On the Internet, the traffic cops are blind - they dont look at the data they are directing, and they dont give preferential treatment.

Thats something operators of the Internet highway, the major U.S. phone companies, want to change by effectively adding a toll lane: They want to be able to give priority treatment to those who pay to get through faster.

Naturally, consumer advocates and the Web companies that would be paying the toll are calling it highway robbery.

Allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success, Vinton Cerf told a Senate committee recently. Cerf, who played a key role in building the Internet, is now the Chief Internet Evangelist at Google Inc.

On the Internet, information is carried in packets, small chunks of data. An e-mail might be divided into several packets and travel different routes to the destination, much like cars have multiple ways of getting somewhere. The packets may arrive out of order, a few even late, but data can be reassembled to reconstitute the e-mail.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out - Read more courtesy of ap.org

Online auctioneer eBay is an Internet phenomenon, a global garage sale that has forever changed how people think about the stuff they have stashed in their attics, closets and basements.

One key to the companys success is its ratings system. Users post positive or negative feedback, which results in a score that helps members determine whether theyd like to do business with each other. User feedback shortens the leap of faith required when buying from faraway strangers.

It also means an eBayers reputation is worth its weight in gold. Many buyers refuse to purchase from any seller whose feedback score drops below 97 percent.

But experts warn against blithe belief in the veracity of eBay ratings. There are ways to artificially inflate and deflate those all important numbers and even an eBay underground whose members trade positive feedback for an investment of less than a dollar.

Those that frequent eBay as a buyer or seller this article is very good…read more courtesy of internetnews

Young adults in Europe find online advertising more effective than other channels; like their American youth counterparts. E-mail and instant messaging (IM) are high on the list of activities. A report commissioned by MSN and conducted by Helen Petrie, professor of human computer interaction at the University of York, details the online habits of young people in Europe.

Europeans age 16 to 24 years old use the Web as a social medium. Thirty percent of Web users in this group communicate via e-mail and IM with friends, family and colleagues. E-mail and IM are more heavily used early in the week. Lunchtime and the end-of-day periods account for peak daily usage.

Due to time spent on e-mail, 37 percent of online advertising is viewed by this group on e-mail Web sites such as MSNs Hotmail.

The Internet is viewed as the most favorable channel for advertising by this group, over traditional radio, cinema or magazine advertising. Nineteen percent find online ads the most informative form of advertising. Fifteen percent find it the most relevant when compared to traditional media in terms of reflecting the advances in creativity in the digital marketing industry in recent years, the report said.

Read more in regards to this group and their preferences.

Most Americans are uncomfortable with the fact that Internet search engines record their users queries, according to a survey released Wednesday that examined perceptions about federal authorities demands for such records.

Search engine companies recently sparked the debate by responding differently to the Justice Departments subpoena for records on what their users had been looking up.

Google Inc. refused to comply, citing privacy along with a desire to protect its trade secrets. But Yahoo Inc. and other rivals have handed over their data, which the government says will be useful in an online pornography crackdown.

Equally contentious, however, is whether the search engine providers even should be storing such records.

So how do you feel in regards to this issue?

Read more to see how many others responded to a survey on their thoughts.

EBay Inc. on Tuesday named Electronic Data Systems Corp. Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan, a dot-com refugee who was once a top executive at bankrupt online grocer Webvan, as CFO.

Swan replaces Rajiv Dutta, who is moving to Europe to become president of Skype, eBays recently acquired Web phone-calling business.

Swan takes over as CFO at the San Jose, California-based company on March 16.

Near the peak of the dot-com frenzy in October 1999, Swan joined Webvan, where he was chief financial officer, chief operating officer and chief executive for about 18 months. Webvan filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-2001.

Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto said in a note to clients that Swan was an excellent choice crediting him as the chief architect of a recent turnaround at Electronic Data Systems Corp. and for solid leadership at Webvan.

Read more cortesy of reuters