Second Life bans in-world gambling

THE user-generated Second Life has banned gambling from its in-world locations, with the virtual world’s developers Linden Labs taking a conservative approach to complying with real-world laws.

Linden Labs marketing manager Robin Harper said the company had introduced new rules the outlaw gambling, either as games that rely on chance or in wagering on real-world events.

Because Second Life has users from all over the world, logging in from places with vastly different gambling laws, Ms Harper said Linden Labs would take to conservative would to legal compliance.

“While Linden Lab does not offer an online gambling service, Linden Lab and Second Life Residents must comply with state and federal laws applicable to regulated online gambling, even when both operators and players of the games reside outside of the US,” Ms Harper said in a post on the official Second Life blog.

“And, because there are a variety of conflicting gambling regulations around the world we have chosen to restrict gambling in Second Life as described in a revised policy which is posted in the Knowledge Base under ‘Policy Regarding Wagering in Second Life’, she said.

The gambling ban includes casino type games like blackjack, poker, routlette and poker machines.

The ban has already generated lively discussion on the Second Life chatrooms, with many users unhappy at the encroaching rules.

Linden Labs says adherence with real-world laws have always been a central component of the Second Life terms and conditions for users.

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Microsoft dips toe in the Saas waters

MICROSOFT has launched its Office 2007 productivity suite as a subscription package in South Africa in a move interpreted as a growing acceptance of the software-as-a-service (Saas) model.

The company plans to charge users a A$33 (R199) subscription fee for three months, with users able to top up as they go.

The service is based on a mobile phone pre-paid system and will only be available on new computers.

The company said the model would make its Office software more affordable to users in emerging markets like South Africa.

Microsoft said the service would also be launched in Romania this month, though there is no word yet whether it will be rolled-out to the emerging market giants of Brazil, Russia, India and China (which with South Africa are known collectively as BRICS.)

“We need to think differently in order to address the needs of the next five billion users of computers and how we can make technology accessible to them,” Microsoft South Africa executive Cyril Belikof said in a statement.

The company says the Saas model would make its software more affordable to students, home users and small business who might not have otherwise been able to afford the one-off payment for the off-the-shelf package.

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Coonan defends porn filtering measures

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Helen Coonan has denied charges made by Family First Senator Steve Fielding that government has cancelled trials of ISP-level porn filtering technology.

The Family First senator was “completely wrong” and “grossly irresponsible” in making the claims, Senator Coonan said.

Porn filtering has been an uncomfortable issue for Government. Senator Coonan last year succumbed to backbench pressure last year to trial ISP filtering – and to provide free PC-level filtering software to any Australian that asks for it to help fight the online porn scourge.

“Senator Fielding (claimed) that the Australian Government had cancelled an ISP-level filtering trial without bothering to contact my office for clarification,” Senator Coonan said.

“A privately-run ISP-level filtering trial has been cancelled, but that is completely unrelated to the ACMA ISP-level filtering trial and yet this fundamental error does not seem to have bothered Senator Fielding.

“One call to my office to find out the facts would have saved everyone’s time. It is grossly irresponsible for Senator Fielding to issue misleading statements, careless of the facts,” Senator Coonan said.

In June 2007, Senator Coonan issued a direction to ACMA to conduct another trial of commercial ISP-level filtering products in Tasmania. This trial will assess any advances in such filtering technologies since they were tested in 2005-06.

“Far from being cancelled, the ACMA ISP-level filtering trial is progressing well, with the request for tender for companies to conduct the trial closing (on July 18),” said Senator Coonan.

“Three tender bids were received by ACMA and their formal evaluation will be underway shortly. I look forward to receiving the results of that ACMA ISP-level filtering trial.”

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Australia lags on Broadband: OECD

THE latest OECD report card on broadband access has found Australia lags other developed nations with slow internet speeds and high access costs.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found Australia’s download speeds were the second slowest of any OECD club member – slower than Hungary and Turkey, and only marginally faster than last-placed Slovak Republic.

The OECD Communications Outlook 2007 report also found a bundle of typical telecommunications services – including fixed-line, mobile and local and long distance calls – were far more expensive in Australia than comparable economies in the OECD.

In particular, the report found typical communications bundles used by small businesses were especially costly.

Although Telstra’s internet download speeds have improved since the data for the report was compiled in 2006 (top speeds have jumped for 1.5Mbps to about 24Mbps), countries like Japan and South Korea are now offering customers speeds of up to 100Mbps.

The report found that overall investment continued to rise and consumers were generally paying less for their communications services among OECD countries.

It found that 60 per cent of the OECD’s 256 million internet subscribers had access to broadband connections at the end of 2005.

The move to introduce broadband services has presented challenges for incumbent communications service providers.

“(Broadband) offers an additional revenue stream for telecoms operators to make up for their declining revenues from voice communications, which still make up the bulk of their revenue,” the OECD report said.

“Broadband remains one of the main growth areas for telecoms firms and one of their key challenges, looking ahead, will be to decide how much and how soon they should invest in next-generation networks, such as fibre-optics, rather than continue their investments in traditional copper networks,” it said.

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Microsoft acquires online ad platform

MICROSOFT has continued its push into the electronic marketing space with the acquisition of AdECN, a real-time online advertising auction site.

AdECN’s technology serves as a hub where advertising networks can come together in a neutral, real-time auction marketplace for buying and selling display advertising.

The technology delivers targeted display advertising to specific demographics in real time.

As a user clicks to an AdECN member’s site, the technology will instantly trawl the user’s demographic details and conduct an auction to see who gets to send the user a display ad – all in milliseconds.

The deal is a key component of Microsoft’s strategy to develop a comprehensive search and display advertising platform helping advertisers and publishers to maximise return on investment (ROI) on their digital advertising investments.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Both Microsoft and AdECN have a deep commitment to creating the technologies and platforms that enable advertisers and publishers to maximise their ROI in the digital marketplace,” said Microsoft platforms and services president Kevin Johnson.

“We believe the addition of AdECN to the Microsoft portfolio is a perfect fit and will create more efficiency for the industry by forming a more robust marketplace between advertisers and publishers, aggregating more supply and demand. This is good for the whole advertising industry,” Mr Johnson said.

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Nationals dig in over CDMA closure

FEDERAL Nationals leader Mark Vaile has moved to reassure regional phone users that Telstra will not be allowed to switch off its CDMA mobile phone network until its coverage is matched by the new Next G service.

Mr Vaile told a meeting of Queensland Nationals in Brisbane that Telstra would not be allowed to access any Federal funding to upgrade its Next G network in regional areas.

Although Government has committed funding to regional communications, including $958 million in new money for the bush, and the $2 billion “future proofing” fund.

“I want to emphasise that we will not be using money from the Communications Fund to bring Telstra's Next G network up to scratch,” Mr Vaile said.

“We will simply not allow Telstra to switch off the existing CDMA network until you are satisfied with the coverage and reliability of its replacement,” he said.

“They don't just have to convince the Government: they have to convince you, the consumers.”

The Nationals appear fully intent on ensuring Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo meets commitments made in the Nationals party room in Canberra that the next-generation Next G mobile phone coverage would be as good or better in regional Australia than the CDMA network it replaces.

The Nationals secured the commitment from Mr Trujillo prior to the party agreeing to the T3 sale of Telstra shares.

The CDMA network is scheduled to be switched off early next year. The Government has the power to force Telstra to maintain CDMA until its Next G service is comparable.

The CDMA is the only mobile network that covers much of regional, rural and remote Australia, and is relied on by many communities in heartland Nationals territories.

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Intel Q2 profit surge

DESPITE its ongoing corporate restructure, chip-maker Intel second quarter profits have jumped 44 per cent to US$1.3 billion (A$1.5 billion), the company said.

Intel said revenue climbed to US$8.3 billion. The results included an US$82 million restructuring charge taken for the uarter.

“Intel's operational execution continued to strengthen, resulting in an outstanding product roadmap and solid year-over-year revenue growth,” Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said.

“We're pleased that our efforts to streamline the company are delivering profit growth in excess of revenue growth,’” he said.

And Intel said it expects continued strong growth in the third quarter on the back of a healthy global IT market. The company has forecast revenue growth to US$9 billion to US$9.6 billion, with gross margin up marginally to 52 per cent.

Intel has enjoyed strong sales growth for its quad-core Xeon server processors, but has suffered a slowdown at the low-end of the PC chip market through stiff price competition.

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IBM Research chief retires

THE IBM Corporation’s most senior research executive Dr Paul Horn is retiring after 11 years in charge of the company’s world-leading research division.

As Senior Vice-President of IBM Research, Dr Horn oversaw the largest and most prolific research organisation dedicated to information technologies.

For the 11 years Dr Horn ran IBM Research, the organisation retained its title as the US’ biggest generator of patents. Spending US$6 billion annually and employing more than 3,000 world-class research scientists and technologists, IBM Research is among the best resourced facilities in the world.

Dr Horn, 60, is credited by IBM with transforming the company’s research organisation “into an engine room of innovation and growth”.

Among the high-profile projects completed through Dr Horn’s period at IBM Research included the development of the Deep Blue supercomputer that defeated chess grand master Gary Kasparov, and Blue Gene, the supercomputer used to better understand human proteins.

He also oversaw the first use of copper and self-assembly in chip manufacturing, as well as huge advances in autonomic computing.

Dr Horn will be replaced by Dr John Kelly, who was most recently IBM Senior Vice-President in charge of technology and intellectual property.

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Big Blue rediscovers appetite for acquisition

US computing giant IBM has rediscovered its appetite for acquisition, buying the Canadian real-time integration and data protection firm DataMirror for US$163.5 million ($187 million) in cash.

DataMirror specialises in software that identifies and captures data that has been added, updated or deleted and allows the changed data to be delivered in real-time to processes, applications and databases.

The DataMirror software ensures continuous, accurate and trusted information is available to decision-makers.

“Organisations need the ability to capture and use information in real-time to help them make better business decisions, better serve their customers and increase operational efficiencies,” said IBM Information Management general manager Ambuj Goyal.

“The combination of DataMirror technology and IBM information management software will help customers bring real-time data analysis closer to actual business processes, allowing them to be more competitive and to generate more value from their information,” Mr Goyal said.

IBM's strategy is to provide customers with the data they need – when they need it – to help them quickly respond to changing market demands, rapidly identify new business opportunities, and improve business results.

For example, with DataMirror technology, a retailer can incorporate information from point of sale systems into a data warehouse in real-time and automatically trigger important business decisions and events, such as replenishing low stock based on current sales and inventory figures.

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Google targets SMEs with custom search

IN another move targeting the massive small and medium-sized business markets, search giant Google has launched a special custom search service that lets businesses use Google to search inside their own sites.

Called Custom Search Engine Business Edition, the service offers the same custom search facility available for end-user consumers, but delivers no ads and lets each business ad cusomised enhancements like e-commerce functions.

Google said it would charge businesses $100 per year for an entry-level offering that would let users search through up to 5,000. Larger web sites would pay $500 for a search capability of up to 50,000 pages.

Google already offers custom search for businesses, but through a high-performance hybrid hardware/software solution – and priced in the thousands of dollars.

The existing custom search offerings have been targeted at the large businesses and corporations, where its new software-only search is squarely focused on the mass-market small business opportunity.

The Custom Search Engine Business Edition includes an XML-based application programming interface (API) that lets customers customise the service – like tailoring the results page to include a company logo rather than Google’s. The API also lets tailored e-commerce solutions to be built into the search results page.


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Google tightens cookie controls

DOMINANT search provider Google has announced plans to tighten its privacy policies, reducing the life-span of ‘cookies’ it users to track which sites users’ visit.

Google global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer said the company would now program its cookies to expire after two years for a user that does not return to the Google search site.

The announcement is seen as a pre-emptive move as privacy advocates in the US continue to push Federal regulators for more stringent controls over the way online companies deal with personal information.

The company already promised recently that it would “anonymise” search server logs – including IP addresses and cookie ID numbers – after 18 months.

“We are committed to an ongoing process to improve our privacy practices, and have recently taken a closer look at the question of cookie privacy,” Mr Fleischer said.

A cookie is a small file that gets stored on the users’ computer when they visit a search site. The cookie reminds the search engine of the preferences the user sought the last time they visited the site. All search engines and most web sites use cookies.

The preferences let Google and other search engines remember basics, such as the user wanting search results delivered in English language, or that they only want ten results per page.

“After listening to feedback from our users and from privacy advocates, we've concluded that it would be a good thing for privacy to significantly shorten the lifetime of our cookies — as long as we could find a way to do so without artificially forcing users to re-enter their basic preferences at arbitrary points in time,” Mr Fleischer said.

“And this is why we’re announcing a new cookie policy.”

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IBM signs $1.6 billion outsourcing deal

IN one of its biggest outsourcing agreements of recent years, IBM has signed a seven-year, US$1.4 billion (A$1.6 billion) IT infrastructure services agreement with health and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca

The agreement renews and extends an existing outsourcing arrangement between IBM and AstraZeneca, which covers the provision of IT infrastructure services in more than 60 countries across the globe.

The new deal also includes the addition of internal tech-related functions within AstraZeneca.

Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will provide a single global technical infrastructure, managing IT services for AstraZeneca across its worldwide organisation – including server and storage hosting, service desks, PC management, network and communications services, including e-mail, and computer operations support.

AstraZeneca retains control of its overall IT strategy and the development and support of its application systems.

AstraZeneca chief information officer Richard Williams said the agreement would provide the company with more consistent infrastructure services globally, which should allow for faster and more efficient roll-outs of new technology.

“In allowing IBM greater autonomy on methods of delivery, the agreement will result in cost efficiencies when compared with running in-house systems,” Mr Williams said.

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EU to rule in Microsoft anti-trust case

THE long-running European Union anti-trust case against
Microsoft will come to a conclusion in two months, with the EU court hearing the case announcing it hand down a decision on September 17.

The case has been one of the longest and most-watched regulator actions in EU history – not least because Microsoft has so vehemently resisted.

The European Court of Final Instance, the second highest court in the EU judicial infrastructure, said it would release its decision at 9.30 in the morning on September 17.

The European Commission fined Microsoft Euro497 million (A$784 million) for abuse of its market power related to the distribution of its Windows desktop and server operating systems.

Much of the court action related to the Microsoft Media Player software. Microsoft was ordered in 2004 to sell versions of Windows without Media Player, as well as to make available the software code underpinning Windows to allow Media Player competitors better access to the Windows desktop.

Microsoft appealed those decisions in the European Court of First Instance in April last year.

In July last year, the European Commission daily fines that have added up to nearly Euros300 million for not adhering to the ruling. Microsoft has paid the fines, but is appealing the decision that applied them – and clearly wants its money back.

While the court ruling is being closely watched, and will give direction to the dispute, it may not be the end.

Microsoft said in a statement: “We look forward to receiving the court's judgement and continue to work with industry and government on the best way to serve the needs of customers and communities in Europe.”

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YouTube to develop phone with LG Electronics

SOUTH KOREAN phone maker LG Electronics has signed a deal with Google unit YouTube to design a mobile that lets users view and upload video to the service.

LG Electronics said in a statement it the new mobile phone model would let its users upload, view and share video-clips more freely, and without having to use a computer.

Users will be able to upload video shot on the camera phone directly, without having to use a computer or separate broadband service.

“LG Electronics will unveil the mobile handset that fully supports the YouTube service for the first time in Europe in the second half of this year,” LG Electonics said in a statement.

LG Electronics signed a global strategic alliance with YouTube parent Google in March. The latest announcement is an extension of work being done under that arrangement.

YouTube is by far the world’s most popular video-sharing site, attracting more than 100 million users every day.

Google acquired YouTube in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion.

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Yarra Valley Water chooses Oracle

MELBOURNE utility Yarra Valley Water has selected an Oracle platform for a massive rip and replace billing system renewal project.

The company, which is the water and sewerage provider 1.5 million people in the Melbourne area, selected Oracle Utilities package to build a scalable new billing platform.

Yarra said its legacy billing system had grown too difficult and costly to upgrade and maintain. Coupled with changing customer demands, the legacy system could not easily accommodate changes in Yarra Valley Water's business, and persisting with it only increased business risk.

The new billing system will be built on Oracle Utilities applications to deliver the scalability and flexibility Yarra Valley Water requires in updating billing service and maintaining high standards of quality customer care.

“Accelerating our customer service from ‘good to great’ is critical to our business,” Yarra Valley Water managing director Tony Kelly said.

“We selected Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing over other competing solutions because Oracle offered the flexibility, scalability and service our company requires to effectively meet the service standards demanded by our customers while remaining cost competitive.”

Yarra Valley Water wanted a commercial-off-the-shelf billing solution that would accommodate the company's specific needs with minimal customization, thereby reducing the costs associated with implementing and maintaining the system and lowering the total cost of ownership.

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Microsoft takes US$1 billion Xbox hit

MICROSOFT has been hit by a A$1.35 billion repair bill for hardware problems with its Xbox 360 game console.

The company said it had set aside US$1.15 billion to fund warranty claims on undetailed user problems with the popular game player.

While Microsoft would not provide details of the hardware issues, it said in a statement that an “unacceptable number” of Xbox 360 machines had been returned by users for repairs, prompting extensive investigations.

The company has extended its warranty program as a result of the investigation.

“Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers,” the statement said.

“Microsoft stands behind its products and is taking responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console that experiences the ‘three flashing red lights’ error message within three years from time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs,” it said.

“Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.”

Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division president Robbie Bach said for any customer that had already paid for repairs to the Xbox for problems rlated to the three flashing lights error message, Microsoft would retroactively reimburse them.

“The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologise,” Mr Bach said.

“We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base,” he said.

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