The topic of the 700 MHz FCC wireless spectrum auction that began on January 24, 2008 has stirred up much controversy.  The FCC recently canceled the meeting where the vote was to take place on the free internet plan, wherein it would decide if it should auction off 25 megahertz of wireless spectrum in the 2155 MHz to 2180 MHz band. 

The FCC would require license holders to offer free wireless broadband service, in exchange for using the spectrum, to provide free internet access to millions of Americans who cannot afford it or do not wish to pay for high speed internet access.

The FCC was set to vote on the plan on December 18, yet the meeting was cancelled due to opposition from several top officials, wireless providers, and civil rights groups.  The proposed government-mandated filter has many in an uproar; as such, a situation would allow the government to block anything it finds objectionable, similar to China.  The proposed free internet service would be filtered for material deemed not suitable for children, giving people 18 and over the option to opt out of the filtered service. 

 The proposed plan involves the rights to operate the 700 MHz frequency band in the United States, and the process of deciding how to go about it has created controversy.  The debate on the issue includes several telecommunications companies including AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Google and others.  This update brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your source for South Florida interactive marketing and web design.

Recently a shareholder with 1.5 percent of Yahoo Inc., Ivory Investment Management LP, has suggested the company sell its search business to Microsoft, suggesting the business venture has the potential to double the value of Yahoo.  Ivory Investment proposed via letter to Yahoo’s board that revising plans to sell the search business to Microsoft. 

Microsoft had offered previously to purchase Yahoo at $33 a share, which Yahoo rejected.  Yahoo shares were trading less than half that recently.  Rumors are circulating on both sides, with some saying Microsoft has no longer has a vested interest in purchasing Yahoo, and some theorizing that a deal of some nature is in the works.

One thing is clear, with 21.4 million shares of Yahoo; Ivory Investments has an interest in the future of Yahoo.  The business plan proposed by Ivory Investments suggests that Yahoo retain 80 percent of the advertising revenue generated through its search business, possibly increasing earnings by more than $500 million per year (pre EBITDA).  Not to mention that both companies stand to save approximately $800 million simply by combining their search operations, therefore cutting duplicate costs.

What will come of the suggestion made by Ivory Investment remains to be seen.  Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing and web design firm will continue to follow the progress of the story.

A search engine is essentially a tool whose performance level is dependent upon the amount of information it has the capacity to accumulate and draw from.  For this reason, while the World Wide Web would appear to be free, it is actually exchanging its service for little bits of information that are useful to businesses and search engines. 

A good example of obtaining information and transforming it into a tool for users is the Google Search Engine.  Google records internet protocol addresses generated by individual computers, cookies permitted by users, which browser is used, and the computer’s operating system to compile data used to advance its technology and information base.  Google does all of this in efforts to develop new technologies for the future, based on information it gathers and existing technologies. 

 With many in frenzy about online security and privacy measures, it is important to realize that information gathered online is utilized to further technology and is necessary for its advances.  Obtaining user information online can be done with respect to user privacy, as many companies have shown. 

An example of this is Google, who absorbs the information it requires, at which point it politely destroys the personal information.  After a specified length of time, Google permanently deletes the last two digits from the I.P. address and parts of the cookie numbers, for privacy issues.  This essentially separates the correlation between the search query and the computer it was generated from.  Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing and web design solution.

Could license plates be on their way to cyberspace?  With so many online privacy issues occurring today and tensions, running high on the controversial issue, a government and technology industry panel on cyber-security measures is suggesting that moving away from passwords may be the solution to online security issues.

The panel is recommending that the federal government start enforcing “strong authentication” rather than passwords, which are not 100% secure and effective. The panel also strongly recommends the non-government sector to adopt this approach as well.  This approach to online security involves computer users holding a device to gain access to a network computer or online service. 

 The report prepared by the panel offers helpful guidance for the new Obama administration regarding the future of online privacy and security.  In a report prepared by the panel titled “Securing Cyberspace in the 44th Presidency”, efforts are made to explain why restricting internet access and other measures to control cyber attacks would be beneficial to protecting government systems and online information.  The panel utilized the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy group that specializes in analysis of the number of successful government computer systems cyber attacks, to compile the report.

The future of online security will continue to evolve alongside technological advances in security penetration.  The report compiled calls for new regulations, laws and advancements in preventing cyber attacks and governing cyberspace.  A future of password free security just may be on the horizon.  Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale web design and interactive marketing firm.

YouTube is consistently evolving and increasing in popularity, with users watching longer videos.  While some users enjoy broadcasting themselves, there are even more who prefer to simply watch others broadcast.  The view-only users may be sharing more than they are aware of, as their information is also publicly available.

YouTube users may subscribe to follow certain clips, channels, or collections of videos from an individuals or companies that interest them.  Users receive reminders about new clips from the sources they have subscribed to.  What these users may not be aware of is that their user name and photo are normally listed on the pages of the channels they are subscribed to, and there is no option to keep subscriptions private.

The slogan of YouTube is “Broadcast Yourself”, and it is not widely understood that they also broadcasting user’s taste in videos.  Information about any channel a user opts to follow, or subscribe to, is available to anyone in the world.  This is not explained when users sign up for a YouTube account or when they opt to use the subscription feature.

Recently YouTube announced its plans to implement a newsfeed, similar to Facebook’s.  Controversy about what YouTube does with user’s private information and disclosure of use of that information is growing. 
Factor in the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, wherein following the video rental history of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork was published, the act was passed banning the disclosure of video viewing records. It will be interesting to see how the many privacy issues amoung internet-based companies unfold.   Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale web design and interactive marketing solution.