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walktalker · 18-07-01, 05:57 PM

Satellite companies get wireless licenses
Eight satellite companies have been awarded wireless licenses by the Federal Communications Commission, angering wireless industry players that wanted to use the radio waves instead for the next generation of cellular phone service. Tuesday's move by the FCC is meant to trigger more satellite phone service, mainly in rural areas of the United States, where cellular phone service is sparse or nonexistent, according to an FCC spokesman. The decision ends a dogfight between the cellular phone industry, which uses land-based towers to offer wireless phone service, and the satellite phone industry, which offers mobile phone service using satellites orbiting the earth. Both industries had been fighting for years over the same slice of radio spectrum.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Windows XP could draw Net phone companies into battle
Gavin Cowie isn't in the Net phone business, but it didn't take him long to figure out why the technology has never taken off. "It's worth it because it's so cheap, but sometimes it sounds like I'm underwater," said Cowie, a 28-year-old San Francisco Web consultant who uses Net2Phone's service to call his family in the United Kingdom. "You need a headset or microphone, and I don't think people will be happy talking into a computer screen." Five years after Net telephony promised to revolutionize the way the world communicates, the same roadblocks to mass adoption remain. Today, however, Internet phone companies like Net2Phone, Deltathree and Dialpad Communications are pinning their hopes on an unlikely player in the telecommunications market: Microsoft.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-201...html?tag=ch_mh

Britannica.com users say farewell to free read
Get ready to pay if you want online access to the full Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica.com will soon start charging $5 a month, or $50 a year, for access to the full encyclopedia, which has been available for free online since the site launched in October 1999. The change to a subscription service, announced Wednesday, comes two months after Encyclopaedia Britannica and Britannica.com announced plans to consolidate their operations. Britannica.com has struggled like other dot-coms in the volatile Internet market and has laid off more than 150 people, more than half its U.S. workers, since late last year. The company said it will begin charging in the next few days. However, Britannica.com will continue to offer some free resources for basic reference.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Singapore clamps down on Web content
Singapore has tightened its grip on Internet content in the run-up to the next election by ordering a current affairs portal to register as a political Web site. Sintercom -- which runs chat rooms, a speaker's platform and the "Not ST" section as an alternative to the pro-government Straits Times newspaper -- has sent in the registration forms but now faces questions of how it will comply. "We will try to hold fast to our belief and principles as much as we can as new problems crop up," the organizers said in a statement posted on the site.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

U.S. Security Plan Too Top-Heavy?
Critics fear proposed changes to the way the government protects the nation's technology backbone from terrorism could bog down the process and remove the accountability of having a single person in charge. A draft executive order from President Bush, obtained by The Associated Press, would abolish the high-profile post of security chief in favor of a board of about 21 officials from all major federal agencies. The White House has briefed several industry groups on the plan and told executives that Bush is expected to sign the order formalizing the changes after Labor Day. Mark Rasch, former head of the Justice Department's computer crimes division, predicted with so many federal agencies involved in the advisory panel "it's going to have input from everybody on God's green earth" before any action is taken.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45337,00.html

Who, What, Where, Why and Web

In universities across the United States a struggle rages for the heart and soul of journalism -- and the Internet appears to be the battlefield. Web-based journalism is shaking up the academy as journalism schools are scrambling to offer students multimedia skills at the expense, some faculty worry, of traditional reporting. The battle between teaching students how to cover a sewer commission meeting and/or teaching them Dreamweaver Web page production has opened some deep fissures.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44797,00.html

Europe's Spin on Web Reporting
Europe may lag behind the United States in its use of the Internet, but that has some advantages, including the luxury of sitting back and learning from U.S. failures. That now seems to be the situation in the realm of online journalism. "People look at what's happening in the United States, and take what is best and discard the rest," said Milverton Wallace, director of NetMedia, in London, which recently handed out its third annual online journalism awards for Europe. Having watched a number of heavily hyped U.S. Internet publications struggle, and sometimes sink, Europeans are latching on to the importance of modest expenditures and long-term business plans.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45227,00.html

All the News That Fits
Read any good television lately? The volume of on-screen information will increase in the next two months when new versions of CNN Headline News and ESPNews are launched as part of the transformation of TV viewing in the computer age. CNN Headline News will include business news, headlines and a weather map in an expanded display that will leave only about half of the TV picture for news anchors, starting Aug. 6. The CNN Headline News changes, part of an overhaul that includes a faster pace and new faces, is an acknowledgment that computers have affected consumer habits, said Teya Ryan, executive vice president and general manager.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45335,00.html

Ashcroft concerned about missing FBI weapons, computers
A day after the FBI said hundreds of agency firearms and computers are unaccounted for, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and senators expressed concern over the disclosure. "We think any time firearms are missing, it's a serious circumstance," Ashcroft said. "I don't want to overstate it. I take it very seriously. And the laptops are to be taken seriously, as well. The FBI reported Tuesday it had tentatively determined that more than 400 firearms and another 184 laptop computers -- including one that contained classified information -- are unaccounted for.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/07/18/fb...iny/index.html

Banana targeted by code crackers
The banana will be the next major food crop to have its entire collection of genes decoded, an international consortium of scientists has announced. The banana genome should allow researchers to develop strains that are more resistant to disease and which require fewer agrochemicals to be applied during their cultivation. Researchers also have high hopes for the banana as a so-called nutraceutical - its natural packaging could make it an ideal way to transport and consume drugs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1445357.stm

Space station computer crashes again
After yet another computer crash on the International Space Station on Tuesday, a NASA spokesman has told New Scientist that the station's spinning hard drives may be replaced with units with no moving parts. These could work better in orbit, as the lack of gravity is much less likely to affect solid state components than moving ones. The station's central command computers have suffered many glitches since the station opened. All three crashed during the last shuttle mission in April 2001, causing the station's communication system with Earth to go down.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991042

Hitting the optic brick wall
Researchers have established the theoretical limit to the information-carrying capacity of optic fibres. In the insatiable quest for greater "bandwidth", the finding is important. To a certain extent, the more light pumped into an optic fibre, the more information it can carry. But at some point, increasing the intensity degrades the optic signal, limiting the number of phone calls, video or other data that can be transmitted. Ultimately, the fibre's maximum capacity is reached. Now for the first time, researchers from Bell Laboratories in the United States, have established exactly where this optic "brick wall" lies. And they've pinpointed the most potent reason for it - a phenomenon known as "cross-phase modulation" where messages interfere with each other in a random way that can't be filtered out.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s320303.htm

More news later on

18-07-01, 05:57 PM	#2
walktalker The local newspaper man Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Montreal Posts: 2,036	Warning: news inside Satellite companies get wireless licenses Eight satellite companies have been awarded wireless licenses by the Federal Communications Commission, angering wireless industry players that wanted to use the radio waves instead for the next generation of cellular phone service. Tuesday's move by the FCC is meant to trigger more satellite phone service, mainly in rural areas of the United States, where cellular phone service is sparse or nonexistent, according to an FCC spokesman. The decision ends a dogfight between the cellular phone industry, which uses land-based towers to offer wireless phone service, and the satellite phone industry, which offers mobile phone service using satellites orbiting the earth. Both industries had been fighting for years over the same slice of radio spectrum. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=cd_mh Windows XP could draw Net phone companies into battle Gavin Cowie isn't in the Net phone business, but it didn't take him long to figure out why the technology has never taken off. "It's worth it because it's so cheap, but sometimes it sounds like I'm underwater," said Cowie, a 28-year-old San Francisco Web consultant who uses Net2Phone's service to call his family in the United Kingdom. "You need a headset or microphone, and I don't think people will be happy talking into a computer screen." Five years after Net telephony promised to revolutionize the way the world communicates, the same roadblocks to mass adoption remain. Today, however, Internet phone companies like Net2Phone, Deltathree and Dialpad Communications are pinning their hopes on an unlikely player in the telecommunications market: Microsoft. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-201...html?tag=ch_mh Britannica.com users say farewell to free read Get ready to pay if you want online access to the full Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica.com will soon start charging $5 a month, or $50 a year, for access to the full encyclopedia, which has been available for free online since the site launched in October 1999. The change to a subscription service, announced Wednesday, comes two months after Encyclopaedia Britannica and Britannica.com announced plans to consolidate their operations. Britannica.com has struggled like other dot-coms in the volatile Internet market and has laid off more than 150 people, more than half its U.S. workers, since late last year. The company said it will begin charging in the next few days. However, Britannica.com will continue to offer some free resources for basic reference. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh Singapore clamps down on Web content Singapore has tightened its grip on Internet content in the run-up to the next election by ordering a current affairs portal to register as a political Web site. Sintercom -- which runs chat rooms, a speaker's platform and the "Not ST" section as an alternative to the pro-government Straits Times newspaper -- has sent in the registration forms but now faces questions of how it will comply. "We will try to hold fast to our belief and principles as much as we can as new problems crop up," the organizers said in a statement posted on the site. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh U.S. Security Plan Too Top-Heavy? Critics fear proposed changes to the way the government protects the nation's technology backbone from terrorism could bog down the process and remove the accountability of having a single person in charge. A draft executive order from President Bush, obtained by The Associated Press, would abolish the high-profile post of security chief in favor of a board of about 21 officials from all major federal agencies. The White House has briefed several industry groups on the plan and told executives that Bush is expected to sign the order formalizing the changes after Labor Day. Mark Rasch, former head of the Justice Department's computer crimes division, predicted with so many federal agencies involved in the advisory panel "it's going to have input from everybody on God's green earth" before any action is taken. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45337,00.html Who, What, Where, Why and Web In universities across the United States a struggle rages for the heart and soul of journalism -- and the Internet appears to be the battlefield. Web-based journalism is shaking up the academy as journalism schools are scrambling to offer students multimedia skills at the expense, some faculty worry, of traditional reporting. The battle between teaching students how to cover a sewer commission meeting and/or teaching them Dreamweaver Web page production has opened some deep fissures. http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44797,00.html Europe's Spin on Web Reporting Europe may lag behind the United States in its use of the Internet, but that has some advantages, including the luxury of sitting back and learning from U.S. failures. That now seems to be the situation in the realm of online journalism. "People look at what's happening in the United States, and take what is best and discard the rest," said Milverton Wallace, director of NetMedia, in London, which recently handed out its third annual online journalism awards for Europe. Having watched a number of heavily hyped U.S. Internet publications struggle, and sometimes sink, Europeans are latching on to the importance of modest expenditures and long-term business plans. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45227,00.html All the News That Fits Read any good television lately? The volume of on-screen information will increase in the next two months when new versions of CNN Headline News and ESPNews are launched as part of the transformation of TV viewing in the computer age. CNN Headline News will include business news, headlines and a weather map in an expanded display that will leave only about half of the TV picture for news anchors, starting Aug. 6. The CNN Headline News changes, part of an overhaul that includes a faster pace and new faces, is an acknowledgment that computers have affected consumer habits, said Teya Ryan, executive vice president and general manager. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45335,00.html Ashcroft concerned about missing FBI weapons, computers A day after the FBI said hundreds of agency firearms and computers are unaccounted for, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and senators expressed concern over the disclosure. "We think any time firearms are missing, it's a serious circumstance," Ashcroft said. "I don't want to overstate it. I take it very seriously. And the laptops are to be taken seriously, as well. The FBI reported Tuesday it had tentatively determined that more than 400 firearms and another 184 laptop computers -- including one that contained classified information -- are unaccounted for. http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/07/18/fb...iny/index.html Banana targeted by code crackers The banana will be the next major food crop to have its entire collection of genes decoded, an international consortium of scientists has announced. The banana genome should allow researchers to develop strains that are more resistant to disease and which require fewer agrochemicals to be applied during their cultivation. Researchers also have high hopes for the banana as a so-called nutraceutical - its natural packaging could make it an ideal way to transport and consume drugs. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1445357.stm Space station computer crashes again After yet another computer crash on the International Space Station on Tuesday, a NASA spokesman has told New Scientist that the station's spinning hard drives may be replaced with units with no moving parts. These could work better in orbit, as the lack of gravity is much less likely to affect solid state components than moving ones. The station's central command computers have suffered many glitches since the station opened. All three crashed during the last shuttle mission in April 2001, causing the station's communication system with Earth to go down. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991042 Hitting the optic brick wall Researchers have established the theoretical limit to the information-carrying capacity of optic fibres. In the insatiable quest for greater "bandwidth", the finding is important. To a certain extent, the more light pumped into an optic fibre, the more information it can carry. But at some point, increasing the intensity degrades the optic signal, limiting the number of phone calls, video or other data that can be transmitted. Ultimately, the fibre's maximum capacity is reached. Now for the first time, researchers from Bell Laboratories in the United States, have established exactly where this optic "brick wall" lies. And they've pinpointed the most potent reason for it - a phenomenon known as "cross-phase modulation" where messages interfere with each other in a random way that can't be filtered out. http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s320303.htm More news later on __________________ This post was sponsored by Netcoco, who wants cookies, cookies, cookies and, you guessed it, more cookies