Microspin: Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Microsoft
Microsoft Fight Will Be Waged On Wide Front (NYT)
Left and Right With Bill Gates (NYT)
Injunction Looms as Showdown for Microsoft (WSJ)
Netscape Seems to Have Mixed Feelings About Starring Role in
Microsoft Probe (WSJ)
Critic of Software Giant to Hear Antitrust Cases (WP)
Microsoft's Influence Unabated (WP)
...and links to much, much more
Universal Service & EdTech
Most Schools Asked for Less Than $10,000 for
Internet Links (TelecomAM)
Texas Weighs Value of Laptops vs. Textbooks (CyberTimes)
Television & Campaigns
Really Big Money Shouts in a California Contest (NYT)
Name That Candidate (ChiTrib)
Grass-Roots Organizing Tops TV Ads in AFL-CIO
Political Agenda (WP)
Advertising
Rock-Advertising Synergy (ChiTrib)
Invisible Viewers (ChiTrib)
Mergers
MCI May Reduce Internet Business (WP)
Libraries
Hacking Away at the Libraries (NYT)
Philanthropy
U.N. Gives Its First Grants From Big Ted Turner Gift (NYT)
InfoTech
Hackers and Security Experts Warn Senate Panel (CyberTimes)
Group Proposes New Way to Transfer Computer Data Over
30-Foot Distances (WSJ)
Satellite Outrage Disrupts Services For Pagers and TV (WSJ)
Errant Communications Satellite Causes Pager, TV Disruptions (WP)
Message Overload Taking Toll on Workers (WP)
** Microspin: Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Microsoft **
Title: Microsoft Fight Will Be Waged On Wide Front
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/biztech/articles/20microsoft.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: "We're in for a full-fledged fight now," said the Attorney
General of Connecticut. The battle between Microsoft and the Government will
include "talk show appearances, documents that cast Microsoft as an arrogant
monopolist, testimonials from distinguished academics, and scarcely veiled
threats of even further charges."
Title: Left and Right With Bill Gates
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Attorney General Janet Reno's decision to file an antitrust
suit against Microsoft has gained some Republican support: Sen Orrin Hatch
(Utah), Sen Trent Lott (Mississippi), and Speaker Newt Gingrich (Georgia)
have strengthened the Department of Justice's action either by approval or
just by not criticizing it. Microsoft is stepping up its campaign
contributions and lobby efforts. "The Democratic Administration is arguing
that there is an intelligent place for government oversight in cyberspace,
just as there is in the environment, the work place and the worlds of
retirement and health care. Some surprisingly powerful Republicans seem to
agree. [See also NYT (A23) "" by ]
Title: Injunction Looms as Showdown for Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Margaret A. Jacobs
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The next big step in the antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp.
will be a ruling on the Justice Dept.'s "ambitious request" for a
preliminary injunction against the software company. "If the judge issues a
weak preliminary injunction, then Microsoft will have won," says antitrust
lawyer Garret Rasmussen of Washington D.C. "If the injunction isn't
aggressive enough, then the company will have several more years before a
full trial can be heard -- and that's a lifetime in the computer industry."
Title: Netscape Seems to Have Mixed Feelings About Starring Role in
Microsoft Probe
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Kara Swisher
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Netscape Communications Corp. seems to have mixed feelings
about the antitrust suits filed Monday that make it seem as if the
Internet-browser business is "a matter of life and death" for Netscape.
People familiar with the situation say that Netscape never asked the Justice
Dept. to have its browser included with Microsoft's Web software and is
surprised by the government's request. Netscape executives instead argue
that the case should be viewed more as a matter of public policy, rather
than "a small company getting help against a rival."
Title: Critic of Software Giant to Hear Antitrust Cases
Source: Washington Post (C13,C17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/070l-052098-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has been assigned
to handle the broad antitrust cases filed against Microsoft Corp. by the
Justice Dept. and a "coalition" of 20 state attorneys general. Judge Jackson
was assigned the two cases because he presided over a narrower antitrust
proceeding against the software giant brought by the Justice Dept. last fall
and related cases are usually assigned to the same judge. In that case,
Jackson sided with the Justice Dept. "ordering Microsoft in December to
provide a version of Windows 95 without its Internet "browsing" software."
Both the Justice Dept. and the states had requested that Judge Jackson
handle the two new cases. Microsoft can petition for another judge if they
so desire.
Title: Microsoft's Influence Unabated
Source: Washington Post (C13,C17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/065l-052098-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Regardless of the cases brought against Microsoft Corp., people
in Silicon Valley are still wary of the software behemoth. "I don't think
you can start a company today without thinking about how Microsoft will
affect you," either by influencing what area people work in or whether they
might eventually sell their technology to Microsoft, said Chris Shipley,
editor of PC Letter, an industry newsletter based in San Mateo. Jerry
Kaplan, chief executive of the online auction company Onsale Inc. based in
Menlo Park. Kaplan said that it is difficult to assess how the government's
case against Microsoft is going to change the current scenario. "Come on!"
he said. "The historical precedent is the action against IBM -- and that
dragged on for 13 years."
Such litigation "inevitably slows down momentum a bit and casts doubt into
the minds of people," points out Paul Saffo, who heads the Institute for the
Future, a market analyst firm in Menlo Park. As competitors, "sure, we'd
all love to see Microsoft have more problems. [But] we have to step up above
our own interests," said Gordon Eubanks, chief executive of Symantec Corp.
in Cupertino. "The most important role the government can play is to ensure
the country has the [ingredients] to build the right infrastructure for the
information age."
see also:
Title: Antitrust Excess?
Source: New York Times (A23)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/20hall.html
Author: Robert Hall, Stanford University
Title: Inside Beltway, Microsoft Sheds Its Image as Outsider
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-lobb
y.html
Author: Leslie Wayne
Title: For Congress, Even Computer Politics Are Local
Source: New York Times (C4)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-c...
ess.html
Author: Neil Lewis
Title: In Seattle, Bill Gates Is Still a Hometown Hero
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20microsoft-seat
tle.html
Author: Timothy Egan
Title: Suits are no magic cure for Netscape
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/ws/item/0,1267,8297-8298-8
860,00.html
Author: Andrew Zajac
** Universal Service & EdTech **
Title: Most Schools Asked for Less Than $10,000 for Internet Links
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) has reported to the
FCC that 53 percent of the applications in the new "e-rate" program
requested less than $10,000 in subsidies and 70 percent less than $25,000.
The SLC also found that 14 percent of the funding requests are for less than
$1,000, 18 percent for $10,000-$25,000, 28 percent for $25,000-$100,000, and
less than 1 percent for more than $1 million. SLC CEO Ira Fishman said the
numbers "clearly show universal service is working" because "we are seeing
significant participation" from small, rural communities as well as large
urban areas.
Title: Texas Weighs Value of Laptops vs. Textbooks
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/05/cyber/education/20education.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: Education
Description: Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education, Jack Christie,
has proposed taking the state's billion-dollar-plus textbook budget and use
it to buy laptop computers for students instead of textbooks. Christie
pressed his case last week when he invited legislators in Austin to a
session where software and hardware makers demonstrated what they consider
to be the benefits of computer learning. The central question now being
asked by the proposal's critics is: Can laptops teach better than books?
These critics argue that a computer screen cannot adequately replace the
printed page. "Nobody wants to read long passages of text on a laptop
computer," said Gary Chapman, who focuses on technology and public policy
issues as director of The 21st Century Project at the Lyndon B. Johnson
School of Public Affairs at the Univ. of Texas in Austin. If Christie gets
his way, Texas will be spending the majority of its textbook budget
purchasing laptops for students within three years.
** Television & Campaigns **
Title: Really Big Money Shouts in a California Contest
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Todd Purdum
Issue: Campaign Finance Reform
Description: Al Checchi, the former co-chairman of Northwest Airlines, is
making his first bid for elected office. He is running as a Democrat for
governor in California. The primary election is June 2, but Mr. Checchi has
already spent some $30 million on his campaign -- more than any
non-Presidential candidate has ever spent on a primary and general election
combined. Mr. Checchi has already spent half of what Ross Perot spent in the
1992 Presidential race.
Title: Name That Candidate
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.15)
http://chicago.tribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/article/0,1051,SAV-98052
00042,00.html
Author: E.J. Dionne, Jr. (Wash Post)
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: "Television has just checked out of California's race for
governor." Want to know more -- you will not find out by watching local TV
newscasts. This race is happening in paid political ads. The present
governor's former communications director said, "The lack of news coverage
itself should be of concern, but it would not be alarming. The preponderance
of paid political advertising would be of concern, but not alarming. But the
combination, the incredible imbalance between paid advertising and news
media coverage, *is* alarming because there is no control on the accuracy of
information." Some are joking that a political rally in California is "three
people around a television set."
Title: Grass-Roots Organizing Tops TV Ads in AFL-CIO Political Agenda
Source: Washington Post (A3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/035l-052098-idx.html
Author: Thomas B. Edsall
Issue: Campaigns
Description: The AFL-CIO, who played a major part in the 1996 elections,
will cut back on television spending and instead place emphasis on
grass-roots campaign efforts. The union labor group will focus on issues
rather than partisan politics, spreading their word through a lot of door
knocking and telephone calling.
** Advertising **
Title: Rock-Advertising Synergy
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec5, p.1)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: Mark Caro
Issue: Advertising
Description: Back in the day, the hero would climb up the pop charts fueled
by radio (or TV video) play which would, in turn, result in increased sales.
Now, a band or its music might find an audience because it provides a
soundtrack for a commercial. Record labels and advertisers alike are seeing
the benefits of including new, relatively unknown music in commercials.
Title: Invisible Viewers
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec5, p.3)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: David Bauder
Issue: Television Economics/Advertising
Description: Outside of homes, no one really knows how many people are
watching television -- a strange lapse for a business dependent on knowing
how big its audience is. Television executives are pleading with Nielsen
Media Research to figure out how to measure viewers in bars, health clubs,
hotels, and other out-of-home locations. Nielsen estimates that 25.7 million
people watch TV outside their home and will figure out a way to measure
them, if someone will pay for it.
** Mergers **
Title: MCI May Reduce Internet Business
Source: Washington Post (C13,C14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/072l-052098-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Merger
Description: In an effort to ease regulators concerns that the proposed MCI
Communications Corp.- WorldCom Inc. merger would be anti-competitive, MCI is
considering selling part of its Internet business. Once the merger is
complete, the communications company would focus on WorldCom's Internet
business, which is slightly larger than MCI's.
** Libraries **
Title: Hacking Away at the Libraries
Source: New York Times (A22)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/
Author: NYT Editorial Staff
Issue: Libraries
Description: In 1901, Andrew Carnegie made a deal with New York City: If the
City provided land and operating expenses, Carnegie would erect 65 branch
libraries. The City is welshing on the deal by not supporting its public
libraries, letting buildings decay and cutting back on hours. Even with a $2
billion city budget surplus, Mayor Giuliani has proposed cutting back the
library system's budget by $15 million. "The Mayor's call for more private
fund-raising ignores the fact. The city needs to pay for the basics and let
donors come forth for the enhancements. To do any less is to undermine a
precious public institution."
** Philanthropy **
Title: U.N. Gives Its First Grants From Big Ted Turner Gift
Source: New York Times (A10)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/un-turner-grant.html
Author: Barbara Crossette
Issue: Philanthropy
Description: Media mogul Ted Turner pledged $1 billion to the United Nations
last year. In January the United Nations Foundation was established to
disperse $100 million per year over the next decade. The fund is headed by
former Colorado senator Tim Wirth. The first round of grants -- to be
announced today -- will focus on helping women, children, and victims of war
in poor countries. United Nations agencies and programs are competing for
the funds by submitting proposals.
** InfoTech **
Title: Hackers and Security Experts Warn Senate Panel
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Security
Description: An elite group of seven hackers who call themselves LOpht Heavy
Industries and have names like Mudge, Space Rogue and Brian Oblivion, came
to Capitol Hill yesterday to warn Congress that computer security is so lax
that they could cut off the entire nation from the Internet in 30 minutes or
less. They also could keep the global network disabled for so long "it would
definitely take a few days for people to figure out what was going on," said
Mudge. The group told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that their
goal was "to raise the bar," to get companies to develop more secure
products. "The committee praised the group, all of whom hold real jobs by
day, for their efforts, and pushed for answers on what they could do to make
the country less vulnerable to terrorists attacks as the world becomes more
and more reliant on computers."
Title: Group Proposes New Way to Transfer Computer Data Over 30-Foot Distances
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Dean Takahashi
Issue: Wireless
Description: A group of computer and communications giants, including Intel
Corp., IBM Corp., Nokia Oy, Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Toshiba Corp., are
proposing a new radio technology that would allow computer data to be
transferred over distances of about 30 feet. The new technology, called
Bluetooth, would replace the need for wires for mobile computers and other
applications. It is designed to make it easier for users to exchange data
between handheld cellular phones or computers and personal computers or
other stationary machines.
Title: Satellite Outrage Disrupts Services For Pagers and TV
Source: Wall Street Journal (A4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Frederic M. Biddle
Issue: Satellites
Description: One of the most extensive blackouts of the digital era occurred
yesterday when a PanAmSat Corp. telecommunications satellite, called Galaxy
IV, went out-of-control. Anomalies noted in Galaxy IV earlier this week are
the most likely cause of the interrupted service to millions of pager
customers, TV stations and networks and syndicated program distributors.
PanAmSat said it was working to develop alternative plans, including
switching customers to other satellites.
Title: Errant Communications Satellite Causes Pager, TV Disruptions
Source: Washington Post (C14)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/169l-052098-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Satellites
Description: A satellite operated by Hughes Electronics Corp.s' PanAmSat
division spun out of control at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to PanAmSat
officials. The company has tried to maintain contact with the satellite and
was trying to restore its correct orbit late last night. "We advised out
customers that the satellite will remain out of service until Wednesday
morning at the earliest," said PanAmsat spokesman Daniel Marcus. "We're
helping them with sort-term restoration plans."
Title: Message Overload Taking Toll on Workers
Source: Washington Post (C13,C16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-05/20/064l-052098-idx.html
Author: Kirstin Downey Grimsley
Issue: Lifestyle
Description: With so many time- and labor-saving devices (such as the fax,
voice-mail, email, corporate intranet, standard, cell and car phone, the
beeper and pager) available for our convenience it is no wonder that we are
beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. A workplace study conducted by the
Gallup Organization and Calif.-based Institute for the Future found that
workers are being "bombarded by an avalanche of information" and are
starting to "cry for a respite from the intrusions." The study, released
yesterday, found that the 1,035 employees that were surveyed and observed at
work received an average of 190 messages a day, most requiring some form of
response. Employees said that they were starting their work day earlier and
staying later in an effort to keep up. While many experts believe that the
growth of information is causing people to work smarter and faster --
several academic studies have reached different conclusions when it comes to
the effect on productivity "People are treated like they are machines that
are on all the time," said economist Paula Rayman, director of the Radcliffe
Public Policy Institute that also has interviewed workers on this subject.
"All these workers wanted 'sacred time' -- time during the day with no
interruptions...You absolutely need uninterrupted time to get your work
done. If you are constantly bombarded with messages, you never get your real
work done."
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