MICROSOFT
Microsoft, Government Head Back To Court (WSJ)
Microsoft Faces New FTC Charges Of False and Deceptive Advertising
(WSJ)
WIRELESS
Asia Seeks Wireless Web Phone Lead (USA)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Will 'Betty' Betray Bogota? Stay Tuned (WP)
ASIA SEEKS WIRELESS WEB PHONE LEAD
Issue: Wireless
Many experts believe that arrival of so-called third-generation, or 3G,
mobile phone technology will have an especially large impact in Asia.
Because of cheaper licenses and more technically advanced and uniform
digital phone networks across the region, it is likely that Asians will get
a cheaper and better product than most Europeans and North Americans.
Telecom companies, which are spending billions on the technology, say it
will put wireless Internet in the palm of our hands at speeds 100 times
faster than what's currently available and have the capability of playing
news and movies through streaming video. There are concerns, though, that
only the rich will be able to afford such devices. And some analysts worry
that 3G's chances of becoming dominant may be hurt by a current technology,
that of Japan's wildly popular "i-mode" phones, or by a steppingstone
technology.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Asia-Wireless-Pioneers.html)
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MICROSOFT
MICROSOFT, GOVERNMENT HEAD BACK TO COURT
Issue: Antitrust
When Microsoft returns to court Monday in a bid to overturn a judge's ruling
that it broke antitrust laws and should be split in two, the software titan
faces decidedly friendlier surroundings. The skeptical trial judge, the star
prosecutor and his withering cross-examinations of company executives are
gone. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, which will hear oral
arguments Monday and Tuesday, includes four Republican appointees and three
Democratic appointees. "This is about as good a panel as Microsoft could
have gotten," says William Kovacic of George Washington University Law
School. Yet Washington lawyer Donald Falk says, "In a case of this
complexity, it's a fool's errand to start predicting" outcomes.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3B), AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-02-26-microsoft-court.htm)
MICROSOFT FACES NEW FTC CHARGES OF FALSE AND DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING
Issue: Advertising
At a time when Microsoft hopes to overturn the antitrust ruling that
requires it to split into two, the software giant is facing federal charges
of false and deceptive advertising for the second time in less than a year,
casting new light on its business tactics. The Federal Trade Commission is
focused on Microsoft's aggressive advertising campaign targeting Palm Inc.,
whose products compete against those hand-held devices using Microsoft's
Windows software. Last April, a federal court found that Microsoft had used
an arsenal of illegal and predatory tactics to protect its Windows monopoly
and extend it to the Web. The FTC found that Microsoft's cheeky "Can Your
Palm Do That?" ads last year deceptively claimed features that were
unavailable unless buyers spent more for wireless capability. Microsoft's
competitors charge that even as it seeks to overturn the antitrust ruling,
the Redmond, Wash., software maker has continued to use its dominance to
push into new markets.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB983146338103891546.htm)
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MEDIA & SOCIETY
WILL 'BETTY' BETRAY BOGOTA? STAY TUNED
Issue: Media & Society
"Betty la fea," literally, "Betty the Ugly" has Colombia mesmerized. Betty
has, or rather, had, attributes never seen before in a Latin American soap
opera heroine: Pimples. Betty, the heroine of a nightly half-hour telenovela
has become a smash hit and social phenomenon. Betty has graced the covers of
the nation's most important newsmagazines -- one naming her "Person of the
Year" -- and she's been commented upon by leading political columnists and
the president himself during controversial plot twists. The upshot is this:
Colombian telenovelas have long revolved around beauty and "the
indescribably beautiful." Traditionally, a heroine's formula for success is
to marry well. Beauty -- narrowly defined as light skin and European
features rather than darker skin and Indian features -- is seen not only an
asset, but a social class marker. "Now with plastic surgeons able to repair
any blemish or problem with appearance, it has become an obligation to be
beautiful... So the only women who are ugly today must be poor." But not
Betty, perhaps. Over the 16 month run of the telenovela the heroine has
proven herself adept, intelligent and worthy of happiness. But in the
culture of Colombia, does that mean this ugly duckling will end the series a
swan? The producer of the show is torn: Fernando Gaitan, the producer,
wanted to play against telenovela type when he created Betty for her October
1999 debut on RCN Television. Generally, only the uncommonly beautiful poor
woman overcomes her social circumstances, usually by marrying the hacienda
owner or corporate president rather than through individual moxie or wiles.
Yet, Gaitan is not out to teach social lessons: "This is not a deception,"
he says. "It is a way to make people's lives better, to make them happy for
a half-hour a night. This country is hurting enough." In the end what is the
message if the duckling ends up a swan? That only the beautiful succeeed?
"Yes, that's what it would mean," says Viviana Luna, a 26-year-old clerk
standing nearby. "But that's also the truth."
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (A01), AUTHOR: Scott Wilson]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54679-2001Feb25.html)
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