DIGITAL DIVIDE
Computer Graveyard Gives PCs New Life (WP)
TELEPHONY
AT&T Joins Rivals By Lowering Rate For Long Distance (NYT)
FCC Releases Report on Local Competition (FCC)
INTERNET & POLITICS
Internet Transforming U.S. Politics (USA)
HEALTH ONLINE
The Doctor Is Online (WP)
Seniors Eager to Log On (WP)
SATELLITES
ChinaCast Plans to Roll Out Satellite-Based Net Service (WSJ)
European Banks Use Satellites for At-Home Digital-TV Services (WSJ)
INFOTECH
Digital Books on the Web Move Closer to the Market (WSJ)
The Info Culture: Little Realities (ChiTrib)
JOURNALISM
Proposal For The Press: Self-Restraint (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
COMPUTER GRAVEYARD GIVES PCS NEW LIFE
Issue: Digital Divide
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Computers for Learning program retools
and redistributes used government computers to schools and nonprofit
education groups. The program, launched by Vice President Gore two years
ago, coordinates the revamping and updating of outdated computers donated
from 17 government agencies. Receiving up to 1,000 computers per week, the
program strives to place working computers with school districts and
nonprofit education groups. Nonprofits and schools register their requests
at the programs Web site (www.computers.fed.gov). The staff of the program
attempt to meet each request, with priority given to schools with high
student-to-computer ratios, high percentages of students in assisted lunch
programs and similar criteria that demonstrate the recipient might not be
otherwise able to afford the machines. Before being shipped to their
destinations, each computer is repaired, upgraded and prepared for
immediate use at its destination. In the DC Metro area alone nearly 600
organizations have registered.
[SOURCE Washington Post, A11B, AUTHOR Khiota Therrien]
(http//www.washingtonpost.com)
TELEPHONY
AT&T JOINS RIVALS BY LOWERING RATE FOR LONG DISTANCE
Issue: Telephony
A price war appears to breaking out among the nation's long distance
carriers. AT&T has just introduced a new rate plan that offers calls at 7
cents/minute anytime for a $5.95 monthly fee. This offer comes on the
heels of recent announcements by MCI/Worldcom and Sprint of 5 minutes on
evenings and weekends. "We have to be responsive to the pricing pressures,"
said Eugene Lockhart, president of AT&T consumer services. The new price
war is driven in part by the dropping cost of providing long distance. The
Federal Communications Commission has recently ordered a 4.5% reduction in
the fees that long-distance carriers pay to local phone companies on both
ends of a call. The recent price cuts do not necessarily mean reduced
profit margins for carriers. Long-distance companies find that they can
make considerable profits from international calls, long distance, and
calling cards, the cost of which are often overlooked by consumers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/att-rates.html)
See Also:
AT&T UNVEILS SEVEN-CENT PLAN AMID AN ESCALATING PRICE WAR
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB936018442269757535.htm)
FCC RELEASES REPORT ON LOCAL COMPETITION
Issue: Competition
The FCC has released a report titled _Local Competition: August 1999_. The
report is the first update to the Local Competition report released by the
Industry Analysis Division in December 1998. As did the initial report, the
new report presents and updates available statistical material, data from
Common Carrier Bureau surveys, and information mined from other public
sources. It also discusses preliminary statistical analyses of the effects
of demographic and regulatory factors on the pattern of competitive entry
into local telephone markets. New data contained in the report indicate that
local competition is becoming more geographically widespread. By the end of
1998, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) had acquired the numbering
resources necessary to provide services over their own facilities in all
states. As of the end of June, there remained only 18 of the nation's 193
local access and transport areas (LATAs) where CLECs had not yet obtained
such resources. Also, CLEC use of incumbent local exchange company (ILEC)
services and facilities continues to increase. At year-end 1998, the largest
ILECs as a group provided about 2% of their lines to CLECs on a resale basis
(up from about 1% a year earlier). The number of ILEC unbundled local loops
leased to CLECs almost tripled between 1997 and 1998, to a still-small 0.2%
of total ILEC lines. CLECs were, however, reported to be collocated in
switching centers serving almost half of major ILEC total customers. For
additional information, contact the Industry Analysis Division, Common
Carrier Bureau, at (202) 418-0940, or for users of TTY equipment, call (202)
418-0484. [Full text of report is available at
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Reports/FCC-State_Link/IAD/lcomp9
9-1.pdf)]
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9061.html)
INTERNET & POLITICS
INTERNET TRANSFORMING U.S. POLITICS
Issue: Political Discourse
Politics on the Web is just beginning to show its potential. For example,
during the Clinton impeachment process, a husband and wife duo generated
over 500,000 petitions and raised an astounding $13 million to help defeat
lawmakers trying to impeach the President. There are two sides to the
e-politics fence -- some believe e-politics will transform the entire
political system by removing boundaries and costs. On the other hand, many
feel like the geographical boundaries are there to stay and that e-politics
will only be an addition to the system of democracy. John Phillips,
president of a political fund-raising software company, said that by the
2004 election, as much as 80% of all money raised could flow through
electronic channels. Former Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) is raising money
through his Web site and had to get the Federal Elections Commission (FEC)
to re-interpret a rule for matching funds: now credit-card transactions will
qualify. The Internet is causing the FEC to change its rules in several
areas. But the biggest concern with using the Web as a form for activism and
democracy is that online demographics not yet mirror the nation. Those with
Internet access are better-educated, more affluent and more likely to be
white and urban than the population as a whole. An estimated 70 million
Americans are online, but while one-fourth of U.S. households had Internet
access by the end of last year, there is a widening information gap between
those "haves" and "have nots," according to a Commerce Department study.
[SOURCE: USA Today, 1A, AUTHOR: Cathy Lynn Grossman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/acovtue.htm)
HEALTH ONLINE
THE DOCTOR IS ONLINE
Issue: Health
A Harris poll released this month indicates that as many as 70 million U.S.
adults have searched the Web for health information in the past 12 months.
Consolation, consultations, advice, tips, miracle treatments, drug data and
doctor directories all fall under the auspices of health information that
is usually free, unfiltered and immediately accessible. However, there is
little evidence yet that the deluge of information is leading to better
care. Estimates for the number of health-related Web sites hover above
15,000. CyberDialogue, an Internet research firm, estimates that more than
half the adults scanning online health information are looking for
disease-related content, most often about cancer.The biggest problem, say
experts, is that a significant number of sites provide false and outdated
information or information that hasn't been reviewed by scientists for
accuracy. Last fall, FTC officials joined counterparts from two dozen
countries to identify 1,200 sites and newsgroups promoting dubious cures
and treatments. Online watchdogs such as www.quackwatch.com and Drkoop.com
have sections that identify what they consider questionable products and
ratings of health sites, respectively. Experts have raised ethical and
legal questions about whether e-mails constitute professional advice. Aside
from its extensive and primary function of serving as a monolithic
database, the Internet is also changing the delivery, speed and business of
health care. Doctors are mixed in their reception to online information
with some saying it requires more time, which they already don't have
enough of. Additionally, doctors who are paid a flat fee or a fee based on
patient enrollment in the health plan may find emailing a patient
cost-effective while doctors who are paid based on the number of patients
they see, may not.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: John P. Martin]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/daily/aug99/webhealth0831.htm)
See also:
OF FACT, FICTION AND MEDICAL WEB SITES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jane Brody]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/083199hth-brody.html)
SENIORS EAGER TO LOG ON
Issue: Health
Senior citizens are heading to the Internet in increasing numbers to search
for health care information, resources and options on everything from
cutting-edge treatments to prescription drugs. While this segment of
society has been the slowest age group to embrace the Internet with only 22
percent of people 50 years of age or older people online, according to an
America Online/Roper Starch study published last December. "There is a
tremendous increase in purchases of computers and entry into the Internet
by people over the age of 55. A primary reason for wanting to get on the
Internet is to get health information," Terrie Wetle, deputy director of
the National Institute on Aging, said. One problem for senior citizens
using the Internet is the need for acute vision which is required to use
technology and which can deteriorate with age. Simplified Web sites without
blinking text and large-size icons are best for older people. There is also
concern based on the type of information senior citizens find on the
Internet, how the information is filtered by particular Web sites, whether
seniors are getting good or bad information, and how seniors can be taught
to make distinctions among the types of information they view. A value of
the Internet for seniors looking for health information is that it allows
them to become a more active and informed participant in their health care
options.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Judy Licht]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/daily/aug99/webseniors0831.htm)
SATELLITES
CHINACAST PLANS TO ROLL OUT SATELLITE-BASED NET SERVICE
Issue: Satellite/Internet Access
ChinaCast, a China-based Internet company, said yesterday that it plans to
offer Chinese customers Turbo 163, a high-speed Internet service via
satellite by year's end. The service will initially be aimed mostly at
corporate users. The service will be offered through a joint venture with
China Telecom, one of ChinaCast's major shareholders, and available in more
than 300 cities across China where China Telecom now provides Internet
access. ChinaCast hopes to reach 800,000 users in China, or 20% of China
Telecom's Internet-access customers, within 18 months, said ChinaCast
President Lu Rui Feng. Turbo 163 will be the first nationwide broadband
Internet service in China; now only users in a few large cities, such as
Qingdao and Guangzhou, can get broadband access. The company also hopes to
develop its own content for delivery to Chinese homes and offices via
broadband networks. ChinaCast should have plenty of competition from other
providers of satellite-based Net access. Hong Kong-based Pacific Century
CyberWorks, expects to launch such a service in the first quarter of next
year, targeting China and India.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Connie Ling]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB93603355511305585.htm)
EUROPEAN BANKS USE SATELLITES FOR AT-HOME DIGITAL-TV SERVICES
Issue: Satellite/Television
Some estimates say that by 2003 interactive television will be available to
almost 70 million people in Europe and the U.S. Europe's HSBC Holdings will
attempt to penetrate that market early by launching digital television
banking within the next two months. People will be able to transfer cash and
pay bills as easily as switching channels. "There's none of that http
backslash stuff that you need to type if you are trying to look for
something on the Internet," said Paul Seward, head of strategic development
at HSBC. "My mother could use this." TPS and France Telecom have launched
interactive banking in France and Bancaria de Espana and Banco Cilbao have
begun interactive services in Spain. Seward believes that a lot of
behavioral changes are required to move to this new technology. The
long-term strategy is to make customers reliant on the technology so they
stop using banks -- this way banks can cut their overhead by eliminating
jobs and piling the resources into Internet
banking.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A17, AUTHOR: Eric Portanger]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB93597041870211621.htm)
INFOTECH
DIGITAL BOOKS ON THE WEB MOVE CLOSER TO THE MARKET
Issue: Publishing
A logjam is breaking in digital publishing. Fatbrain Inc will announce today
one of the most ambitious Web clearinghouses for distributing books in
electronic form. Besides serving as a new distribution channel for
conventional publishers, Fatbrain plans to let authors publish their own
works on the site, setting their own book prices and keeping half the
profits. Adobe and Xerox are working on a system to protect electronic works
-- as is Microsoft; the companies are trying to design system that will
allow consumers to buy electronic or paper versions of books -- or both.
"The publishing industry is at a crossroads," declares Dick Brass, a
Microsoft vice president in charge of technology development. "By 2020, 50%
of everything we read will be in electronic form."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B1, AUTHOR: Don Clark]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB936058632716195956.htm)
THE INFO CULTURE: LITTLE REALITIES
Issue: InfoTech
Keller introduces Sneaky Truths About Technology In Culture (STATIC). People
don't use cell phones to convey essential information; they use them to show
off. Palm Pilot is more fun to say than to use. That study about Internet
"addicts" had all the scientific validity of designating someone a
"shopoholic." Despite all its promise, the Web is rapidly becoming one big,
pesky bulletin board, relieved by the occasional wacky home page created by
people named either Chuck or Ed. Friends don't let friends create home pages
and then insist that everyone look at it. Bill Gates' contribution of
computers to public libraries is like a drug dealer pitching in at the local
methadone clinic. Technology jokes [esp telecommunications jokes buried in
news summaries] aren't funny; people just laugh because they are afraid to
look "unhip." Has anyone actually met a real Luddite? If Luddites collected
royalties every time their name was invoked in a belittling reference to
anyone who expresses the slightest reservation about technology, they'd be
millionaires. [Aren't they all working for the IRS?]
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec5, p.3), AUTHOR: Julia Keller]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-990
8310260,FF.html)
JOURNALISM
PROPOSAL FOR THE PRESS: SELF-RESTRAINT
Issue: Journalism
[Op-Ed] The public's distrust of the media has resulted in an economic
backlash -- reduced readership and audiences. Now some wonder if the
public's dissatisfaction with the media will become a legal threat to the
media as well. A recent Freedom Forum poll looked at public views on the
First Amendment guarantee of a free press and found that more than half
those surveyed said the press has "too much freedom." Nearly a third said
the First Amendment "goes too far in the
rights it guarantees." This view is supported by other studies, including
one earlier this year by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
-- respondents saying the media protect democracy dropped from 54 percent in
1985 to 45 percent. Additionally, 38 percent said that the media hurt
democracy, up from only 23 percent in 1985. Experts also point to huge libel
verdicts now given in response to media mistakes. "The American press is
schooled to maintain independence and to brave criticism in the interest of
the free flow of information. But too often
these days we just look as if we're ignoring criticism in order to go on
behaving shabbily. The result is erosion of the support that makes freedom
of the press possible."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Geneva Overholser]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/31/022l-083199-idx.html)
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