Canada's telecom regulator -- the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) -- ruled today that it would begin regulating voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) communications when used as a local telephone service.
 
It's a significant decision and I haven't yet had time to go through it, but from what I have gathered so far, the rationale behind the decision is that VoIP-based new entrants to the local phone market should have a fair and fighting chance to compete against the telecom giants -- known as incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) like Bell and Telus -- which could easily heavily ...   more »

The Toronto edition of Metro International newspapers/Toronto Star explains why Canadian gamers now need photo identification to buy or rent computer and video games. The new restriction is part of the Retail Council of Canada's (RCC) Commitment to Parents initiative, which "requires retailers across Canada to support and enforce the ESRB ratings for computer and video games." The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) are also partners in the program.

The RCC says that it has the support of 90% of game retailers in the voluntary program. Retailers that support the program include...   more »

The SANS Institute released 2004's Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities list, its fifth edition of the annual list.

It's a good, evolving guide that draws attention to the problem of Internet security which is of growing importance as we become more reliant on the Internet as a platform for our communications and commerce. (More on the relative importance of Internet security in another blog post -- when I get some time to write about that).

Notable additions to the list are e-mail client software vulnerabilities and instant messaging vulnerabilities on the Windows list. I am unsure why both of these were not added to the list before....   more »

I'm not normally one to link to or regurgitate press releases, but this is more for my own reference than anything else.

http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=RFMD&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=624027

RF Micro Devices Announces Production Shipments of Wireless LAN Transceiver for Handheld Nintendo DS Game System

GREENSBORO, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2004--RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq:RFMD), a leading provider of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, today announced the Company has begun production shipments of its 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver for use in the new Nintendo DS ...   more »