INTERNET
Privatization of Internet Domain Name and Address Management
Functions (NTIA)
2 Efforts on Internet Pornography Advance in Congress (CyberTimes)
Virtual Community for African-Americans (CyberTimes)
Far Becomes Much Nearer as Web Touches an Island (CyberTimes)
With 'Snarg,' Artist Drops Oils for Flash (CyberTimes)
COMPETITION
Mating Game: Worried Web Players Rush to Pair Up (WSJ)
Amazon Ponders Effects of Rivals' Planned Mergers (NYT)
U.S. May Seek Wider Microsoft Sanctions (WP)
Microsoft's Courting of AOL is Exhibit A (WP)
A Little Internet Firm Got a Big Monopoly; Is That Such a Bad Thing?
(WSJ)
COMPUTER TECH
Mac, Windows And Now, Linux (CyberTimes)
MAGAZINES
Magazines: The Medium of the Moment (NYT)
TELEVISION
Baby Steps for Family TV (ChiTrib)
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INTERNET
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PRIVATIZATION OF INTERNET DOMAIN NAME AND ADDRESS MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Issue: Internet
Testimony of J. Beckwith Burr, Associate Administrator (Acting), National
Telecommunications and Information Administration before the House Committee
on Science Subcommittee on Basic Research and Subcommittee on Technology on
October 7, 1998. "On June 5, 1998, the Department of Commerce released The
Management of Internet Names and Addresses (the White Paper), which
describes the process by which the Administration would transition
responsibility for certain domain name management functions now performed by
or on behalf of the United States to a new, not-for-profit corporation
established by the private sector. The White Paper laid out five important
near-term tasks. This afternoon I would like to give the Committee a status
report on those tasks."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/congress/100798burr.htm
2 EFFORTS ON INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY ADVANCE IN CONGRESS
Issue: Internet Regulation
Both the Senate and the House acted yesterday to try to curtail "Internet
smut." The House passed a bill from Rep Michael G. Oxley (R-OH) that will
require website operators to restrict access to pornographic material by
using technology that can verify identity (ie access codes, personal
identification numbers and credit cards). The Senate attached Sen Dan Coats'
(R-Ind) bill to the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The amendment would exempt
sites that do not take steps to restrict access to pornography from the tax
moratoriums. "The most precious gift the federal government can give any
business is a tax shelter," said Sen Coats. "The most precious commodity in
our society is innocence and welfare of our children. Businesses that peddle
smut to our children, destroying this innocence, should be punished, not
rewarded with tax shelters." the vote in the Senate was 98-1. Only Senator
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) voted against amending the measure. "We should think
twice before giving the government the authority to regulate what is carried
on the World Wide Web, however tempting it is to do that," he said. "Both
versions of CDA II are Trojan horses," said Barry Steinhardt, president of
the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "At first glance, they appear relatively
benign in that they are limited to commercial pornographers who market their
sites to minors, but when you look beneath that veneer, you quickly discover
that they apply to any Web site that has a commercial component and material
that some community could consider 'harmful to minors.'"
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS
Issue: Internet/Minorities
For information on everything from black-owned businesses to hip-hop,
Internet users can choose from a growing number of Web sites aimed at
African-Americans. As with everything on the World Wide Web, one of the
largest challenges in just trying to wade through so much information. The
Universal Black Pages, a directory to keep abreast of African-American
sites, was designed for just this reason. "We did just what the guys at
Yahoo did," said co-founder Derrick Brown. "In the early days of the Web, I
spent a lot of aimless time wandering and really didn't know where the stuff
I wanted was." Netnior.com and SoulSearch.com are two other sites that are
helpful in finding out what is available among black oriented sites.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E10), AUTHOR: Dana Canedy]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/circuits/library/08libe.html
FAR BECOMES MUCH NEARER AS WEB TOUCHES AN ISLAND
Issue: Internet
The remotest inhabited island in the world, Tristan da Cunha, is now just a
bit closer to the rest of the world. Almost 2,0000 miles off the cost of
South Africa, the Island's one Internet terminal can be accessed by any of
the 300 inhabitants. The introduction of the Internet in January, "and more
specifically, the e-mail facility it provides, have been a tremendous boost
for Tristan," wrote Brian Baldwin, the island's administrator. "Prior to
e-mail the only written communication the Islanders had with the outside
world was 'snail mail' by ship. A letter to reply would take around six
months."
[SOURCE: New York Times (E9), AUTHOR:Michael Pollak]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/circuits/articles/08tris.html
WITH 'SNARG,' ARTIST DROPS OILS FOR FLASH
Issue: Arts Online
"I don't paint anymore," says 43-year-old artist Jef Morlan. "That's because
of the Internet. I don't buy any supplies anymore -- no canvas, no paint.
Distribution is instantaneous. When I was in a gallery, I'd be lucky to get
three, four hundred people a month at a show, and on the Internet I'm
getting at times over a thousand a day." Mr Morlan's work is available via
Snarg http://www.snarg.net/. "One thing about this medium that has changed
me forever is giving up control and allowing a piece to have a life of its
own," he said. "If I was ever to go back to painting, I would be a graffiti
artist, just to watch how people respond to and interact with what I put on
the wall." [To learn about the arts online visit Open Studio
http://www.openstudio.org/]
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Matthew Mirapaul
mirapaul( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/artsatlarge/08artsatlarg...
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COMPETITION
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MATING GAME: WORRIED WEB PLAYERS RUSH TO PAIR UP (WSJ)
Issue: Merger
Internet development currently includes a stream of mergers and
partnerships. George Bell, CEO of Excite which has carried out four recent
acquisitions and partnerships, said, "By the time the year 2000 rolls around
there will be a lot fewer independent players standing." Many companies are
concerned that time is running out to gain market share and build an
audience. Also the stock market is not reacting as favorably toward
Web-oriented companies. Merger examples include Amazon.com's purchase this
year of five Web companies, the merger of music sellers Cdnow and N2K, and
the merger of Web Service City Search with Ticketmaster. Large investors
are also playing the game. Bertelsmann bought half of Barnes and Noble's
Internet book division and Disney purchased a large stake in Infoseek and
has shown interest in Yahoo.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Kara Swisher]
http://www.wsj.com/
AMAZON PONDERS EFFECTS OF RIVALS' PLANNED MERGERS
Issue: E-commerce/Mergers
"There is a sentiment among merchants that Amazon is the Microsoft of
E-commerce" said Scott Heiferman, the chief executive of I-Traffic, an ad
agency that specializes in electronic commerce. "There is a respect, a fear
and a morbid fear. That's why people are bulking up." Following Tuesday's
news that Germany's Bertelsmann will buy a 50 percent stake in the online
operation of Barnes & Noble, the two largest online music sellers, CD Now
and N2K, confirmed reports that they are discussing a merger. Keith
Benjamin, an analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stevens, say that these
competitors, and not Amazon, need to worry. "There is an increasing sense of
concern about whether the No. 2 player can survive," when it is the top Web
company in each category appears to be getting the lion's share of business.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C3), AUTHOR:Saul Hansell]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/biztech/articles/08books-onlin...
MICROSOFT'S COURTING OF AOL IS EXHIBIT A (WP)
Issue: Antitrust
The antitrust case of the Justice Department and 20 states against Microsoft
Corporation will pay close scrutiny to the relationship of America Online
with Microsoft. Government lawyers will argue that AOL would have chosen
the Netscape Communications browser for use in its online service "had it
not been for Microsoft's offer to include the AOL software in Windows, a
proposal Netscape could not match." That decision meant that Microsoft
accepted AOL's direct competition to its growing Microsoft Network. Steve
Case, chairman of AOL, said last week, "The thing that won us over was
Microsoft's willingness to bundle us in Windows." A former FTC official
said that Microsoft's agreement with AOL "appears to violate garden-variety
antitrust principles." The trial begins later this month.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/washtech/daily/oct98/aol100898.htm
U.S. MAY SEEK WIDER MICROSOFT SANCTIONS (WP)
Issue: Antitrust
If the Justice Department wins in the Microsoft antitrust suit, they may ask
for sanctions beyond those previously requested. In a court filing
yesterday government lawyers said "Depending on the nature and scope of the
violations determined by the court at the trial, plaintiffs will seek such
additional permanent relief as is necessary to restore competitive
conditions and to prevent Microsoft from committing similar violations in
the future." One option under consideration is a requirement that Microsoft
provide more technical details for programmers creating applications to run
on top of the Windows operating system.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Corcoran & Rajiv
Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
A LITTLE INTERNET FIRM GOT A BIG MONOPOLY; IS THAT SUCH A BAD THING? (WSJ)
Issue: Internet
Network Solutions is a monopoly in its field and even with a new Internet
domain address system being announced it is expected to remain "a near
monopoly." In five years Network Solutions was allowed to grow as a
monopoly because it had government protection, because it started small and
because it was in an obscure business. The original company was sold from a
minority businessman to SAIC in 1995 which marked the beginning of its
strong financing and its political savvy. The company intentially has
become more politically connected hiring such persons as Greg Simon, Vice
President Gore's former top technology adviser. The Network Solutions
approach of "go slow" in negotiations with the government on changing the
naming system seems to have been successful. Competition in the domain
address system is probably nine to 18 months away. Network Solutions will
continue to have a major role in the new system.
Issue: Internet
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHOR: Glenn R. Simpson & John Simons]
http://www.wsj.com/
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COMPUTER TECH
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MAC, WINDOWS AND NOW, LINUX
Issue: Computer Tech
Since it was first developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a student at the
University of Helsinki, the operating system called Linux has engendered
strong loyalty among a growing community of users. Linux devotees are
likely to be bit more adventurous than users of the more mainstream systems
like Windows or Mac. The grass-roots spread of Linux emerged through
Internet-based newsgroups and mailing lists around the world, where it was
hailed as free (literally) and open system that allowed people to customize
or improve the system and disseminate their variations. One obstacle to
wider acceptance of Linux has been the relative scarcity of commercial
applications. The commercial sector, however, has recently begun developing
Linux software, and the number of commercial programs is beginning to grow.
Last month, Intel and Netscape, along with venture capital firms, invested
in Red Hat Software, a company that sells a packaged version of Linux
together with applications, while other well-established computer companies
have also announced plans to make products available for Linux.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E1), AUTHOR: Katie Hafner ]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/circuits/articles/08linu.html
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MAGAZINES
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MAGAZINES: THE MEDIUM OF THE MOMENT
Issue: Magazines
A special 20-page advertising section from the Magazine Publishers of
America. The section sells magazines as a medium for advertisers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Special Advertising Section)]
http://www.nytimes.com/
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TELEVISION
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BABY STEPS FOR FAMILY TV
Issue: Television
The nation's seventh television broadcast network, Pax TV, debuted on August
31 and is competing well in the Chicago market. The target audience is 25-
to 50-year-old women "who endorse the concept of so-called family values
programming," Jones reports. To that end, the station refuses ads for beer,
casino gambling, and psychic or sex hot lines and airs a programming line-up
headed by Touched By An Angel, Dr. Quinn, Life Goes On, and Father Dowling
Mysteries reruns. "What we're doing is good counter-programming, while
everybody else is out there with Genghis Khan and Howard Stern," said Bud
Paxson, the head of Pax TV.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,ART-16211,00.html
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