Censorship
WP: Bookstore Indicted for Obscenity
Telephone
WP: Phone Company Helps Keep Hunger Hot Line Operating
NYT: F.C.C. to Open Phone Market To Foreigners
All Things Digital
NYT: Using New Digital Technology, MTV Adds Specialized Channels
NYT: Computer 'Life Form' Mutates in an Evolution Experiment
WP: Putting Labels on PC Users
WSJ: Surging Volume of E-Mail Brings Blackouts at AOL
Mergers
WSJ: MCI Offers Managers Hefty Bonuses To Retain Them
Prior to Its Merger
WSJ: Netscape to Buy 'Extranet' Firm For $180 Million
** Censorship **
Title: Bookstore Indicted for Obscenity
Source: Washington Post (A9)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1997-11/25/048r-112597-idx.html
Issue: Censorship
Description: A Barnes & Noble bookstore in Tennessee was recently indicted
for "improperly displaying material harmful to minors." The charges center
around the display of three books, two by Jock Sturges, whose work includes
controversial photographs of nude children. "If you have certain kinds of
material, it has to be displayed at a certain height, with a binder in front
of it [and] a piece of opaque material covering the erogenous zones," said
the local district attorney. The bookstore faces a maximum fine of $50 and a
possible injunction requiring changes in the book display. B&N has vowed to
defend itself. Arrests were made at the urging of the conservative group
Focus on the Family.
** Telephone **
Title: Phone Company Helps Keep Hunger Hot Line Operating
Source: Washington Post (B3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Brooke Masters
Issue: Telephone
Description: BellSouth will pay MCI $16,000 to help keep 1-800-HUNGRY-2, a
toll-free number that directs callers to food pantries in their home areas,
operational. The service has racked up $20,000 in unpaid bills over the last
15 months and MCI was prepared to shut it down. The long distance company
had already donated $15,000 to get the hot line started and has waived
$25,000 in penalties. BellSouth is challenging other telcos to follow their
example. [For a profile of the service see
http://www.benton.org/Library/Inventing/hunger.html]
Title: F.C.C. to Open Phone Market To Foreigners
Source: New York Times (D1, D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/fcc-world-trade.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: F.C.C. Regulation
Description: Federal regulators will vote today to approve rules carrying
out Feb.'s WTO agreement to liberalize international telecommunications. If
approved, the ruling will open the United State's $200 million
telecommunications market to foreign competition, hopefully lowering
international calling rates for consumers and increasing opportunities for
U.S. communications companies elsewhere in the world.
** All Things Digital **
Title: Using New Digital Technology, MTV Adds Specialized Channels
Source: New York Times (B1, B8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/mtv-new-channels.html
Author: Bill Carter
Issue: Digital Television
Description: MTV, and its sister network VH1, are expected to announce today
their plan to offer a selection of new, well-defined channels through the
use of digital technology. These channels will specialize in rock, rap,
country and other genres. "We always knew the audience would like to add
more musical choices," said Tom Freston, the chairman of MTV Networks. "We
just had to wait for the technology to make it possible."
Title: Computer 'Life Form' Mutates in an Evolution Experiment
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Sandra Blakeslee
Issue: Technological Advancements
Description: In an experiment known as Network Tierra, researchers have
created an artificial "life form" that dwells on a network of 150 computers
worldwide. This 'life form' is undergoing sophisticated mutations that
appear to mimic the transition from simple to more complex organisms.
Researchers hope that this experiment may shed light on basic evolutionary
processes. "I'm very excited by the results," said Dr. Thomas Ray, creator
of the experiment. "We've been on the project for three years and to have it
finally working, to watch the evolution unfold, is a thrill." "The
relevance of any digital analogy for understanding life processes is
controversial, said Dr. John Casti, editor of the journal Complexity and a
researcher at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. Network Tierra explores
the 'structures and patterns' of information that drive evolutionary
processes 'on this planet or wherever in the universe you might find them,'
he said. 'Tom is interested in what makes evolution work, in general.'"
The new research will be published in Complexity. [Excuse me, but hasn't
anyone see those 'Terminator' movies?]
Title: Putting Labels on PC Users
Source: Washington Post (WashTech p.17) 11/24/97
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/24/013l-112497-id...
Author: Robert O'Harrow
Issue: InfoTech/Advertising
Description: The technology industry is attempting to categorize us as
computer users. These categories will play an increasingly large role in
what ads appear in the magazines you read and on the shows you watch.
Forrester Research makes the split: Digital Hopefuls (family-oriented,
low-income people who are optimistic about tech and will begin buying
computers more as prices continue to drop); Fast Forwards (career-oriented,
dual-income households); Handshakers (execs that care more about
relationships than technology); Media Junkies (TV lovers who don't have a
good handle on PCs yet); Mouse Potatoes (like Media Junkies only PC
literate); and New Age Nurturers (PC owners that believe tech can improve
them and their families -- the most likely to buy technology in the future).
Don't like these categories? See article online for SRI Consulting's segment
profiles.
Title: Surging Volume of E-Mail Brings Blackouts at AOL
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Online Services
Description: Just as AOL started bragging about its vaunted milestone in
signing up its ten millionth customer, they experienced their third outage in
three weeks. A five-hour e-mail blackout during business hours last week
left customers quite frustrated. It seems that AOL's proudest achievement
could be a potential problem. AOL now has about 530,000 simultaneous users
on its systems during peak hours, up from 140,000 just last year. One of
their favorite activities is sending e-mail, a medium that's growing faster
than the industry can handle. And, not only is the number of e-mail
messages growing, but the complexity and size of them are increasing as well
with attachments and graphics. AOL's e-mail glitches were caused by a
software bug that pops up in the operating system that runs AOL's 20 e-mail
computer servers, according to Matt Korn, a senior VP for AOL's network
operations. That bug forces the shutdown of all the servers when there is a
problem in any one. But this is only one in a string of embarrassing
technical problems that have driven AOL to sign a consent agreement
early this year, promising to forgo soliciting more new customers until its
system could handle the subscribers it already has.
** Mergers **
Title: MCI Offers Managers Hefty Bonuses To Retain Them
Prior to Its Merger
Source: Wall Street Journal (B9)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Joann S. Lublin
Issue: Merger
Description: MCI is offering certain key managers bonuses equal to 50% of
their salaries next week and another 50% on Dec. 1, 1998 to keep them from
bolting before it completes its merger with Worldcom. Retention bonuses of
this magnitude are rare, compensation experts say, and unusual to give them
before completing a merger. An internal memo said: "Your leadership and
ability to keep your organization focused on making this a smooth transition
without loss of momentum is critical to MCI." It's unclear, however, whether
MCI's efforts will staunch an inevitable exodus of top management. Some
doubt there's enough room in the executive suite for all of MCI's and
Worldcom's tough, entrepreneurial and sometimes irreverent managers. MCI
remains "very nervous that a bunch of their very senior people may exit,"
observed one informed individual. "That could jeopardize the structure of
the [Worldcom] deal."
Title: Netscape to Buy 'Extranet' Firm For $180 Million
Source: Wall Street Journal (B9)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank
Issue: Merger
Description: Netscape, seeking to capture the nascent market for
"extranet" software, agreed to buy Kiva Software for $180 million in stock.
Kiva produces software for companies to link partners, distributors,
suppliers and customers in networks based on Internet standards. Netscape
said Kiva's products allow businesses to create Web-based applications able
to serve tens of thousands customers at once. Netscape is making this move
because extranets typically involve the integration of many different
computer systems, giving the company a potential edge over rival Microsoft.
Netscape execs said the acquisition is likely to be the last major purchase
for a while.
Title: Netscape Buys Kiva Software
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/112597netscape.html
Author: Reuters
Issue: Corporate Mergers
Description: Netscape Communications Corp. announced yesterday that it will
acquire Kiva Software Corp. for 6.3 million shares of stock, valued at $180
million. "Netscape said that its acquisition will make it a leading
provider of application server software for the computer programs that large
organizations use to tap into the Internet and develop their own
Internet-based networks."
Title: Entering U.S. Broadcasting, Sony Buys Telemundo Stake
Source: New York Times (D8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/sony-telemundo-media.html
Author: Andrew Pollack
Issue: Corporate Mergers
Description: The Sony Corporation has announced that it will take control of
programming for the Telemundo Group Inc., the nation's second-largest
Spanish-language network. Sony will acquire Telemundo for $539 million, or
$44 a share in cash. Sony's move helps to reflect the prospects for rapid
growth in the Hispanic market.
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We'll be back tomorrow, but we're taking the rest of the week off and we
hope you will, too. Happy Thanksgiving!