Wednesday,
January 3, 2007
AT& T-BellSouth deal called 'breakthrough'
for consumers - FCC's ability to get net neutrality sets precedent
By Leslie Cauley USA TODAY
The Federal Communications Commission's
handling of the $85 billion AT&T-BellSouth merger sets a "new baseline"
for protecting the interests of consumers, FCC Commissioner Jonathan
Adelstein said in an interview over the weekend.
The FCC's approval of the merger on Friday
allowed the deal to close immediately. To secure the FCC's blessing,
AT&T agreed to a list of consumer-friendly concessions. Among them: For
the next 30 months, AT&T agreed to sell "naked" DSL ‹ meaning consumers
don't have to buy any other service from AT&T to get the DSL service ‹
for just $19.95 a month. That's less than half the $44.95 that AT&T now
charges.
AT&T also agreed to a "net neutrality"
provision that will require the company to treat all broadband services,
its own as well as rivals', equally for the next two years. That means
AT&T can't favor its own traffic, in terms of transmission speed and
quality.
In addition, AT&T agreed to sell some
unused wireless spectrum. That could enable a new rival to enter the
market, creating more options for consumers.
Adelstein called the settlement a
"breakthrough" for consumers in that it establishes a new standard of
behavior for the USA's communications giants. Big companies such as AT&T
and Comcast "have told the FCC that they can't live with a net
neutrality provision in place," Adelstein said. "They can."
The fact that AT&T agreed to such an
aggressive net neutrality clause proves that, he said.<snip>
============
EE Times: Latest News 802.11n morphs into
spec for home video stream
Loring Wirbel (01/01/2007 9:00 AM EST) URL:
http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196702515
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ‹ When the IEEE
first pondered antenna diversity for its 802.11n wireless LAN standard,
the multiple-input/multiple-output antenna topology was seen as a
general tool for increasing Internet data access to 500 Mbits/second--some
50 times that of 802.11b. But as draft silicon of 802.1n networks
sampled in 2006, the focus had changed to a singular concentration on
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and high-definition television video
streams.
In a sense, the metamorphosis of 802.11n
mirrors that of a shorter-range wireless technology, ultrawideband
radio. After the IEEE 802.15.3a task group on UWB split up in acrimony
last January, the promotional WiMedia Alliance group narrowed its focus
to applications in which ultrawideband is a wireless replacement for the
Universal Serial Bus. But more recently, "Certified Wireless USB" has
taken a back seat to chip sets exploiting ultrawideband for in-home
video distribution.
The two technologies are complementary.
Since 802.11n must serve first duty as an access technology to broadband
pipes, its hub-and-spoke LAN structure is designed for networking first.
UWB, except when in the multipoint WiNet topology, is a serial
file-sharing PAN with shorter range, but with data rates that can
approach and sometimes exceed 1 Gbit/s. Both local- and personal-area
networks are being optimized for video distribution in the home.<snip>
Beginning the day with a couple of news items. I get about 40 of those
every night, and I do try to read them all, although sometimes I don't
manage.
There's also financial news.
Apple Probe Spotlights Two
By NICK WINGFIELD
January 2, 2007;
Now that Apple Computer Inc. has disclosed further details of its
internal probe into backdated stock options at the company, the
spotlight is falling on two former executives implicated in the
investigation, Fred Anderson and Nancy Heinen.<snip>
If ever there were an indication that America has gone greedily insane
and needs ways to curb the rapacious Trial Lawyers, the story of
minority stockholder suits against Apple charging that in 1997 Steve
Jobs manipulated options dates in order to keep key executives from
bailing out has got to be it. The minority stockholders cleaned up
because Jobs pretty well single-handedly saved the company; had he not
done so, the stock would have become worthless. So in return for this,
the stockholders let some contingency fee lawyers talk them into
fronting for these suits. Any sane judge would throw all those out on
the grounds of standing: "You weren't damaged, so how can you sue for
damages?"
They're after Pixar, too. As if the Pixar stockholders didn't get rich
and Pixar didn't do well. But Jobs was involved and he's got to be
distracted lest he come up with more new ideas and change the industry
again. I wonder who is paying for the lawyers to hound him, and the
lobbyists to sic the bureaucracy on him?
I know. The "zero tolerance" advocates will say these were irregularities
that ought to be punished. Let "justice" be done though the heavens fall.
That's the same mentality that expels a high school girl for sharing her Motrin with a
friend. It's just another of the signs of the collapse of civilization.
There are so many technical rules now that no company can possibly comply
with all of them. It used to be that companies were supposed to make money
and get their stockholders rich. Now the goal is to stay in business without
running foul of regulations and laws. It doesn't matter if the stockholders
get rich and no one is harmed: if you don't comply with all the regulations,
you must be punished, to the enrichment of lawyers (and to ensure the
continued employment of regulators and bureaucrats).
There's no longer any consistency in law enforcement. We have so many
laws -- California passed another 1200 last year -- that it's not only
impossible to enforce them all, but if we did every last one of us including
the prosecutors and police would be in jail or ruined by fines. The liberal
view has always been that if you just pass enough laws things will be all
right; a bit like Saddam Hussein's obsession with building palaces. One more
palace and I'll be secure forever.
Most of you will not remember the days when there were not so many laws
and most "government" was self government; when few of us thought about the
"law" at all because we pretty well knew what you should and shouldn't do,
and we didn't need regulations and regulatory "science" and endless
bureaucrats to shuffle compliance reports. The effects of this are to put
enormous burdens on startup enterprises, to stifle initiative, and to make
sure that the big established companies stay in control. Surprise.
We need some new laws. More and more of them. And require more compliance
reports. That will fix everything!
==========
In Taiwan, Microsoft Upgrade Stands to Fuel
Technology Shares By JANE SPENCER December 28, 2006;
Windows Vista, Microsoft's biggest upgrade
to its operating system in more than a decade, is one factor brightening
the 2007 outlook for Taiwan technology stocks, asset managers say.
Yesterday, stocks in Taiwan's technology
sector, and the overall market, shrugged off the widespread
telecommunications woes in Asia caused by Tuesday night's earthquake
south of the island. Taiwan's main index hit a six-year high. While
shares of some businesses slipped, most technology stocks rose.
For some asset managers, the Microsoft
upgrade could trigger a wave of technology spending as businesses and
consumers update their hardware systems to accommodate the new system.
Analysts say there could be a ripple effect across the personal-computer
supply chain, affecting dozens of technology companies, many of them
clustered in Taiwan.
Among them: motherboard manufacturers such
as Asustek Computer, memory companies like Powerchip Semiconductor, and
those producing specialized integrated circuits, such as Sonix
Technology.
"Whether it's semiconductors or
motherboards, there are a lot of companies in the PC food chain that are
well-positioned to benefit," Nidhi Mahurkar, who oversees Asian emerging
markets for Pictet Asset Management in London, said recently. "Taiwan
technology looks like quite a good bet for next year."
Remember when it would have been great news for American manufacturing
companies? Ah well.
==============
Electronics groups sued over Bluetooth
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: January 3 2007 02:38 | Last updated: January 3 2007 13:15
A research foundation backed by the state of Washington has sued
three of the world¹s biggest consumer electronics makers over claims
that they have infringed a series of patents surrounding the Bluetooth
short-range wireless technology.
==
Intertainer Files Patent Suit Over Movie Download Services By
SARAH MCBRIDE January 2, 2007 5:21 p.m.
Defunct movie download service Intertainer Inc. filed a patent
infringement suit in federal court against Apple Computer Inc., Google
Inc., and Napster Inc.
Intertainer contends that the technology companies violated
Intertainer's patent for its digital entertainment platform, which
allows content owners like movie studios to manage how they distribute
their titles and at what cost.
Intertainer launched an early movie download service in the late 1990s,
preceding later entrants like Movielink LLC and Apple's iTunes movie
store.
But the service, stymied by low acceptance among consumers and
difficulties with studio negotiations, never took off, and Intertainer
shut down in 2002.
It then sued the major studios for anticompetitive behavior and settled
out of court last year.
==
Variety.
Options probe hits Pixar
Number of top executives could be at the center of inquiry By STEVEN
ZEITCHIK
Ed Catmull
Catmull
John Lasseter
Lasseter
The options scandal has officially reached Hollywood, as the SEC is
probing whether Pixar improperly backdated options before Disney
purchased the company.
Options given to a number of Pixar execs between 1997 and 2003,
including chief creative officer John Lasseter, are thought to be at the
center of the inquiry. Probe's ramifications would likely be felt by
those who granted the options, not those who received them.
News comes as another Silicon Valley company run by Steve Jobs, Apple,
remains embroiled in an options scandal.
==
January 2nd, 2007
Does Apple have a music monopoly issue?
Posted by Larry Dignan @ 11:58 am Categories: General, Personal
Technology, Entertainment, Apple
While Macworld is running strong January 9 to January 12, lawyers will
be filing documents for an antitrust complaint in the U.S. Northern
California's District Court that could wind up being a lot more
important than any product launch.
In Apple's annual report filed last week, the company noted a few
lawsuitsincluding one over an alleged Nike-iPod patent infringement and
another about G4 malfunctionsbut the most interesting one is an
antitrust complaint challenging Apple's tactics in the online music
market. In a nutshell, a class action lawsuit (Tucker vs. Apple
Computer) initially filed July 21 alleges that:
==
Net neutrality push expected to resume in Congress
01 / 02 / 07 |
The nation's soon-to-be largest telephone company may have caved to
certain Net neutrality commitments for the sake of a merger blessing,
but a renewed push for more sweeping rules could return to Capitol Hill
as soon as this month.
Breaking months of partisan deadlock among the four voting members of
the Federal Communications Commission over AT&T's roughly $86 billion
union with BellSouth, the telecommunications giant made a last-minute
pledge last week to abide by a series of antidiscrimination principles
supported by Internet content companies like Google and eBay, and
consumer advocacy groups.
"The agreement once and for all puts to rest the bogus argument that no
one can define Net neutrality."
--Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press
Although some FCC commissioners have asserted that the agreement is not
a public policy mandate, it could serve as a blueprint for members of
Congress preparing to reintroduce bills intended to bar network
operators like AT&T from charging extra fees to content providers for
added perks
==
Qualcomm Under Scrutiny by Korean Antitrust Agency By CHOE SANG-HUN
SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 2 ‹ The South Korean antitrust agency has
formed a task force to investigate the licensing and business practices
of the wireless technology company Qualcomm, the latest in a string of
legal battles for the company, officials said on Tuesday.
In Japan, Europe and the United States, Qualcomm, which is based in San
Diego, faces accusations by rivals that it has abused its market
dominance in wireless technology to demand excessive royalties and block
fair competition.
Qualcomm is known for developing code-division multiple access, or CDMA,
wireless technology, which is a rival standard to the global system for
mobile communications, or GSM, technology. It makes money by selling
chips that power cellphones, as well as collecting royalties or
licensing its technology to other chip makers and cellphone
manufacturers.
And that's just one day's news. But we were born free.
===========================
Flat-Panel TV Jam =- Can Profits Last as
Prices Fall?
By EVAN RAMSTAD
January 3, 2007;
SEOUL -- Now that flat-panel television sets are the biggest hit in
consumer electronics, manufacturers are wondering how to put off the
forces that could turn them into low-margin commodities.
World-wide sales of flat-panel TV sets doubled in 2006 to about 50
million units, according to early estimates, representing more than
one-fourth of the market. Analysts expect sales to exceed 70 million
units this year. The product presents the dream combination of high
volumes and profit margins with a still-high price tag: an average
26-inch model costs about $750 in the U.S., three times the price of a
tube set of the same size.
But the popularity has triggered a price war as manufacturers and
retailers scramble for market share. Prices of flat-panel TV sets fell
almost 40% in 2006, far more than manufacturers expected. Electronics
makers now face a tricky task balancing investment costs, production
increases and cost reductions to sustain revenue and profit growth.
Uh -- excuse me, isn't that how things are supposed to work? See
Economics 101, "The Theory of the Firm". And don't forget what is
happening in technology:
Plastic challenge to silicon microchip
By Peter Marsh in London
Published: January 2 2007 22:07 | Last updated: January 2 2007 22:07
A British company will on Wednesday announce that it has secured $100m
to build the world¹s first plant for making semiconductors out of
plastic rather than silicon.
The technology could cut the price for electronic circuitry by up to 90
per cent and hasten the day when goods including cans of baked beans and
items of clothing are made of ³intelligent² materials.
Plastic Logic, based in Cambridge, is to build the factory by the end of
next year in Dresden, Germany, backed by funds from Oak Investment
Partners and Tudor Investment Corporation, the US venture capital
groups.
The plastic semiconductors are made using a process similar to ink-jet
printing, which is widespread in the packaging industry for producing
labels.
Think of it as Moore's Law writ large.
====================
from
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/
atlas_shrugs/2007/01/democrats_to_am.html
UPDATE Another FU. More on the new fascism in America.
This from a commenter at the Puff Ho (!)
here via Jon;
Here's a luscious tidbit that Auntie Nancy wants to ram down your
throat. Forget about grass roots lobbying or encouraging members of your
organization to call or email your representatives in Congress. Doing so
might cause an IRS audit or some government agents breaking down the
door to your offices and confiscating your computers.
___
Some controversial features of the bill:
# It makes changes to the legal definition of "grassroots
lobbying" and requires any organization that encourages 500 or more
members of the general public to contact their elected representatives
to file a report with detailed information about their organization to
the government on a quarterly basis.
# Such report (above) would require, among other things, the
detailing of the organization's expenditures, the issues focused on and
the members of Congress and other federal officials who are targeted. A
separate report must address each policy issue the group is advocating.
Causing additional heartburn among the critics is a broad exemption
they say is wholly unfair and unbalanced. Significantly, the reporting
requirement spelled out above would not apply to messages targeted at an
organization's members, employees, officers or shareholders. In
effect, this would let most corporations, trade associations and unions
off the reporting hook.
William J. Olson, the co-counsel for the Free Speech Coalition,
summarized his impression of how the unfairness would operate:
"The Public Citizen/Pelosi bill would allow corporations,
unions and even foreign interests to spend literally hundreds of
millions of dollars mobilizing their shareholders, officers, employees
and members, yet hide those expenditures," Olson opined.
"On the flipside, their bill would require real citizen associations
to essentially obtain Congress's consent to communicate about important
policy matters that impact on them.
It's not just the imbalance that is wrong; it's a frontal attack on the
First Amendment and political speech," Olson concluded.
UPDATE: Jon did
a little checking and provides these links for more info on this
issue: Shadow Monkey on
Pelosi's attack on Grass Root group here.
More from Human
Events here and Forbes
here.
=========
I am unsure how this applies to places like this one. Am I
an "organization"? I certainly have more than 500 readers. Does it affect
the press?
Public Citizens and Pelosi. A bit frightening.
============
And we have more from Cory Doctorow
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/
11/30/cory-doctorow-copyright-tech-media
_cz_cd_books06_1201doctorow.html
Among other things he says is that there was never a time when authors
lived off their royalties. He's just plain wrong. When I was President of
the Science Fiction Writers of America (and thus in a position to know
something about it, not just make up my data) there were about 20 writers to
made a living full time at writing SF. Another 50 or so had teaching jobs as
their day jobs. And some, like Cliff Simak, could have made a decent living
writing full time but did other things because they liked it: Cliff was
editor of a small town newspaper.
Today perhaps 100 SF writers make a living at it. I would suppose there
are more than that number of mystery writers. How many non-fiction and
general mainstream fiction writers make a living at writing I don't know.
The number was dwindling before the big Barnes and Noble superstores, but
now these huge stores have a lot of backlist fiction displayed for sale and
that helps sell back issues. Amazon cuts into author income a lot because
they offer used books on the same page as the new book, not only for
backlist but for new books as well. Some of those "used" books have to be
review copies being sold so that the author hasn't seen a dime from the
first sale.
If Doctorow's goal is to eliminate writing as a way to make a living I
suppose he's doing well at it. He has a salary. He's paid to go disseminate
his pro-piracy propaganda. As to how well his books are read as opposed to
downloaded I don't know. I have some books with multi-million sales, and I
can I think safely assume that if someone paid for a book it was read.
Baen books has long had free electronic copies of published works. I gave
them permission to do some of my books that way, and held on to others; Baen
recently paid me decent advances for the electronic rights to many of my
books so perhaps that was wise. No e-book has yet earned out, but they are
now offered for sale.
========
I have mail suggesting that FrontPage handles URL's wrong, and that is
why sometimes the line lengths are too long and you have to do horizontal
scrolling. Internet Explorer breaks those so there is no horizontal
scrolling, but I have to manually insert line breaks in long URL's for those
who use Firefox. I usually remember to do that.
But what is it that FrontPage does wrong? What, specifically, is the way
to put in a long URL so that Firefox will enforce page widths and not make
you do horizontal scrolling?
I have been unable to figure this out. Of course I didn't put much effort
into trying to find it out.
Wednesday TOP
Current Mail
|
