In The News

French MPs Say Song Downloads Must Work on Any Player

Angelique Chrisafis March 27, 2006
France has rejected any monopoly in the music download market, requiring that downloads be accessible to any type of digital player. The legislation would be a blow to Apple’s online music, ITunes, which dominates the global online music market and can only be played on the Apple iPod. The decision reflects a growing sentiment among French politicians against foreign domination of any sector of...

Hacking Made Easy

Brian Krebs March 17, 2006
Russia has a work force that is technologically skilled and underemployed. As a result, some savvy tech workers turn to crime, creating web sites and software aimed to collect financial details from unsuspecting victims in the US, Europe and South America. The Russian internet is home to sites that can break into computers abroad through a security hole in Microsoft's Internet Explorer web...

After Rush to China, Manufacturers Look Back to Southeast Asia

Wayne Arnold March 16, 2006
China has been a formidable competitor to its neighbors in Southeast Asia as well as the West. Since China's entry into the WTO in 2001, jobs and manufacturing plants from Southeast Asia were moved to low-cost China. Unlike China, Southeast Asia has not created a single international brand, whereas China invests in research and development. But nations like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,...

Negative Perception of Islam Increasing

Claudia Deane March 15, 2006
As the war in Iraq enters its fourth year, a majority of US citizens express unfavorable views of Muslims, surpassing levels just after the 9/11 attacks, according to a Washington Post – ABC News poll. Most respondents noted that Islam contributes to violence. US citizens with an understanding of Islam stated that the religion is essentially peaceful, but were as likely as other respondents to...

Novels Found in Translation

J. Peder Zane March 9, 2006
Editors and writers often quote from translated material, without identifying the translator. Writer J. Peder Zane suggests that the neglect reveals a subconscious embarrassment about readers’ dependence on translations, a nagging doubt that the reading does not provide an authentic experience. Yet only because of translations, the average person can enjoy “Madame Bovary” or “Crime and...

The Wild Web of China: Sex and Drugs, Not Reform

David Barboza March 8, 2006
While China’s internet censors block access to sensitive political subject matter, a booming online industry trades in sex, drugs, and just about anything else legal or illegal that turns a profit. Wall Street analysts predict that China, with its rapid internet growth, could lead in online commerce by 2010. Meanwhile, the Chinese pay en masse for online entertainment, with both criminals and...

China Creates Own Net Domains

Hiawatha Bray March 6, 2006
Many governments around the world resent US control of internet regulation. To bypass that regulation, China has set up a new family of Chinese-language alternatives to .com and .net. The move could lead to greater censorship, or it could simply ease the search for words in Asian characters that go unrecognized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, the US agency...