BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2012
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PIRACY
Chairman Leahy preparing amendment to online piracy bill
Can Issa, Wyden Change Piracy Debate?
Companies taking a stand against piracy caught in SOPA crosshairs
Chamber Holds Out Fig Leaf To SOPA Critics
Author of U.S. online piracy bill vows not to buckle
Texan’s Anti-Piracy Bill Gets Home State Pushback
PRIVACY
Obama Administration says Constitution protects cell phone recordings
Democrats call for hearing on cellphone-tracking software
MORE ON CONTENT
News Corp.'s Jon Miller talks about 'channelization' of the Web
For A Few Self-Published Authors, Kindle Exclusivity Pays; Questions Remain
Amazon's Plagiarism Problem [links to web]
If Content Is Free, People Like Ads On Apps [links to web]
Two approaches to indie movies for connected TVs, devices [links to web]
Search engine market shares refused to budge in 2011 [links to web]
Big Media's Latest Mistake - op-ed [links to web]
Hulu to spend $500m on programming in 2012 [links to web]
Domain names: Internet takes big step toward end of .com era
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
FCC Commissioner McDowell questions whether Comcast misled regulators
Federal CIO launches mobile roadmap
Dish Network "open" to acquisition as rumors swirl on possible T-Mobile bid [links to web]
Verizon Wireless: We Want to Connect Five Devices for Every Subscriber [links to web]
iPods, iPhones, iPads – and the Wired and Wireless Broadband Connections That Feed Them
Microsoft gets another Android maker to pay up: LG
Are there too many smartphones on the market?
LightSquared seeks probe of GPS advisory board member
TELEVISION
FCC Seeks Comment on Elimination of the Sports Blackout Rule
Toddler Lily says the F-word on upcoming 'Modern Family'
Study: Old-School TV Viewing Is Still Growing [links to web]
Apple Could Create Its Own TV Reality [links to web]
Hulu to spend $500m on programming in 2012 [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Is Ron Paul right? - analysis
The search for the right candidate just got more personal [links to web]
Social Media Focuses on Rep Ron Paul - research [links to web]
In the Dark - editorial
Facebook users have a lot to say on debates [links to web]
CYBERSECURITY
Cyber defense effort is mixed, study finds
Government Lab Maps Safer Federal Web Sites
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Fracas Curtails China iPhone Sales
Cornish village blazes internet trail
MORE ONLINE
ONC’s Mostashari says meaningful use will 'soar' this year [links to web]
Oklahoma lawmaker wants sales tax on newspapers [links to web]
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PIRACY
TWEAKS FOR PROTECT IP?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said he is preparing a manager’s amendment to the Protect IP Act (S.968) that will take concerns about the bill’s possible effect on Internet service providers under consideration. Critics of the bill say that PIPA, as the bill is known, forces ISPs to censor the Web when the government seizes a domain name that it has identified as a site primarily dedicated to online piracy. In remarks on Vermont Public Radio, Sen Leahy said he worked closely with ISPs to draft the bill, but is open to looking at the provision again. “I remain confident that the ISPs – including the cable industry, which is the largest association of ISPs – would not support the legislation if its enactment created the problems that opponents of this provision suggest,” Chairman Leahy said, according to a transcript of the interview released by his office. “Nonetheless, this is in fact a highly technical issue, and I am prepared to recommend we give it more study before implementing it.” A cloture vote, which would move the bill to floor debate and allow Chairman Leahy to propose the amendment, is expected when the Senate resumes on Jan 17.
benton.org/node/110336 | Washington Post | The Hill | GigaOm
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IS THERE TIME TO CHANGE DEBATE?
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
The debate in Congress over the best way to shut down foreign websites that steal U.S. copyright material and sell counterfeit goods could be about to shift. At least that's the hope of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who outlined their strategy during a Wednesday press briefing with reporters at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The unlikely partners have teamed to oppose two bills in the House and the Senate, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) that would shut down foreign websites by forcing search engines and domain name servers to block the infringing sites, an approach the lawmakers say will damage the architecture of the Internet. Issa, Wyden and a group of bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers are pushing a bill called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN), which would use the International Trade Commission to shut off the funds that support the infringing websites. Issa, Wyden and the tech community know they're in for a tough fight that's shaping up to be one of the biggest fights in Washington pitting the Hollywood and the content community up against big technology. "I am not underestimating what a tough lift this is," said Sen Wyden, who put a hold on PIPA last year. "My goal for 2011 was to keep PIPA off the floor so we would have a chance to go to the country. I'm not going to pretend this is a walk in the park. We're up against the toughest, savviest lobbying folks."
benton.org/node/110331 | AdWeek | Forbes | ComputerWorld
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CAUGHT IN SOPA’S CROSSHAIRS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
The debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act has been emotional. And as politicians consider the language of the House bill, Web users are taking matters into their own hands by compiling lists of companies that are said to support the bill and by calling for boycotts. But not all of the companies that have been identified as SOPA supporters are actually backing the measure. Video game company Electronic Arts, for example, has been identified as in favor of SOPA simply because the company’s name appeared on a letter calling for Congress to consider online piracy legislation.
benton.org/node/110334 | Washington Post
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CHAMBER AND SOPA CRITICS
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
The Chamber of Commerce, which is leading a broad coalition pushing for legislation that would crack down on piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites, pledged to work with critics of such measures who argue that they will stifle free speech, innovation and could harm the Internet. The chamber's Global Intellectual Property Center has helped lead a coalition of content creators and trademark owners in support of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP bill in the Senate. The bills would give the attorney general authority to seek a court order to require online advertisers and payment processors to stop doing business with foreign websites that provide pirated music, movies and other content or counterfeit goods. In addition, the legislation also allows a court to order search engines to stop showing results for such websites and to require service providers to block U.S. access to such sites. The measures, however, have sparked fierce opposition from Internet firms including Google, Facebook and Twitter, as well as privacy advocates, Internet users and others.
benton.org/node/110333 | National Journal
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SMITH VOWS NOT TO BUCKLE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jim Forsyth]
Rep Lamar Smith (R-TX), the lawmaker behind a bill to combat online piracy, vowed to press ahead in the face of fierce criticism from Internet giants such as Google and Facebook. "It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don't want to protect American consumers and businesses," he said. "Are they somehow benefitting by directing customers to these foreign websites? Do they profit from selling advertising to these foreign websites? And if they do, they need to be stopped. And I don't mind taking that on." The Stop Online Piracy Act, which is before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee chaired by Smith, aims to fight online piracy of pharmaceuticals, music and other consumer products by allowing the Department of Justice to seek federal court injunctions against foreign-based websites. Chairman Smith said Internet counterfeiters cost American consumers, businesses, inventors and workers some $100 billion a year, though critics accuse him of exaggerating. Chairman Smith stressed the bill would only affect websites based outside the United States and criticized opponents for failing to cite specific sections, saying many have failed to read it and were disguising their economic interests with rhetoric about Internet freedom. "There are some companies like Google that make money by directing consumers to these illegal websites," Rep Smith said. "So I don't think they have any real credibility to complain even though they are the primary opponent." He says giving Washington sweeping powers over the Internet is necessary to protect free enterprise. Chairman Smith predicted the bill would pass the House. It was about halfway through the process of committee hearings and could go to the House floor in a matter a weeks, he said. The Senate was considering a similar measure.
benton.org/node/110370 | Reuters
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PUSHBACK FROM TEXAS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Becca Aaronson]
United States Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) says online piracy is damaging the United States economy and putting American lives at risk. Foreign Web sites that distribute American-made entertainment and counterfeit products, like fake pharmaceuticals, are “stealing our profits, they’re stealing our jobs and they may be endangering the health of Americans,” said Rep Smith, from San Antonio. He introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act in October to tackle the problem, but the bill has received a cold reception in Mr. Smith’s home state. Technology companies and business advocates in Texas agree that cyber crimes are a problem, but they contend that Smith’s bill would cause greater economic damage, particularly to Texas’ growing technology sector. And they say that online pirates could find ways to evade the law. Rackspace, Facebook and eBay, which have received economic incentives from the state to create jobs in Texas, are among the companies opposing the bill.
benton.org/node/110369 | New York Times
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PRIVACY
DOES CONSTITUTION PROTECT CELL PHONE RECORDINGS?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
The Obama Administration has told a federal judge that Baltimore police officers violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments by seizing a man's cell phone and deleting its contents. The deletions were allegedly in retaliation for the man's use of the phone to record the officers' arrest of his friend. According to the Maryland ACLU, this is the first time the Obama Justice Department has weighed in on whether the Constitution protects citizens' right to record the actions of police with their cell phones.
benton.org/node/110327 | Ars Technica
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DEMS CALL FOR CARRIER IQ HEARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Three top Democrats on the House Commerce Committee are urging the panel's Republican leaders to hold a hearing on Carrier IQ, controversial cellphone-tracking software. "We urge you to hold a hearing as expeditiously as possible to explore the answers to questions raised by recent reports about Carrier IQ and data collection, analysis, and transmission in the mobile device market," Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) wrote in a letter. Carrier IQ's software, which is embedded in millions of smartphones, is designed to help cellphone companies track the performance of their devices. The technology collects information on the phone numbers consumers dial, the contents of their text messages, the websites they visit, their search queries and even their locations. "Data collection and transmission by Carrier lQ and similar software is widespread, and consumers appear to have little knowledge and even less control over the practice," the lawmakers wrote.
benton.org/node/110312 | Hill, The
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MORE ON CONTENT
CHANNELIZATION OF THE WEB
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Dawn Chmielewski]
We've seen the future of the Web at the Consumer Electronics Show -- and it looks remarkably like TV. Jon Miller, chief digital officer for News Corp., predicted that a major trend of 2012 will be what he called the "channelization" of the Web. Online video has been characterized by short bursts of entertainment, lasting just a few minutes. Miller said Google's YouTube site is pushing a more programmed approach that more closely resembles TV channels. "Clearly, YouTube is trying to drive that in a big way.... Essentially, it means programming that is sequential that you can keep viewing. You have a passive viewing experience," Miller said at Variety's Entertainment Summit at CES. "You turn it on and it runs. It has continuity, as opposed to watching a three-minute video. It stops, and you sit there."
benton.org/node/110315 | Los Angeles Times
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KINDLE LENDING LIBRARY
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Laura Hazard Owen]
Since Amazon opened up the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library to self-published authors willing to sell their e-books exclusively on Kindle, the number of e-books available in the library has skyrocketed to over 75,000 titles. Each participating author is competing for a piece of a monthly fund—$500,000 in December—and the top ten made an average of $7,000 apiece last month, Amazon announced. Amazon is adding $200,000 more to the pool for January 2012, so KDP Select authors will be competing for a piece of a slightly larger pie. But for every data point the company reveals, there is another question.
benton.org/node/110303 | paidContent.org
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ENDING THE .COM ERA
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Gloria Goodale]
January 12th marked the opening bell for anyone who wants a website ending with something other than .com, .edu, or one of the other 20 familiar Internet suffixes. From a legal standpoint, there will be challenges to launching the new system, says trademark attorney Erik Pelton. “Who is entitled to .delta? Delta airlines or Delta faucet?” he says. But perhaps the bigger concern to businesses is that cybersquatters might register online addresses that intentionally mislead surfers. “Already, large and small trademark owners struggle to prevent cybersquatting and other malicious uses of their trademarks in connection with third-party domain-name registrations,” says Trevor Schmidt, an intellectual property attorney with Moore & Van Allen. This could represent an exponential increase costs associated with protecting a famous brand, he notes. Although ICANN has adopted a number of protections for trademark owners, “none of these protections are without cost,” he says.
benton.org/node/110359 | Christian Science Monitor, The
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
MCDOWELL QUESTIONS COMCAST MOTIVES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Speaking at CES, Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell reportedly questioned whether Comcast misled the agency when it acquired airwave licenses. “Were they purchased under false pretenses?” Commissioner McDowell asked, referring to comments that Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis made at a conference last week. When asked about Comcast’s recent deal to sell its airwave licenses, or spectrum, to Verizon, Angelakis said, “We never really intended to build that spectrum, so therefore it’s a really good use of that spectrum.” The FCC’s mandate is to promote the “best and highest use” of the airwaves, and the regulators might have not allowed Comcast to acquire the spectrum licenses in the first place if they thought the company did not plan to use them.
benton.org/node/110330 | Hill, The
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MOBILE ROADMAP
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Joseph Marks]
Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel launched an interactive dialogue on government mobile policy that he said would be the first step toward a governmentwide mobile roadmap due out in March. That roadmap, VanRoekel said, will address a range of issues from ways the government can save money -- such as by buying smartphones in larger quantities -- to serving citizens more effectively through public-facing apps. It also will include information about building internal mobile applications to help federal field officers, such as U.S. Forest Service workers and Border Patrol agents, do their jobs more efficiently. As things stand now, too many agencies and bureaus are putting time and effort into mobile projects without leveraging each other's gains, he said. The dialogue will be open for 10 days and the mobile strategy should be out about two months later, VanRoekel said. Within six months, he hopes to introduce new procurement vehicles so agencies can buy smartphones and tablets more efficiently and cheaply.
benton.org/node/110304 | nextgov
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APPLE PRODUCTS AND THEIR WIRELESS CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
The Broadband Economy has always been about three things: wired and wireless connections; the iPods, iPhones, and iPads that we got in our Christmas stockings; and the content that makes it fun and useful to “connect” your device to the internet. Some of us talk about the internet and broadband but think only about content – Netflix, social networking, necessary e-mail traffic. Hardware geeks may think only about the fiber-optic cables, or the new cellular towers that are providing faster fiber-optic connectivity or fourth-generation wireless (4G) connectivity. In general, the beauty of the internet has been about the openness of each layer. There are always have been concerns about monopolistic behavior. Consider the potential for “natural monopoly” in infrastructure. Or how a once-dominant player like Microsoft was able, for a time, to serve as a choke-point on the “desktop” of the personal computer. Today’s concerns about competition are just as likely to be had where Google, Facebook and Twitter spar over the integration of their respective social networks, as within Google’s newly revamped search engine features. But as the International Consumer Electronic Show meets in Las Vegas, it’s worth taking stock of the digital devices – not the broadband, and not the content – that are the heart of the ecosystem.
benton.org/node/110310 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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LG WILL PAY MICRSOFT
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Ryan Kim]
Microsoft’s patent licensing machine is back in action, lining up another Android maker: this time, LG. The Korean manufacturer signed a patent agreement providing coverage for tablets, phones and other devices running the Android or Chrome OS. Details and financial arrangements of the agreement were not released although this is likely a royalty deal similar to others that Microsoft has established. Microsoft said the LG deal is the 11th such patent agreement with an Android maker, covering 70 percent of the Android phones sold in the U.S. It previously inked IP agreements with big manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung and Acer. Microsoft said the latest pact builds upon an earlier cross-licensing agreement with LG and is just the latest example of Microsoft’s broad IP licensing program, which has secured more than 1,100 deals.
benton.org/node/110309 | GigaOm
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ARE THERE TOO MANY SMARTPHONES?
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Matt Hamblen]
Are there too many smartphones on the market? That and other provocative questions were posed during a CES panel discussion between journalists for The Verge and managers for Windows Phone at Microsoft and smartphone makers HTC and Samsung. The question of whether there are too many smartphone variations on the market was partly incited by Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha's comment at CES that the company plans to make fewer phones in 2012. The HTC and Samsung officials agreed there is a profundity of smartphone choices with little to distinguish some of them, but they also argued that competition and demands from users have led to the proliferation of devices. Add in frequent OS changes and the need to have devices at different prices, and the result is a surfeit of phones on the market, they said. But Josh Topolsky, editor-in-chief of The Verge, would have none of it, asking: "Is this the kind of [b.s.] we need, with all these products in the market? Are we trying to create demand where there isn't any?"
benton.org/node/110298 | ComputerWorld
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LIGHTSQUARED PETITION
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Stephen Lawson]
LightSquared is seeking an investigation of a federal official involved in deciding whether the company can deploy its hybrid satellite-LTE network, saying he simultaneously serves on the board of a GPS company opposing the network. The mobile broadband startup petitioned the Inspector General of NASA to investigate Bradford Parkinson, the vice chairman of a board that advises the government on GPS. Parkinson should be removed from discussions about potential interference between GPS and LightSquared's proposed LTE (Long Term Evolution) network because he is also a director of GPS vendor Trimble Navigation, LightSquared said in its petition. The Coalition to Save Our GPS, an industry group that includes Trimble, called the complaint an act of desperation.
benton.org/node/110356 | IDG News Service
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TELEVISION
SPORTS BLACKOUT RULE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
A group of petitioners have filed a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Federal Communications Commission to eliminate the FCC’s rules regarding sports blackouts, which prohibit MVPDs from carrying a sporting event if the event is blacked out on local broadcast television stations. The petitioners claim that the FCC should eliminate the sports blackout rules because the rules prevent consumers’ access to local sports events, particularly with ticket prices and unemployment at their current high levels. The petitioners also argue that sports leagues could privately negotiate the same results that the rule affords, and therefore the FCC’s rules, which tacitly endorse these private contracts, are unnecessary. Finally, the Petitioners assert that the FCC has the authority to make this rule change. With this Public Notice, the FCC seeks comment on this petition and announce the pleading cycle during which comments and replies may be filed.
benton.org/node/110311 | Federal Communications Commission
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PROFANITY AND MODERN FAMILY
[SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly, AUTHOR: James Hibberd]
On next week’s Modern Family, toddler Lily is going to use one of the worst of George Carlin’s famous Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. The adopted two-and-a-half year-old character somehow picks up the profanity “f—.” This naturally horrifies her parents, Cam and Mitchell, who in particular fear she’ll blurt it at an upcoming wedding. Lily is shown saying the word, but it’s not audible to the viewer. The episode’s title: “Little Bo Bleep.” It might be the first time in a scripted family broadcast TV series where a child has said the F-word. “We had to really convince ABC,” said creator Steve Levitan. “We thought it was a very natural story since, as parents, we’ve all been through this. ABC will tell you Modern Family gets away with a lot, because I think it’s all about context. We are not a sexually charged show. It has a very warm tone so people accept it more. I’m sure we’ll have some detractors.”
benton.org/node/110300 | Entertainment Weekly
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
IS RON PAUL RIGHT?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alexandra Petri]
[Commentary] If someone were visiting from outer space and got wind of the Republican primary and caucus results, he might be a tad bewildered by the coverage. “This is clearly a two-man race now,” he'd say, waving a tentacle significantly. “There's only one candidate capable of a respectable showing on two separate occasions when everyone else but Mitt Romney struggled. Both times, he drew strong, passionate support, and landed in the top tier — a feat no one beside the front-runner could pull off. It's a two-man race now.” We earthlings would try to explain. “Ah,” we’d say, “but — gee, look, uh, this — you’re talking about Ron Paul.” “Why is the Mainstream Media not giving the man his due?” the alien would say, sounding a bit more like a Paul supporter every second. “Especially when polls indicate that if he ran as a third-party candidate, he'd pull in about 20 percent of the vote and change the game entirely.”
benton.org/node/110323 | Washington Post
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IN THE DARK
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Journalists are big believers in the First Amendment; its legal force undergirds the fearless journalism that democracy requires. But now comes a perversion of that amendment, an effort to turn it against another tool that enables democracy-sustaining journalism: the laws that require political donors to make their names known, and that empower vital reporting on money, power, and influence. Of course, our right to know who funds our politicians or pays for any given civic megaphone has been battered time and again by lawyers and loopholes. Unprecedented amounts of unprecedentedly opaque money will shape the 2012 elections. Reporters already have their work cut out for them to make this understandable and to show who is trying to gain influence and shape public opinion. Imagine how much harder this job would be if disclosure requirements were found to be an unconstitutional burden on free speech?
benton.org/node/110318 | Columbia Journalism Review
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBER DEFENSE EFFORT IS MIXED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
A Pentagon pilot program that uses classified National Security Agency data to protect the computer networks of defense contractors has had some success but also has failed to meet some expectations, according to a study commissioned by the Defense Department. The program showed that Internet carriers could be trusted to handle the NSA data, that direct government monitoring of private networks could be avoided and that the measures could be of particular benefit to companies with less mature cyber defense capabilities, according to the Carnegie Mellon University study. Although researchers said the pilot had demonstrated the concept of information sharing, they also cited deficiencies in the way it was implemented. The test program, which began last May, relied on NSA “signatures” or fingerprints of malicious computer code that in initial stages were “stale when deployed” and in many cases did not prevent intrusions that the companies could not have blocked themselves, according to the report, which was not publicly released by the Pentagon but was shared with Congress this week. The study underscores the operational, legal and policy challenges in building a robust defense of critical U.S. computer networks as foreign rivals and other adversaries seek to penetrate systems, steal data and perhaps lay the groundwork for a destructive attack.
benton.org/node/110363 | Washington Post
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DNSVIZ
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Tom Loftus]
Sandia National Laboratories, a research arm for the Department of Energy, has created a tool to help federal agencies fight cyber-crooks. The new web-based tool, a visualization tool called DNSViz, creates maps of various web addresses corresponding to agency websites. The visual display is intended to help government IT staff comply with security standards that have been in place since 2008 but that have proved difficult to implement. The federal government owns 1,489 government web addresses and an estimated 11,013 websites spread across 56 agencies, according to the General Services Administration. Since 2008, federal websites have been required to comply with a new Internet security standard, but the standard is hard for government IT staff to configure and maintain; in fact, a 2010 report by Internet consultant and service provider Internet Identity found that just 36% of federal agency domains had met their obligation. That means up to 64% of government sites could harbor security threats, or in some cases, be unavailable to users trying to visit them. The standard, called Domain Name System Security Extensions or DNSSEC, was introduced to address security loopholes that have allowed criminals over the years to quietly hijack web sessions, luring users to websites that mimic the look of the site the user originally intended, and then baiting users into sharing personal information such as social security or credit card numbers that could then be used or sold.
benton.org/node/110362 | Wall Street Journal
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
CHINA IPHONE SALES HALTED
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Owen Fletcher]
Apple said it would temporarily stop selling the iPhone in its five retail stores in China after unruly customers in Beijing led police to seal off a store there and after the newest version of the phone sold out elsewhere. An Apple spokeswoman in Beijing said that the iPhone 4S, which made its debut on Jan 13 in the country, won't be offered at its retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai "for the time being." She said, however, it would still be available online, through local partner China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and through resellers. She cited the disturbance at the Sanlitun store in Beijing, where hundreds of customers waited overnight and where frustration boiled over Friday morning.
benton.org/node/110366 | Wall Street Journal | FT | Bloomberg
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UK NET TRAILBLAZER
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Thomas]
The irony that one of the more remote, and previously out of touch, areas of the UK is now among the best connected in Europe has not been lost on the citizens of a small Cornish valley. These lucky 180 telecoms customers have been at the heart of a trial of next generation services that offer superfast connections to the internet via both mobile devices and fixed lines. But a UK-wide rollout of similar systems is likely to require more than £3bn for mobile spectrum to be sold at auction this year and a similar amount on cabling. In the village of Trerice, just south-east of Newquay, “e-poverty” is the new catchphrase, although this appears a particularly first world problem, the equivalent of not being able to download the latest Hollywood blockbuster while simultaneously talking over a video application and playing a computer game online against friends in Korea. However, Everything Everywhere and BT, which are conducting the trial, insist there are more altruistic purposes.
benton.org/node/110354 | Financial Times
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