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Jan 01, ` 08 — Australia is planning tough new rules to protect children from online pornography and violence, BBC News reported.

The new Labor government wants internet service providers to filter content to ensure households and schools do not receive “inappropriate” material.

Civil libertarians have condemned the plan as unnecessary, and say it will erode the freedom of the internet. But telecommunications minister Stephen Conroy said more needed to be done to protect children.

The Australian government’s aim is to ensure that children only have access to family-friendly websites. Service providers will be expected to stop the flow of pornography and other X-rated or violent content.

The government is set to compile a list of unsuitable sites, although at this stage it is unclear what will be deemed unsuitable. Australians wanting unfettered access to the web will have to contact their supplier to opt out of the new regime.

Concerns have also been raised that the government’s filters could slow down access to the net, in a country where connection speeds are often below international standards. More at BBC News.

Dec 24, `07 — The website of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NBCP) crashed on Tuesday, Dec 18, just hours after its launch, as droves of people logged on to complain about corruption among officials, ChinaDaily reported on Dec 20.

ChinaDaily further reports, “The website, yfj.mos.gov.cn, was closed for most of the afternoon, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

An NBCP official, who did not want to be named, confirmed the breakdown had occurred. “Repairs were carried out soon after the website broke down and normal service has now been resumed, he told the Xinhua News Agency.

“The number of visitors was very large and beyond our expectations,” he said. As of 4 pm of Wednesday, Dec 19, visitors had left 22 pages of messages in the website’s guest book.

While many of them referred to report specific cases of official corruption, these were redirected by the webmaster to other sites, such as that of the Ministry of Supervision.

Other visitors made calls for the strengthening of the government’s anti-corruption efforts, and comments about the need for special attention to be given to cases involving institutes of higher education and grassroots governments.

“The corruption problem in China is a fatal illness. Establishing more institutions will not solve the problem,” one comment read.

The enthusiasm that greeted the launch of the website reflects the growing frustration felt by the public toward corruption at government level, which has been accentuated by several high-profile cases in recent years.” More at ChinaDaily.

SAN JOSE, Calif — Dec 17, `07 — Adobe Systems today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Nov 30, `07.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, Adobe achieved record revenue of $911.2 million, compared to $682.2 million reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 and $851.7 million reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. This represents 34 percent year-over-year revenue growth. Adobe’s fourth quarter revenue target range was $860 to $890 million.

Adobe benefited from global demand for Creative Suite 3, which includes software for editing photos, designing Web sites and creating video. Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen, who took over from Bruce Chizen this month, predicted first- quarter earnings that topped estimates, and reaffirmed a forecast for 13 percent sales growth in 2008.

Adobe Reports Record Annual Revenue in Fiscal Year 2007
In fiscal year 2007, Adobe achieved record revenue of $3.158 billion, compared to $2.575 billion in fiscal 2006. On a year-over-year basis, annual revenue grew 23 percent. More at Adobe.

AUSTIN, Texas — Dec 05, ‘07 — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today took legal action against two Web sites that cater to children but fail to adequately protect their privacy and safety. Texas is the first state to file an enforcement action under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law that generally prohibits Web sites from unnecessarily collecting personal information from children under 13.

According to Attorney General investigators, TheDollPalace.com and Gamesradar.com unlawfully collect personal information such as names, ages, and home addresses from children. Investigators also discovered that the sites’ parental consent features were easily manipulated and circumvented. The lack of reasonable controls readily allow children to access the sites’ various features, including interactive chat rooms and forums, without their parents’ knowledge.

“These defendants are charged with operating child-oriented Web sites that violate the law by failing to protect young users,” Attorney General Abbott said. “Federal law provides important protections to prevent children from divulging sensitive personal information and to shield them from inappropriate sexual or violent content online. The Office of the Attorney General will continue aggressively enforcing laws to protect young Internet users.”

Both Web sites violate COPPA by failing to include necessary disclosures and failing to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children. TheDollPalace.com, for example, simply asks young users who are attempting to register, “Is a parent with you right now?” Children who click “Yes” are directed to a page that allows them to simply click “OK” to vague disclosures regarding information collection and use. Gamesradar.com similarly fails to properly obtain parental consent.

Under COPPA, these Web sites must make a greater effort to ensure that parents consent to their children providing personal information online. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers several options for Web site operators to obtain verifiable parental consent. Among them, the FTC recommends that Web sites maintain a toll-free telephone number staffed by trained personnel for parents to call in their consent or provide a form for the parent to print, complete, sign, and mail or fax back to Web site operators.

On The Doll Palace Web site, kids who join a “friends” forum are encouraged to fill out a lengthy questionnaire and are given drop-down lists of possible answers. Under “smoking habits,” for example, kids can select answers such as “I occasionally smoke good cigars.” Among the choices for eye color are “sexy hazel” and “evening black.”

Children can also say, “I would like to meet someone older than myself” or “I like to talk about sexual issues.” One of the answers under “dress preference” allows kids to respond: “I prefer to be nude.”

More at AG,Texas.

WASHINGTON — Dec 03, ‘07 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the agency commemorates its 50th anniversary, NASA has launched “NASA.gov 5.0,” the first major redesign of its primary Web site in more than four years.

The new design goes beyond a cosmetic facelift. It features a new level of interactivity and customization, and provides the opportunity to comment on selected NASA stories, create personal playlists of favorite NASA videosand share agency content with social bookmarking sites on the Internet.

While adding new features, the site’s overall focus remains on providing the latest news, which is prominently displayed at the top of the page. Also, NASA imagery and videos have been given more prominence.

Visitors will notice a new navigation interface, with 10 topic areas covering the depth and breadth of NASA programs replacing three outdated
and overly broad categories. Web editors from around the agency will be able to contribute content.

Web managers have improved the new site’s search capability using Google’s Customer Search Engine to provide visitors with the same search
results they would get from Google’s public site. NASA has tools to apply “crowd wisdom” to search results by weighting findings according to how many previous searchers clicked on a particular link.

NASA revamped the customized “myNASA” feature to allow users to collect their favorite NASA Web content, including videos and news feeds, all in one location. NASA.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 03, 2007 — Microsoft today unveiled two tools and an accreditation program designed to help customers make the most of their experience with Microsoft adCenter and Live Search.

Microsoft adExcellence

The Microsoft adExcellence program provides agencies and advertisers with the opportunity to become certified adCenter experts. The program offers more than 20 free training modules and a fee-based examination, providing users with the ability to demonstrate to their customers and prospects that they are fully trained and proficient in using adCenter. More at adExcellence.

Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007

Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007 is a fully integrated Microsoft Office Excel-based tool that enables adCenter customers to easily research keywords to help them reach and capture the right audience with their paid search advertising campaigns.

Webmaster CenterThe Webmaster Center is a portal specifically designed for webmasters and search engine optimizers. It provides all the necessary resources to optimize a Web site for achieving the highest possible algorithmic or “organic” listing on Live Search.

This includes information about how Live Search crawls and indexes site pages; site map creation and submission; statistics about Web sites currently indexed by Live Search; consolidated content submission guidelines; and new content and community resources. The beta version of the Webmaster Center can be accessed at webmaster.live.com.

About Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions

Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions (APS) provides world-class advertising platforms and tools for advertisers, agencies and publishers. Its mission is to make buying and selling media simpler, smarter and more cost-effective across media and devices in the Microsoft network of properties and beyond.

The APS portfolio includes Microsoft adCenter, Atlas, DRIVEpm, Massive and ScreenTonic. APS businesses span search, display and emerging media including mobile, gaming, video on demand and IPTV. More information can be found at advertising.microsoft.com.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nov 13, ‘07 — GoDaddy.com is working with Google as the pilot partner for a new effort to seamlessly integrate Google Webmaster Tools into customers’ Web hosting accounts.

With Google Webmaster Tools, Go Daddy users are now able to see how Google views their site, diagnose problems and share information with Google in order to improve their site’s visibility in search results. This service, combined with Go Daddy’s Sitemap Editor, provides a free and easy way for Web site owners to manage and improve traffic to their site.

“When Google approached us about incorporating their product into our hosting accounts, it was an easy decision,” said GoDaddy.com CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “Our customers are always looking for simple ways to make their sites easier to find and attract new visitors. Thanks to these easy-to-use tools, customers can quickly tap this valuable Webmaster resource without having to be technical wizards.”