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In this Issue:

• Featured Site - Pacifico Stone
• Microsoft unveils IE 8 RC1
• NT Govt hacker pleads guilty
• Conroy's paternalism misses target
• Largest ISPs left out of filter list
• New copyright act to hit NZ ISPs
• Quotes of the Day

Featured Site  

Pacifico Stone

Welcome to Pacifico Stone - Suppliers and Importers of Natural Stone Pavers - Tiles - Slabs - Glass Mosaics.

Natural Stone dates back from ancient times and takes us back to our beginnings, returning to the past to create the future.

Pacifico Stone clearly understands that nature becomes domesticated by limitless imagination of Architects and Designers to create a lifestyle in the form of indoor and outdoor spaces.

At Pacifico Stone we have the challenge of constantly supporting all these ideas and creativity by offering the newest trends and the most extensive range of stone in a vast variety of formats and textures.

Pacifico Stone is based in Sydney Australia at Sutherland Shire Caringbah; Our main products are Sandstone, Travertine, Basalt, Limestone, Marble and Granite.

Visit the Pacifico Stone website...

Microsoft unveils IE 8 RC1  

Microsoft overnight released a near-final release candidate version of Internet Explorer 8, the next version of its web browser.

The software maker plans to say more on its web site shortly, but, as noted by enthusiast site Neowin, the code is already available from Microsoft's download center.

With IE 8, Microsoft is hoping to regain some lost ground by adding features such as private browsing, improved security, and a new type of add-ons, called accelerators.

On the security front, Microsoft is adding a cross-site scripting filter, as well as protections against a type of attack known as clickjacking. In an interview, IE General Manager Dean Hachamovitch said there would be little change between the release candidate and the final version, though he declined to say when the final version will be released.

"The ecosystem should expect the final candidate to behave like the release candidate," Hachamovitch said.

Internet Explorer 8 will work with Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later) and Windows Vista. A version of IE 8 is also being built into Windows 7. However, the IE code in Windows 7 is a pre-release candidate version.

"Windows 7 enables unique features and functionality in Internet Explorer 8 including Windows Touch and Jump Lists which require additional product tests to ensure we are providing the best Windows experience for our customers," the software maker said in a statement.

"Microsoft will continue to update the version of Internet Explorer 8 running on Windows 7 as the development cycles of Windows 7 progress." Hreak down. ZDNet Australian January 2009.

It will have to be a dam good product to swing me away from Mozilla Firefox... ed.

NT Govt hacker pleads guilty  

A man has admitted hacking into Northern Territory government computer systems and causing $1 million of damage.

Computer engineer David Anthony McIntosh, 28, pleaded guilty in the NT Supreme Court in Darwin on Friday to 12 counts of unlawfully accessing and modifying data on May 8 last year.

His cyber-sabotage crashed multiple government servers, including those of the Health Department, Royal Darwin Hospital, Berrimah Prison and the Supreme Court. He also deleted 10,475 public servants from the system.

McIntosh had clearance to upgrade and maintain NT Government's systems, but left the job in April. His committal hearing in Darwin Magistrate's Court in October last year heard McIntosh committed the crime because of a perceived slight from his former employer CSG Services.

Crown prosecutor Paul Usher said McIntosh used his flatmate's laptop at their Palmerston home and a workmate's password to commit the crime. He said McIntosh had signed a confidentiality agreement when he started the job and agreed, when he left, to surrender his passwords and access rights.

Usher said many government employees had to be stood down while the system was being repaired, and estimated that the damage exceeded $1 million.

Defence lawyer Tom Berkley requested his client — who will be sentenced at a later date — undergo a psychological assessment. AAP January 2009.

Conroy's paternalism misses target  

commentary: Our great Communications Minister's limited focus on scary dangers like Facebook leaves many real net nasties unaddressed in Safer Internet Day activities.

According to a press release issued by Stephen Conroy's office, Australia is one of more than 50 countries expected to recognise Safer Internet Day yesterday. So how are we recognising it? The government has organised:

• "Social networking and consumer safety forums for secondary school students,
• The launch of new cyber-bullying initiatives for primary school children on the SuperClubsPLUS Australia website, and
• The launch of the Cybersmart Detectives Game in schools in NSW."

So Conroy's focus is cyber-bullying, and the young. Particularly, he singles out "Facebook, MySpace, Habbo Hotel and Bebo". While some may consider these to be dangerous sites, cyber-bullies on these networks can be made to disappear with a single click.

Wherever you sit on the cyber-bullying debate, what is clear is that Conroy's plan neglects many of the major issues facing the internet today. ZDNet Australia Feb 2009. more >>>

Largest ISPs left out of filter list  

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this afternoon announced the names of six ISPs that will participate in the Federal Government's internet filter trial — but the nation's largest ISPs are not on the list.

Primus Telecommunications, Tech 2U, Webshield, OMNIconnect, Netforce and Highway 1 are set to take part in the six week 'live' ISP filtering tests.

The list notably lacks the country's largest ISPs, such as Telstra and Internode, which had indicated to ZDNet.com.au in December last year that they would not take part in the trials. iiNet, which had said it would take part to prove the technology didn't work, was also left off the list.

The tests with the six ISPs announced today will look at the "efficiency and effectiveness" of a range of filtering products that were tested in closed trials at Telstra last year. The tests will also assess how easily the filters are circumvented as well as the impact on internet speeds.

Customers of the six ISPs will be able to choose whether they want to be included in the trial, according to Conroy's statement. ZDNet Australia Feb 2009. more >>>

New copyright act to hit NZ ISPs  

2009 will force New Zealand's ISPs to come to grips with an amended Copyright Act, which includes a provision forcing them to disconnect customers who have allegedly infringed copyright.

The update was made to cover digital media in light of intellectual property treaties that New Zealand is a party to, and in order to obtain a free trade agreement with the United States. However, the wide provisions of Section 92A and 92C of the new Copyright Act are a cause of concern for ISPs.

Section 92A states that:

"An internet service provider must adopt and reasonably implement a policy that provides for termination, in appropriate circumstances, of the account with that internet service provider of a repeat infringer."

The amendments to the existing copyright act were brought in by then-Labor minister Judith Tizard, who lost her seat in the November 2008 elections. Even though S92A was removed at the Select Committee stage, Tizard re-introduced it into the bill by means of Standing Orders Papers. ZDNet Australia Feb 2009. more >>>

Quotes of the Day  

He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. John Mason Brown (1900 - 1969), drama critic

My work is a game, a very serious game. M. C. Escher (1898 - 1972)

Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery. Dr. Joyce Brothers (1928 - )

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

Brought to you by The Quotations Page

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