August 2012

The Case For Keeping Libraries Alive

It’s an increasingly common refrain in developed countries: libraries are no longer necessary because we can access all the books and information we could possibly need on the Internet. We’ve seen that libraries have all sorts of alternate uses in places where Internet penetration is high--for example, check out this library that also functions as a maker space--but they’re especially important in developing countries.

Beyond Access, an initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a coalition of nine organizations focused on helping libraries power development by acting as hubs for social and economic change. "People have certain perceptions about libraries. Many libraries have trouble talking about the work that they do," says Ari Katz, the deputy director for technology and civil society at IREX, a nonprofit focused on education, community, and independent media. "There’s a knee-jerk response on the part of development planners to create new institutions to do work that libraries have always been doing."

ITU seeks public input on the future of Internet regulation

The United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has called for a public consultation on a draft document ahead of a December meeting to finalize a new treaty for regulation of the Internet.

The ITU published on its website the draft version of the document that will be discussed during the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. People can express their views and opinions on the content of the draft document or any other matter related to WCIT. The conference in Dubai is a global conference that will aim to sign a treaty to define the general principles for the provision and operation of international telecommunications networks around the world, the ITU said. The consultation will remain open until Nov. 3 and the inputs will be made available to all member states, ITU said.

Judge Koh: It’s Samsung’s Own Fault It Ran Out of Time

The judge presiding over the Apple vs. Samsung case stated that Samsung doesn’t have the right to complain that it didn’t have enough time to argue its case. Judge Lucy Koh said, outside the presence of the jury, that Samsung chose to use the bulk of its time questioning Apple witnesses rather than presenting its own case. By the time Apple rested its case, Judge Koh noted that Apple had used 13 hours and 37 minutes of its 25 hours, while Samsung had used 13 hours and 50 minutes of time. Judge Koh said she would not entertain any motions from Samsung that it lacked time to present its case and entered her statement into the record, should the matter come up on appeal.

Report: Congress broke social media rules in rush to discuss Ryan as VP

Several Congress members may have broken the rules regulating official use of social media when responding to Mitt Romney’s announcement of his GOP running mate, according to the Sunlight Foundation.

Republicans and Democrats — like many regular citizens — rushed to Twitter and Facebook to express their opinion of Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The various offices later deleted many of the tweets sent to official Twitter accounts, but the pro-transparency Sunlight Foundation archives all deleted tweets by individual members of Congress at its Politwoops website. “It's illegal to comment on political matters on your official profile,” said a source familiar with congressional ethics rules. “It's also bad practice because it confuses constituents on which is political and which is official. The news of a VP pick has nothing to do with your elected official duties.”

Ad wars aim for stay-at-home moms

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have taken the fight for the female vote into the light of day — on TV. The target audience: stay-at-home moms.

Both campaigns are rushing to place ads on local TV stations in swing states during daytime TV staples, from “The Price Is Right” and “General Hospital” to “Ellen” and “Judge Judy,” according to political ad disclosure forms filed by broadcasters. New polling data show why: President Barack Obama has an astonishing 20-point lead over Mitt Romney among childless working women, but when it comes to stay-at-home moms, that margin drops to just 5 points.

Campaigns race to define Paul Ryan online

If you search for “Paul Ryan” on Google, this is what appears at the top: a link from the Mitt Romney campaign calling Romney and Ryan “America’s Comeback Team” and encouraging you to donate to the campaign, and another from the Obama campaign that tells you to “Get the facts about the architect of the extreme GOP budget plan.”

The digital fight to define Paul Ryan is on. Both parties launched an online and mobile battle that mirrored the one in real life. For the Romney campaign, the Web has served as a way to raise unprecedented amounts of campaign cash off the VP rollout and a space to introduce voters to Ryan in a positive way. For President Barack Obama's campaign, it’s where they hope to influence those searching for more details about Ryan and tell them why he’s wrong for the country. “Whereas the Obama campaign used digital ads to effectively brand Paul Ryan, the Romney campaign was using digital ads to raise money and engage Republican voters,” said Vincent Harris, a GOP strategist who ran the digital operations for Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.

Barack Obama, trustbuster?

President Barack Obama borrowed a tool from Teddy Roosevelt to prevent American companies from gouging consumers: a big stick. Just ask Apple, Google, AT&T, Visa, MasterCard and H&R Block. And now you can add Verizon to the list.

Obama’s Justice Department said it would approve the company’s plan to buy nearly $4 billion in wireless airwaves from other cable companies — but only with strict limits the department says are needed to protect consumers. Candidate Obama vowed in the last election to make up for what he called “lax enforcement” by the George W. Bush administration on antitrust. And Obama’s supporters say he has amassed a record on trust-busting that reflects a difference between his view of government's relationship with big business and that of his 2012 rival, Republican Mitt Romney.

Further Decline in Credibility Ratings for Most News Organizations

For the second time in a decade, the believability ratings for major news organizations have suffered broad-based declines. In the new survey, positive believability ratings have fallen significantly for nine of 13 news organizations tested. This follows a similar downturn in positive believability ratings that occurred between 2002 and 2004.

The falloff in credibility affects news organizations in most sectors: national newspapers, such as the New York Times and USA Today, all three cable news outlets, as well as the broadcast TV networks and National Public Radio. Across all 13 news organizations included in the survey, the average positive believability rating (3 or 4 on a 4-point scale) is 56%. In 2010, the average positive rating was 62%. A decade ago, the average rating for the news organizations tested was 71%. Since 2002, every news outlet’s believability rating has suffered a double-digit drop, except for local daily newspapers and local TV news. The New York Times was not included in this survey until 2004, but its believability rating has fallen by 13 points since then.

Apple vs. Samsung Judge Encourages “Horse Trading” to Narrow Case

Aiming to avoid burdening the jury with hundreds of pages of claims, the judge in the Apple-Samsung case urged the parties to narrow their legal case against one another.

Judge Lucy Koh pointed out earlier this week, for example, that there are three phones that have been partially tossed from the case. Perhaps, she suggested, Apple might drop those phones entirely. Beyond that, though, Judge Koh suggested the parties might do some bargaining with one another. “I’m also hoping there can be some horse trading going on,” Judge Koh said. “Now is the time.” On August 15, Judge Koh also encouraged the sides to continue pursuing a settlement, urging the companies’ chief executives to meet one last time. They said they would, at a minimum, meet by phone.
“I see risk here for both sides, if we go to a verdict,” Judge Koh said.

Apple Lawyer to Frustrated Judge: Yes, We Need All These Witnesses, and No, I’m Not Smoking Crack

Already frustrated with the amount of paperwork in the Apple vs. Samsung case, Judge Lucy Koh boiled over with frustration after lawyers for the sides filed a new round of objections over witness testimony.

A big part of Koh’s displeasure focused on the long list of witnesses that Apple said it intends to call in its few remaining hours of time before the jury. “Unless you are smoking crack you know these witnesses are (not) going to be called,” Judge Koh said. Apple attorney Bill Lee defended Apple’s proposed witness list. “First, I am not smoking crack I can promise you that,” Lee said. While a few witnesses might or might not be called, he said the majority would be called and he said Apple had timed their testimony to make sure they would be able to get it all in. Judge Koh disagreed, quite adamantly, and grew frustrated with the time it was taking to sort out the matter. “We’re wasting the jury’s time,” she said. You are being unreasonable.”

Benton

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