Sept 16, 2008 (DTV Coupon Funds Running Out; Congress Wants to Know Why)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
For updates throughout the day, paste http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/6/all/feed into your RSS reader.
CYBERSECURITY
US Cybersecurity Is Weak, GAO Says
Homeland Security elaborates, slightly, on Cyber Security Initiative
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Will the media show real spine?
McCain vs. Obama on the Web
Sarah Palin drove the media narrative last week
Survey Says: Candidates Succeed With The Internet!
DIGITAL TELEVISION
NTIA Wants Additional DTV Coupon Funds
DTV Coupon Funds Running Out; Congress Wants to Know Why
Heed Warning Signs in Digital Switch Test
FCC seeks retailers' help in digital TV switch
CEA: Consumer DTV-Transition Awareness Up
Court Hears Dual Must Carry Case
SPECTRUM
Martin details revised rules for D-Block auction
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Verizon as a Cable Guy To Shape Broadband Battle in Washington, DC
Do ISPs pose a bigger online privacy threat than Google?
ADVERTISING
Newspapers say Google, Yahoo tie hurts competition
EU competition officials probing Google-Yahoo deal
Why NBC Is OK Having Google Sell Cable TV Ads
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
How Wall Street's mess will hurt high tech
Best Buy to buy Napster for $121 million
EU approves Sony buy of BMG from Bertelsmann
INTERNATIONAL
Is the US Losing Its Edge in Tech?
EU proposes to cut tech tariffs under US pressure
QUICKLY -- Berners-Lee launches foundation to bring invention to all; DVRs Now in Over One-Quarter of US Households; Houston TV stations opt to offer wall-to-wall coverage of Ike; Media group to create new digital video "ecosystem"; Smithsonian will digitize its full collection; Meanness appears to rub off on viewers; Twitter's Jack Dorsey
CYBERSECURITY
US CYBERSECURITY IS WEAK, GAO SAYS
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Keith Epstein]
The federal government cybersecurity team with primary responsibility for protecting the computer networks of government and private enterprise isn't up to the job, according to a draft Government Accountability Office. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, known as US-CERT, mans the front line in any cyber-attack. The group monitors computer networks for hacker threats, investigates suspicious activity online, and is supposed to issue timely alerts to information technology security professionals from the White House to corporations and electric utilities. But the GAO draft report describes US-CERT as bedeviled by frequent management turnover, bureaucratic challenges that prevent timely sounding of alarms, a lack of access to networks across wide swaths of critical terrain, and an inability to fill large numbers of positions with qualified workers. Five years after the Homeland Security Dept. took charge of the team as a critical safeguard against threats to national security, US-CERT "still does not exhibit aspects of the attributes essential to having a truly national capability."
http://benton.org/node/16924
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HOMELAND SECURITY ELABORATES, SLIGHTLY, ON CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
After ducking questions this year from both Congress and the private sector about its so-called National Cyber Security Initiative, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday finally revealed a little more. Deputy Security for the Department of Homeland Security Paul Schneider, along with other senior federal officials, offered more information at a forum hosted by the Information Technology Association of America. Plans for the initiative include enhancing the current cyber intrusion detection system, working more closely with the private sector (a longstanding federal mantra), and focusing on foreign threats. "Cybersecurity really is one of the top priorities of the Department of Homeland Security and the federal government," Schneider said. He called the Cyber Security Initiative "probably unprecedented in terms of the amount of coordination within the federal government and between the federal government and the private sector." The DHS is upgrading its intrusion detection system, called Einstein, beyond its currently limited, reactive capabilities. "We'll be deploying a much more aggressive system that will allow us to look for patterns of malicious code -- to shut them down before they do real harm," Schneider said. (It was unclear what he meant. "Shutting down" a botnet conducting malicious activity would mean invading infected PCs around the world; on the other hand, it could simply mean DHS reconfiguring its own network to ignore certain malicious activity.)
http://benton.org/node/16923
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
WILL THE MEDIA SHOW REAL SPINE?
[SOURCE: Miami Herald, AUTHOR: Edward Wasserman]
[Commentary] For a while, it looked as if U.S. politics had entered a new era in the way presidential campaigns were conducted and covered. For people who grieved over the decay of electioneering into bloopers and bites, it was an encouraging moment. Time and again, a strong field of presidential aspirants stood on stage and spoke at length, to the public and to each other, about what they hoped to do and how they proposed to lead the country. True, it got tedious and predictable, and nobody watched every one of the innumerable debates. But in the end we ended up with two sturdy candidates and a tail-wind that seemed to be driving the campaign toward civility and substance, without loss of passion. That was then. Since the nominating conventions last month, we've entered a different period, of casual smears and innuendos that have only the remotest bearing on the problems the electorate faces. And the news media, instead of acting as proxies for the public, have become the enablers of a discourse that seems destined to grow evermore destructive.
http://benton.org/node/16916
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MCCAIN VS OBAMA ON THE WEB
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR:]
With roughly seven weeks left in the final phase of the campaign, how are the campaigns using the Web? How developed are their Web campaigns? Which candidate has the edge online, and how so? A new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism finds both campaigns' official sites are now quite advanced beyond anything seen in previous years. For much of the campaign, Sen Obama (D-IL) enjoyed a clear advantage in the new medium. Yet in the last few weeks, much as presidential preference polls have tightened, the McCain campaign has narrowed the gap online, substantially adding features and content since his nomination at the Republican Convention. New features, such as a social networking component, now rivals Obama's. Nonetheless, entering the last turn in the race, Obama's online social network of registered users is more than five times larger than McCain's, according the sites' own accounting, and his site draws almost three times as many unique visitors each week.
http://benton.org/node/16915
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SARAH PALIN DROVE THE MEDIA NARRATIVE LAST WEEK
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Sen Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for President, was a significant or dominant factor in 61% of the campaign stories from Sept. 8-14, according to the Campaign Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. But for the second week in a row, Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), the GOP vice presidential hopeful, got more coverage (53%) than the man atop the ticket, Sen John McCain (49%). Palin's Democratic counterpart, Sen Joe Biden, has become the virtually forgotten candidate, registering at only 5% last week. The campaign storylines revolving around Palin accounted for 50% of the campaign newshole last week. She was the focal point of the four biggest media narratives—scrutiny of her public record (14% of the newshole), the ABC interview (10%), the "lipstick on a pig" flap (10%) and general reaction to her nomination (9%). In addition, the week's No. 8 storyline was her impact on women voters, at 3% of the newshole.
http://benton.org/node/16925
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SURVEY SAYS: CANDIDATES SUCCEED WITH THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Center for Media Research, AUTHOR: Jack Loechner]
Annual Voter Expectations Survey from E-Voter and HCD Research, an overwhelming majority of voters responding expect candidates to use online technology as part of their campaign efforts. 87 percent expect they will have a Web site, and 70 percent expect the use of email. Two-thirds expect candidates to use the Internet for fund raising, post video commercials on his or her website and run online ad campaigns, while half expect campaigns to have blogs and podcasts. While respondents continue to see TV ads as the most effective way for campaigns to reach them, email and websites are ranked higher than traditional methods such as phone and radio ads.
http://benton.org/node/16914
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
NTIA WANTS ADDITIONAL DTV COUPON FUNDS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is asking Congress for access to more administrative funds to be able to send out more digital-TV-to-analog converter-box coupons if necessary. The NTIA thinks that might be necessary given that it is getting about 110,000 coupon requests per day, with a redemption rate of 49%. The NTIA said it will not use more that the total $1.5 billion allocated to the program, which was divided into $160 million for administrative expenses and $1.34 billion to cover the value of the coupons -- $40 apiece, up to two per eligible household. So far, only about one-half of the coupons requested are being redeemed, and when they expire after 90 days, that money then goes back into that $1.34 billion pot. To have the money to administer the reissuing of coupons -- technically the issuing of coupons made possible by the additional money -- the NTIA wants to tap into that $1.34 billion, since it now estimates that it will only need about $1 billion of that. The NTIA is asking for $7 million to be freed up for administrative funds, with an option to get more if it needs it.
http://benton.org/node/16913
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DTV COUPON FUNDS RUNNING OUT; CONGRESS WANTS TO KNOW WHY
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
Members of Congress are questioning how the Bush administration suddenly realized it is not going to have enough money to pay for administering the coupon program for the digital TV transition. In a letter to Meredith Baker, acting assistant secretary of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, House Commerce Committee Chairman Dingell and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey questioned how NTIA could not have known in advance it was short of funds and demanded to know how much additional money will be needed to complete the transition. "Absent congressional action, on what approximate date does NTIA anticipate it will run out of administrative funds for the program?" said the letter. Both congressmen have argued that not enough money was set aside to help consumers with the transition.
http://benton.org/node/16912
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HEAD WARNING SIGNS IN DIGITAL SWITCH TEST
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission, television broadcasters and millions of U.S. households should thank goodness Feb. 17 doesn't fall during hurricane season. That's because the results of the switch to digital-only TV signals that took place last week in Wilmington (NC) raised troubling questions about how well prepared the rest of the country will be on that day, when analog broadcasting is set to go extinct. Undoubtedly, when that happens, hundreds of thousands if not millions of the 14 million-odd households in the U.S. that rely on free, over-the-air broadcasts will lose their signals.
http://benton.org/node/16911
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FCC SEEKS RETAILERS' HELP IN DIGITAL TV SWITCH
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon, Karen Jacobs]
The Federal Communications Commission is asking mass retailers to sell converter boxes, such as the one sold by EchoStar, that allow consumers to convert analog television sets to digital ahead of the February deadline for a nationwide switch. FCC Chairman Martin said EchoStar's $40 box is only available on websites and by telephone, adding up to $12 extra to the cost to consumers. "Availability in retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, Wal-Mart and Radio Shack will be helpful for consumers trying to ensure they don't lose television service," Martin wrote in a letter dated September 15 to the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition, which represents those companies in Washington. Chairman Martin asked the group to ask its members to carry at least one converter box, which could be EchoStar's product, or any other for the $40 price.
http://benton.org/node/16910
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CEA: CONSUMER DTV-TRANSITION AWARENESS UP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, consumer awareness of the digital-TV transition is at 86%, according to new market research, up 12 percentage points from the beginning of the year. According to that research, 32% of households with at least on analog-only over-the-air TV applied for converter boxes, while another 37% know they will have to and plan to do so by year's end. That adds up to 14 million, the CEA said, for which the National Telecommunications and Information Administration should have enough coupons to cover. The CEA also said the study showed that 90% of people who got the coupons rated the ease of requesting them online as good or excellent, while 81% gave the same rating for finding a store with converter boxes.
http://benton.org/node/16909
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COURT HEARS DUAL MUST CARRY CASE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
An attorney for major cable networks Monday afternoon urged a federal appeals court to void a Federal Communications Commission rule that would effectively force cable operators to carry some local TV stations in both analog and digital formats for three years. Bruce Sokler, representing C-SPAN, Discovery Communications and four other cable programmers, said the duplicative carriage of some local TV stations would unnecessarily eat up cable's channel capacity, threatening the ability of cable networks to reach their audience. "There's still far more speakers than there is capacity," Sokler said during a 53-minute oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The cable programmers are in a hurry to see the rule struck down before it takes effect on Feb. 18, 2009, a day after all full-power TV stations are required to shut off their analog signals and go all-digital.
http://benton.org/node/16922
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SPECTRUM
MARTIN DETAILS REVISED RULES FOR D-BLOCK AUCTION
[SOURCE: RCR Wireless News, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Silva]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin unveiled a new plan to auction valuable airwaves to foster interoperable public-safety/commercial communications around the country. The proposal takes nationwide and regional licensing approaches, and retains a public-private partnership approach and advances other reforms sought in the aftermath of the agency's failed attempt to find a taker for the national first-responder/commercial D-Block license earlier this year. Chairman Martin is pushing for an FCC vote on the revamped D-Block proposal at the agency's Sept 25 open meeting. The five-member, Republican-controlled commission would not be voting on the proposal itself, but would put it out for public comment on a fast-track basis. Chairman Martin said the FCC could adopt final rules by year's end and hold the re-auction sometime between April and June. If revamped D-Block rules remain unsettled by next year — when a new administration takes over — there's a possibility for more changes and more delay. With the 700 MHz spectrum becoming available by mid-February after the digital TV transition is completed, Chairman Martin said time is of the essence.
http://benton.org/node/16908
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
VERIZON AS A CABLE GUY TO SHAPE BROADBAND BATTLE IN WASHINGTON, DC
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Washington, D.C. is among the most wired cities in the country. The number of BlackBerrys on Capitol Hill alone could dwarf the population of Wasilla, Alaska, and with a hefty choice of carriers for those wanting e-mail on the go. But when those BlackBerry-toting legislative staffers go home and watch television, they step into a much different world -- back in time to world where the battle for better broadband depends upon cable TV regulation. Unlike many major cities, Washington has two choices for cable TV: RCN and Comcast. RCN, which grew out of a locally-owned Internet service provider called Erols, which later a part of RCN-owned Starpower, competes with Comcast and has a loyal following, especially among those who like to "root for the little guy." Verizon Communications also offers digital subscriber line (DSL) service in the District. And since the company began to deploy their fiber-optic service (FiOS) in the neighboring Maryland and Virginia suburbs, those other areas have gotten another choice for "cable" television. Verizon would like the make Washington one of a few cities with a third choice. Nearly a year ago, this "telephone" company attempted to turn itself into a multichannel video provider here by applying to bring FiOS TV to the District. The application was approved by the Office of Cable Television on August 8, after a lengthy and sometimes controversial process. The deal is still subject to approval by the D.C. Council and the Mayor's office. Enter the local politicos.
http://benton.org/node/16907
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DO ISPs POSE A BIGGER ONLINE THREAT THAN GOOGLE
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Jaikumar Vijayan]
The increased monitoring and profiling of Internet users by companies such as Google and its DoubleClick online advertising subsidiary is widely seen as one of the biggest threats to online privacy. But in reality, said university professor Paul Ohm, the potential for the same kind of activities by ISPs poses a much greater privacy risk. Ohm, an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, published a research paper titled "The Rise and Fall of Invasive ISP Surveillance" late last month. The 77-page document chronicles the different market pressures and technology advances that are shaping the behavior of ISPs and warns of "a coming storm of unprecedented and invasive" surveillance of users by such companies.
http://benton.org/node/16906
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ADVERTISING
NEWSPAPERS SAY GOOGLE, YAHOO TIE HURTS COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
A deal by Google Inc and Yahoo Inc to share some advertising revenue will mean less money for newspapers and weaken Yahoo in the long run, the World Association of Newspapers said. The group, which represents 18,000 publications worldwide, criticized a deal struck in June in which Google will supply Yahoo with advertising services to run alongside Yahoo's own Web search system. Together the two companies have more than 80 percent of the search market. "Competition between both these two search companies has provided a necessary check to any potential market abuses, and has helped to ensure that publishers and content generators are capable of earning an equitable and fair return on their content," the group said in a statement.
http://benton.org/node/16905
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EU COMPETITION OFFICIALS PROBING GOOGLE-YAHOO DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: William Schomberg, Diane Bartz]
European Union antitrust watchdogs are looking into a planned deal between Internet giants Google Inc and Yahoo Inc to share some advertising revenue. "In mid-July, we decided to open a preliminary investigation on our own initiative into potential effects of the Google-Yahoo agreement on competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) market," said Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. The probe is similar to one in Washington, where the Justice Department is also looking into whether a commercial tie-up between the two companies, which together have 80 percent of the market, would violate antitrust law.
http://benton.org/node/16904
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WHY NBC IS OK HAVING GOOGLE SELL CABLE ADS
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
So what persuaded NBC Universal to make the ad sales deal with Google now? For one thing, it gives the company access to new viewer research and, potentially, a broader array of advertisers. The media company has demonstrated a proclivity for testing new ideas even as it broadens its cable holdings and tries to reignite its flagging broadcast network. And the Google test could help NBC Universal blow the dust off the slow-to-modernize world of TV ad sales, which isn't keeping pace with how technology is changing media. NBC Universal has recognized that not all ad time is equal. Rather than simply buying a flight of 30-second spots, marketers increasingly are seeking broader promotional ideas that surround a piece of content, including weaving products into shows, creating customized ads that reflect that placement and devising digital components viewers can spend time with when they aren't watching TV.
http://benton.org/node/16903
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
HOW WALL STREET'S MESS WILL HURT HIGH TECH
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Olsen]
Troubles at two major Wall Street securities firms Monday will have ripple effects that could stifle mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry and further dampen the market for initial public offerings. Or so say financial pundits who are examining the potential fallout of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and the $50 billion sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America in order to avoid its own financial crisis. Venture capital and finance experts compared the news to the late 1990s when the Big Eight accounting firms shrunk to the Big Four. Consolidation and financial uncertainty at the nation's largest securities firms will close some doors to tech companies aiming to go public, slow the process for M&A deals, and generally add more worry lines to tech investing.
http://benton.org/node/16901
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BEST BUY TO BUY NAPSTER FOR $121 MILLION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Best Buy plans to buy digital music service Napster for $121 million in cash in an effort to compete with Apple's dominant iTunes service and its iPod music players. Included in the deal is approximately $67 million in cash and short term investments held by Napster, meaning the net price of the deal would be $54 million, the companies said. Best Buy, one of the largest retailers of CDs, and Napster, once the best known name in digital music, both offer digital subscription services, but neither have mounted much of a challenge to Apple, which holds more than 70 percent of the US digital music market. Napster and Best Buy are betting they have a better chance by combining rather than competing with each other. Best Buy said on Monday it would pay $2.65 per Napster share, nearly double its closing price on Friday. Napster shares jumped 87 percent in early trading to $2.54.
http://benton.org/node/16900
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EU APPROVES SONY BUY OF BMG FROM BERTELSMANN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Darren Ennis, William Schomberg]
Japanese electronic consumer products company Sony won permission from the European Commission on Monday to buy full ownership of recorded music company Sony BMG. The new music company -- the second-largest after Vivendi unit Universal -- will now be called Sony Music Entertainment Inc (SMEI) and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
http://benton.org/node/16899
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INTERNATIONAL
IS THE US LOSING ITS EDGE IN TECH?
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Arik Hesseldahl]
The U.S. still has the world's most competitive information technology industry, but its lead is slipping, according to a new study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The study, released Sept. 16, ranks 66 countries in six areas, including the availability of skilled labor, the "innovation friendliness" of a nation's culture, and the strength of its legal protections for intellectual property. The U.S. scored highest overall, but its rating fell from last year, and it was No. 1 in only three of the categories. "America should be proud that it's No. 1, but Americans should also be aware that it can no longer take its leadership for granted," says Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the BSA, a Washington (DC)-based organization that promotes the interests of the software industry. The EIU's analysis also weighed the quality of a nation's technology infrastructure, measuring the number of PCs per 100 people, market spending on IT hardware per 100 people, the availability of secure Internet servers per 100,000 people, and the percentage of the population with high-speed Internet access. Switzerland, ranked 11th overall, outscored the U.S. on IT infrastructure, which accounted for 20% of a country's score. The study also assessed the openness of a country's economy and the quality of government leadership on technology issues.
http://benton.org/node/16921
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EU PROPOSES TO CUT TECH TARIFFS UNDER US PRESSURE
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Bradley Klapper]
Under pressure from the United States and Asia, the European Union proposed Monday to eliminate taxes on imports of newly developed high-tech goods in the hope of avoiding a lengthy and costly World Trade Organization dispute. Brussels said it wants to "update and expand" a 1996 WTO agreement that ended tariffs on information technology equipment by granting the special treatment to new products that have entered the market since the accord went into effect. The U.S. says these new products are already covered by the deal, and charges the 27-nation bloc with breaking the rules. The EU said in a statement that negotiations would solve disagreements "within a matter a months, not years" — a reference to the numerous disputes between the trans-Atlantic powers that have dragged on for long periods of time.
http://benton.org/node/16920
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QUICKLY
WE ARE THE WORLD: WEB DESIGNER LAUNCHES FOUNDATION TO BRING INVENTION TO ALL
[SOURCE: Scientific American, AUTHOR: Jordan Lite]
It's a lofty goal: make the World Wide Web truly global. Now, the Web's inventor says he'll try to do just that. The new World Wide Web Foundation, founded by Tim Berners-Lee, will launch next year to bring the Web to people who don't have ready access to it, the organization announced today — an effort that reflects what Berners-Lee says is the inherent populist nature of the Web. The World Wide Web Foundation will utilize Web science, a new area of study. Web science incorporates math, computer science, psychology and a slew of other disciplines to answer real-world questions about privacy and intellectual property.
http://benton.org/node/16898
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DVRs NOW IN OVER ONE-QUARTER OF US HOUSEHOLDS
[SOURCE: Leichtman Research Group]
New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group finds that 27% of TV households in the United States have at least one Digital Video Recorder (DVR), and 30% of those households have more than one DVR. DVR owners are very happy with the service -- 87% would recommend their DVR service to a friend, and 81% rate their DVR 8-10 on a 10 point scale (with 45% rating the service as 10). Yet recorded viewing is not necessarily the priority in DVR households -- 68% of DVR owners say that they usually watch recorded DVR programs when there is nothing on regularly scheduled TV that they want to watch.
http://benton.org/node/16897
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HOUSTON TV STATIONS OPT TO OFFER WALL-TO-WALL COVERAGE OF IKE
[SOURCE: Houston Chronicle, AUTHOR: David Barron]
Having weathered Hurricane Ike's onslaught alongside their viewers, news crews and technicians at Houston's network affiliates continued operating Sunday as, in the words of one station official, a public utility. Officials at all four stations said they would evaluate wall-to-wall coverage over the next day or so based on developments, but would maintain stepped-up operations as Houston transitions from the storm to the recovery phase.
http://benton.org/node/16896
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MEDIA GROUP TO CREATE NEW DIGITAL VIDEO "ECOSYSTEM"
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Gina Keating]
A group of media industry companies said it is planning to build a digital world where video devices and content websites play together in perfect harmony, and consumers can safely store their digital content and access it anywhere in the world. The consortium of Hollywood studios, retailers, service providers, and consumer electronics and information technology companies, called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, or DECE, is working on a "uniform digital media experience" but won't announce details until the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The consortium said it will call for interoperability of devices and websites, and usage rules that allow consumers to copy content onto household playback devices and to burn their content to physical media, DECE President Mitch Singer said. The plan also would provide customers a "rights locker" or virtual library where consumers' digital video purchases would be stored for retrieval in a manner similar to accessing an email account, Singer said. AT&T plans to eventually link Apple Inc's iPhone to its high-speed Internet and video service called U-verse, and introduce new features like using the phone as a remote control.
http://benton.org/node/16902
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SMITHSONIAN WILL DIGITIZE ITS FULL COLLECTION
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Brett Zongker]
The Smithsonian Institution will work to digitize its collections to make science, history and cultural artifacts accessible online and dramatically expand its outreach to schools. It working to bring in video gaming experts and Web gurus to collaborate with curators on creative ways to present artifacts online and make them appealing to kids. Smithsonian officials do not know how long it will take or how much it will cost to digitize the full 137 million-object collection and will do it as money becomes available. A team will prioritize which artifacts are digitized first.
http://benton.org/node/16919
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MEANNESS APPEARS TO RUB OFF ON VIEWERS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Greg Toppo]
Researchers have long known that watching violence on TV or in movies ratchets up aggression, but what about watching people being mean to one another? Could watching Mean Girls make you as aggressive as watching Kill Bill? A new study suggests the answer is yes.
http://benton.org/node/16918
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TWITTER COMPLEMENTS TRADITIONAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: I Want Media, AUTHOR: Patrick Phillips]
A Q& A with Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter -- the two-year-old free microblogging site that is racking up high-profile enthusiasts who hail it as both a "hypergrapevine" news resource and an innovative business tool for customer service.
http://benton.org/node/16895
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Go Cubs!