POLICY
Congress to Take on Spam, Copyright
Firm Not Cheering Bush
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Community Computer Labs Getting Expert Help
EDTECH
Online Historical Game Helps Students Discover Contemporary Voices
POLICY
CONGRESS TO TAKE ON SPAM, COPYRIGHT
With the beginning of the 108th US Congress, some controversial tech
proposals that were derailed last session now have a better chance of
becoming law. A recent policy switch by the Direct Marketing Association,
which now says it will lobby for anti-spam laws, could help break a
longstanding logjam on anti-spam legislation. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and
three other legislators, have reintroduced a bill from last year that would
soften some of the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by
allowing Americans to bypass copyright-protection schemes for legitimate
"fair use" purposes. A key question that is still up in the air is where
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the new chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee,
stands on copyright legislation.
[SOURCE: CNET, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979623.html)
FIRM NOT CHEERING BUSH
Executives at Systemax, a New York firm that supplies computers and other
tech gear to consumers and businesses, received President Bush's economic
stimulus plan with a health dose of skepticism. Steven Goldschein, the
company's chief financial officer, says that neither the increased write-off
allowance for new equipment purchases nor the stock dividend tax cuts is
likely to have am immediate impact on tech spending or the fortunes of its
stockholders. Overall, what appeared to be lacking in the Bush proposal,
said Systemax chief executive Richard Leeds, were specific incentives to
drive businesses and consumers to spend their tax savings specifically on
new technology. "You want to talk about initiatives to turn the economy
around -- how about a tax cut so that every child in school can have a
computer?" he said. "There's still a digital divide out there."
[SOURCE: Newsday.com, AUTHOR: Mark Harrington]
(http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzsyst083078990jan08,0,7267
61.story)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
COMMUNITY COMPUTER LABS GETTING EXPERT HELP
The mayor of Rochester, NY has unveiled a new computer initiative that will
link community technology centers across the city with much-needed technical
support. City officials say that CommuniTech, which has created a panel of
experts available to help repair computer systems and assist individual
computer users at about 40 libraries and technology centers, is the first
program of its kind in the nation. The initiative is intended to further
bridge the digital divide by providing help to community organizations that
don't have the technical expertise or finances to maintain their systems.
[SOURCE: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, AUTHOR: Rick Armon]
(http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0108story7_news.shtml)
EDTECH
ONLINE HISTORICAL GAME HELPS STUDENTS DISCOVER CONTEMPORARY VOICES
OnRamp Arts, a community arts organization in Los Angeles, has launched a
free online game that explores 500 years of Latin American history. Tropical
America (www.tropicalamerica.com), conceptualized by Los Angeles high school
students and artists, explores a rich and painful past unknown to the
children of those immigrant families who left the region. Twenty-five Latino
students spent two years learning to design the online game. In the process,
they unearthed their Latin American roots and embarked on their own
discovery of the Americas.
[SOURCE: Digital Divide Network, AUTHOR: Victoria Bernal]
(http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=266)
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