September 2011

Michael Hart, a Pioneer of E-Books, Dies at 64

Michael Hart, who was widely credited with creating the first e-book when he typed the Declaration of Independence into a computer on July 4, 1971, and in so doing laid the foundations for Project Gutenberg, the oldest and largest digital library, was found dead on Sept 6 at his home in Urbana, Ill. He was 64.

His death was confirmed by Gregory B. Newby, the chief executive and director of Project Gutenberg, who said that the cause had not yet been determined. Hart found his life’s mission when the University of Illinois, where he was a student, gave him a user’s account on a Xerox Sigma V mainframe computer at the school’s Materials Research Lab. Estimating that the computer time in his possession was worth $100 million, Mr. Hart began thinking of a project that might justify that figure. Data processing, the principal application of computers at the time, did not capture his imagination. Information sharing did.

Patent reform bill approved by Senate

The Senate gave final approval to the first major overhaul of the nation’s patent law in more than a half century , sending the America Invents Act to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The legislation won overwhelming approval in an 89-9 vote. The America Invents Act switches the US patent system from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file nation. It also sets up a new regime to review patents and gives the US Patent and Trademark Office more flexibility to set and spend fees paid for by inventors to get patents and businesses to register trademarks. The bill also makes dozens of technical changes to the law that may or may not benefit particular interests including sections that make it more difficult to patent a “business method.” In addition, the measure expands the ability to introduce prior art in patent exams and bans patents on tax strategies. Supporters of the act contend that reforming the patent system will unlock innovation and produce jobs in an economy that is increasingly driven by intellectual property. “This bill is an opportunity to show the American people that Democrats and Republicans can come together to enact meaningful legislation for the American people,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). “The time to do that is now.”

Figuring Out How Children Learn With Technology

Schools are stocking classrooms with computers. And outside of school, children are increasingly glued to screens, be they on phones, personal computers or TVs hooked to gaming consoles. Are they learning? In which environments? Under which conditions?

Children are spending an increasing amount of time in front of screens, said Ryan Blitstein, executive director of the Susan Crown Exchange. “There are two ways to look at it,” he said. “We can either say, ‘oh my gosh, we’re in trouble,’ or we can say, ‘this is an opportunity.’” The foundation is supporting, among other projects, continuing research by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that is developing a rating system for parents interested in buying educational software. That system will be introduced next year. With the Common Sense project and others the foundation is supporting, the idea is to explore whether there are keys to understanding learning behavior in activities that may not be aimed at teaching in the first place.

FCC Chairman Counsels Students to Be Moderate With Digital Media

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski welcomed students back to school by asking them to walk a line: use technology to learn, but don't get distracted by it.

He said that with high-speed Internet, “a student anywhere can have access to the best libraries, the best teachers, the best tutors in the world.” He went on to say that the use of mobile broadband could allow access to digital textbooks and “interactive learning tools.” But Chairman Genachowski also said that “as with every revolution, broadband Internet brings not only real opportunities but some real concerns.” Chiefly, he said policy makers and parents should be concerned about the potential for distraction; he said that research shows that the average teenager consumes 11 hours of media content a day, and sends a text every 10 minutes he or she is awake.

Lawmakers call for more testing for LightSquared

Government officials and lawmakers at a House Science Committee hearing said more testing is needed of LightSquared’s proposed wireless network because it could interfere with Global Positioning System devices, including those used to track hurricanes and other weather patterns. The hearing was a setback for wireless startup LightSquared, which has already invested billions of dollars into its hybrid service that would rely on both satellites and land-based cell towers to provide wholesale broadband access.

The Power of TV: From The Kennedy Assassination to 9/11

Modern media's first breaking-news test came on November 22, 1963.

Before September 11th, the question "where were you when" had a different ending: the moment when you learned about the assassination of a President was the shared touchstone for millions of lives. People found out about the tragedy in near simultaneity, and together watched the story evolve on television. They saw -- in real-time -- the story reach an apex when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot in the basement of the Dallas Police Department. It was the first live televised murder. The Kennedy assassination came at a remarkable moment near when the national media -- and national audience -- were first ready for the broad, immediate distribution of news. Since Pearl Harbor, communications had been maturing.

DoJ Requires Divestitures in Cumulus Media’s Acquisition of Citadel Broadcasting

The Department of Justice announced that it will require Cumulus Media, one of the largest operators of radio stations in the United States, to divest three radio stations in two markets in order for Cumulus to proceed with its acquisition of Citadel Broadcasting.

The department said that the transaction, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition for radio advertising in Flint (MI) and Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle (PA). The department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington (DC) to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the lawsuit and the department’s competitive concerns.

According to the complaint, Cumulus’s and Citadel’s radio stations compete head-to-head against one another for the business of local and national companies that seek to purchase radio advertising time that targets listeners in Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and Flint. Cumulus’s acquisition of Citadel would have eliminated the competition in these markets, increasing prices and reducing levels of service in the sale of radio advertising time. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Cumulus must divest two stations in Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and one station in Flint to buyers approved by the division. The divestitures will reduce Cumulus’s share in advertising revenues in Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and Flint to less than 40 percent, preserving choices for advertisers and ensuring competition.

Mobile patent litigation: A game with too many playing cards

When hardly a day goes by without a story that a new lawsuit has been filed claiming mobile patent infringement, you know the system is seriously broken.

At the core of the problem is the simple fact that too many patents have been granted over the years, making it impossible for patent holders to defend innovation. Patent cases are now filed willy-nilly, and often with no intention of protecting innovation. They are being used as playing cards in a high-stakes game where one company hopes to create a stalemate with another. You drop your suit because of these patents I hold, and I'll drop mine in deference to your patents. There are simply too many patents in the mobile space for any company to be protected from all others, so suits will continue to be thrown around. The suits are used as a tool to force companies to trade patent playing cards in the game. If a company successfully defends a patent or two in court against one foe, odds are new claims will be made that other patents are being infringed upon. With hundreds of thousands of patents in play, this game can be played forever. The winner will be who can afford to keep playing, not who is right. Make no mistake, this isn't about justice it’s about outlasting the other players.

Irene Top Story Online, Too

Hurricane Irene dominated the conversation on blogs last week, triggering a passionate debate about whether the news media overhyped the storm that struck the East Coast the weekend of August 28. For the week of August 29-September 2, discussion about Hurricane Irene was the No. 1 subject on blogs, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The majority of bloggers took issue with critics who asserted that the press had overhyped a storm that left more than 40 people dead and caused billions in damage. Two different pieces criticizing the press for overplaying Irene sparked much of the debate: one came from Howard Kurtz of The Daily Beast and another from Toby Harnden of the Daily Telegraph. The majority of bloggers strongly disagreed with Kurtz and Harnden's assessments, citing as evidence the amount of damage done to states such as Vermont and Rhode Island.

Getting to Yes: Finding a Fix to ICC-USF

[Commentary] Broken policy requires level-headed reforms that advance a greater good. As we have all painfully seen this year in Washington, this is easier said than done. The debate around how to reform the archaic inter-carrier compensation (ICC) and Universal Service systems (USF) seems have been with us forever. Major players have historically never seen eye-to-eye, and in fact couldn't even agree on the scope or nature of the problems. This has been the downfall of any effort to modernize and streamline these subsidy programs. What’s at stake? Besides rationalizing rates and distributing subsidies, the most necessary element of modern economic life: connecting several million mostly rural Americans to broadband.

Reform has been attempted countless times over the last 15 years, but squabbling parties couldn't find common ground and real progress was never achieved. The proposals are not perfect, and no one got everything they wanted. So perhaps our little corner of telecom policy making offers a lesson in the larger debate Tom has been discussing on this blog. I'm not saying we did the truly unthinkable -- found a way for the Yankees and Red Sox to become BFFs (heaven forbid!) -- but the ABC Plan is proof that solutions can be forged out of what once appeared to be intractable differences. Now is the time for the Federal Communications Commission to move forward – let’s not let the perfect deny consumers and businesses the benefits of a good solution that will deliver the benefits of broadband and modernized regulation.

Benton

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