MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Chief Takes Knocks from the Left and the Right
Commentary: The Myth of 'Big Media'
INTERNET SECURITY
US Government Warns of Imminent Net Attack
Hackers Turn to Google to Find Weakest Links
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Cut Down Web for Digitally Deprived
Study: Internet Use by Latinos
Remote and Rural Solomon Islands Joining the World Wide Web
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC CHIEF TAKES KNOCKS FROM THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has taken blows to the chin both in the
regulatory ring of the FCC and on the scorecards of those who judge his
work. Having suffered a surprising defeat on the phone competition issue
when fellow Republican Kevin Martin aligned himself with the two Democratic
members, the recent backlash on the media ownership rules has some
suggesting that Powell may not be able to go the distance. "The left bashes
him for going too far, and the right for not going far enough," said Adam
Thierer, director of telecommunications studies at the Cato Institute. "I
suspect he has to be seriously considering moving on in the very short term.
And who can blame him?" Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union adds, "I think it
has undermined his credibility both intellectually and politically." Not
everyone has joined the Powell-bashing bandwagon, however. "We're in an
election cycle and there are a lot of people that have taken a lot of shots
at him, but that's the price of being a rising star in a political
environment," said Scott Cleland of the Precursor Group. The White House has
pledged to back Powell by vetoing any bills that would roll back the new
rules. The tech industry also gives Powell a high score, lauding his early
deregulatory efforts.
SOURCE: The Mercury News; AUTHOR: Heather Fleming Phillips
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6453676.htm
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
STUDY: INTERNET USE BY LATINOS
According to a new UCLA study, fewer Latinos use the Internet compared to
non-Latinos, reports Hispanic Business. In addition, a much lower percentage
of Latinos age 35 or older use the Internet compared to non-Latinos in the
same age range. Jeffrey Cole, director of UCLA's Center for Communication
Policy, said the study helped identify several key issues about the use of
the Internet by Latinos, the fastest-growing segment of the population.
"Latinos express strong opinions about Internet access, trust of online
information, their concerns about online privacy and credit card security,"
Cole said. An article from CNN covering the same study chose to accentuate
the positive, highlighting the findings that Latinos are getting online
faster than other groups in the United States. The article also acknowledges
the gender gap. Among Latinos, men who use the Internet outnumber women by
17 percentage points. The gender gap is four percentage points for Internet
users overall. This is the third year the UCLA Internet Project has
conducted the study, which covers more than 100 issues involving: who is
online and who is not, media use and trust, consumer behavior, communication
patterns, and social affects.
SOURCE: Hispanic Business; AUTHOR: AScribe News, Inc.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=11871
See also:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/03/internet.latinos.reut/index....
and
http://www.ccp.ucla.edu/
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/2003080...
_afp/solomons_unrest_internet&sid=96001018
(URL may need to be pasted together if broken)
See also:
http://www.peoplefirst.net.sb
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