Rolf Boone

The Australian National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) has advised the Federal Government to establish a National Authentication Authority (NAA) as a model for dealing with Internet authentication. In a Discussion Paper titled “Establishment of a National Authentication Authority,” released on August 19 by NOIE, the office advises the Government to facilitate rather than […]

Responding to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s recent call for public consultations, the Information Technology Association of Canada issued a statement saying that the CRTC should keep its hands off new media. “We believe the Internet should not be subject to laws or regulations that do not apply in the non-digital world,” said Gaylen […]

Japan’s Ministry of Transportation plans to introduce a Web site devoted entirely to the nation’s tourism industry by the end of 1999, featuring in depth information on hotels, inns, restaurants and other tourist attractions for potential visitors to Japan. The Ministry of Transportation will earmark an estimated 1 billion yen (100 million dollars) in its […]

A survey of delegates to a conference in Queensland last weekend showed that Australia still lags the US in confidence about electronic commerce, and about the speed and secuirty of the Internet. John McCarthy, group director of research of Forrester Research, conducted the survey after his keynote speech on transactive content at the Open Systems […]

Jordanian Online Service In Test Launch Phase Content publisher Arabia.On.Line and ISP Global One are now testing an online information and entertainment service called Baladna, geared towards an audience of Jordanians at home and abroad. The subscription-based service will cover news, hourly updates, entertainment, technology and business information. Chats, message boards, classifieds, and individual homepage […]

At a recent “cyber business conference” sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, conference chairman Mr. Takeshi Ichiriki announced the introduction of “cyber cash” as an experiment to be conducted in the country from September of this year through February of 1999. Through this experiment they hope to better understand how “cyber cash” is […]

The Dialog Corp. plc is launching a suite of industry-focused information services targeting ten major market sectors on July 31. The sectors are: business, news and media, government, medicine, intellectual property, technology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, and agriculture. Users will be able to access each of the services separately, via a unique URL, or via a […]

As reported in the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, a leading trade and industry publication in Japan, an eighteen-member group representing some of the largest computer and Internet-based companies has called on the incoming government to urgently pursue the improvement of Internet use and electronic commerce. Although originally a private group, this is the first time that […]

British Telecom’s Yellow Pages UK implemented a 550-seat integrated document management (IDM) solution from California’s FileNET Corporation. It is using the Panagon- and Watermark-based solution in its customer support, customer services, debt management and finance departments, the company stated. “As an information company, we recognised the need to store and manage customer information and ensure […]

The European Commission said it was studying existing rules on gambling over the Internet, but has not yet decided whether common legislation is needed. “In its current examination of the framework for electronic commerce, the commission . . . is considering the issue of the regulation of such online services,” European Internal Market Commissioner Mario […]

Yahoo! Canada launched Yahoo! Canada News–a frequently updated source for Canadian news on the World Wide Web. Yahoo! Canada users can access current news coverage of Canadian stories, world, business, entertainment, and sports, the company said. Yahoo! News stories are supplied by Canadian Press, and include articles from Associated Press. According to Yahoo!, the addition […]

Japanese Internet companies are turning their attention to first-time computer and Internet users, and responding to the growing service needs of Net novices in hope of building up their membership lists. Sony Communication Network Corproation, which provides Internet connections to more than 300,000 members, began an Internet school for beginners this month in Tokyo. AOL […]