Icann opens up to the world

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has signed a momentous agreement with the US Department of Commerce, effectively relinquishing America's high-level control of the Internet, says Computing.co.uk.

Icann was created in 1998, and manages the allocation of IP address space, protocol identifier assignments, top-level domains and root server systems.

The affirmation of commitments will see factors such as accountability and transparency, as well as the security and resiliency of the Internet, reviewed by an international committee of parties chosen by the chairman of Icann's Governmental Advisory Committee, which represents 100 countries around the world, and the chief executive of Icann.

Red Bull, as everyone knows, gives you wings. But the energy drink could soon provide minutes and network coverage too, because the company has introduced a mobile phone network, reports The Register.

Details are still sketchy at this stage, but a Web site, Red Bull Mobile, has cropped up online. It promises “the latest handsets, competitive tariffs and a complete package of mobile communication features”.

While the site's opening page shows a Sony Ericsson handset with 'Red Bull Mobile' branding and is written in English, all other pages are written in German. The Web site's URL ends in “.au” - the code for Austria.

Researchers have demonstrated a "time telescope" that could squeeze much more information into the data packets sent around the Internet, says the BBC.

Rather than focusing information-carrying light pulses in space, like a normal lens, it focuses them in time.

The telescope comprises laser beams that combine in a tiny silicon structure to compress the pulses.

Twitter has announced a long-awaited feature to a small subset of its user base for testing. "Lists" lets users group Twitter accounts together for easy filtration, reports CNet.

For example, users can create a list of work friends or one for drinking buddies. By default, lists are public (although private ones can be created), so they can be shared with anyone on Twitter. Other users can then subscribe directly to a public list if they are interested.

List sharing opens up a lot of possibilities for list curators to emerge on the service, creating a whole new class of influential users. This should help with the discovery of new Twitter accounts and hopefully help to keep fresh content flowing.