Communications-Related Headlines for July 16, 2002

INTERNATIONAL
Israel Blocks Palestinian ISP
Inuit Find Home on the Web

EDTECH
Secretary of Education's 'No Child Left Behind' Tour

WIRELESS
Talks Weigh Big Project on Wireless Internet Link

BROADCASTING
Digital TV Deadline Set

INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL BLOCKS PALESTINIAN ISP
For hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, getting to work, school or the
market has been virtually impossible since Israel's latest anti-terror
campaign began. Now, many won't be able to get online, either. Early Monday
morning, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops took over the offices of
Palnet, the leading Palestinian Internet service provider, shutting down the
firm's operations. The move, which has reduced Internet access to a trickle
in the West Bank and Gaza, is part of a larger, intermittent effort by the
Israeli military to hobble the Palestinians' communications and media
infrastructure. In January, the IDF blew up the Ramallah offices of the
Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, the official voice of the Arafat
government.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Noah Shachtman]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53873,00.html)

INUIT FIND HOME ON THE WEB
One of the oldest peoples, the Inuit, have turned to one of the most modern
communication forms to tell the world about their culture. The Inuit have
launched a website to tell their 5,000-year-old history in their own words.
In addition, the website serves as a way for community outreach to the
Inuits spread across a vast territory stretching from the Chukchi peninsula
of Russia east to the coast of Greenland. Currently the website is only in
English, but there are plans to offer it in the Inuit native language,
Inukitut. Developers are working on devising a standard writing system for
Inukitut, as well as for the different regional dialects. A project of
Canada's national Inuit organization, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the
website may be accessed at (http://www.itk.ca/).
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2125000/2125517.stm)

EDTECH

SECRETARY OF EDUCATION'S 'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND' TOUR
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige discussed the importance of technology
and e-learning at the 'No Child Left Behind' forum at the Denver Center for
the Performing Arts. The forum brought together members from business,
government and education to discuss how the Internet and information
technology can be used to augment student achievement. "By harnessing
technology, we can expand access to learning and close the achievement gap
in America. And that's the critical mission of the 'No Child Left Behind'
Act of 2001," said Paige. "These new education reforms say loud and clear:
One size does not fit all when it comes to educating our children." More
information about the new law and about Secretary Paige's tour, please see
the Department of Education's website, 'No Child Left Behind' at
http://nochildleftbehind.gov.
[SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education]
(http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-2002/07122002a.html)

WIRELESS

TALKS WEIGH BIG PROJECT ON WIRELESS INTERNET LINK
Several leading computer and telecommunications companies, including the
Intel Corporation, I.B.M., AT&T Wireless, are discussing the joint creation
of a wireless data network that would make it possible for users of
hand-held and portable computers to have access to the Internet at high
speeds nationwide. The coalition, known as Project Rainbow, is discussing
the creation of a network based on the increasingly popular 802.11 wireless
data standard, known as WiFi. The 802.11 standard has been a growing rapidly
despite the lack of backing of major corporate service providers. Part of
the challenge is that 802.11 networks were not originally intended to be
used in the way that the Project Rainbow discussions now envision.
Originally the technology was conceived as a replacement for wired Ethernet
office networks over ranges of several hundred feet. Project Rainbow
partners envision a nationwide service that would provide on-the-go
professionals and other Web surfers a unified way to reach the Internet from
a wide range of "hot spots" like airports and other public places. It is not
intended to supply broadband connections to customers' homes.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/16/technology/16WIRE.html)
(requires registration)

BROADCASTING

DIGITAL TV DEADLINE SET
Worried that digital TV technology and entertainment industries are not
coming to terms fast enough, the chairman of the House Commerce Committee
has set a September deadline. Representative Bill Tauzin (R-La.) said in an
interview that "they simply haven't crossed the finish line. They have one
last chance between now and September to close the final gaps between all
the different issues that they haven't agreed upon. Otherwise we're going to
begin the process of legislating." The major point of contention between the
industries is over how to make digital television attractive to consumers
while protecting it from pirates. One major issue that has been agreed upon
is a new technology called a "broadcast flag." The flag would be embedded
into television programs and would tell home recording devices not to record
those flagged programs. Of course, this one agreement has led to many other
disagreements over fair use rights for consumers and manufacturing concerns,
leaving many wondering if digital television will arrive in American homes
by the 2006 deadline set by Congress.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002-07-15-digital-tv_x.htm)'

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