April 2010

Cable Considers Faster Broadband Standard

CableLabs, the standard-setting organization for the cable industry, is pondering a next-generation cable broadband technology that could deliver up to 5 gigabits per second down. Not only are the speed gains significant, but the standard would be more efficient by doing away with the current way cable companies parse out their spectrum. However, it would require them to invest in new gear, both in their plants and for installation in consumers' homes, as well as to switch to an all-IP infrastructure. The proposal is being floated in the cable community, but may never make it all the way to the standards process — or consumers' homes. However, if implemented, it could solve a problem for the cable industry and perhaps enable cable companies to forestall putting in fiber to the home.

Open vs. Closed: What Does Open Really Mean?

The Open vs. Closed debate continues to bubble and boil around Facebook and the social networking site's attempts to extend its "social graph" out into the broader web. Is this move by the company truly open, or is it a cynical attempt to co-opt the rest of the web and aggregate value for Facebook — or could it be both? That all depends on what the term "open" really means. Can a company or a service be partly open, or is it a binary thing? Can a service start out as mostly closed and then become open? And is it OK for a company to be open with some things and closed with others?

Lessons of the military's global EHR

[Commentary] As the nation moves toward standards for electronic health records (EHR) and the Nationwide Health Information Network, the future of electronic health records has arrived. Sometimes people ask why all of this is important, but there is really a simple answer. EHRs share healthcare data throughout the nation, and this data exchange can make a difference in saving lives, energy and pain. The Military Health System proves that concept every day by making faster and more comprehensive treatment decisions to its more than 9.6 million beneficiaries. The bottom line is that an EHR should be simple to use, so acquiring an intuitive system will promote quick adoption and deliver immediate benefits. The goal of any EHR adoption is to leverage modern technologies for greater clinical efficiency, higher quality and safer delivery of care.

[Navy Capt. Michael Weiner is deputy program manager and chief medical officer of the Defense Health Information Management System (DHIMS).]

Why Proposed Privacy Legislation Will Do More Harm Than Good For Web Publishers

[Commentary] There has been a great deal of discussion about the European Union enacting legislation that would require Web users to consent to Internet cookies. This law dictates that Web cookies cannot be placed on a user's computer unless it is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the user. For Web publishers the implications are widespread -- Web sites use cookies for countless legitimate reasons -- including session management, content management, preferences, analytics, and advertising revenue. Can you imagine a digital world where every time a user visits a Web site they are prompted with a message: "If you would like our site to enable anti-spam and flood control, would you be willing to accept our cookie / ?" Among lawmakers in the United States, a conversation similar to what occurred in Europe is taking place. Proposed legislation is being crafted in Congress that may place restrictions on the use of cookies: as well as the collection of information, under a broad definition, that could be considered personally identifiable.

Pennsylvania Research and Education Network to get millions to improve web access

In February, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and 12 partners secured $99.6 million in federal stimulus funds to complete the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network project, designed to help build a broadband network through the state's most rural areas.

The PennREN team proposed a broadband network headquartered at 13 anchor facilities and about 50 satellite sites, which would together provide a radius of connectivity through 39 Pennsylvania counties. Even with 1,700 miles of fiber, the project won't boot up the entire state, leaving northern and southern portions to other stimulus projects or later development. If you connect the dots of the anchor institutions or "nodes," a crooked bow-tie shape forms. At one point, the "Bow Tie Network" name was proposed but scrapped. Think of each node as having a radius of connectivity to local institutions, schools and businesses. The radius can extend even further if contractors wish to extend the network that "last mile," to the residential home or individual business.

Angelo Gordon angles for influence at Tribune

A New York investment firm that's shaking up newspapers across the country has maneuvered into an influential position at Tribune Company.

Angelo Gordon & Co. snapped up discounted Tribune debt that will convert into equity in the Chicago-based media concern's reorganization. It's the fourth stake the firm has taken in a U.S. newspaper company emerging from bankruptcy protection. While the firm's intentions for Tribune and its 12 papers aren't clear, it's playing an active role elsewhere. Angelo Gordon led new owners of the Minneapolis StarTribune in ousting the board and publisher and demanding additional job cuts after the company came out of bankruptcy proceedings in September. At Freedom Communications Inc., which owns the Orange County Register in California, it replaced the board. It's an "aggressive" firm that isn't reluctant to toss out managers it considers incompetent, says Dan Wikel, a restructuring adviser at Huron Consulting Group Inc. in Chicago.

No Reporter Shield for Mere Blogger, NJ Appeals Court Says

New Jersey's press shield law applies to online news reporters but not to bloggers merely claiming to be journalists, a state appeals court ruled on Thursday.

"Simply put, new media should not be confused with news media," the judges said in Too Much Media v. Hale, A-0964-09, the first NJ appellate ruling and only the second in any state to address whether bloggers can invoke the newspersons' privilege to protect the identity of their sources. The blogger's sources were not protected because she "exhibited none of the recognized qualities or characteristics traditionally associated with the news process, nor has she demonstrated an established connection or affiliation with any news entity," the court said.

US Media Benefit From Ad Recovery, Films

Diversified media companies are expected to post better quarterly results, since prior-year figures came during the depths of the recession and the current advertising market continues to improve. Some broadcast networks have also won more subscription fees from pay-TV providers. Meanwhile, through the beginning of April, box office receipts were running about 10% ahead of last year, with attendance up by more than 8%.

DTV Grant Deadlines

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the Department of Agriculture, announces the Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program application window for fiscal year FY 2010. The FY 2010 funding for the Public Television Station Digital Transition Grant Program is $4.5 million. While TV stations must broadcast their main transmitter signal in digital, many rural stations have yet to complete a full digital transition of their stations across all equipment. Rural stations often have translators serving small or isolated areas and some of these have not completed the transition to digital. Because the FCC deadline did not apply to translators, they are allowed to continue broadcasting in analog. Some rural stations also have not fully converted their production and studio equipment to digital, which has impaired their ability to provide the same quality local programming that they provided in analog. Applications are due June 25, 2010.

Powell steps down from AOL's governance committee

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell has resigned from AOL's nominating and governance committee. Powell, who was named to AOL's board shortly before the company was spun out of Time Warner in December, will remain as a director. Powell is not considered an independent director, however, due to consulting services he provided to AOL in 2006 and 2007, according to a company spokeswoman. Board directors are generally considered independent if they are not directly employed by a company, or providing consulting or other services.

Benton

Search