MEDIA & SOCIETY
The Y2K Social Disease (NYT)
Wireless Revolution Turning U.S. Into Nation of Phone-ies (Trib)
One Minority Has Managed to Find a Place on Television and
in Film (ChiTrib)
E-COMMERCE
Capital Dispatch: Internet Tax Panel Gets Down to Work (CyberTimes)
Japan's Fujitsu Looks to America Online as Model in Attempt to
Become a Leader in E-Commerce (WSJ)
Old Line Consulting Firms Become the Internet Mavericks (Cyber)
Buying Stamps Can Now Mean Just a Trip to the Computer (NYT)
INTERNET
Capital Dispatch: The Week Ahead (CyberTimes)
Capital Dispatch: Anti-Cybersquatting Bill Clears Senate (CyberTimes)
Qwest to Combine Internet Access, Long Distance (WSJ)
Medical Web Sites Can Steer You Wrong (WP)
Advertising: Siren Calls Sought for Conde Nast's Web of Sites (NYT)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
Capital Dispatch: Groups Identify Ten "Most Wanted" Documents
(CyberTimes)
BUDGET ISSUES
Capital Dispatch: Republicans Backtrack on Research Tax Credit
(CyberTimes)
LEGAL ISSUES
Ticketmaster Sues Again Over Links (CyberTimes)
Times Co. and Amazon Settle a Legal Dispute (NYT)
Telecom Venture of Siemens and Citic Skirts Chinese Ban With
Unusual Step (WSJ)
SECURITY
Capital Dispatch: Task Force to Study Net Crime (CyberTimes)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
THE Y2K SOCIAL DISEASE
Issue: Lifestyles!
Friedman writes that he has the story of the century because it is the story
of the *next* 100 years: overconnectedness. This is the real Y2K virus for
developed countries. It is the anxiety that is going to be produced when
telecommunications combines with the "Evernet" -- the technology that will
soon allow people to get on line from their watches, their cars, their
toasters or their Walkmans -- so that everyone will be able to be connected
all the time, everywhere. The Internet is shrinking both time and distance
which is great for business, but it's socially claustrophobic. When was the
last time someone said, 'Let me sleep on that'? Like computer servers, we're
always on now. What happens when we're always connected is that the boundary
between work and play disappears. He concludes: There's no such thing as
"quality time" with your kids. There's only quantity time, and that's what
overconnectedness threatens to destroy -- if we let it. So please, don't
call me. I'll call you -- at the office.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A19), AUTHOR: Thomas Friedman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/friedman/081099frie.html)
WIRELESS REVOLUTION TURNING U.S. INTO NATION OF PHONE-IES
Issue: Lifestyles!/Wireless
A look at some people who are just not connected through one cell phone, but
multiple phones. As the country converts to a cell phone nation, just about
anyone will be seven, 10 or a dozen (international long distance) digits
away from the rest of the world, said Northwestern University sociologist
Bernard Beck. "Anyone will be able to find you," said Beck, an expert on
popular culture. "You can run, but you cannot hide because the cell phone
goes with you. And then the notion will emerge that if you leave it behind,
you will be blamed for not taking it with you." Driven by falling prices,
cell phone penetration and use keeps climbing. "Unlike the Internet, cell
phone users are spread across all demographic groups," said Gerald Celente,
director of Trends Research Institute. At least 25 Americans sign up for
cell phone service every minute -- or about 37,000 a day, according to
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association figures. About 80 million
Americans own or use cell phones, up from 69 million last year, the
Washington-based trade group said. Four years from now that number will
double, according to industry estimates. We always had to go to `it'--the
phone that is," said Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association. "It interrupted dinner or you had
to go to a phone booth. The phone now comes to us. Not only is that personal
freedom, it is an empowerment of our potential and how we use communication."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (p.1), AUTHOR: Patrick Cole]
(http://chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-9908100295,F
F.html)
ONE MINORITY HAS MANAGED TO FIND A PLACE ON TELEVISION AND IN FILM
Issue: Media & Society
As the television industry is criticized for a lack of racial minorities on
the screen, gay characters seem to be finding a niche in both TV and movies.
Bryan Caldwell, co-senior vice president of marketing for Fine Line
Features, says "We're not going after the Guns & Ammo crowd, but there's no
question this film delivers on many, many levels. Upscale, educated
consumers have come to terms with the fact that there are alternative
lifestyles, and they've become more open-minded. With the growth of
independent films, it's not just about gay cinema anymore, it's about
intelligent, character-driven movies."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 5, p.1), AUTHOR: Gary Dretzka]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-990
8100021,FF.html)
E-COMMERCE
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
INTERNET TAX PANEL GETS DOWN TO WORK
Issue: Ecommerce
The group charged with recommending tax policy for the Internet agreed on a
five-point agenda for its next meeting to be held in New York Sept. 14 and
15: 1) whether U.S. lawmakers should remove legal roadblocks preventing
localities from taxing goods sold over the Internet or by catalog, 2) to
explore whether online and offline taxes should be the same, 3) whether to
impose new taxes on Internet access and 4) how international taxing schemes
will come into play. The group will hear witnesses and hopes to have a final
report ready by March.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
JAPAN'S FUJITSU LOOKS TO AMERICA ONLINE AS MODEL IN ATTEMPT TO BECOME A
LEADER IN E-COMMERCE
Issue: International
Fujitsu is the No.1 computer company in Japan and IBM is the No.1
computer manufacturer in the world. Both companies have focused in recent
years on computer services -- helping customers use technology rather than
merely selling them a box. But Fujitsu decided to take a different strategy
and took full ownership of Japan's largest online service provider, Nifty
Serve, in March of 1999. Since then, Fujitsu has unveiled a series of
e-commerce deals in banking, securities and online shopping -- comparing
itself now with AOL. "What we're aiming for is a portal service
like AOL in America," says Yuji Hirose, who heads Fujitsu's software and
services division. Banking is one of the services Fujitsu hopes will
attract the new users to "nifty." In July, Fujitsu and Sakura Bank
announced a joint venture to start Japan's first Internet-only bank. The
bank, in which Sakura will hold a 90% stake and Fujitsu 10%, will try to
lure customers by offering higher interest rates and lower fees, according
to Mr. Hirose. To save money, the Internet bank won't have any branches.
Some analysts believe Fujitsu will have a difficult time with the
transition from production to service -- as the company's estimate of 3.5
million nifty users is overblown because it includes customers who haven't
paid their bills in years and never use the service. Roger Boisvert, the
president of rival Internet provider Global OnLine Japan, says he was still
able to access his Nifty Serve account as of a year ago even though he had
stopped paying his bill seven years earlier.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A18, AUTHOR: Peter Landers]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934224153798186107.htm)
OLD LINE CONSULTING FIRMS BECOME THE INTERNET MAVERICKS
Issue: E-commerce
Andersen Consultants and other consulting companies are happy to
charge $700 an hour to help people make their Web sites happen. Other firms
like Ernst & Young, A.T. Kearney and PricewaterhouseCoopers are also
turning into self-appointed Internet gurus and going after the same
customers around the world. The companies' Web sites compete for the most
imaginative packaging of guidelines for success in e-commerce. These
consultant models are working because corporations may be unwilling to
confront the electronic world. Most executives cannot imagine entrusting an
innovative but unproven startup with their future -- so they turn to big
consulting companies, which they have known for years as reliable auditors
or software integrators. Andersen Consulting is also putting serious energy
into human language technology and "v-commerce," or voice-driven commerce.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Bruno Giussani]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/eurobytes/10eurobytes.html)
BUYING STAMPS CAN NOW MEAN JUST A TRIP TO THE COMPUTER
Issue: Ecommerce
PC Postage, available nationwide, is the first new way to buy US postage
since the introduction of the postage meter in 1920. The E-Stamp Corp and
Stamps.com have been approved to sell their products nationally over the
Internet. Customers will use credit cards to pay for postage and will then
be able to print out a special bar code on envelopes. "Life just became a
little bit easier for those who mail," Pam Gibert, a Postal Service vice
president, said. "With PC Postage you can purchase and print postage 24
hours a day, 7 days a week."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A13), AUTHOR: Melody Petersen]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/10post.html)
See Also:
Digital stamps get Postal Service OK
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Deborah Claymon]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/postal081099.htm)
U.S. Postal Service Unveils PlanFor Firms to Sell Stamps Online
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A4, AUTHOR:Glenn Burkins]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934213775652415189.htm)
INTERNET
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
THE WEEK AHEAD
Issue: Internet/Domain Names
On Thursday, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) will hold a meeting to vote on a proposal to amend its bylaws.
ICANN will look at limiting its representation in one of its membership
groups -- the Domain Name Supporting Organization -- to just one person per
company. Network Solutions, which has nominated three people, prompted the
move.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
ANTI-CYBERSQUATTING BILL CLEARS SENATE
Issue: Legislation/Internet
Last week, the Senate passed a cybersquatting bill -- which has not yet
cleared the House -- that would impose fines of up to $100,000 per Internet
name on anyone who registers a domain name in "bad faith" by hoping to
profit from association with a trademark owned by someone else. Some say
the bill will give big companies an edge over small companies. Big
companies say they are tired of having to pay large amounts for a domain
name with their registered trademark. The Clinton Administration says it
opposes the measure. Meanwhile, the House Commerce Committee cleared two
bills to create a national framework to recognize digital signatures and to
extend copyright protection to electronic databases.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
QWEST TO COMBINE INTERNET ACCESS, LONG DISTANCE
Issue: Internet/Long Distance
Qwest Communications is expected to announce today an offer for unlimited
Internet access and 250 minutes of long-distance calling for $24.95/month.
This comes one day after MCI announced its five cents a minute long
distance plan. AT&T did not immediately match MCIWorldCom's offer. The
company stressed that its future is in selling bundles of services. "They
are just focused on price and long distance, but we think the industry is
well past that," an AT&T spokesman said. (That would be why Qwest is coming
out of the gates for bundling services.) Paul Wright, an analyst with
Loomis Sales in Boston, said long-distance companies might be gearing up
their best plans in anticipation of the entry of regional Bell operating
companies into the long-distance market. "This really is the beginning of
the war in a real way," Mr. Wright said.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B6, AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934240023639236010.htm)
MEDICAL WEB SITES CAN STEER YOU WRONG
Issue: Online Health
A team of researchers from the University of Michigan reviewed 400 Web
sites for information on a rare cancer, Erwing sarcoma, to find that 6% of
the sites contained erroneous information and many more were misleading.
One of the most basic statistics --the survival rate for people with this
form of cancer-- varied from 5% to 85%. The high rate could influence
people to refuse therapy in light of such a dismal prognosis or influence
people to undergo treatment with an organization that lists a lower
mortality rate. The report addressed the notion that patients today have
instant access to an overwhelming amount of information, some of it of
dubious validity. "I think the Internet is a really positive development,"
said J. Sybil Biermann, an orthopedic surgeon who led the study, but there
are perils in the lack of peer review and the promulgation of bad
information. When patients come in to discuss information with their
doctor, Biermann recommended doctors ask patients if they got the
information from the Internet. Then doctors can assess a patient's level of
understanding about the health matter being addressed, dispel
misinformation and provide guidance and support.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Z7), AUTHOR: Sandra G. Boodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/10/008l-081099-idx.html)
ADVERTISING: SIREN CALLS SOUGHT FOR CONDE NAST'S WEB OF SITES
Issue: Advertising
Conde Nast will pend more than $20 million to increase traffic to Conde
Net's Web sites. Conde Nast owns familiar magazines like Architectural
Digest, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Details, GQ, Glamour, Gourmet,
Mademoiselle, The New Yorker, Self and Vanity Fair. "The plethora of
dot-coms makes it hard to establish a brand," said Sarah Chubb, director for
Conde Net in New York. "We know who it is we want, but it's harder to get
them because of all that's out there. The idea is to communicate the
richness of the content to those who have not seen it before, and even to
those who have not been online before." The campaign will include television
and radio commercials, newspaper and magazine ads, postcards and posters.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C7), AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/10conde-ad-colum
n.html)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
GROUPS IDENTIFY TEN 'MOST WANTED' DOCUMENTS
Issue: Access to Government Information
The Center for Democracy and Technology and OMB Watch issued a list of the
"Ten Most Wanted" documents they want the government to place on the
Internet. Among these was the Congressional Research Service's reports on
public policy issues. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has filed a bill to make the
reports available to everyone on the Web. "Taxpayers have footed the bill
for these documents, and they have a right to see them," said Sen McCain.
Hundreds of reporters, librarians and researchers responded to a public
call for the "Ten Most Wanted" documents which also included Supreme Court
decisions, the Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Safety Database
and Congressional hearings.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
BUDGET ISSUES
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
REPUBLICANS BACKTRACK ON RESEARCH TAX CREDIT
Issue: Budget Issues
The latest tax bill the Republicans sent the President last week contained
only a five-year extension of the Research and Development tax credit
destined to serve the technology industry. Thirty top high-tech leaders
determined that a permanent extension of the credit was the best way to
maintain U.S. leadership in cutting-edge technology. President Clinton has
never opposed the R&D but has problems with larger issues surrounding the
proposed tax cuts. Democrats expressed surprise that the Republicans tax
legislation package was not able to find a permanent extension of the R&D
credit, as they have been touting themselves high-tech friendly.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
LEGAL ISSUES
TICKETMASTER SUES OVER LINKS
Issue: Legal Issues
Ticketmaster Online-City Search Inc. filed a suit last month against
Tickets.com Inc. saying it featured links that went deep into
Ticketmaster's own site, bypassing introductory pages and advertising.
Ticketmaster also said Tickets.com plagiarized editorial material and
misled customers about ticket availability at venues affiliated with
Ticketmaster. W. Thomas Gimple, president and chief executive of Ticket.com
said deep linking presents "a service to consumers and venues, and brings
customers to Ticketmaster. So we're a little puzzled about this."
Tickets.com bills itself as a clearinghouse that directs visitors of its
Web site to ticketing agents including Ticketmaster. In 1997, Ticketmaster
sued Microsoft's Sidewalk site for deep linking. Microsoft eventually conceded.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/articles/10tickets.html)
TIMES CO. AND AMAZON SETTLE A LEGAL DISPUTE
Issue: Legal Issues
Amazon and the New York Times have settled a dispute over the use NYTimes
best seller list by the online bookseller. Amazon agreed to list the
best-selling books in alphabetical order, post the lists after publication
in the newspaper and include disclaimers that the NYTimes was not affiliated
with Amazon. In turn, Amazon has agreed to continue providing weekly sales
data to the newspaper. "They didn't threaten to withhold their data, but it
was very clear to us that their data is of benefit to us," said Nancy
Nielsen, a spokeswoman for the Times Company. "So when we made the
settlement, it was written going forward that this was a quid pro quo." "The
bottom line is that this is an agreement that benefits the book-reading
public," said Bill Curry, a spokesman for Amazon. "You have a widely
recognized list of best sellers on line so that people can readily know that
these books are available at Amazon.com. And from The Times's perspective,
the integrity of the best-seller list" will be maintained "because it will
include sales data from the biggest seller of online books."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C7), AUTHOR: Doreen Carvajal]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/10times.html)
See Also:
AMAZON.COM, NEW YORK TIMES SETTLE DISPUTE OVER BESTSELLERS
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934210800893903188.htm)
TELECOM VENTURE OF SIEMENS AND CITIC SKIRTS CHINESE BAN WITH UNUSUAL STEP
Issue: International
Chinese law bars foreign ownership of telecom ventures. But the company Xin
De Telecom International Ventures has found a way around that law. It is a
joint venture between Siemens of Germany and China International Trade and
Investment (Citic). What the company does to get around the Chinese law is
act as a leasing agent. They have provided $180 million to China's second
largest telephone operator, China Unicom -- so they can lease mobile-phone
equipment from Siemens and expand into Chinese cities. The partnership is
"legal" in the sense that both companies are "Chinese" companies. China has
been trying to resolve issues of foreign investing and this has hobbled
their effort to join the World trade Organization, the global body that
sets up trading rules.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A19, AUTHOR: Ian Johnson]
(http://www.wsj.com)
SECURITY
CAPITAL DISPATCH:
TASK FORCE TO STUDY NET CRIME
Issue: Security
Attorney General Janet Reno will head a special task force designed to look
at unlawful uses of the global Internet network. Under observation will be
such issues as the illegal sale of guns, explosives, controlled substances
and prescription drugs online as well as fraud and child pornography. The
group was created by an executive order of the President to determine
whether to push for self-regulation and to identify areas where regulation
gaps exist. Besides Reno, the panel will include the director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms and the administrator of the Dug Enforcement
Administration.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/cyber/capital/10capital.html)
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