DIGITAL DIVIDE
Mozambique Grapples With How To Make Sense Of Net Content
Poll Shows 'Digital Divide' Shrinking, Internet Use Up
Radio Sagarmatha: Broadcasting the Internet to Nepal
COPYRIGHT
PVRs Change The Broadcast Picture; Networks Sue Over Ad Skipping
BROADBAND
Revolution Will Not Be Televised
DIGITAL DIVIDE
MOZAMBIQUE GRAPPLES WITH HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF NET CONTENT
Mozambique's efforts to close the digital divide face the question, "What
comes first, the chicken or the egg?" Without content to drive usage, the
Internet remains largely the tool of the wealthier urban elite. But without
content that is useful to the poor majority, the user base is likely to grow
very slowly. Even if relevant content does become available, the poor
majority would have difficulty paying fees to support content-driven
business models.
[SOURCE: Balancing Act via Digital Opportunity Channel, AUTHOR: Artur
Manhica ]
(http://www.digitalopportunity.org/features/analysis/)
POLL SHOWS 'DIGITAL DIVIDE' SHRINKING, INTERNET USE UP
A survey conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University finds
that the digital divide between age groups is shrinking. Scripps Howard and
Ohio University have been tacking Internet usage since 1995 when 87 percent
of the adults surveyed said they did not use the Internet. At that time, the
majority of Internet users were under the age of 45. The latest poll,
conducted in 2001, found that more and more Americans over the age of 50 are
using the Internet regularly. The poll also found that 29 percent of
American adults log onto the Web every day. The survey found that half of
all people in households with incomes of $80,000 or more use the Internet
every day. In comparison, less than a quarter of those in households earning
less than $25,000 use the Internet.
[SOURCE: Modbee, AUTHOR: Thomas Hargrove and Guido H. Stempel III (Scripps
Howard News Service)]
(http://www.modbee.com/24hour/technology/story/496645p-3960930c.html)
RADIO SAGARMATHA: BROADCASTING THE INTERNET TO NEPAL
In a world where radio is being simulcast over the Internet, Radio
Sagarmatha is doing the exact opposite: it is broadcasting the Internet over
radio. Founded in 1997 by a group of environmental journalists, Kathmandu's
Radio Sagarmatha was the first community radio station to be established in
South Asia. Producer Gaurab Raj Upadhaya's popular show about information
and communication technologies experimented with live-broadcast of
announcers surfing of the Internet. This format had to dropped because of
the considerable amount air time wasted while Web sites slowly loaded. Other
segments explain Internet and technical jargon and feature discussion with
experienced Internet users ncluding journalists, businessmen and engineers.
[SOURCE: Digital Divide Network, AUTHOR: Shenaz Malik]
(http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=252)
COPYRIGHT
PVRs CHANGE THE BROADCAST PICTURE; NETWORKS SUE OVER AD SKIPPING
The personal video recorder (PVR) just passed the 1 million mark and sales
are speeding up. More and more consumers are attracted to the ease of
recording programs and pausing live broadcasts. Hollywood however, has
become more and more upset about the recording devices and recently filed a
suit against Sonicblue for copyright infringement. The company has created a
PVR that enables viewers to skip commercials. Sonicblue Chief Technology
Officer Andy Wolfe said the choice between the studios and consumers was an
easy one, "They said, 'if you go through with this, we will be very mad and
sue you'. But the consumer will be happy. Who are we going to choose, people
who don't want our business to exist at all or the customer?" In May, five
Replay owners filed a countersuit against the studios after a studio
executive was quoted saying, "any time you skip a commercial...you're
actually stealing the programming."
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Jefferson Graham]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020813/4354547s.htm)
BROADBAND
REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
What is broadband for? For the most part, says the author, people use
broadband the same way they used their narrowband connections. The critical
difference is that broadband is always on and can handle a larger volume of
information. According to the author, we've been so busy fantasizing about
"a nirvana of 'high bandwidth applications," we've completely overlooked
what's really important about broadband. In order of importance, the author
finds these three characteristics of broadband to be far more important than
specific applications: 1) it's always on, 2) it has a very low latency (a
very small gap between the moment of a mouse click and something happening),
3) broadband is very fast. Economically, it makes no sense for the broadband
industry to encourage consumers to watch live videos on our PCs. This, the
author argues, would simply overload the network and result in a commercial
meltdown. Rather, parsimonious narrowband applications should be encouraged.
What's really going to change our lives is the always-on feature of
broadband, not the ability to get entertainment.
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Steve Bowbrick]
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,770560,00.html)
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