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27 August 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP FCC'S LOCAL MOTION [Commentary] The Christian Science
Monitor surmises that FCC Chairman Powell's localism task force is a maneuver
to "sideline a hot issue by throwing it to a study committee."
Although Powell isn't convinced that allowing greater concentration of
broadcasting ownership could diminish the amount of local news coverage,
he is seemingly willing to look for solutions. The task force may or may
not allay public fears that the new ownership rules will stifle diversity
and further homogenize radio and television programming. The article argues
that Powell's actions are based on the view that new technologies, from
satellite TV to Web radio, will bring more media diversity and meet local
consumer demand. For low-power FM radio in particular, Powell said he
would rapidly expand the number of licenses. This should increase the
opportunities for local companies to find market niches that many national
media companies won't fill, he says. Still, the opening of more local
radio may not be enough to satisfy critics of the new media ownership
rules, argues the Monitor; only a presidential veto may save Powell's
plan. SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0826/p10s02-comv.html
COPYRIGHT
COURT RULES THAT TRADE SECRETS CAN OUTWEIGH FREE SPEECH The California
Supreme Court brought Andrew Bunner's DVD copyright infringement case
a step closer to completion yesterday, ruling that an individual's First
Amendment right to free speech does not outweigh an entity's interest
in protecting its trade secrets. The remaining issue is whether or not
the DVD decryption software that Bunner posted to his website was indeed
a trade secret, a question that the court remanded to a state appeals
court. Bunner was sued in 1999 by a coalition of companies, all of which
are licensees of DVD encryption software. Bunner posted code for software
written by a Norwegian teenager that could crack the encryption, allowing
digital copying of DVD movies. Bunner's attorneys contend that since the
code was made available on many websites by the time Bunner had posted
it, its status as a trade secret is in question. SOURCE: The New York
Times; AUTHOR: Steve Lohr http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/technology/26CODE.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO HELP CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN SOUTH AFRICA ITExpeditors
(www.itexpeditors.com) is joining the Digital Partnership program in South
Africa with a donation of 440 Pentium II and Pentium III computers and
other IT equipment from its refurbishment facility. The PCs will be installed
into 88 school-based "eLearning Centers" across South Africa.
The Digital Partnership will pair the donation with Internet access, free
software, digital content and technical support for teachers, students
and the local community. The Digital Partnership is an initiative launched
by The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), an
international charity, and supported by the World Bank, South African
public authorities and community partners, and a network of 30 international
companies, including Microsoft, Cisco, Intel and Oracle. "[ITExpeditors']
generosity will contribute to a real breakthrough in building corporate
and community partnership," said IBLF CEO Robert Davies. "Over
40,000 poor children and their teachers will now have access to technology
for the very first time." SOURCE: International Business Leaders
Forum; AUTHOR: Steve Morton http://www.digitalpartnership.org/news.php
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN BOCA RATON When Boca Raton Rotary Club
member Mike Odsess learned that his daughter's school was updating its
computer lab, he knew he had recognized an opportunity to help underprivileged
kids in his community. Odsess arranged for the school's year-old Macs
to be donated to go to several nonprofit organizations. Among the groups
benefiting from the donation are the Boca Raton Police Athletic League,
Boca Helping Hands, Dixie Manor Youth Center, Whispering Pines Youth Center
and the Boca Teen Center. "Most kids are taught everything on computers
at school and there are a lot of underprivileged kids that don't have
access to computers at home," said Roxanna Trinka, adding that the
new computers "will allow them to hit the ground running and give
them the same advantages as everyone else." While some of the computers
will be hooked up in youth centers, several will find their way into the
homes of low-income families. SOURCE: Boca Raton News; AUTHOR: Kelli Kennedy
http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&category=LOCAL%20NEWS&prid=6
182
E-WASTE
TEACHING FUTURE GENERATIONS TO RECYCLE HIGH-TECH TRASH A two-year-old
computer-harvesting program at the University of Oregon (UO) rescues old
computers from the university's waste stream and recycles almost everything
but the plastic cases. Irene Smith, an instructor at UO's College of Education,
shows teachers-in-training the complex problem of e-waste and teaches
them how to strip computers down to their basic elements. The teachers
then share that knowledge with their elementary school classes. Kids not
only love to take things apart, they also show a keen understanding about
the environmental downside of technology, Smith said. The next step is
to see whether the UO program can be expanded to other state universities
and even to state government. A drawback of the program is that none of
the recyclables are worth any money: Nick Williams, UO's environmental
manager, says the university has to pay companies to take things such
as circuit boards, plastic-insulated wires and metal. SOURCE: eSchool
News; AUTHOR: eSchool News staff and wire service reports http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=4584
CABLE ON THE BLINK
AS PAK OPERATORS CHALLENGE BAN A February ban on Indian TV channels by
the Pakistani government has gone on long enough, the country's cable
industry has decided. In protest, cable operators have refused to air
popular international channels such as the BBC, CNN and Fox, claiming
that the effect of the ban on Indian programming has been "catastrophic."
The Cable Operators Association of Pakistan says that customers have refused
to pay their monthly bills since their favorite Indian programs were blocked.
The association accuses the government of attempting to shut out the competition
to state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), which has lost revenue to Indian
programming. Citizens fear that the government is seeking to exert direct
control over information. "Today, the government has banned Indian
channels, tomorrow it may ban the Net," said housewife Uzma Nasir.
Despite the protests, the government stands by its ban. The Pakistan Electronic
Media Regulatory Authority says that the action was intended "to
promote private Pakistani channels," and "[m]any operators have
decided to abide by the law and the government will not review its decision."
Senior Pemra official Waseem Ahmed warned that rogue stations' "licenses
could be cancelled for not showing Pakistani channels." SOURCE: Yahoo!
News; AUTHOR: Ahmad Naeem Khan, OneWorld South Asia http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20030826/wl_oneworld
/1793666961061891790
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
EVENT: THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY CERN, the International
Council for Science, the Third World Academy of Sciences and UNESCO are
organizing the RSIS forum to discuss the role of science in the information
society. Held in conjunction with WSIS, the forum is a response to a recent
call by Kofi Annan for the world's scientists to work towards extending
science's benefits to all people. Scheduled speakers at the forum include
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, former ICANN chair Esther
Dyson, Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Thai Crown Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn. Forum organizers are currently seeking proposals for exhibits
to be displayed over the course of the week; proposals are due September
30. The forum will be held December 8-9, immediately prior to the start
of the World Summit on the Information Society. SOURCE: CERN http://rsis.web.cern.ch/rsis/
26 August 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP PRSA ASKS U.S. SENATE TO BLOCK FCC OWNERSHIP RULES CHANGE
The Public Relations Society of America is throwing its weight behind
congressional efforts to roll back the FCC's media ownership rules, the
group said Friday. "The new rules threaten the diversity and local
ownership of broadcast media throughout the nation," said PRSA's
Steven V. Seekins. Consisting of PR professionals from business, nonprofit,
government and other sectors, PRSA is a 20,000-member organization that
supports diversity in media ownership. "In the local media marketplace,
we are already experiencing canned content, 'robot radio,' control of
local venues for public entertainment and news events and growing lack
of geographic focus in news reporting," Seekins said. The organization
called on the Senate to approve the joint resolution originating in the
House to roll back the national broadcast ownership cap to 35 percent.
SOURCE: SocialFunds.com http://www.socialfunds.com/news/release.cgi/2061.html
View the PRSA Press Release: http://www.prsa.org/_News/leaders/statement081403.asp
POWELL STANDS CORRECTED In championing the FCC's new localism initiative,
Chairman Michael Powell ruffled more than the feathers of public interest
and consumer groups. In remarks made last week, Powell chastised Sinclair
Broadcast Group, Cox Broadcast and Post-Newsweek Stations, calling them
"hypocrites" for supporting a rollback of the 45 percent broadcast
ownership cap in the name of localism. "The idea that [only they
are] uniquely positioned to make decisions affecting the local community
I think is false, simply false -- at least if the argument is you have
to be locally based to serve localism," the chairman said. A spokesperson
was quick to retract the statement upon discovering a few minor factual
oversights -- primarily that Sinclair has been conspicuously silent on
the cap issue and chose not to take a position. "Although we have
not previously supported a change in the cap, this relates not to any
concerns with such a change, but rather to our being so far below even
the 35 percent cap as to not be overly concerned with this issue,"
the company said in a letter to Powell. Cox and Post-Newsweek had similar
concerns, noting that neither company was anywhere near the cap. "The
last time I looked we owned six TV stations, representing coverage of
7.4 percent of the U.S," said Post-Newsweek president Alan Frank.
The FCC spokesperson said the commission "stand[s] corrected"
but added that Powell "was absolutely correct in suggesting that
those supporting a rollback of the national cap are hardly mom-and-pop
operations." SOURCE: TV Week; AUTHOR: Doug Halonen http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/082503powell.html
DEREG WEB SITE LAUNCHED Taking a cue from public interest opposition to
media ownership deregulation, FCC supporters have taken to the Web. Americans
for Tax Reform launched a website aimed at drumming up "nay"
votes when Congress convenes to approve a spending bill that would roll
back part of the FCC's recent order. ATR blames "congressional liberals"
for the re-regulation efforts, which they say specifically target conservative
news personalities, despite the fact that the congressional activity has
garnered widespread bipartisan support. The site allows users to contact
their legislators directly and plans to advertise on FoxNews.com, the
Drudge Report and other websites. SOURCE: Broadcasting and Cable http://www.stopmediaregulation.org
E-GOVERNMENT
UK E-GOVERNMENT PLAN LEAVES 'ESSENTIAL SERVICES' VULNERABLE TO VIRUSES
A parliamentary investigation has sparked fears that flaws in the UK's
£10 billion (USD$15.7 billion) e-government strategy will leave
the national infrastructure at risk of online attacks, such as the Sobig
virus released last week. Other reports indicate that many public bodies
are behind schedule to achieve the 2005 deadline for having all government
services online. Security experts worry that the push for speed will cause
security requirements and known flaws to be ignored, as projects are pushed
through for political reasons. "There is every possibility Britain
is about to place every aspect of its infrastructure at risk from malevolent
hackers, thieves and vandals without being absolutely certain that it's
properly protected," said security expert John Griffith. He added
that one mistake could permanently damage confidence in e-government.
The public response to the plan has been lukewarm, but proponents point
out that delays could further dampen public enthusiasm for the initiative.
SOURCE: Sunday Herald; AUTHOR: Iain S. Bruce http://www.sundayherald.com/36216
EDTECH
FLORIDA SCHOOLS' INTERNET SERVICE IN JEOPARDY The Universal Service Administrative
Company (USAC) has denied Florida's request for $7.63 million to fund
the Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN), which provides Internet
access to all 67 school districts. USAC, a federal nonprofit responsible
for distributing $2.25 billion a year in E-Rate subsidies to connect schools
and libraries to the Internet, questioned a decision by Florida Education
Commissioner Jim Horne and the State Technology Office under Governor
Jeb Bush to privatize FIRN. USAC officials concluded that "price
was not the primary factor" used by Florida in selecting Hayes E-Government
Resources Inc. to run the vast network. The main lobbyist for the Tallahassee
company is a former campaign manager for Bush. After taking over the network,
one of the company's first actions was to no longer allow teachers to
dial into the network for free from their homes. Without federal funding,
the state may be forced to shut down the network or turn to state lawmakers
and school districts to pick up the cost. Florida is appealing the decision;
the state argues that the feds have "misinterpreted the (bidding)
process. We believe we have chosen the best value for the people of Florida,"
said Department of Education spokeswoman Frances Marine. SOURCE: Gainesville
Sun; AUTHOR: Gary Fineout http://www.gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200330821014
24 August 2003
TELECOM POLICY
BELLS WON'T HAVE TO SHARE BROADBAND Yesterday the FCC released its long-awaited
set of rules that will govern how Baby Bells and their rivals compete
in the telecommunications market. The order relieves the four regional
Bells from having to give discounted line-sharing services to competing
Internet Service Providers that offer residential DSL service. A decision
by the FCC in February decision gave state public utility commissions
the authority to decide whether the Bells must offer discounted rates
for phone switching facilities used by competitors. The order provides
a set of guidelines for states to determine whether there is significant
competition in the voice market to loosen regulations. CompTel, the Competitive
Telecommunications Association, says it is pleased with the FCC's decision
to preserve switching discounts, but concerned about the DSL decision.
"The unjustified discontinuation of line-sharing and premature deregulation
of broadband access to customers nationwide will only serve to strengthen
the Bells' monopolistic grasp," said CompTel president H. Russell
Frisby Jr. SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Grant Gross, IDG News Service
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/20030822/tc_pcworld/112117
THE FCC'S EARLY XMAS GIFT TO THE LAWYERS Media reports across the country
suggest that the FCC's new telecom rules will face years of court challenges.
"Every word will be challenged," telecom lawyer Dana Frix told
the New York Times. The LA Times quoted AT&T's Robert Quinn as saying
that "[s]ome segment of the industry will appeal every aspect of"
the order. The Dow Jones Newswires said that the order "signals less
the end of a process than the beginning of litigation that has been promised
from virtually every corner of the industry" and predicted that suits
would be filed by both the regional Bells and their competitors in the
high-speed Internet market. Advocacy groups appear equally split on the
issue; while the LA Times reported that consumer groups cheered the decision,
the Consumer Federation of America "fears that broadband could increasingly
be dominated by the Bells and cable TV companies, and has promised to
fight that portion of the rules." SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR:
Cynthia L. Webb http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30786-2003Aug22.html
DIGITAL DIVIDE
TECHNOLOGY WITH SOCIAL SKILLS A number of development organizations are
finding smart ways to use technology to solve the world's most pressing
socioeconomic problems. The key for many of these initiatives is to focus
on technologies appropriate for the capabilities of NGOs working in capital-poor
but labor-rich developing countries. "It's not high technology or
low technology but the right technology that we're interested in,"
says Cowan Coventry of the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG),
which works to bring locally available, affordable technologies to the
developing world. In Sudan, ITDG makes cell phones available so that traders
can phone in the selling prices of commodities to radio networks; then
farmers can find the best price for their products. In the Philippines,
watchdog groups are using a simple software program called Martus to compile,
analyze and securely transmit data on human rights abuses. Project Impact
has developed cheaper manufacturing processes for intra-ocular lenses
and high-end hearing aids and sells these devices for a fraction of the
traditional cost. "Poverty maps," which use global positioning
satellite technology to highlight areas of poverty, have been used in
Brazil to redistribute tax revenues and in South Africa to create a strategy
to contain a cholera outbreak. SOURCE: Tech News World; AUTHOR: Jane Black
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31398.html
HOPE FLOATS: ASIAN YOUTHS TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE Fifteen projects have
been selected to share a $1 million grant from the Samsung DigitAll Hope
program. The projects range from distance-learning programs for the blind
in Vietnam to helping young farmers in Malaysia improve crops yields through
information technology. In India, the Hope grant will go towards funding
10 cybercafes in rural areas. This particular project is part of a larger
effort by Development Alternatives to spur the setup of 48,000 cyber cafes
in India over the next six years. Singapore's Ngee Ann Polytechnic runs
a program under its Business Information Technology course to help young
offenders from the prison's reformative training center learn computer
skills. Students develop a seven-week IT curriculum for the offenders,
ages 19-22, who attend classes at the polytechnic once a week. Professor
Leo Tan, who sits on the regional judging panel for the awards, said hope
floats when youths learn the need to help others. "If I have the
expertise, it's my duty, my responsibility, to bring others along with
me," he added. SOURCE: The Straits Times; AUTHOR: Ho Ka Wei http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/techscience/story/0,4386,205457,00.html
INTERNET SECURITY
GLOBAL RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK TO BEAT SOBIG VIRUS Computer security experts
raced frantically today to prevent a barrage of data from being unleashed
on the Web by the Sobig.F virus. A global hunt was under way from the
United States to South Korea to find and switch off 20 home computers
with high-speed broadband connections targeted by hundreds of thousands
of infected computers at 3 pm EDT Friday. Security experts discovered
only late yesterday that the bug has an embedded instruction for the infected
PCs to make contact with the 20 computers, which store an unknown program.
The search has been somewhat successful thus far, as technicians have
located and shut down half of the machines. Analysts estimate that the
Sobig virus has infected over a million computers worldwide, generating
a massive flow of infectious junk emails and bogging down computer networks.
SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Bernhard Warner, Reuters http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030822/tc_nm/tech_intern
et_virus_dc
August 8, 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC DEREGULATION ATTRACTS CRITICISM Katy Boss of Grand Valley State University
in Michigan offers an overview of the ongoing media ownership saga from
a university perspective. Critics of the new rules, she says, are concerned
about the decision's impact on local news, warning that it could allow
national media corporations to quash the diversity of local content. "It
can get Orwellian very quick, if you have virtually seven people sitting
around deciding how they're going to spin the news," says Roy Winegar,
the university's news media manager. Winegar adds that breaking down the
barriers to cross-ownership would be "the closest thing to a media
monopoly.... They'd do away with the WOOD TV 8s and the WZZM weather guys,
and do it all nationally," he says in reference to two local broadcasters.
"They say we have the freedom of choice in this country but actually
we have the freedom to choose, somebody else provides the choices."
SOURCE: Grand Valley Lanthorn; AUTHOR: Katy Boss http://www.lanthorn.com/news.asp?type=NS&aid=2539
DIGITAL DIVIDE
SOUTH AFRICAN TELECENTERS BATTLE AGAINST COSTS South Africa's Universal
Service Agency (USA), under the Department of Communications, says that
its telecenters face a number of challenges in bridging the digital divide.
High costs of electricity and telephone accounts make it difficult to
continue providing service to rural areas, and telecenters tend to lose
managers to the private sector. "The community often does not see
the need for using the Internet or the telecenter," says Joshua Manamela,
USA provincial coordinator. Manamela adds that 26 out of 70 telecenters
in rural areas have been closed because they are not financially viable.
The agency is seeking to focus on educating communities about the benefits
of having a telecenter, and the it hopes to reopen or relocate telecenters
that have been closed. The more sustainable centers benefit from companies
that assist them with telephone costs or electricity bills. The Siyabonga
telecenter, for example, has been equipped with subsidized broadband Internet
access and document processing equipment. SOURCE: IT Web; AUTHOR: Stephen
Whitford http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2003/0308061159.asp
PRIVACY
MAIL TRACKING SYSTEM RAISES PRIVACY FEARS A tracking system to verify
senders and recipients of mail is being considered by the US Postal Service.
The Postal Service began studying the idea a few years ago, but the effort
has taken on a new urgency since the anthrax mail scare in 2001. A presidential
commission said that the "Intelligent Mail" system could bolster
security, as well as allow customers to track the progress of anything
they send. Intelligent Mail is raising concerns among privacy advocates
who say it could violate civil liberties. Richard M. Smith, a security
and privacy consultant, called the notion ludicrous. "The idea that
the way we get secure is to identify people all the time is just wrongheaded,"
he said. Adds Rick Merritt of the advocacy group PostalWatch, "You
have to question the Big Brother aspect of the government being able to
document who is writing who." Zoe Strickland, the Postal Service's
chief privacy officer, responds: "Privacy is a major value with us,
and we will make sure those values are integrated into any program, including
Intelligent Mail." SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Brian Krebs http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29130-2003Aug7.html
INTERNET
EMAIL EXPERIMENT CONFIRMS SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION It's often been observed
that two random people can be connected to each other through "six
degrees of separation" -- in other words, a series of six social
ties that inevitably link people together. In this week's issue of Science,
researchers have announced that the theory holds true via email. Cornell
University's Duncan Watts solicited more than 60,000 online volunteers
(including at least one Headlines editor) in 166 countries to review a
list of 18 randomly selected target individuals from around the world.
Volunteers were encouraged to forward the name of each person to someone
they already knew who happened to be geographically closer to the target
individual. In most cases, volunteers' emails would reach the target within
five to seven degrees of separation. Researchers also discovered that
the social networks used by volunteers were largely driven by offline
social connections -- only six percent of connections were between people
who'd met each other online. Additionally, targets in the study were generally
reached more successfully when online participants of the same gender
passed along messages. SOURCE: New Scientist; Author: Will Knight http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994037
August 4, 2003
MEDIA OUR DEMOCRACY, OUR AIRWAVES Common Cause announced their support
yesterday for a bill requiring TV and radio broadcasters to use part of
their public interest obligation to provide minimum airtime to political
candidates in order to educate voters. Introduced by Sen. John McCain
(R-AZ) and others, the "Our Democracy, Our Airwaves Act" would
mandate two hours of political or issue-related content per week during
an election. "Congress has made it clear that they realize that Americans
want some control over the airwaves they own," said Chellie Pingree,
president of Common Cause, adding that "the next step is to give
the public what it wants and needs for a democracy to thrive: an equal
and balanced presentation of political views." The bill would further
require that all such programming, which could include issue-oriented
debates, must air between 6 a.m. and midnight, that all candidates be
charged the same rate as year-round advertisers, and that a voucher system
be created for federal candidates to buy airtime. SOURCE: Common Cause
http://www.commoncause.org/news/default.cfm?ArtID=215
TECH POLICY TOP ON TOP ... FOR NOW "The Department of Commerce's
Technology Opportunity Program (TOP) has been on the chopping block since
the beginning of the Bush administration," notes Norris Dickard,
director of public policy for the Benton Foundation. When the President's
FY 2004 budget again called for the program's termination, Benton and
others argued for continued funding. The coalition scored a victory yesterday
when the Senate Commerce Committee approved the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) Reauthorization Act of 2003, which
authorizes the TOP program for five years. This measure could be very
significant - NTIA and TOP have not had an official authorization for
years, relying instead on the shaky budgetary ground made possible by
the suspension of Congressional rules to allow "unauthorized appropriations."
The battle is not yet over, however - the NTIA/TOP authorization bill
must ultimately be passed by both Houses and signed by the President.
In the House, meanwhile, the appropriations bill that made headlines last
week for its inclusion of a media ownership rollback provision also contained
funding for the TOP program, a considerable accomplishment since the House
has historically been less friendly toward the program than their Senate
counterparts, who must now vote on a similar bill. To help ensure further
action, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights/Education Fund has launched
a grassroots campaign to encourage activists to send a general letter
of support on TOP to the President and their elected officials. SOURCE:
Benton Foundation; AUTHOR: Norris Dickard http://www.benton.org/publibrary/issuesinfocus/top-ntia.html
EDTECH THE OTHER 'E' IN EDUCATION [Commentary] C. Gopinath, a professor
of international business and strategic management at Suffolk University
in Boston, deconstructs the 'e' in e-education.
He describes two levels of the 'e': the first is familiarizing students
with the available technology and its uses; the second is students actively
incorporating the technology to enhance learning.
Gopinath describes how computer labs have given way to students with laptops
walking into regular classrooms.
Some institutions of higher learning are even making classrooms Internet-enabled,
though this can be an expensive proposition.
Another downside of the wired classroom is the frustration of some instructors
when students check email or surf the web during their lectures. Gopinath
believes that some fundamental pedagogical questions should be answered
before institutions rush to 'e-enable' their classrooms. These include:
Should students be able to immediately access a website the professor
references or is it enough to watch from a screen and access the site
at home?
Is education better served in reducing class sizes or in providing more
training for teachers?
He concludes that in every decision to use technology, it should be regarded
not as an end but a means to an end, that is, preparing students for their
various vocations. SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line; AUTHOR: C. Gopinath
http://www.blonnet.com/2003/07/28/stories/2003072800390900.htm
INTERNET ANTISPAM BILLS: WORSE THAN SPAM? Some online advocates are concerned
that anti-spam measures will end the free flow of information-the first
principle of the Internet.
Marv Johnson, legislative council for the American Civil Liberties Union,
worries that the ability to speak anonymously on the Internet is put at
risk by legislation that makes it illegal to mask a sender's identity
or forge routing information.
This would criminalize the actions of people who have a legitimate reason
to hide their identities, for instance dissidents under oppressive regimes,
closeted gay teens, or government whistle-blowers. Technology may be the
best way to stop spam.
A promising new approach is the use of Bayesian algorithms to tag spam
automatically and move it to a spam folder.
The algorithm learns from past experience to identify junk messages and
can be trained by users when they move misclassified email to a different
folder.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) uses software that doesn't block
spam, but rates it so that users can have messages sent to different inboxes.
Cindy Cohn of EFF says, "It's not the job of an ISP to block email."
Similarly, Johnson hopes that technology will head off the worst of the
anti-spam legislation.
"Let the marketplace handle spam," he said. SOURCE: Wired News;
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Armstrong http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,59840,00.html
INTERNET TAX BAN ADVANCES IN SENATE The Senate Commerce Committee yesterday
approved a measure that would permanently ban taxes on Internet access.
The Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act would prevent states from charging
a tax regardless of the manner in which an individual accesses the Web,
including high-speed services that are bundled with other telecommunications
services. This was a key provision in the eyes of telecom service providers,
who sought to eliminate the state tax on their Internet customers who
also subscribed to basic phone services. Currently 18 states have enacted
such legislation, and six more are considering doing so. The bill would
also eliminate a "grandfather clause" allowing certain states
to continue imposing the tax. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) did not oppose
the bill but expressed concern that states might be prevented from taxing
regular phone service, an issue that Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) pledged
to address. The House Judiciary Committee passed identical legislation
earlier this month. The Senate measure is not related to a multi-state
effort to impose and collect sales taxes on goods and services purchased
on-line, but McCain suggested that his committee would hold hearings on
the issue pursuant to the August recess. SOURCE: The Washington Post;
AUTHOR: Brian Krebs http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8310-2003Jul31.html
August 5, 2003
THE MYTH OF 'BIG MEDIA' [Commentary] Columnist Robert J. Samuelson attempts
to debunk what he calls the myth about big media, suggesting that public
concern over the effects of the FCC's new media ownership rules "completely
misrepresents reality." Samuelson lists the variety of new options
for media consumers, such as the explosion of FM radio, cable, the Internet
and personal media devices such as CD players since the 1970, proceeding
to explain that though some media companies have expanded, such expansion
is not at the public's expense. "Popular hostility toward big media
stems partly from the growing competition (a.k.a. more 'choice'), which
creates winners and losers -- and losers complain," he writes. "Liberals
don't like the conservative talk shows, but younger viewers do.... Social
conservatives despise what one recently called 'the raw sewage, ultraviolence,
graphic sex and raunchy language' of TV. But many viewers love it."
By responding to the will of the public and offering more choices, Samuelson
argues, companies are subject to intense competition for viewers/readers/listeners,
since "almost everyone may be offended by something." The author
also suggests that the public furor over media ownership is a misperception,
citing a Pew Research Center for People and the Press poll taken in June
(just after the FCC voted on the new rules) in which 51 percent of the
respondents knew nothing about the rules, with 36 percent reported knowing
"a little." Samuelson concludes by noting that the real losers
in the FCC backlash could be poorer Americans if free-over-the-air TV
declines or disappears. SOURCE: Newsweek; AUTHOR: Robert J. Samuelson
http://www.msnbc.com/news/947509.asp
INTERNET SECURITY
US GOVERNMENT WARNS OF IMMINENT NET ATTACK The National Infrastructure
Protection Center (NIPC), part of the US Department of Homeland Security,
has issued a global alert warning that hackers might be planning a massive
coordinated attack on US networks in the near future. NIPC issued the
alert due to a convergence of three factors: the recent revelation of
a security flaw in the Windows operating system; the development of tools
to exploit the flaw; and the sudden rise in "probing" of computer
networks, which could potentially identify security weaknesses. The warning
was backed up by a similar alert from the Computer Emergency Response
Team (CERT) at Carnegie Mellon University. Users of the most recent version
of MS Windows software are urged to download a patch to fix the security
flaw. SOURCE: New Scientist; AUTHOR: Will Knight http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994014
NIPC alert: http://www.nipc.gov/warnings/advisories/2003/Potential7302003.htm
CERT: http://www.cert.org/ See also:
Worm/MiMail Worm Goes on Global Infecting Spree http://www.vnunet.com/News/1142786
HACKERS TURN TO GOOGLE TO FIND WEAKEST LINKS At the Defcon hacker's conference
this week, professional hacker Johnny Long will make public a new technique
for hacking networks utilizing the web cache feature of the search engine
Google. The most popular search engine in the world, Google allows users
to search live web pages as well as "cached" pages -- in other
words, web pages that are no longer hosted on their original website,
but have been archived by Google. Webmasters sometimes set up temporary
pages that aren't intentionally hyperlinked from other pages, and use
them to share login and password information with others. Even once these
temporary pages are removed, though, Long says he is able to track them
down using Google's caching feature, allowing him to research potential
logins without even visiting his intended target's live website. Google
says it bears no responsibility for the loophole. SOURCE: New Scientist;
AUTHOR: Celeste Biever http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994002
DIGITAL DIVIDE
CUT DOWN WEB FOR DIGITALLY DEPRIVED A team from Aidworld, associated with
Cambridge University, is developing "lightweight software" that
can speed up narrowband Internet access by as much as 35 times. The free
software, called Aidbase, works by stripping out graphics, simplifying
the format of web pages and compressing the text. It is designed for use
on Internet connections running either over costly satellite telephones
or poor-quality landlines, giving it enormous potential in the developing
world. Aidworld's founder, Dr. Tom Corsellis, says the idea came from
working in the field as an aid worker and being cut off from crucial information
stored on "bandwidth-hogging websites." Aidworld hopes that
by initially making the software available to aid workers, the technology
will be picked up by others in the developing world who need access to
information on the Web. Aid agencies such as Care, Save the Children Fund
and the Red Cross, as well as the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs, have all endorsed the project. SOURCE: BBC News;
AUTHOR: Ivan Noble http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3078243.stm
Demo of Aidbase software: http://www.aidworld.org/demo.html
REMOTE AND RURAL SOLOMON ISLANDS JOINING THE WORLD WIDE WEB Despite its
geographic isolation and recent civil strife, the Solomon Islands are
managing to gain a foothold into the information age thanks to an initiative
known as the People First Network or PFnet. Utilizing solar-powered laptops
and digital shortwave radio, PFnet is bringing Internet access to this
Pacific nation, its population scattered across 100 islands. Before PFNet,
some islands would have to wait as long as six months before mail would
arrive; now their residents are beginning to have access to the Internet
and are participating in inter-island communications for the first time.
The network also allows Solomon Islanders to participate in discussions
around issues such as gender rights and constitutional reform. PFNet will
be highlighted at the World Summit on the Information Society this December
in Geneva. SOURCE: Yahoo News; AUTHOR: AFP http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1212&e=5&u=/afp/20030803/tc
_afp/solomons_unrest_internet&sid=96001018 (URL may need to be
pasted together if broken) See also: http://www.peoplefirst.net.sb
August 6, 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FEDERAL REGISTER PUBLISHES MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES In today's Federal Register,
the US government officially published the new FCC rules on media ownership.
Included in the register are the Broadcast Ownership Rules, Cross-Ownership
of Broadcast Stations and Newspapers, Multiple Ownership of Radio Broadcast
Stations in Local Markets, and Definition of Radio Markets. This official
publication of the rules is significant, because it acknowledges that
the rules will take affect in 30 days. Similarly, petitions for reconsideration
are due at the FCC within 30 days. SOURCE: Federal Register http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a030805c.html
Text of new rules: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov
/2003/03-19106.htm Text of proposed rules regarding the definition
of radio markets for areas not located in an Arbitron survey area: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov
/2003/03-19091.htm
HUH? NBC FORECASTS 2003 PROFIT UP 18%, SAYS MUST OWN MORE LOCAL STATIONS
TO SURVIVE Contradicting articles in yesterday's newspapers reinforce
the lack of clarity in media companies' support for the FCC's new ownership
rules -- primarily the argument that networks must be allowed to buy more
stations in order to compete with cable and other outlets. In Daily Variety,
NBC Chief Robert Wright "predicted NBC would see 18 percent profit
growth for the full year 2003 to $1.9 billion, with cash flows up by a
hefty 30 percent and revenues topping $6.7 billion." Meanwhile, in
the Chicago Tribune, NBC vice president B. Robert Okun, the network's
chief Washington lobbyist, says that what opponents of the FCC decision
"didn't understand was that to the networks a higher national audience
cap that would allow them to buy more television stations was essential
to the future of free broadcast TV." The seemingly crossed messages
prompted the Center for the Creative Community to quip, "Thanks.
Now we understand." SOURCE: Center for the Creative Community http://www.creativecommunity.us/page/page/205608.htm
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
REPORT: PREPARING DISADVANTAGED YOUTH FOR THE WORKFORCE OF TOMORROW Germany's
Digital Opportunities Foundation (http://www.digitale-chancen.de) has
published Preparing Disadvantaged Youth for the Workforce of Tomorrow.
Based on a conference co-hosted by the Benton Foundation in November 2002,
the report examines strategies to engage underserved youth populations
to help them develop 21st century skills. The report is made possible
by the Jacobs Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation and the AOL
Time Warner Foundation, with additional support from Benton's Digital
Divide Network, the European Commission and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The report's text is published in both German and English. SOURCE: Stiftung
Digitale Chancen, Benton Foundation http://www.benton.org/publibrary/ttr/teentech02.pdf
TECH SEEDS OF HOPE FOR HOMELESS Urban Seed, a nonprofit foundation in
Melbourne, Australia, will offer information technology courses for homeless
people in the city's central business district. The "urban classroom"
is on the ground floor of a center with four floors of accommodations
for homeless people above it. The curriculum, provided by Cisco Systems,
will consist of short courses on IT essentials. However, students could
progress to the Cisco Networking Academy program, a 280-hour course that
includes designing, building and maintaining computer networks. Urban
Seed operations director Paul Ronalds said his organization hopes to offer
guaranteed traineeships at the end of the program. "We wanted to
say we will manage IT training in a way that gives some real employment
opportunities but in a way that is easily accessible," Ronalds explained.
"Urban Seed is about how we create skills in the next 10 or 20 years
and we don't want people to be left behind in growing areas." SOURCE:
Australian IT; AUTHOR: Diana Thorp http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6864192%5e15345%5e%5enbv%5e1
5306-15316,00.html
INTERNET
STEALING THE INTERNET The RIAA's recent rash of lawsuits over alleged
file swapping on the Web is only a small part of a larger plan to reshape
the Internet, argue Jeff Chester and Steven Rosenfeld. A cadre of Internet,
software and entertainment companies are working to create a pricing structure
for different levels of broadband service and content, threatening to
render moot the Web's early promise as a free medium of exchange. Last
week a coalition including Amazon.com, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Disney
and others told Congress that ISPs should be able to impose volume-based
fee structures, a proposal that would force lower-income users to limit
the amount of content they can access. The potential for Internet "metering,
monitoring and monetizing" has led to various new business ventures
while delaying others, including the introduction of next-generation digital
television, as the industry "figure[s] out how to impose [its] pricing
model -- to extend [its] current distribution and sales monopoly."
While the authors agree that a fee-based introduction of some high-bandwidth
content may be legitimate, they also caution that public interest content,
such as streamed video of political candidates or public meetings, should
clearly be exempted from this model, striking a balance between "private
sector goals and public policy needs." SOURCE: TomPaine.com; AUTHORS:
Jeff Chester and Steven Rosenfeld http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/8528
'FLASH MOBS' SPREAD TO EUROPE A phenomenon known as the "flash mob"
is spreading across the United States to Europe, Singapore and Australia.
Responding to websites and emails, flash mob members voluntarily and simultaneously
converge at a specified location and take part in what is often a silly,
harmless activity before dispersing. In June 2003, the first flash mob
assembled in a Macy's department store in Manhattan. As instructed, participants
inquired about purchasing a "love rug" for their "suburban
commune." On another occasion, a flash mob of 200 standing at the
balcony railings of the Hyatt Hotel, next to Grand Central Station, spontaneously
applauded for 15 seconds. Rome saw the first European mob on July 24,
when 300 people entered a music and bookstore asking for non-existent
titles. "Bill," the reported creator of the online movement,
theorized about the appeal of flash mobs, suggesting that people may be
motivated by the humor, the social aspect or an aesthetic sensibility.
"Flash mobs are fun because they are out of the ordinary," says
Fred Hoysted, a mobber in New York. Author Howard Rheingold notes that
the same techniques of organizing can been used for political action.
SOURCE: CNN News; AUTHOR: Sandra Shmueli http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/index.html
WORD OF MOUSE: VIRAL MARKETING ON THE NET Several weeks ago, Internet
chat rooms around the world lit up with fiery debates regarding the metal
band Metallica's decision to sue an obscure Canadian band, Unfaith, for
their sequential use of the guitar chords E and F -- chords that are a
longstanding musical trademark, if not a legal one, of Metallica's music.
Word of the suit spread quickly via discussion groups and news outlets
around the world, making Unfaith perhaps the most talked about band on
the Net. The only problem was that the lawsuit was a hoax perpetrated
by Unfaith, which published the "news" on a web page made to
look like it came from MTV News. The hoax is a classic example of viral
marketing, which exploits the Internet's ability to spread information
through a grapevine of thousands of sites and discussion groups. (One
of the first such hoaxes occurred six years ago when a Scandinavian PR
firm used the domain name TASS.net -- easily confused with the Russian
ITAR-TASS news service -- to report that former Cambodian dictator Pol
Pot was seeking exile in Stockholm.) It's hard to predict which stories
get picked up in a viral fashion, but once it starts, it's nearly impossible
to stop. "I never expected the parody to reach as far and wide as
it did," says Unfaith lead singer Erik Ashley. "I'm just annoyed
that this satire has done more for us in a day than three years of hard
work and door-knocking ever did." SOURCE: The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1012053,00.html
See the Unfaith hoax: http://www1.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf_mtv.htm
Read Unfaith's perspective on the hoax: http://www.unfaith.net/pages/hoax/
See the Tass.net hoax from 1997: http://www.tass.net/
August 7, 2003
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
DEREGULATION DISASTER [Commentary] Despite the overwhelming House vote
on the spending bill that included a rollback of the broadcast TV ownership
cap last month, the public should remain vigilant in the fight against
media deregulation, argues Ryan Nyburg. Nyburg warns that the spending
bill passed by the House "would have passed anyway" and that
members "weren't expressing an opinion on media ownership,"
adding that the rider must survive the House-Senate compromise stage.
The specter of additional deregulatory measures also suggests that the
fight is far from over. Nyburg also questions FCC Chairman Michael Powell's
true motives for championing deregulation, calling his statements about
increasing localism and diversity "a rather bland and cynical front
to Powell's real views on the issue." He notes that Powell sits on
the board of a fund created by Congress in 1996 to kick-start small communications
firms, meaning "a man who profits from the industry being deregulated
is spearheading its deregulation." Nyburg closes by noting that the
new rules would allow, among other scenarios, a company to own multiple
TV station in a market with nine or more stations, including some of Oregon's
smaller communities. SOURCE: The Oregon Emerald; AUTHOR: Ryan Nyburg http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/08/05/3f2fcc1ce99d1
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
REPORT: LITERACY SKILLS FOR THE WORLD OF TOMORROW A new report from the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and UNESCO
shows considerable variation in levels of knowledge and skills between
students, schools and countries. The report, Literacy Skills for the World
of Tomorrow, analyzes data from the Program for International Student
Assessment (PISA), an international survey conducted every three years.
In particular, the report highlights new survey work conducted in Albania,
Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, FYR Macedonia,
Peru, Romania and Thailand. "Not all of these differences [in skills
and knowledge] are due to the social and economic conditions in which
students live and schools or countries operate," the OECD reports.
"Some countries have managed to mitigate the influence of social
background and some have achieved this while reaching a high overall level
of performance." This report updates the previous publication, Knowledge
and Skills for Life (2001). SOURCE: OECD http://www.pisa.oecd.org
Download the report: http://www.pisa.oecd.org/literacy/download.htm
BROADCASTING
STUDY: PERCENTAGE OF MINORITIES DROPS IN LOCAL RADIO AND TV NEWSROOMS
The Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation (RTNDA)
has released the results of its 2003 RTNDA/Ball State University Annual
Women & Minorities Survey. The study shows that although minorities
gained about 60 jobs overall in local radio and television this year,
the percentage of minorities has declined since last year -- from 20.6
percent to 18.1 percent in local television and from 8 percent to 6.5
percent in local radio. RTNDA president Barbara Cochran said the RTNDA
was disappointed by these findings. "We take this news very seriously
and ... will redouble our efforts to increase diversity in the workforce,"
she said. RTNDA Diversity Committee Chair Janice Gin added, "These
new figures are a call to action. As an industry, it's obvious we need
to do better at attracting minorities to broadcast journalism and improve
retention." The survey showed more positive results for women, finding
more women news directors and a growing percentage of women in television
newsrooms. SOURCE: Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation
http://www.rtnda.org/news/2003/073103.shtml
Review the research data: http://www.rtnda.org/research/research.shtml
Click
here for earlier Benton files.
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(c) Benton Foundation 2003. Redistribution of this email publication --
both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.
Communications-Related Headlines are compiled, summarized and edited by
Rachel Anderson (rachel@benton.org), Andy Carvin (andy@benton.org) and
Charles Meisch (charlie@benton.org) of the Benton Foundation -- we welcome
your feedback. Based in Washington DC, the Benton Foundation's mission
is to
articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and demonstrate
the value of communications for solving social problems. Other projects
at Benton include:
Digital Divide Network (www.digitaldividenetwork.org)
Digital Opportunity Channel (www.digitalopportunity.org)
OneWorld US (www.oneworld.net/us)
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org)
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