September 30, 2011 (Budget Cuts)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY(!), SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
October's agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2011-10/
BUDGET
Proposed cuts to Congress’s investigative arm spark protest
House GOP Unveils Plan To Cut NPR, Job Training And Education Programs
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Fire and Silk: Did Amazon's Jeff Bezos bury the lead? - analysis
Amazon poised to take one of Google’s most critical assets - analysis
Report: Amazon Wants To Buy WebOS; That Could Mean Kindle Phones, PCs Too
Why Magazine Publishers Like the Fire - analysis [links to web]
Why Amazon promotes Its Rivals - analysis
Disruptapalooza 2011: how Amazon’s Kindle is changing the portable media game - analysis [links to web]
VP Biden Makes Another Pitch For Public Safety Network [links to web]
Nokia Cuts 3,500 Manufacturing Jobs
PRIVACY
Privacy group asks FTC for Facebook inquiry
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC must protect consumer in telecom reforms - op-ed
Broadband wireless makes quiet gains in rural broadband market [links to web]
TELECOM
Senators back telecom carriers’ plans for USF reform
Justice, FCC OK Level 3 Acquisition of Global Crossing - press release
TELEVISION
This Season of Sesame Street Will Focus on Math and Science [links to web]
'The Playboy Club' Advertisers Say They Didn't Abandon Show
Help for Watching TV [links to web]
JOURNALISM
Should Google Tweak the News We Consume?
Social Media Discuss Tech Changes - research [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
Silicon Valley and the next $100 billion stimulus - analysis
CYBERSECURITY
A Dynamic Approach to Federal Cybersecurity - press release [links to web]
NIST puts together a plan for securing wireless LANs [links to web]
HEALTH
The Future of Health IT [links to web]
ENERGY
4 Reasons Why The Smart Grid Has Failed To Take Off [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
FCC Diversity Advisory Committee Re-Chartered - public notice [links to web]
Ninth Circuit: Apple did not engage in copyright misuse by restricting OS X to Apple hardware [links to web]
Chicago technology mavens to launch startup center [links to web]
News Corp. unit in SF under scrutiny [links to web]
Twitter Study Tracks When We Are Happy [links to web]
A cure for 24/7 'communication' - op-ed [links to web]
BUDGET
CUTS PROPOSED FOR GAO
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Alexander Bolton]
Plans to cut deeply into Congress’s investigative arm have sparked a protest from a bipartisan group of senators who say it would hurt the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) ability to track government waste and abuse. They have sent a letter of complaint to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on The Legislative Branch. Chairman Nelson and the subpanel’s senior Republican, Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), have crafted legislation to cut Congress’s budget by 5.2 percent, or $200 million. Nearly $42 million in savings would come from the GAO budget. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ), longtime watchdogs of wasteful government spending, said the cut falls disproportionately on an agency critical to congressional oversight of federal spending.
benton.org/node/91738 | Hill, The
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NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO CUTS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Andrew Taylor]
Setting a collision course with Democrats that could drag out for months, House Republicans unveiled plans to cut federal money for job training, heating subsidies and grants to better-performing schools. The draft measure for labor, health and education programs also seeks to block implementation of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, cut off federal funds for National Public Radio and Planned Parenthood, and reduce eligibility for grants for low-income college students. Democrats and Tea Party Republicans opposed the bill, blocking it from advancing through even the easy initial steps of the appropriations process on Capitol Hill. Instead of moving through the Appropriations Committee and the House as a whole, the $153 billion measure is instead expected to be wrapped into a larger omnibus spending bill this fall or winter that would fund the day-to-day operating budgets of Cabinet agencies.
benton.org/node/91734 | Associated Press
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FIRE AND SILK
[SOURCE: CNNMoney, AUTHOR: Philip Elmer-DeWitt]
On Sept 28, Amazon announced the launch of a special-purpose browser Amazon's software engineers have designed to speed up Web searches on their new mobile device. It's called Silk, and CEO Jeff Bezos pitched it as a solution to the problem of pulling up content from today's increasingly complex Web pages, using as an example a typical CNN.com home page with its 53 static images, 39 dynamic images, 3 Flash files, 30 JavaScript files from 7 different domains, 29 HTML files and 7 CSS files. To get all this on the screen of a hand-held device without an unreasonable delay, Bezos and his engineers explained, Amazon has split the task in two: Some of the work is done by the tablet, but most is carried out in Amazon's giant server farms, where users' Web request are sent for pre-processing and, where possible, caching for future use. Chris Espinosa says this'll mean that "Amazon will capture and control every Web transaction performed by Fire users. Every page they see, every link they follow, every click they make, every ad they see is going to be intermediated by one of the largest server farms on the planet. People who cringe at the data-mining implications of the Facebook Timeline ought to be just floored by the magnitude of Amazon's opportunity here."
benton.org/node/91685 | CNNMoney
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AMAZON AND GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Chris Ziegler]
The practice of successfully building and selling an “Android-compatible device” is much different than the theory. First off, there’s the fact that Honeycomb has never been open-sourced. Android’s public repositories cap off with Gingerbread, which puts independent tablet makers in a bind. Secondly, royalties on Android devices are essentially taking the place of licensing fees at this point — you can't actually use Android for “free” on a commercial device without attracting attention from Microsoft’s lawyers. But third — and this is key — Android is significantly devalued as a consumer platform if you don't have Google’s blessing to ship your product. You lose the suite of Google services that users are automatically expecting when they take your device out of the box, including Gmail, Maps and the official Android Market. It’s been said a thousand times before that a vibrant, easily-accessible ecosystem of third-party apps is central to a successful mobile product — and if you lose the Market, you lose that ecosystem. Independently-launched devices (particularly tablets) have tried to make up the difference with their own aftermarket app stores, but when “success” is measured in hundreds of thousands of available titles, there’s simply no substitute for the real thing. Or is there? When the Amazon Appstore launched in March of this year following a lengthy, low-key test with developers, it was immediately evident that the company had an opportunity to challenge the official Android Market’s dominance in a way that no one else had been able to do.
benton.org/node/91740 | Washington Post
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AMAZON AND WEBOS
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Ingrid Lunden]
HP’s WebOS is up in the air and we now have a new player that apparently wants to catch it: Amazon. A report in VentureBeat quotes sources who say that Amazon is in “advanced negotiations” to buy WebOS. Furthermore, those sources note that Hewlett Packard wants to relieve itself of the WebOS burden ASAP -- despite HP saying that it would stick by WebOS, even after announcing to dump its hardware business. For Amazon, the idea would be to use WebOS as a basis for its new line of tablets -- rather than the forked version of Android that Amazon is currently using to power its Kindle Fire tablet unveiled earlier this week after what seemed like decades of speculation. Perhaps more significantly, Amazon could also use the platform to power other products in the future, too -- such as smartphones and PCs, both areas where Amazon could naturally move, given its strong position in mobile retail already, plus its huge push to cloud computing with Amazon Web Services. For those who might think that an Amazon/HP tie-up sounds out of the blue, it’s not: Jon Rubinstein, the former Palm head, joined the board of Amazon in December last year as a director.
benton.org/node/91751 | paidContent.org
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AMAZON PROMOTES RIVALS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John Jannarone]
While attention lately has been focused on Amazon.com's launch of a tablet PC, the e-commerce giant, led by Jeffrey Bezos, has been quietly taking bolder steps in another part of its business. It is trying to sell more advertisements for competing retailers, even promoting products that Amazon itself sells. This might seem a counterintuitive step in the hyper-competitive retail sector. But by accepting such ads, Amazon is turning itself into the ultimate destination site for online retail of any kind. The same effort has seen Amazon broaden its selection of goods to encompass everything from grocery items to consumer electronics. Already, more shoppers go to retailers' websites than search engines as a first step towards a purchase, according to a survey of electronics and computer shoppers by Comscore.
benton.org/node/91754 | Wall Street Journal
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NOKIA CUTS MORE JOBS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Arild Moen]
Finland's Nokia said it will cut 3,500 manufacturing jobs, in addition to the 6,800 research and development job cuts announced earlier this year, as it continues to realign its business, cut costs and refocus manufacturing operations closer to customers in Asia. The job cuts are the latest in several restructuring efforts that so far haven't done much for the troubled telecommunications-equipment maker's share price. Nokia said in April it plans to reduce its global work force by about 4,000 employees in Denmark, the U.K. and Finland by the end of 2012. Including the job cuts in this latest announcement, Nokia has now reduced its work force by 7.4%.
benton.org/node/91758 | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times
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PRIVACY
PRIVACY GROUPS, FACEBOOK AND THE FTC
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jessica Guynn]
The Electronic Privacy Information Center is asking the Federal Trade Commission to look into Facebook's tracking of users after they log off the service. The group is also asking the FTC to examine if Facebook's new Ticker and Timeline features pose privacy risks for users. Privacy rights advocates say they want the FTC to investigate if the new features constitute unfair or deceptive business practices. "Facebook's frictionless sharing and post-log-out tracking harms consumers throughout the United States by invading their privacy and allowing for disclosure and use of information in ways and for purposes other than those to which users have consent and relied upon," the letter reads. The letter is signed by other consumer groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Action.
Facebook says the incident did not represent a security or privacy breach and that it did not store any of the information from the cookies in question. A spokesman also called attention to Facebook’s new “Bug Bounty” program that rewards people who point out security risks. The company is emphatic that it does not “track” users outside browsing habits: "Said more plainly, our cookies aren’t used for tracking. They just aren’t. Instead, we use our cookies to either provide custom content (e.g. your friend’s likes within a social plugin), help improve or maintain our service (e.g. measuring click-through rates to help optimize performance), or protect our users and our service."
benton.org/node/91696 | Los Angeles Times | B&C | paidContent.org
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
USF REFORM
[SOURCE: Seattle Times, AUTHOR: Simon ffitch]
[Commentary] A debate rages at the Federal Communications Commission that affects your pocketbook and your access to broadband. The FCC appears poised to adopt a plan from America's largest telecommunications companies, including AT&T and Verizon, that will add billions to phone bills, routing those dollars to some of the country's most profitable phone companies without any real accountability or oversight, and strip states of the ability to protect consumers. At this key turning point in the history of telecommunications policy, the FCC must take seriously its obligation to make decisions that are in the public interest. Customer subsidies for universal access to telephone and broadband must provide results at a reasonable cost — and more, not less, accountability for the companies that stand to gain. [ffitch is a senior assistant attorney general in Washington state]
benton.org/node/91727 | Seattle Times
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TELECOM
SUPPORT FOR ABC PLAN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
A bipartisan group of seven senators wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski expressing support for an industry-backed proposal to shift federal subsidies from wireline phone service to broadband Internet access. Observers say that proposal, dubbed America’s Broadband Connectivity (ABC) plan, will form the basis of any likely overhaul of the Universal Service Fund (USF). Critics, including the American Cable Association, have argued that the ABC plan favors incumbent telecom carriers and gives them first crack at federal funds, rather than allowing open competition among all providers. “We support the efforts of the FCC to bring broadband service to communities across the United States, and we encourage the Commission to carefully consider industry proposals that accomplish the goals of reform and that lead to more fiscally responsible, sustainable, and effective programs,” wrote Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND) and John Thune (R-SD). “As part of this effort, we encourage the Commission to adopt a USF and intercarrier compensation policy that encourages fairness and certainty with respect to access charges, maintains key elements of the ABC and Joint Rural Association framework, and that take advantage of the competitive marketplace and the wide range of broadband technologies.”
benton.org/node/91759 | Hill, The
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LEVEL 3 AND GLOBAL CROSSING RECEIVE REGULATORY APPROVALS
[SOURCE: Level 3, AUTHOR: Press release]
Level 3 Communications and Global Crossing Limited announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has cleared Level 3’s previously announced acquisition of Global Crossing. The clearance completes the process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR), and is effective immediately. Level 3 also announced that the Federal Communications Commission has issued an order approving the transaction, effective immediately. Level 3 expects to close the transaction as early as next week.
benton.org/node/91750 | Level 3
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TELEVISION
PLAYBOY CLUB SPONSORS
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Emma Bazilian]
NBC’s ratings-challenged new series “The Playboy Club” -- which lost a million viewers in its second episode this week -- has another problem to contend with: the Parents Television Council, which recently launched a campaign to convince the show's sponsors into dropping their support. So why is the group riled up this time? “It’s the promotion of the Playboy Club brand by the network,” PTC policy chief Dan Isett said. “We know what it stands for. The network spends millions to market a show like this; the posters are all over buses in Washington, DC. The idea you can change the channel is not accurate.” The group said that seven advertisers -- Kraft, Sprint, Lenovo, UPS, Subway, P.F. Chang’s home meals and Campbell’s Soup -- had all listened to the parents’ message and dropped their ads after the first episode, sparking rumors that the show was headed for cancellation. But Kraft said, “For ‘The Playboy Club,’ our sole purchase to date was on the premiere episode, and we did not have plans to advertise on that particular show through the end of the year.” Unilever, which owns the P.F. Chang brand, also confirmed that it hadn't jumped ship, and will continue to advertise on occasional episodes. Chrysler, another NBC advertiser, similarly said it was planning to continue to advertise on the network.
benton.org/node/91692 | AdWeek | MediaPost - Is the show just bad?
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JOURNALISM
SHOULD GOOGLE TWEAK THE NEWS?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
Should Google play an editorial role in presenting readers with news? That question was a matter of debate at Zeitgeist, a Google conference this week in Paradise Valley (AZ), where Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and chief executive, said that Google had a responsibility to improve media. The question came up when Ted Koppel, the longtime broadcast journalist, complained that too much news was drivel, as reporters cover the Casey Anthony trial instead of life-and-death issues in Africa. People are being fed the news they want instead of the news they need because that makes news organizations money, he said. Nicholas Thompson, a senior editor at The New Yorker, then asked Koppel if Google should tweak its algorithm to deliver people the news they need instead of entertainment-as-news. “That wouldn't be a bad idea,” Koppel said.
benton.org/node/91694 | New York Times | GigaOm
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OWNERSHIP
TECH COMPANIES WITH BILLIONS IN CASH
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dominic Basulto]
A handful of companies in the technology sector are sitting on a combined cash hoard of over $100 billion. The biggest cash reserve belongs to Apple, which is currently sitting on more than $76 billion in cash. Meanwhile, Google has $37 billion, Dell $11 billion, Qualcomm $5.6 billion and Accenture has $5.3 billion — all in cash on hand. To put this into perspective, the deficit-ridden Federal Government has less than $74 billion in cash at its disposal. At a time when every single measure to resuscitate the economy seems to have been exhausted, is it possible that Silicon Valley could be tapped to provide one last stimulus? You can think of that $100 billion in cash the same way you would think about cash in your own personal portfolio: It’s nice to have around for a rainy day, but inflation gradually erodes its value over time. Hoarding cash on your balance sheet is the corporate world equivalent of hiding cash under your mattress and waiting for the right opportunity to come around. Which is why, of course, Wall Street investors and investment bankers have been putting so much pressure on companies like Apple to do something — anything — with all that cash.
$100 billion is New Deal territory. As a result, maybe the best use of all that cash is on capital-intensive projects that can put engineers and skilled IT workers to work now. Now is Apple’s chance to do something big, something that people will be talking about as part of Steve Job’s final legacy. What if, on October 4, in addition to announcing whatever new technology the company plans to introduce, it also announces a massive capital spending project that acts as a stimulus for the economy?
benton.org/node/91698 | Washington Post
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... and we are outta here. Enjoy the playoffs!