Friday 28th June
1996
WE BECOME NAVIGATOR 2.0+ COMPLIANT
Australian Cybermalls will be upgrading
to full compliance with Navigator 2.0+ from Monday, July 1st 1996.
To date, our site has been Navigator 1.1 compliant in order to provide the
widest possible level of access to all our visitors. However, recent studies
indicate that the vast majority of Internet surfers now use either Netscape
Navigator 2.0+ or Microsoft Explorer 3.0+. For this reason, we've decided
to upgrade in order to stay where the "middle" of the market appears to be.
The main impact of the change is that our site will permit the use of frames.
Visitors using browsers which do not support frames (i.e. releases of Netscape
or Explorer earlier than the versions listed above, or other browsers) may
find their access to some portions of our site limited as a result of the
upgrade, though we will attempt to accommodate non-frames capable browsers
wherever possible. We apologise in advance if you feel that this change would
inconvenience you.
Thursday 27th June
1996
NET USERS WELL-EDUCATED, AFFLUENT
MALES
According to a survey recently released
by Sydney Internet research company
www.consult, the average
Internet surfer in Australia is well-paid, well-educated and male. WWW.Consult
received 5680 responses to a 100-question survey (one of the largest ever
undertaken on the Australian Internet) and the results disclosed that 87%
of respondents were male, 40% of them had begun to surf the Net within the
last 6 months, and the majority of respondents have a tertiary education.
Surprisingly, the survey disclosed that a hefty 18% supported online censorship
- and that the majority of respondents are willing to try online shopping
but hold serious concerns about privacy issues. www.consult plan to repeat
the survey on a quarterly basis.
Wednesday 26th June
1996
OZTRALIA OFFERS FREE EMAIL X-STITCH
PATTERNS
In what may be a world first, Australian
Cybermalls tenant Oztralia
Down Under Publishing is offering visitors to their site a free monthly
Australian- themed cross-stitch pattern by email. Cross-stitching is a world-wide
hobby where users sew tapestries using a pattern as a template. The template
not only contains the design for the tapestry, but also the colours of thread
that that need to be used. Oztralia Down Under Publishing have perfected
a way to encapsulate these often very complex patterns in a form that can
be transmitted by email and reproduced at the user's end on a laser or dot-matrix
printer. "We hope this will be very popular with cross-stitch enthusiasts",
company director Richard Oliver said. "As far as we know, we're the
first people in the world to do this."
Tuesday 25th June
1996
AARNET CALLS FOR TELSTRA
ALTERNATIVES
The Australian Academic Research
Network (AARNET), which ceded control of the Australian Internet to
Telstra last year in order
to reduce costs, is now calling for offers from other suppliers after seeing
its costs escalate under Telstra's new ISDN pricing scheme by between 300%
and 500% in a little over 12 months. AARNET, which is a composite of the
CSIRO and Australia's universities, are currently examining a short list
of Internet suppliers who responded to a request for tender issued recently.
Collectively, Australian universities and the CSIRO are Telstra's two largest
Internet customers, and AARNET traffic currently accounts for between 50%
and 60% of Australian Internet traffic.
Monday 24th June
1996
DEATH OF FREE SEARCH ENGINES
COMING?
In a move that may herald the death
of purely "free" and "unbiased" search engines,
Open Text have announced
plans to sell advertisers a place in the first 10 results returned when Internet
users complete their searches on the Open Text database. The reason? Studies
have shown that 85% of users only look at the first 10 results returned by
any search query. Other major search engines are rumoured to be considering
similar moves, with some planning to sell the rights to particular keywords
(eg: cars, movies etc) for fixed periods so that a sponsor's site is always
returned on the first page of any query whenever that particular keyword
is entered.
Friday 21st June
1996
AUSTRALIAN NET WATCHDOG SCUPPERED
As part of its continuing campaign
to win friends in the Australian Internet community, Telstra has failed
to renew a $200,000 annual contract with the Australian Computer Emergency
Response Team (Auscert) which has operated as the Australian centre for
co-ordinating Internet defences against electronic attacks for some years,
effectively scuppering the body. According to
Telstra, the contract was
not renewed because there had been no feedback from customers that they used
Auscert and Telstra - despite past largesse to the organisation - had difficulty
in finding out exactly what it did. Auscert has been unsuccessfully applying
to the Federal Government for partial funding of its $1,000,000 a year operating
costs, and the Telstra decision has led it to shut down its services to business
users whilst it hunts for alternate funding sources.
Thursday 20th June
1996
EXPLOSIVE AUSTRALIAN NET GROWTH WORRIES
TELSTRA
According to figures recently released
by Telstra, traffic on the
Australian Internet underwent an explosive boom in May this year, rising
by 30% in a single month. Until this time, Australian Internet traffic had
been growing at an average of 7% to 8% per month. Whilst Telstra will not
comment on the rise, experience in Scandinavian and North American countries
indicates that unless Telstra continue to expand the domestic Internet
pipes to meet ever-rising demand, this volume of growth will soon begin to
affect the quality of the telephone system. The growth is thought to have
hastened Telstra's plans to upgrade the Australia-US trans-Pacific link,
which is now 24Mb and is scheduled to be expanded to 32Mb shortly.
Wednesday 19th June
1996
US HIGH COURT THROWS OUT NET CENSORSHIP
LAW
In a decision that may well have
ramifications for New South Wales' controversial proposed Internet censorship
law, the US Federal Court has rejected the American Government's
Communications Decency Act, ruling that it was an unconstitutional
infringement of free speech. The Act, which was opposed in the US courts
by a coalition of 40 organisations with a collective membership of 42,000,
has led to the Internet's now- famous
"Blue Ribbon"campaign. Although
Australia does not have constitutional protection for the right of free speech,
local activists believe that the US decision - given the global nature of
the Internet - will now make it effectively impossible for any Government
to police, and hope that legislations will take their lead from the US
position.
Tuesday 18th June
1996
GEEK GUIDE OPENS ON OUR MALL
Australian Cybermalls have a new tenant.
Geoffrey's Geek Guide
is a new, weekly tongue-in-cheek guide to some of the Net's most bizarre
and/or geeky sites. Uniquely, the Geek Guide also offers what is perhaps
the Internet's first "display-it-if-you-dare" award for all the sites selected
(though it's all in good fun). The new site also contains random humour articles
and the opportunity for viewer feedback. A new edition of Geoffrey's Geek
Guide will appear in Australian Cybermalls every Tuesday from now on.
Monday 17th June
1996
LIFETIME PHOTOGRAPHY WINS AWARD
Australian Cybermalls tenant
Lifetime Photography
have received some external recognition for their snappy, innovative photographic
displays, on-line newsletter and extensive photographic site listings.
Voyeurmagic - an Australian
multi-media company - yesterday presented Lifetime with their VM Site of
the Moment award for "innovative design" in an Australian web site - the
first award received by an Australian Cybermalls site. "I'm surprised and
naturally delighted," said Lifetime owner Norm Whyte. "Really, the
feedback I've been getting from visitors to my site is so encouraging. It's
great to meet fellow enthusiasts - this is the real magic of the Internet.
Thankyou everyone."
Friday 14th June
1996
SYDNEY TO HOST TWO MAJOR INTERNET
SHOWS
Sydney will host two major global Internet
shows in the next 6 months, reflecting the growing interest the Internet
now holds for businesses and consumers in Australia, and the increasingly
global role Australia is taking in the eyes of Internet marketers. The first
show - Internet World (run by Meckler Media and Kirby Network Services)
will be staged at the Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre from August 20-22.
This will be followed by Networld+Interop (run by the Japanese giant
Softbank) at Darling Harbour from November 25-29. Two other companies - Reid
Exhibition Services and the Seybold Group - have also announced
plans to run major Internet exhibitions during the next 12 months.
Thursday 13th June
1996
AUSTRALIAN WEB PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
FORMED
A new group which will attempt to bring
a higher level of professionalism to Australian web page development has
been formed. The Australian Web Publishers
Association (which will aim to represent members in Australia, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the South-West Pacific) was established in
Sydney this week by Coherent Software Australia Pty Ltd. The aim of AWPA,
according to foundation president
Anne Foxworthy, is to help
current and future web publishers gain a greater understanding of the multiple
issues that need to be addressed in putting businesses onto the Internet
and, at the same time, provide the public with better-quality web sites and
a database of accredited members and their skills so that selection of a
suitable web author can be made significantly easier than it is at present.
All AWPA members will be required to satisfy a rigorous accreditation process
and must agree to abide by the AWPA's Code of Ethics.
Wednesday 12th June
1996
APRA DEMANDS ROYALTIES FOR NET
MUSIC
The Australian Performing Rights
Association (ARPA) has issued a legal demand against Sydney ISPs Matrix
and Zip for the payment of $1 per customer per year as royalties
for music conveyed over the Internet by the two companies. ARPA has already
won a recent case against Telstra for its use of "music on hold", and the
latest thrust by the group is being seen by the Australian ISP industry as
a dangerous "thin end of the wedge", since success will create a legal precedent
for ARPA to lodge claims for royalties against any other Australian ISPs
who broadcast local music from their site.
Tuesday 11th June
1996
PUBLIC NET TERMINALS MAKE DEBUT
Public Internet terminals will begin
making their debut at airports, hotels and shopping centres around Australia
over the next few weeks. The new terminals, which are essentially Pentiums
with 28.8K modems in a specially-designed cabinet, are the brainchild of
30-year-old Daniel Albert who first came up with the idea two years
ago. The new terminals will access two principal markets: business people
who want to access their email while away from the office, and Net "newbies"
who want a casual surf. The terminals will cost $6 for 15 minutes, $12 for
half an hour and $20 per hour. They will be distributed by Albert's company
IPAT (Internet Public Access Terminals), which aims to have 3500 of
the terminals around Australia within the next year.
Monday 10th June
1996
NET AT WORK FOSTERS NET AT HOME
According to a recent study released
by Forrester, users who are
exposed to the Internet at their workplace are also far more likely to get
connected at home - and to bring expectations of high performance and flat
pricing with them. According to Forrester's study, once people are exposed
to the information-rich environment of the Internet they find that they can't
do without it - and regular users also encouraged their family and friends
to sign up too. The chief implication of the study, according to Forrester,
is that there is no real distinction between the corporate online market
and the consumer market. "The white-collar professionals who are on the Net
9 to 5 are the parents who get on the Net with their kids after dinner",
according to Mary Modahl, Forrester's New Media Research
director.
Friday 7th June
1996
DR FUN DRAWS INTERNET PRESS
COVERAGE
Australia's two largest Internet magazines
- Internet.AU and the
Australian Net Guide - have
both given favourable reviews to our
Dr Fun mirror site this
month. In the latest issue of Internet.AU, released Wednesday, Dr Fun is
rated at 4 stars (out of a possible five). Meanwhile, the Australian Internet
Guide, released today, rates the site 80mph (out of a possible 110mph). A
new competition - the Secret Life of Dr Fun - begins on the Doctor Fun pages
today to celebrate.
Thursday 6th June
1996
VIETNAM PROPOSES NET CENSORSHIP
The Vietnamese Interior Ministry
has drafted a sweeping new law to control use of the Internet in response
to rising fears within the country's ruling Communist Party that free access
to information could undermine its rule. Under the new draft law, the Interior
Ministry will have the power to monitor all computer traffic; all Internet
users would be obliged to register with the Posts and Telecommunications
Directorate; and all ISP's would be regulated. Violations would be punished
by up to three years in prison. The crime? "Abusing the rights of freedom
of speech and democracy to damage the State".
Wednesday 5th June
1996
ADS ON NET OFFER VIEWERS FREE
ACCESS
US company HyperNet plan to
offer free Internet access to users if they're willing to view a 1 inch by
2 inch advertisement on their screen throughout their online session. HyperNet's
Japanese parent company, which launched the concept in Japan six months ago,
already has 20,000 subscribers through ASCII, one of Japan's largest ISPs,
and advertisers on the free-Net network include companies such as Fuji
Bank, Nokia and Mitsubishi.
Tuesday 4th June
1996
MACQUARIE DICTIONARY ONLINE... AT A
PRICE
Australia's largest reference publisher
has set up a subscription-based educational resource and information shop
at MacquarieNet. The site,
which was launched by Macquarie University today, is based around
the Macquarie Dictionary but also includes extensive texts on Australian
history, nature, geography and literature. The site, which claims to already
have more data accessible online than a CD-ROM, is intended to be the largest
and most authoritative educational resource in Australia. MacquarieNet is
aimed at the home and education markets and will incur a $12.95 monthly
subscription. Sample portions of the site are free.
Monday 3rd June
1996
AUSTRALIAN NET CONTINUES TO EXPAND
Australian Internet sites continued
their upward growth trend during May. Our regular monthly Internet Growth
Index shows that the dramatic growth trends observed throughout 1996
still show no sign of abating. The June 1st figures (with May 1st figures
in brackets) are:
Australian
Internet Growth Index May 1996
(Figures Show Estimated Sites) |
-
Brisbane - 1374 (1221)
-
Sydney - 4609 (4115)
-
Melbourne - 3798 (3442)
-
Adelaide - 1590 (1444)
|
-
Perth - 1307 (1138)
-
Hobart - 705 (645)
-
Canberra - 1432 (1340)
-
Darwin - 1204 (1086)
|
|
During May 1996 Australian Cybermalls
displayed 5022 storefronts. This represents close to a 60% increase
over April 1996, when we displayed 3,220 storefronts.
|
