November 2011

C-SPAN Backs Dish Challenge to Government Carriage Mandates

C-SPAN is backing Dish in its effort to get the Supreme Court to overturn Congress' mandate that Dish carry the high definition television feeds of noncommercial TV stations.

Dish last month filed a petition for certiorari, asking the High Court to review a Ninth Circuit Appeals court decision last February upholding a district court's denial of Dish's request for a preliminary injunction against implementing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act's (STELA) noncom HD mandate on Dish (Sec. 207). Dish also asked the court to rule on what First Amendment test should apply to the mandate that it carry noncommercial stations in HD in advance of the HD feeds of other stations. At issue, if the Supremes take the case, could be the underpinnings of the entire government must-carry regime. C-SPAN certainly hopes so. "We're trying to make the point that must-carry, in all forms, is unfair and an infringement on our First Amendment rights," said C-SPAN VP and General Counsel Bruce Collins

Time Spent Streaming Outpacing Number of Streamers

In the U.S., the amount of time spent streaming videos online is growing at a much faster rate than the number of video viewers.

Over the last three years, time spent watching video from home and work computers has more than doubled while the number of unique viewers increased 26 percent over the same period. During August 2011, viewers aged 18-34 accounted for nearly 40 percent of total streaming time, with males 18-34 contributing 23 percent. Video viewers aged 35-49 made up 26 percent of total steaming time during the month, followed by viewers over the age of 50 – the largest segment of the online video population – who spent over 9 billion minutes watching, 22 percent of total streaming time from home and work computers.

Apple’s board: Who are they?

You’ve read that Arthur Levinson is now chairman of the Apple board and Disney’s Robert Iger has been added. But who else sits on the board?

Apple CEO Tim Cook
J Crew Chairman and CEO Millard Drexler
William V. Campbell: The chairman of the board at tech firm Intuit, Campbell is also the former executive vice president at Apple. He joined the company in 1983 as vice president of marketing and later expanded to sales, distribution service and support. Prior to that he was at Kodak and the advertising firm J. Walter Thompson.
Former-Senator and Vice President Al Gore.
Andrea Jung: Jung is the chairman and CEO of the makeup company Avon. She has been a member of its board of directors since 1998. Before that, she was the executive vice president at Neiman Marcus.
Ronald D. Sugar: Sugar is the former chairman and CEO of Nothrup Grumman, and was appointed to the Apple board in 2010. Sugar began his career as an engineer and is also a trustee of the University of Southern California.

How an iPhone revolution could turn the Army upside-down

It was a simple idea – allowing soldiers to use the smart phones they're familiar with to be more connected on the battlefield, whether to check maps or relay information. But it has profound implications for the military.

For the soldiers, the smart phones have already begun to unleash torrents of ingenuity, with some designing new soldier-friendly applications, such as links to the video feed of the base security camera. For the Army, the smart phone pilot program points to a culture shift that would not only put new streams of intelligence into the hands of soldiers in the field but also give them the chance to evaluate that data – blurring the lines between officers and those they command. And it is sending shivers through the defense industry, which has long had a monopoly on providing military technology.

France Telecom Offers Free Facebook to Emerging-Market Customers

France Telecom SA, the owner of the Orange mobile brand, will sell mobile phones with unlimited access to Facebook in eastern Europe and Africa, as it seeks to drive Internet services in faster-growing markets.

France Telecom will sell three devices built by Alcatel Lucent SA, in Romania and markets across Africa, as part of a package offering free access to Facebook’s services, including instant messaging, said Patrick Remy, vice president of devices. France Telecom, under Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard, is seeking to expand in Africa through acquisitions and additional data offerings to counter sluggish European markets where the company is selling some assets.

EU Started Samsung, Apple Probe Into Patents on Own Initiative

European Union regulators started an antitrust probe into Samsung and Apple’s use of smartphone patents on their “own initiative” without waiting for a competitor to formally raise the issue.

Per Hellstroem, the head of the European Commission’s antitrust unit for consumer electronics, said that the EU’s “preliminary investigation” is trying to determine the underlying facts about Apple’s and Samsung’s use of patents. “There’s no formal complaint,” Hellstroem said. “When we see that there are issues that may” potentially “involve competition issues we have the power to send requests for information to various parties.” Samsung and Apple were questioned by the commission about “the enforcement of standards-essential patents in the mobile- telephony sector,” regulators said earlier this month. Apple said in a filing in a California court case last month that Samsung faced an EU antitrust investigation into its “egregious” misuse of patents.

Society Of Professional Journalists Complains About Occupy Arrests

The Society of Professional Journalists has asked New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city officials in other states to drop charges against journalists arrested while covering the "Occupy" protests.

"We know that as protests escalate it may be difficult for police to distinguish bystanders from participants, but it is clear now that many journalists have been erroneously arrested without cause," said SPJ president John Ensslin. "These errors must be rectified immediately." Citing AP reports, SPJ said that journalists were arrested or at least detained in Chapel Hill, Nashville, Milwaukee, and Richmond, as well as New York, all who had "simply and clearly" only been doing their jobs, said SPJ, which said in those incidents the reporters were wearing badges or explained to police they were covering the story.

AT&T: churn unaffected after rivals got the iPhone

AT&T's customers have remained loyal despite losing its exclusivity for selling the iPhone.

"Churn has not moved at all," said Glen Lurie, president of emerging devices for AT&T. Lurie said the carrier's relationship with Apple has been positive, and they've had record-breaking sales of the latest iPhone 4S. He added that chief information officers have also warmed to Apple's operating system, iOS, in the work place over the past two to three years.

Blacks, Hispanics Follow More Public Figures on Social Media

Connecting with politicians, celebrities and athletes is a low priority for most social media users, but it's significantly more common among black and Hispanic users than among whites, according to a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Twitter users are also more likely to say following public figures is a major or minor reason they go to social media compared with people on Facebook and other social media sites, the study reported. About 10 percent of black social media users and 11 percent of Hispanic users say reading comments from public figures is a major reason they use social media compared with just 3 percent of white users, according to the report. About 31 percent of black and 26 percent of Hispanic users say this is a minor reason they're on social media, compared with 16 percent of white users. The survey did not distinguish between public figures in government, entertainment and sports.

Cable provider Cox to get out of wireless business

Cox Communications announced that it will stop selling its wireless phone service Nov. 16, and work toward ceasing service all together March 30, 2012.

Citing a "lack of wireless scale necessary to compete in the marketplace, the acceleration of competitive 4G networks [and] the inability to access iconic wireless devices" — aka, be able to sell the made-for-Sprint iPhone — Cox says it's getting out of the 3G business and scraping all plans for LTE. Cox says it has approximately 6 million customers, and will extend special offers to its wireless users, helping them in their transition to another wireless provider. Cox Wireless customers, who have multiple Cox services, will receive a $150 credit on their bill for every disconnected phone, the company said. It will also waive all early termination fees, and customers can keep their devices and will continue to receive Bundle Benefits — discounts offered for combined phone, television and Internet service — for two years.

Benton

Search