Communications-Related Headlines for December 12, 2002

WIRELESS
Indian Villagers Pedal Wireless
So Many Nodes, So Little Security

INTERNET
Economics of Kid-Friendly Domain Questioned

JOURNALISM
News Channels Losing Battle for Young Viewers

WIRELESS

INDIAN VILLAGERS PEDAL WIRELESS
This month, 5,000 young men on bicycles will carry mobile phones equipped
with CDMA Wireless Local Loop into 5,000 West Bengal villages, bringing
telephone services to village doorsteps for the first time. The initiative
is orgainized by Grameen Sanchar Seva Organization (GRASSO), which strives
to use information and communications technologies to strengthen the
distribution network of agricultural produce. Soumitra Shankar Das, GRASSO's
working chairman said that many of the villages "lack even their own
transport to carry produce to markets, so digital connectivity is like half
a circle." To complete the rest of the circle, GRASSO will help villagers
become owners of telephone booths, Internet kiosks and vehicles that will
carry the produce. "The idea is to build three networks -- phones, Internet
and transport -- each sustaining the other," said Das.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Anuradha Kumar]
(http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,56663,00.html)

SO MANY NODES, SO LITTLE SECURITY
A recent survey of Wi-Fi networks in New York revealed not only the extent
of Wi-Fi adoption -- covering more than 14,000 business and personal
networks -- but also the apparent laxity of users when it comes to Wi-Fi's
built-in security. Marcos R. Lara, the survey's researcher, found that
nearly 70 percent of the networks did not employ security measures,
potentially exposing every word and digit transmitted, while allowing others
to piggyback on their Internet service. Mr. Lara's survey, described at
www.publicinternetproject.org, also found a stark dividing line between
Manhattan's haves and have-nots: 92 percent of network nodes were below 96th
Street. Mapping can have other benefits, as Andy Carvin of the Benton
Foundation noted that even technology advocates involved at the street level
do not always know the exact picture of usage. "Activists in the digital
divide community realize the power of mapping because it helps us fill in
the blanks of what's happening where," Mr. Carvin said.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Glenn Fleishman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/12/technology/circuits/12spot.html)
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INTERNET

ECONOMICS OF KID-FRIENDLY DOMAIN QUESTIONED
Now that President Bush has signed the Dot-Kids Implementation and
Efficiency Act into law, some are questioning whether the new kids-only
domain can attract enough tenants to make it a worthwhile place for parents
to send their children. The authors of the law envisioned the new "kids.us"
domain as a sanctuary where children could explore the Internet without
being exposed to its dangers. Elliot Noss, president of Canadian address
seller Tucows Inc., charges that kids.us has "absolutely zero" probability
of achieving that ubiquity and is nothing more than "an exercise in making
politicians who don't understand the medium feel good."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44122-2002Dec12.html)

JOURNALISM

NEWS CHANNELS LOSING BATTLE FOR YOUNG VIEWERS
A little over a year since the September 11 attacks, young viewers ages
18-34 have already drifted away from the TV news. But according to a report
in Mediaweek, older viewers are increasingly drawn to news. In fact, the
number of viewers ages 55+ watching both network and cable news has
increased. While some news executives are concerned about the discrepancy,
others say it's nothing new. Though a news-viewer drop-off was expected
eventually after 9/11, writer John Consoli says he found that younger
viewers have turned away from news at a much higher rate than older viewers.
Experts say that younger people are often drawn to the news by a specific
story and leave once the story dies down. [SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Peter
Johnson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2002-12-10-media-mix_x.htm)

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