Australian Technology and IP Business

Telepresence

I've started travelling again and am experiencing the syndrome of the late flights getting later as planes are cancelled or put back because of earlier flights' engineering problems etc.

So Connie Moore's post on telepresence (the technology) and her first use of it is an encouraging sign.

Lessons learned from Cyber Storm II: international cyber security exercise

A detailed report outlining Australia’s involvement in the recent international cyber security exercise, Cyber Storm II, has been released by Attorney-General Robert McClelland.

Cyber Storm II was held in March in conjunction with the US Department of Homeland Security National Cyber Security Division, the UK's Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and New Zealand's Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection.

Its key finding was that "Effective response is enhanced by routinely reviewing and testing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Incident Response Plans and/or crisis management arrangements."

ICANN approves new domain names

The Board of ICANN has approved a recommendation that could see a whole range of new names introduced to the Internet's addressing system. A final version of the implementation plan must be approved by the ICANN Board before the new process is launched. It is intended that the final version will be published in early 2009.

Presently, users have a limited range of 21 top level domains to choose from — like .com, .org, .info.

This proposal allows applicants for new names to self-select their domain name so that choices are most appropriate for their customers or potentially the most marketable. It is expected that applicants will apply for targeted community strings such as (the existing) .travel for the travel industry and .cat for the Catalan community (as well as generic strings like .brandname or .yournamehere). There are already interested consortiums wanting to establish city-based top level domain, like .nyc (for New York City), .berlin and .paris.

Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications list

Ross Dawson has published 55 of the Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications list. There are many applications I had not heard of and shows that Australians are busy working on new projects even without government support.

Australian search engines and directories

VS Consulting has compiled an extensive report on the local Australian online search and directories market. There are more than 18 players, from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to large corporations trying to get some share of this market.

The main focus of this report is on Sensis and its competitors and how it can reinvent itself in a rapidly changing local market.

Domain name disputes 2007 update

WIPO reports that in 2007, a record 2,156 complaints alleging cybersquatting - or the abusive registration of trademarks on the Internet - were filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center (Center), representing an 18% increase over 2006 and a 48% increase over 2005.

WIPO parties have settled a quarter of all cases without a panel decision. Of the remainder, 85% of panel decisions have ordered transfer of the domain names in question to the complainant and 15% of the complaints were denied, leaving the names in the possession of the registration holder.

The top five sectors for complainant business activity were Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Banking and Finance, Internet and IT, Retail, and Entertainment.

Domain Name Tasting

Domain name tasting exploits the fact that someone registering a domain can keep it for up to five days and then return it for free. Some operators are using that grace period to test domain names for marketability. Visitors find an empty site.

A proposal has been put to ICANN, which oversees the grace period, to limit the number of refunds any registrar can claim on behalf of customers.

It wants the operators of generic top level domains (gTLDs) such as .com or .org to be restricted in the refunds they can offer. It has proposed that they only be allowed to offer refunds to 10% of the newly registered domain names in any given month. If that number is under 50 they will be allowed to refund up to 50 fees.

Australian Startup Carnival

VS Consulting has hosted the first Australian Startup Carnival which assessed 28 Australian tech startups.

There is a detailed profile of each of the contestants including their sources of funding and business model.

3 businesses were named winners by an independent judging panel.

via Ross Dawson.

The Digital Communications Age

On Thursdsay 6 March in Brisbane, Cliff Rosenberg, Digital media entrepreneur and former Managing Director of Yahoo! Australia and NZ will be speaking about the digital communications age at an AICC lunch.

Cliff Rosenberg has a strategic consultancy background in South Africa. With leading management roles in iTouch and Vodafone early this decade, Cliff went on to become Managing Director of Yahoo! In Australia/NZ from 2003-2006. After leaving Yahoo!, Cliff was MD and Partner in digital strategy agency, Clear Light Digital – which was bought out by ASX listed Bluefreeway Group. Still Chairing Clear Light Digital, Cliff is an active Venture Capitalist in the ‘new media’ space. Cliff is also founder of the Australian Interactive Advertising Bureau and was Chairman of the Mobile Advertising Awards in 2006 and 2007.

Book online

McAfee Avert Labs Top 10 Threat Predictions for 2008

McAfee Avert Labs Top 10 Threat Predictions for 2008 (pdf): risks to IM, VOIP,Vista, Virtualware, web 2.0.