FCC
F.C.C. Approves a Digital Radio Technology
EchoStar, DirecTV Deal Rejected
INTERNET
MIT Tries Free Web Education
Technology Shapes Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts
China Bans Minors from Net Cafes
CONVERGENCE
Hewlett-Packard Debuts PC That Works Like a TV
COMPETITION
Baby Bell Rivals to Take Case to White House
FCC
F.C.C. APPROVES A DIGITAL RADIO TECHNOLOGY
Broadcasters are now able to send digital signals while still providing
analog services to AM and FM listeners thanks to an unanimous vote on
Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission. "Radio can now formally
begin its long-awaited digital transformation," said Robert J. Struble,
president and chief executive of iBiquity, the company responsible for the
sole development of HD radio technology. The ruling was delayed for months
by regulatory and technical concerns, yet many non-profit groups and
supporters of low-power community radio feel that the ruling may make it
harder for weak signals to be picked up from smaller stations who can't
afford digital transmission equipment. Advocates of the technology say that
digital broadcasting can improve FM broadcasts to CD-quality sound and AM
broadcasts to FM quality.
[SOURCE: NY Times, AUTHOR: Barnaby J. Feder}
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/11/technology/11RADI.html)
ECHOSTAR, DIRECTV DEAL REJECTED
The FCC unanimously rejected the proposed $17.9 billion merger between
DirecTV and EchoStar on Thursday, saying the combination of the top two
satellite TV providers would deal a "staggering" blow to consumers. The
Commission also ruled that any last-minute efforts to make the deal more
favorable to regulators would likely fall short, effectively killing the
deal for good. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that the merger would
"replace a vibrant competitive market with a regulated monopoly" that would
drive up prices and discourage innovation. Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union
called the decision "narrow-minded."
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/techmergers/2002-10-10-fcc-reject
s-echostar_x.htm)
See Also:
CONSUMERS UNION STATEMENT ON FCC REJECTION OF ECHOSTAR - DIRECTV MERGER
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
(http://www.consumersunion.org/telecom/echo-reject1002.htm)
INTERNET
MIT TRIES FREE WEB EDUCATION
Launched two weeks ago, the MIT OpenCourseWare project is a preliminary
pilot in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's effort to publish online all its
course materials. As of Sept. 30, people with an Internet connection and a
Web browser have been able to access the syllabus, lecture notes, exams and
answers, and in some cases, even the videotaped lectures of 32 MIT courses.
By the 2006-2007 school year, MIT plans to publish the course materials for
virtually all of its 2,000 graduate and undergraduate courses. The move to
put the materials online stems from a multiyear effort by the MIT faculty to
forge a unified approach to online access to its classes. Their are no plans
to charge for any of the material. "We are fighting the commercialization of
knowledge, much in the same way that open-source people are fighting the
commercialization of software," said Jon Paul Potts, an MIT spokesperson.
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Paul Festa]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961563.html?tag=fd_top_5)
TECHNOLOGY SHAPES GET-OUT-THE-VOTE EFFORTS
"The Internet is a medium that's best used to preach to the choir, not to
convert," said Dan Manatt, director of YDemsCan.net, a Democratic political
action committee that supports candidates aged 40 and younger. Aware that
the Web felt short of expectations in the 2000 elections, campaign
consultants now are selling the Internet less for its vote-getting power
than as a command-and-control tool to reach out to the faithful. Manatt's
group, for example, plans to equip volunteers with wireless personal digital
assistants (PDAs) and Research in Motion Blackberries on Election Day to
coordinate get-out-the-vote efforts. Many campaigns have also embraced
e-mail as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to phone trees and fax
alerts. "There are some really compelling technologies out there, but it's
more about the strategic application of those technologies than the
technologies themselves," said Jonah Seiger, co-founder of Mindshare
Internet Campaigns.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs']
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2467-2002Oct9.html)
CHINA BANS MINORS FROM NET CAFES
The Chinese government issued rules Friday barring minors from entering
Internet cafes, which state media have said poison the minds of urban youth.
The regulations come four months after a fire at a Beijing cybercaf