European Parliament members have voted against legislation which threatened
to disconnect people from the Internet if they were persistently sharing files
on p2p networks illegally.
A spokeswoman for the European Parliament said "The vote shows that MEPs want
to strike a balance between the interests of rights holders and those of
consumers, and that big measures like cutting off internet access shouldn't be
used."
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said they looked
forward to further discussions on how to tackle web piracy, though it said the
amendment which was approved today was "badly drafted".
Ebay Australia Customers Now Forced to Use Paypal
eBay Australia has announced that all items will have to be paid for using a
Paypal account. Alastair MacGibbon, the trust & safety director at eBay said:
"You're four times less likely to have a problem on eBay if you pay with PayPal"
Paypal, an eBay subsidiary, will charge between 1.1% and 2.4% for each
mandated credit card payment. The changes come into effect in June, from May
21st all sellers must offer Paypal. MacGibbon expects a "small but vocal
minority" to oppose the changes.
He said, "eBay is no longer willing to stand aside and allow payment methods
on the site that are proven to be less safe for consumers." Other eBay sites
will evaluate the changes and make their own choice on whether use the new
system.
Internet is Dead. Welcome to 'The Grid'
This summer, on the 'Red Button Day', scientists will turn on the LHC (Large
Hadron Collider), and also open The Grid, which can send data online 10,000
times faster than current standards. Movies can be downloaded in 5 seconds, for
example.
Scientists began developing The Grid several years ago when they realized the
jaw-dropping annual amount of info collected from LHC can't be stored locally. A
small academic network has already been in use by researchers to design drugs to
fight malaria.
The Grid, according to experts, will transmit holographic data, revolutionize
business, and lead to 'Cloud Computing'- where users store all data online. The
LHC is expected to reveal secrets about the Higgs boson particle which gives
matter mass.
Computer Viruses Currently Circulating Reach One Million
The number of malicious computer programmes currently in circulation has
reached an all time high of one million viruses, trojans and worms. The
milestone was revealed by Symantec, which releases an Internet Security Threat
Report.
The latest report covered the second half of last year. During that time,
Symantec reported some 711,913 new viruses and programmes in that half alone.
Growth has been put down to a more sophisticated digital crime underground.
Other factors included an increase in the use of trojans. Symantec's reported
stated that, "The combination of these factors results in a high volume of new
malicious code samples that threaten users online."
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