September 2003

E-GOVERNMENT
UK E-government Services on Track

TECHNOLOGY
Experts Reflect on Open Source for IT Growth
For the World's A B C's, He Makes 1's and 0's

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Govt, Media Reach Deadlock at WSIS
Book Highlights Priorities for WSIS Conference

EVENTS
Cable Franchise Policy Conference

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

E-GOVERNMENT

UK E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES 'ON TRACK'
The plan to make most public services available online by 2005 is on track
in the UK, according to officials. Ninety percent of services will be online
by the deadline, says E-Envoy Andrew Pinder, who is responsible for ensuring
the deadline is met. During a meeting of local government executives, he
said that good work had been done to provide access through libraries and
Internet centers, but the issue now is coming up with the services people
want and are willing to use. Furthermore, a key issue is encouraging the
public to use e-government services. The public sector should borrow
techniques from successful businesses like Amazon, which builds services
around the customer, he advises. When the e-government targets were
identified, available cheap dial-up was key, but now accessible high-speed
broadband is the target. The e-government movement in the UK is part of a
regional strategy for European Union member states to have half of
government transactions online by 2005. Critics of the UK's rush towards the
2005 target suggest there has been a slow and patchy push of online
strategies at the local government level.
SOURCE: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3139816.stm

TECHNOLOGY

EXPERTS REFLECT ON OPEN SOURCE FOR IT GROWTH
Utilizing existing resources is key to successful IT growth in Africa, and
Open Source Software (OSS) seems to fit the bill. The African information
technology (IT) resource community gathered at the Highway Africa conference
in South Africa to advocate the use of OSS for both public and private
institutions to engage in fast-paced IT growth. One of the major advantages
of Open Source is that the software fits the peculiar environment of Africa
where access to computers is poor, said Joris Komen, who runs Schoolnet in
Namibia. He contends that the software runs effectively on refurbished
computers, which currently play a major role in efforts to increase
technology access on the continent. "I am a great believer in open source
software and WiFi (Wireless Fidelity). I think it is one of the technologies
that will create significant change because of its ability to connect
anywhere," says Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication
Policy in the United States. South Africa and Tanzania have already started
to implement OSS to save costs. Uganda, Ghana and Zambia are also
fast-tracking toward OSS.
SOURCE: Vanguard (Lagos); AUTHOR: Godfrey Ikhemuemhe
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/fe124092003.html

FOR THE WORLD'S A B C'S, HE MAKES 1'S AND 0'S
For the last 10 years, typographer Michael Everson has been instrumental in
developing Unicode, an international standard for character encoding.
Unicode takes the individual letters and symbols in a language and converts
them into strings of 0's and 1's that can be read by computers. Because of
Unicode, "you can plunk down a vanilla off-the-shelf computer into a cafe
anywhere in the world and have any user in any language walk up to it and
use it for accessing the Web," said Rick McGowan of the Unicode Consortium.
Currently, Unicode Version 4.0 contains some 96,000 letters and symbols, of
which approximately 70,000 of them are Chinese characters. Unicode supports
54 other writing systems, from Mongolian to Thai to Gothic to Cyrillic.
However, Mr. Everson is haunted by the prospect that Unicode may never be
finished, as nearly 100 writing systems remain to be encoded. Now that the
writing systems of the major computer markets are encoded, it may be more
difficult to find continued funding for the project.
SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Michael Erard
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/technology/circuits/25code.html?ex=106...
099&ei=1&en=a6d4162588c819d9

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

GOVT, MEDIA REACH DEADLOCK AT WSIS
Disagreement over the issue of free and independent media has created an
impasse at the third Preparatory Committee Meeting (PrepCom3) of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Paragraph 51 of the current draft
Declaration of Principles contains the following statement: "The existence
of free and independent communication media, in accordance with the legal
system of each country, is an essential requirement of freedom of expression
and a guarantee of plurality of information." The Media Caucus, an
organization of journalists, academics and media owners, has recommended the
removal of the phrase "in accordance with the legal system of each country,"
to be replaced with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which emphasizes freedom of expression. The governments of Egypt, China,
Cuba and Russia insist on retaining the disputed text, while Botswana, Latin
America, North America and Germany demand reference to Article 19. Alain
Modoux, the chairperson of the Media Working Group, says one of the key
problems has been the lack of understanding of the history of communication
rights by the government representatives.
SOURCE: SABC News; AUTHOR: Chris Kabwato
http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/computers/0,2172,66314,00.html

BOOK HIGHLIGHTS PRIORITIES FOR WSIS CONFERENCE
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has released a book
entitled, "Involving Civil Society in ICT Policy: the World Summit on the
Information Society." The book was compiled by APC and the Campaign for
Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) as part of their
combined efforts to ensure that communication and Internet rights are upheld
and protected as fundamental rights throughout the world. This publication
highlights the principal issues on the agenda for the World Summit on
Information Society and suggests ways for civil society to get involved.
According to APC, access to information and communication technologies is
expanding, but the majority of people in developing countries are still
excluded. At the Summit in Geneva in December, governments will discuss
issues, agree on a declaration and develop a plan of action.
SOURCE: APCNews
http://www.apc.org/books
(Free download in English, Spanish or French)

EVENTS

CABLE FRANCHISE POLICY CONFERENCE
On October 25, 2003, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility is
hosting a conference entitled "Getting the Technology You Deserve: Community
Participation in Regional Cable Franchise Policy" to be held in Seattle,
Washington. The conference will feature a series of interactive discussions
and presentations from the top practitioners in the field and will focus on
focus on teaching participants how to take back the media in their own
communities. Attendees will participate in a mock public hearing on our
technology future and come away with strategies and tools to improve cable
franchises and get the technology infrastructure their communities need.
SOURCE: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility; CONTACT: Mike
Weisman
http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/annmtg03/index.html

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

INTERNET
MSN Shuts Down Its Chat Rooms
Looking to Get Back Online
Bid to Block Anti-India Website Affects Users

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Nigeria Goes Surfing with Wheels

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Civil Society Considers Protest Action at WSIS

EVENTS
National Common Cause Meetup Day

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

INTERNET

MSN SHUTS DOWN ITS CHAT ROOMS
Starting next month Microsoft will drop its chat room services in 28
countries. "Recently we have become increasingly concerned about the level
of inappropriate communication, including spam, the grooming of children by
pedophiles, and sexually explicit language and imagery in chat rooms," says
Microsoft spokesman Matt Whittingham. Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia
and Latin America will lose chat room services, but unsupervised access will
still be provided to the United States, Canada, Japan and Brazil, the
company said. In the countries retaining service, customers' billing details
and identities will be kept on record in order to track down suspicious
users. This decision has triggered a heated debate among free speech
advocates, children's rights groups, and Microsoft rivals. One analyst told
The Associated Press the changes would enable Microsoft to shed some free
users, who are a drag on profits. According to Will Doherty of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, this will contribute to the digital divide.
He says the decision will further divide the Internet community because it
will create "gated communities" where the only people who can afford to pay
for service can chat online.
SOURCE: Brudirect.com News; AUTHOR: CNN
http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Sept03/250903/wn01.htm

LOOKING TO GET BACK ONLINE
Power outages last week due to Hurricane Isabel sent Washington DC's wired
community into frenzy. Residents went into digital withdrawal and considered
alternative means to power up their Internet services. In nearby Bethesda,
Clemens Kochinke fired up his emergency generator, plugged in his computers,
and then put a sign in his front yard that said, "Internet Access. Free
Access when Generator is on," so laptop-toting neighbors could also stay
connected by using his wireless network. "I felt if I were in somebody
else's shoes that didn't have a generator, that is what I would want," he
said. Residents took laptops to coffee shops, friends' houses with
electricity, spending long hours over the weekend trying to stay connected.
After his Tenleytown home lost power, Jim Lo Scalzo, a photographer for
National Geographic Traveler Magazine, turned his car into a makeshift
office by hooking his notebook computer and cell phone up to a power adapter
that plugs into a car's cigarette lighter. Even in the midst of a hurricane,
a generator and a wireless connection seemed to alleviate the headaches.
SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove and Yuki Noguchi
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49741-2003Sep22.html

BID TO BLOCK ANTI-INDIA WEBSTIE AFFECTS USERS
India's Department of Telecommunications has ordered all Indian Internet
service providers to block a website belonging to a militant group of the
Khasi tribe in Meghalaya province. The group is struggling to transform
Meghalaya into an exclusive Khasi province. While the ISPs have agreed to
comply with the order, the US-based host of the website -- Yahoo -- has
refused. A large number of users have been inconvenienced by the ISPs
blocking all Yahoo groups or URLs, as they do not have the technological
finesse to block one subgroup. The process of blocking is surrounded by
legal controversy, as the government is not given this power under India's
Information Technology Act. "The problem is that this provision may be
misused by political powers in the regime to silence political dissent,
criticism and debate," says Cyberlaw expert Pawan Duggal. "The phenomenon of
mirror sites and emerging technologies along with intelligent minds of
netizens are likely to ensure that India's blocking adventure starts its
march on a losing note."
SOURCE: The Hindu; AUTHOR: Sandeep Dikshit
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/09/23/stories/2003092312761100.htm

DIGITAL DIVIDE

NIGERIA GOES SURFING WITH WHEELS
In Nigeria, the Internet may soon no longer be a phenomenon exclusive to
urban communities. Using VSAT satellite communication systems, a government
campaign plans to send buses from village to village, inviting people to use
the Internet aboard. "It has been tried in some schools in the federal
capital, Abuja, and the response has been tremendous," says Professor
Oladele Ajayi, Nigeria's Director-General of the National Information
Technology Agency. "After visiting boys and girls schools, the effect is
that the federal capital authorities now want their own buses to go round
the federal capital territory." Communication using landlines is not only
difficult in Nigeria -- it's often unreliable and expensive. Professor Ajayi
says that the dropping cost of VSAT satellite terminals has made the
possibility of rural services a reality. "It costs just 20m Naira (USD
$155,000) to get one bus running, including generators for use in the rural
areas and all other related equipment," he adds. The government says the
program will also create jobs, along with besides increasing computer and
Internet literacy.
SOURCE: BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3128776.stm

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

CIVIL SOCIETY CONSIDERS PROTEST ACTION AT WSIS
Members of civil society are considering several actions to protest what
they perceive as governments ignoring their input at PrepCom 3, the third
Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS). An NGO (nongovernmental organization) representative said that the
inter-governmental drafting committee had ignored 49 of 86 civil society
recommendations for the summit's Declaration of Principles. A WSIS advisor
said that the July edition of the declaration at 12 pages was too long and
uninspiring. The September version that offends civil society is seven pages
-- still unwieldy as far as conference declarations go. The Global
Information Society describes the new draft declaration as a "bureaucratic
document with more emphasis on technology and economics than on individuals
and communities." Protest actions being considered include civil society
members rolling off their chairs at a given signal -- admittedly only
half-serious -- or taking more serious measures such as walking out of the
preparatory meetings and creating an alternative declaration. Barring some
important breakthroughs in the next few days, Prepcom 3 will not have a
draft declaration to present at WSIS in December.
SOURCE: SABC News; AUTHOR: Steven Lang
http://www.sabcnews.com/sci_tech/internet/0,2172,66273,00.html

EVENTS

NATIONAL COMMON CAUSE MEETUP DAY
Common Cause has organized the National Common Cause Meetup on Media
Consolidation for October 8, 2003. Common Cause supporters across the
country are invited to meet up to review the successes thus far and the
challenges ahead in their campaign to overturn the FCC's new media ownership
rules. Meetup is an online community that organizes local gatherings on a
number of topics. When a national Meetup day is arranged through Meetup.com,
community members vote on the location and agenda of the meeting in their
own community. Meetups take place in local cafes, bars and restaurants, and
have become a grassroots phenomenon since the site launched in 2002. Common
Cause has suggested the following topics for discussion: why control of the
media matters to you, the media in your community and its impact, and what
you can do to keep the momentum going.
SOURCE: Common Cause; CONTACT: Melissa Roberts
To register for a Meetup in your community, go to
http://commoncause.meetup.com and enter your zip code.

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

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Univision, Hispanic Merger Criticized

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
US to Sharply Cut Number of High-Tech Visas

INTERNET
A Veri Bad Scene
Microsoft Goes After Google

EVENTS
The P3 Conference

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

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

UNIVISION, HISPANIC MERGER CRITICIZED
Critics say the $3.1 billion merger between Univision Communications Inc.
and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. creates a Spanish-language media
conglomerate with too much control over news and entertainment in the
growing Latino market. The Justice Department approved the merger in
February after Univision agreed to reduce its 27 percent ownership of
Entravision Communications Corp. to less than 10 percent over the next six
years. The FCC voted 3-2 to accept the deal. The FCC's three Republicans say
the deal "will give Hispanic media a better opportunity to compete against
big media companies, capturing more advertising revenue to allow it to
expand unique language and cultural offerings to its audiences." However,
the two FCC Democrats contend that the merger would hurt competition and
limit choices for Spanish-speaking Americans. "The company is aptly named
Univision -- 'one vision' -- because that describes what is likely from
Spanish-language media from now on," Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and
Michael Copps wrote in a 22-page dissent. This merger now gives Univision
control over the top Spanish-language broadcast TV network, cable channel,
record label, Internet site and radio network, as well as the largest group
of television and radio stations.
SOURCE: Newsday; AUTHOR: David Ho, Associated Press
http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/ats-ap_business13sep23,0,316...
.story?coll=sns-business-headlines

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

U.S. TO SHARPLY CUT NUMBER OF HIGH-TECH VISAS
The number of H1-B employment visas offered to highly qualified foreign
workers will be cut from 195,000 to 65,000 unless Congress acts by the end
of the month. The change will automatically take effect on October 1.
Employers, especially technology companies, argue that this change will hurt
their businesses, not to mention the economy. The H1-B visas are used to
bring high-tech experts, especially South Asia, to work in the US for up to
three years. "The fact that Congress doesn't seem anxious to act reflects
the political climate, with a lack of jobs for Americans," said New York
immigration lawyer Cyrus Mehta. Although this is the reality, the plea for
American jobs might not outweigh the demand for qualified high tech
expertise. "In the near-term, we simply must have access to foreign
nationals," said Elizabeth Dickson, director of immigration services for the
Ingersoll-Rand Company, speaking on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"By sending them home, we are at best sending them to our own foreign plant
sites, and at worst to our competitors."
SOURCE: Yahoo! News; AUTHOR: Alan Elsner
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030922/us_nm/life_us...
migration_dc_4

INTERNET

A VERI BAD SCENE
VeriSign, which runs the master domain name servers for all sites ending
with .com and .net, has launched a controversial new service that redirects
Internet users who mistype a Web address. Instead of returning a standard
"site not found" error message, the Site Finder system forwards mistyped and
non-existent URLs to a VeriSign webpage that includes pay-for-placement
topic links. Critics claim that VeriSign is overstepping its authority and
hijacking certain common Web searches. Site Finder has also been criticized
because it makes even bogus emails appear to come from a valid domain,
meaning spam may get through a company's spam filters. The Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has asked VeriSign to
suspend its service until it can gather more information. VeriSign
competitors Netster.com and Go Daddy Software have filed lawsuits against
the company. In response to complaints, VeriSign is creating a committee of
"Internet leaders" to advise it on technical matters, although it plans to
continue offering Site Finder.
SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-09-22-verisign-uproar_...
m

MICROSOFT GOES AFTER GOOGLE
Microsoft has shaped much of its growth by buying and investing in
everything from small business software to video games, but recently, a new
industry has caught its eye: Web searching. In February, company executives
met to decide on whether building an advanced searching platform or buying
one would be the focal point of their strategy; building became the
priority. Furthermore, the goal would be to build the top Internet search
destination, eventually surpassing Google's ability to sift through the Web
and return highly relevant results. "The decision to build or buy came down
to our ability to innovate," said Kirk Koenigsbauer, strategy manager at
Microsoft's MSN Internet portal. "Our ability to innovate is predicated on
our ability to own the platform." Analysts believe that Microsoft will
incorporate this new technology in its new version of Windows, which is its
main cash crop, running on more than 95 percent of the world's PCs. This
type of innovation could leverage their control over the operating systems
market. Microsoft's Bill Gates has promised that Longhorn, the new version
of Windows expected to launch in 2005 or 2006, will include database
technology to make it easier for users to track and find information.
SOURCE: CNN; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/09/19/microsoft.google.reut/index....

EVENTS

THE P3 CONFERENCE
Public Private Philanthropic: The Power of Fusion Conference (P3) will be
held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on October 14, 2003. P3
will bring together some of the region's foremost experts from the public,
private and philanthropic sectors to develop stimulating, innovative and
creative solutions to meet social and community responsibilities. Themes
will include collaboration, technology tools and entrepreneurship. Speakers
and panelists include representatives of AOL Time Warner Foundation, Fannie
Mae Foundation, USA Freedom Corps, Timberland Corporation and Deutsche Bank.
The conference is organized by George Mason University, Northern Virginia
Technology Council (NVTC), the Stargazer Foundation and Washington
Grantmakers.
SOURCE: P3 Conference
http://www.p3conference.org

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

--- The Hurricane Isabel Edition ---

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Commentary: The Senate Says No
Canadians Ponder Media Ownership Rules

DIGITAL DIVIDE
A Dissent on the Digital Divide
Rural Gateway to the Future

WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Teachers from Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda Launch World Summit Event
for Schools

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

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

THE SENATE SAYS NO
[Commentary] The House Republican leadership has declared the Senate's bill
disapproving of the FCC's new media ownership rules "dead on arrival,"
promising to block a vote. Nevertheless, New York Times columnist William
Safire believes there is still hope for those resisting the concentration of
media power and insisting on the preservation of competition. This is
because the rollback of what Safire calls the "Powell abomination" will
appear in the Senate appropriations bill for the Commerce, Justice and State
Departments. Such an appropriations bill "would be hard to veto over the
issue of a regulatory review," says Senator Trent Lott (R-MS). Safire
wonders if the president would want to "bring the financing of the war on
terror to a grinding halt to rescue an appointee aching to resign." The
first Bush veto should advance a principle, not be wasted on a bow to a
"muscular Mickey Mouse," writes Safire.
SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: William Safire
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/17/opinion/17SAFI.html

CANADIANS PONDER MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
As the media ownership debate rages in the United States, the Canadian
Parliament's Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has issued an 870-page
report that urges Parliament to continue its ban on foreign ownership of
media and minimize cross-media ownership. The report further urges the
government and its broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission, to "develop clear and firm policies to ensure
that newsroom independence is maintained" at cross-owned newspapers and
broadcast stations. Canada's media ownership landscape is considerably
different than that found in the United States. In the US, newspapers are
eager to own broadcast media, but radio and TV companies generally have no
desire to publish newspapers. In Canada, a subsidiary of the big Bell Canada
telephone company bought the Toronto-based national daily The Globe and Mail
in 2000. The same year, Israel "Izzy" Asper became an overnight newspaper
mogul when his CanWest Global Communications (Canada's second-biggest
television chain) bought some 200 papers. Canadian publishers, meanwhile,
are hoping they don't get burdened with more regulation, said Anne
Kothawala, President and CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association.
SOURCE: Editor & Publisher; AUTHOR: Mark Fitzgerald
http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/features_columns/article_dis...
.jsp?vnu_content_id=1980219

DIGITAL DIVIDE

A DISSENT ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Contrary to the US federal government's current thinking that the digital
divide is closing, Steven P. Martin, a sociologist at the University of
Maryland, says the government needs to take a second look at the numbers. In
a February 2002 report, the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration found that the spread of Internet use among low-income
families had increased. Dr. Martin re-analyzed the data using what
statisticians call odds ratios. By his measure, the odds that a family in
the poorest bracket would use the Internet increased by a factor of 2.1 from
1998 to 2001, while the odds for a family in the most affluent group
increased by a slightly higher factor of 2.6. He predicts that it may take
two decades for the lowest-income groups to catch up to wealthier
households. Advocates of community technology programs, such as the Benton
Foundation's Norris Dickard, agree that the digital divide is not abating.
"Reduced national attention to this problem will dampen economic
productivity and opportunity in low-income and rural communities," Dickard
said.
SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Lisa Guernsey
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/technology/circuits/18divi.html

RURAL GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE
The HP i-community is a three-year South African partnership between
Hewlett-Packard, the Mogalakwena municipality and Limpopo province. The
principal facility contains a business resource center, e-government
gateway, a PC refurbishment center, a call center and training facilities.
The centers have trained over 1,000 locals to use computers, including all
62 municipal councilors. The training aims to foster skills in everything
from small business management to tourism. "The intention is not just to
create IT workers," says i-community's economic development head, Asma
Hassan. "The intention is to bring about social and financial development."
A year ago there was no municipal website, nor public access to the
Internet, for the area's 360,000 people; only seven out of 262 schools had
computers. The i-community has filled that void by providing 20 community
access points in schools and libraries, refurbished computers for schools,
several business resource centers and a technology support center that
trains people for computer support in clinics and schools. South African
President Thabo Mbeki praised the project as a "model" that "might be
relevant for other projects in South Africa and other countries."
SOURCE: Mail & Guardian South Africa
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=20590
(requires free registration)
http://www.hpicommunity.org.za

WSIS

TEACHERS FROM SWITZERLAND, TANZANIA, UGANDA LAUNCH WORLD SUMMIT EVENT FOR
SCHOOLS
Educators from Uganda, Tanzania and Switzerland are launching the World
Summit Event for Schools (WSES). WSES is a three-month event organized by
European Schoolnet and the United Nations Cyberschoolbus. It offers online
activities covering the topics ranging from the universal declaration of
human rights and free speech to bridging the digital divide. "The World
Summit Event for Schools offers opportunities for schools to work together
and learn about each other using ICT," said Brigitte Parry, European
Schoolnet's networking coordinator. "This is an unprecedented project
because it tries to address the digital divide head-on." The event will
conclude with a live interaction via the Internet between pupils and a head
of state at the World Summit for the Information Society in Geneva this
December.
SOURCE: European Schoolnet; AUTHOR: Yong Chui Hsia
http://news.eun.org/eun.org2/eun/en/_News_search_news/content.cfm?ov=292...
ang=en&id_area=109
http://www.cyberschoolbus.org

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