Report to Congress, Childrens Internet Protection Act, Pub. L. 106-554, Study of Technology Protection Measures in Section 1703, August 15, 2003, Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration. From the report’s Conclusion: “In summary, existing technology protection measures have met many of the needs of educational institutions. While the education community has had success… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2003
Amazon Wins Domain Name Dispute
Amazon wins tussle over lookalike site: “A Web site owner arguing that online retailer Amazon.com Inc. cannot lay exclusive claim to the name of the world’s second longest river to sell goods on the Internet learned today that … well, yes it can. Arbitrators for the United Nations copyright agency WIPO told the Arizona man… Continue Reading
Patriot Act Facilitates Increased Gov’t Demand for Customer Data
Although there has been considerable focus on the Patriot Act as it impacts libraries, this Atlanta-Journal Constitution article details the wider impact of law enforcement’s significantly increased demand for customer data from businesses that range from scuba shops to telecommunications companies. Examples from the article include the following: “Last year, before the Memorial Day weekend,… Continue Reading
Researcher Details Security Concerns and Hidden Data in Word Documents Online
Scalable Exploitation of, and Responses to Information Leakage Through Hidden Data in Published Documents, by Simon Byers, AT&T’s Research Labs. Mr. Beyer’s research focused on the tools and techniques used to “search for hidden data in Word documents.” The use of hidden text is routine in the process of creating documents using Word, so this… Continue Reading
News Aggregators Gain Popularity
Aggregators Attack Info Overload : “Maniacally wired netizens who read a hundred blogs a day and just as many news sources are turning to a new breed of software, called newsreaders or aggregators, to help them manage information overload.” See also several of my previous postings on RSS and aggregators here and here and Dan… Continue Reading
Presentation on Libraries and Blogging
Who Me? Blog? Ideas and Inspiration for Blogging Librarians, by Tasha Saecker, Green Lake Public Library [Library Stuff]. Continue Reading
Chinese Gov’t To Eliminate Microsoft OS and Office
China blocks foreign software use in gov’t: “A new policy by China’s governing body the State Council will rule that all ministries have to buy only locally-produced software at the next upgrade cycle. The move, aimed at breaking the dominance of U.S.-based Microsoft on desktop computers, will eliminate Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Office productivity… Continue Reading
GAO Report Documents IT Vulnerabilities of US Attorneys’ Network
A GAO report released August 12 determined that the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys has serious security issues associated with the administration of IT systems, with specific concerns detailing the operation of a virtual private network (VPN) linking the 93 U.S. Attorney offices located throughout the US. Information Technology: Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys… Continue Reading
Upcoming Hearings on Music Downloading
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), Chairman, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced hearings on the RIAA’s aggressive anti-file sharing efforts targeting students and ISPs. Continue Reading
ISPs On Frontline of Power Outage
ISPs Among First to Detect, React to Outage: “Throughout the United States, ISPs and network operators were among the first to detect an infrastructure problem thanks to sophisticated monitoring systems. In addition to a New York drop, carriers saw traffic elsewhere surge as users logged onto news sites. Continue Reading
A User’s Guide to the Stored Communications Act
A User’s Guide to the Stored Communications Act – And a Legislator’s Guide to Amending It, by Orin S. Kerr, George Washington University Law School: Abstract: Americans care deeply about their Internet privacy. But if they want to know how federal law protects the privacy of their stored Internet communications, they’ll quickly learn that it’s… Continue Reading
New World Factbook Available Online
From the CIA press release, the announcement about the availability of The World Factbook 2003: “This reference work provides a snapshot, as of 1 January 2003, of wide-ranging, hard-to-locate information about the background, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The nine primary information categories and… Continue Reading
