Australia could soon join ranks of China and Iran for web censorship

Despite a recent poll that shows 99% of Australians are against a government web filter, the country’s government is still moving ahead with its Internet censorship plans. As Scott Ludlam, a senator from the Australian Greens Party, put it:

Nobody likes it. Everyone from the communications industry to child protection rights and online civil liberties groups think this idea is deeply flawed.

Google and Yahoo have also voiced concerns about Australia’s filter plans. The Mountain View search giant is concerned that a government-censored Internet could give parents a false sense of security and slow down searches.

Even without a strong support base, the Australian government is likely to put its web filter in pace, becoming the first Western democracy to censor the Internet. The plan was first proposed by Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, in 2008.

Source | Time

The internet and the third world: NGO blogging and tweeting from Bangladesh

ActionAid is running a blogging and tweeting educational campaign for the third world, teaching people in poor communities how to use social media to tell their stories through .org sites. The project is called TOTO and is an ActionAid Australia initiative which puts bloggers in poor communities for one to two weeks to teach the locals the how-tos of social media.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s just another nice idea for people wanting to make a contribution to the third world in projects whose benefits to these poor communities are difficult to measure. In any case, the idea behind the initiative is as follows:

Poverty is too often hidden from view, but through Project TOTO, ActionAid is helping to shine a light on issues of injustice and human rights violations on the world stage.

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Australian government to consolidate data centers, save $1 billion

Following the current trend of consolidation, Australia’s government hopes to reduce its data center inventory and save $1 billion by 2025.

In order to accomplish its goal, Australia will follow a three stage plan. It will consist of phasing out old, inefficient facilities, sharing technologies between departments, and using more efficient equipment.

As far as technology is concerned, the government has always had a reputation for being behind the curve. It’s great to see public officials keep up with the times and find ways to save money, too. The future of the data center is all about saving money.

Australian data centers prepare for dust storms

Everyone knows how dust storms are making everyday life difficult for many Australians, but few realize that this natural disaster is also impacting data centers.

According to itNews, the dust storms are clogging ventilation filters in data centers across Syndey and Brisbane. At some, the wind has been so powerful that fire alarms were set off.

The dust is also affecting server cooling. When particles get into air conditioning filters, it causes them to operate less efficiently and thus remove less hot air from the servers. To help combat this problem, many facilities have turned external ventilation off.

Some facilities have seen increased loads, too. Cellular provider Telstra has reported a 41% increase in picture messages. This is all the result of people sharing storm photos.

Photo | Flickr

Queensland Government owns queensland-the-dumb-state.com

In an apparent effort to preempt cybersquatters, the Australian state of Queensland has registered 38 domain names containing various government references. Among the stranger ones is queensland-the-dumb-state.com. Other domains include government programs like the state’s 150th anniversary celebration and the Liberal National Party.

This raises some interesting questions. On some level trademark holders and governments should certainly protect their names from actual cybersquatters, but would someone who registers queensland-the-dumb-state.com actually be a cybersquatter or just someone poking fun of the government? Furthermore, what stops them from registering the-dumb-state-queensland.com instead? The state is currently paying $1,646 a year for the domains, and one can only imagine how much more money is paid to manage the sites.

At some point it becomes impossible to track down every possible domain name that might simply be offensive in an effort to keep others from registering them. Government money would be better spent on improving infrastructure and giving more people access to services. If they did that, maybe there would be no one with a reason to register queensland-the-dumb-state.com in the first place. Then again, maybe the government actually intends to use the domain for something useful.

Source: Brisbane Times
Photo: Flickr

ICANN Sydney Meeting Under Way

ICANN 35, the organization’s 35th international meeting, is currently taking place in Sydney.

Topics to be covered at the meeting include Internationalized Domian Names (IDNs), changes to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP), abuse policies, and the new gTLD program.

ICANN holds several of these meetings every year in order to connect with and receive input from industry professionals around the globe.

Because the event is being hosted by Australia, there’s been an emphasis on the .au TLD and Australian web infrastructure. In an address to attendees, Stephen Conroy, the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, offered praise and support for ICANN, citing important contributions to the organization from the land down under.

You can follow the meeting on syd.icann.org or participate remotely, if you are so inclined.

Registrars See Fewer Registrations in Bad Economy

Melbourne IT, an Austrian domain registrar, has reported a 1.6% drop in the number of domains it manages. Less people are renewing their domains this year compared to last.

Is this news surprising at all? With the economy deep in recession, people have less spending money. With £8, you could buy a blanket, food, part of your rent- or a domain.

Registrars and web hosts are in a tight bind because they have been running on razor-thing margins for years due to heavy competition. While brick and mortar stores can lower their prices to keep up with the times, domain names and hosting are both as cheap as they can get.