Aug 21, 2009 (James Marsters and TTY)

HIS INGENUITY HELPED THE DEAF TAP THE POWER OF TELEPHONES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Stephen Miller]
James C. Marsters' greatest feat was to conjure the text telephone, or TTY, which for the first time gave deaf people independent access to the telephone via teletype machines. It was the first in a string of technologies that help deaf people communicate. Marsters, who died July 28 at 85 years old, defied the isolation many deaf people of his generation experienced. He willed himself into the mainstream long before there were technologies and programs to help deaf people do so. In the days before TTYs, "deaf people were dying of heart attacks because they could not find help in time to make emergency calls," Harry G. Lang, author of "A Phone of Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection Against Ma Bell," wrote in an email. Mr. Lang, who is also deaf, calls the TTY "a technological declaration of independence."
http://benton.org/node/27289

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY AUGUST 21, 2009

No, really, we're serious: the stimulus means no vacation this year. The FCC has a full agenda next week. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-08-23--P1W/

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   FCC Seeks More Input on Defining Broadband
   Education and the National Broadband Plan
   FCC Town Hall Addresses Broadband Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities
   MMTC Proposes FCC Workshop on Civil Rights and Diversity Issues in Broadband Policy
   Use Lifeline/LinkUp to Extend Broadband, Free Market Group Tells FCC

THE STIMULUS
   Another Extension (of sorts) for Broadband Stimulus Fund Applicants
   Rural + broadband = more jobs, better salaries
   Broadband Plays Catch-Up in Rural Areas, Outpaces Growth in Big Cities
   Boston Seeking Government Funding For Broadband Projects
   Seeking smart answers to grid questions

WIRELESS/TELECOM
   FCC to hear fight over Net calls today
   FCC August Meeting Agenda Includes Review of Wireless Market
   Telecoms chase after Google Voice's innovative calling features
   iPhone owners love Apple's smartphone, hate AT&T
   Smartphone Apps Fuel Business

HEALTH & MEDIA
   $1.2 Billion in Grants to Help Hospitals and Doctors Use Electronic Health Records
   TV Stations' Health Care Windfall Tops $45 Million
   Health Care is Topic #1 Online
   Health Care Reform Closely Followed, Much Discussed
   Blumenthal Update on Health IT Progress

OWNERSHIP
   Justice reviewing Microsoft-Yahoo deal
   Google Rivals Will Oppose Book Settlement
   Tribune Expects Changes

JOURNALISM
Paper Cuts: Deep Enough to Sustain a Recovery?

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Web Site Collects Data on Stimulus
San Francisco 'opens' city data to app developers

MORE ONLINE ...
   Unmasking Astroturf
   Telecommuting on the rise
   Web Firms Find Paths To Profits: Free Vs. Fees
   Uncouth Facebook postings closing doors for job candidates
   New FCC Public Safety Chief Says EAS Is on Priority List

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

FCC SEEKS MORE INPUT ON DEFINING BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission is asking for public input on the best way to define the term "broadband." An understanding of what constitutes "broadband" is essential to evaluating the extent to which "broadband capability" is available, and informs the evaluation of particular policy approaches intended to ensure access to broadband capability. The National Broadband Plan NOI observed that "broadband can be defined in myriad ways," and sought comment on possible approaches. The FCC now seeks more targeted comment on three aspects of this issue: 1) the general form, characteristics, and performance indicators that should be included in a definition of broadband; 2) the thresholds that should be assigned to these performance indicators today; and 3) how the definition should be reevaluated over time. Comments are due Monday, August 31. Reply comments are due Tuesday, September 8.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1842A1.doc
http://benton.org/node/27287
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EDUCATION AND THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On August 20, the Federal Communications Commission hosted a discussion on identifying the potential impact of increased broadband access on education outcomes and how broadband policies can help improve those outcomes. The National Broadband Plan workshop included panels on: 1) Innovation, Research and Development, 2) Viewpoints from Media and Society, and 3) the Future of the E-rate. The FCC is seeking ways in which broadband can impact education at the early childhood, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels in a cost-effective manner.
http://www.benton.org/node/27288
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FCC TOWN HALL ADDRESSES BROADBAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On August 20, 2009, the Federal Communications Commission held a town hall-style discussion on broadband and its accessibility for people with disabilities. Blair Levin, Executive Director of the FCC's National Broadband Plan efforts, led the event, directing questions to an audience of people with disabilities, advocates for people with disabilities, service providers, and other groups. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said, "I am here to listen and learn, but am delighted to see so many old friends who've worked so long and hard on disability access. Glad this meeting is happening and that Blair is moderating - shows the importance FCC is placing on disability rights. Everyone needs to be able to enjoy the benefits of broadband, especially people with disabilities."
http://www.benton.org/node/27266
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MMTC PROPOSES FCC WORKSHOP ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY ISSUES IN BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: ]
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council has suggested the Federal Communications Commission should conduct a National Broadband Plan workshop entitled "Civil Rights and Diversity Issues in Broadband Policy." The workshop, MMTC suggests, would enable the Commission to develop a full record on the civil rights aspects of each of the topics that was addressed more generally in the first 22 broadband workshops. The Civil Rights Workshop would focus on how broadband technology can be developed, deployed, and utilized in minority and multilingual communities that are afflicted by structural poverty and that experience low adoption rates. Panelists would include broadband experts from nonprofits, SDBs, MBEs, educational and community institutions and broadband service providers.
http://benton.org/node/27284
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USE LIFELINE/LINKUP TO EXTEND BROADBAND, FREE MARKET GROUP TELLS FCC
[SOURCE: Free State Foundation, AUTHOR: Randolph May]
May recently told the Federal Communications Commission that the National Broadband Plan should focus resources on geographic areas currently unserved and increasing adoption by including broadband service in the Lifeline/Linkup program for eligible low income persons. He also said no new Network Neutrality mandates or regulations should be adopted by the Commission.
http://benton.org/node/27280
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THE STIMULUS

ANOTHER EXTENSION (OF SORTS) FOR BROADBAND STIMULUS FUND APPLICANTS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
RUS and NTIA announce additional measures to ensure that all pending electronic applications can be submitted by the extended application deadline of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 20, 2009. All applicants must complete and submit their core application by the extended deadline. To the extent that any applicant has been unable to upload any of the attachments to the application by the extended deadline, it may submit those attachments on an appropriate electronic medium by hand-delivery no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on August 24, 2009 or postmarked no later than August 24, 2009. For applicants that choose a delivery service requiring a contact name and telephone number, that name and number is LaShemma Simmons, (888) 861-5509 [option 5].
http://benton.org/node/27286
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RURAL + BROADBAND = MORE JOBS, BETTER SALARIES
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Is broadband access good for rural America? In case there were any doubts, the Department of Agriculture put them to rest in a new report. The study contends that rural counties in the United States that embraced broadband adoption at the start of this decade enjoy access to more jobs than those that did not. Their residents also make more money than their less-connected counterparts. "Wage and salary jobs, as well as number of proprietors, grew faster in counties with early broadband Internet access," the survey concludes. "Nonfarm earnings showed greater growth corresponding to broadband availability." But large chunks of rural America still have a ways to go. Only 41 percent of rural households had broadband access in 2008, the USDA says, as opposed to 55 percent nationally. And adoption rates still lag behind cities, with a "marked difference" between urban and rural use. Only 70 percent of rural households with access to broadband embraced it in 2007, the report says, as opposed to 84 percent of city dwellers. Still, USDA argues that the biggest problem facing the countryside is getting broadband services to sparsely populated regions with difficult terrains. "These characteristics can make the fixed cost of providing broadband access too high, or limit potential demand, thus depressing the profitability," the report says, a conclusion that will cheer advocates of ongoing government stimulus for high-speed Internet development. The survey is also skeptical of the notion that Internet use discourages civic or community involvement. Au contraire, the authors say. It gets people more involved.
http://benton.org/node/27283
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BROADBAND PLAYS CATCH-UP IN RURAL AREAS, OUTPACES GROWTH IN BIG CITIES
[SOURCE: comScore, AUTHOR: Press release]
A study on broadband growth in rural, metropolitan and metropolitan areas in the United States indicates that while broadband penetration is much higher in the metropolitan and micropolitan areas, broadband has experienced the most significant gains in rural areas during the past two years. Rural markets (defined as having a population less than 10,000) in the U.S. experienced a 16-percentage point increase in broadband penetration from Q2 2007 to Q2 2009, making it the fastest growing geographic market segment in the nation. Comparatively, micropolitan areas (population between 10,000-50,000) grew 14 percentage points during the same period, while metropolitan areas (population 50,000+) grew 11 percentage points. Even though rural markets have experienced significant growth, their broadband penetration of 75 percent remains well below the national average of 89 percent. Lower broadband penetration in rural areas is compounded by lower Internet usage overall. According to a 2007 analysis by U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 63 percent of all rural households had at least one member access the Internet, compared with 73 percent of urban households. While large broadband providers such as AT&T and Comcast have a presence in rural areas, smaller and more localized providers such as Cincinnati Bell, Insight, PenTeleData, Mediacom and Bresnan Communications are proving tough competition in the battle for market share. For example, in Billings, Montana, Bresnan is the leading broadband provider with 63 percent of the market. Broadband penetration is still relatively low in Billings at 77 percent, indicating that Bresnan is well positioned to grow as broadband adoption continues to increase.
http://benton.org/node/27282
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BOSTON SEEKING GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR BROADBAND PROJECTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: ]
Boston is seeking $15 million in funding from the government for three broadband stimulus proposals it says are meant to "bridge the digital divide" and expand its municipal network from city buildings out into the community, where it hopes to offer free broadband access to "underserved" communities. The city says it will put up $4.2 million of its own money as well for the three programs: a Boston Broadband Network, a public computing center and a Sustainable Adoption Program.
http://benton.org/node/27281
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SEEKING SMART ANSWERS TO GRID QUESTIONS
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Sarah Reedy]
The smart grid is positioned as holding the answers to a lot of problems inherent in the complex and unwieldy beast that is the nation's electric grid. It promises to enhance reliability, optimize energy delivery through granular control, give power to the consumer and minimize the grid's huge environmental impact. The answers the smart grid provides present a compelling opportunity, but the movement brings up a lot of new questions too especially for the telecom service providers looking for a piece of the action. Before telcos can define their role in smart grids, they must first define what exactly a smart grid is. And, like most technologies, ask 10 people and expect 10 different answers.
http://benton.org/node/27279
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WIRELESS/TELECOM

FCC TO HEAR FIGHT OVER NET CALLS TODAY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
Apple and AT&T today are expected to tell the Federal Communications Commission why Google's free voice application, called Google Voice, is banned from the Apple iPhone. Google is also filing comments. But Google may soon find itself on the hot seat as well, telecom and public policy analysts say. Consumers who use Android, the Google-developed operating system for wireless devices, can't use Skype, a leading Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. A pioneer in free Internet calling, Skype allows you to talk as long as you want without draining cellphone minutes. Android users get Skype Lite, a watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks — not the Internet. As a result, long-distance calls are still cheap or free, but cellphone minutes are gobbled up every time a Skype Lite call is made. Ben Scott, public policy director of Free Press, says Google "is in an awkward spot. On the one hand, their application is being blocked on the Apple App Store. But on the other hand, they engaged in similar behavior" with Skype. Skype, to some degree, is caught in the middle.
http://benton.org/node/27299
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FCC AUGUST MEETING AGENDA INCLUDES REVIEW OF WIRELESS MARKET
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission never sleeps. Although it is late August on the calendar, it is like a new year at the Commission. Meeting Aug 27, the FCC will consider: 1) a Notice of Inquiry to seek to understand better the factors that encourage innovation and investment in wireless and to identify concrete steps the Commission can take to support and encourage further innovation and investment in this area, 2) a Notice of Inquiry soliciting information for the next annual report to Congress on the status of competition in the mobile wireless market, including commercial mobile services, and 3) a Notice of Inquiry that seeks comment on whether there are opportunities to protect and empower American consumers by ensuring sufficient access to relevant information about communications services.
http://benton.org/node/27298
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TELECOMS CHASE AFTER GOOGLE VOICE'S INNOVATIVE CALLING FEATURES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Mark Milian]
Google's pickup of Grand Central, a little Web startup with big ideas for revolutionizing phone use, is starting to look pretty smart two years later. The recently revamped version called Google Voice is beginning to spread to curious consumers in a similar fashion as Gmail's closed beta helped to conquer a sector of the Web-based e-mail sector. As more people get hip to Google Voice's perks of getting free voice mail transcription and e-mail alerts, having one number ring all of your phones and scoring free calls and text messages, some telecoms are quickly working behind the scenes to catch up.
http://benton.org/node/27297
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IPHONE OWNERS LOVE APPLE'S SMARTPHONE, HATE AT&T
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Gregg Keizer]
Owners of Apple's new iPhone 3GS love the device, but more than half of them hate AT&T, the smartphone's exclusive mobile carrier in the U.S., according to a just-released ChangeWave Research survey. More than eight of every ten iPhone 3GS owners said they were "very satisfied" with the smartphone, while another 17% said they were "somewhat satisfied." But the poll also revealed major dissatisfaction with AT&T, the lone mobile service provider allowed to sell calling plans for the iPhone in the US. When asked to name their top dislikes about the iPhone, 32% named iPhone lock-in with AT&T, while 23% pegged AT&T's calling and data coverage, service quality and service speed. Both responses, however, came in behind iPhone battery issues, which was the No. 1 dislike.
http://benton.org/node/27296
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SMARTPHONE APPS FUEL BUSINESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Diana Ransom]
Between documenting expenses and processing credit cards from just about anywhere in the U.S., smartphone applications have changed the way many small businesses operate. Now, more firms are turning to these apps to enhance the way customers interact with their products and services — and even boost their bottom lines. "People nowadays want everything to be at their fingertips, and if companies are not finding ways to provide these tools [they] will soon see drop-off from their customers," says Jennifer Shaheen, a small business technology consultant. Providing an app also offers a tremendous marketing opportunity, she says. Securing a placeholder in customers' smartphones can help keep a company on the brain, which is especially important in this rocky economy, Shaheen says. Building a simple app can be affordable for most companies. Although a developer might charge $6,000 to $8,000 to create a typical app, a modest app with fewer features could cost a company less than $2,000, says Jarin Udom, a developer
http://benton.org/node/27271
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HEALTH & MEDIA

$1.2 BILLION IN GRANTS TO HELP HOSPITALS AND DOCTORS USE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS
[SOURCE: The White House]
Vice President Joe Biden announced the availability of grants worth nearly $1.2 billion to help hospitals and health care providers implement and use electronic health records. The grants will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and will help health care providers qualify for new incentives that will be made available in 2010 to doctors and hospitals that meaningfully use electronic health records. The grants made available today include: 1) Grants totaling $598 million to establish approximately 70 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers, which will provide hospitals and clinicians with hands-on technical assistance in the selection, acquisition, implementation, and meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems. 2) Grants totaling $564 million to States and Qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) to support the development of mechanisms for information sharing within an emerging nationwide system of networks. The Department of Health and Human Services will also provide additional assistance to health care providers through the Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC). The HITRC will gather relevant information on effective practices from a wide variety of sources across the country and help the Regional Extension Centers collaborate with one another and with relevant stakeholders to identify and share best practices in EHR adoption, effective use, and provider support.
http://benton.org/node/27277
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TV STATIONS' HEALTH CARE WINDFALL TOPS $45 MILLION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
According to figures from TNS Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), over $60 million has been spent thus far in an attempt to get viewers to pressure their elected officials on health care one way or the other, with around $45 million of that going to local television. Until Washington works out an agreement on the polarizing issue, CMAG President Evan Tracey says the ad money will continue to gush. "Big issues are typically not resolved quickly," he says, "and this is a big issue." Just like with a presidential election, battleground states have emerged in the debate. They're typically states with moderate Democratic senators who will play a vital part in deciding how the attempt at reform shakes out. Tracey says Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine and Montana are prime targets.
http://benton.org/node/27292
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HEALTH CARE IS TOPIC #1 ONLINE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
For the week of August 10-14, almost one quarter (23%) of the top news-related links were to stories about health care according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.[1] This is the first time health care has been the top subject since PEJ began tracking the blogosphere in mid-January. The previous high water mark was from July 27-31 when health care was the fourth-largest story with 9% of the week's links.
http://benton.org/node/27276
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HEALTH CARE REFORM CLOSELY FOLLOWED, MUCH DISCUSSED
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, AUTHOR: Andrew Kohut et al]
Public interest in health care reform shows no signs of slackening, with news about the debate continuing to top the public's news agenda. Fully 46% name health care as the story they followed more closely than any other last week double the percentage who named the week's second most closely followed story (economy, 23%). Moreover, health care is far and away the story people say they have been talking about most with friends: 55% say this, compared with 20% who name the economy. The latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted August 14-17 among 1,003 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, finds that as news coverage of the health care debate reached a new high, claims that reform legislation would create "death panels" registered widely with the public. Fully 86% say they have heard either a lot (41%) or a little (45%) about so-called death panels "government organizations that will make decisions about who will and will not receive health services when they are critically ill."
http://benton.org/node/27275
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BLUMENTHAL UPDATE ON HEALTH IT PROGRESS
[SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services, AUTHOR: David Blumenthal]
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr David Blumenthal has written a letter on the national efforts accelerate the use of health information technology. He writes, "The technology will make patients' complete medical information securely and reliably available to health care providers where and when it is needed when clinician and patient are together facing medical decisions that can make a lasting difference."
http://benton.org/node/27274
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OWNERSHIP

JUSTICE REVIEWING MICROSOFT-YAHOO DEAL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
The Justice Department is formally reviewing Microsoft's proposed online search and advertising agreement with Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the situation, in the first wave of opposition the deal will likely face from antitrust regulators and lawmakers. The review will also be a litmus test for how aggressive the newly appointed antitrust officials will be in regulating the online advertising industry, one of President Obama's biggest supporters. The Obama Administration has said it will increase scrutiny of anti-competitive practices in the technology sector. Consumer groups say the proposed pact could reduce competition and choice for consumers while increasing the data collected about their online behavior. Microsoft and Yahoo both process enormous amounts of information about users, and consolidating that data could lead to more in-depth tracking of online activities, privacy advocates say. "This will be a test to see whether the new Obama antitrust team has real teeth when it comes to regulating this industry," said Jeffrey Chester, founder of the Center for Digital Democracy. "If Yahoo is turning over its search business to Microsoft, it will no longer have an independent search arm," he said. "It will be a company that's incapable of competing. This is nothing more than a takeover by Microsoft." Privacy advocates have also raised questions about the deal with the European Union. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm that reviews joint ventures and mergers, has not yet said whether it will examine the deal.
http://benton.org/node/27273
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GOOGLE RIVALS WILL OPPOSE BOOK SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo are planning to join a coalition of nonprofit groups, individuals and library associations to oppose a proposed class-action settlement giving Google the rights to commercialize digital copies of millions of books. Gary L. Reback, an antitrust lawyer in Silicon Valley, who is acting as counsel to the coalition, said that Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo had all agreed to join the group, which is tentatively called the Open Book Alliance. The group, led by Mr. Reback and the Internet Archive, a nonprofit group that has been critical of the settlement, plans to make a case to the Justice Department that the arrangement is anticompetitive. Some library associations and groups representing authors are also planning to join the coalition, he said. Members of the alliance will most likely file objections with the court independently.
http://benton.org/node/27295
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TRIBUNE EXPECTS CHANGES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shira Ovide]
Tribune Co. said its ownership is likely to change as the newspaper-and-television company emerges from bankruptcy-court protection, a shift that people familiar with the matter say would likely put the company in the hands of its lenders and shrink primary debt by more than 90%. In a note Thursday to employees, Tribune Chief Operating Officer Randy Michaels said "the ownership structure of the company is likely to change." He added that "current operating management is committed, and intends to remain in place during and after the restructuring." Tribune's senior lenders are likely to end up owning nearly all of the equity in a reorganized company, with a small amount reserved for Tribune management, employees and unsecured debtholders.
http://benton.org/node/27291
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JOURNALISM

PAPER CUTS: DEEP ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN A RECOVERY?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Martin Peers]
Investors can suddenly feel a pulse in newspaper companies. But the prognosis remains troubled. Badly beaten-down newspaper stocks have doubled or tripled in recent weeks after surprisingly upbeat earnings for the quarter ended in June. A bull case has emerged: Newspaper managements have cut costs so heavily that as long as advertising stops declining, fewer publishers will print red ink. Any moderate upturn could produce significant profits. Well, maybe. Certainly, costs have been cut. In the latest quarter, for instance, most of the publicly traded publishers reported expense cuts of about 20%, close to the 20% to 25% revenue drops they also experienced. A major area for expense reduction has been employee compensation, which can account for 50% of total costs, estimates John Morton of Morton Research. Savings from layoffs should continue. But those from pay freezes or even cuts will be tougher to maintain. Then there is another area of big expense reduction: newsprint. Together with ink it can account for 15% of expenses, although significantly less in the most recent quarter.
http://benton.org/node/27272
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

WEB SITE COLLECTS DATA ON STIMULUS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ed O'Keefe]
As Obama administration officials traveled the country this week announcing the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars in new economic stimulus grants, a government Web site, FederalReporting.gov, began accepting the spending and jobs data from grant recipients that will provide the first fact-based progress report about the economic recovery efforts. By mid-October, the government plans to post information from stimulus money recipients online, allowing the public to review the data. Government observers, many who applaud the transparency, said that the move may provoke as many questions as answers. Recipients of stimulus money have until Oct. 1 to register. Once registered, they have until mid-October to submit their first progress report, which must include detailed information about how and where the money is spent and the number of jobs created by the funding. Recipients could face legal action if they purposely report incorrect data.
http://benton.org/node/27290
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SAN FRANCISCO 'OPENS' CITY DATA TO APP DEVELOPERS
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Rich Karpinski]
The city of San Francisco today announced the launch of DataSF.org, an effort to build a publicly accessible database of machine-readable, API-accessible government data that could be used by developers to create new applications. So-called mashup apps are becoming increasingly popular as developers mix and match Web sites like Google Maps and platforms like the iPhone to build information-rich applications. For instance, developers could use the DataSF.org database to combine city crime data and apartment listings to help renters find a safe location or integrate restaurant inspection data into a review site to rate restaurants by their health code ratings. At least one app is already available. EcoFinder is an iPhone application that helps residents recycle based on their location. It was built using recycling data released by the city's Department of Energy.
http://benton.org/node/27278
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... and we're outta here. I could say "Go Cubs!" but do we really mean it anymore? Happy Big 4-3, AK!

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