INTERNET
Commerce Dept.'s New Point Man on the Net (CyberTimes)
AOL Says It Was Misrepresented (WP)
Microsoft Sets A New Strategy For Investments (WSJ)
Amazon.com Leads In Appeal but Not Price, Survey Says (WSJ)
Holiday E-Mail Clogs AT&T Servers (WP)
TELEVISION
The TV Column: Apology of the Hour: False Report Aired on '60
Minutes' (WP)
TELECOM ACT OF 96
Speech: Accomplishing the Objectives of the 1996 Act (NTIA)
INTERNATIONAL
International Telecommunications Markets 1997-1998 (FCC)
EU to Continue Talks with U.S. on Data Privacy (Mercury)
PHILANTHROPY
MacArthur Foundation Gets New Chief (ChiTrib)
ANTITRUST
The Microsoft Trial Reviews Dispute With Sun Over Java (NYT)
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INTERNET
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COMMERCE DEPT.'S NEW POINT MAN ON THE NET
Issue: Internet
A look at Elliot Maxwell, the Clinton's Administration's new point man on
Internet issues. Formerly of the FCC's Office of Plans and Policy, Mr.
Maxwell is now at the Department of Commerce. Charlie Firestone, executive
vice president of the Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit
educational institution based in Washington, calls the Administration's
decision to place Maxwell in this new job "a brilliant stroke." "What makes
Elliot a great choice is that he is intelligent and visionary, and a good
person to deal with other people," Mr. Firestone said. "He is gentle. And a
lot of that job is dealing with the various factions of the Internet, all
over the world. All of his background has led to this. He has a good sense
of the global network, the confluence of communications technology, which is
really what the Internet is all about."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/articles/11maxwell.html
AOL SAYS IT WAS MISREPRESENTED
Issue: Merger
Yesterday, AOL officials responded to an accusation from venture capitalist
John Doerr, who portrayed the company as desiring "buggy-whip" regulation
for the cable television industry. Doerr's comments came in response to
AOL's request that the Federal Communication Commission require TCI to lease
it's cable lines to Internet providers as a provision for approval of AT&T's
pending purchase of the cable company. AOL would like to give its customers
high-speed access to the Internet using existing cable wires. Cable
companies, however, are interested in providing Internet service themselves.
TCI is already doing just that with the At Home Network.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (B2), AUTHOR: Washington Post Staff Writers]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/11/026l-121198-idx.html
MICROSOFT SETS A NEW STRATEGY FOR INVESTMENTS
Issue: Competition
Microsoft Corp. is prepared to invest $5 million to $10 million each in up
to 10 venture capital firms. It is a new approach for Microsoft. Investing
in firms that invest in startup companies could help Microsoft track new
technology and help potential partners grow. The response from venture
capitalists has been mixed. Some see the potential of conflict of interest
or an impairment in independent growth by the new companies. Of the venture
capital firms Greg Maffei, Microsoft CFO, says, "We want to be able to tell
them where we see opportunities, all with the goal of building better ties
and encouraging innovation." Mitch Kapor, a software investor, says that
while there are many ways a link to Microsoft might be helpful for a venture
firm's portfolio companies, such a link could steer an industry-changing
innovation into Microsoft's hands."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke & George Anders]
http://www.wsj.com/
AMAZON.COM LEADS IN APPEAL BUT NOT PRICE, SURVEY SAYS
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Among 19 online bookstores surveyed by a Massachusetts group, Amazon.com is
the most appealing site for customers. Next in appeal were Barnes & Noble
Inc., Buy.com Inc., and Books.com Inc. Amazon.com rated at the top on ease
of use and customer confidence. It lagged Borders Group Inc. in building
electronic relationships with customers. Barnes and Noble ranked first on
on-site resources. All Direct Inc. was rated as the lowest price site with
Wal-Mart second. With electronic commerce growing, customers, investors and
financial analysts are gaining more interest in surveys that look at success
in the industry.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: George Anders]
http://www.wsj.com/
HOLIDAY E-MAIL CLOGS AT&T SERVERS
Issue: E-Mail
AT&T WorldNet reported 45 minute delays in delivering e-mail on Wednesday
and lesser delays on Thursday due to holiday greetings being sent which
contain graphics and audio. Janet Stone, spokeswoman for AT&T WorldNet,
said, "What has happened, and we saw this last year, was around the
holidays, people send Christmas cards, holiday cards and scan photos to send
to their family and friends around the Net." She said that the heavy volume
of traffic overloaded two servers and some of the load had to be diverted
elsewhere. The random effect hit about 10 percent of the company's 1.3
million users. America Online reported additional volume of e-mail but no
problems.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Online), AUTHOR: Donna Murphy Weston (Associated
Press)]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19981211/V000161-121198-idx.html
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TELEVISION
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THE TV COLUMN: APOLOGY OF THE HOUR: FALSE REPORT AIRED ON '60 MINUTES'
Issue: Television
Admitting CBS's "60 Minutes" ran a bogus story on Colombia heroin smuggling,
Executive Producer Don Hewitt will make his first appearance on a regular
edition of the program to apologize. The story said that the Cali drug
cartel had developed new trafficking routes to London and was based on
information in a documentary prepared for British television network ITV.
Hewitt says "60 Minutes" interviewed the producer before airing the footage
and "asked the Drug Enforcement Agency to confirm it