September 2001

CRISIS & COMMUNICATIONS
When Phones Failed, New Technology Filled the Void (WP)
Could E911 have helped in disaster? (CNET)

RESPONSES IN COMMUNICATIONS
Anti-Attack Feds Push Carnivore (Wired)
Web Vents Open on U.S. Muslims (Wired)
Rush to Adjust Entertainment in the Light of Some Real Events (NYT)
Microsoft Donating Money to Attack Relief (Wired)
United Way and The New York Community Trust Establish Sept 11th Fund (UWEWH)

CRISIS & COMMUNICATIONS

WHEN PHONES FAILED, NEW TECHNOLOGY FILLED THE VOID
Issue: Internet
As conventional and cellular telephone networks became overloaded with
calls, people turned to pagers, wireless e-mail devices and two-way radio
systems to communicate. Motient Corp. of Reston, VA reconfigured several
hundred satellite phones for the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to enable emergency workers to communicate over its
proprietary network, said Walter V. Purnell Jr., Motient's president and
chief executive. Kimberly Kuo, vice president of communications at the
Washington-based Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, relied
on a different technology: e-mail through her BlackBerry wireless device. "I
had my BlackBerry in one hand and, literally, my cell phone on one ear all
day long," Kuo said. "Literally, it was just a blessing for me to have those
devices."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Webb & Noguchi]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/washtech/techthursday/columns/digit...
pital/A21517-2001Sep12.html
(requires registration)

COULD E911 HAVE HELPED IN DISASTER?
Issue: Wireless Infrastructure
The Tuesday attacks are generating fresh debate about the system used to
pinpoint a cell phone user's location that wireless carriers are supposed to
begin using Oct. 1. The system, called Enhanced 911, or E911, was proposed
in 1996. In 1998, carriers were supposed to have the first phase in place,
which would help police learn a cell phone caller's phone number and the
nearest cell site. That was for an area anywhere within 1 to 5 miles. But
the next phase would locate a cell phone caller within 100 yards. Also this
week, the National Emergency Number Association released a report claiming
that nearly half of all 911 calls made in metropolitan areas are from cell
phones, yet there isn't a police station in the nation that has the
technology needed to pinpoint the caller's location. Foreseeably, the Oct. 1
deadline will pass with nine of the nation's major wireless
telecommunications carriers, including Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless and
Cingular Wireless, expected to ask the Federal Communications Commission for
a delay. In addition, just 10 percent of the police stations in the nation
are ready to implement the first phase of the system, according to various
sources. But some point out, including Travis Larsen, a spokesman for the
Cellular Telephone and Internet Association, and Herschel Shosteck of
wireless industry group The Shosteck Group, say an E911 system would make
little difference in locating buried survivors. "Sadly, with this
experience, you would need location technology capable of being able to
pinpoint within 1 yard," Larsen said.
[SOURCE: CNET News.com, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7139433.html?tag=dd.ne.dht.nl-sty.0)

RESPONSES IN COMMUNICATIONS

ANTI-ATTACK FEDS PUSH CARNIVORE
Issue: Federal Response
Reportedly, Federal police are increasing Internet surveillance after
Tuesday's deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Hours
after the DC and NY attacks, FBI agents began to visit Web-based, e-mail
firms and network providers, according to engineers at those companies who
spoke on condition of anonymity. An administrator at one major network
service provider said that FBI agents showed up at his workplace on Tuesday
"with a couple of Carnivores, requesting permission to place them in our
core, along with offers to actually pay for circuits and costs. "The person
would not say for publication what the response was but, "a lot of people"
at other firms were quietly going along with the FBI's request. "I know that
they are getting a lot of 'OKs' because they made it a point to mention that
they would only be covering our core for a few days, while their 'main boxes
were being set up at the Tier 1 carriers' -- scary," the engineer said. The
FBI's Carnivore system, which has been renamed DCS1000, is a specially
configured Windows computer designed to sit on an Internet provider's
network and monitor electronic communications.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46747,00.html)

WEB VENTS OPEN ON U.S. MUSLIMS
Issue: Bigotry and the Internet
Across the Internet, in chatrooms and Website postings, anti-Arab hate
speech on the Internet cranked to full blast Wednesday. Some U.S. Muslims
reported rampant harassment on- and offline. Before the U.S. government even
named a suspect for the attacks and despite numerous cautions to avoid
blaming any group without evidence, anti-Muslim speech was nearing a fever
pitch Wednesday. Now with evidence pointing to the potential involvement of
an Arab country, America's estimated 7 million Muslims are bracing for the
backlash. "We've got reports from all over the country," said Joshua Salaam,
the Civil Rights coordinator for the Council on American Islamic Relations,
a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting a positive image of Muslims in
America. "People are reporting stuff to us from chat rooms that is
absolutely hateful. Our own website has been bombarded with death threats."
Students at the University of Texas in Austin wearing Islamic garb
complained that their bags were searched by university police before they
were admitted to classrooms, and that they were told to leave the student
union because of "anti-Muslim sentiment," Salaam said.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Julia Scheere]
(http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,46778,00.html)

Rush to Adjust Entertainment in the Light of Some Real Events (NYT)
RUSH TO ADJUST ENTERTAINMENT IN THE LIGHT OF SOME REAL EVENTS
Issue: Hollywood's Reaction
Various studios have announced plans to scrap or delay film and television
projects that made used terrorism as a plot vehicle. Advertisers said they
intended to review their ad campaigns, especially those that may offend
viewers with a cheerful huckstering tone. Paul Cappelli, president at the Ad
Store agency in New York, said: "You just can't work the same way. With
other disasters or misfortunes, you can often figure out a way around. This
is not that". Newsmagazines tend to be adding, rather than subtracting. Both
Time, part of AOL Time Warner, and Newsweek, a division of the Washington
Post Company (news/quote), will publish special issues today. Neither issue
includes advertising. James Kelly, editor in chief of Time, said the
magazine planned to print eight million copies. The editor in chief of
Newsweek, Mark Whitaker, said the magazine would print two million copies.
U.S. News & World Report will publish a special issue, also without
advertising, on Friday. All three magazines will also publish on their
regular schedule next week.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Carter & Lyman]
(http://www.nyt.com/2001/09/13/business/media/13MEDI.html)

MICROSOFT DONATING MONEY TO ATTACK RELIEF
Issue: Industry Response
Microsoft said on Thursday it is giving $5 million in cash and $5 million in
software and services to help relief groups and government agencies deal
with the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The
cash would go to the September 11 Fund set up by the United Way of New York
and The New York Community Trust, Microsoft President Rick Belluzzo told
employees in a memo made available to Reuters. {SEE BELOW FOR FUND
INFORMATION} Microsoft is also encouraging its 44,000 employees to make
personal donations, for which the software giant would make matching
donations of up to $12,000 per year, Belluzzo said.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://www.wired.com/news/reuters/story?story_id=20010913RTTECH-MICROSOFT-D
C.htmlt)
SEE ALSO:
Scam artists capitalize on tragedy
SCAM ARTISTS CAPITALIZE ON TRAGEDY
[SOURCE: MSNBC.com, AUTHOR: Bob Sullivan]
(http://msnbc.com/news/628230_asp.htm)

UNITED WAY AND THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST ESTABLISH SEPT 11th FUND
Issue: Nonprofit Responses
From the press release:
The September 11th Fund has been established to help the victims of the
Tuesday, September 11th terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC and
other affected communities. The purpose of the fund is to mobilize financial
resources to respond to the pressing needs of the victims, their families
and all those who were affected by this tragedy. The September 11th Fund was
created by United Way and The New York Community Trust to receive financial
donations from Americans across the country. Funds will be administered by
the United Way and the Community Trust, who will form a distribution
committee to ensure that resources are deployed effectively in New York and
other cities affected by these tragic events. This effort is supported by
the Council on Foundations. The fund will provide immediate support to
established emergency assistance agencies, such as the American Red Cross.
It will also bring together the resources of other nonprofit health and
human service agencies. Anyone wishing to contribute to The September 11th
Fund may send their financial donations care of the United Way, September
11th Fund, 2 Park Avenue,. New York, New York, 10016. Donors may specify the
community where they would like their contributions to help (New York City,
Washington DC or other affected areas). Checks should be made payable to
"United Way". Contributions are also being accepted on the United Way of New
York City's web site at www.uwnyc.org and on the United Way of Essex and
West Hudson web site at www.uwewh.org.
United Way of Essex and West Hudson (973) 624-8300.
[SOURCE: United Way of West Essex-Hudson, CONTACT: Martha Bahamon]
(https://www.uwnyc.com/epledge/sept11.cfm)

More Information

AMERICAN RED CROSS - LOCAL

2 Gardner Road at Route 46 West

Fairfield, NJ 07003

Phone: 973-575-0880

Fax: 973-575-8462

AMERICAN RED CROSS - NATIONAL

1-800-HELPNOW OR 1-800-GIVELIFE

AMERICAN RED CROSS - BRUNSHWICK: 732-418-0800

AMERICAN RED CROSS - ANNEX ( at ) ST. JAMES HOSPTIAL: 973-274-0261

CATHOLIC CHARITIES : (703) 549-1390

CHRISTIAN DISASTER RESPONSE: 877-549-1390

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM: 1-212-870-3151

SALVATION ARMY

45 Central Avenue

Newark, NJ

973-623-5959

973-623-5737

BLOOD DONATIONS:

BLOOD CENTER OF NEW JERSEY FOR NORTH JERSEY - 1-800-BLOODNJ OR WEBSITE:
WWW.BLOODNJ.ORG

FOR A LIST OF HOSPTIAL IN NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY: 1-800-933-2566 OR WEBSITE:
WWW.NYBLOODCENTER.ORG

EAST ORANGE: NORTH JERSEY BLOOD CENTER - 45 S. GOVE ST.: 973-676-4700

EDISON: JFK MEDICAL CENTER BLOOD BANK, JFK CONFERENCE CENTER, 80 JAMES ST.
9a.m. to 9p.m., 732-321-7683

FORT DIX: RED CROSS OF FORT DIX: 609-562-2258

HOWELL: BLOOD CENTER OF CENTRAL JERSEY, 4068 US HIGHWAY 9, 732-901-0720

LIVINGSTON: ST. BARNABAS MEDICAL CENTER, 94 OLD SHORT HILLS ROAD, 9A.M. TO
9P.M., 973-322-5479 OR 5464 OR 2425 OR 5499

NEW BRUNSWICK: NY BLOOD ENTER, 167 NEW STREET, 1-800-933-2566

PARAMUS: BLOOD CENTER - BERGEN COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER, 970 LINWOOD AVE.
WEST, 1-800-444-3900

PARIPPANY: BLOOD CENTER OF NJ, 1259 ROUTE 46 E., 973-335-6162

PATERSON: RED CROSS OF PASSAIC COUNTY, 100 HAMILTON PLAZA , SUITE 1215:
973-977-9595; ST. JOSEPH'S REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, 703 MAIN STREET,
973-754-2000

PLAINFIELD: TRI-COUNTY RED CROSS, 332 W. FRONT STREET, 908-668-2280

PLEASANTVILLE: AMERICAN RED CORSS PLEASANTVILLE COMMUNITY DONOR CENTER, 850
NORTH FRANKLIN AVE., 609-497-4353, 8AM TO 8PM

SHREWSBURN: CENTERAL JERSEY BLOOD CENTER, 494 SYCAMORE AVE, 732-842-5750

TINTON FALLS: RED CROSS NEW JERSEY, 1540 W. PARK AVENUE, 732-493-9100

TRENTON: AMERICAN RED CROSS COMMUNITY DONOR CENTER, MERCER MEDICAL CENTER,
447 BELLEVUE AVENUE, 1-800-GIVELIFE

WEST ORANGE: BLOOD CENTER OF NJ, 401 PLEASANT VALLEY WAY, 973-669-9898, 7AM
TO 9PM

WESTFIELD: AMERICAN RED CROSS, WESTFIELD-MOUNTAINSIDE CHAPTER, 321 ELM ST.
1-908-232-7090

MANHATTAN: NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER, 10 E. 67TH STREET, FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT NEW YORK BLOOD CENER, 1-800 933-2566

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS: (Please - Only Call For Information About FAMILY
MEMBERS)

New York City: 212-560-2730
St. Vincent's Hospital: 212-604-7285
Bellevue Hospital: 212-562-7696
American Airlines: 1-800-245-0999
United Airlines: 1-800-932-8555
AON Corporation- (Business operating inside WTC): 203-863-6380

Morgan Stanley Information Line:
888-883-4391

Cantor Fitzgerald:
212-704-8188

Aon Employees and Tower 2:
866-256-4154

Employees of Blue Cross/Blue Shield offices at World Trade Center are asked
to call 866-761-8265 to verify that they are OK.

Deloitte & Touche Business Continuity Hotline 888-243-7666. This is for
employees to phone in their whereabouts.

Employees of Carr Futures at One World Trade are asked to call 312-762-1227
to verify their whereabouts.

For information on employees who worked in the World Trade Center from
floors 80 to 105, contact the Aon Corporation at 203-863-4391.

For information on employees of Morgan Stanley located at 2 World Trade
contact 888-883-4391.

For information concerning Marsh & McLennan Employees, call their hot line
at 212/345-6000.

For information concerning Euro Brokers Employees, call their hot line at
212-317-1000.

Hotline for Information on Family members at the Pentagon: 1-800-331-0075

Internet use for Information on family member at the Pentagon:
www.responcecare.com

--------------------------------------------------------------

INTERNET
Federal Web Sites Still Lag Private Sector's, Study Says (WP)
Antiglobalization Activists Spread Message Online With Videotapes
(WSJ)

COPYRIGHT
Hollywood Loves Hollings' Bill (WIRED)

MERGER
AOL Bid for AT&T Cable Draws Rivals, Critics (WP)

TELEPHONY
Verizon Records First Drop in Phone Lines (WP)

INTERNET

FEDERAL WEB SITES STILL LAG PRIVATE SECTOR'S, STUDY SAYS
Issue: E-Government
A study, conducted by researchers at Brown University, analyzed 58 federal
Web sites and
concludes that the federal government still lags far behind the private
sector in harnessing
the power of the Internet to provide information and services. The study,
released
yesterday, found that may government Web still do not accept credit card
payments or
digital signatures on official documents. Many federal courts' scored
particularly poorly.
"The court sites are atrocious," said Darrell M. West, director of the
Taubman Center for
Public Policy at Brown and the leader of the study. "There is a tremendous
amount of
information that they could be putting online, but so far they have not done
so." West also
criticized the federal government's main "portal" site, FirstGov.gov, for
being essentially
invisible. "Nobody has ever heard of it," he said. "It's gotten virtually no
coverage and
there have been no public service announcements to promote it."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ben White]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7049-2001Sep10.html)

ANTIGLOBALIZATION ACTIVIST SPREAD MESSAGES ONLINE WITH
VIDEOTAPES
Issue: Media & Society
When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank hold their annual
meeting in
Washington, D.C., this month, scores of antiglobalization protesters are
expected to
descend on the capital. Among them will be independent documentarians, who
have
become an important presence at anticorporate protests around the world,
filming the
increasingly bloody clashes for posterity and inspiration. "The new culture
of guerrilla
media activism eschews objectivity," says Thomas Harding, author of "The
Video Activist
Handbook." According to Mr. Harding, many guerrilla media activists see the
mass media
as pawns of large corporations. "We're trying to give the point of view of
the
demonstrators and explain the reasons why people demonstrate," notes Dee Dee
Hallek,
professor emeritus of communications at the University of California at San
Diego. "We
don't think the cameras incite violence. "This month's meetings in
Washington may test
that proposition. Video activists are busy gearing up for the event by
organizing editing
studios, banks of computers and other gear to allow independent cameramen to
stream
audio and video of the protests onto the Web.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal , AUTHOR: UPI-Wing Tam]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB100016149288729676.htm)

COPYRIGHT

HOLLYWOOD LOVES HOLLINGS' BILL
Issue: Copyright
Controversial legislation that Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) plans
to introduce
later this month, proposes to embed copy-protection controls in nearly all
PCs and
consumer electronic devices. Representatives of the Walt Disney Company and
News
defended a draft of the Security Systems Standards and Certification
Act(SSSCA) as a
reasonable compromise that will spur high-speed Internet access and boost
hardware sales.
Preston Padden, executive vice president of Disney, which helped to craft
the legislation,
said that the "bill is going to speed the entertainment content into the
online broadband
environment, create consumer demand and get broadband going." The draft
SSSCA says it
is illegal to create, sell or distribute "any interactive digital device
that does not include
and utilize certified security technologies" to be approved by the U.S.
Commerce
Department. If industry groups cannot agree on a security standard after one
to two years
have elapsed, the Commerce Department will step in. Jonathan Potter, the
executive
director of the Digital Media Association, who says he's stridently opposed
to the measure.
"It's about as egregiously an anti-technology bill, in its draft form, as
anything I've ever
seen," Potter said. "It would have the United States government approving or
disapproving
every semiconductor, every server and essentially any digital information
technology
device prior to coming to market."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46671,00.html)

MERGER

AOL BID FOR AT&T CABLE DRAWS RIVALS, CRITICS
Issue: Merger
AOL Time Warner Inc.'s proposal to buy AT&T Corp.'s cable assets has
prompted rivals
to consider offering their own bids, while other competitors and consumer
advocates have
begun gearing up to fight the creation of a new cable giant. Microsoft
Corp., AOL Time
Warner's arch rival, is fielding calls from potential partners, including
Comcast Corp., to
consider pursuing the nation's largest cable system, AT&T Broadband,
according to
sources familiar with the situation. Meanwhile, the prospects of an AOL-AT&T
cable
combination -- which would have about 27 million subscribers and about a
third of the
U.S. cable market -- drew protests from consumer groups and many in the
industry
yesterday. They said their concern is that the new cable entity would wield
too much
power over consumer prices, television programming and Internet content
distributed over
cable. "Any meaningful increase from the current levels of concentration of
ownership
among cable and satellite companies would raise significant concerns because
it would
place too much control in the hands of a single entity," said Preston
Padden, executive vice
president for government relations at Walt Disney Co. "
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein and Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7044-2001Sep10.html)

TELEPHONY

VERIZON RECORDS FIRST DROP IN PHONE LINES
Issue: Telephony
Ivan Seidenberg, president and co-chief executive of Verizon Communications
said
yesterday that the number of its telephone lines connected to homes and
businesses has
declined for the first time in the company's history, as customers cut back
on spending or
shift to wireless phones and high-speed Internet connections. "We've never
seen such a
precipitous drop" in demand, Seidenberg said in an interview with The
Washington Post.
Last year, Verizon, the nation's largest phone company projected annual
revenue growth of
6 percent to 8 percent in its traditional phone-line business -- which
excludes revenue from
phone directories, international service and wireless operations. Since
then, Verizon has
revised its growth estimate to about 2 percent. The company has shifted its
focus to laying
the groundwork for a future focused on the Internet, not on long-distance
voice services.
"Is the voice business of interest to us in the long term? Marginally,"
Seidenberg said.
More important, Verizon is looking to develop applications, content and
other services that
will fuel an appetite for high-capacity pipes to transmit that information,
he said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6700-2001Sep10.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Report Counts Computers in Majority of U.S. Homes (NYT)

INTERNET
New Cable Standard May Triple Speeds (CNET)
FBI Denies Bias as U.S. Raid Shuts Arabic Web Sites (NYT)

POLICY
Pendulum Swings to Microsoft, but How Far? (NYT)
Official: Bush High-Tech Policy Coming Soon (CNN)

COPYRIGHT
Security Workers: Copyright Law Stifles (CNET)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

REPORT COUNTS COMPUTERS IN MAJORITY OF U.S. HOMES
Issue: Digital Divide
More than half of the households in the United States had at least one
computer last year, up from 42 percent in 1998, and more than 40 percent
were connected to the Internet. In addition, according to a Census Bureau
report released today, 65 percent of children ages 3 to 17 had access to a
computer at home in 2000, up from about 55 percent in 1998. But the survey
found significant discrepancies in computer ownership and Internet use along
age, racial and economic lines. Among households with incomes of $75,000 or
more, 88 percent had a computer, while in households with incomes below
$25,000, only 28 percent had a computer. Sixty-one 1 percent of white adults
said they owned a computer, while 37 percent of black adults and 35 percent
of Hispanic adults said they did.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The New York Times Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/technology/07COMP-CENSUS.html)
(requires registration)

INTERNET

NEW CABLE STANDARD MAY TRIPLE SPEEDS
Issue: Broadband
A new cable Internet standard for the DOCSIS protocol (Data Over Cable
Service Interface Specification) promises a significant increase in cable
bandwidth. DOCSIS 2.0, as the standard is to be called, particularly affects
upstream transmissions, according to CableLabs, the industry research group
that has developed the protocol. Currently, cable networks can deliver
speeds of 500kbps and 2mbps. However, cable modem customers are often
limited to 128kbps when sending data upstream. Uploading data at 128kbps is
sufficient for Web surfing, sending e-mail and other files, but critics
complain the upstream speed limits hamper their ability to send larger files
or take advantage of advanced Internet services. Under DOCSIS 2.0, cable
operators could allow consumers to send more data at greater speeds, a
requirement for high-end online video game players and necessary for new
services such as Internet-based phone calls, videoconferencing and other
future interactive applications.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Corey Grice]
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7079103.html)

FBI DENIES BIAS AS U.S. RAID SHUTS ARABIC WEB SITES
Issue: Internet
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is denying bias after an 80-strong U.S.
terrorism task force raided Texas-based, InfoCom Corporation, a host of
Arabic Web sites, including the Arab world's leading independent news
channel. The FBI denied any anti-Arab bias and said it was executing an
unspecified federal search warrant in conjunction with an ongoing two-year
investigation. The FBI declined to specify the target of the search warrant.
The raid resulted in a temporary shut-down of Web sites it hosts for about
500 customers, including that run by Al-Jazeera television and the newspaper
Al-Sharq, both based in the Gulf state of Qatar. Al-Jazeera is a major
regional news source for Arabic speakers, often called "the Arab CNN." "We
have nothing to hide. We are cooperating 110 percent with the FBI,"
InfoCom's lawyer Mark Enoch told reporters. InfoCom's customers are not
solely Arabic or Muslim. "They are across the board, from Dallas to
California to other places around the world," one employee stated.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mideast-usa-internet.htm
l)

POLICY

PENDULUM SWINGS TO MICROSOFT, BUT HOW FAR?
Issue: Antitrust
The Bush administration, by adopting a measured, conservative approach in
the Microsoft antitrust case, clearly increased the chances that the two
sides would reach a settlement. The Justice Department made a crucial
concession in dropping the charge that it has been illegal for Microsoft to
bundle new software to its monopoly product - the industry-standard. It
appears that the Justice Department will no longer peruse a breakup of the
software giant, instead it will rely on court-ordered sanctions on
Microsoft's corporate behavior to increase competition in the software
business. Some industry analysts, however, question whether the Bush
administration, having decided against restructuring the software industry
by breaking up Microsoft, will have the determination to police Microsoft's
behavior aggressively.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/technology/07ASSE.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
REFORMING MICROSOFT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The New York Times Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/opinion/07FRI1.html)
(requires registration)

OFFICIAL: BUSH HIGH-TECH POLICY COMING SOON
Issue: Policy
According to a senior administration official Wednesday, the Bush
administration will shortly reveal it views on a range of high-tech issues
ranging from junk e-mail to online privacy. Nancy Victory, who heads the
Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), said that the administration would probably favor a
light touch, encouraging the high-tech industry to develop voluntary
guidelines, rather than imposing regulations or pushing for new laws.
Victory also said the NTIA has been working with the FTC on privacy and
other issues.
[SOURCE: CNN News, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/09/05/spam.reut/index.html)

COPYRIGHT

SECURITY WORKERS: COPYRIGHT LAW STIFLES
Issue: Copyright
The sweeping restrictions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
reached a new, and perhaps unintended, audience when two well-known computer
security experts pulled their own works form the Internet this week. Fred
Cohen, a well-known security consultant and professor of digital forensics
and Duo Song, a security expert at Arbor Networks, both pulled their works
from the Web because of the threatened lawsuit of Princeton computer-science
professor Edward Felten, and the arrest of Russian encryption expert Dmitry
Sklyarov. "When they started to arrest people and threaten researchers, I
decided the legal risk was not worth it," said Fred Cohen, who took his
evidence-gathering tool--dubbed Forensix--off his Web site earlier this
week. Dug Song pulled his own site down in protest as well. Last month,
fearing retribution, Dutch encryption expert Niels Ferguson refused to
publish his discovery that Intel's encryption scheme for Firewire
connections had a major flaw. While the DMCA probably does not directly
apply to much of the researchers' work, their greater concern is the
willingness of software makers and media companies to sue over any potential
threat. In 1999, the movie industry filed multiple lawsuits against the
creators of a program to decrypt DVD disks. Originally, the program had been
created to add DVD playback ability to the Linux operating system.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Robert Lemos]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7079519.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

MERGERS
Antitrust Regulators Unlikely to Block union, Experts Say (SJM)
Liberty Snaps Up Deutsche Telekom Cable Operations (WP)
AOL Time Warner Loses U.S.-Mandated Net Access Partner (WP)

INTERNATIONAL
Western TV May Be Nearer for Chinese (NYT)

EDTECH
Distance Learning Yet to Hit Home (WIRED)

MERGERS

ANTITRUST REGULATORS UNLIKELY TO BLOCK UNION, EXPERTS SAY
Issue: Merger
Antitrust experts say that regulators are unlikely to block the proposed
deal between Hewlett-Packard and Compaq, despite the fact that the new HP
would lead the world in sales of computers and printers. The size of the
$20.3 billion buyout practically guarantees the deal will be examined by
either the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. Herb
Hovenkamp, an antitrust professor at the University of Iowa says that if the
deal helps HP and Compaq to become more efficient PC makers, it could be
regarded as "pro-competitive." The key will be for executives at HP and
Compaq to demonstrate that the deal produces "offsetting efficiencies, like
a reduction in cost" in markets where the new company will enjoy a market
share greater than 25 percent, said Hovenkamp.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Elise Ackerman]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/hottopics/hp/hp090501b.htm)
(requires registration)

LIBERTY SNAPS UP DEUTSCHE TELEKOM CABLE OPERATIONS
Issue: Merger
Deutsche Telekom, Germany's incumbent telephone carrier, has announced plans
to sell off its six remaining cable TV companies to Liberty Media, a U.S.
investment group headed by John Malone. The sell-off was apparently
motivated by heavy debts on Deutsche's side. Deutsche Telekom had previously
announced that it intended to reduce its debt of $59 billion dollars by
$14.5 billion by the end of next year. The sale to Liberty Media will have
to have regulatory approval, particularly as unlike Deutsche Telekom,
Liberty Media would bring content for cable systems to the purchase. The
regulator usually takes around a month to decide on whether to allow a deal
or to recommend further investigation of up to three months. If approved by
antitrust regulators, the deal will turn Liberty Media into Europe's largest
cable TV operator, with more than 20 million customers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steve Gold]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12288-1.html)

AOL TIME WARNER LOSES U.S.-MANDATED NET ACCESS PARTNER
Issue: Mergers
AOL Time Warner is in a bit of a jam , a stew, a pickle. (Hmmm... should
have eaten breakfast). AOLTW has lost one of its partners in high-speed
Internet service. The loss of High Speed Access Corp. leaves the media giant
in search of a new partner to satisfy the conditions imposed by the Federal
Trade Commission when approving its merger. Under those conditions, America
Online Inc. and Time Warner, as a combined company, were ordered to open its
cable network to at least three rival Internet service providers. AOLTW has
already reached agreements with EarthLink and Juno Online Services. In
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, High Speed indicated it
was having trouble raising capital to fund its operations, which it believed
would make it difficult to follow through with its AOL Time Warner deal.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12299-1.html)

INTERNATIONAL

WESTERN TV MAY BE NEARER FOR CHINESE
Issue: International
AOL Time Warner and the News Corporation said yesterday that they had moved
closer to a long-sought goal of receiving permission from the Chinese
government to broadcast their television programs in China. In exchange for
their approval, Beijing officials want assurances that a Chinese- run
channel carrying government-approved English-language news broadcasts, as
well as Chinese cooking programs and Mandarin-language classes, will be
available to viewers in the United States. Several people close to the
discussions said that the recent round of talks represented a breakthrough
because of China's new willingness to invite more programming by foreign
companies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant With Craig S. Smith]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/05/business/worldbusiness/05CHIN.html)
(requires registration)

EDTECH

DISTANCE LEARNING YET TO HIT HOME
Issue: EdTech
Companies that had set their sights on making distance learning a reality
have largely suffered for their vision. After many e-learning start-ups have
gone belly up, the hard lessons of the enterprise have settled in: "The
e-learning market has come into focus," said Andy Rosenfield, CEO of
UNext.com. "People understand that it's not easy to provide quality
education online. You can't build out the offerings of a great university
overnight." But where the startups have failed some have succeeded. The
University of Phoenix Online is the nation's largest private university
serving working professionals. Also thriving are DeVry and Renaissance
Learning, which both address real needs among the vocational and K-12
markets. The next step for many universities and e-learning ventures is to
bring the online material to living rooms. As technology and bandwidth
constraints change, the notion of distance education will continue to evolve
to include elements such as video teleconferencing. Over 90 percent of U.S.
higher education institutions will offer some form of e-learning by 2005,
IDC predicts, a media research firm.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Kendra Mayfield]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45855,00.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------