p2pnet headline roundups - Jan 14, 2008
p2pnet headline roundups | Last of the day
TorrentFreak Interviews a Lawyer Defending 500 File-Sharers - TorrentFreak
In 2007, Germany was of the world’s most risky places to share files with an estimated 200,000 people receiving threats of legal action. We talk to a lawyer helping to defend five hundred of them, examine the legality of tracking systems and look at how data being stored by ISPs can be used against sharers.
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Academic condemns ‘University of Google’ - The Telegraph
Today’s students are turning to "the University of Google" for instant answers rather than rigorous research of their subjects, according to a senior academic. Professor Tara Brabazon is urging a return to the teaching of old fashioned skills in reading an analysis ahead of discovering information through the worldwide web. She describes an increasing dependency on a diet of unchecked information found through internet search engines as "white bread for the mind". Prof Brabazon claims user-generated content sites such as Wikipedia are creating an age of banality by providing consensual information and stifling debate.
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E.U. Probes Price Effects of Google, DoubleClick Deal - Bloomberg News
European Union antitrust regulators asked online advertising companies whether prices would rise if Google’s proposed $3.1 billion takeover of DoubleClick is approved, according to an E.U. questionnaire. The European Commission’s antitrust probe is one of the last hurdles facing the proposed purchase. Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, is seeking to buy DoubleClick to bolster sales of Internet ads that include pictures and videos. "If you currently use DoubleClick’s ad serving technology, do you expect any changes in the service it offers (in price or quality) by DoubleClick after its acquisition by Google?" the commission asked in a seven-page questionnaire obtained by Bloomberg News.
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One Laptop Per Child Project Extends to American Students - IDG News Service
The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) plans to launch OLPC America in 2008 to distribute the low-cost laptop computers originally aimed at developing nations to needy students in the United States. The group, which was formed in the U.S. by teachers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), came under criticism shortly after forming because its original mission did not include the U.S.
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Website not a kindred spirit, says Anne authority - CBC
The P.E.I. government is investigating a new website for young girls that it says is using images of Anne of Green Gables without permission. Called annesdiary.com, the Toronto-based website says it is "inspired by the much-loved Anne Of Green Gables novels." Aimed at girls aged six to 14, it claims to be the most secure website for children in the world. It requires a fingerprint reader and registration papers signed by a professional as recognized by the company running the site.
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Computer brings science up a gear - BBC
One of the largest and most powerful computers in the country has been unveiled in Edinburgh. Hector (High End Computing Terascale Resources) is capable of 63 million million calculations a second and is four times faster than its predecessor. It represents the equivalent of approximately 12,000 desktop systems.
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MySpace agrees to social-networking safety plan - CNET News
A coalition of law enforcement authorities and representatives from social-networking site MySpace.com gathered Monday morning to unveil an extensive new plan for ensuring the safety of minors on the Internet. Under the agreement, MySpace has pledged to work with the attorneys general on a set of principles to combat harmful material on social-networking sites (pornography, harassment, cyberbullying, and identity theft, among other issues), better educate parents and schools about online threats, cooperate with law enforcement officials around the country, as well as develop new technology for age and identity verification on social-networking sites.
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