INTERNATIONAL/DIGITAL DIVIDE
High-Tech Executives Urge Action on World's Digital Divide (NYT)
Camp Introduces Kids To High Tech (SJM)
Japan and US Reach Trade Pact on Telecommunications (NYT)
ONLINE PUBLISHING
CNet Is Buying What Remains of Ziff-Davis (NYT)
Stephen King Bucks Publisher (WP)
INTERNET
AOL Could Hook Up Phone Service (USA)
Microsoft, Net2Phone Sign Pact Allowing Free Calls by
Instant Messaging Users (WSJ)
Internet is Lowering the Cost of Advertising and Searching
for Jobs (NYT)
Unknown Musicians Find Payoffs Online (NYT)
FBI Says Carnivore Tool Won't Eat Up Privacy (WSJ)
MERGERS
Disney Preemptively Seeks AOL Time Warner Split (WP)
Deutsche Telekom Bids for Wireless Company (NYT)
Blockbuster, Enron Enter Agreement To Supply Movies Via
Phone Lines (WSJ)
INFOTECH
Project Gives Small Nonprofit Groups a Big-Time Mapping Tool (NYT)
CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS
Spectrum Management (NTIA)
Independent Telecommunications consumer Enhancement Act
of 2000 (House)
INTERNATIONAL/DIGITAL DIVIDE
HIGH-TECH EXECUTIVES URGE ACTION ON WORLD'S DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
A task force established by the World Economic Forum urged the wealthiest
nations to take action to erase a growing digital divide resulting from
economic chasms between developed and developing nations. The World Economic
Forum, which is a policy organization made up of many of the world's largest
corporations that meets annually in Davos, Switzerland, presented a series
of proposals on the issue to Japan's prime minister, Yoshiro Mori. The
proposal, prepared at Japan's request this year at the Davos meeting,
also includes the creation of a Peace Corps-style volunteer group, the
Global Digital Opportunity Corps, and the establishment of local technology
community centers. "I'd like to make this an information technology
discussion, mainly focusing on the developing nations," Mr. Mori said. "This
digital divide issue is a crucial matter." Although the digital divide issue
has been seized on in the last year, there is disagreement over what the
divide represents. "It's really not a digital divide, said Richard T. K. Li,
chairman and chief executive of the Pacific
Century Group, an Internet company based in Hong Kong. "It is an education
divide, and information technology is only a conduit to promote education."
Other companies represented on the task force include Sun Microsystems,
Microsoft, Yahoo, 3Com, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Novell and Alcatel.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A6), AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/20digital.html)
CAMP INTRODUCES KIDS TO HIGH TECH
Issue: Digital Divide
Many of the fifty Bay Area (CA) kids attending a computer camp this week
sponsored by the non-profit agency, Future Partners, say they now want to be
programmers or engineers when they grow up. Participants recommended by
their teachers and local Boys and Girls clubs will attend a six day program
at the University of California-Berkeley, receive a personal computer, a
mentor and three years of Internet access. "In my neighborhood there is no
source of computers to do my homework," wrote Beck Xathavisouk, a
13-year-old from San Francisco, in his application essay. "The only place
for me to do my homework or a report is the Boys and Girls club." He
explained, however, that it was dangerous to go there at night.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Sara Neufeld]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/camp072000.htm)
JAPAN AND US REACH TRADE PACT ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Issue: International
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone has long enjoyed a virtual monopoly in Japan.
However, a United States-Japanese trade agreement was reached that would
likely make telecommunications services in Japan far more affordable,
competitive and diverse. The central feature is cuts in the fees that N.T.T.
charges other telecommunications companies to use its domestic network,
which covers 98 percent of the lines to all customers. The agreement will
lower these costs by an average of 35 percent in two years and by at least
40 percent over three years. The charges have consumed nearly 40% of
N.T.T.'s competitors' revenue, effectively stifling competition. "By how
many percent interconnection fees are cut and whether it takes place over
two or three years is not really very important," said Harumasa Sato, a
professor at Konan University in Kobe and a telecommunications policy
expert. "The important thing is that it may lead to fundamental reform of
regulation that will create fair competition in this market." The agreement
came partially out of a well-fought marketing campaign by the United States
trade representative's office.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C3), AUTHOR: Stephnie Strom]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/072000japan-us-telecom.html)
ONLINE PUBLISHING
CNET IS BUYING WHAT REMAINS OF ZIFF-DAVIS
Issue: Online Publishing
CNet, one of the more profitable Internet companies, will purchase
Ziff-Davis and ZDNet for $1.6 billion in stock. The deal signals the degree
to which CNet, an upstart in the days when Ziff-Davis was a formidable
presence in the technology industry, has managed to surpass its main rival,
from which it took many of its early cues. The combine company will be the
8th-largest Internet property with 16.6 million users. Acquiring ZDNet gives
CNet a way to increase its audience at a time when the Internet is fast
approaching saturation, analysts say. "They're buying additional customers
rather than trying to steal them away," said Robert Martin, senior Internet
analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Company. "It's a good way of
extending their lead in market share."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Winter & Kuczynski]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/20ziff.html)
See Also:
CNET TO ACQUIRE ZIFF-DAVIS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Joelle Tessler]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/top/docs/cnet072000.htm)
STEPHEN KING BUCKS PUBLISHER
Issue: Online Publishing
Last winter, Stephen King's proved he did not need a traditional book to
reach his readers. Now King is proving he doesn't need a publisher. Starting
Monday morning, King's fans will be able to go to download the beginning of
a novel called "The Plant" from his Web site (www.stephenking.com). This
marks the first time in modern book publishing that the publisher is
being cut out of the printing and distribution of a major release. Here's
how it works: the honor system. Specifically, if more than 75 percent of the
people who download that first chapter send King a dollar, he'll keep
writing. If not, he'll pull the plug after the second installment next
month. "Will it work?" King writes on his Web site. "My kids, who know a lot
more about the Web than I do, say no way." My accountant...says he thinks it
will." Of course not every author could pull this off. But King, who enjoys
a huge audience for his physical books, also has had a some success in the
e-publishing realm. Last year King's "Riding the Bullet," e-published
jointly with Simon & Schuster, sold about 500,000 copies at $2.50 each. King
and the publisher split the profits evenly. Because of King's cult status,
many expect "The Plant" to have a filter-down effect among writers and
publishers. "This is the moment that everyone has been fearing," said
publishing consultant Lorraine Shanley. "It will raise the bar for
publishers," forcing them to prove that they actually add value to the
electronic publishing process. If only 20 percent of the people who bought
"Bullet" pay for 10 parts of "The Plant," King would earn $1 million. But
King says he is doing it for others. "If I could break some trail for all
the midlist writers, literary writers and just plain marginalized writers
who see a future outside the mainstream, that's great," he writes on his
site.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: David Streitfeld]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8784-2000Jul19.html)
INTERNET
AOL COULD HOOK UP PHONE SERVICE
Issue: Internet/Telephony
America's number one Internet service provider, AOL, is eagerly getting its
feet wet in the old fashion phone business. Experts predict that many of the
major Internet portals will begin to offer phone features. Instead of competing
head-to-head with local phone providers, AOL will likely offer consumers
customized PC-based phone services. Calls would be carried partially over
the Net and partially over traditional phone networks. AOL is likely to combine
it's instant messaging service with phone applications, so users could go
back and forth between written and spoken communication. Some experts
speculate that such plans are at the root of AOL's reluctance to allow users
of rival instant-messaging services communicate with users of its own.
[SOURCE: USAToday (6B), AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
MICROSOFT, NET2PHONE SIGN PACT ALLOWING FREE CALLS BY INSTANT MESSAGING
USERS
Issue: Telephony
Microsoft has signed a deal with Net2Phone to allow Microsoft instant
messaging users to make FREE LONG DISTANCE! phone calls over the Web.
Net2Phone's service allows people to use Internet networks, instead of
traditional phone links, to make voice calls through speakers and
microphones on their computers. The new calling feature will be integrated
into the newest version of Microsoft's MSN Messenger service, which launches
Thursday. The service, like larger instant-messaging services run by AOL,
allows people to set up "buddy lists" of online friends and chat with them
onscreen in real time. The Microsoft service will be the only free Net2Phone
offering. Net2Phone plans to make money off the deal by selling
advertisements that will appear on screen every time Microsoft users connect
to the new service to make a phone call. However, in a similar
service with AOL, Net2Phone plans to charge about a penny a minute for
domestic calls. The new offering means that "18 million people can log on
[today] and get free long distance," Sarah Lefko, a Microsoft product
manager, said.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B14), AUTHOR: REBECCA BUCKMAN]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB964051130777930072.htm)
INTERNET IS LOWERING THE COST OF ADVERTISING AND SEARCHING FOR JOBS
Issue: Jobs
A look at how Internet job boards are making it easier for people to find
jobs -- and for employers to find new workers. The arcane field of economics
known as "search theory," Krueger writes, is well suited for considering the
economic impact of e-cruiting. The key concept is the "matching function,"
which governs the speed at which workers fill vacancies. Search costs slow
down job matching, which contributes to unemployment and job vacancies. The
typical job board posts help-wanted ads or collects r