DIGITAL DIVIDE
Clinton Enlists Help for Plan to Increase Computer Use (NYT)
INTERNET
No Party Line When Issue Is Web Taxation (WP)
Group Seeks To Set Rules For Health-Care Web Sites (WSJ)
ACCESS
A Way to Talk on a Cell Phone Without a Word Being Spoken (NYT)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
McCain's Web Page Rakes In Donations Day After N.H. Win (SJM)
MERGERS
Vodafone Finally Succeeds in $160 Billion Bid for Mannesmann (NYT)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
CLINTON ENLISTS HELP FOR PLAN TO INCREASE COMPUTER USE
Issue: Digital Divide
Seeking to build support for his $2.3 billion digital divide budget
initiatives, President Clinton convened computer executives, including Steve
Case of America Online, at Ballou Senior High School in a struggling
neighborhood in Washington, D.C. "It will be tragic if this instrument, that
has done more to break down barriers between people than anything in all of
human history, built a new wall because not everybody had access to it," Mr.
Clinton said. With the declared goal of making Internet access as common as
telephone usage, the budget proposals focus on helping to train teachers;
the creation of 1000 community technology centers; the launch of a $50
million home computer project; and $10 million for a special program to help
American Indians prepare for careers in information technology. The
centerpiece of the proposal, would be $2 billion in tax incentives over the
next decade to encourage companies to donate computers, sponsor schools,
libraries and community centers, and support technology training for
workers. Congressional Republicans have shown support for Mr. Clinton's goal
of hooking up more Americans to the Internet. But the specifics of a federal
response are still being developed on Capitol Hill. "I'm a little nervous
about having the federal government dictate what gets done in school
districts," said Senator Robert F. Bennett, the Utah Republican heads the
Senate High Tech Task Force.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Marc
Lacey](http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/biztech/articles/03digital.
html)
See Also
CLINTON TO PROPOSE $2 BILLION IN INCENTIVES FOR COMPUTERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal
Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949499003542780466.htm)
INTERNET
NO PARTY LINE WHEN ISSUE IS WEB TAXATION
Issue: E Commerce/Internet Regulation
Two Republican Governors faced off on the issue of Internet taxation as they
testified before the Senate Budget Committee yesterday. Massachusetts
Governor Paul Cellucci came down hard on the tax-free side stating that "we
must not build a toll on the information superhighway." Governor John Engler
of Michigan, however, said that while he is not generally in favor of taxing
the Internet, he wanted states to be able to use current sales taxes to
collect revenue from online purchases. Cellucci said that imposing new taxes
"would choke off a burgeoning industry before we experience its full
economic benefit." Engler responded to that statement, quoted to him later,
saying, "I don't know, AOL is large enough to buy Time Warner-so they're
scraping by, at least." The debate over Internet taxation has heated up as
the three-year moratorium on any new taxes aimed directly at the Internet
nears expiration. Two of the most vocal opponents to new taxation are
Democrats, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Barbara Boxer of California.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a4072-2000feb3.htm)
GROUP SEEKS TO SET RULES FOR HEALTH-CARE WEB SITES
Issue: Health/Internet
In response to recent criticism of how some health Web sites handle visitor
information, participants of the "eHealth Ethics Summit" held this week in
Washington, D.C., took steps toward establishing ethical standards for the
operation of health-care Web sites. The group plans to formally publish a
proposed set of principles for public comment later this month.
Recommendations on focus on areas like protection of patient privacy and
informed consent, in an effort to increase public trust in health Web sites.
The recommendations also advise that the industry establish a mechanism to
give consumers the chance to access and correct information gathered from
them over the Web
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal
Staff]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB949545763723696261.htm)
ACCESS
A WAY TO TALK ON A CELL PHONE WITHOUT A WORD BEING SPOKEN
Issue: Media and Society
Bell Laboratories, the research division of Lucent Technologies, and the
Bell Atlantic Mobile division of the Bell Atlantic Corporation have
announced a technology that will allow people with hearing and speech
impairments to make digital cellular calls using text-telephone, or
teletypewriter, devices. Bell Atlantic Mobile, said the company plans to
market phones that are compatible with such devices, known as TTY equipment,
in the second half of 2001. The company will work with several handset
manufacturers to incorporate the technology into new handset models. The
Federal Communications Commission mandated in 1996 that TTY users have
wireless access to 911 emergency services. Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for
the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association said: "The cellular
industry is very committed to putting wireless in the hands of all
consumers, including those with hearing loss, and this is a very important
step towards that goal." TTY devices have been used since the 1960's to
transmit and receive text messages over phone lines. They generally consist
of a keyboard, a screen, a telephone handset and an acoustic receiver and
transmitter that sends a series of high-pitched tones over the phone line.
One challenge in developing a wireless-compatible TTY was that wireless
phones could not decode a TTY's broad range of tones without a high margin
of error.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E4), AUTHOR: CATHERINE GREENMAN]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/circuits/articles/03deaf.html)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
MCCAIN'S WEB PAGE RAKES IN DONATIONS DAY AFTER N.H. WIN
Issue: Political Discourse
Following a unexpectedly pronounced primary victory in New Hampshire, Sen.
John McCain's Web site collected a record-breaking $501,415 on Wednesday,
the largest one-day online campaign fundraising. From the time television
pundits proclaimed McCain a runaway winner on Tuesday evening, more than
17,000 donors visited McCain's Web site to contribute to his campaign. Only
500 people, in comparison, called to pledge donations over the telephone.
Harvard Professor David King, who has studied Internet campaigning, says
that politicians still have much to learn about taking advantage of the
Internet. "There are so many exciting and interesting things online that the
world of politics won't figure out until it's been done elsewhere first. If
you watch what Proctor & Gamble does to market its soap, that's what you'll
see politicians do three or four years down the road," he predicts. One
barrier to taking full advantage of the Internet for campaigns is that there
aren't yet enough voters who regularly go online for the Web sites to make a
significant impact, according to University of California-Berkeley Professor
Merrill Shanks. A recent Time/CNN poll found that only 17 percent of adults
said they use the Internet to gain access to politics.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Joshua L. Kwan]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/prez020300.htm)
MERGERS
VODAFONE FINALLY SUCCEEDS IN $160 BILLION BID FOR MANNESMANN
Issue: Mergers
Mannesmann has finally succumbed to Vodafone AirTouch's $160 billion hostile
take-over bid. The companies have negotiated a deal that will give Vodafone
51.5% control of the company, while leaving Mannesmann with 49.5% control.
The face-saving agreement will be called a "merger." Last week Mannesmann
had attempted to negotiate a merger with Vivendi, a French media and
utilities group, that would have given Mannesmann control of France's
second-largest wireless network as well as a major stake in Canal Plus,
Europe's biggest pay-television company. Mannesmann's efforts were derailed
when Vodafone succeeded in negotiating its own alliance with Vivendi.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin with Edmund L.
Andrews]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/03vodafone.html)
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