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Today's Topics:
1. AACS DRM tentacles reach far into operating systems
(Monty Solomon)
2. Microsoft Disputes FCC's Rejection of TV White-Space Devices
(George Antunes)
3. Upkeep Of Security Devices A Burden For 1st Responders
(George Antunes)
4. Aluminum and glass: A review of the new iMac (Monty Solomon)
5. 100% Proof Google is Keeping Alternative Media Sites Down (Rob)
6. Students in US state of Virginia want to carry guns to class (Rob)
7. National ID? How about a global ID? (Rob)
8. FCC Rules Allow One Bidder To Buy More Than Half of Spectrum
(George Antunes)
9. In Defense of Gadgetry (George Antunes)
10. FCC Tested Defective Prototype Device (George Antunes)
11. Ariane 5 / Spaceway 3 & B-SAT 3A Upcoming Launch Coverage
Tuesday (8-14) @ 7:15pm ET. Galaxy-10R (12146.5 V) SR: 6.111 DVB
(Dishnut)
12. Artists, promote thyself (Greg Williams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:06:14 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] AACS DRM tentacles reach far into operating
systems
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
AACS DRM tentacles reach far into operating systems
By Ken Fisher | Published: August 12, 2007 - 11:03PM CT
Introduction
"The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was in getting folks to
blame someone other than Hollywood for video DRM." -not Keyser S?ze
Peter Gutmann, author of a well-known and fascinating paper
describing the tradeoffs of Microsoft's content protection system in
Windows Vista, is on the hunt again. Last year, his paper "Cost
Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection" painted a grim picture
of the lengths Microsoft went to in order to gain full compliance
with AACS, the next-gen copy control system for Blu-ray and HD DVD
(and they did go far). Now Gutmann is reiterating his claims but also
reportedly digging deep in his attacks on Microsoft. While Microsoft
deserves some of the blame, the bigger story here is the technical
nightmare created by AACS and how its tentacles are reaching into the
consumer technology we all use daily. It's a shame that this is
getting lost in the mix, but after discussing the issue with a
journalist this weekend, I decided to delve a little more into it
here.
Gutmann's presentation at this year's USENIX Security Symposium in
Boston has been profiled at Network World. Gutmann's thesis is fairly
basic and unchanged from last year: Microsoft spent way too many
resources appeasing Hollywood when it should have been making Windows
Vista better. Gutmann is essentially correct; any time a consumer
electronics manufacturer or other technology company has to waste
time with DRM, that company is wasting resources that could be better
spent elsewhere if DRM wasn't a sad fact of life. Let no one doubt
that. All of this attention focused on Microsoft is missing the
bigger story, however.
...
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/aacs-tentacles.ars
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:26:01 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Microsoft Disputes FCC's Rejection of TV
White-Space Devices
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Microsoft Disputes FCC's Rejection of Web Devices That Use TV Airwaves
By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 13, 2007; A02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/12/AR2007081201084_pf.html
Today Microsoft plans to try to convince regulators that it can connect
consumers to high-speed Internet over unused television airwaves without
interfering with existing broadcasts.
In a document that it plans to file today with the Federal Communications
Commission, Microsoft disputes the agency's recent findings that prototype
devices either interfered with TV signals or could not detect them to avoid
interference. Microsoft's first prototype was defective, but the firm said
another model worked successfully in a demonstration it gave to the FCC
last week.
The filing is Microsoft's latest attempt to get FCC commissioners to
approve a plan that would let a new generation of portable wireless devices
connect to the Internet without relying on existing wireless carriers. The
devices in question, which were designed and made by Microsoft, would use
vacant TV airwaves, known as white space, to carry Internet service to
homes and offices, including those in rural areas. The airwaves will be
available when TV broadcasters move to digital signals in early 2009.
The FCC plans to hold a meeting Thursday to discuss testing options for
white-space devices.
Microsoft is part of a coalition of high-tech companies, including Intel,
Google and Dell, that sees white space as a way to connect such products as
digital cameras and music players to the Web. Proponents of the technology
argue that TV-spectrum-based Internet service could be less expensive and
more accessible than current phone and fiber-optic lines, forcing other
high-speed Web service providers to lower their prices.
But the FCC must balance those companies' interests with those of
broadcasters, sports leagues, cable operators and phone companies that
worry their signals might cross, causing poor reception, static and dropped
calls.
Two weeks ago, FCC engineers found that the original prototype caused
static on existing broadcasts.
But the new prototype "reliably detected occupied television channels," the
company said in the filing it plans to submit today. Microsoft also
discussed potential improvements to the device to eliminate interference
with wireless microphones, such as those used at sports games and concerts.
Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, an
opponent of Microsoft's plan, said he is confident the FCC's report is
accurate and that Microsoft's "self-serving" agenda may jeopardize
"America's access to interference-free television reception."
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:29:45 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Upkeep Of Security Devices A Burden For 1st
Responders
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Upkeep Of Security Devices A Burden
By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 13, 2007; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/12/AR2007081201244_pf.html
In 2003, the FBI used a $25 million grant to give bomb squads across the
nation state-of-the-art computer kits, enabling them to instantly share
information about suspected explosives, including weapons of mass destruction.
Four years later, half of the Washington area's squads can't communicate
via the $12,000 kits, meant to be taken to the scene of potential
catastrophes, because they didn't pick up the monthly wireless bills and
maintenance costs initially paid by the FBI. Other squads across the
country also have given up using them.
"They worked, and it was a good idea -- until the subscription ran out,"
said Mike Love, who oversees the bomb squad in Montgomery County's fire
department. At the local level, he said, "there is not budget money for it."
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the area has received more
than $1 billion in federal money to strengthen first responders and secure
the region. That money has bought satellite phones, radios, protective
suits, water-security monitors and a host of other items.
But local officials are grappling with how to maintain the huge infusion of
equipment. Like a driver whose 5-year-old luxury sedan has worn-out brakes,
cracked tires and engine problems, local governments are facing hefty bills
to keep their gear working.
The region has a long list of terrorism-fighting items that need parts and
service. Officials recently set aside nearly one-fifth of the area's latest
federal homeland security grant -- about $12 million -- to cover
maintenance over the next two years.
The shopping list includes $120,000 in new batteries for emergency radios;
$400,000 to maintain chemical and radiation monitors for rivers; and
$250,000 in replacement equipment for top officials' videoconferencing system.
Wanting to avoid a maintenance time bomb, governments are starting to plan
for the end of the decade, when state and local jurisdictions will probably
be forced to shoulder most of the costs.
"There's an agreement we're going to start weaning ourselves, such that
more and more, we'll pick up" the maintenance costs, said Fairfax County
Executive Anthony H. Griffin, who heads a committee of local government
administrators working on the grants.
In some cases, officials are slowing homeland security projects while the
question of upkeep is worked out.
This year, for example, the region asked the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security for more than $13 million to build a broadband wireless network
for emergency workers. In the end, officials decided to spend just $1
million -- on plans that will determine the maintenance costs.
Behind such caution is concern that the anti-terrorism dollars that have
rained down on the D.C. area in recent years might begin to dry up. Michael
Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, warned cities recently that the
grants were not like Social Security checks that would arrive year after year.
"In fact, as communities begin to build their capabilities, we should see
them getting less money," Chertoff said at a news conference.
The FBI bomb-kit program shows how even the best-intentioned plans to equip
first responders can go awry over the simple question of maintenance.
The program was requested in 1999 by Congress, which had been alarmed by a
nerve-gas attack on a Tokyo subway that killed 12 people and sickened
thousands. Legislators set aside $25 million for the FBI to prepare state
and local bomb squads to deal with weapons of mass destruction.
The FBI developed a special suitcase of tools that bomb squads could take
to scenes. The core of the kit was a rugged wireless laptop loaded with
files describing explosives and chemical and biological agents.
The kit also included a digital camera so technicians could snap a picture
of any strange device and e-mail it to FBI bomb experts for quick advice.
"It was a unique communication tool," said FBI Special Agent Barbara
Martinez, a top official in the agency's Critical Incident Response Group.
The "Cobra kits" were handed out to nearly 400 state and local bomb squads
across the country in 2003. Each came with a prepaid three-year service
agreement and a one-year wireless card.
But apparently, no one realized that the squads might not have the cash to
maintain the wireless subscription.
Local officials said it could run $60 a month per kit, totaling a few
hundred dollars for a squad with several kits. Also, the kits needed
periodic updates, which could run into the hundreds or thousands of
dollars, they said.
"It was quite expensive for the local jurisdictions to absorb the cost,"
said Jerry Swain, bomb-squad commander for Loudoun County.
Montgomery's Love said his department had to stop paying for the system in
2005, just two years after getting it.
"Basically, we're still dealing with the same budget we had 10 years ago,
except for personnel costs," he said.
The D.C. and Arlington County police bomb squads also dropped the wireless
subscription. The Prince George's County bomb squad chose to replace that
system with other technology purchased through federal grants, a spokesman
said.
Some local squads said they had more pressing needs than maintaining the
system, which they described as occasionally helpful but not essential.
"To say it's something that's going to make or break us on the scene, I
would say not," Swain said.
Others said they found the kit valuable because of its wireless connection
to other bomb experts and its copious reference material.
"We could carry around 10 textbooks, but it's all there" in the computer,
said Sgt. Thomas Sharkey, Metro's bomb-squad commander. Metro has continued
to maintain its kits, as have bomb squads run by the Fairfax County police
and Virginia State Police.
Jeff Fuller, a spokesman for the National Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory
Board, said that many squads had found the kits too expensive to maintain
but that he didn't know how many stopped using it. Martinez, the FBI
official, also said she did not know.
Martinez said the kits were initially successful in teaching bomb
technicians about weapons of mass destruction. Now, though, some of the
kits are sitting unused, she acknowledged.
"It is sad -- now you've got that paperweight doorstop out there," she said.
But the FBI made it clear from the start that local and state squads would
eventually have to pick up the maintenance costs, she said. "Maybe people
didn't read the fine print," she added.
FBI bomb technicians across the country have continued to maintain their
kits and can take them to scenes to assist, she said.
Was the project a bad use of $25 million? No, Martinez said, but she added,
"I wish it came with the maintenance thing."
Because of advances in technology, the 2003 kits would need significant
upgrades to be effective now, she said.
In this year's application for its homeland security grant, the region's
bomb squads included a request to upgrade their Cobra kits and pay for
wireless cards. But local officials say it is not clear whether they would
use their funding award on the project because they have higher priorities
for their squads, including protective suits and robots.
"The last thing we want to do is put money into something the grant is not
going to keep up over time," said Loudoun County Fire Marshal Keith Brower,
who heads a regional committee overseeing bomb squads. "We're flagging
those issues right now."
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:56:34 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Aluminum and glass: A review of the new iMac
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Aluminum and glass: A review of the new iMac
By Eric Bangeman | Published: August 09, 2007 - 01:21AM CT
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/aluminum-and-glass-a-review-of-the-new-imac.ars
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:05:56 -0500
From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] 100% Proof Google is Keeping Alternative Media
Sites Down
To: Media-News <[email protected]>, Tom and Darryl
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
100% Proof Google is Keeping Alternative Media Sites Down
Monday Aug 13, 2007
LUCUS DRADOR
theultimateconspiracy.com
http://www.theultimateconspiracy.com/media_control/proof_google_keeping_conspiracy_sites_down.htm
As if it were not bad enough that we are censored by the main stream
media, now there's a new type of suppression being implemented upon
conspiracy related websites and alternative media sources.
It's called Link Relevance Suppression, and it's being used on most of
the alternative media websites to lower traffic being driven to them by
the popular search engine Google.
It's also being used in the opposite way to "Promote" Neo-Con supporting
websites by giving them double the "Link Relevance"
Let me explain how Google indexes sites that go into the search cue when
someone types in certain keywords relating that site.
Google has many different criteria when it decides how close to the top
a website gets, but the main and most important one is Link Relevance.
It simply means in laymen's terms;
The more sites that link to your site, the higher you go on the list.
There is a simple way to check on Google how many other websites are
linking to your website. You go to Google and type in the word link:
before the web address, for example;
link:www.theultimateconspiracy.com
Now here is where the proof is that Google has implemented some kind of
script that is giving all the alternative media sites less that 1/4th of
the Link Relevance that they deserve.
If you go to Google and simply type in www.yourwebsite.com you will find
the REAL number of sites that have a link back to your website. This
does not mean that the sites are being added to the Link Relevance, it
only shows that they have the link on their website.
Want proof? Let's do some searches of various alternative media related
websites and see what we get.
Click the links to see results;
link:www.infowars.com
http://www.infowars.com
Now notice that the "Link Search" brings up 2,960 pages that are linked
back to www.infowars.com, but when you look at the actual numbers of
sites with links to www.infowars.com the real number is 207,000.
How about;
link:www.prisonplanet.com
www.prisonplanet.com
You get 2,530 "Link Relevance", but the real number is 331,000.
link:www.whatreallyhappened.com
www.whatreallyhappened.com
You get 2,840 "Link Relevance", but the real number is 111,000.
link:www.theultimateconspiracy.com
www.theultimateconspiracy.com
You get 0 "Link Relevance", but the real number is 56.
They are even doing it to popular alternative media sites like
Huffingtonpost.com
link:www.huffingtonpost.com
www.huffingtonpost.com
You get 47,000 "Link Relevance", but the real number is 851,000.
Now, let's turn the tables and do a link search on a popular Neo-Con
supporting website called Hotair.com, run by the Fox News Shill Michelle
Malkin.
link:www.hotair.com
www.hotair.com
You get 11,400 "Link Relevance", and the real number is 526.
How about doing a search on Michelle Malkin's personal site.
link:www.michellemalkin.com
www.michellemalkin.com
You get 38,200 "Link Relevance", and the real number is 15,900.
Notice how the numbers are flipped?
This should have ANY webmaster up in arms. Blatant censorship being
implemented to keep the alternative media down and promote the Neo-Con
Draconian agendas.
Did Google not think that somebody would figure this out eventually?
Did they not think that this very noticeable censorship would go
unchecked forever?
I urge ALL Webmasters, Alternative Media Users, and anybody who cares
about how sites are indexed on Google to contact them en mass and state
your dissatisfaction about suppressing "Link Relevance".
If Google gave sites like Infowars.com and Prisonplanet.com the "Link
Relevance" that they deserve, these alternative media sites would be in
direct competition with Main Stream Media sites that so dominate the
Internet as we know it today.
Nothing like beating the competition by eliminating them, right Google?
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:07:20 -0500
From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Students in US state of Virginia want to carry
guns to class
To: Media-News <[email protected]>, Tom and Darryl
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Students in US state of Virginia want to carry guns to class
AFP
Monday Aug 13, 2007
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Students_in_US_state_of_Virginia_wa_08132007.html
A group of students in the US state of Virginia wants to be allowed to
carry guns to class, saying it would prevent a repetition of the
massacre at Virginia Tech in which 33 people died, a press report said
Monday.
"The students at Tech, they really should have had a chance to defend
themselves," Andrew Dysart, a former Marine and now final-year student
at George Mason University in Virginia, was quoted as saying in the
Express freesheet, published by the Washington Post.
Dysart has set up a chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
(SCCC) to press legislators in Virginia to change a state law that
allows schools and universities to decide whether guns should be allowed
on campus.
In Virginia, academic institutions can set policies as to whether
students can carry weapons, but cannot bar non-student, licenced
gun-owners from bringing their firearms onto school property.
"In a sense, students don't have the same rights to self-defense on
campus as the general public," Dysart said.
Gun laws in Virginia were slammed as being among the most lax in the
United States after student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting spree on
the campus of Virginia Tech in April, gunning down 32 fellow students
and faculty members before taking his own life.
The SCCC is represented at four Virginia campuses, according to its
website. No chapter was listed for Virginia Tech.
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:09:34 -0500
From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] National ID? How about a global ID?
To: Media-News <[email protected]>, Tom and Darryl
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
National ID? How about a global ID?
Maggie Biggs
InfoWorld
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=9030038&taxonomyId=17&intsrc=kc_feat
The Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (FiXs) -- a
little-known group of nonprofits, government contractors, commercial
entities, and government agencies -- has just unveiled a
first-of-its-kind global infrastructure to support distributed,
integrated identity management and cross-credentialing across
organizations. The implementation combines several existing security
technologies along with a set of trusted models, policies, and operating
rules to insure the accurate identity of personnel accessing physical
sites or logical systems.
Already in a pilot mode at a handful of government agencies and defense
contractors, the FiXs identity management initiative does not have a
hard date for broad deployment, although the impediments do not appear
to be technical. "The cultural gap with the public in general is still
too wide," said Dr. Mike Mestrovich, president of FiXs. "I think there
would have to be a public consensus to move us in that direction and I
don't see that happening until at least 2009 or beyond."
Founded in 2004 and based in Fairfax, Va., FiXs counts among its members
the Department of Defense, Wells Fargo, Lockheed Martin, EDS, and
several others. Modeled after secure electronic payment systems and
initially implemented by the DOD's Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC),
the FiXs initiative meets the objectives set forth in the October 2006
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12).
"Until now, cross-bordering policies between government and industry had
not been established," said Mary Dixon, director at the DMDC. The FiXs
implementation does not assign roles, grant or deny access, or otherwise
act as a gatekeeper. Rather, the mission of FiXs is simply to
authenticate the identity of participants within its member
organizations. Once verified by FiXs, individual site managers and
systems administrators assign or designate access controls based on the
role of the individual and the policies of a given organization.
FiXs' capabilities allow it to cross between both public and private
sector organizations using a federated trust model. The implementation
is available worldwide in local or remote settings via both wireless and
wired environments. Access is available in real time. An individual's
specific identity data remains within their vetted source organization.
"By its very nature, the federated solution aids in privacy because
there is no central database and individual data can be stored in only
one [vetted] place," Dr. Mestrovich said. Yet the distributed design and
cross-organizational model found in the FiXs implementation does offer
the possibility of a future national or international identity
management system that might cross borders and organizational
boundaries. "The federated approach can actually take the place of a
mandated National ID system," Dr. Mestrovich stated.
Still, the head of FiXs does not see a national or international
identity management implementation as a near-term reality for a couple
of reasons. First, no schedule has been defined to implement such a
system on the federal, state, or local level, let alone among the
broader private sector. "We are speaking to a couple of States about
using FiXs, but no timetable has been set," Dr. Mestrovich said.
More to the point, even though the federated identity management
approach could power a national or international system, policy and
implementation agreements would be needed among federal, state, and
local government agencies as well as corporate governance boards, civil
libertarians, foreign governments, and the population at large.
The initial DMDC pilot leverages the trust model, operating rules,
policies, and security defined by FiXs and it can be considered a
reference implementation. Several technologies underpin this early
federated identify management and cross-credentialing deployment. Among
these is the Common Access Card (CAC), which contains individual
information housed in a barcode and within an integrated circuit chip.
The card is used to secure both physical sites and for systems access.
In this implementation, CAC is combined with the Defense Biometric
Identity System (DBIDS) to accurately identify personnel -- whether full
time employees (FTEs) or contractors. Beyond CAC and the DBIDS, FiXs
also includes cross reference capabilities that include photographs,
textual, and fingerprint data. Industry standard encryption is used to
secure the identity management process.
The FiXs organization currently has just under thirty member
organizations, but the group is open to additional members. With this
early implementation, group members can help to shape identity
management policies and technologies as FiXs begins to be leveraged by a
broader number of public entities and private sector firms
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:09:44 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] FCC Rules Allow One Bidder To Buy More Than Half
of Spectrum
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii
FCC Rules Allow One Bidder To Buy More Than Half of Spectrum
By COREY BOLES
Wall Street Journal
August 13, 2007 5:45 p.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118703822661296303.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news&apl=y
WASHINGTON -- A single company could bid for more than half the lucrative
spectrum to be auctioned off by the Federal Communications Commission after
the final rules for the sale failed to include a provision prohibiting this
from occurring.
There had been pressure on FCC policymakers to include such a rule to
ensure that an incumbent wireless carrier such as Verizon Wireless or AT&T
Inc. wouldn't be able to take the lion's share of the spectrum being sold.
Potential new entrants to the market, such as Google Inc., as well as a
handful of public interest groups had been pushing the FCC to include the rule.
Two sections make up 32 megahertz of the 62 megahertz of prized airwaves
being sold off. They include one 22-megahertz swath with so-called
open-access requirements attached -- which is actually six separate pieces
that can be added together, and another 10-megahertz chunk that will be
used to provide wireless broadband service to the emergency services
community, with any spare capacity able to be used for commercial purposes.
The remaining 30 megahertz has been broken up into several hundred
licenses. They are likely to be bought by smaller or rural wireless
carriers that couldn't afford to bid for the larger sections.
Ultimately, the FCC decided not to include such a rule after public safety
representatives voiced concern that such a rule might limit interest in the
10 megahertz of airwaves that affects them, according to an FCC official.
The official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, said public
safety representatives said they feared that if large bidders were forced
to choose between the 22-megahertz chunk and the 10-megahertz one, they
would choose the former.
The absence of a rule prohibiting a major swoop by a bidder doesn't mean
such a move is likely. It would cost upward of $7.5 billion if the forecast
price for the entire 62 megahertz of airwaves is correct.
But Verizon Wireless in particular is known to be keen to acquire
substantial amounts of spectrum to bolster its development of
fourth-generation, or 4G, wireless broadband service.
"It would have been very wise to include such a rule, because even if it
would be unlikely, the fact that a big player would have to choose between
one strategy or another would have bolstered other potential participants,"
said Harold Roth, senior vice president of Media Access Project, the public
interest group.
Roth said that without this restriction, an incumbent wireless company
could decide to buy the 10 megahertz and also aim to pick up one or two of
the six licenses comprising the 22-megahertz national section.
The auction, which must be completed by the end of January 2008, is widely
seen as the last chance for a potential new entrant to the wireless
broadband market to be able to acquire enough spectrum to compete on a
national basis.
The rules for the much-anticipated auction were published by the Federal
Communications Commission last week.
Verizon Wireless, jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and the
U.K.'s Vodafone PLC, declined to comment for this article.
=================================================
George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923
Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:11:10 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] In Defense of Gadgetry
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1
In Defense of Gadgetry
Forget Critiques of Our Love of Tech Toys:
The Truth Is That Technology's a Lot of Fun
By Jason Fry
Wall Street Journal
August 13, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118675395788594279.html?mod=technology_featured_stories_hs
Not long ago I spent a few days in Maine with my folks in their house in
the woods. It's an annual trip that gives my son a chance to see
hummingbirds, chipmunks and other forest critters and gives me a period of
withdrawal from connection addiction -- cellphone reception is poor at the
house, and dial-up's the rule for the Net. (I wrote about the annual Maine
trip in more detail last summer.)
I often find myself talking about the Maine trip as an enforced vacation
from all things digital -- a mildly disorienting but not-unwelcome time-out
from the care and feeding of gadgets, the summons of little envelope icons
and the ceaseless checking and rechecking of Web sites to see if anything's
changed. It's an easy thing to say, and saying it almost invariably gets
nods and clucks of empathy from friends who feel similarly over-connected.
There's just one problem: I'm not sure it's true.
It's not that I don't appreciate hummingbirds and quiet woods and long
books -- I do. But at least this year, my wannabe Thoreauism was nonsense.
I wanted to spend time futzing with my favorite Web sites and gadgets, and
it wasn't just the pull of habit -- after all, I happily abandoned plenty
of other routines up in Maine. But I genuinely missed being connected.
Which got me wondering about the rest of our technological poor-mouthing.
It's almost automatic to survey the endless march of gadgetry and conclude
that we're slaves to our stuff, that having more makes us want more, and as
a result we're never happy. But for many of us, this is a pose. It's a
defense mechanism we can easily do without -- because in fact, it's the
defense mechanism that makes us unhappy.
Ready to escape this digital dissatisfaction? It's easy. Just repeat after
me: Playing with this stuff is fun. Staying connected is fun.
It's another hallmark of our times that adults are increasingly happy
acting nowhere near their age, whether they're nodding along with their
Nanos, dressing like just-fell-outta-bed college kids or playing Xbox.
(Here's the definitive essay on so-called grups, by New York's Adam
Sternbergh.) For many of these Peter Pans -- and I admit to being one of
them -- the digital world and its associated gadgets are the stuff of
grown-up play.
And why shouldn't they be? The slow creep of technology can obscure the
fact that our world would have been unimaginable not so long ago. Life is
fundamentally different than it was before Google, before widespread email
and IM, before cellphones, before TiVo, before digital music. Increasingly,
we get most any question we can put into words answered, communicate with
friends and family across the globe any time and from anywhere, watch TV
and movies on our schedules and carry gigantic libraries of every
conceivable genre of music in our pockets. If you're still sore about the
fact that moonbases and flying cars haven't materialized, look closer to
home at the wonders that have arrived. I can't imagine going back to the
way life was before those inventions found their way into my life. I'd be
miserable if I had to.
This isn't to say any of these life-changing technologies are perfect, or
to deny their unwelcome and unforeseen side effects. Not every answer found
through Google is correct, much of the world's email is spam, our
cellphones drop calls, getting the cable company to send out CableCards for
your new TiVo can be infuriating, and we digital-music fans miss our album
covers. More generally, new technologies are too hard to use -- it's no fun
paying companies to beta-test their products. And even when gadgets do work
as advertised, we worry about being tracked and stalked, about identity
theft, about how to keep our kids safe, about social bonds and decorum in
the digital age.
But few people I know would turn their backs on new technologies because of
such misgivings. By now we understand that some or many of the new things
we see and want won't be perfect, and that we'll wind up maintaining them.
And we know that in finding new ways of doing things, we'll inevitably
regret some of the ways things used to be. But by and large we accept this
? because technology is worth it.
We want to be connected, and we want to have new things. Sure, we sometimes
get starry-eyed about gadgets as status symbols, or hunger to keep up with
whomever we think we're competing with. But writing off gadgetry and
connection addiction as mere consumerism or product churn misses much of
its appeal. We have seen again and again that today's science fiction is
tomorrow's normal life, and we've come to enjoy playing with technology as
it's transformed from one to the other. We're part of that transformation,
and we want to see what will happen.
We see something new or new to us -- whether it's an iPhone, the revamped
iMovie, satellite radio, a location-based "friend finder" service,
text-messaging Google for a sports score or someone finding their voice on
a blog -- and we think, "I want to do that." Does that go hand in hand with
consumerism, or conspicuous consumption, or whatever derisive label you
want to give it? Of course it does. But does it tell the whole story? Of
course not. We really are embarked on a grand technological adventure. Why
on earth would we want to miss it?
=================================================
George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923
Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:39:46 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] FCC Tested Defective Prototype Device
To: [email protected]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii
FCC Tested Defective Prototype Device
Aug 13, 2007 6:23 PM (ET)
By DIBYA SARKAR
Associated Press
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070813/D8R0DKF00.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - Microsoft Corp. on Monday gave a simple reason why its
prototype for beaming high-speed Internet service over unused television
airways failed a government test: the device was broken.
The Federal Communications Commission said on July 31 that the device did
not reliably detect unoccupied spectrum and could interfere with other TV
programming and wireless microphone signals.
On Monday, Microsoft sent the agency a letter explaining that a subsequent
test determined the equipment was defective.
Representatives for Microsoft and other technology companies met with FCC
engineers last week and determined the device "was working improperly and
an internal component was broken," Microsoft's managing director for
government affairs, Jack Krumholtz, said in a statement on Monday.
"This accounted for the FCC's aberrant test results," Krumholtz said.
An FCC spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
Microsoft said in an FCC filing that it sent a duplicate device that was
functioning properly, but that the agency never tested it.
Microsoft is part of a coalition of companies that wants to beam high-speed
Internet service through unoccupied TV channels, also known as "white spaces."
The coalition submitted two prototype devices, one developed by Microsoft
and another developed by Phillips Electronics North America Corp., a
division of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV.
The coalition said the Philips device was able to detect both TV and
wireless microphone signals in a laboratory setting.
The FCC's engineering office plans to hold a hearing Thursday to provide an
overview of the tests and consider suggestions for further evaluation of
the devices.
While FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he wants the white spaces to be
utilized, he's facing resistance from TV broadcasters, who fear that it
won't work and would cause problems with TV programming and with a
federally mandated transition from analog to digital signals in early 2009.
The coalition said it's confident the FCC will be able to designate the
white spaces for high-speed Internet service, which would be accessible and
affordable especially in rural areas.
According to its timetable, the FCC could adopt rules for operating
unlicensed devices in the white-space spectrum by October and start
certifying similar devices that meets its technical requirement. In any
case, no devices would go on sale before the digital TV transition in
February 2009.
In addition to Microsoft and Philips, the technology coalition includes
Google Inc., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp. and EarthLink Inc.
=================================================
George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923
Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:10:38 -0700
From: Dishnut <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Ariane 5 / Spaceway 3 & B-SAT 3A Upcoming Launch
Coverage Tuesday (8-14) @ 7:15pm ET. Galaxy-10R (12146.5 V) SR: 6.111
DVB
To: Medianews <[email protected]>, Satellite TV Wild Feeds List
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Tom & Darryl Mail List
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, TVRO Newsgroup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
TVRO Talk Newsgroup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, WildFeeds List
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Tuesday (8-14) Arianespace is set to launch, a Ariane 5 ECA (v.177)
with Spaceway 3 for Hughes Network Systems, LLC. and B-SAT 3A for
Japan's B-SAT Corporation, , from ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana, South
America.
Launch is set for 7:44 p.m. EDT. with a window extending to 8:21 p.m. EDT.
Spacecraft separation for Spaceway 3 is expected 27 minutes after lift
off and 34 minutes after liftoff for B-SAT 3A.
Spaceway 3, is a BSS 702 - 2000 platform, built by Boeing Satellite
Systems, Inc. in El Segundo, California equipped with a digital signal
processor with 10Gbps router,includes onboard dynamic multi-beam
switching to deliver bandwidth-on-demand, as well as direct site-to-site
mesh networking. Spaceway 3 will be located at 95? West.
B-SAT 3A is a A2100 A platform built by Lockheed Martin Commercial
Space Systems in Newtown, Pennsylvania, has 12 130-watt Ku-band channels
(with eight operating at one time). B-SAT 3A will be located 110? East.
DVB Broadcast coverage:
Galaxy 10R at 123?W transponder 23Ku (12146.5 V) SR: 6.111
Test feed starts at 4:45 to 5:15 pm EDT.
Broadcast starts around 7:15 p.m. EDT.
If you dont have a dish, there will be a live webcast of the launch
available at:
http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en
Additional coverage at:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v177/status.html
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/next_launch.html
http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/news_sub_missionupdate_index.html
http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/news_sub_launchkit_index.html
--
Dishnut-P
====================================================================
Operator of RadioFree Dishnuts - Producer of The Dishnut News
heard Saturdays at 10pm ET. on:
RFD, W0KIE Satellite Radio Network Galaxy-26 (Telstar 6) @93? W -
Transponder 1 / 6.2 & 6.8Mhz (4DTV T6-999) also via Digicipher on AMC 3
@87? W - Transponder 7 4DTV (DSR-922) W3 958 (Stereo) - WTND-LP 106.3,
and many micro LPFM stations.
http://dishnuts.net
RFD Listen Links: http://dishnuts.net/#Listen
Show Archives: (Partly Up) http://dishnuts.net/archive/
**In Loving Memory of Mom (Dishnut Gerry)**
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:41:28 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Artists, promote thyself
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Artist, promote thyself
Thanks to new Web businesses, musicians can reach a bigger audience --
and keep more of the profits for themselves
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/13/artist_promote_thyself?mode=PF
By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | August 13, 2007
A full-time career in music seemed unlikely for Chris O'Brien, or at
least one that would pay the bills.
But these days, the 27-year-old Medford musician is selling thousands of
albums online, along with downloads from his debut CD, "Lighthouse," and
he soon plans to offer T-shirts, tickets, and other merchandise on his
MySpace page and personal website.
He credits at least part of his newfound business acumen to nimbit, a
sales, promotion, and distribution company in Framingham that helps
emerging artists build careers online.
"This is the era of the independent artist," O'Brien said. "It's easier
and more doable than it ever has been. People are opting to remain
independent because there's a lot more money to be had."
Nimbit is one of a growing number of businesses, including CD Baby and
Musictoday, that have helped make it easier for independent musicians to
make a living from their work and widely distribute their music.
It is the brainchild of Patrick Faucher and Matt Silbert, who worked for
a Web firm, Stumpworld Systems, which developed some of the first
e-commerce sites for bands such as Phish and Aerosmith.
About five years ago, they decided to design a platform to help budding
bands, so they set out to take some of the features created for the
major acts and build a suite of Web tools that independent artists could
use.
Soon after, they merged with Artist Development Associates and added
direct-to-fan sales, along with production and promotion services,
creating a one-stop solution for artists to run their businesses.
In June, nimbit introduced its online merchandise table, the first
portable Web store that lets musicians sell CDs, DVDS, MP3s,
merchandise, and e-tickets from a single point of purchase, virtually
anywhere online. The tool can easily be embedded in any website, blog,
or e-mail that allows widgets.
"Increasingly, recording artists and consumers are uniting and
circumventing traditional channels for creating and distributing music,"
said Mike Goodman, a media and entertainment analyst at Yankee Group in
Boston. "These days, musicians can do business directly with consumers.
They don't need a recording label. They don't need a store. They don't
need Ticketmaster, the way they used to."
Just a few years ago, Steve Roslonek, of Wethersfield, Conn., was
getting e-mail orders for his CDs and going to the post office once a
week to send of the packages. His growing success as a children's
musician made it almost impossible to keep up with the requests. With
the help of nimbit over the past several years, he has earned more than
$100,000 from sales of CDs, tickets, and merchandise.
The most recent service added, selling e-tickets to shows from his
website, is a huge benefit for artists like Roslonek, who don't play at
traditional concert venues. He expects to sell 75 percent of his tickets
that way for a show in Arlington this fall.
Though Roslonek was signed last year to a local independent label,
Rounder Records, he still uses many of nimbit's services to help sell
his work, merchandise, and tickets online.
"There's really no barriers anymore for success," Roslonek said. "This
allows me to spend a lot more time on writing, producing. It takes away
a lot of the tasks as your career builds."
Artists can get started for free with nimbit's basic service, which
allows them to sell digital products only, such as MP3 tracks.
Or, for as little as $4.95 a month, musicians can sign up for a plan
that lets them sell all products and distribute across the Web,
including to commercial stores like iTunes.
Prices vary for premium services, which offer complete website
management and e-mail marketing features.
Several artists said nimbit charges $2 to $4 for each CD sold, less than
rival businesses charge.
"Technology is not only creating a myriad of options for fans to
discover and buy, but it is also making it possible for more artists to
get in the game more quickly without any label affiliation," Faucher said.
"There is a rapidly emerging middle class of artists that are building
fan bases and creating a business directly with them. This creates a
huge need for better tools that can optimize this process for the artist
and the teams they employ."
--
Gregory S. Williams
gregwilliams(at)knology.net
k4hsm(at)knology.net
http://www.etskywarn.net
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.icebearnation.com
------------------------------
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End of Medianews Digest, Vol 354, Issue 1
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