Faces of Innovation at ETech

From left: David Pescovitz, Xeni Jardin, Cory Doctorow and Mark Frauenfelder

Photo: Dave Bullock/Wired.com

According to Wired.com, this wily gang of web renegades runs BoingBoing.net, one of the world’s most popular blogs (according to Technorati). Boing Boing started two decades ago as a paper-based magazine. If something rad is happening on the net, Boing Boing will feature it.

They are featured in this picture attending the O’Reilly’s Emerging Technology Conference which brings some of the brightest minds in the online world together every year for four days of talks, panels and workshops.

Squeezing out net videos

YouTube fans in China may not find it easy to watch some videos when the new rules take effect.

China is to further tighten its grip on the internet and has announced strict new regulations on the broadcasting of online videos - including those posted on video-sharing websites – restricting them to sites run by state-controlled companies.

The new rules also require service providers to report questionable content to the government and "abide by the moral code of socialism".

China, the world's second-largest Internet market by users, has encouraged growth of the internet but at the same time has imposed increasingly tough controls on what can be seen online inside China.

The rules are aimed at stopping what the government calls "degenerate thinking" via the Internet and maintaining a "healthy online environment".

Pro-democracy websites are blocked, as are the sites of many international news organisations, and a force of about 30,000 internet police are thought to monitor the web for anything seen as undesirable content.

The new rules, which come into force on January 31, mark a fresh attempt by Beijing to curtail the internet habits of an increasingly web-savvy population that has become accustomed to decades of state intervention.

WIFI in the sky

The New York Times is reporting that airlines will start testing in-flight Internet connectivity as early as next Tuesday. This is good news for business travellers for whom the Internet has become a vital tool for success. For leisure travellers and others, it offers a new horizon to deal with the boredom and lack of productivity that comes with air travel.

Both JetBlue and American Airlines will be kicking things off with free email and instant messaging on its planes- JetBlue is only offering e-mail and IM connectivity, while American has plans for full 'Net access—and will only initially be available on certain flights, both represent a significant step towards full online connectivity at 35,000 feet.

It's still not clear how much Internet access would cost on either airline. There seems to be some confusion on this point, with some people claiming that the service will be free, while others say it'll cost $10. That $10 figure is actually drawn from a Reuters story from last August.

Fulfilling the unlived life

Australian media reports that according to a new study, two-thirds of Australians were more likely to share personal information with other people on the Internet than they would in person. Just over half of Australians published three or more types of personal information on blogs, social networking sites or online shopping sites, while a third published their home address and two thirds revealed their real name.

Two-thirds of respondents also said people post personal information online without thinking through the possible consequences. Australians are more trusting online than in person — and it's putting them at risk.

Australians are facing an online identity crisis, using the web and social networking sites to unleash their alter egos, new research suggests.

Woolcott Research and was commissioned by Internet security firm Symantec to conduct the survey. It found Australians typically had more than 10 virtual identities. They included profiles on sites like MySpace and YouTube, email accounts, game avatars and characters in virtual worlds.

"This is what we used to call multiple personality disorder," said Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist and fellow of the University of Melbourne's Department of Psychiatry.

Andrew Fuller said the relative anonymity of the Internet encouraged people to be more open with their character, particularly in sites devoted to social networking, dating or gaming.

"Their online profile is more about who they would like to be, rather than who they really are," Dr Fuller said.

Symantec, says criminals could use information found in online profiles to commit fraud in the real-world ("identity theft"), or for social engineering.

Symantec regional consumer business vice-president David Freer said the biggest step towards preventing identity theft was education and that users should be wary of which details they provide online.

"Our internet security threat reports have seen the number of attacks double over the last six months," he said.

More than 2 billion deceptive messages attempting to elicit personal information from users – known as phishing attempts – had been detected so far this year, Mr Freer said.

"We suggest to people that they really look at what they're sharing online. Do you really need to put the information up online that you have?," he said.

Alibaba IPO soars to pre dot com heights

Alibaba.com is China’s largest business-to-business trading website for companies. On Tuesday, Alibaba.com saw its shares triple after its initial public offering rocketed 192% on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Alibaba.com sold 858.9 million IPO shares, or 17% of its enlarged share capital, in a deal handled by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. The stock performance raised $1.5 billion in the largest high tech offering since Google went public in 2004.

Founded in 1999 as a bulletin board for businesses leads, the Web site connects companies looking to import and export Chinese goods. The company said recently that at the end of June its online marketplaces had more than 24 million members.

The IPO is being closely followed because it is rare for an Asian technology company to decide to list in Hong Kong. In the past, such companies have typically sought to join the technology-focused Nasdaq in the US.

In 2005, Yahoo paid $1bn and contributed its own struggling Chinese internet business in return for a stake its Alibaba.

Alibaba is valued at $8.8bn, while Yahoo’s investment is worth $3.4bn.

The success of this business-to-business Web site is the most visible sign that the Internet is opening entrepreneurial opportunities in a way never before seen in China. With more than 162 million Internet users, China is close to surpassing the United States - and that's a fraction in a country with a population of 1.3 billion.

Alibaba.com business model is making it easier for Chinese manufacturers to run their businesses and to connect with companies around the world.

Microsoft and Reliance to offer IPTV in India

Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, and Reliance Communications Ltd. agreed for several technological collaborations, including software for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), WiMAX and a software development toolkit for the Internet, the personal computer and mobile phones.

Reliance, India's second-largest mobile-phone operator, will have the sole rights for Microsoft's Mediaroom TV software in India, the companies said today. The Mumbai-based company plans to spend $500 million on license fees to Microsoft and investments over several years in its network for the services, said Reliance Chairman Anil Ambani.

Microsoft will use the existing Reliance fiber network to develop a solution for its IPTV services. IPTV launch in Mumbai and Delhi is expected to be by the end of the year.

A victory for anti-piracy movement

A court in the United States has ordered a woman to pay $220,000 yesterday. She is fined for illegally sharing a total of 1,702 songs.

Jammie Thomas, a Native American from Minnesota, is one of 26,000 people whom the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued over the past four years for alleged use of music “file-sharing” software.

The 30-year-old made legal history after refusing to pay an out-of-court settlement, as all others challenged over their behaviour before her had done, but her failure to carry the case is likely further to embolden the music industry in its attempts to protect copyright.

Most defendants of the lawsuits have opted to settle privately by paying damages amounting to a few thousand dollars. Jamie contested the charge and has now lost almost a quarter of a million dollars. The record companies have made no decision yet what they would do, if anything, to pursue collecting the money from Jamie who is living from pay cheque to pay cheque. The record companies believe that they have sent a strong message against illegal file-sharing of copyright materials.

Cyberbullying is a growing problem

Bullying in a school is an important social concern that has received increased serious attention in recent years. Its causes and effects have been under investigation by a number of researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. A new permutation of bullying, however, has recently arisen and become more common: Tech savvy students are turning CYBERBULLIES.

Cyberbullying is made a computer crime in several countries. For example, in the United States it is a federal crime to anonymously "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person" via the Internet or telecommunication system, punishable by a fine and/or up to two years imprisonment.

The British Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said cyber bullying was "insidious" and had grown with technology and changes in society.

Schools in the United Kingdom are being sent a guide that explains the tactics used in cyberbulling and suggesting precautions to be taken.

It has been suggested by the BBC that cyberbullying may be influenced by videos that are uploaded to video sharing websites online which contain offensive content or examples of acts of bullying.

Surrogate parenting by fish

Cross-fertilization.
A salmon embryo gets a dose of immature trout reproductive cells. Credit: Science


Japanese researchers have taken a step closer on surrogate parenting as they engineered one fish species to produce another, in a quest to preserve endangered fish.

The new method is "one of the best things that has happened in a long time in bringing something new into conservation biology," said University of Idaho zoology professor Joseph Cloud, who is leading the U.S. government-funded sockeye project.

Big companies win on US patent reform

This is a fight between the big companies and the small companies who make their living licensing patented inventions to larger firms or directly to the public.

Big companies in information technology depend on squashing small companies, buying intellectual property on the cheap from small companies, and buying pioneering companies on the cheap. They can easily do this when the small companies either don’t protect their intellectual property (a problem in many small software companies) or open source their technology in unwise ways.

Big companies are now trying to weaken the patent system before the small companies wake up to its value.

The House of Representatives on Friday passed 225 to 175 with strong bipartisan support, the most comprehensive patent reform in half a century. It delivered a victory for computer technology and financial services companies and leaving drug companies, small inventors, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bracing for a bigger fight before the bill hits the Senate floor.

The legislation, would make patents harder to obtain and easier to challenge and is intended to curtail litigation by limiting where patent owners can file suit and how much they can collect in damages.

"This patent reform will help speed up patent decisions, clear up disputes and clarify the jurisprudence behind these lawsuits," said Jonathan Yarowsky, policy counsel for the Coalition for Patent Fairness, the powerful lobby group which represents technology companies such as Microsoft and Google as well as financial services companies, including Capital One. "This will streamline innovation."

Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems have been lobbying for changes for more than five years. They say they have been under siege from lawsuits seeking high royalties on small features.

These companies are subjected to “legalized extortion,” said one sponsor of the bill, Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas. “Too many patents of questionable integrity have been approved, and owners of these patents have found a unique way to make money.


The creation of inventions and intellectual property is a vital element of the development of the US economy to become a global economic superpower.

Experts in the intellectual rights field argue that America’s economic future depends on creating and licensing intellectual property. Strong worldwide patent rights are the foundation for American economic survival in a fast changing globalised world.

One sticking point passed by the House is the new set of guidelines for calculating patent infringement damages.

Currently, damages can be awarded based on the entire value of a product that includes a component that infringes on a patent. Under this legislation, judges can instruct juries in certain cases to award damages only for the value of the component. If a computer contains a chip that is patented, for example, the chip patent's owner would be awarded damages based on the value of the chip rather than the computer.

The bill would also change the rules at the Patent and Trademark Office so patents would go to the first person to file an application, not necessarily the first inventor.

Intense lobbying has surrounded the patent issue, reflecting the importance of patents to the American economy. Intellectual property in the United States, dominated by patents, is valued at as much as $5.5 trillion, more than 40 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to a 2005 study by USA for Innovation, a Washington group that advocates free trade.

The US has the best patent system in the world, and is the world’s leader in innovation. As the bill passes through the Senate, opponents of bill the are horrified against the implications of the bill. The consequences of the bill will become clearer after the dust settles down.

Tension in US-China relationsip over espionage

Incidents of espionage are as old as human history itself. Traditional methods mostly included human spies and wire tapping for eavesdropping purposes.

Now technology is helping in this age-old industry. Satellite surveillance of all electronic transmissions including cell phone logs, voice mail, email, packet sniffing, trace routing and wireless transmissions are standard techniques. The boundaries are pushed farther by the advances in new technology.

Computer hackers believed to be associated with the Chinese government are being blamed for a breach of computer security at the Pentagon in which some information may have been stolen.
China denies the allegations, but it's the second time in recent weeks that the Chinese government has been linked with cyber-spying allegations. Two weeks ago, an attack on German government computers was attributed to China.

The robust Chinese response followed a front-page report in the Financial Times saying Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) hackers broke into a US defence department network in June, taking data and causing the shutdown of a system serving the secretary of defence, Robert Gates.

Although Chinese authorities blame US of going back to the cold war thinking, it is believed that both the Chinese military and the U.S. defense bodies are active in probing into one another.

The compromise of the U.S. defense system has forced officials to reconsider the type of information that is transmitted via email or with BlackBerry mobiles.

US and China have differing ideologies and values. Fundamental ideals such as promoting democracy, good governance, and rule of law, upholding human rights, encouraging the spread of free market ideals and institutions, which form the basis for U.S. alliances with Great Britain, Japan, and Australia, as well as cooperation with other democratic security partners, are not shared by China.

Foreign policy analysts believe that in the absence of a greater convergence of values and agreement of the international system, a comprehensive strategic security partnership with China is fraught with difficulties.

Internet has given a new life to a 95-year-old blogger

Maria Amelia, the lively 95-year-old Spanish grandmother has achieved global fame as the oldest of the world's 63.2 million bloggers.

She was introduced to the world of blogging by one of her grandchildren just eight months ago, and now she receives posts in languages as strange and impossible for her to understand as Russian, Japanese and Arabic.

At 95 years old and with a worldwide following that has seen more than 340,000 hits on her blog, Spaniard María Amelia López has achieved the kind of status that millions of younger internet chroniclers can only dream of.


"My name is Amelia and I was born in Muxía (A Coruña - Spain) on December the 23rd of 1911," she wrote as her first post on amis95.blogspot.com. "Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog."

With a mix of humour, warmth, optimism, nostalgia and feisty outbursts of leftwing polemic, she has won a regular readership of people keen to find out just what this Spanish great-grandmother is going to say or do next.

"You have to live life," the silver-haired blogger said in her most recent post. "Not sit around in an armchair waiting for death."

Her blog tracks not just a nonagenarian's day-to-day battles against aches, but offers musings on everything from politics and religion to broadband and death.

Among her chief hates are old people's homes, which she criticises for drugging their clients so they spend their final days snoozing quietly in front of the television.

"I blame the children, who don't want to help them," she said yesterday from the house beside the Atlantic Ocean in Muxía, in the rugged north-western corner of Spain, where she stays during the summer.

Some of her own words

"Old people need to wake up a bit. Get your act together!"

"Life has to be lived. Don't take pills and fall asleep in the armchair."

"Scientists and inventors should try to create something to help the workers rather than inventing cannons and machines that kill and destroy."

Social networking among fastest internet trends

Social networking has become one of the fastest-growing Internet trends of the past two years.

According to Internet metrics firm Comscore, Facebook saw users increase 270% from June last year to June this year. It now has more than 52 million users worldwide.

MySpace registered lower growth of 72% but still leads the market with 114 million users. Bebo, with a majority of users in Europe, grew 172% to more than 18 million users.

Now mobile phone companies are after the social networking sites.

The mobile phone companies reckon the people who are using sites like Facebook are exactly the sort of people likely to be interested in using the Internet on a mobile phone.

Revenues from putting user-generated content - i.e: content such as videos and blogs created by consumers rather than media organisations - onto mobile phones is expected to rise more than tenfold over the next five years, according to estimates by Juniper Research published yesterday.

Future stars on dance floors : Dancing Robots

The robot in the picture copies the moves of a human dance teacher.
Japanese researchers have created a dancing robot capable of imitating a routine at a moment’s notice, with no need for time-consuming and costly rehearsals.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used software allowing their robot HRP-2 to copy the moves of a human dance teacher through video motion capture technology.

HRP-2 then watched dance instructor Hisako Yamada performing a Japanese folk routine called Aizu-Bandaisan, before accurately reproducing her performance just minutes later.

Some dancers have commented that robot dancers will always have some human element missing. While that is true, there may be some humans who may prefer a robot dancer.

Malaysian bloggers warned: Don't go overboard

Malyasian government's policy of not intervening in the use of the Internet by people, including bloggers, who are free to use cyberspace is under pressure to change.

The Malaysian prime minister has issued a fresh warning to bloggers, as a key ruling party member described cyberspace as having "the law of the jungle," a report said yesterday.

"For postings that insult (religion and the King), there are laws that can be used against the culprits," said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin, who is also Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister, after launching the four-day Malaysia International Machinery Fair 2007 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said bloggers have managed to create an unprecedented space for free expression in Malaysia.

Internet destroying the reading culture!!!!

A review of Andrew Keen's 'The Cult of the Amateur' on Amazon by Jonathan Last, Online Editor, The Weekly Standard reads the following .

"In today's self-broadcasting culture, where amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog, post a video on YouTube, or change an entry on Wikipedia, the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred.

When anonymous bloggers and videographers, unconstrained by professional standards or editorial filters, can alter the public debate and manipulate public opinion, truth becomes a commodity to be bought, sold, packaged, and reinvented."

The celebrated Web 2.0 interactive technology has now made media amateur experts out of anyone who can put out an opinion. In his view, Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better.

Mr. Keen's pronouncement is strange for the present citizen journalism cannot be reversed. It is definitely a change for the better.

Mr. Keen says today's bloggers can't read and the Internet amateurs are destroying the reading culture. The truth is today's Internet generation reads differently, it can't be a bad thing. Only thing is the bloggers don't have to go through the gate keepers or the editorial boards of the mainstream news organisations. Bloggers don't have to satisfy news company bosses who sometimes twist and turn the truth before it gets published. Whatever content that is put out by the bloggers can be left for the readers to make their own decisions.

A user interface that will change our computing

Several recent developments point to a coming revolution in computer interfaces, from performing simple operations to working with large amounts of information.

Jeff Han gives an intriguing demonstration below.

Apple launching revolutionary iphone

Apple has finally said that it will start selling its iPhone on June 29.

The Internet-ready iPhone will use the Apple OS X operating system and allow users to watch movies, download songs and store photos, as well as offering email, calendar and contacts software found in rival products such as the Blackberry.

The iPhone will cost $500 or $600, depending on the amount of memory included.

Microsoft takes on free software

Microsoft, one of the world's leading technology giants is no stranger to business controversy. Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants users and distributors to pay royalties.

Patent licensing is a mega business in the United States. Patent licensing could earn companies hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It seems over half a billion dollars a year is spent on patent applications, and licensing revenues are in the tens of billions of dollars.

No wonder then Microsoft must have assembled hordes of lawyers to engage in patent litigation.

Since the US software patent system is a fervently contested idea, and patents are granted questionably, these lawyers make it their business to engage in court processes that are sometimes ridiculous.

Caught in the middle of this court argument are big corporate Linux users like Wal-Mart, AIG, and Goldman Sachs. Free-worlders say that if Microsoft prevails, the whole quirky ecosystem that produced Linux and other free and open-source software (FOSS) will be undermined.

Microsoft counters that it is a matter of principle. "We live in a world where we honor, and support the honoring of, intellectual property," says Ballmer in an interview. FOSS patrons are going to have to "play by the same rules as the rest of the business," he insists. "What's fair is fair."

Efficiency is vital for success in web marketing

Internet has changed the way we do business.

Many companies are using the Internet to market their products and services. It is also making it possible to reach far greater audiences at a fraction of the cost of the traditional marketing methods.

Internet marketing is fast becoming the advertising method of choice of small businesses. They get maximum exposure and internet traffic from prospective purchasers and customers. Visibility in search engines is effectively linked to credibility and brand awareness.

In internet marketing, the world becomes your marketplace. You can reach prospects globally, 24 hours a day, every day.

Publishing electronic books or e-books has become a popular medium to generate revenue on the internet. You can write and publish e-books on any topic. You can sell these online or give them free with links to your website and earn money promoting your website.