Kate

The Friends of the UNTL Library are a group, based in Canberra Australia, that raise money and resources for the rebuilding of The National University of East Timor Library. The library was destroyed (as was most other infrastructure) during the Independence Referendum in 1999. The rebuilding of the library began in 2000 and has been conducted in stages. Although the project has existed since 2000, the web site was only launched in November 2003 and includes information about the status of the project, the resources needed and experiences of librarians who have travelled to Dili to participate in the rebuilding efforts.

The project is currently focused on collecting office equipment and textbooks (they are still missing vital resources and do not yet have internet access) and is holding a benefit for the Library on the 11th of March.

An article in The Globe and Mail discusses the new Eternal Egypt Project, which officially opened yesterday. This is a interactive web site that allows users to view many Egyptian cultural artifacts housed in the Egyptian Museum. It also features webcam footage of other key landmarks and tourist attractions within Egypt and multimedia features. The funding for the project was provided by IBM.

An article in The Globe and Mail discusses the new Eternal Egypt Project, which officially opened yesterday. This is a interactive web site that allows users to view many Egyptian cultural artifacts housed in the Egyptian Museum. It also features webcam footage of other key landmarks and tourist attractions within Egypt and multimedia features. The funding for the project was provided by IBM.The Eternal Egypt site also includes a “Library” page with links to various indepth information about Egypt and Egyptology and interactive elements such as a 3D views and virtual recreations of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

The About page provides comprehensive details about the technical background of the site, such as the Content Management System and Image Acquisition processes adopted by the Eternal Egypt Project.

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald about various copyright repercussions of digital media, particularly DVDs. The article cites particular examples of DVD-burning software and is essentially a product review. It does, however, briefly explain some of the protective technologies that are being adopted.

While initially the general feeling was optimistic, there is more and more concern being expressed that the very nature of the internet (decentralised, global and largely without standards) will essentially render Anti-Spam legislature ineffective. Currently, countries such as the US ( CAN-SPAM Act), the UK (having adopted the EU legislation) and Australia (Spam Act 2003) are adopting anti-Spam legislature of some description and of varying effectiveness. Attention is now shifting to alternative approaches to combatting unsolicited email.

While initially the general feeling was optimistic, there is more and more concern being expressed that the very nature of the internet (decentralised, global and largely without standards) will essentially render Anti-Spam legislature ineffective. Currently, countries such as the US ( CAN-SPAM Act), the UK (having adopted the EU legislation) and Australia (Spam Act 2003) are adopting anti-Spam legislature of some description and of varying effectiveness. Attention is now shifting to alternative approaches to combatting unsolicited email.

Australia’s Anti-Spam legislation is due to come into effect on the 11th of April and many recent articles have pointed out its faults and limitations. In a recent article on ZdNet, Anthony Wong describes the crux of this law as “a general prohibition on the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link- subject to a few exemptions�. The article rightly points out the difficulties in controlling Spam on a national level when the majority of unsolicited email originates overseas. A similar article appeared in the Age

In a Sydney Morning Herald article a self-described “Spam Expert� (in the form of Bruce McCabe, a S2 Intelligence analyst) dismisses the Australian legislation as raising costs of business while failing to address the overall structure of the Internet in which Spam prospers. Also, McCabe points out that this approach fails to differentiate between Category 1 spam (which does not include any sender information) and other types of unsolicitated email.

A column by Ivan Trundle in InCite magazine, the magazine of the Australian Library and Information Association, argues that both the Australian and US legislation actually legitimises spam rather than eradicating it.
Yet another article, in pcmac.com identifies ways in which the CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) legislation might actually be contributed to the increases in unsolicited email. The article also explores the potential to overcome such limitations by creating global solutions to Spam eradication.

The UK legislation (which is a version of the Bill created by the EU and now in effect in other European countries), has faced much criticims from anti-spam organisations such as The Spamhaus Project for, among other things, failing to protect British business from spam.

So, while the premise of the majority of criticisms of anti-spam laws is that a global problem requires a global solution, the actual logistics of this are rarely addressed. As a result of this recent legislation, attention to any alternatives to the limitations of national-level law-making and Microsoft’s more individualist solution has definitely increased and the responses of global bodies such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) will be greatly anticipated.

At the risk of boring everyone with another Google story, the Times has a really good article that explores all the possible repercussions of Yahoo no longer using Google as the search tool in its directory. While predominately the opinion of Kim Gilmour, a features editor of Internet Magazine, the parts about ways in which Search Engines (particularly Google) are branching out are interesting.

A Sydney Morning Herald article details some of the changes being made by Google in response to the growing competition from Yahoo and Microsoft. These include adding around 1 billion pages to its index and five major changes to its algorithmic formulas (including a special secret formula).

More articles are surfacing about the flawed nature of Microsoft program architecture and the ramifications of such a software monopoly for computer security. An article at Salon.com discusses the “Microsoft monoculture�. Quoting Dan Geer, a former employee of a Microsoft security firm, the article gives a biology-laden description of Microsoft’s reliance on patch solutions to security faults and the relationship between their market monopoly and growing security concerns.

Slashdot.com published a similar article about Geer, with some interesting links that follow the debate.

More articles are surfacing about the flawed nature of Microsoft program architecture and the ramifications of such a software monopoly for computer security. An article at Salon.com discusses the “Microsoft monoculture�. Quoting Dan Geer, a former employee of a Microsoft security firm, the article gives a biology-laden description of Microsoft’s reliance on patch solutions to security faults and the relationship between their market monopoly and growing security concerns.

Slashdot.com published a similar article about Geer, with some interesting links that follow the debate.

In a related story, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article focused on comparing Apache open-source web server software and Microsoft’s Internet Information Services software. While mostly a technical comparison and market-share analysis, the article does draw attention to cost-cutting solution methods and the vulnerability of ISS. Most interestingly perhaps is the list of which server software is currently being used by some of the largest web sites.