Note: Between August 20 and September 2, the CPP
News-Clipping Service may be whacky, inconsistent, and a bit too
serious. Kevin is on vacation and has assigned his minions
the responsibility to get the news out to youse. We'll do
our best.
In today's headlines:
Telephone:
WSJ: Beijing Puts a Wall Around Its Thriving Phone System
Telecom Policy:
FCC: Responses to Universal Service Data Request for
Forward-Looking Mechanism for High Cost Support to Non-Rural LECs
New Media
NYT: Going Down a New Road, Then Back
Privacy:
Wash. Post: Federal Sites on Web Gather Personal Data
Wash. Post: 3 Charged in N.Y. in Pager Scheme
Technology Use:
WSJ: Watching the Web: Experts Pick Their Most Useful Sites
Computer Industry:
NYT: IBM's multimedia campaigns posits that small is beautiful
NYT: FTC Said to Question Intel Merger Bid
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous / Cult of Personality:
Wash. Post: The House the Bill Gates' Money Built
********************** TELEPHONE *************************
Title: Beijing Puts a Wall Around Its Thriving Phone System
Source: Wall Street Journal (A11)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Joseph Kahn
Issue: International Telephone
Description: This week sees the 100 millionth phone line installed
in China, an extraordinary milestone when you consider that only
20 years ago citizens had to ride their bikes downtown to use a phone.
Now there are 7 phone lines for every 100 people, private lines are
available on demand, and China promises to wire every farm village by 2000.
China Telecom (a state co.) also now eclipses AT&T Corps as the world's
largest provider of mobile-phone services. And China Telecom has done this
all on its own, defying expectations that it would have to allow foreign
investment in services or even foreign ownership if it hoped to serve its
booming economy.
********************** Telecom Policy *************************
Title: Responses to Universal Service Data Request for
Forward-Looking Mechanism for High Cost Support to Non-Rural LECs
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Comments/da971433_data_request/
datareq.html
Author: FCC
Issue: Universal service
Description: On July 9, 1997 the FCC released a Universal Service Data
Request Order requiring information from certain large LECs to enable the
Commission to evaluate forward-looking economic cost models. Responses filed
electronically are available for downloading from this site, including:
Ameritech, Anchorage Telephone Co., Bell Atlantic, Bell South, GTE, Puerto
Rico Telephone Co., Sprint, South West Bell, and US West.
******************** NEW MEDIA *******************
Title: Going Down A New Road, Then Back
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/082897vagabond.html
Author: Mark Landler
Issue: New Media vs. Old Media
Description: The lure of "New Media," which covers everything from
interactive television to the Internet, is quite potent when dangled in
front of a successful media executive hungry to make a name/fortune for
himself. All that glitters isn't gold, though. Investors often lose
interest in such ventures because profits are hard to come by. Often,
partners can't agree on how best to use the new media, and executives
that were very successful at AT&T or ABC find themselves up a certain
well-known creek without a paddle.
*********************** PRIVACY ****************************
Title: Federal Sites on Web Gather Personal Data
Source: Washington Post (E1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/28/103l-082897-idx.html
Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Issue: Privacy
Description: A report issued yesterday revealed that 31 of 70 websites
operated by federal government agencies collect data about people visiting
the site without saying how that information will be used. Only eleven of
the surveyed sites indicate how the information they collect will be used,
and only four agencies have consistent notices. The study, issued by OMB
Watch ombwatch.org/ombwatch.html, concluded that at least four agencies
"probably violated the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974." [The
report, "A Delicate Balance: The Privacy and Access Practices of Federal
Government World Wide Web Sites" is available on the web at
http://ombwatch.org/ombw/privall.pdf.]
Title: 3 Charged in N.Y. In Pager Scheme
Source: Washington Post (E1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/28/102l-082897-idx.html
Author: Sharon Walsh
Issue: Privacy
Description: Federal prosecuters indicted three men for intercepting
confidential messages intended for the pagers of senior officials in New
York's mayor's office, the district attorney's office, and police and fire
departments. The intercepted information, which included messages
considered too sensitive to broadcast on police radios, was allegedly then
sold to news organizations. U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White said, "Law
enforcement, the media and Corporate America should be aware ... if you are
using a paging system, your communications may not be secure."
************************ TECHNOLOGY USE *******************************
Title: Watching the Web: Experts Pick Their Most Useful Sites
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Thomas E. Weber
Issue: Technology use, useful websites
Description: Surfing the web is easy. Putting it to work can be anything
but. Article asks 20 experts-- corporate execs, technology instructors,
business school researchers, librarians and consultants-- to identify useful
websites. Yahoo scored highest as the best all around starting point,
although admittedly not always the most current or accurate. Top search
engines include AltaVista, Excite, Hotbot, Infoseek and Lycos. If you're
spending the next three days in Minneapolis (or Anytown, USA), the following
"city guides" were suggested: City.Net, Citysearch, and Sidewalk. For
finding information on specific companies: Hoover's Online, InfoSpace, and
Securities and Exchange Commission. Making travel plans? Go to Expedia,
Mapquest and Travelocity. Four11 and Switchboard were sited as the best
Internet "white pages" and BigBook and Worldpages as the best "yellow
pages." And the best news sites: CNet, CNN, NY Tmes, PathFinder, WAJ
Interactive and ZDNet.
************ Computer Industry ************
Title: IBM's multimedia campaign posits that small is beautiful
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/082897ibm.html
Author: Stuart Elliot
Issue: Advertising
Description: Starting this weekend, IBM will begin an ad campaign aimed
at selling small to medium-sized businesses on the value of using new
information technologies as a tool for electronic commerce, accounting,
inventory control, etc.
Title: FTC Said to Question Intel Merger Bid
Source: New York Times (D18)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Reuters
Issue: Media Mergers
Description: The FTC is asking for further information regarding Intel's
bid to buy Chips and Technologies Inc. By purchasing Chips and
Technologies, Intel would be acquiring the largest manufacturer of
graphics chips for laptops, and would be gaining a great deal of
expertise in making graphics accelerators, which improve the realism of
graphics and video on PC's. According to an Intel spokesman, such
requests by the FTC are "not uncommon."
******************** Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous ******************
Title: The House That Bill Gates' Money Built
Source: Washington Post (A1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/frompost/features/aug97/gateshouse2...
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran and John Schwartz
Issue: Life Styles of the Rich and Famous/Cult of Personality
Description: It's huge (20,000 square feet). It cost $60 million to
build. It has lots of wizzy technology. And, after 7 years of
construction (as many years of stories) it's ready for Bill, Melinda, and
Jennifer Gates to move in to. The article says they'd like to "move
quietly." [The web site includes links to pictures, interviews with
neighbors, and information about "other famous mansions" such as William
Randolph Hearst's San Simeon.]
*********