BROADCATING
The F.C.C. Has Voted: A Digital Tuner for Every TV
INTERNET
Microsoft, FTC Deal Tightens Internet Privacy
Tate's Ultra-Modern Visual Access
BROADCATING
THE F.C.C. HAS VOTED: A DIGITAL TUNER FOR EVERY TV
The Federal Communications Commission, concerned that market forces alone
had not assured the transition to digital television, voted yesterday to
require television manufacturers to include digital tuners in all new
television sets by 2007. The requirements will raise the cost of
televisions, though whether the increase will be small or substantial is the
subject of a contentious industry debate. Some television manufacturers said
they would appeal the decision in federal court. In 1997, the commission
ordered the transition to digital television, which can offer crystal-clear
pictures, multiple broadcast streams and has the potential to provide
interactive services to consumers. To that end, the commission lent each
television station an extra channel so the stations could offer digital and
traditional analog television programming simultaneously until digital
becomes the standard. Once the switch to digital television is complete, the
commission is supposed to reclaim the broadcast spectrum used for
traditional television and sell it for $5 billion to $10 billion, according
to Congressional estimates. But under the law, that can happen only after 85
percent of households have digital televisions.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Altman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/09/technology/09TUBE.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
FCC INTRODUCES PHASE-IN PLAN FOR DTV TUNERS
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-225221A1.txt)
FCC MOVES TO SPEED SHIFT TO DIGITAL TV
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61752-2002Aug8)
INTERNET
MICROSOFT, FTC DEAL TIGHTENS INTERNET PRIVACY
In an agreement reached between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission,
Microsoft will draw up detailed policies about how it will collect and use
the personal information of Microsoft Passport customers. It will also
submit Passport to independent audits for the next 20 years and stop making
exaggerated claims about the security of the Passport service. Marc
Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
said, "This is a significant victory for consumer privacy...We hope it'll
bring about higher standards for online privacy and security." The FTC plans
to hold services similar to Microsoft's Passport, like AOL Time Warner's
Magic Carpet to the standards of the Microsoft agreement. Brian Arbogast,
vice president of .Net services said, "We think it'll be a net positive
thing for Microsoft, our customers and partners."
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Bryon Acohido]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-08-08-microsoft-passport_
x.htm)
TATE'S ULTRA-MODERN VISUAL ACCESS
London's Tate Modern Gallery has launched i-Map, an online art resource
designed for visually impaired users. Caro Howell, Tate Modern's curator of
special projects said, "Clearly, museums cannot offer tactile access to the
majority of their original artworks...but in the case of modern and
contemporary art, it is often the conceptual content that is of primary
importance." The i-Map project focuses on three pairs of works from the
current exhibition "Matisse Picasso". The project uses text reader software,
image enhancement and animation to help partially sighted and blind people
access the exhibit. For individuals with access to special paper and a
device to raise lines, the museum is offering raised images that can be
printed from the Web site. Visitors can print the raised images, copy them
onto "swell paper", feed them through a device to raise the lines and use
the images to anchor the audio description they can hear through the Web
site. Isabella Murdoch, a museum visitor said, "For the first time I am able
to access pictures without a sighted person."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Kendra Mayfield]
(http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,54256,00.html)
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