Information Policy

Icann makes a very British compromise over net policing

Richard Sarson
The Guardian

The IGF was set up to help the bodies that govern the internet become more democratically minded and more globally focused

The internet is currently unpoliced. The nearest it has to a governing body is the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) of stakeholders - carriers, ISPs, academics, civil society, governments and international organisations - which is more like a parliament than an executive.

The IGF meets once a year and deals with topics such as: openness (the free flow of ideas and information); security (protecting users and networks); e-criminals (child abusers etc); cultural and linguistic diversity; and issues of access, particularly in the developing world. It takes no votes and makes no decisions but advises bodies that run the internet day-to-day, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).

The IGF was set up in 2005. At this time, there were several sets of would-be lawmen, all with very different ideas of how the internet should be governed.

Some, such as the US, saw the internet as too fast-moving, amorphous and international to be able to police properly or bureaucratically. Other governments, such as China, disagreed. They recognised the economic benefits of the internet, but wanted to build great firewalls around their countries, which were censored mercilessly.

Many countries, particularly developing nations, were unhappy that the US had so much online clout. They saw Icann, originally set up as an offshoot from the US Department of Commerce, as a tool of western colonialism. They wanted to see it administered by the United Nations in a top-down fashion.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/29/internet.politics

Srei plans 25,000 kiosks

SREI Sahaj e-Village Ltd, a subsidiary of Kolkata-based SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL), would set up 25,000 IT kiosks to be known as common service centers (CSC) across six states, with a total investment of around Rs 1000 crore over the next two years.

http://www.egovnews.org/?p=3828

Rise of the e-petition

By Alex Stevenson

A group of MPs are plotting an attempt to seize back dominance of the petitioning system in Britain - and hope the internet will prove the means to achieve their goal.

At the heart of the issue is a struggle for parliament's ongoing relevance. At present it is Downing Street which has the bragging rights when it comes to petitions; it's no coincidence today's protest by hauliers, angry at the government's 2p fuel duty hike, will be delivering their petition to the prime minister rather than parliament. MPs would much rather they head to the Commons – and steps are in motion to do something about it.

http://www.politics.co.uk/features/rise-the-e-petition-$1224577.htm

Amazon to launch streaming video

Amazon will launch a streaming video service in the next few weeks to augment its digital offerings. The Seattle-based company has been beefing up its digital media offerings in order to better compete with rivals such as Apple, which dominates the category with the popular iTunes music download service.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/28/AR2008052802057.html

The very model of a modern transistor

New models of how two types of power transistors perform will result in more efficient smart electrical circuits, making such technologies as cars and home appliances more reliable and environmentally friendly.

Power transistors are used to control large electrical loads and are at the heart of the modern smart circuits used in all kinds of equipment from motor steering units to stereo amplifiers. More efficient transistors would thus contribute to the move toward greener power supplies by using energy sources in a more economical manner.

A power transistor is a type of tiny semiconductor valve that works behind the scenes to ensure the correct electrical current flows to devices. Two important power transistors on the market are known as DMOS (double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor) and LIGBT (lateral-insulated gate bipolar transistor).

Due to the lack of accurate models of how DMOS and LIGBT behave under different conditions -- such as temperature, high voltage and fast switching -- semiconductor manufacturers have tended to over-compensate in their design. This over-dimensioning of the power circuit chips to ensue a margin of safety has resulted in a costly waste of the materials used to make them and the energy they consume.

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&ID=89743