INTERNET
Internet Replacing Libraries for Homework (Yahoo!)
U.N. Body Urges Stronger Rules on Cybersquatters (NYT)
COMPUTERS
Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Compaq in $25 Billion Deal (NYT)
Motorola Unveils New High-Speed Chip Technology (WP)
TELEVISION
As Cable Applies Pressure, Network TV Spouts Expletives (NYT)
INTERNET
INTERNET REPLACING LIBRARIES FOR HOMEWORK
Issue: EdTech
According to a study released Saturday, a majority of U.S. teenagers are
forsaking their local libraries for the ease of completing homework research
at home, online. According to the survey conducted by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project, seventy-one percent of middle school and high school
students with Internet access said they relied on the electronic technology
the most in completing a project. That compares to 24 percent who said they
relied on libraries the most. The Pew study found that of students aged
12-17, 73 percent, or 17 million children, have Internet access. Of the 754
students surveyed, 94 percent, said they use the Internet for school
research and 78 percent said the Internet helped them with their homework.
Additionally, 41 percent of online teens said they use e-mail and instant
messaging to contact teachers or classmates about homework. The Pew study
did warn of the increased ease for cheating. "Cutting and pasting text from
a Web site and into a (research) paper is effortless. So is wholesale
copying or purchasing finished essays or reports," the study said.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010901/ts/education_usa_dc_1.html)
U.N. BODY URGES STRONGER RULES ON CYBERSQUATTERS
Issue: Intellectual Property
The United Nations' intellectual property agency, the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), proposed broader rules Monday to protect
high-profile figures and international organizations from misuse of their
names on the Internet. A year-long study conducted by the WIPO showed that
countries, geographical names, ethnic groups and pharmaceutical substances
needed more protection from "cybersquatters" who register Web sites under
names to which they have no genuine claim. Currently, the WIPO administers a
dispute settlement system that only applies to sites using names that are
trade-marked and so have commercial value, or that are so well-known they
have common-law trademark rights.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-internet.html
(requires registration)
COMPUTERS
HEWLETT-PACKARD TO ACQUIRE COMPAQ IN $25 BILLION DEAL
Issue: Merger
Hewlett-Packard said late last night that it was acquiring Compaq Computer
for $25 billion in stock, as both companies face shrinking sales. The merger
of the two companies would produce a new company with total revenue slightly
less than IBM, the largest computer company. The merger of Compaq and
Hewlett-Packard could create a company that would compete with IBM and Sun
in servers even as it puts pressure on IBM, Dell and Gateway in the personal
computer business. Under the deal, one Compaq share will be exchanged for
0.6325 Hewlett- Packard share, providing a premium of around 18 percent.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sorkin & Norris]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/04/technology/04DEAL.html)
MOTOROLA UNVEILS NEW HIGH-SPEED CHIP TECHNOLOGY
Issue: Technology
Motorola unveiled breakthrough technology on Tuesday that blends the
low-cost virtues of silicon computer chips with speed-of-light optics to
create faster chips. Motorola announced its research arm has found a way to
combine silicon, the basis of most computer chips, with gallium arsenide, an
alternative chip-making material, to create an optical chip that is durable,
cost-effective, and runs at higher speeds. University research groups and
semiconductor companies have been racing to develop a chip that combines the
two. "What we've fundamentally done is change the whole foundation of the
high-tech industry," Dennis Roberson, Motorola's chief technology officer,
told Reuters in an interview ahead of the announcement. "What we're now able
to do is to marry the best characteristics of silicon ... with the high
performance and optical characteristics of (new materials)," Roberson said.
The silicon-gallium arsenide wafer is one-tenth the cost of a pure gallium
arsenide wafer, but it performs just as fast, he said. Currently such chips
are used in devices such as DVD players. Consumers could see the prices of
some electronics equipment, like DVD players, fall as a result of the
breakthrough. If the chips were adapted for personal computers, the new chip
would allow manufacturers to better integrate communications functions.
[SOURCE: Wasington Post, AUTHOR: Yukari Iwatani, Reuters]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12285-1.html)
TELEVISION
AS CABLE APPLIES PRESSURE, NETWORK TV SPOUTS EXPLETIVES
Issue: Television
As the competition grows between broadcast television and cable, which is
increasingly wooing away audiences with adult content, the major TV networks
are pushing the boundaries of primetime. While the networks still have to
appeal to the largest audiences possible and operate under the decency
standards enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, cable channels
that do not face similar restriction. In recent months, anything- goes cable
programs like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" on HBO, have attracted
large audiences, pressuring broadcasters to follow suit. With the launch of
the fall season, networks likely continue to walk a very fine line, as they
attempt to lure viewers and advertisers with edgy content without trampling
on the standards of censors and the public.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/business/media/02DIRT.html
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