DIGITAL DIVIDE
Firms and the Treasury Team Up To Bank on Technology for Poor
Peru Plan Connects Poor Students with Internet
Women Hear The Government Knocking
INTERNET
Another Go At Kid Porn Law
Force That Unites Protesters
As American As A Wireless U
No Quick Fix to Fighting Pornography on the Internet, Report Says
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
DTV Touchstone for Digital Rights Management Debate
DIGITAL DIVIDE
PERU PLAN CONNECTS POOR STUDENTS WITH INTERNET
A key campaign issue for President Alejandro Toledo, Plan Huascaran is a
multi-million dollar project to fight poverty by bridging the digital divide
and bringing technology to rural schools. About 100 rural and urban schools
have been connected across Peru and the government hopes to reach 5,000 by
2006. In Peru less than 1 percent of its 26 million population has Internet
access. Students in the program spend 2 hours a week on computers connecting
with other schools and participate in videoconferences for instruction.
Sandra Marcone, director of Plan Huascaran said, "Huascaran is like a smart
highway system. It will not only allow 5,000 connected schools to give
students...a better education in the long term, but also link their parents
to more economically viable activities, like tourism, farming, handicraft."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Missy Ryan]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020502/wr_nm/tech_peru_
internet_dc_1)
FIRMS AND THE TREASURY TEAM UP TO BANK ON TECHNOLOGY FOR POOR
Bank of America, FleetBoston Financial Corp., Wells Fargo and the Treasury
Department have started several programs that use technology to deliver
banking services to the 10 million American households without bank
accounts. Bank of America has introduced a low-cost service that enables
people in America to send money to relatives in Mexico using tellers, the
phone or Internet. Family members in Mexico can go to any of 20,000 ATMs
and access the funds. FleetBoston is offering the "unbanked" free,
checkless banks account. These services and others like them offer benefits
for both the workers and the institutions. In describing free or low-cost
accounts, Michael Barr, a former Treasury Department official said,"They can
reduce risk to banks and account holders by preventing accounts from being
overdrawn, lower the cost of processing each transaction, expand
availability much more cheaply than branches and decrease the safety risk to
low-income consumers who cash their regular checks and carry cash."
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: David Wessel]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1020290246695419440,00.html)
(Requires subscription)
WOMEN HEAR THE GOVERNMENT KNOCKING
According to columnist Shannon Henry, "...the worlds of government and
commercial technology are almost as different as Mars is from Venus." The
topic is hot enough for the organization Women in Technolgy to stage its
first government-related event, "Transcending Boundaries: IT Opportunities
for Women in Government and Industry." With the dot-com glow well faded,
many workers are hading for government jobs, perceiving job safety and
opportunity. While the issue is germane to all technology workers, this
particular group focused on the experiences of women transitioning between
commercial and government jobs. Panelists at the event spoke of common
'mistakes' made, such as jumping into jobs that are not quite a good fit or
learning a different language. One particularly strong difference between
the sectors is the focus: government workers are still very "process"
oriented while the private sector looks more closely at "performance." One
piece of sage advice from Pricilla Guthrie, formerly a vice president at TRW
and currently deputy chief information officer for the Department of
Defense, "Large organizations are large organizations. Having a boss you can
work with is key."
[SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18514-2002May1.html)
INTERNET
ANOTHER GO AT KID PORN LAW
On April 16, the Supreme Court threw out parts of the 1996 Child Pornography
Prevention Act on the grounds that these were overly broad and
unconstitutional. In response, angry lawmakers have now proposed legislation
that they hope will meet the Court's definition of constitutional while
banning computer simulations and other fool-the-eye depictions of minors
having sex. The new bill is far more detailed than the 1996 bill and
includes use of computers and the Internet. A source familiar with the
recent bill said that the 1996 bill was "designed to address issues that
were around at the time. The Internet wasn't developed at the time, so we
didn't have this virtual child pornography. The bill's proponents hope that
they will be able to get around the Supreme Court's decision by specifically
addressing situations to be banned.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,52230,00.html)
FORCE THAT UNITES PROTESTERS
In the wake of Jean-Marie Le Pen's unexpected success at the French polls,
new Internet sites carrying responses ranging from hoaxes to online
petitions have popped up. "The social movement we have in France is relayed
on the Internet, but it was born in the street," says Olivier Blondeau, a
sociologist who studies online social affairs. "The Internet enables people
to organize demonstrations, saying what happens where and when....While
political parties and trade unions want to unite people for Labor Day, most
of the other sites promote continuous social agitation." On political party
and candidate sites, discussion forums have exploded. One such site, the
Lionel Jospin website, recorded more than 30,000 contributions in only 10
days. On other sites, political parties and trade unions are offering
downloadable kits with posters and stickers in an attempt to motivate
voters. The web is working for all sides of the political argument. Le Pen
has even spoken of how the Internet offers him a way around what he
considers a media conspiracy to force the country to vote against him in the
upcoming second-round polls.
[SOURCE: The Guardian; AUTHOR: Stephanie Stoll]
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,708230,00.html)
AS AMERICAN AS A WIRELESS U
American University (AU) in Washington, DC has plans to become the first
fully integrated wireless university. By this fall, AU will be rid of
telephone lines, using instead a wireless system to handle voice, data and
messaging. While other universities in the U.S. offer either a wireless
local area network or wireless phone service, AU said it is the first to
offer both technologies. "We can leverage the investments we've already made
in our network," said Carl Whitman, executive director of AU's e-operations.
"It's going to allow us to avoid some capital expenditures htat we otherwise
would have had to make in more traditional telephony equipment down the
road." The university is working with KPMG Consulting and Cingular Wireless
to install the system and provide cell-hone service.
[SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,52234,00.html)
NO QUICK FIX TO FIGHTING PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET, REPORT SAYS
According to a National Research Council reports on protecting children from
Internet pornography, there are no simple solutions to the problem. "Though
some might wish otherwise, no single approach -- technical, legal, economic,
or educational -- will be sufficient," wrote the authors of the report,
"Youth, Pornography and the Internet," which was released today. "Rather, an
effective framework for protecting our children from inappropriate materials
and experiences on the Internet will require a balanced composite of all of
these elements, and real progress will require forward movement on all of
these fronts." Recommending a broad approach ``is not nearly as satisfying
as passing a law or pointing to a technology,'' said Alan Davidson,
associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a high-tech
policy organization in Washington., ``but it is probably, in the long run,
the most effective way to protect children online.''
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/02/technology/02CND-PORN.html)
(requires registration)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
DTV TOUCHSTONE FOR DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT DEBATE
The ongoing debate between the entertainment industry, electronics
manufacturers and consumer advocates is heating up on Capital Hill. While
entertainment executives are pushing for technological controls to protect
movies and music from piracy, electronics manufacturers are concerned that
imposing constraints on electronics production will stifle innovation.
Consumer groups agree that if electronics manufacturers are forced to
include a digital copyright mechanism it may stop individuals from using
technology for legitimate purposes. Industry working groups will submit a
new standards proposal to the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee
on May 17. The CDD states that consumers must be included in the
standards-setting process to protect the potential of digital technologies.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy, AUTHOR: CDD]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/drmUpdate.html)
See Also:
DIGITAL TV ROLLOUT GETS BOOST FROM CABLE INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/05/02/digital-tv.htm)
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