INTERNET
Gates Calls for a Cut in High-Speed Net Costs (WP)
Government Is Wary of Tracking Online Privacy (NYT)
IRS Accepts Payments on Web (WP)
JOURNALISM
Journal Newspapers to Stop Publishing on Mondays (WP)
INTERNET
GATES CALLS FOR A CUT IN HIGH-SPEED NET COSTS
Issue: Broadband
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called for government policy makers to meet
with representatives of the cable and telephone industries to determine a
means to provide broadband services at $30/month, rather than the current
cost of approximately $50/month. In an interview Gates said that the high
costs of high-speed Internet access threatened to limit the adoption of the
next generation of powerful Internet services. Gates stated that the
broadband problem was particularly frustrating because it is the one piece
of physical infrastructure of computing that is limiting the breakthroughs
in new applications, video display technologies and computing speed and
power.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49024-2001Sep5.html)
GOVERNMENT IS WARY OF TRACKING ONLINE PRIVACY
Issue: Privacy
While privacy is a major concern of Internet users, Congress and the
administration have been slow to put in place regulations that would
restrict the ability of companies to monitor people's online activities.
There are at least 50 privacy related bills awaiting consideration in
Congress, but they have taken a back seat to more pressing considerations,
like the appropriations process underway in the Senate. The current
administration is also more hesitant that the Clinton administration to
peruse privacy regulations. Privacy advocates say despite government's
inaction on Internet privacy, the issue isn't going to just disappear. Marc
Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center suggests that the
current patchwork of privacy policies be replaced "a legal framework that
sets out how these technologies are used."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.nytimes.com/pages/business/index.html)
(requires registration)
IRS ACCEPTS PAYMENTS ON THE WEB
ISSUE: E-Government
Individuals as well as companies can now pay all federal taxes on a secure
IRS Web site. The initiative, to be announced today as operational, gives
all U.S. taxpayers the ability to use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment
System (EFTPS) at http://www.eftps.gov. The site has already collected $1.9
billion in taxes during the past year's use by businesses in a pilot
program. "Unfortunately [technology] can't make taxes disappear, but
EFTPS-Online can make taxes less painful to pay," said Deputy Treasury
Secretary Ken Dam. The site places the IRS ahead of many gov't agencies in
making services available to the public online. Promised benefits for
taxpayers include: confirmation of receipt of payment in the form of a
printable acknowledgement number; direct transfer of payment from a bank
account on a specified date; ability to review tax payment history and
status, up to 365 days for individuals and 120 days for businesses; and
advance scheduling of payments.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E06), AUTHOR: Curt Anderson]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48990-2001Sep5.html)
JOURNALISM
JOURNAL NEWSPAPERS TO STOP PUBLISHING ON MONDAYS
Issue: Newspapers
Journal Newspapers INC. announced that it will cut its regional publications
from six days a week to five. Starting next week, the company will not end
publishing on Mondays, publishing instead Tuesday through Friday with a
Sunday edition delivered on Saturday. The firm publishes six regional daily
newspapers in Arlington, Prince William, Montgomery and Prince George's
counties and Alexandria, VA. "It's primarily a financial situation," said
David Farmer, executive Editor of the Journals. "The Monday paper has not
been profitable since the economy turned down." The Journal dailies compete
with an number of weekly and daily newspapers in the area, including Gazette
Newspapers, published by the Washington Post Co. "They would be the first
daily newspaper I know of that doesn't publish on a Monday," said Larry
Grimes, president of WB Grimes & Co., a firm specializing in the media
industry.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E04), AUTHOR: Dana Hedgpeth]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48983-2001Sep5.html)
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