“It is wrong to think that from the Internet, science can be revealed and Sharia [Islamic law] can be developed,” said Sheikh Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, the imam of the al-Qubba mosque in Medina.

“One cannot use these means to issue fatwas,” he said. during the transmission of the first Saudi channel dedicated to the dangers of al-Qaeda propaganda on the Internet.

Addressing Saudi youth, the imam said that there was no need to believe everything that that was found on the Web, especially sites that deal with Islamic law.

“No one can prevent people from using the Internet, because that involves their private affairs.

“The Internet is something that is used inside people’s homes and no one can dictate what people do in their homes.

“What we can do, is to teach them how to use this medium. It has to be stressed that the Internet, as an instrument, is not for issuing fatwas or to develop Sharia law.

The bill updates state laws against harassment by removing the requirement that the communication be written or over the telephone. Supporters say the bill now covers harassment from computers, text messages and other electronic devices.

MOM: Woman pleads not guilty in Internet suicide case

“Social networking sites and technology have opened a new door for criminals and bullies to prey on their victims, especially children,” Blunt said. “This new law will ensure that we have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment.”

Megan Meier killed herself in October 2006, shortly after receiving mean-spirited messages over the Internet. Her suicide prompted the bill.

Computerworld UK staff

Users of Barclays’ online bank service are to be given free security software, after the company signed a two-year deal with security vendor Kaspersky.

Customers who sign up for Barclays’ online banking service will be offered a two-year licence of Kaspersky Internet Security software free of charge, to protect against internet fraud and online identity theft. The software normally retails for £49.99 per year.

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Barclays customers will be able to download the product - which includes anti-virus software as well as spyware, adware, firewalls, parental controls and spam filters - from the bank’s web banking site. Barclays will also allow customers to download the software on up to three personal computers for each licence so that customers can protect all the computers in the same household.

The purchase price amounts to US$5.9M, representing an EV/EBIT08 multiple of 4.5. Independently from Metris, IQ expected for 2008 a sales growth of more than 20% and an EBIT margin above 50%.

“As a result of this acquisition, we can now offer mid-segment, easy-to-use CMM software that interfaces with nearly all Coordinate Measuring Machine brands. In addition, we will benefit from the complementary distribution channels to deploy our new technology products.” comments Bart Van Coppenolle, President and CEO of Metris, “The IQ acquisition will further leverage the Coord3 (aluminum CMMs) and Garda (articulated arms) acquisitions and strengthen our position in the mid-segment micro-metrology market. More specifically, this acquisition will expand Metris’ retrofit services and accelerate the adoption of our optical technologies in the mid-segment market.”

Most of us understand computers as appliances confined to their own world. Software applications are installed and launched on independent machines, each computer handles its own processing and storage tasks locally, and the Internet allows computers to communicate with each other.

Today, this tried-and-true model of computing is being transformed by the widespread availability of high-speed Internet access, additional functionality built into Web browsers and tremendous leaps in computing processing speeds. Today’s average workers are more mobile, and they demand reliable access to their data and applications, regardless of where they are or what computer they’re using.

For example, when you compose a memo to a client, you probably click on your “Start” menu and launch the copy of Microsoft Word that’s installed on your computer. When you’re done, you probably save the completed file in the “My Documents” folder on the same computer.

But consider for a moment how you would compose that document if word-processing software wasn’t installed on your computer. And what if your completed file lived on a Web server somewhere on the Internet, instead of your laptop or desktop? This is exactly what services like Google Docs and Zoho Writer provide. The idea of online storage is not as far-fetched today as it once was, but the assertion that an online application like Google Docs accessed through a Web browser could replace a locally installed word processor sounds absolutely wacky to many people.

‘ASaaSSINATING’ THE OLD SOFTWARE MODEL

The basic idea of SaaS is not all that new. For those who have lived with technology for many years, this might bring to mind old visions of so-called “dumb” terminals that sat on desks linked to a mainframe computer. All the real work was done by the mainframe, and each terminal connected to the mainframe to access files and applications.

In the days of the “dumb” terminal, the Internet was barely in its infancy. Today, every worker has a computer on his or her desk and owns more computers at home. The availability of high-speed Internet access is so rampant that it’s becoming a shock to find someone who still connects via dial-up. Put all that together with the fact that Web browsers are getting more secure and more advanced, and you have the perfect ingredients for some well-rounded services to be presented over the Internet.

Some astute students of computing technology point out that Software as a Service is just another incarnation of the application service provider model that has been popular for many years. The major difference, however, is that SaaS applications are designed from the ground up as Web-native software that is seamlessly delivered through a Web browser. ASPs, on the other hand, usually take software designed for typical installations and rig an HTML front-end or something similar to provide “over the Internet” functionality. There is a blurry line between ASP and SaaS, but SaaS has certainly become the more accepted term in the age of Web 2.0.

Barclays.co.uk users will be offered the security software free of charge for download from the web site. The bank is using supplier Kaspersky Lab for the software, which normally sells at £50 for an annual subscription Barclays total software spending has not been disclosed.

The security software will protect users against phishing attacks and data leakage, alongside Barclays two-factor authentication system PINsentry, introduced last year to more than one million customers.

For the past two years we have offered customers free anti-virus software, but as internet fraudsters become more sophisticated it is important that customers protect their computers from all threats and not just viruses, said Barclays director of digital banking Sean Gilchrist.

Kaspersky Lab has one of the best reputations in the business and together with PINsentry we believe Barclays online customers will have one of the best security packages of all online banks.

Figures released by UK payments body Apacs show that online fraud totalled £291m in the past year.