Net Family Newsletter

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December 5, 2003
Dear Subscribers:
It's great to be back! Hope all celebrants had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Here's our lineup for these first days of December:

Virtual hard hats: Kids love building their own Web sites

Web News Briefs: BT calls on kids; Are you a spammer?; Milestone anti-spam law; Cell phone worms; Shopping for gadgets?; Debit cards for young e-shoppers?; Gamer-customized games; Porn & Gen Y....

File-sharing corner: P2P's hot again, thus this news round-up

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Virtual hard hats: Kids love building their own sites
The statistic surprised us: "More than 2 million American children ages 6-17 have their own personal Web sites today," according to a survey, "Children, Families and the Internet," released by Grunwald Associates today. That's "fully 10% of the 23 million kids who have Internet access from home today," the study found - a three-fold increase since 2000. If you add those who plan to build their own sites, the combined figure is 40% of kids and teens online at home (the projection for 2005 is 6 million).
That's a lot more interest in Web site development than we expected, partly because we thought all the youthful interest in blogs had overtaken boring old html (see "Parents can try blogging," 11/14). But when we asked Peter Grunwald about that via email, he said that - though they didn't ask their young respondents specifically about blogs - he reminded us that blogs are often simply sections of Web sites, "by definition on kids' personal Web sites." Of course! In fact, we suspect that online journaling and blogs are actually this renewed interest in Web site construction.
The gender breakdown is interesting: The study found that "girls are significantly more likely than boys to have their own sites today" - 12.2% of girls versus 8.6% of boys.
Grunwald, which has been tracking online kids since 1995, also surveyed the school scene, finding that both kids and parents are increasingly frustrated with kids' online experiences at school. Nearly half of kids online from home (49%) and 34% of their parents say that kids are getting "too little time online" in their schools, Grunwald found. "This represents a doubling of dissatisfaction on the part of parents of 9-to-17-year-olds and a near-doubling on the part of their children since 2000."
The study, conducted in partnership with the US's Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was sponsored by Bell South, Kodak, and the Educational Testing Service.

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Web News Briefs

BT calls on tech-smart kids
There's a certain logic to this: A major corporation tapping kids' tech expertise to help grownups get connected. As ZDNet UK points out, it's good for business, empowering for children, and it's aimed at closing the digital divide. "Nearly 90% of families in London with children and annual household income of Ł52,000 (about $90k) or more have the Internet at home, compared to just 20% of married couples with an income of below Ł10,444," ZDNet, citing BT figures. As for the generational divide, BT found that 40% of UK adults "are forced to rely on their children to help them cope with the online world," 27% feel their tech illiteracy means they're out of touch with the modern world, and 39% say they want to learn more about computers and the Web. The solution? "Internet Rangers", which asks the questions: "Do your parents and grandparents look blankly at you when you start talking about the Internet? Are they confused by terms such as 'surfing the net' and URL? Then it's time you brought them up to date...."

Are you a spammer?
Outrageous thought. But computer security experts say that, if you have a broadband (DSL or cable modem) Internet connection, you could well be. A Reuters report cites those experts as saying that the home user with high-speed access is "the biggest culprit [not to mention victim] behind that seemingly unceasing torrent of email spam messages and computer virus outbreaks." How so? Via worms and viruses carrying Trojan horse software that "discreetly installs itself into the innards of the [unprotected] PC." This is the "new generation" of worms and viruses that have been circulating just in the past six months - those that don't do damage to PCs but rather hijack them, so the virus or worm author can have "near complete control of a victimized machine."
And the definition of an unprotected PC? Basically, a Windows PC that doesn't have a firewall (go to ZoneLabs.com and download the free version of ZoneAlarm for home use) , virus protection (from McAfee, Symantec, Norton, etc.), and doesn't keep up with Microsoft's patches and critical updates. Those are the three precautions Microsoft recommends. We would add the downloading of Ad- Aware, free spyware-detection software available here. The best PC protection tips are at GetNetWise.org.

First national anti-spam law-to-be
The US Congress is very close to sending the first national-level anti-spam law to the President, and experts are saying it may actually bring some relief. The House of Representatives passed its version 397-5 two weeks ago, and the Senate its CAN SPAM bill 97-0 in late October. The two houses now just have to agree on final wording, which should happen in the next couple of weeks. "The bill, which would override all existing state anti-spam laws, puts numerous restrictions on the marketing e-mail messages companies can send to users, levies fines and jail terms for offenders, and instructs the Federal Trade Commission to report to Congress on a plan to create a 'do-not-spam' list," Internet Week reported. Anti-spam activists said the bill could actually lead to more spam, while Microsoft chairman Bill Gates "called it a 'milestone' that would help complement filtering and other technological anti-spam measures," USAToday reported. The bill would override all existing state anti-spam laws, including California's new legislation, set to take effect this January 1. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D) and Mike Honda (D), both of California, voted against the bill, calling it a "turkey" (timed for Thanksgiving), according to Internet News.
Check out "The 10 Biggest Spam Myths", a column Internet News ran shortly before the House's vote.

Up next: Cell phone worms
Sigh. It was only a matter of time, I guess. We haven't gotten computer worms and viruses licked, and now we face mobile-phone nasties, according to the New York Times in the first major newspaper story we've seen on the subject. "The problem is still small, with only a few cases reported globally. But as operating systems in cellphones become standardized, hackers will probably begin focusing on vulnerabilities in those systems as they have with personal computers. And as cellphones and personal digital assistants connect to the Internet at ever faster speeds, more users will be able to download files with attachments - some of which may be infected." The Times quotes one expert as saying that the problem is "five time bigger" with mobiles than with PCs just because the problem is so new. Experts are even projecting damage costs already, e.g., $471 million for every 5 million users in 2005.

Shopping for gadgets?
At least reading about shopping for gadgets can be fun at Wired.com. There are endless resources on the Web for holiday e-shoppers, of course, especially for fun, dweebie stuff like MP3 players, WiFi hardware, console games, digital cameras, etc. But two of the best, we think, are Wired magazine's Geek Gift Guide 2003, "77 innovative playthings" rounded up by Wired "crack squad of geeks" (complete with glossaries for newbies) and the Washington Post's Gadget Guide.

Debit cards for young e-shopppers?
It's a little scary what they know about teens and young adults, but there you go: Marketers know that members of Generation Y (people born since 1977) have annual income of $211 billion, according to eCommerce Times. Unfortunately for e- retailers, those under 18 are unlikely to have credit cards, but there are work- arounds, of course. "AOL has teamed up with Visa Buxx [prepaid card - parents can set the limit] to offer the AOL Cash Card to teen users of AOL 9.0. The card looks like a traditional Visa card - featuring the user's embossed name and a magnetic stripe - and can be used anywhere Visa is accepted and at ATMs," eCommerce Times reports, adding that the card does not carry an annual fee for AOL users. In its research, AOL found that two-thirds of 13-to-17-year-olds who use the Net say they're very or somewhat interested in a prepaid card that parents can allocate money to and manage online.

Games gamers can customize
At least for the young console gamers we've talked to, the greater the brainpower required the more interesting the game. Think how they'd like games they can co-create! According to a fascinating article in the New York Times, game developers are moving in this direction. "For years, players have found ways to hack into the digital DNA, the primary computer code that operates some of their favorite games, and alter its rules," the Times reports. "Consequently, weapons can be made more lethal, explosions flashier and more thunderous. And game characters can acquire godlike invulnerability or have their steely-eyed glares swapped for the hapless glaze of, say, a Homer Simpson." These game modifiers are a whole underground movement called "mod makers." And now they're showing signs of breaking into the mainstream as game developers. Wonderful alliteration opp: mod makers morph to mainstream!

Porn & Gen Y
"For a certain young, urban segment ... porn is as chic, and as integral to the lifestyle, as iPods and camera phones," and the Web is where they find it, reports Internet News. The article cites recent comScore Media Metrix figures showing that US 18-to-35- year-olds spend 17% more time online than the general population. This "digital generation" isn't looking for "the body part-oriented content" so much as something more, um, cerebral (the article says they're still searching for the right word - "the definition of porn is in flux"). The article quotes one source as saying this audience is more interested "investigating the culture of sex or porn, less about the sex act itself."

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File-sharing corner
Lots of P2P news of late, thus this little round-up:

Round 3 of RIAA lawsuits
Only 41 file-sharers being sued this time (in 11+ states), CNET reports, but the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said that it had also sent out letters to a further 90 people notifying them that they're next. One of the accused file- sharers is Ernest Brenot, 79, of Ridgefield, Wash., a retiree "who wrote in a handwritten note to a federal judge that he does not own a computer nor can he operate one," according to the Washington Post, adding that Mr. Brenot supposedly downloaded 774 songs by artists including Vanilla Ice, U2, Creed, Linkin Park and Guns N' Roses.
As controversial as the litigation has been, the RIAA says the "education campaign" is working, citing a study showing that 64% of consumers "now believe it is illegal to 'make music from the computer available for others to download for free over the Internet'," up from 37% a year ago. But RIAA critics say the figures come from a panel of users who know they're being watched, according to another CNET piece examining the campaign's effectiveness.

Oz's first P2P convicts: 3 students
Australia recently saw its first file-swapping convictions - of three students 19, 20, and 21, The Guardian reported, adding that Australia has "some of the toughest laws on file-swapping in the world." The students did, however, "escape jail" sentences, The Register reported.

ACLU takes US student's case
In the US, the American Civil Liberties Union has taken a student file-sharer's case, Herald-Sun.com reports. "The ACLU's interest stems from what it perceives as a violation of the unnamed [University of North Carolina] student's constitutional rights to privacy and anonymous use of the Internet. The RIAA charged that the student made nine copyrighted songs available for download on the Internet using a UNC computer connection."

US lawmakers tell P2P services: Self-regulate
A group of six US senators are asking P2P services - including Grokster, BearShare, Blubster, eDonkey2000, LimeWire, and Streamcast Networks - to help stop distribution of pornography and copyrighted material on their services, CNET reports. The request went out in a letter from the senators. They asked the file-sharing networks to do three things: "provide clear and conspicuous warnings to users about the legal risks of P2P software"; "add filters for copyrighted material and pornography to their software"; and "change the default setting in file-swapping software programs so that users must actively choose to share material with others." That last request is significant because there is growing evidence that file-sharers don't realize that they're often sharing personal information, including email messages, tax returns, and medical records (for more, see "New file-sharing detection software," 11/14).

Music industry's adapting
Its trade association may not be, but there are signs the music industry is adjusting to "Internet reality," the Washington Post reports in a big- picture article. "The music industry is grudgingly giving up on the idea that it can preserve the tightly controlled business practices that once made record companies and artists flush with cash. Instead, a transformation is under way." A New York Times report predicts a shakeout among the burgeoning pay-per-tune services: their numbers "will continue to build through the early part of next year, only to contract beneath the weight of excessive marketing spending and slim profit margins." What piqued our interest in this article is the prediction that what we'll see is the renting of an unlimited number of tunes for a flat (subscription) fee for a limited period of time - the only way people will be able to fill up 10,000-song-capacity MP3 players (based on the logic that no one would actually pay $1/tune to fill them up).

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That does it for this week. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Anne Collier, Editor

Net Family News