PRIVACY
Watchdog Urges Bush to Kill Pentagon Data-Mine Plan
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Austin Leaders Look to Schools
Students Treat Laptops with TLC
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Rwanda Military Facility Becomes Technology Training Center
INTERNET
Congress Approves 'Dot-Kids' Measure
SPECTRUM
FCC to Let Wireless Carriers out of Auction
FCC to Refund Wireless Carriers Deposits
WI-FI
Growing Wi-Fi Services Cast Wide Net
PRIVACY
WATCHDOG URGES BUSH TO KILL PENTAGON DATA-MINE PLAN
The American Civil Liberties Union advised President Bush yesterday to
discontinue Pentagon research into data mining models geared toward
uncovering terrorist plots. "If the Pentagon has its way, every American...
will find themselves under the accusatory cyber-state of an all-powerful
national security apparatus," said Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's
Washington national office. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
began work this month on a prototype "Total Information Awareness" system
that would use data mining to look for threatening patterns among everyday
transactions. The project is designed to break down barriers between
commercial and governmental databases in the US and abroad, a fact the ACLU
said could unnecessarily expose personally identifiable information such as
student report cards and mental-health histories. Katie Corrigan, an ACLU
legislative counsel, said that if Bush refuses to kill the plan now,
"Congress should step in quickly and pull the plug."
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Jim Wolf, Reuters]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20021115/tc_nm/tech_drag
net_dc)
See also:
YOU ARE A SUSPECT (Commentary)
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: William Safire]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/opinion/14SAFI.html)
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
STUDENTS TREAT LAPTOPS WITH TLC
Toting their laptops "in special black bags as carefully as businesspeople
on their way to an important meeting," the students of Maine's Tremont
Consolidated School recognize the value and importance of their pricey
learning tools, which have been distributed to them as part of the
state-wide laptop initiative. They also know that responsibility goes beyond
maintaining the computers -- the schools have implemented a no-nonsense
policy that lets students know if they abuse their laptop privileges,
they'll lose those privileges. Students currently must leave their computers
at school, but in some districts, they will be able to bring the laptops
home -- once they've demonstrated they can use them conscientiously. "I like
it," once student said of the program, "and I think it shows we have
responsibility." Added another student, "I'm excited to be able to take them
home -- the sooner, the better." Some educators also hope that the program
will spawn a new level of student interest in learning. "I think the kids
are the ones who are going to lead a lot of the innovation," said teacher
Max Crain. "I think they'll drive a lot of changes in the classroom."
[SOURCE: Wired.com, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,56295,00.html)
AUSTIN LEADERS LOOK TO SCHOOLS
On a two-day visit to Austin, Texas, the mayor of Albany, NY got a
first-hand look at community partnerships that are helping Austin's schools
bridge the digital divide. Volunteers from the local business community have
formed the Austin Partners in Education program, which meets regularly
before work at 7:45am to tackle pressing technology issues in the local
schools. The partnership also helps students find IT-related internships in
the community, and even offers them a "pay-to-learn" program in which
students are paid to attend extracurricular math classes. "It truly takes a
collaborative effort to bring about systemic change in education," said John
Blazier, a local attorney who serves as chairman of the partnership.
"Industry comes with one set of needs and one set of resources. Education
comes with another. And it's in the interaction, which is not always
comfortable, of that dynamic that we get a pragmatic and more meaningful
approach to education."
[SOURCE: Albany Times Union, AUTHOR: Kenneth Aaron]
(http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=72632)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
RWANDA MILITARY FACILITY BECOMES TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CENTER
Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), this week visited Rwanda's Kigali Institute of Science and
Technology (KIST). Formerly a Rwandan military barracks, the facility has
been converted into Rwanda's premiere technical learning institution. With
many of its technology experts killed during the 1994 genocide, Rwanda
partnered with the UNDP in 1997 to create the institute and train new
educators. Today, KIST educates over 3,000 full-time and part-time students
learning an array of technical skills, who then bring back their new skills
to their home villages. KIST has also launched the Center for Innovations
and Technology Transfer, which researches environmentally-friendly
technologies for rural use such as solar power water heaters and
high-efficiency bread ovens. Malloch Brown hailed the institute's success,
and is interested in finding ways of replicating the model in rural
communities.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: UNDP]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200211140487.html)
INTERNET
CONGRESS APPROVES 'DOT-KIDS' MEASURE
Congress today passed the Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act, which
creates a dot-kids domain within America's dot-us addressing space. Bill
sponsor Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) called the measure "a tool for parents,"
adding that "[Congress is] not censoring anything. We're just going to try
to provide a domain that's safe for children." Web sites within the kids.us
domain cannot post hyperlinks to locations outside of the kids.us domain.
The bill also prohibits chat and instant messaging features, except where a
site operator can guarantee that such features adhere to kid-friendly
requirements. NeuStar, Inc., administrator of the dot-us domain, will
contract to operate dot-kids.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58610-2002Nov15.html)
SPECTRUM
FCC TO LET WIRELESS CARRIERS OUT OF AUCTION
The FCC said it would return to Verizon Wireless and other mobile telephone
carriers the $16 billion they had bid for contested wireless licenses
without penalty, eliminating a massive financial burden on the telecom
industry. The FCC accepted down payments from the carriers in January 2001
following the bankruptcy of NextWave Telecom Inc., and since then the
licenses have been mired in legal battles over whether the Commission could
strip NextWave of its licenses solely due to non-payment. The companies have
45 days to withdraw from the auction altogether, though they are not
precluded from future participation.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56363-2002Nov14.html)
see also:
FCC TO REFUND WIRELESS CARRIERS DEPOSITS
The Federal Communications Commission ruled this week to give back more than
$490 million collected for deposits from wireless carriers. Verizon
Wireless, Cingular Wireless and VoiceStrem Wireless had collectively offered
$16 billion (including the $490 million deposit) to the FCC as part of a
bidding process for spectrum licenses, but now the FCC says they will not
have to pay it. A representative of wireless carriers, the Cellular
Telecommunications and Internet Association, said the refunded money can now
be used to improve services for mobile users and create more jobs in the
communications industry. "Although the commission cannot cure the capital
crunch, it can remove the cloud of uncertainty that has followed" the
auction winners, FCC chairman Michael K. Powell said in a statement.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/15/technology/15PHON.html)
WI-FI
GROWING WI-FI SERVICES CAST WIDE NET
The popularity of wireless Internet access is increasing so quickly that
businesses like coffee shops and restaurants are now establishing
partnerships telecommunications companies to provide wireless to their
customers. The technology, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, or Wireless
Fidelty, is becoming so widespread that research firm Gartner Group says
that consumers and businesses are expected to spend $1.7 billion for Wi-Fi
equipment. Wi-Fi connections are established by sending Internet signals
through the air between low-cost receivers that can be installed easily in
laptops and PDAs. According to Gartner, there are currently around 1200
public "hot spots" worldwide, where users with Wi-Fi receivers can pick up
Internet access for free. Gartner estimates that 89,000 public Wi-Fi hot
spots will be available to 99 million Wi-Fi users worldwide by 2006.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Michelle Kessler]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2002-11-13-wi-fi-technolo
gy_x.htm)
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