Web inventor calls for government data transparency BBC
Countries should be judged on their willingness to open up public data to their citizens, the inventor of the world wide web has told the BBC. He said “openness of data and the neutrality of the network” should be considered as important as free speech. Sir Tim Berners-Lee is an advisor to a UK project – data.gov.uk – that offers reams of previously hidden public sector data for anyone to use. Open data could now be considered a basic right of citizens, he added. “I think obviously there are more fundamental ones, but within a democratic society if the democracy is going to work you have to have an informed electorate,” he told the BBC.

Bloggers fight corrupt deals in Russia China Daily
It started with a golden bed and African drummers and led to Russia’s latest, surprising, political duel pitting tenacious bloggers against bureaucrats whose excesses went a step too far. Russians typically shrug their shoulders at the lavish lifestyles of government officials, assuming nothing can be done about bureaucrats who take bribes and pocket state funds. But when Russia’s interior ministry announced plans to buy a golden bed, it raised an outcry – and revealed the potential of the Internet for stirring up outrage against entrenched corruption. While the state-dominated media looks the other way, a small but determined group of Russian bloggers is challenging corrupt bureaucrats, rallying public opinion and goading prosecutors into action. Their blogs have attracted unanticipated popularity, reflecting deep-seated anger at some high-handed behavior of officials in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government.

Mac OS X: “safer, but less secure” H Security
Mac OS X Logo Security expert Charlie Miller intends to disclose a potentially record-breaking 20 zero day security holes in Apple’s Mac OS X in one fell swoop. The details are to be revealed in his presentation at the Canadian CanSecWest security conference next week. Miller, who is already known for having discovered a number of bugs in Mac OS X, talked with heise Security, The H’s German associates, about his new findings and about the security of Apple’s operating system beforehand. The approximately 20 zero-day holes are contained in closed source Apple products, said Miller. “OS X has a large attack surface consisting of open source components (i.e. webkit, libz, etc), closed source 3rd party components (Flash), and closed source Apple components (Preview, mdnsresponder, etc). Bugs in any of these types of components can lead to remote compromise”, he emphasised.

Do You Want to Pay a ‘National Broadband Fee’? PC Magazine
The recently released national broadband plan has grand ideas for hooking people up to high-speed Internet. But the plan also crafts a solution to a problem officials have been trying to solve since 2001 – interoperable communications. On the other hand, the plan also floats the idea of a “national broadband fee,” paid for by taxpayers. The plan, which the Federal Communications Commission presented to Congress this week, calls on the government to use the power of broadband to improve public safety. Specifically, that includes the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband communication networks by 2020.

Rehab clinic for children internet and technology addicts founded Telegraph
Capio Nightingale Hospital, in central London, has launched the first addiction service which allows young people to go ‘cold turkey’ from their technology compulsion. The service, which will be offered for children as young as 12, comes amid growing concerns about children’s behaviour with technology which puts their health at risk and has led to police being called to sort out family disputes. Children will be forced to go ‘cold turkey’ from their technology use as well as being encouraged to cut out any problem use, such as computer games, and restrict the time spent using their phone or computer. They would also be taught face-to face social skills at a residential unit.

Dubai jails Indian pair for ’sexy texts’ BBC
Steamy text messages have resulted in a three-month jail sentence for an Indian man and an Indian woman in Dubai. Judges ruled that they had planned to “commit sin”, a reference to an extramarital affair – which is illegal in the United Arab Emirates. The unnamed pair, aged 47 and 42, were working as cabin crew for Dubai’s Emirates airline. Their “sexy texts” first surfaced last year, in a divorce lawsuit by the woman’s estranged husband.

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