INTERNET
Short Take: Helping Frail Elderly Get Plugged In (SJM)
Four of 13 Servers That Manage Web Traffic Failed for
Brief Period (WSJ)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Profiteers Get Squat For Web Names (USA)
Hollywood To Home Viewer: We Own You (WP)
JOBS
A Telephone Contract Set, Service Is Next (NYT)
Layoffs At Web Firms Continue, But So Does Aggressive Hiring (WSJ)
TELEVISION
'Survivor' Puts CBS in Land of Superlatives (NYT)
INTERNATIONAL
In Europe, Wireless Mergers Losing Ground to Alliances (NYT)
INTERNET
SHORT TAKE: HELPING FRAIL ELDERLY GET PLUGGED IN
Issue: Digital Divide
In 1998 David Lansdale of Palo Alto founded LinkingAges (www.linkages.net),
a small program to enhance communication opportunities for elderly people.
Lansdale, who has taught basic Net skills to about 200 elders, says a
"significant barrier for this population is the technology isn't
user-friendly." Despite the barriers, Lansdale says that a sense of "social
connectedness" is driving many seniors to take the leap and get online.
After seeing how the Internet can improve the lives of the seniors he works
with, Lansdale says what he'd "like to see is one Internet access device in
every nursing home in the country."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: David Plotnikoff]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/short082500.htm)
FOUR OF 13 SERVERS THAT MANAGE WEB TRAFFIC FAILED FOR BRIEF PERIOD
Issue: Internet
Four of the 13 computers that manage global Internet traffic partially
failed for a brief period Wednesday night due to a technical glitch.
Engineers at Network Solutions, which runs the primary "A" root server from
its offices in northern Virginia, worked to determine why the servers
briefly stopped responding to requests for links to Web sites ending in
"com." Web addresses ending in other routing suffixes, such as "org" and
"net" were unaffected, officials said. A Network Solutions vice president,
Mark Rippe, called it "a *MAJOR, MAJOR* incident" and "our problem."
Although the Internet theoretically can operate with only a single root
server, its performance would slow if more than four root servers failed for
any appreciable length of time. Network Solutions, the Defense Department,
the University of Southern California and an organization in Japan control
the four root servers that failed.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Ted Bridis]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB967158401194326837.htm)
(Requires subscription)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
PROFITEERS GET SQUAT FOR WEB NAMES
Issue: Intellectual Property
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of the United Nations
tackles 200 intellectual property complaints against cybersquatters per
month. Since it began hearing cases in December, the WIPO has sided with
plaintiffs about 80% of the time. Entrepreneurs who bought URLs containing
the names of celebrities and conglomerates several years ago hoping to make
large profits are now being forced to surrender their closely guarded
addresses. Profiteers recently lost Web addresses bearing the names of Julia
Roberts, Ally McBeal, Jimi Hendrix, Yahoo, ESPN and the World Wrestling
Federation.
[SOURCE: USAToday (1B), AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000825/2584939s.htm)
HOLLYWOOD TO HOME VIEWER: WE OWN YOU
Issue: Intellectual Property
Last Thursday, a judge in New York City ruled that a magazine cannot post
DeCSS, a software that unlocks the encryption on DVDs, on its Web site, or
link to other sites that offer it. The lawsuit is illustrative of a trend in
the entertainment industry to put tighter and tighter locks on its products.
Businesses, from books to music to movies, fear that the digital versions of
their products can be copied infinitely with no loss in quality. In an
effort to protect themselves in the digital world, some
say that the entertainment industry is attempting to take away rights held
by consumers in the analog world. An example is a paperback book, which can
be lent to friends, but e-book programs won't let you do the same with an
electronic text. "The studios mandate severe restrictions on
consumer-friendly features, like preventing fast-forwarding through
commercials, no copying of
any kind whatsoever, [making discs] only playable in certain regions in the
world, etc.," e-mailed Robin Gross, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's
staff counsel for intellectual property. She called this a "power grab of
unparalleled proportions."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Rob Pegoraro]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19743-2000Aug24.html)
JOBS
A TELEPHONE CONTRACT SET, SERVICE IS NEXT
Issue: Jobs
The 18-day Verizon strike is now over, but it will take twice as long for
the company to work through its backlog of repairs and orders. Customer
service reps and the company agreed to just 7.5 hours of forced overtime,
down from 15, resolving the last issue on the table. The union workers won
wage and benefit increases, stock options, greater job security and more
flexibility to organize in Verizon's fast-growing wireless division. Other
provisions of the settlement include coverage for obesity treatment,
discounted laser eye surgery, coverage for reproductive and fertility
treatment, adoption reimbursement, increased reimbursement for dental care
and a bilingual pay differential of 3.5 percent for workers who do jobs that
require more than one language.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Simon Romero]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/082500verizon-assess.html)
(requires registration)
See Also
VERIZON STRIKE REFLECTED DIFFICULTIES FACING LARGE TELECOM COMPANIES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Yochi J. Dreazen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB967162998638018521.htm)
(requires subscription)
LAYOFFS AT WEB FIRMS CONTINUE, BUT SO DOES AGGRESSIVE HIRING
Issue: Jobs
Despite the sharp rise in layoffs (11,785 since December) in the "dot-com"
sector, demand remains high for workers who can build and develop Web sites
and Web content and create online marketing programs, according to
outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. In its third consecutive
monthly survey of the "dot-com" sector, Challenger said the number of job
cuts at dot-com companies has jumped 55%. Layoffs have quadrupled since the
dot-com craze came to a screeching halt earlier this year, resulting in the
failure of some prominent Web start-ups,
such as online retailers Boo.com and Walt Disney Co.-backed Toysmart. But
the transferable high skills Internet workers possess gives them an edge in
rejoining the American workforce. "Dot-com employees are in a unique
situation in that their skills are in such high demand they will have almost
no trouble finding a new position," John Challenger said.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: WSJ.COM
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB96713026869170029.htm)
(Requires subscription)
TELEVISION
'SURVIVOR' PUTS CBS IN LAND OF SUPERLATIVES
Issue: Television
Over the last year, 2nd only to the Super Bowl. The 11th-most-watched
episode of a TV series in the history of television. 50+ million viewers.
CBS is ready to reap enormous payoffs for the 'Survivor' series, starting
with 'Survivor II," slated to start in January. That show will begin
immediately following the Super Bowl, which CBS will air, and may attract
the highest per-commercial price of any series on television in the coming
season. Advertisers are already lining up to extend traditional Super Bowl
advertising (to introduce new products and campaigns) into the first episode
of 'Survivor II.' The CBS station in New York saw a 200% increase in its
late local newscasts this summer and David Letterman scored his 3rd-highest
ranked show this year when Survivor contestants showed up to do the Top 10
list.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/082500survivor-ratings.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNATIONAL
IN EUROPE, WIRELESS MERGERS LOSING GROUND TO ALLIANCES
Issue: International/Wireless
With the prices for 3rd-generation spectrum licenses draining the checkbooks
of wireless companies, European wireless carriers are now considering
alliances instead of the billion dollar mergers we've grown accustomed to. A
number of high-profile mergers were blocked by politics and, frankly,
there's just fewer companies left to buy. For the former state-run
monopolies, there may not be much buying or selling until their government's
sell off their shares. "We wouldn't expect consolidation to take place at
the company level," said one analyst who asked not to be identified. "The
political hurdles are quite high. More likely, we will see consolidation on
the operational or divisional levels."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Kapner & Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/082500phone-mergers.html)
(requires registration)
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