July 19, 2010 (Corporate America tells White House it doesn't like FCC regs)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010
A number of events today include the 8th Annual Access to Capital Conference (MMTC),celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, special access rules and states and broadband planning http://bit.ly/9FDZsJ
AGENDA
FCC Announces Agenda for August Meeting
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Corporate America tells White House it doesn't like FCC regs, but benefits from one
Comments pour into FCC on broadband reclassification
FBI urges FCC to protect its ability to wiretap
Minority groups to oppose FCC reclassification
Bringing Broadband to People with Low Incomes
MAP: Lifeline key to achieving social justice goals
CYBERSECURITY
Reid presses senators on cybersecurity
Identifying the Attacker Can Play Important Role in Cybersecurity
Commerce Department, ICANN and VeriSign Deploy New Technology to Enhance the Security and Stability of the Internet
Cyberwarrior Shortage Threatens U.S. Security
OWNERSHIP
Google Buys Metaweb, the One Company That Could Revolutionize Google Search
Google execs: Android costs are "not material"
CPB Rules may favor TV mergers, limits on website ads
TELEVISION/RADIO
Free Speech for Broadcasters, Too
FCC Should Not Appeal 'Expletives' Ruling
Fresh Air removed from Mississippi Public Radio
Indecency In A Post-Fox World: What's Up Next?
FCC waiver opens door for digital mobile TV receivers that won't receive most stations
WIRELESS
San Mateo District Attorney Withdraws Controversial Gizmodo iPhone Warrant
Consumer Reports Still Not Recommending The iPhone 4
Apple says that all smartphone makers have reception issues
Wireless Network Races for Funds
For Telecom Firms, Smartphones Rule
Tough calls for AT&T's embattled chief
Why Google Launched App Inventor
RESEARCH
COMPETES Act Introduced in the Senate
DIGITAL CONTENT
Electronic reading devices are transforming the concept of a book
Policing the Web's Lurid Precincts
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Digital Diplomacy
EDUCATION
New tool shows how arts education boosts 21st century skills
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Up-and-coming conservative candidates shy away from media analysis
STORIES FROM ABROAD
China's Censors Rein in a 'Vulgar' Reality TV Show
Booming Demand for TV on the Internet in China
Battle to connect wireless energy meters
Times' website visits fall by two-thirds
Recent Comments on:
Denying Bill Shock by Distorting the Facts
AGENDA
AUGUST MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission, fresh off it's July meeting, announced the agenda for August 5. The FCC will consider:
1) A Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that benefits consumers with hearing loss by ensuring that advanced and innovative devices that provide telephone voice communications are hearing aid-compatible.
2) A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry seeking to remove regulatory barriers to the use of spectrum for wireless backhaul and other point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communications, to promote broadband competition and investment in rural and non-rural areas.
benton.org/node/39388 | Federal Communications Commission
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
CORPORATE AMERICA VS TELECOM REGS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Corporate America's long list of "Policy Burdens Inhibiting Growth" include several regulations in place or in motion at the Federal Communications Commission. But even as they criticize certain policies, the biggest communications companies are also benefiting from at least one policy: a federal phone subsidy. In a letter sent on June 21 to Peter Orszag, outgoing head of the Office of Management and Budget, the Business Roundtable and the Business Council listed network neutrality, data roaming on wireless networks, reclassification of broadband and a federal rural phone subsidy program as "policy burdens" that don't work and hurt businesses. And the letter criticizes the Universal Service Fund, the $8 billion annual subsidy, that the leaders of both groups, including Business Roundtable Chairman Ivan Seidenberg, say is wasteful. The business groups also don't like the "bill shock" inquiry taking place on cellphone carriers by the FCC. And the biggest threat they highlight is reclassification of broadband as a telecom service.
benton.org/node/39391 | Washington Post
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RECLASSIFICATION COMMENTS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received thousands of comments in a proceeding on how strictly it should regulate broadband services. Google says the FCC's proposal "will create a legally sound, light-touch regulatory framework that benefits consumers, technology companies and broadband Internet access providers." AT&T said it "packages up all that is wrong with the Commission's approach, including how the plan would scuttle the Administration's ambitious broadband deployment and adoption agenda, and chill multi-billion dollar private sector investment and job creation. We also debunk the notion that this is the only way to accomplish the FCC's National Broadband Plan core objectives, and we highlight the plethora of legal problems and uncertainties that would sweep through the Internet ecosystem." The cable lobby's filing argues that the FCC "has no legal authority to classify any part of broadband Internet access service as a common carrier offering. Such a reclassification would be fundamentally at odds with the nature of Internet access service, which remains the information service that the Commission has consistently found it to be. Not only would reversing this long-standing policy be legally unsupportable, it would also thwart rather than promote investment in broadband facilities and undermine the serious reliance interests of broadband providers and others in the existing regulatory regime. The Commission retains ancillary authority to meet legitimate policy objectives. Any ambiguities in the Commission's authority should be addressed by Congress rather than through an effort to impose legacy common carrier regulation on broadband." The open Internet Coalition said, "In light of the Comcast decision, the Commission's ability to implement this mission, key parts of the broadband plan designed to protect and promote adoption of the open Internet are in serious question. As a result, continuing to operate under the questionable theory of Title I ancillary jurisdiction is a path guaranteed to result in uncertainty, unwanted litigation and delay for the Commission and its stakeholders. It may ultimately lead to the inability of the FCC to implement its own broadband plan as well as and President Obama's key tech priorities."
benton.org/node/39390 | Hill, The | BroadbandBreakfast.com | B&C on NCTA | MediaPost | Public Knowledge
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RECLASSIFICATION AND WIRETAPPING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation told the Federal Communications Commission that no matter how the battle for authority over Internet access ends up, the agency should not change law enforcement's ability to wiretap. The FBI said the FCC should not strip away law enforcement authorities' access to communications networks. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires a telecommunications service provider to intercept calls for law enforcement authorities. That requirement applies to phone and broadband Internet services, including VoIP, or Internet-based voice services. In recent years, some privacy and anti-regulatory groups have protested the expanded scope of CALEA. Higher education and library associations have unsuccessfully taken the FCC to court over its interpretation in 2005 that VoIP and broadband services were covered by CALEA.
benton.org/node/39401 | Washington Post
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GROUPS WEIGH IN ON RECLASSIFICATION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
100 Black Men of America, ASPIRA, and the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund are among 17 groups expected to send a letter today to key Members of Congress warning them against the reclassification of broadband's legal status. The groups support Congressional action rather than the Federal Communication Commission rewriting rules on its own. The groups warn that legal reclassification of broadband services could "interject uncertainty into the broadband market." "We are concerned that the commission's proposed regulations could be a distraction from efforts to implement the National Broadband Plan," the letter said, arguing that if reclassification stifles the private sector's incentives for deploying broadband, "the proposed regulations could have detrimental effects on investment, innovation and job creation."
benton.org/node/39404 | Hill, The
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BRINGING BROADBAND TO PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOMES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Amina Fazlullah]
For years, the Lifeline program has provided qualified consumers with a discount on monthly charges for their primary home phone line, even if it's a cell phone. And the Link-Up program has lowered the cost eligible consumers pay for setting up new phone service at their home, including cell phone service. Now, with broadband becoming increasing essential to communications, the Federal Communications Commission is asking if these programs should be modernized to subsidize Internet connections and devices. On July 15, Benton Foundation, the Office of Communication, Inc. for the United Church of Christ, Access Humboldt, and Center for Rural Strategies filed comments with the FCC how best to approach this modernization.
http://www.benton.org/node/39377
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MAP ON LIFELINE
[SOURCE: Media Access Project, AUTHOR: Matthew Wood, Jeremy Rosenberg]
In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission, the Media Access Project says affordable access to telecommunications services by low-income households plays a key role in achieving social justice goals. If not for the FCC's Low-Income Universal Service Fund programs Lifeline and Link-Up, many low-income households would be forced to forego basic telecommunications services to meet other needs, such as food and shelter. MAP says eligibility criteria should be based on a reflection of meaningful but inclusive definitions of low-income and affordability. Studies show that even low-income families earning at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level would not find basic telecommunications services affordable, and such findings provide strong support for increasing Lifeline eligibility from the current 135 percent threshold. Allowing residents of homeless shelters to be automatically eligible for the low-income programs would empower these individuals to change their economic situations, maintain contact with friends and family, and improve such residents' own sense of dignity and self-sufficiency. MAP urges re-examining the one-per-household rule, which may have pernicious and unintended effects that dampen participation by eligible recipients who reside in homeless shelters and other group residences such as co-housing and multifamily housing. The rule also may require individuals receiving low-income assistance to choose between mobile services and more robust wireline broadband offerings, thereby denying such individuals the chance to take full advantage of opportunities for economic advancement, educational enrichment, civic participation, and social engagement. The filing supports the expansion of the Low-Income program to support in better fashion individuals' adoption of broadband and mobile services, while emphasizing that Lifeline and Link-Up must continue to provide support for basic telephony and connectivity in instances where more advanced offerings are not available.
benton.org/node/39385 | Media Access Project
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CYBERSECURITY
REID PUSHES CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Chris Strohm]
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has urged key senators to reach an agreement quickly on a comprehensive cybersecurity bill that he could take to the floor as early as September, according to some congressional aides. Sen Reid met privately July 14 with the leaders of Senate panels with jurisdiction over cybersecurity, including Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV), and Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The message from the meeting was to meld competing cybersecurity bills together by September, if not earlier, two congressional aides said. Reid's office would not confirm or deny the timeline, saying only that he conveyed to senators the urgency of reaching a consensus on a bill.
benton.org/node/39398 | CongressDaily
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ID'ING CYBER ATTACKERS
[SOURCE: House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, AUTHOR: Press release]
On July 15, the House Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to discuss cyber attack attribution—determining the identity or location of an attacker or an attacker's intermediary—and how attribution technologies can affect the anonymity and privacy of Internet users. "We are well aware of the critical role that IT networks play in managing much of our day-to-day activity—from online banking to systems that make sure there is food on grocery store shelves," said Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-OR). "Our growing reliance on networks has made us more vulnerable to cyber attacks and has increased the potential for such attacks to have far-reaching and crippling effects. Now more than ever, we need to focus on the development of tools and technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber attacks." As more and more of the Nation's infrastructure becomes dependent on the Internet, the potential impact of a successful cyber attack against the United States increases. Attribution technologies play an important role in limiting the effects of such crippling attacks. "However, given that the Internet is intended to be open and anonymous, the attribution of cyber attacks can be very difficult to achieve and should not be taken lightly," stated Wu. "As co-chair of the Global Internet Freedom Caucus here in the House, I am very concerned about the potential implications to privacy and Internet freedom posed by attribution technologies." Members and witnesses also discussed what research and development is needed to address capability gaps in attack attribution and who should be responsible for completing that R&D.
benton.org/node/39387 | House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
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DNSSEC
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Press release]
On July 16, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced completion of an initiative with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and VeriSign to enhance the security and stability of the Internet. The announcement marks full deployment of a security technology -- Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) -- at the Internet's authoritative root zone (i.e. the address book of the Internet), which will help protect Internet users against cache poisoning and other related cyber attacks.
benton.org/node/39397 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration | The Hill | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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CYBERSECURITY LABOR SHORTAGE
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Tom Gjelten]
There may be no country on the planet more vulnerable to a massive cyberattack than the United States, where financial, transportation, telecommunications and even military operations are now deeply dependent on data networking. What's worse: U.S. security officials say the country's cyberdefenses are not up to the challenge. In part, it's due to a severe shortage of computer security specialists and engineers with the skills and knowledge necessary to do battle against would-be adversaries. The protection of U.S. computer systems essentially requires an army of cyberwarriors, but the recruitment of that force is suffering. "We don't have sufficiently bright people moving into this field to support those national security objectives as we move forward in time," says James Gosler, a veteran cybersecurity specialist who has worked at the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Energy Department. If U.S. cyberdefenses are to be improved, more people like Gosler will be needed on the front lines. Gosler, 58, works at the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he focuses on ways to counter efforts to penetrate U.S. data networks. It's an ever-increasing challenge.
benton.org/node/39409 | National Public Radio
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OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE BUYS METAWEB
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Dan Nosowitz]
Google acquires companies all the time, little startups with a bit of helpful technology or a nice patent or a few engineers Google wants. The July 16 acquisition of Metaweb should not be grouped in with those relatively small other purchases: Metaweb's technology could change the way Google Search works. Metaweb is a difficult concept to describe, although the video above does an admirable job. Essentially, it views keywords, the way we search now, as an inferior search method to what it calls "entities." Words can vary in meaning, refer to different things, have different levels of importance or relevance at different times, and often return inexact results. So Metaweb has created a constantly growing database, or directory, of 12 million "entities," which are really just persons, places, or things, and all the different ways you might refer to them. Wording isn't so important with Metaweb, it's the end meaning that matters. Once Metaweb figures out to which entity you're referring, it can provide a set of results. It can even combine entities for more complex searches--"actresses over 40" might be one entity, "actresses living in New York City" might be another, and "actresses with a movie currently playing" might be another. Instead of searching through that jumble of keywords, Metaweb would just connect you to those three entities, and file down your results. You can see why this would be extremely valuable to Google.
benton.org/node/39395 | Fast Company | LATimes | IDG | NYTimes
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ANDROID COSTS GOOGLE LITTLE
[SOURCE: MobileBeat, AUTHOR: Anthony Hu]
What does the Android mobile operating system means to Google? Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said the important thing about Android is that most of the "key products" are not made by Google — in other words, the phones are built by device manufacturers by Motorola. So from a cost perspective, Pichette said Android is "not material." As for making money, Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president for product management and marketing, reiterated that Google's goal is to bring more people to Web and to search, where the bulk of its revenue comes from. "On these devices, the most popular app is the browser," Rosenberg said. Pichette added that mobile traffic to Google's properties has grown 500 percent in the last two years, and Android has been "an accelerator" of that.
benton.org/node/39384 | MobileBeat
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CPB RULES TO ENCOURAGE MERGERS?
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Dru Sefton]
Draft rules for allocating Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Community Service Grants (CSGs) to public television stations recommend a new wave of incentives for mergers and other joint operations. The incentives -- ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million per station -- plus economic pressures from the recession, could give an extra push to CPB's ongoing matchmaking efforts. Four stations in the Los Angeles area, for example, have been discussing possible collaborations since January. Another proposed provision would require stations to apply noncommercial underwriting rules to website advertising if they want to count the revenues as "nonfederal financial support" in calculating their CSGs. Public television station leaders are now reviewing the recommendations from a 17-member CSG Review panel that's been working for eight months to update CPB's rules for dividing up the largest piece of its congressional appropriation.
benton.org/node/39383 | Current
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TELEVISION/RADIO
NYTIMES EDITORIAL ON INDECENCY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Some private functions of the body can be described on broadcast television, but not others. Some four-letter expletives can be said on the air at 10:05 p.m., but not at 9:55 p.m. Characters in some prime-time movies can speak as adults actually do, but not in other movies because they have less artistic value. This irrational and erratic regime of restriction has been swept away by a federal appeals court at the request of broadcasters who have become exasperated by the Federal Communications Commission's rules. But a common-sense communications policy should not stop at indecency. The Supreme Court, if it takes up the case, should end all government regulations on the content of broadcasts. Technological change has undermined any justification for limiting the First Amendment rights of broadcast media outlets but not others.
benton.org/node/39403 | New York Times
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NO INDECENCY APPEAL: JESSELL
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has to take a stand for common sense with regard to the FCC's policing indecency on TV and radio stations. He can do that by letting stand the federal appeals court ruling this week that found that the FCC's so-called fleeting expletive policy is "impermissibly vague" and, thus, unconstitutional, an affront to the First Amendment. The policy, an artifact of the prior Republican FCC administration, is perhaps the worst manifestation of the FCC's long and troubled history of trying to keep broadcasting (but no other medium) squeaky clean to appease social conservatives. Accepting that fleeting expletives enforcement is dead and rewriting the underlying indecency policy in an attempt to give broadcasters clearer guidance and bolster it against future court challenges will not be easy.
benton.org/node/39402 | TVNewsCheck
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FRESH AIR REMOVED IN MISSISSIPPI
[SOURCE: newser, AUTHOR: Kevin Spak]
Mississippi Public Broadcasting dumped the popular NPR show "Fresh Air" and its host Terry Gross on Monday, citing "recurring inappropriate content." Speculation ran wild that the inappropriate content might be political, or related to its recent gay rights interviews. But, nope, it turns out it was an interview with Louis CK, in which he talked about having sex with his shirt on.
benton.org/node/39382 | Newser
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WHAT NEXT ON INDECENCY FRONT?
[SOURCE: CommLawBlog, AUTHOR: Harry Cole]
[Commentary] Now that the initial hoopla attendant to the release of the Second Circuit's Fox decision has quieted down, let's take a gander at legal scenarios that might be in store for us. Most obviously is the prospect of further efforts by the FCC to convince some court, any court, that the Second Circuit panel's decision was wrong. The options available to the Commission are:
Petition for rehearing to the Second Circuit panel. This would require the FCC to convince at least two of the panel's three judges that the decision they just made was wrong. Good luck with that.
Petition for rehearing en banc to the full Second Circuit. This would require the FCC to convince at least six of the ten active judges sitting on the Second Circuit that the whole court should take a look at the panel's decision. According to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, en banc rehearings are generally "not favored" and "ordinarily will not be ordered". So good luck with that, too.
Petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is the classic "taking it to the next level", and is probably the best appellate option the FCC has. But the Supremes are under no obligation to review the case; in fact, the odds are that they won't agree to review any case (in the term ending in June, 2009, the Court reportedly denied 98.9% of the cert petitions filed). Still, the Court heard the Fox case back in 2009, so the Supremes obviously have some interest in it. If the FCC wants to keep the ball alive on the judicial side, Supreme Court review is likely its best bet.
Of course, the Commission could also just run up the white flag and forget about appealing any further. In that case, its indecency options would be reduced to two: (1) go back to the drawing board and attempt to develop an indecency enforcement policy that passes constitutional muster; or (2) accept the fact that indecency is not susceptible to government regulation.
benton.org/node/39380 | CommLawBlog
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ENFORCING ALL-CHANNEL RECEIVER ACT
[SOURCE: CommLawBlog, AUTHOR: Peter Tannenwald]
A big chunk is missing from the armor of the All-Channel Receiver Act, the law that lets the Federal Communications Commission require every television receiving device to receive all TV channels. The FCC has adopted and enforced all-channel rules in the past, applying them not only to conventional TV sets but also to any device with a TV tuner even VCRs and DVD players that have no video screen. The rules have required reception of not only all channel numbers but also all transmission formats. A half century ago, the FCC required all TVs to have UHF tuners to receive Channels 14-69. More recently, it insisted that all receivers include digital receiving capability, and handed out hefty fines for anyone trying to dump their inventory of analog-only TVs without adequately warning purchasers they were buying soon-to-be-obsolete hardware. Today's new video frontier is digital mobile TV. Manufacturers recently started producing mobile digital TV receivers that do not have analog tuners, because analog tuners mean a little more cost, more weight, and less battery life. Some versions cannot even receive conventional digital television, the kind we watch at home. A small minority of TV stations add a special "mobile/hand-held" (M/H) bitstream to the standard digital signal for better reception in a mobile environment. Some of the new digital mobile TV devices require this bitstream to work as a result, they can't receive any analog or most digital TV stations. In other words, the new devices with those limitations violate the standards imposed by the FCC under the All-Channel Receiver Act.
benton.org/node/39379 | CommLawBlog
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WIRELESS
IPHONE WARRANT WITHDRAWN
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation, AUTHOR: Matt Zimmerman]
On July 16, San Mateo Superior Court Judge Clifford Cretan granted an application by the San Mateo County District Attorney's office to withdraw the controversial warrant it obtained to search the house of Gizmodo.com journalist Jason Chen. Accordingly, "[a]ll items seized [from Chen's home] shall be returned forthwith to Gizmodo.com and Jason Chen..." While the DA's withdrawal of the April 23rd warrant is certainly a positive step, this likely isn't the end of the matter.
benton.org/node/39396 | Electronic Frontier Foundation | www.fastcompany.com
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CONSUMER REPORTS AND THE IPHONE
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Tricia Duryee]
Consumer Reports is not satisfied with Apple's apology, which includes providing a free case to any iPhone 4 owners who want one. In a blog post, the publication writes: "We look forward to a long-term fix from Apple. As things currently stand, the iPhone 4 is still not one of our Recommended models."
benton.org/node/39394 | paidContent.org
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APPLE MAKES PROBLEM LARGER
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jefferson Graham]
Apple CEO Steve Jobs' hopes of starting the week with "antennagate" behind him in the court of public opinion don't appear likely. On July 16, Jobs addressed concerns raised by Consumer Reports and many blogs about dropped calls from the placement of the antenna on the new iPhone 4 by offering free phone cases to customers, but adding that the same reception issues plague the rest of the industry. Rob Enderle, an independent analyst at the Enderle Group, says he thinks Jobs enflamed the situation. "An apology and free cases would have ended it," he says. "But by throwing all the other phone companies under the bus, he made it worse because they have to respond, and that keeps it alive." Competitors are howling.
benton.org/node/39412 | USAToday | Wall Street Journal | WSJ - Response from HTC, Samsung
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HARBINGER NETWORK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jenny Strasburg, Spencer Ante]
Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone is facing financial and regulatory deadlines as he moves to raise more funds -- in the form of debt -- for his plan to build a new high-speed wireless network. The plan, which would be expensive and risky even for an established telecommunications firm, involves launching two satellites that would communicate with more than 30,000 wireless base stations across the U.S., and then selling high-speed wireless access to U.S. phone companies, cable operators and others that want to offer the service in areas currently without coverage. Pressure is mounting on Mr. Falcone and his Harbinger Capital Partners funds to show more progress. The four-year-old plan is underpinned by Harbinger's controlling stake in satellite-telecom company SkyTerra Communications Inc., which estimated in a recent earnings presentation that it would need to come up with about $211 million for the third quarter to cover costs related to the development of the network. Expenses include insurance for a satellite launch and development of wireless base stations. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission set benchmark requirements for access to wireless spectrum when it approved Harbinger's acquisition of SkyTerra and its licenses in March. According to one condition, Harbinger must build out its network to provide coverage to at least 100 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2012, 145 million people by the end of 2013, and 260 million people by the end of 2015.
benton.org/node/39414 | Wall Street Journal
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GOOGLE APP INVENTOR
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Colin Gibbs]
Earlier this week, Google released tools designed to help non-programmers build their own apps on the Android platform. The move is consistent with Google's strategy of boosting worldwide consumption of mobile data -- and with that, mobile advertising. And though App Inventor is unlikely to be used by many novices to produce compelling smartphone applications in the near-future, in the long-term, App Inventor could be a game-changer. The strategy behind App Inventor is simple: Create more places where Google can place ads and generate revenue, and build on Android's momentum by opening the platform even to dilettantes. The problem, though, is in the value of the new inventory: Deep-pocketed advertisers won't let their high-profile brands be soiled by appearing in third-rate apps; Android Market is already developing a Wal-Mart-like reputation. App Inventor could be a huge lift for Google in its mobile advertising race with Apple, but only if it helps produce apps that people really use — and inventory advertisers will really pay for.
benton.org/node/39386 | GigaOm
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RESEARCH
COMPETES IN SENATE
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
On July 16, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced elements of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (S. 3605) his committee is contributing to a bill that is a joint effort of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill invests in research and development (R&D), and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education drivers of America's economy and keys to our competitiveness in the global marketplace. The Commerce Committee will markup the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 at an Executive Session on Thursday, July 22, at 2:30 p.m.
The bill:
Authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Supports programs to assist American manufacturers, such as the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Technology Innovation Program, and creates a loan guarantee program to support innovation in manufacturing.
Coordinates STEM education across the federal government, with the goal of reinforcing programs that demonstrate effectiveness.
Supports research and internship opportunities for high school and undergraduate students, and increases the number of graduate fellowships supported by the NSF.
Reinforces the role of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to inspire and educate the future science and technology workforce, and encourages the agencies to transfer their technological advances into the private and public sectors.
Promotes productivity and economic growth by forming an Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to foster innovation and the commercialization of new technologies, products, processes, and services.
Requires the development of a national innovation and competitiveness strategy to strengthen the innovative and competitive capacity of the federal government, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and the private sector.
Supports the development of regional innovation strategies, including regional innovation clusters and research parks.
benton.org/node/39400 | US Senate Commerce Committee | The Hill
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DIGITAL CONTENT
READING DEVICES TRANSFORMING CONCEPT OF BOOK
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:]
More than 550 years after Johannes Gutenberg printed 180 copies of the Bible on paper and vellum, new technologies as revolutionary as the printing press are changing the concept of a book and what it means to be literate. Sound, animation and the ability to connect to the Internet have created the notion of a living book that can establish an entirely new kind of relationship with readers. As electronic reading devices evolve and proliferate, books are increasingly able to talk to readers, quiz them on their grasp of the material, play videos to illustrate a point or connect them with a community of fellow readers. The same technology allows readers to reach out to authors, provide instant reaction and even become creative collaborators, influencing plot developments and the writer's use of dramatic devices. Digital tools are also making it possible for independent authors to publish and promote their books, causing an outpouring of written work on every topic imaginable. If the upheaval in the music industry over the last decade is any guide, the closing of more bookstores and a decreasing demand for physical books will force authors and their publishers to find new ways to profit from their work. "There is not a single aspect of book publishing that digital won't touch," said Carolyn Kroll Reidy, chief executive of Simon & Schuster. "It is transformational."
benton.org/node/39393 | Los Angeles Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
DIGITAL DIPLOMACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jesse Lichtenstein]
A long look at Jared Cohen, the youngest member of the State Department's policy planning staff, and Alec Ross, the first senior adviser for innovation to the secretary of state. On Twitter, Cohen, who is 28, and Ross, who is 38, are among the most followed of anyone working for the U.S. government, coming in third and fourth after Barack Obama and John McCain. This didn't happen by chance. Their Twitter posts have become an integral part of a new State Department effort to bring diplomacy into the digital age, by using widely available technologies to reach out to citizens, companies and other nonstate actors. Ross and Cohen's style of engagement — perhaps best described as a cross between social-networking culture and foreign-policy arcana — reflects the hybrid nature of this approach. Two of Cohen's recent posts were, in order: "Guinea holds first free election since 1958" and "Yes, the season premier [sic] of Entourage is tonight, soooo excited!" This offhand mix of pop and politics has on occasion raised eyebrows and a few hackles (writing about a frappucino during a rare diplomatic mission to Syria; a trip with Ashton Kutcher to Russia in February), yet, together, Ross and Cohen have formed an unlikely and unprecedented team in the State Department. They are the public face of a cause with an important-sounding name: 21st-century statecraft.
benton.org/node/39389 | New York Times
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EDUCATION
ARTS BOOSTS 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
Working with national arts organizations, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has developed a first-of-its-kind Arts skills map that clearly defines how arts education promotes key 21st-century skills. The map, the fifth in a series of core content maps from P21 (others include Geography, Science, Social Studies, and English), gives examples how critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation (P21's "four Cs") can be fused within arts curricula (including dance, music, theater, and visual and media arts). The map comes at a critical time for arts education in schools, which often are the first programs to be cut when budgets are tight. Having an outline of how arts education can reinforce skills that are viewed as critical for success in the new global economy could help keep arts programs in schools.
benton.org/node/39378 | eSchool News
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Up-and-coming conservative candidates shy away from media analysis
CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES AND MEDIA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
Some of the most conservative and combative Republicans running for Congress are convinced that the media have it in for them. But these candidates seem to regard it as an affront when reporters challenge them on their past statements and inconsistencies, which is a basic function of journalism. They are avoiding or limiting interviews with all but the friendliest faces as a way of circumventing the press. And some of them delight in skewering the mainstream media, a tactic that plays well with their base. The candidates, some of them political neophytes, may be facing some "gotcha" questions, but that is part of the obstacle course of national politics. More experienced politicians anticipate such queries and find ways to brush them off.
benton.org/node/39415 | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
CHINA'S TV CENSORS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Xiyun Yang]
When viewers tuned into China's most popular dating show this spring, they saw beautiful women, brutal rejections and plenty of money worshiping, as when a female contestant was asked by a possible date whether she would like to go for a bicycle ride. "I'd rather sit and cry in the back of a BMW," she said. Or when another woman, asked for a handshake, responded: "Only my boyfriend gets to hold my hand. Everyone else, 200,000 renminbi per shake," or about $29,475. Such witticisms made "If You Are the One," produced by Jiangsu TV, the most watched reality television program in the country. Then the censors started watching. Late last May, central government propaganda officials issued a directive calling the shows "vulgar" and faulting them for promoting materialism, openly discussing sexual matters and "making up false stories, thus hurting the credibility of the media." So the dating show, and others like it, got a makeover. Gone are fast cars, luxury apartments and boasts of flush bank accounts. Now the contestants entice each other with tales of civic service and promises of good relations with future mothers-in-law. One show now uses a professor from the local Communist Party school as a judge.
benton.org/node/39407 | New York Times
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INTERNET TV IN CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Barboza]
Internet TV has arrived in China. Every month, about 300 million people in China are using a computer to watch Chinese TV dramas, Japanese and Korean sitcoms, and even American films and television series like "Twilight" and "Gossip Girl." Live streaming of the recent World Cup also drew a huge online audience. Analysts say young people in China are even starting to favor free laptop-viewing over TV sets, in part as a way to make an end run around regulators, who often bar state-run TV networks from broadcasting shows that do not meet the approval of the Communist Party. It is a momentous shift in viewing habits that has not gone unnoticed by the authorities in Beijing. They are tightening oversight of online video sites and also pushing state-run television networks to form their own Internet TV sites in an effort to retain control over what viewers can watch online. In addition, the country's big Web portals and search engines — including Baidu — are scrambling to form competing video sites, many of which plan to license content from the United States and elsewhere.
benton.org/node/39406 | New York Times
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SMART METERS IN UK
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
A battle is heating up between leading telecoms companies for contracts to provide connections to Britain's next generation of energy meters. BT, Vodafone and Telefónica are expected to go head-to-head for contracts to provide wireless networks for "smart meters" that could play a significant role in cutting the UK's carbon emissions. A consortium involving BT will make its pitch on Monday to provide a nationwide solution to the challenge of connecting consumers' smart meters to their energy suppliers. BT said if the consortium was successful at winning contracts with the utility companies, the deals could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds over the coming decade. The government has inherited a target from the previous administration of installing 47 million smart meters in 26 million homes by 2020.
benton.org/node/39405 | Financial Times
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RESULTS FROM PAYWALL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Esther Bintliff, Tim Bradshaw]
Visits to The Times' website have dropped by two-thirds in the weeks since News International, the media group controlled by Rupert Murdoch, began to implement its paywall strategy, according to new data. However, the decline has been gentler than the 90 per cent fall in traffic some researchers expected. Murdoch's experiment in charging for online content is being watched by newspaper proprietors across the world, many of whom are considering similar measures amid lower circulation and declining print advertising revenues. According to figures collated by Experian Hitwise, which monitors Internet traffic, the most significant fall in visits was in the weeks just before the paywall went up, when visitors were asked to register before viewing Times articles. Traffic fell 58 per cent in the five weeks between May 22 and June 26, with The Times' share of UK news and media web traffic falling from 4.37 per cent to 1.83 per cent. In the week after charging began on July 2, the rate of decline moderated, although World Cup news might have boosted web visits. Between July 3 and July 10, visits fell to 33 per cent of The Times' pre-registration level, or 1.43 per cent of the market. "The big drop off was actually during the registration period," said Robin Goad, research director at Experian Hitwise, who collated the data. "But since the site has gone to fully paid there hasn't been much more of a fall."
benton.org/node/39411 | Financial Times
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