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7 June 2012 | Ndtv.com

Internet switches to IPv6, trillions of new net addresses now possible

A new Internet standard giving the global network more room to grow came into effect Wednesday, a move that users probably won't notice. The switch occurred at 0001 GMT Wednesday, when Internet operators switched to a new standard called IPv6 that allows for trillions of "IP" numbers or addresses, up from the current 4.3 billion. "To ensure the Internet can continue to grow and connect billions more people and devices around the world, thousands of companies and millions of websites have now permanently enabled the next generation of Internet Protocol (IPv6) for their products and services," the Internet Society, an advisory panel, said. "Participants in World IPv6 Launch include the four most visited websites in the world - Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Yahoo! - as well as home router manufacturers and Internet Service Providers in more than 100 countries. By making IPv6 the 'new normal,' these companies are enabling millions of end users to enjoy its benefits without having to do anything themselves." The full transition will take several years, and old IPv4 devices and networks should continue to function as before. Cisco is projecting that by 2016, there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections, or nearly 2.5 connections for each person on earth, compared with 10.3 billion in 2011.

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7 June 2012 | Business Week

‘El Huffington Post’ makes its debut in Spain

The Huffington Post on Wednesday announced the launch of its newest version, a Spanish language site called "El Huffington Post" produced in Madrid at the headquarters of Spain's leading newspaper. Founder Arianna Huffington said the new site introduced by her and the El Pais newspaper will try to draw in a global audience by attracting Spanish speakers in Europe, the United States and Latin America. El Huffington Post will go online Thursday. It will focus on news from Spain but will include stories and commentary from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, which numbers about 350 million people, Huffington said. The Huffington Post already has a version aimed at Hispanics in the United States, and Huffington said she is considering launching other country-specific sites in Latin America. The parent company of El Pais, Prisa SA, has a 50 percent stake in El Huffington Post. Huffington said the website - launched Thursday - will focus on news from Spain, but also include stories and commentary from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world - about 350 million people. Huffington said the website already has a version aimed at U.S. Hispanics, and is considering launching other country-specific sites in Latin America.

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7 June 2012 | Reuters

LinkedIn, eHarmony suffer data breaches

Social networking site LinkedIn and online dating service eHarmony warned that some user passwords had been breached after security experts discovered scrambled files with passwords for millions of online accounts. The two companies declined to say how many accounts had been breached when they disclosed the breaches in statements issued on Wednesday. They only said they were conducting investigations. The breaches are the latest in a string of high-profile attacks around the world that have put personal information of millions at risk. The release of information stolen from the intelligence analysis firm Stratfor in December included data belonging to former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Mary Landesman, senior researcher with messaging security firm Cloudmark, said that a hacker who has access to somebody's LinkedIn credentials along with their eHarmony account might be in a good position to commit extortion. The technology news site Ars Technica reported on Wednesday that a total of 8 million encrypted passwords were published on underground forums by a hacker known as 'dwdm', who was seeking help unscrambling them. It was not clear whether all 8 million of the passwords belonged to users of LinkedIn and eHarmony, or if the hacker had stolen an even larger number of credentials and just posted some of them on the site.

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7 June 2012 | The Guardian

South African campaigners unite against secrecy bill

Secrecy laws planned for South Africa fundamentally threaten free speech and investigative journalism, and could have a chilling effect on the rest of Africa, a united front of human rights lawyers, newspaper editors and Nobel prize-winning writers have warned in interviews with the Guardian. The protection of state information bill – dubbed the "secrecy bill" – envisages draconian penalties of up to 25 years in prison for whistleblowers and journalists who possess, leak or publish state secrets. It has been described as the first piece of legislation since the end of apartheid in 1994 to undermine South Africa's democracy. Opponents of the bill fear that, with South Africa often regarded as a beacon of democracy and freedom on the continent, it could be used as an excuse by repressive African regimes for renewed crackdowns on journalists and activists. Today, South Africa boasts arguably the freest press in Africa, with no shortage of revelations about shady deals or satirical cartoons lampooning politicians' foibles. Freedom of expression, including freedom of the press and other media, has been protected under the constitution. But opponents of the bill believe the gains of the past 18 years are under threat and warn that the rest of the continent is watching.

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7 June 2012 | International Journalists Network

Newsmotion breaks ground with global multimedia reporting, seeks freelancers

Multimedia startup Newsmotion is breaking new ground with global stories - and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). After attracting funding on Kickstarter, Newsmotion's early stories are breaking new ground in international reporting. While many traditional news outlets use slideshows, audio or videos as extra features alongside a print story, here they are the main course. Founder Julian Rubinstein says Newsmotion will pay for stories that use at least two of the following media: photos, video, audio, text and infographics. The stories should have strong visuals (photos or video) featuring people. Subjects of interest are primarily (but not exclusively) issues such as human rights, natural resources, environment and housing. For now, freelancers can pitch story ideas in English, but French and Spanish versions are coming soon. The site is also looking for foreign-language editors to field queries and sort feeds. The contributions so far were created by seasoned journalists, but Newsmotion plans a civic media platform as well. "By civic media storytelling, what we hope to do is tell stories that create awareness of issues and strengthen a sense of community among disparate people," Rubinstein says, adding that he hopes the format will evolve into its own short documentary style.

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7 June 2012 | BBC News

Google unveils new mapping technologies

Google has demonstrated new mapping technologies in an effort to reassert its position as a market leader. While it boasts one billion users, Google Maps has recently seen defections by some key developers and partners. Reports suggest Apple may abandon Google Maps next week at its annual developer conference. They suggest Apple may announce its own mapping application to replace Google Maps on its smartphones and tablets. To counteract any negative publicity, Google executives held a media event on Wednesday in San Francisco to preview new mapping features and trumpet a decade of achievements in digital mapping, including its use of satellite, aerial and street-level views. Among the stand-out features were 3D enhancements to Google Earth, a portable device for taking "street view" panoramic photos and offline access to Google Maps on Android phones. Google Imagery, the company's most sophisticated 3D rendering to date, makes use of an automated process to generate very detailed models from 45-degree aerial photos. Google has actually commissioned a fleet of planes to do the job. The end result is zoomable, three-dimensional cityscapes, complete with top and side level views of buildings, streets and landscaping. Google aims to bring the new 3D imagery to desktops later this year.

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