The plan was finished. From 1 July, all computers sold in China about the filtering software “green dam” feature. The computer program should be the Internet on pornographic and other unhealthy “content and protect the population. 
But it was different. A few hours prior to the scheme announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT): The introduction of the Green Dam is indefinitely postponed. As the authorities call fundamental concern of computer manufacturers that it was impossible in China to install the filtering software to guarantee.

Criticism at all levels 

Behind this laconic statement hides for Chinese relations a sensation: The government bends to public pressure and give its Internet censorship plans being back. Since receipt of the plans in early June was a fierce battle over the green dam begun. 

The criticism extends to moral, technical and legal aspects. At the level of moral criticism that goes far beyond pornographic content on the green visor of the dam would be. Above all, the default, also known as “unhealthy” content on the Internet want to censor, you can sit up.

Scientists at the University of Michigan investigated and identified the software to block terms. The computer expert J. Alex Halderman told this newspaper that the political content about the events at Tiananmen Square on 4 July 1989 were censored.

Glaring technical weaknesses 

Such sensitive areas exist in many of China’s politics: Tibet, the Dalai Lama, Falun Gong – the list goes on and on. But not only political concepts come into sight of the Green Dam. The Chinese bloggers Fang Zhouzi found that even randomly selected blocks were terms such as “essence”. Fang asked: “What is the word essence unhealthy or even pornographic?” And “Is now the word essence in any textbook anymore?” 

The authorities keep such allegations, contending that the government had only the development of the software commissioned and funded. The specific design is the responsibility of the manufacturers. These are the Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co. and the company Dazheng Human Language Technology Co. Academy Chenming Zhang, Jinhui manager, but the responsibility and said the central organ of the Communist party newspaper “Renmin Ribao”, that alone Dazheng The list of blocked words together. 

Also technically reveals the glaring weaknesses Green dam. With the help of the software should Pigmentscannung pornographic images from the Internet filter. But as a Chinese blogger, the detection of the green nude dam tested was the big surprise: pictures of babies were blocked, including those of pigs, the sight of naked beauties, however, was colored by green dam is not prevented.

Unfettered access to private data 

The scientists at the University of Michigan also found major security gaps in the program. “The update process of the software is very outdated and poses risks for users,” said computer specialist Halderman. About the Greens could dam from each visited site on the computer can be accessed. 

Spam attacks are still an innocent in this sequence. Rather could freely on the private data can be accessed. Halderman therefore advises all users, the Greens dam immediately to uninstall. On the safety deficiencies raised, the authorities refer to the fact that the software is constantly being developed and will be a revised version was provided. 

Also legal is a hard battle over the filter program begun. The American software producer Solid Oak claims that the green embankment, it is in parts of a pirated copy of his program developed CyberSitter. “China revealed a very loose interpretation of intellectual property,” said Solid Oak founder Brian Milburn. The company has the computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard and Dell are by injunction to the filtering software not extradite.

Impact on trade relations 

American companies suggest the Beijing authorities, they wanted to only the Chinese market to keep. On 26 June turned to numerous business associations in a newspaper of this present letter to the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. These are serious concerns about the filtering software expressed. The launch would be significant issues in the areas of security, privacy and freedom of access to information pose. 

A healthy and open dialogue between all stakeholders is suggested as a possible solution. Among the signatories are the presidents of the American, European and Japanese chambers of commerce in China, Watkins, Wuttke and Aoyama, and the President of the Business Software Alliance, Robert W. Holleyman, inter alia, the interests of Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Microsoft and Siemens. 

Detuned react the political partner of China. Ian Kelly, spokesman for the American Foreign Ministry, told the Financial Times: “We are concerned in relation to the Green Dam – both in terms of potential impact on the trade side, as well as what the serious technical problems are concerned.”

Stopped

What exactly the reasons for the withdrawal of the Chinese authorities, is uncertain. The MIIT refers to the complaints of foreign computer companies, but Guobin Yang, a professor at Columbia University and author of a study on the Chinese Internet, in particular, the massive resistance movement of Internet users is the main cause. 

“It has developed a broad front of opposition. Ordinary Internet users, bloggers, experts and the media – they all participated. But above all, the Chinese wave was crucial. “Responsible Here is the famous artist Ai Weiwei. His blog was even numerous times a victim of censorship. He called for joint Internet boycott for 1 July. “I feel the Internet is the only way to today’s China to democracy and a civil society to lead,” said Ai, in an interview with Radio Free Asia. 

The Chinese government aims to build a “harmonious society”. Provisionally, it seems as if critics of the green embankment, the authorities in the knees. But the introduction of censorship software is merely postponed. Previously, according to government data provided by the Green Dam 7.17 million times from the corresponding web page is downloaded. 2.62 million computers in schools and 4.7 million Internet cafes are being protected by the Green Dam.

Google will always be locked 

The ideal of a “green” Internet, free of “unhealthy” content, will be pursued. We are, therefore, the search engine Google in the focus of the Chinese Government. As the state television CCTV reported, would in the search for the word “child” (son) references to pornographic pages listed. To protect the population, would therefore functions as the associated word search off. 

The site Google.com is periodically momentarily again completely blocked. In the event that Google is not cooperating, the “China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center” is already threatened with further reprisals. Google will be remorseful and announced a full investigation. 

In the meantime, reflect the Beijing city authorities to an old Chinese strength: the power of the masses. Additional 10,000 online professional investigators to the Internet for “unhealthy content” scan.

At U.S. sites will be heavily on Microsoft’s entry into the mobile 
Production speculation. Recent Background: The company has a 
Advertising agency to carry out a campaign under the name 
Pink emerged product. 

Experts expect that the Pink with a Windows Mobile 7 
based user interface is equipped by the former 
Danger team could be developed. Danger, the full-phones 
Hiptop designed. The pink might like these devices from Sharp or 
Motorola built. Another way to see the experts 
is that Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player with a phone function 
could be equipped to compete with Apple’s iPhone do. From Microsoft 
there is no official opinion on Pink.Microsoft: One mobile phone called Pink?

Microsoft had initially a few thousand Twitter users selected for
the intensive use of the service and who have already very much readers 
(Follower). the company on Wednesday in 
a blog entry. Currently will only current entries (Tweet) 
prominent personalities in the index. Future should 
by an Internet search in real time possible. 

So far, the Internet search such as Google or Yahoo! only have
 individual Twitter profiles in the search results listed. Microsoft 
started its new search engine on 1 June a, and thus 
the moderately successful Windows Live Search replaces. The Windows Group 
ranks in the market for Internet search  far behind 
 Google and Yahoo!. 

According to recent measurements of the American Internet Monitoring 
StatCounter Microsoft Bing presented in the four weeks between mid-May 
and mid-June at the users share in the U.S. by a good 1.6 percentage points to 
rang and consequently the share from rivals slightly. The information provided 
ranked according to Google in the period with a share of 77.94 
Percent at the top, followed by Yahoo! with 10.76 percent and 
Microsoft (Bing, MSN Search and Live Search together) with 9 percent 
Share. The market research firm ComScore, however, had most recently 
a user revenue of 12.1 percent for Bing measured.

New owners want to legalize the file sharing.

The network of the Swedish Pirate website The Pirate Bay appears to be law-abiding. As the operator, on Tuesday announced they will sell their website and the content for just under six million euros to the company Global Gaming Factory (GGF) . The new owners want the pirate bay – currently the world’s largest meeting place for pirates – want to change into a legal filesharing site . Rights holders will be paid for if their works on the data exchange be copied, shared with GGF in Stockholm. The users of the site watched that with some Kind of critism.

The operators of the Pirate Bay had some kind of dispute with the music and film industries as well as publishers. After a spectacular process had a Stockholm court four of the organizers in April because of “aid for crimes against property” to a compensation of 30 million crowns (about three million euros) condemns. The defendants, however, have appealed. The operation of the exchange was continued unchanged. Peter Sunde, representative for The Pirate Bay, told Swedish media on Tuesday, you see now is no longer possible, to develop new offers in this community. Therefore, we decided to sell.

The new owner GGF operates according to its own figures, the world’s largest network of Internet cafes and game centers. The company wants that the famous Pirate Bay is going to be a pay site. The question is whether the approximately 20 million users are ready for the future, yet freely available to pay for services and therefore the rules of the market and the copyright to accept – after all is an essential feature of the pirates yes lawlessness. Hans Pandeya, CEO of GGF, said at a press conference, we will develop a new business, the interests of rights holders as well as take into account the interests of those who copy music, movies and other data via the Internet. How exactly this business model will look like is still unclear. GGF wants to finish the pruchace of The Pirate Bay  until August. However, the shareholders of the company must have to approve, including the financing, according to the company is not yet assured.

In the Internet forum of The Pirate Bay was the message from Stockholm taken with great skepticism. “This is a sad day,” commented a user. “I can not believe that they have sold us.” Peter Sunde tried to appease. If the new owners to do things that users do not like, they would in the future simply to switch to another exchange. This fact was “the best insurance that we can get,” he told the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

In Sweden, on Tuesday also started a discussion, what happens with the money, which the operator of the old page gets. Half of the purchase price – that is 30 million crowns – should be paid in cash. This corresponds exactly to the sum of damages, Peter Sunde and his three companions to the Stockholm court ruling that even the music and film industry owe.

Sunde has announced, however, that he will use the money for a foundation “rescue of the Internet” found. Sunde had previously said he would rather burn his money than to pay the damages, which he considers unfair

The charger unit is coming! Ten leading mobile manufacturers, including  Nokia, Samsung, Apple, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson have agreed to a  standard chargers . From 2010, only  one single chager is there to charge all of the mobile phones . The  different, not matching charger from the different manufactures should finaly dissapear. The idea for the single charger comes from the   EU Commission in Brussels.

Onslaught on the successor to Vista: Not even two days after Microsoft announced very affordable prices , is the advance version of Windows 7 are already sold out in Japan.

There are some companys intersted in Razorfish.The first one is the french makreting frim “Publicis” The chief said that his company is planing for the future.In the course of the six billion dollar takeover of U.S. online Advertising firm aQuantive in 2007 Microsoft had received Razorfish. After some estimates of a anylstic, the agencyis worth than 600 to 700  Million dollars.

The more than 2,000 employees last year generated about 400 million U.S. dollars turnover. Observers see between Razorfish and Microsoft Advertising a conflict of interest. The subsidiary sells technology to Razorfish’s competitors. Microsoft wanted the newspaper to not issue an opinion.

Source:  http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/664632