Friday 28th
November 1997
CD UNIVERSE OPENS IN OUR
MALL
CD
Universe, the multi award-winning online CD retailer, opened a franchise
outlet at Australian Cybermalls today. The new site offers visitors a
comprehensive, easy-to-search online catalogue of rock, pop and classical
artists and retails singles as well as full-length recordings. The site also
offers an enormous set of on-line charts on-line (eg: Latin, Country, R&B,
Pop/Rock, Rap, Jazz, Techno etc), a free email newsletter, information on
new releases and - in 1998 - more than 20,000 video titles as well. CD Universe
include a special section for imports in their catalogues and provide secure
online ordering and rapid world-wide delivery. CD Universe is the
second franchise outlet to open at Australian Cybermalls after
Digital
River opened a 95,000-title online software store with us earlier
in the month.
Thursday 27th
November 1997
NEW HTML STANDARD EDGES
CLOSER
The next generation of HTML,
the page-building language of the Web, edged a step closer with the announcement
yesterday that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has given the thumbs-up
to an official specification for the next generation of the language. The
new HTML 4.0 will introduce cascading style sheets, support for
international languages and symbols, advanced forms , inline frames, enhanced
tables and support for objects and scripts amongst many extensions to the
current official version of the language (HTML 3.2). The formal adoption
of the HTML 4.0 specification is not expected until at least mid-1998, and
it is unlikely to attain widespread browser support until late 1998 or early
1999.
Wednesday 26th
November 1997
AGL JOINS ELECTRO-TELCO
QUEUE
The number of potential new
domestic competitors for Telstra swelled again today with the announcement
that national gas utility AGL is reviewing its communications operations
and future strategies with an eye to entering the telecommunications market
at some time in the near future. Although the company has yet to decide whether
to enter the market as a partner in a joint telecommunications venture or
apply for a carrier licence in its own right, it is now the fourth major
Australian power company to enter the arena. The move follows United
Power's successful experiments with sending voice and data calls down
power lines in Victoria earlier this year - a breakthrough that is expected
to see power companies offering all-in-one power, phone and Internet connections
to Australian households within a few years.
Tuesday 25th
November 1997
89 MILLION NOW ONLINE -
NUA
Irish research company
NUA estimate
that there are now at least 89 million regular Internet users world-wide.
After monitoring growth trends for the last two years, NUA made the announcement
at the launch of a new section of the company's site to chronicle estimates
of how many people are online on a worldwide and country-by-country basis.
NUA believe that there are now 54 million regular Net users in the USA and
Canada, 18 million in Europe, 14 million in the Asia/Pacific, and around
1 million each in South America, Africa and the Middle East.
Monday 24th
November 1997
OPTUS TAKES OZEMAIL FROM
TELSTRA
In what may well be the start
of a long and bitter price war between carriers and the dawn of cheaper dial-up
prices for local end users, Optus have persuaded Australia's largest ISP
OzEmail to abandon Telstra
by offering wholesale bandwidth billing cuts of up to 30%. The service provision
deal, which will last for at least two years, will see OzEmail move more
than 150,000 of its subscribers over to the Optus Internet service by June
1998. OzEmail will be joining the Australian Academic Research Network (AARNET)
and several other major ISPs who've left Telstra in recent months chasing
better prices and services. Optus now provide Internet carrier services for
around 600,000 Australians, accounting for approximately 33% of all domestic
Internet users, and will be opening an alternative
40Gb trans-Pacific cable in
1999.
Friday 21st
November 1997
US ISPS GO ONE
BETTER....
Further to yesterday's story
(below) about large Australian ISPs spam-proofing their servers, Irish research
company NUA reports that many US ISPs
are now actively prosecuting anyone caught spamming on their servers. In
a Texas court last week, a California spammer was fined $US13,000 and ordered
to pay US$5,000 in legal costs when the Texas Internet Service Providers
Association and a number of individuals decided to sue for damages. The spammer
had used the domain of a private individual to disguise the origin of the
junk mail and the case was brought under laws of nuisance, negligence, trespass
to personal property, conversion and harmful access by computer. Earthlink,
meanwhile, have introduced an immediate $200 fine for any user caught sending
unsolicited email, while San Diego ISP SimpleNet are bringing alleged spammers
to court claiming that individuals and businesses who spam from their servers
damage the company's reputation.
Thursday 20th
November 1997
ISPS TIGHTEN NOOSE AGAINST
SPAMMERS
Australia's largest Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) are making their servers spam-proof after a series
of "piggy-back" spam raids by US spammers in recent months. According to
industry sources, US spammers are finding it increasingly hard to use machines
in their own country following a groundswell of anti-spam public sentiment
and recent legal amendments, so they have begun turning their attention to
offshore servers. In recent months spammers have made use of a number of
Australian servers to send out bulk emails, severely reducing server speeds
for other users and degrading the ISPs' performance for several hours at
a stretch. A large number of big ISPs are now modifying their systems to
prevent future attacks.
Wednesday 19th
November 1997
SUN TAKES BACK JAVA LOGO
As part of the accelerating
Java battle, Sun Microsystems has
asked a US court to bar Microsoft from using the Java-compatible logo
on its Internet Explorer 4.0 browser. Sun cited two independent reports showing
Explorer failed the Java compatibility tests as reason for the request. Netscape
Communications voluntarily removed the Java compatibility logo from its
Communicator browser last week because it was only 80 percent compatible
with Java. Sun said Microsoft has removed the logo from its Web site, but
not from Explorer. "Microsoft must be stopped from using the Java compatible
logo to deceive the market," said Michael Morris, Sun's general counsel,
in a release, which also quoted a comment made by Microsoft CEO Bill
Gates to the Wall Street Journal defending some of Microsoft's rules
regarding Windows on the grounds of protecting the integrity of Windows.
Sun's release said the company shares these concerns for Java.
Tuesday 18th
November 1997
MICROSOFT, NETSCAPE PLAGUED BY
BUGS
Microsoft's
new version 4.0 release of its Internet Explorer browser appears to
be following the same tortured path to safe operability as its predecessor.
According to the company, the latest problem to strike the browser is a crash
that can be caused by a user attempting to follow a "malicious hyperlink"
- a res:// (resource) link containing more than 255 characters. The bug was
discovered last week by L0pht Heavy Industries and only affects the Windows95
version of the product. Meanwhile, rival
Netscape have also suffered
from a slew of minor defects with their Communicator release and are now
up to version 4.04 of the product. The latest version corrects earlier problems
that existed with memory allocation and the product's in-built Java
compiler.
Monday 17th
November 1997
IIA WARNS AGAINST TIMED CALLS
Australia's Internet Industries
Association (IIA) has warned that draft regulations to amend Australia's
1997 Telecommunications Act could leave the way open for Telstra to charge
businesses timed local calls. The IIA has warned that the Commonwealth
Government's regulations - while ruling out timed calls for residential and
charity consumers - could allow Telstra to vary the fees it charges Australian
ISPs and the business customers of ISPs.The IIA has warned that the introduction
of timed calls to businesses could seriously hamper Australia's ability to
compete effectively in the global economy. Australia currently has the
second-cheapest Internet connection charges amongst all OECD countries, largely
due to untimed local calls. Canada, where local calls are generally free,
is the cheapest.
Friday 14th
November 1997
JAVA READY TO BECOME ISO
STANDARD
According to a memo leaked to
InfoWorld today, Sun's JavaSoft
division looks set to become the gatekeeper for an international Java standard
after having gained the approval of 27 out of 31 International Standards
Organisation (ISO) member countries to have the language turned into
a standard, including Australia. According to InfoWorld's sources, Ireland
and the USA voted against the proposal, Switzerland and Italy abstained and
the remainder have voted in favour. Sun only requires a simple majority of
ISO member nations to be approved as a public standard submitter, but a formal
announcement will not be made until Monday. However, if true, the move will
come as a heavy blow to Microsoft who have waged an unremitting campaign
to prevent Java standardisation in order to preserve the company's dominance
of the PC software market. Microsoft released a "WinTel" version of the language
with Internet Explorer 4.0 which provoked Sun to launch a lawsuit against
the company last month. The next step is that Sun will submit the Java language,
the Java Virtual Machine and some base-level Java APIs for ISO approval.
Thursday 13th
November 1997
NEW PENTIUM BUG CAN CRASH
SYSTEMS
Intel
have confirmed that a newly-discovered bug in its Pentium and Pentium MMX
chips can crash computers and possibly corrupt files. Although the company
has been working feverishly on the problem since it was first announced last
weekend in an anonymous posting to an Internet newsgroup, it does not currently
have a solution. The bug occurs when a CPU runs a specific series of commands,
which can be easily fed into a computer. The sequence causes the machine
to hang up, requiring a hardware reset. If the hang-up occurs in the middle
of a disk write operation and the affected system is running Windows NT or
Linux, the bug can also cause file corruption, requiring a complete system
restoration from a backup. Intel have so far confirmed that the bug is very
real, but have added that it does not affect the company's Pentium Pro or
new Pentium II lines.
Wednesday 12th
November 1997
OZEMAIL ACQUIRES ACCESS
ONE
OzEmail
announced yesterday that it would be acquiring troubled ISP Access
One from its owners, Solution 6 Holdings, for $5 million in cash
and $20 million in shares. The move will make the Sydney-based ISP Australia's
largest single Internet service provider with strong coverage across the
eastern Australian states and thwart Telecom New Zealand's plans to
establish a strong foothold in the Australian market. Access One, which is
based in Victoria, had been losing large amounts of money for its former
owners, reporting a shock $5.6 million loss
for the 6 months to June this year. The company had recently launched
an unlimited-dialup service called Access 2 in an effort to stem continuing
losses, reducing its losses to $200,000 per month.
Tuesday 11th
November 1997
AUSTRALIS TO SUE TELSTRA FOR $2.4
BILLION
Australis Media announced
today that it would put its Galaxy pay-TV operation into liquidation
at the end of the month and lodge a $2.4 billion lawsuit against
Telstra. Australis allege
that Telstra's decision earlier this year to only extend cable to 2.5 million
Australian homes rather than the 4 million originally planned reduced the
payments it received for its programmes (which are paid for on a per-subscriber
basis) and have partially contributed to the company's demise. Although Telstra
have announced that they intend to vigorously defend the claim, the lawsuit
has alarmed the Federal Government and forced it to issue an additional
prospectus to the sharemarkets today, six days before the company's official
float. The additional prospectus warns intending shareholders that if the
Australis action succeeds there could be an "adverse effect" on Telstra's
financial position. Rival telco Optus already have a
$900 million court action against
Telstra alleging unfair practices in the pay-TV arena.
Monday 10th
November 1997
AUSTRALIAN TELCOS
"RISKY"
According to a study by insolvency
experts the PPB Group, Australian telecommunications service providers
have failed at more than five times the rate of manufacturers over the last
three years - a trend that shows no sign of abating. In their latest bulletin,
PPB warn that the dramatic structural changes in the industry are driving
up the failure rate and the biggest factor in the equation is the fact that
service providers cannot control their main business cost:
Telstra's interconnect fees
and carrier charges. Further more, prices are being driven even lower (and
margins ever tighter) by the entry of new competitors in the market. According
to PPB, Telstra now control 74% of the market, Optus control 16%,
and the remaining 10% is shared amongst more than 60 other operators. The
situation is not expected to improve until non-Telstra carriers begin to
build alternative infrastructure.
Friday 7th November
1997
BBC TO REVAMP ONLINE NEWS
SERVICE
The
BBC intends to launch a new world
news service - BBC Online News - as part of its three-part strategy
to maximise its Internet presence and capitalise on the company's global
reputation for accurate news reporting and the loyal following the BBC has
built over the last 50 years. The company's site is scheduled to be overhauled
in early December to incorporate the new service whilst its
Beeb@the BBC, an entertainment
and information service launched a few months ago, is already one of the
busiest Internet sites in the UK. Meanwhile, US news service CNN is
also planning to upgrade its own very popular site by incorporating pictures
and sound.
Thursday 6th
November 1997
LOOKSMART OPENS AUSTRALIAN
MIRROR
LookSmart,
the Australian-developed selective search engine owned by Readers Digest,
have opened an Australian mirror close to a year after being developed by
a team of programmers in Melbourne and debuting in the USA. In doing so,
LookSmart have become the very latest in a long chain of US-based search
engines which have opened local mirrors in the last year - including Alta
Vista, Excite, Inktomi and Yahoo. Unlike general search engines, LookSmart
only lists sites its editors consider "the best" in particular categories.
It has a strict policy of refusing to list adult sites and does not guarantee
that any particular submission will be accepted.
Wednesday 5th
November 1997
CONSUMERS STILL FEAR NET
According to recent research
by advertising agency George Patterson Bates, 19 out of 20 Australian
consumers still worry about the security of the Internet, even though the
perception that the Internet is insecure is now largely incorrect. Patterson's
study found that 17% of Australian consumers (around 2 million people) have
expressed an interest in Internet shopping, but only 5% have actually made
a purchase so far because of fears that it's riskier to give out credit card
details over the Net than by phone or fax. "Secure Internet encryption is
now safer than most other ways of passing credit card information, " GPB
researchers said. "It's now up to ISPs, retailers, credit card and security
technology companies to get that message across."
Tuesday 4th
November 1997
DIGITAL RIVER OPENS ON OUR
MALL
Digital
River, the world's largest online software retailer, opened a franchise
outlet at Australian Cybermalls today. The new site - which is a joint venture
between the US and Australian companies - will allow our visitors to choose
from over 95,000 different software titles, to purchase them online
in a completely secure environment, and to obtain certified world-wide delivery
of their software (sometimes, immediately via the Internet itself). Digital
River is the first of several exciting and innovative franchises which will
be opening at Australian Cybermalls over the next few months as part of our
Spring 97 site makeover.
Monday 3rd November
1997
AUSTRALIAN NET GROWS 50% IN 12
MONTHS
The number of Australian Internet
sites performed an unusual rebound from September's 5% decline according
to our monthly Australian Internet Growth Index. The sources used
to derive the AIGA show that the number of Australian sites grew by approximately
2,726 during October 1997 - an 8% rebound over September's unexpected 5%
decline. The AIGA, which has been measuring the approximate number of sites
on the Australian Internet for the last 22 months, shows that there are now
approximately 36,500 Australian public sites on the Net, an increase
of close to 50% over comparative figures 12 months ago. The November 1st
figures (with October 1st figures in brackets) are as follows:
Australian
Internet Growth Index October 1997
(Figures Show Estimated Sites) |
-
Brisbane - 3,494
(3,147)
-
Sydney - 11,148
(10,299)
-
Melbourne - 8,351
(7,787)
-
Adelaide - 3,317
(3,030)
|
-
Perth - 3,431
(3,086)
-
Hobart - 1,232
(1,150)
-
Canberra - 2,894
(2,803)
-
Darwin - 2,715
(2,554)
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During October Australian Cybermalls displayed
59,192 storefronts, a 4% increase over our September visitation figures
of 56,982. The September figures equated to an average of 1,909 visitors
per day. For comparison, 12 months ago in October 1996 we displayed 20,364
storefronts to an average of 657 people a day. Wow! Thankyou everyone for
your continued support!
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