INTERNET
For First Time in War, E-Mail Plays a Vital Role (NYT)
You've Got Mail and You Don't Want It (WSJ)
E-COMMERCE
Internet Companies Reinvent Math (CyberTimes)
Amazon.com Will Go Head to Head with eBay, Onsale in Online Auctions
(WSJ)
'Find Anything' At Jungle.com -- Well, Almost (WSJ)
EDTECH
Professors Protest Decision on Online University (CyberTimes)
TELEVISION
Up Next: Ads Nauseam (WP)
Phillips, Tivo to Begin Sales of Digital VCRs (WSJ)
PRIVACY
A Middle Ground in the Privacy War? (WP)
MAGAZINES
Keeping Magazines All in the Family (NYT)
INTERNATIONAL
Telecom Italia to Pay Cash for Unit in Latest Shot in Battle with
Olivetti (WSJ)
India Unveils Reform Plan For Telecom Industry (WSJ)
British Internet Group To Appeal Landmark Libel Ruling (SJ Merc)
INTERNET
FOR FIRST TIME IN WAR, E-MAIL PLAYS A VITAL ROLE
Issue: Internet Content
For those not sated by 24-hour cable news coverage or if telephone lines are
not a reliable way to connect with loved ones in the region, the Internet is
providing a way to follow events in Yugoslavia. Email, chat rooms, and
bulletin boards are all providing people a place to exchange and discuss the
latest bit of info or rumor. "The feeling is that we are participating in
this war in a strange way because of the Internet," said Aleksander
Slavkovic, 32, a computer engineer in Pittsburgh. "You feel like you have
access to the information firsthand." RealNetworks has made B92, the
independent radio station in Belgrade closed down by the government,
available on the Web. It is reassuring to be able to communicate with the
outside world, wrote Deana Srajber, a 29-year-old Web designer, in response
to an e-mail query from a newspaper reporter. "With the Internet we have the
means of telling the world about how we feel about all this," she wrote.
"The frustrating part is that the world seems not to care how we feel."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A12), AUTHOR: Neil MacFarquhar]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/032999kosovo-email.html)
See also:
Support for Homeland Up as Sirens Wail and News Is Censored
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steven Erlanger]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/032999kosovo-belgrade.html)
YOU GOT MAIL, AND YOU DON'T WANT IT: VIRUS INFECTS COMPUTERS AROUND THE WORLD
Issue: Security
A computer virus named Melissa, apparently originating from Western Europe
and in the alt.sex Usenet newsgroup, that started wreaking havoc over the
weekend can cause users of Microsoft's Word and Outlook or Outlook Express
to unknowingly generate 50 email messages containing a list of pornographic
Web sites. While it causes no direct damage to infected PCs and can be
deleted using a software utility now widely available, the virus does
demonstrate the vulnerability of the networked computer environment in
which we now live. Messages are generated as if they come from you, and
contain the subject line "Important Message from [Your Name]" and body text
that says "Here is the document you asked for..." The virus is not
activated unless readers open up the attached file. Many companies infected
by the virus were forced to shut down their email systems, including
Microsoft and Intel, according to Network Associates, a Santa Clara (CA)
company tracking the virus. According to the article, users are advised to
disable Word's "macro" functions, and update their current anti-virus
programs. Software programs for removing the virus from infected machines
can be found at www.antivirus.com, www.sendmail.com, and www.avertlabs.com.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7), AUTHOR: Dean Takahashi]
(http://wsj.com/)
See also:
SUPER-FAST COMPUTER VIRUS HEADS INTO WORKWEEK
The "Melissa" virus is on the move. Carried through email, the virus checks
your email address book and replicates itself 50 times. Your computer is not
damaged, by your organization's email server can easily be swamped. If you
get a message that starts: "here is the document you have requested and has
a Word attachment named LIST.DOC," do not open the document. Security
experts are unsure if the virus as some sort of malicious attack or some
marketing ploy that went awry: opening list.doc revels the address for a
number of pornographic websites.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A14), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/biztech/articles/29virus.html)
E-COMMERCE
INTERNET COMPANIES REINVENT MATH
Issue: E-Commerce
Don't worry about the millions I'm losing now, promise some Internet-only
companies, I'll make it all back eventually "in volume." [I'll gladly repay
you Tuesday for hamburger eaten on...] iVillage, for example, raised
millions in its first day of stock market trading despite widely publicized
financial problems and underwhelming popularity ratings. But the company
convinced traders that it will eventually attract enough women to support
the business. Another volume strategy has e-retailers attracting customers
and revenue with rock bottom prices that are often below cost. The strategy
here is that enough customers will be attracted to justify additional
revenue streams like advertising. "The idea of making it up on volume when
you are losing on every product line is a tried-and-true recipe for
something other than success," wrote Mark Anderson, a technology consultant
and publisher of the Strategic News Service newsletter. And most Internet
companies, he added, do not and apparently cannot erect the traditional
barriers to competition -- like trade secrets, proprietary technology and
extreme start-up costs -- that would someday allow them to corral
profitability. "Indeed, the harder one looks, from weird stock valuations to
venture funding mania to basic business models," he wrote, "the more one
begins to feel that from a financial perspective, there is no 'there' there."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C7), AUTHOR: Denise Caruso]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/biztech/articles/29digi.html)
AMAZON.COM WILL GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH eBAY, ONSALE IN ONLINE AUCTIONS
Issue: E-Commerce
In its fourth major business expansion in the past year, Amazon.com is
now entering the online auction market with a new service that will let
people "buy and sell virtually anything at Amazon.com," according to CEO
Jeff Bezos. The company has signed up at least 117 smaller businesses that
will run their own auctions off the Amazon.com site. What this service will
offer different from other online auctioning services is a guarantee
against fraud by resellers without the more rigorous proofs of fraud
required by other online services.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: George Anders]
(http://wsj.com/)
'FIND ANYTHING' AT JUNGLEE.COM -- WELL, ALMOST
Issue: E-Commerce
Visitors used the Junglee Web site, a leading developer of
comparison-shopping technology, to scour the Internet for the lowest prices
on everything from books to bicycles. Then in August 1998, Amazon.com took
over the company, worrying some critics that the electronic bargain-hunting
service would no longer include competitors of Amazon. Amazon dismissed the
concerns, promising to provide as much consumer information as possible.
But in the intervening months, Amazon did a major marketing makeover of the
Junglee site, which is now called "Shop the Web, the place to find anything
you want to buy online" ... except books and music. Amazon claims that
consumers just aren't as interested in comparison-shopping for lower-end
items such as novels and CDs. For those who disagree, it's still possible
to use the HotBot or Compaq shopping guides that Junglee technology
continues to power.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Rebecca Quick]
(http://wsj.com/)
EDTECH
PROFESSORS PROTEST DECISION ON ONLINE UNIVERSITY
Issue: EdTech
Online learning may be in a growing pain phase. The American Association of
University Professors (AAUP) (http://www.aaup.org/319let.htm) formally
protested the recent accreditation of Jones International University
(http://www.jonesinternational.edu/), the first online-only education
venture to receive a stamp of approval from the North Central Association
Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, a major accrediting
association. And last week, the foundation set up to run the California
Virtual University (http://www.california.edu/) was disbanded, the site will
be run by participating universities and colleges which did not want to
contribute some $3 million to the foundation for marketing . In the former
case, the debate is over the process related to distance learning --
professors reacted strongly to Jones' reliance on part-time instructors who
are teaching courses set up by others.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels (mendels( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/cyber/articles/29learning.html)
TELEVISION
UP NEXT: ADS NAUSEAM
Issue: Television/Advertising
Clutter on television, there is plenty of it. Ads, show promotions, station
Ids and public service announcements all break up the programs on broadcast
TV. In 1997 clutter totaled 15 minutes 11 seconds of each hour. The totals
by the American Association of Advertising Agencies does not factor in
clutter that the networks are now slipping right into the shows. A couple of
examples: (1) The in-show promo. NBC has already started putting the Olympic
logo with its symbol in the bottom right corner of the screen. Do we need to
know they have rights to the Olympics when no Olympics are scheduled for
months? (2) The "This Ain't Art, It's Sports" in-show promo. CBS sports
announcers accidentally sight smirky Craig Kilborn, the soon to be host of
CBS's "Late Late Show," during 11 games of its 19-day NCAA basketball
tournament coverage. [Lisa has plenty more examples!]
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-03/29/151l-032999-idx.html)
PHILLIPS, TIVO TO BEGIN SALES OF DIGITAL VCRS
Issue: Technology
Digital video cassette machines are coming and bringing improved sight and
sound. Phillips Electronics will sell two versions of the digital recorders
for consumers made by Tivo. One can record 14 hours of video for $499; the
other will have 30 hours of storage for $999. For now they will be sold via
an 800 number with retail store sales planned by summer. On Wednesday Tivo
will begin their personal television service allowing customers who pay for
a $9.95 per month subscription to record TV shows.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: WSJ Staff Reporter)
(http://wsj.com)
PRIVACY
A MIDDLE GROUND IN THE PRIVACY WAR?
Issue: Privacy
Amitai Etzioni, a professor at George Washington University, thinks he has
found a middle ground between the combatants in the fierce fight over the
right to privacy. His new book, "The Limits of Privacy" applies
communitarian principles to the issue. "What he wants to do is to forge a
new privacy doctrine that protects the individual from snooping corporations
and irresponsible government, but cedes individual privacy rights when
public health and safety are at stake -- 'a balance between rights and
community good,' he writes." In an interview Etzioni concluded that both
sides in the debate are missing "the number one enemy -- it's a small group
of corporations that have more information about us than the East German
police ever had about the Germans." He specifically names Microsoft and Intel.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (F21), AUTHOR: John Schwartz, schwartzj( at )washpost.com]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/biztop922711166223.htm)
MAGAZINES
KEEPING MAGAZINES ALL IN THE FAMILY
Issue: Magazines/Publishing
Coming to a newsstand -- or mailbox -- near you: spinoffs. Publishers see
spinoffs as the future of magazines. They take the original title of a
magazine and add a subtitle -- like "For Women," "golf" or "Fiance." The
spinoff is a way to attract a new audience and provide a new marketplace for
advertisers. One estimate says 20% 0f all new magazines in 1998 were
spinoffs compared to just 5% the year before. Spinoffs take advantage of the
marketing of the main brand and costs are lower because the editorial staff
of one magazine is now producing to. And spinoffs targeted at kids are seen
as a way "to graduate them up to the [grown-up] publication when they are
older" -- to "build a media habit among younger readers." [We'll be
announcing Headlines for Kids in a couple of days]
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Alex Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/magazines-spinoffs.html)
INTERNATIONAL
TELECOM ITALIA TO PAY CASH FOR UNIT IN LATEST SHOT IN BATTLE WITH OLIVETTI
Issue: Mergers
While bombs drop a short distance away in Yugoslavia, a different war
continues in Italy where former telephone monopoly Telecom Italia fights
Olivetti's attempts at a hostile takeover of the cellular phone unit,
Telecom Italila Mobile. A day after Olivetti announced having raised $24.2
billion in bank loans, Telecom Italia SpA announced plans to offer nearly
$25 billion in cash (as opposed to the stock swap previously offered) to
buy the remaining 40% stake in its cellular-phone unit. While Italian
takeover law bars Telecom Italia from taking any defensive actions to
thwart Olivetti's hostile bid, the company can proceed if it gets necessary
approval from shareholders, which it will seek at a meeting April 9-11.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A23), AUTHOR: Anita Raghavan and Deborah Ball]
(http://wsj.com/)
BRITISH INTERNET GROUP TO APPEAL LANDMARK LIBEL RULING
Issue: Internet/International
Demon Internet, Britain's largest dial-up Internet Service Provider, said it
would appeal a landmark High Court ruling that held it responsible for
material carried on its computers. David Furniss of Scottish Telecom,
Demon's owner, said, "The ruling suggests that Internet Service Providers
should be held liable for the information that they transmit between one
party and another. This potentially opens up the Internet industry at large
to millions of similar unjustified complaints." The case arose from comments
made on an Internet newsgroup which a university professor claimed were
defamatory. An unknown US Internet user who is not a customer of Demon
Internet posted the comments. In Britain a defense of "innocent
dissemination" is available to bookshops, printers and other groups.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Kirstin Ridley (Reuters)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/284409l.htm)
INDIA UNVEILS REFORM PLAN FOR TELECOM INDUSTRY
Issue: Telephony/ International
India has announced a new telecommunications policy aimed at greater
competition and easing foreign investment problems. The policy seeks to put
back on track a privatization effort that has been mired in controversy
since India began the move to competitive bids from the state's monopoly on
telephone services. To date, licenses for only six private fixed-line
networks have been issued. Many more original bids came in for fixed-line
and cellular services but the companies have found financing difficult or
have realized they overestimated the market. Under the new policy India will
shift from competitive bidding to a system in which investors will pay an
entry fee determined by the market regulator and operate on a
revenue-sharing agreement with the government. The new policy curbs the
power of the government's Department of Telecommunications and reaffirms the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as the arbiter in disputes between the
government and telephone companies.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jonathan Karp)
(http://wsj.com)
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