DIGITAL DIVIDE
High-Tech High Program Teaches Latino Adults How To Use PCs
Intel To Increase Focus On B & C Class Cities In India
Teaching Goes Virtual In Pakistan
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
A New Direction for Intellectual Property
INDUSTRY
NTIA Assistant Secretary Nancy J. Victory Speaks At 16th
Annual Global Communications Conference
Cable Foregoes Grand Visions
DIGITAL DIVIDE
HIGH-TECH HIGH PROGRAM TEACHES LATINO ADULTS HOW TO USE PCs
The San Francisco Latin Issues Forum has developed a program that helps
Latino parents become more involved in their children's education and
develop technology skills for themselves. Last Friday, the first graduates
of the Rural Technology and Information Project received their diplomas and
a computer to use for the next few months. Ana Montes, director of
technology at Latino Issues Forum said "We always hear about investing for
the future. This was investing in the present. We identified a community
that was low income. We identified the school that the community fed the
children to and we identified a neighborhood community center." Parent
Lorena Lopez participated in the class because, "...in order to help your
children, you need to know about computers..." According to a recent study
conducted by UC Santa Cruz professor Manuel Pastor, only 37.8 percent of
Latinos in the U.S. own personal computers, compared to 70.9 percent of
whites and Asian Americans, and 41.3 percent of African Americans.
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Matthew Yi]
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/1
1/BU106174.DTL&type=tech)
TEACHING GOES VIRTUAL IN PAKISTAN
Thanks to a new virtual university, thousands of Pakistanis now have the
opportunity to learn computer skills. The $40 million project provides
distance learning via the television and Internet. The program is designed
to create the estimated 60,000 computer science graduates needed to develop
an information technology industry. "India is a very inspiring case. They
got their act together very early," said Salman Ansari, adviser to
Pakistan's Ministry of Science and Technology. "We are leveraging technology
to get to the level that we need to get to," he added. In order to keep
access open to all citizens, regardless of income, the prices have been kept
extremely low and educational centers are being set up around the country.
The government has worked with the university to ensure that the cost of
going online is reasonable for most people. Currently approximately 500
students are enrolled in a pilot project. The university hopes to have 5,000
students by September and 25,000 students by the end of 2003.
[SOURCE: BBC News; AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1979000/1979750.stm)
INTEL TO INCREASE FOCUS ON B&C CLASS CITIES IN INDIA
Intel has launched a number of initiatives to create new markets in
middle-sized and smaller cities in India. Included in the new initiatives
are the Digital PC parties that have been held in cities such as Jaipur,
Bhopal, Cochin and Meerut. The goal of the parties is to educate consumers
on the benefits of owning a PC, including using email, playing games and
using it for work. Sandeep Aurora, an Intel regional channel manager said,
"The response is overwhelming...One can see the complete spectrum of age,
right from teetotalers to elders; everyone seems to be serious about the
change a PC can bring in their lives."
[SOURCE: Cyber India Online (CIOL), AUTHOR: Shweta Khanna]
(http://www.ciol.com/content/news/trends/102051001.asp)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
A NEW DIRECTION FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
A group of law and technology scholars are setting up a nonprofit company
that will develop ways for artists, writers and others to easily designate
their work as shareable. The firm's founders argue that recent expansions in
intellectual property law could stifle creativity. The new company, called
Creative Commons, will work on clearly identifying material that is meant to
be shared. By making it easier to place material in the public domain,
Creative Commons hopes to encourage more people to do so. "It's a way to
mark the spaces people are allowed to walk on," said Lawrence Lessig,
leading intellectual property expert. Lessig will take a partial leave from
Stanford Law School to serve as chairman of Creative Commons.
[SOURCE: The New York Times; AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/13/technology/13FREE.html?ex=1021953600&en=c
a323ab879f0cd03&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER)
INDUSTRY
CABLE FORGOES GRAND VISIONS
A change in tune was heard at the National Cable and Telecommunications
Association's recent convention: expansive visions of the future are out.
Making new promises is out. Fulfilling past promises is in. At the forefront
of this change in the cable industry is Mitchell E. Kertzman, chief
executive of Liberate Technologies, the leading independent developer of
software for cable television set-top boxes. When asked for his assessment
of interactive television, Kertzman surprised people by responding, "I've
tried to stop thinking about interactive television." For the consumer,
Kertzman argues, interactive television sounds like work. There are,
however, real financial reasons for the restraint the cable industry is
showing. The cable industry has invested about $50 billion of investors'
money over the last five years to upgrade networks for digital services. The
investors are now looking for serious returns before they spend on the new
wave of services.
[SOURCE: The New York Times; AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/13/technology/ebusiness/13NECO.html?pagewant
ed=print&position=top)
NTIA ASSISTANT SECRETARY NANCY J. VICTORY SPEAKS AT 16TH ANNUAL GLOBAL
COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Assistant
Secretary Nancy J. Victory discussed the troubled telecom sector and how the
NTIA is taking steps to glean lessons from the past and build a strong
future for the telecom sector. During her speech she encouraged the
audience to share their thoughts and opinions. "Right now...we are in
listening mode. We want to benefit from your expertise, your experience and
your insights." Victory said she viewed healthy competition and
deregulation as integral to promoting growth, investment and employment. She
also discussed the NTIA's spectrum management plans and how the broadband
agenda is shaping up. In the near future, the NTIA will be reaching out to
the international community to develop communications policy relationships.
A key issue on the agenda is developing a standard for digital television.
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2002/GS_050802.htm)
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