ANTITRUST
Steve Jobs Rejects Microsoft Plan (NYT)
INTERNET
Online Kiosks Aid Abused Women (BBC)
Time Warner Closes e-Books Division (NYT)
At Home To Shut Down In February (SJM)
ANTITRUST
STEVE JOBS REJECTS MICROSOFT PLAN
Issue: Antitrust/Edtech
Apple Computer is not happy with the proposal by Microsoft and plaintiffs to
settle more than 100 class-action antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft is
riddled with flaws. Microsoft's proposal to donate more than $1 billion in
software, computers and expertise to the nation's poorest schools would do
little damage to the company's bottom line, Apple and other critics say, but
would help it shore up its lead in one market it does not already dominate:
education. Yet Microsoft and other proponents of the settlement insist that
the deal would give the company no new advantage in the market because it
would establish a grant program giving schools money to buy software.
Several industry trade groups and legal experts agree with Apple's
assessment and have urged Judge J. Frederick Motz of the United States
District Court in Maryland to reject the Microsoft settlement proposal.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Laurie J. Flynn]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/03/technology/ebusiness/03APPL.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
MICROSOFT'S LATEST SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: New York Times , AUTHOR: New York Times Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/05/opinion/05WED3.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
ONLINE KIOSKS AID ABUSED WOMEN
Issue: Internet
Women who are victims of domestic violence will soon be able to turn to
technology for help. Women in London, UK, who suffer mental and physical
abuse by their spouses or partners, will be able to find and contact support
services via the net-connected kiosks that dot some of the capital's
streets. Because using a kiosk is anonymous, the project could reach women
whose access to help is otherwise controlled by their abusive partner, said
Jo Todd, national development worker at the Domestic Violence Intervention
Project, (DVIP), which is co-ordinating the kiosk project. "Abused women may
have to account for their time outside their house and not have time to go
to their local library to look for help." Todd said the kiosks were ideal
for putting information in front of women as they went about their daily
lives.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Laurie J. Flynn]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1691000/1691434.stm)
AT HOME TO SHUT DOWN IN FEBRUARY
Issue: Internet
At Home, the bankrupt provider of high-speed Internet service, will shut
down at the end of February, marking the demise of a Silicon Valley Internet
pioneer. The company revealed its shutdown plans late Tuesday, after
reaching agreements with six cable-company partners that will provide
funding for three more months. At Home, which does business as Excite( at )Home,
provides broadband access to 3.7 million North American customers. Since it
filed for bankruptcy in September, the company and its creditors have been
locked in a complex fight with the cable partners over the value of its
money-losing business.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Joelle Tessler]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/athome120501.htm)
TIME WARNER CLOSES E-BOOKS DIVISION
Issue: Internet
In another blow for the fledgling electronic book market, Time Warner Books
announced Tuesday it was shutting down its e-publishing division,
iPublish.com. Laurence J. Kirshbaum, chairman of Time Warner Trade
Publishing, said in a statement: "The market for e-books has simply not
developed as we hoped." The demise of iPublish.com comes just one month
after Random House closed its own e-book imprint, AtRandom.com. iPublish was
conceived as an accessible outlet for emerging writers, using the Internet
not just for distribution but for democratizing the publishing process. It
encouraged opinions and feedback from readers as well as other writers on
submitted manuscripts.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hillel Italie]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/14034-1.html)
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