Episode 082

Video link-ups to replace travel | Australian IT
Video link-ups to replace travel

 VIDEOCONFERENCING is likely to get a boost in the budget as the Labor Government looks to slash at least $15 million from the public service's $400 million annual air travel bill.
The Government's planned cutbacks on travel are causing rethinking about alternatives within agencies," he said.

"The other driver is the skills shortage.

"Because agencies can't get sufficient people to staff project teams in one location, they've been building project teams in a variety of locations and looking at better means of communication between those teams."

BitTorrent file-sharing search engine shut down – Internet Applications Software
BitTorrent file-sharing search engine shut down

 In 2006, the largest Hollywood film studios accused TorrentSpy in a lawsuit of encouraging movie piracy. A federal judge ordered the company last June to provide the studios with user information found in its computer RAM.

In December, the judge in the case found that TorrentSpy operators intentionally destroyed evidence in the case, making it impossible for the Motion Picture Association of America to get a fair trial. They had earlier been fined US$30,000 for violations of discovery orders and were warned of severe sanctions if they continued to ignore the orders.

The judge ruled against TorrentSpy, which meant that all the company could do was argue over the amount of damages. From that point on, it appeared as if TorrentSpy's days were numbered.

Websites win right to show Games clips | The Australian
Websites win right to show Games clips

 

INTERNET sites in Australia will be allowed to show short video clips of Olympic events for the first time during the Beijing Games, following a historic agreement announced yesterday between the Seven Network and the International Olympic Committee.

Because of the aggressive nature of the domestic media industry, Australia is the first country in which an Olympic internet deal has been brokered for non-rights holders. It is also believed to be a first for a major world sporting event.

non-official sites will be allowed to show three minutes of Olympic events a day.

But they will have to "geoblock" their websites so they cannot be seen by internet users outside Australia.

Online retailing hits a plateau | The Australian
Online retailing hits a plateau

 

Director of retail Phil Bonanno said online retailing had stagnated over fears that goods could not be returned and the costs associated with delivery.

Static websites that fail to make the most of the broadband revolution are also to blame.

According to the survey of 1215 people, 47 per cent said they had fears regarding return policies and 32 per cent said they were concerned about the costs of delivery.