The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has put the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on notice, indirectly stating that it is no longer fit to deliver the new Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions proposed by the global community. "Father of the internet" and former ICANN board chairman Vinton Cerf (9-vint-speaking image by Veni Markovski , CC2.0 ) IANA functions - managing the domain name system root, assigning and coordinating IP and AS numbers/addresses and managing internet protocol numbering systems - have historically been delivered by ICANN under a contract it has with the US Department of Commerce. With the contract expiring, NTIA, which is an agency of the US Department of Commerce, consulted the public on what would be necessary in a renewed contract and, following this feedback, released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new IANA functions contract

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US loses confidence in ICANN

At a glance, it seems that Apple 's iOS is unstoppable as a leader in smartphone operating systems - but Microsoft 's opportunity comes from big- and small-screen integration. As this first graph shows, the proportion of web pages accessed from smartphones more than doubled last year. According to a sample of data collected by W3Counter, almost 3 per cent of web usage came from a mobile operating system, rising to more than 7 per cent last month

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By the numbers: Microsoft could still win mobile

Take heed: those erstwhile folks at Google deem our language is set to falter. Forsooth, we must abide a dialect that is destined to become devoid of imagination. The truth is, we're using fewer and fewer words, and Google has the figures to show it

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Google shows we're killing our language

If you come into range of the WiFi Pineapple Mark IV, every web page on the internet may be replaced by the Nyan Cat kitten, or, in the hands of someone malicious, something far worse.

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5 tips to protect you from Wi-Fi honeypots

The Wikimedia Foundation says it has completed the transfer of its domain portfolio away from Go Daddy, a move made in response to the registrar's position on the US's Stop Online Piracy Act Bill.

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Wikipedia gone from Go Daddy

Microsoft last week cut pricing on its Azure storage-as-you-go-service and its extra-small compute effort. The move comes just a few days after Amazon Web Services cut its pricing . What does it all mean

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Microsoft cuts Azure pricing

As Check Point's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Scott McKinnel is no stranger to travel. Today, he shares some of his experiences with us. Scott McKinnel (Credit: Check Point) Check Point specialises in network-security software and services, including firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs) and security management

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Travel Tech Q and A: Check Point's Scott McKinnel

It won't be long before we immerse ourselves in total artificial reality, only popping back home for lunch. In the meantime, a minor change in the feel of controllers could have a big impact on our gaming experiences. Engineers at the University of Utah have put our sense of touch to good use, with a game controller that subtly stretches the skin on your thumb tips to emulate motion

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Controller that's a bit of a stretch

Strong science and research departments are the two things that drew Peter Nikoletatos from his role as chief information officer at Curtin University to his new position as the director of Information Services with the Australian National University (ANU). Nikoletatos spoke to ZDNet Australia about his plans for ANU, and discussed his Curtin replacement. Peter Nikoletatos (Credit: Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia) "ANU is a very exciting opportunity, because it is one of the most pre-eminent research institutions

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New ANU CIO talks transformation plans

Apple used the iPad 3 - sorry, the iPad HD - no, pardon me, the " new iPad " announcement this week to update its Siri product with better international language support. We turned Japanese to find out whether the service is up to scratch. We sat down in the studio with Brian Haverty , CBS Interactive's editorial director and fluent Japanese speaker, to challenge Siri's linguistic capabilities

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Testing Japanese Siri