INTERNET
New Internet File-Sharing System Altnet Designed To Give Artists
Greater Control
Cyberspace-Scouring Cops Accused Of Suppressing Online Expression
Jordan Punishes Net Critic
Internet Privacy Bill Moves Forward
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Bridging the Digital Divide
Reading, Writing, And Video Games?
INTERNET
NEW INTERNET FILE-SHARING SYSTEM ALTNET DESIGNED TO GIVE ARTISTS GREATER
CONTROL
Altnet, a new file-sharing system, will allow users to trade music and video
files that are coded with digital rights management (DRM) technology. The
technology will allow artists to limit distribution of their work and
collect fees before a song is played. Matthew Berk, an analyst at Jupiter
Media Metrix said, "There is clearly a demand for file swapping...Whether or
not if you lay on top of it a DRM system people will be keen on using it is
another question." Altnet has formed a partnership with KaZaA where they
will distribute their search software with a new version of KaZaA software.
When a user searches for a song on KaZaA, the Altnet tool will look for
files on both the Altnet and KaZaA networks. Altnet is currently developing
a version of its tool for Linux computers and is exploring partnerships with
other companies.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3298227.htm)
CYBERSPACE-SCOURING COPS ACCUSED OF SUPPRESSING ONLINE EXPRESSION
Egyptian police have been targeting Web sites and individuals using
technology to spread information deemed politically suspect by the
government. Gen. Ahmed Shehab who handles information technology for the
police ministry said, "We are dealing with a different type of criminal and
the spread of new crimes. This requires security and technical expertise to
be able to patrol the Internet the same way we patrol Egyptian streets." A
student was sentenced to one month in prison after spreading e-mail warnings
about a serial killer that the police deemed false. A Web designer who
published a poem commenting negatively on Egyptian society is facing 2 years
in prison. Virginie Locoussol, head of the Middle East Desk of Reporters
Without Boarders said, "We think its really scandalous that Egyptian
authorities are using the Internet to muzzle freedom of expression...If the
state controls everything, then it is a police state." Egyptian police have
been particularly aggressive in using the Internet to target and arrest gay
men. The police go online pretending to be looking for partners and then
arrest men who respond to their ads. International human rights groups have
expressed anger over the arrests and accused police of entrapping and
persecuting gays.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3298224.htm)
JORDAN PUNISHES NET CRITIC
Former Jordanian legislator and television reporter, Toujan Faisal, was
sentenced to 18 months in prison for slandering state institutions on
Houston based website Arab Times. In an open letter posted to the site on
Friday, Reporters Without Borders protested the imprisonment of Faisal who
had accused Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb and other cabinet members of
corruption. Faisal, Jordan's first female parliament member, was convicted
of four counts of seditious libel. A judge ruled that her statements on Arab
Times were "harmful to the country's reputation and that of its citizens."
In the statement, Reporters Without Borders general-secretary said "We are
outraged at this decision by the state security court (especially since no
appeal is possible) and we cannot accept the imprisonment of someone for
simply expressing an opinion on the Internet."
[SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Julia Scheeres]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,52631,00.html)
INTERNET PRIVACY BILL MOVES FORWARD
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) website has posted a number
of documents relating to the Online Personal Privacy Act (S.2201) which
received a favorable vote from the Senate Commerce Committee on May 16,
2002. In its testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee, EPIC stated that
the legislation was necessary because the Internet creates an "environment
where the data-collection practices are far more extensive than in the
physical world. ...even the FTC has struggled to find a way to apply
traditional consumer protection law to the new challenges of online
privacy." According to EPIC, the Online Personal Privacy Act will help
"establish trust and confidence in the disclosure of personal information in
the online environment." Copies of the bill and EPIC's testimony are
available at the EPIC website.
{SOURCE: EPIC]
(http://www.epic.org)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
READING, WRITING, AND VIDEO GAMES?
John Seely Brown, knowledge expert and chief scientist of Xerox Corp.,
recently addressed 20 educators at the Harvard Business School. His topic
was the new digital divide he believes is emerging between faculty and
students. With more and more students coming to class already fluent in
digital technology, Brown stressed that educators must also learn the
vernacular of digital technology. Brown admitted that, "I must have been a
dinosaur. I thought hypertext was a joke. I hated video games; I thought
they were a complete waste of time." Now however, he feels challenged by
thinking about how new media forms and technology can transform the way
people communicate in and out of the classroom. He supports lessons that
encourage students to use Photoshop, create Web sites, and write term papers
in a multimedia language. He said the Web "honors multiple forms of
intelligence" and "I'm not saying you can't do that with text. But I'm
saying 'Here is the vernacular. We aren't paying much attention to how that
vernacular could enable us to open up forms of communication, expressions
and so on'."
[SOURCE: HBS Working Knowledge, AUTHOR: Martha Lagace]
(http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=2930&sid=0&pid=0&t=know
ledge)
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The Blacks in Technology Summit brought together more than 4,000 children
and adults to discuss the digital divide between African Americans and
whites. Attending the summit were Rev. Al Sharpton and Steven Ballmer, CEO
and president of Microsoft. Ballmer said, "We must overcome the digital
divide in which only 56 percent of African Americans work on personal
computers compared to 70 percent for white Americans". He also stressed the
importance of bringing African American businesswomen and men online. "With
small business a key driver of American economic growth...ethnic small
business must understand and embrace the new technology that can help them
succeed in the digital decade ahead." Art Price of Hewlett-Packard pointed
out that getting online is crucial in keeping abreast of the job market.
"If you learn the basics (of computer literacy), you will get a job. There
are some 7.5 million jobs online."
[SOURCE: The Black World Today, AUTHOR: Herb Boyd]
(http://athena.tbwt.com/content/article.asp?articleid=777)
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