 2012
Apple and publishers fail to halt ebook lawsuit (The Guardian)
Apple and five major book publishers have failed to persuade a US judge to throw out a lawsuit by consumers accusing them of conspiring to raise electronic book prices two years ago.
India Calls For UN Body To Replace ICANN (The Hindu)
India is calling for a United Nations-run body to take over the responsibilities of ICANN, with discussions likely to take place in Geneva later this week, according to a report in The Hindu.
ORG: Mobile filters censor innocent content (BBC News)
Pornography filters on mobile phones are "censoring" normal web content, according to the Open Rights Group.
Apple drops '4G' from new iPad name in UK online store (The Guardian)
Apple has removed claims that its new iPad has "4G" capability from its UK and other non-US online stores, after complaints that its high-speed mobile connection could not work outside the US.
Google Shifts Tack on Android - Direct Sales, Expanded Partnerships Mark Bid to Increase Control Over Devices (Wall Street Journal)
Google Inc. is shifting its strategy for its Android mobile operating system, in a bid to create a united front with smartphone and tablet makers to take on rivals like Apple Inc. and prevent wireless carriers from controlling the devices.
Hackers Breach Sites of Foreign Policy and Human Rights Groups (New York Times)
In recent weeks, hackers have breached Web sites belonging to several foreign policy and human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, a nonprofit organization based in Israel that researches terrorism issues.
New Google Study Reveals Minimal Social Activity, Weak User Engagement (Fast Company)
Larry Page recently called Google the company's "social spine." If that's the case, then Google's backbone might be much weaker than Page has been letting on, at least according to a new report from RJ Metrics.
Cyber security should be promoted with hard-hitting ad campaign, says British Labour (The Guardian)
Ministers should treat cyber security in the same way as drink-driving and launch a hard-hitting advertising campaign to encourage people to take more care online, Labour has said.
EU research breakthrough will cut 4G / LTE mobile network energy use in half (Europa)
In coming years, internet access will be dominated by wireless devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Today there are 1.2 billion mobile broadband users, and the figure is growing by hundreds of millions each year. Mobile video and other data services consume much more energy than calls and SMS. This creates additional costs for mobile operators - ultimately passed onto consumers - and means the carbon footprint of mobile communications could almost triple from 2007 to 2020, an increase equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of Luxembourg.
15 May 2012
Twitter embraces UK's policymakers after eventful year (BBC News)
Twitter has told the BBC it now wants to work closer with government and policymakers in the UK.
Facebook's Prospects May Rest on Trove of Data (New York Times)
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief, has managed to amass more information about more people than anyone else in history.
At Least 3 Companies Submit Bids To Operate French and Territorial ccTLDs
At least three and up to six companies have submitted bids to operate the .FR (France) ccTLD and the ten French territory ccTLDs currently managed by AFNIC.
FTC shuts down website marketing business (Network World)
A U.S. court has shut down the operations of a company that allegedly promised it would build its customers websites that would generate income of up to US$20,000 per month, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint about its business practices.
Survey reveals nearly half of UK web users happy with behavioural advertising (OUT-LAW)
Nearly half of UK internet users are happy for advertisers to track their online activity in order to deliver more targeted ads, according to new survey figures.
Irish watchdog: Facebook privacy still falls short (ZDNet)
Facebook has updated its privacy policy in response to concerns raised by the Irish data protection authority, but the proposed changes do not go far enough, the privacy watchdog has said.
ICANN Appoints Independent Objector for New gTLD Programme
ICANN has appointed Professor Alain Pellet as the Independent Objector for the New Generic Top-Level Domain programme. The Independent Objector's role is to act solely in the interests of the public who use the internet.
