BUDGET
Bush Budget Is Mixed Bag For Lawmakers, Tech Industry (WP)
INTERNET
AT&T Faces Some Hurdles As Its DSL Plans Gain Speed (WSJ)
Notice of a Cooperative Agreement with EDUCAUSE for Management of
.edu Domain (NTIA)
MERGER
Monitor Trustee to Make Sure AOL Time Warner Plays by the Rules (WP)
VIDEO
State of the Art: Videodiscs With You as Director (NYT)
BUDGET
BUSH BUDGET IS MIXED BAG FOR LAWMAKERS, TECH INDUSTRY
Issue:
The Bush administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2002 has received
mixed reactions from both Congress and the high-tech industry. The high-tech
community is generally pleased by the increased spending on math and science
education programs, including a $200 million expansion of the National
Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership. But the administration
has received criticism for proposed cuts in funding for research and
development at the Commerce Department, including a 30 percent reduction at
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Technology
Opportunities Program, and elimination of funding for the Advanced
Technology Program (ATP), a publicly and privately funded program to foster
new technologies. On the hill, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman
Rep. W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-La., said he feared the budget proposal would
endanger changes he has promised to bring to the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), such as upgrading outdated engineering capabilities.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (WashTech), AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/8923-1.html)
INTERNET
AT&T FACES SOME HURDLES AS ITS DSL PLANS GAIN SPEED
Issue: Broadband
AT&T has recently stepped up plans to use digital-subscriber-line (DSL)
technology as a way to get voice and data services to consumers nationwide
with its purchase of assets from NorthPoint Communications. But, it turns
out, a little-noticed clause in a contract that AT&T signed earlier this
year with two big cable companies could prohibit the telecommunications
company from offering DSL in important parts of the country until June 2006.
AT&T's agreement with Cox Communications and Comcast prevents it from
offering high-speed Internet access to residential customers in the
territories served by the two cable companies. Industry observers said the
agreement is troubling since it could limit AT&T's market opportunity and
throw a roadblock in the path of a business that hasn't gotten off the
ground and faces its own separate set of challenges.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB98702316563447234.htm
(requires subscription)
NOTICE OF A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH EDUCAUSE FOR MANAGEMENT OF .EDU
DOMAIN
Issue: Internet
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
announces that it intends to enter into a cooperative agreement for the
management of the .edu domain name space with EDUCAUSE, an association that
focuses on networking and information technology needs of higher
education institutions. This cooperative agreement will facilitate policy
development and technical operations of the .edu domain
by a single responsible entity and provide a framework for the
administration of the .edu domain.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/edunoi41101.htm)
MERGER
MONITOR TRUSTEE TO MAKE SURE AOL TIME WARNER PLAYS BY THE RULES
Issue: Merger
When America Online Inc. acquired Time Warner Inc. for $112 billion three
months ago, federal regulators put in place various safeguards to ensure
that the giant conglomerate would not stifle competition in the marketplace.
In its consent decree with the FTC, AOL agreed to abide by certain
conditions, such as opening its cable television network to rival Internet
service providers for high-speed access. Another of those safeguards was the
Federal Trade Commission's recent appointment of Dale N. Hatfield as the
monitor trustee overseeing the merger. Interview with Hatfield, former chief
of the office of engineering and technology at the FCC, appears at url
below.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8190-2001Apr11.html)
VIDEO
STATE OF THE ART: VIDEODISCS WITH YOU AS DIRECTOR
Issue: Video
Technology now allows consumers to turn camcorder footage into high quality
DVD's without spending a fortune. Digital camcorders and editing software
have enabled people to create home movie masterpieces on there PCs. But,
until now, the only options available to most consumers has been either
dumping the final product onto a VHS tape, sacrificing 50 percent of the
digital quality in the process, or posting is to the Web. But with a new a
DVD burner from Pioneer, available for about $1,000 as internal unit for
modern Macs or Windows PC's, home movies can become digital blockbusters for
the anyone who wants a low-cost way to get videos to a larger audience.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Pogue]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/12/technology/12STAT.html)
(requires registration)
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