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From ACM's TechNews, June 12, 2006 Revamping the Web Browser
Technology Review (06/12/05) Roush, Wade

Even as new online content was proliferating at a staggering pace, the technology for searching the Web via a browser experienced very few changes from 1997 to 2004, the same years that Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominated the browser market. A host of startups has appeared in recent years offering new software features that challenge much of the conventional wisdom guiding browser design. Companies are beginning to develop new browsers more suited for social-networking activities, such as blogging, RSS feeds, and photo sharing in an attempt to keep pace with the growth of Web content. "The Web today is very different from the Web of the '90s, which was very much a one-to-many experience," said Peter Andrews of Flock, one of many companies creating entirely new browsers. "Now you have a growing community of producers building a many-to-many Web--and browsers should integrate the functionality to support that." One new application, Browster, offers a free supplement to Firefox and Internet Explorer that causes a small icon to appear when hovering over a hyperlink, and a preview window appears showing the page where the hyperlink leads. Unlike other preview tools, the Browster window shows the destination page in full, but disappears when a user clicks outside of it, ultimately reducing dependency on a browser's "Back" button. When a user scrolls a mouse over a list of Google or Yahoo! search results, full-page previews pop up because the software pre-fetches a page for every result. The hover feature has been so popular that users have been deploying it on sites across the Web, even though it is fastest on Google and Yahoo! results pages, according to CEO Scott Milener. Flock and others are developing applications that could be even more versatile than Mozilla's Firefox browser, such as a built-in feed reader and an integrated search tool for both the Web and the desktop. Click Here to View Full Article

China and Google -- 2010

Globalization

Green Computing

Open Source

From ACM's TechNews, June 12, 2006 Brainstorming Ways to Push Open Source
IST Results (06/09/06)

The IST-funded FLOSSPOLS project, which set out to assess the current state of the open-source movement, found that interoperability among different software applications is still lacking. Building on the FLOSS project, which established the world's largest clearinghouse on open-source usage and development, FLOSSPOLS aimed to preserve the European Union's lead in the open-source field. "Our study revealed that preference is often given in business tenders to certain vendors with mostly proprietary software at national and international levels," said project coordinator Rishab Ghosh. "Whether explicit or implicit, this preference is illegal under EU rules. Hardware preference is already outlawed, yet the use of specific software can often limit competition even more." Ghosh says that even in the absence of major policy support, the rate of open-source adoption in Europe is encouraging, and a program within the European Commission has arrived at a definition for open standards, though it has yet to receive formal approval from the commission. Ghosh is encouraged by the Open Source Observatory, an EC-supported project that serves as a repository for information on open-source deployments by public organizations throughout Europe. In its analysis of gender, the project found that women account for just 2 percent of participants in open-source development and production, while they make up 20 percent of general software developers. The project concluded that women face active discrimination, and that European governments need to do more to encourage female participation in the open-source community. The project notes that some companies are more likely to hire developers with open-source skills than applicants with strong university credentials, suggesting that schools should do a better job of partnering with the development community. Click Here to View Full Article

From Dr. Dobb's Update, August 16, 2006. Lessig: Open Source Packs More Financial Potential Than Proprietary Culture

The "read-write" culture of open source will generate greater economic prosperity than the proprietary culture that has dominated the computer industry, free software icon Lawrence Lessig said Tuesday at LinuxWorld. Read the article.

Management of IT

From ACM's TechNews, June 12, 2006 Researchers at Carnegie Mellon Study Cheaper Ways to Run Data Centers
Chronicle of Higher Education (06/16/06) Vol. 52, No. 41, P. A33; Kiernan, Vincent

Carnegie Mellon University has built a $1.2 million computer center to study why it costs so much to run a data center. The Data Center Observatory can hold 40 racks of computers and consume more energy than 750 average-size homes. Gregory R. Ganger, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, says there is little information on where money goes in running a data center, which can cost four to seven times annually as much as building a facility. Electricity and maintenance are part of the cost, but no one knows how much is spent on the various problems computer-support members fix or how they divide up their time to address arising issues. The data center includes equipment that will track the performance of its systems, while computer-support staff will keep detailed logs of their jobs, and researchers will analyze the logs and readings from instruments. Ganger, head of the project, says the results should ultimately help to lower the operational costs of data centers. The data center features an efficient cooling strategy that has the computers blow hot air into a "hot aisle," where it is cooled before it is allowed to mix with the rest of the air in the room. Click Here to View Full Article - Web Link to Publication Homepage

Why social technology does not reach end users

Porter's Five Forces

The Value Chain

Applications of the Value Chain

UPS Infrastructure Solutions

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Net Neutrality

Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 (Introduced in the House)

Global Online Freedom Act of 2009 (Introduced in the House)

Comcast CEO on Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality Act According to the Daily Show

Net Neutrality According to Google

Net Neutrality according to Wikipedia

Court to FCC: You Don't Have Power to Enforce Net Neutrality

China Blocks Wired.com With 'Great Firewall'

Net Neutrality Law Discussions and Debate 2004-2006

From Knowledge @ Wharton, August 9, 2006. Is Pay-Per View Internet Next?

For years, the roads on the Internet highway have been wide open and free of tolls. But if broadband providers have their way, users may find themselves paying a toll, possibly with traffic squeezed into fewer lanes to accommodate the needs of other applications, such as online telephone and television service. Is this move to provide more differentiated service good for business or will customers and innovation suffer at the hand of commerce? Telecommunication and technology experts at Emory University's Goizueta Business School explore the heated debate of net neutrality. Read the article

From ACM's TechNews, August 21, 2006. Who Said the Net Was Fair?
New Scientist (08/12/06) Vol. 191, No. 2564, P. 17; Biever, Celeste

Though there is a certain degree of relevancy in "net neutrality" advocates' warning that the openness of the Internet could be endangered without legislation requiring equal prioritization of all Web traffic, the truth is that such equality does not exist, and may even be anathema to innovation directly fueled by unequal treatment of traffic, writes Celeste Biever. Net neutrality proponents' fears were sparked by the AT&T/SBC and MCI/Verizon mergers, which gave individual companies end-to-end control over data packets for the first time. This development has opened the way for the companies to charge their richer customers to prioritize packets, which could be a crippling blow to small startups that cannot afford such service. Yet large Web sites have been paying for faster data delivery for a number of years; many users are unaware that 15 percent of all Web traffic is sent to the Web user's computer from servers owned by Akamai, not from the site the user is visiting. Not only does this method offer smoother Web browsing, but it can also defend a company's own servers against denial of service attacks. A lack of net neutrality has proven beneficial to some innovative Internet applications, such as spam filtering. Andrew Odlyzko of the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Center reports that the blockage of malicious data packets would be hard to enforce with net neutrality legislation in place. "How do you define a spammer?" he queries. "Any kind of net neutrality legislation would interfere with at least a few of the common practices on the Internet today." Click Here to View Full Article

From ACM's TechNews, June 12, 2006 The Internet's Future
Washington Post (06/12/06) P. A20

As the Senate opens hearings on whether to write a Net neutrality provision into law, it will hear arguments from a broad coalition warning that a non-neutral Internet could dramatically slow connection speeds for amateur users and small enterprises, while extracting fees from larger companies for swift delivery in what would create a tiered Internet environment with those able to pay the most receiving the best quality of service. This is a baseless argument, however, writes a Washington Post editorial, as it discounts the fundamental economic realities of the Internet service market. Net neutrality advocates warn that without codifying a flat structure for delivery of Internet content, the Internet would begin to resemble cable television, delivering only corporate content. More than three-fifths of the country is served by at least four broadband providers, creating a competitive environment where users have legitimate alternatives in a self-organizing market, unlike the cable industry. If one Internet service provider began charging additional fees for rapid delivery, another provider in the market would step in and offer a cheaper alternative. A more compelling argument for Net neutrality claims that higher entry barriers to the Internet could stifle innovation, as upstart companies would have a harder time competing with entrenched players and developing new applications, raising the question of whether Internet telephony or instant messaging would have taken off had bandwidth been a rarer commodity. However, with the U.S. Internet infrastructure falling behind that of East Asia and Europe, a non-neutral Internet would enable AT&T, Verizon, and others to offer faster connections in more parts of the country, enabling the spread of streaming video and other services, the Post argues. Click Here to View Full Article

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Social Networks

Alexis Ohanian: How to make a splash in social media

Mayor Gavin Newsom on Social Networking in Government

Getting to Know Twitter

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Security

The Lock That Says 'Pick Me'

In War Against the Internet, China Is Just a Skirmish

IS Ethics

Electronic Privacy Information Center

CSSP's Cyber Threat Descriptions

CSSP's Cyber Vulnerabilities

CSSP's Recommended Practices

Heartland breach shows why compliance is not enough

Information about Viruses and Trojan Horses

Security, Spam, and Related Issues

Jefferson College robbed by computer hackers

The Conflicker Worm

Scam Baiting

Hack This Site!

Frontline Security

Privacy concerns

From Knowledge @ Wharton, July 20, 2006.

What's the Future of Desktop Software -- and How Will It Affect Your Privacy? Twenty years ago, the personal computer began to revolutionize the way we work and play. In recent years, though, the Internet has been the primary source of technological innovation, offering us everything from online auctions to networked research libraries. As web-based applications encroach on the desktop's turf and a myriad of smart "devices" perform increasingly computer-like functions, will traditional desktop software begin to fade away? According to panelists at the recent Supernova 2006 conference in San Francisco, it's clear that these technological changes will introduce new challenges for programmers and users alike. Chief among these: balancing the requirement of making an individual's personal information available everywhere while remaining securely under his or her control. Read the article

From EduPage, August 2, 2006 Child Online Identity Card Debuts
BBC, 2 August 2006

An online identity service for children has debuted in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Conceived by U.K. businessman Alex Hewitt, the NetIDMe system requires parents to apply for ID cards for their kids and to supply a credit card as verification. Another person who knows the child must countersign the application. Once an ID is established, users can communicate with others online with the assurance that users who say they are children are not in fact adults who prey on kids. The service, which costs 10 pounds per year, is only effective if both communicating parties participate. Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said that this effort, like any other that works to verify the age and identity of Internet users, will help prevent children from becoming victims of online predators. Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Porter of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency noted that Web users should nonetheless be cautious. "We would advise all parents and young people to...ensure no personally identifiable information is shared with online strangers." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5238992.stm

From EduPage, August 11, 2006 Report Points To Malware In Social Networks
The Register, 10 August 2006

A recent monthly report from Internet security firm ScanSafe calls attention to the rising incidence of malware on social networking sites. According to the report, as many as 1 in 600 profile pages contained sypware, adware, or other malicious software. Social networking sites have become extremely popular with children and college students, and Eldar Tuvey, chief executive and cofounder of ScanSafe, said his company's report points to another risk users face. "[B]eyond unsafe contact with harmful adults, these sites are an emerging and potentially ripe threat vector that can expose children to harmful software," he said. The report noted that some sites, including Facebook and LinkedIn, have fewer malware pages than sites without restrictions on who can join. ScanSafe noted that in addition to social networking traffic from teens, use of the sites has also grown to represent about 1 percent of Internet usage in the workplace, potentially exposing corporate networks and users as well. http://www.theregister.com/2006/08/10/social_sites_breed_malware/

From EduPage, July 31, 2006 U.S. Legislators Move To Ban Social Networking Sites
BBC, 31 July 2006

A bill introduced by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) that aims to restrict social networking Web sites in schools and libraries passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 410-15. The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) would require organizations that receive funds under the federal E-Rate program to install Internet filters that would block access to sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The FCC would be responsible for defining what sites would be covered by the law. According to the American Library Association (ALA), about two-thirds of U.S. libraries would be subject to the law. Supporters of the legislation said that children who use such Web sites become targets of sexual predators. Opponents of the law said it is overly broad and would prevent computer users from accessing a number of unrelated sites, such as Amazon, blogs, wikis, and even news sites. Leslie Burger, president of the ALA, said, "DOPA is redundant and unnecessary legislation," noting that the Children's Internet Protection Act already requires institutions to block Web content considered harmful to children. The bill now goes to the Senate. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5230506.stm

From ACM's TechNews, August 9, 2006. University of Pennsylvania Researcher Reports JitterBugs Could Turn Your Keyboard Against You, Steal Data
Penn News (08/07/06) Lester, Greg

Peripheral devices such as keyboards, microphones, and mice could pose an entirely new computer vulnerability, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found. Using a device known as a JitterBug, the researchers found that a hacker could physically bug a peripheral device and steal chunks of data by creating an all-but-imperceptible processing delay after a keystroke. The researchers built a functional JitterBug keyboard as proof of concept. "This is spy stuff. Someone would need physical access to your keyboard to place a JitterBug device, but it could be quite easy to hide such a bug in plain sight among cables or even replace a keyboard with a bugged version," said Gaurav Shah, a graduate student in Penn's Department of Computers and Information Science. "Although we do not have evidence that anyone has actually been using JitterBugs, our message is that if we were able to build one, so could other, less scrupulous people." Unlike keystroke loggers, which have to be physically installed and then retrieved to collect data, the JitterBug needs only to be installed. The device can use any interactive network-related software application such as email or instant messaging to relay the data, leaking it through split-second keystroke delays. Limited storage space on the device would prevent the JitterBug from recording every keystroke, but could be trained to record a certain type of activity prompted by a specific keystroke. "For example, one could pre-program a JitterBug with the user name of the target as a trigger on the assumption that the following keystrokes would include the user's password," Shah said. In one particularly alarming scenario, a manufacturer of peripheral devices could be compromised, inundating the market with JitterBugged devices. Shah's initial research suggests that cryptography could be used to protect against JitterBugged devices. Click Here to View Full Article

From ACM's TechNews, August 14, 2006. Your Life as an Open Book
New York Times (08/12/06) P. B1; Zeller Jr., Tom

Privacy advocates and industry analysts say a clear position on the confidentiality of users' online search behavior must be made, for there are currently no laws to restrict the exploitation of such data, which is a highly desirable commodity for marketers, law enforcement agencies, and academic researchers. "In many contexts, consumers already have the expectation that information about their cultural consumption will not be sold," notes University of California, Berkeley, research Chris Jay Hoofnagle. "They understand that the library items that they check out, the specific television shows that they watch, the videos that they rent are protected information." AOL's inadvertent disclosure of hundreds of thousands of users' Internet search queries last week is viewed by some privacy proponents as a colossal blunder for the search industry comparable to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. "This AOL breach is just a tiny drop in the giant pool of information that these companies have collected," says Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Kevin Bankston. "The sensitivity of this data cannot be overemphasized." Legislative attempts to address the problem have been waylaid by skirmishes between privacy advocates seeking wide-ranging consumer data safeguards, and the financial sector, which wants to evade burdensome legislation and override stricter state laws. Meanwhile, Congress has been debating taking a cue from Europe and requiring the telecom and Internet industries to retain consumer communications records for a set period in case they are needed in law enforcement inquiries. Click Here to View Full Article

From ACM's TechNews, August 23, 2006. The "Data Valdez" Versus the Privacy Ceiling
The Flowing Candy Bees (08/12/06)

With a group of researchers preparing to present a paper on the economic limitations of privacy violation at the ACM 2006 DRM workshop, which takes place October 30, 2006, in Alexandria, Va., the exposure of the search queries of some 658,000 AOL users seems almost prescient. The concept, known as the privacy ceiling, argues that forward-looking companies would scrupulously guard against privacy violations due to the liability of amassing large repositories of sensitive information. Liability can come from many sources, such as vicarious infringement, which companies can be liable for if it can be proven that infringement in fact occurred, that the company benefited from it, and that the company could have stopped it. Librarians reacting to the Patriot Act purged the records of their patrons' reading habits, creating their own privacy ceiling. Similarly, companies can be liable from their customers for privacy violations. AOL's case, which appears to have involved a simple miscalculation by a few employees, illustrates the principal that companies can limit their liability by reining in their data-collection practices. To curb the potential liability from disclosing customers' data, the authors of the report recommend that companies implement architectures with built-in monitoring capabilities to safeguard sensitive data. They go a step farther and advise companies to actually control their users' activities to the fullest extent that their architectures will allow. Finally, the authors recommend that companies build their systems around privacy alone, rather than trying to balance the demands of copyright holders. Click Here to View Full Article

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Technology

How Technology Evolves

InformationWeek 500

RFID

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Wikis

Jimmy Wales on the Birth of Wikipedia

SIMS Distinguished Lecture: Jimmy Wales

Societal and Managerial and Organizational Implications of Wikis

From ACM's TechNews, June 12, 2006 Software Could Add Meaning to 'Wiki' Links
New Scientist (06/07/06) Sparkes, Matthew

Researchers at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany have made alterations to the software that powers Wikipedia that would enable editors to enhance the meaning of the links between pages. With the team's MediaWiki system, authors could add meaningful tags, or annotations, to articles and the hypertext links that connect them. Relevant pages would display the annotations buried in the tags, explaining the relationship between two topics. Annotations could facilitate more intelligent searches of wiki sites, the researchers claim, and they believe that specialized communities that maintain their own wikis will likely be the first adopters. "I think early adoption will be led by communities interested in data such as animal species information," said the project's Markus Krotzsch. "Semantic information is most useful in situations where data can be clearly defined." Adding meaning to online content is the essence of the vision for the Semantic Web promoted by Web architect Tim Berners-Lee and others. The researchers are hopeful that Wikipedia will incorporate their software, though they admit that it might have a hard time supporting such a popular site--Wikipedia receives around 4,000 page requests per hour. Click Here to View Full Article