2008 is special for Karnataka’ poll scape. With the assembly election becoming a hotbed for news, views and responses, the internet has become the key political battleground.

Popular video sharing tools like youtube.com are full of such responses videos, with more and more being uploaded everyday.
For example, a video site is dedicated to Sushma Swaraj’s Kannada skill and it states, “Thanks to historical Bellary parliamentary election where Sushma fought against Sonia Gandhi…”.
Another video on Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) evaluates voters on how to use EVMs. This is coupled with an election officer addressing a media conference on the model code of conduct on election rules and regulations. Interestingly, the poll bonanzas offered by various political parties find separate videos. Following the success of populist measures, parties here have decided to announce the same in Karnataka.
For example, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had promised colour TVs in Tamil Nadu if voted to power while in the neighboring Andhra Pradesh, rice at subsidized price had caught the fascination of voters.

With similar poll bonanza being offered to voters here, one can find many video sites dedicated to poll promises.
Nishchal, a student says, “Vidoe sites are user-friendly. With the younger generation glued to sites. It is better for them to browse and download the videos instead of attending political rallies or meetings”.
However, Anant Narayan, a techie and YouTube freak, says, “In the USA, the YouTube features speeches of candidates and responses. However, theis trend is yet to catch up here. Another missing link is the demand from the voters as to what they expect from the candidates.”

Source: bangalore mirror

A notorious “Spam King” and his partner now owe MySpace about $230 million in damages after a federal judge awarded the popular online hangout what is believed to be the largest anti-spam judgment ever.

The judgment is a big victory for MySpace, although service providers often have a tough time collecting such awards. But even if the News Corp.-owned site never collects, it hopes the judgment deters other spammers.
“Anybody who’s been thinking about engaging in spam is going to say, “Wow, I better not go there,” MySpace’s chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigham, told The Associated press on Tuesday. “Spammers don’t want to be prosecuted. They are there to make money. It’s our job to send a message to stop them.”
U.S District Judge Audrey B. Collins in Los Angeles ruled in MySpace’s favor Monday after Sanford Wallace and Walter Rines failed to show up for a court hearing.
Wallace earned the monikers, “Spam King” and “Spamford” as head of a company that sent as many as 30 million junk e-mails a day in the 1990s. He left that company, Cyber Promotions, following lawsuits from leading Internet service providers such as Time Warner Inc.’s AOL, only to re-emerge in a spyware case that led to a s $4 million federal judgment against him in 2006.
“MySpace has zero tolerance for those who attempt to act illegally on our site,” Nigam said in a statement. “We remain committed to punishing those who violate the law and try to harm our members.”
Nigam told the AP that Wallace and rines created their own MySpace accounts or took over existing ones by stealing passwords through ‘phishing” scams.

Source: Bangalore Mirror