BROADBAND
Isolated Western County Gambles With All-Encompassing Broadband
(WSJ)
Hollywood Moves to Rent Movies Online (WP)
SPECTRUM
Unclog the Wireless Pipelines (WP)
JOURNALISM
Industry Standard Says It Will Cease Publication (NYT)
Women's Group Decries Possible CNN-Limbaugh Union (WIRED)
HEALTH
Computer Systems Help Underserved Cancer Patients (Yahoo)
BROADBAND
ISOLATED WESTERN COUNTY GAMBLES WITH ALL-ENCOMPASSING BROADBAND
Issue: Broadband
Grant County, Washington, has embarked on an unusual all-fiber program after
growing frustrated with its local phone and cable providers -- Qwest
Communications International, Verizon Communications and Northland Cable
Television of Seattle -- which offer only limited broadband service here.
The county initiated ZIPP, Zealous Innovators of Public Power, a $120
million plan to run fiber optic cable to the doors of all houses and
businesses. Web surfers will be capable of hitting speeds as much as 1,000
times as fast as users of dial-up modems, and as much as 40 times as fast as
the corporate connections supplied by so-called T1 phone lines. Residents
will have access to hundreds of TV channels provided by independent
providers, as well as a choice of high-speed Internet services and calling
plans. "This is a dangerous concept for a little county like Grant," says
Bill Judge, one of two utility commissioners who advocated a far more modest
fiber rollout. Mr. Judge fears the utility will have to raise electricity
rates to fund the project, something officials have pledged not to do.
"We're looking at $37,500 a mile for fiber, and that makes it very
uneconomical as far as I'm concerned," says Mr. Judge.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dennis K. Berman]
(http://www.wsj.com)
(Subscription Required)
See Also:
MUNICIPAL NETWORKS BECOME RIVALS FOR FIBER-OPTIC TELECOM COMPANIES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Armstrong And Dennis K. Berman]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB997994882189011453.htm)
(requires subscription)
HOLLYWOOD MOVES TO RENT MOVIES ONLINE
Issue: Broadband
Five major movie studios have unveiled plans for a joint venture with Sony
Moviefly to bring recent movie releases to home computers. The service,
which will be available only to those with high-speed Internet connections,
would allow digital rentals to be downloaded from a central site to a
computer. The alliance is an attempt by the movie industry to head off some
of the piracy problems that have plagued the music industry through services
like Napster. The studios that will be partners in the service are MGM,
Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures.
Fox and Disney have made signs that they intend to announce their own
separate video services. The average digitized feature film is about 500
megabytes, taking 20 minutes to 40 minutes to download depending on the type
of broadband connection. A film will remain on a computer's hard drive for
30 days but will erase itself 24 hours after it is first run.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Rick Lyman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/technology/17STUD.html)
(Registration Required)
SPECTRUM
UNCLOG THE WIRELESS PIPELINES
Issue: Spectrum
[Op-Ed] According to Michael Calabrese, "the American people collectively
own the most valuable resource in the emerging information economy: the
airwaves, also known as the electromagnetic spectrum." Specifically, Mr.
Calabrese is referring to the prime frequencies that allow signals to
penetrate buildings and bad weather - spectrum that can be used for powerful
"third generation" (3G) wireless applications. He suggests that a
substantial share of any revenue from licensing these valuable airwaves
should be returned to the public in the form of a "digital opportunity fund"
- a fund that could be used to update America's educational and civic
infrastructure for the digital era.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Michael Calabrese, director of the Public
Assets Program at the New America Foundation.]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/A22923-2001Aug16.html)
JOURNALISM
INDUSTRY STANDARD SAYS IT WILL CEASE PUBLICATION
Issue: Journalism
The Industry Standard, often considered to be of the best news-oriented
new-economy publications, has announced that its most recent issue will be
its last. In its heyday a little more than a year ago, the company employed
about 400 people and brought in $140 million in ad-revenue , allowing the
magazine to turn a profit in its third year of existence - a rare feat in
the magazine business. But advertising declined 75 percent in the first half
of this year, and the magazine was on track to lose $50 million on revenue
of $40 million, these executives said. The magazine's Web site,
www.thestandard.com, is expected to continue in the immediate future,
operating with a skeleton crew of journalists and technicians.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer And Alex Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/business/media/17MAG.html)
(requires registration)
WOMEN'S GROUP DECRIES POSSIBLE CNN-LIMBAUGH UNION
Issue: Journalism
The National Organization for Women, a leading feminist group, has asked CNN
to drop its plans to air conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, saying such
a union would be "the scariest media merger yet." NOW President Kim Gandy
urged CNN against "bringing Limbaugh's bigoted rantings to the cable news
market...CNN's image will be forever tarnished by giving someone like
Limbaugh an even bigger microphone." In the past week it has been widely
reported that CNN has courted Limbaugh to host his own show. Asked by a
caller on his show earlier this week if the reports were true, Limbaugh
replied, "Am I talking to CNN? No, I am listening."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/reuters/story?story_id=20010816RTENTERTAINMENT-ME
DIA-LIMBAUGH-DC.htmlt)
HEALTH
COMPUTER SYSTEMS HELP UNDERSERVED CANCER PATIENTS
Issue: Health
A Computer-based support systems for breast cancer patients has demonstrated
the potential for similar systems to aid patients by providing them with
increased access to information, greater social support and enhanced
participation in their healthcare, according to a new study. The University
of Wisconsin-Madison developed and tested CHESS, the Comprehensive Health
Enhancement Support System, in a study of 246 newly diagnosed breast cancer
patients. The women were randomly assigned to either a study group, which
had CHESS at home for 6 months, or a comparison group that did not
participate in CHESS but received a copy of Dr. Susan Love's book on breast
cancer. After two months of using the Chess system, the study group rated
themselves as feeling an increase level of comfort with their involvement in
their treatment; a higher level of confidence in their healthcare provider;
and scored nearly 5 points higher on a scale that evaluated their level of
competence dealing with information, the report indicates. CHESS benefited
minority women more than white women, both in terms of meeting previously
unmet needs and allowing women to participate in their own healthcare, the
report indicates. The system also held greater benefits for the uninsured
and the less educated. ``Because such systems are effective, it is even more
important to close the digital divide,'' Gustafson said. ``Underserved
people lack access to other health and social resources,'' he said. ``If
computers can help them compensate for that lack of access they could have a
tremendous impact on the empowerment and quality of life of underserved
populations.''
{SOURCE: Yahoo News, AUTHOR: Charnicia E. Huggins]
(http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010816/hl/computer_1.html)
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