NewsScan Daily, 19 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 19 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")
***********************************************************
NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization
making significant and sustained contributions to the effective
management and appropriate use of information technology. NSD is
written by John Gehl and Suzanne Douglas, [email protected].
***********************************************************

"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        BMG Introduces 'Smart' CDs
        ATMs to Switch over to Windows
        Intel Bets on Wireless Future
        Software Turns Phone into Walkie-Talkie
        UK Makes Spam a Criminal Offense

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Honorary Subscriber: Constantin Volney

BMG INTRODUCES 'SMART' CDs
BMG Entertainment is launching a new generation of "smart" CDs aimed at 
thwarting file-sharing while at the same time allowing CD buyers to make a 
few copies for themselves and friends. The technology will make its debut 
next week with the release of "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony 
Hamilton. Buyers of that CD will be able to burn three copies per computer 
and will be able to e-mail songs to a limited number of people, each of 
whom can then listen to the song 10 times before it becomes unavailable. 
The MediaMax CD-3 antipiracy technology is made by SunnComm Technologies in 
Phoenix. SunnComm rival Macrovision has also developed protective 
technology that allows limited copying, and the record labels are watching 
closely to gauge fans' reactions. Meanwhile, civil liberties advocates say 
the technology is good in principle, but is still too restrictive. "It is 
inconsistent with how fair use has always been applied," says Cindy Cohn, 
legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (AP/Wall Street 
Journal 18 Sep 2003)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106392548180994200,00.html (sub req'd)

ATMs TO SWITCH OVER TO WINDOWS
Sixty-five percent of the automated teller machines in the U.S. will be 
running on a stripped down version of Windows NT within three years, 
according to a study by market researcher Celent. Currently most ATMs use 
IBM's OS/2 operating system, but banking industry officials say they now 
prefer Windows, which is more compatible with their internal corporate 
networks. "Because we are seeing so many mergers and acquisitions in the 
last few years, you have large banks running a fleet of ATM hardware," says 
Celent analyst Gwenn Bezard. "With open technologies [like Windows] it is 
easier to run different types of hardware on the same software." Banking 
officials generally dismiss worries over hackers disabling or corrupting 
ATMs across the country, but some security specialists continue to have 
doubts: "What Microsoft actually sells to the banks for ATM use is a 
cut-down version of Windows that doesn't contain things like Web servers. 
They have tried to cut out the unnecessary rubbish that clutters up the 
typical PC. How good a job they've done, I just don't know… So we 
definitely can't rule out the possibility that someone in the future writes 
a Slammer-style worm that causes thousands of ATMs to start spewing out 
cash," says British security expert Ross Anderson. (Wired.com 19 Sep 2003)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60497,00.html

INTEL BETS ON WIRELESS FUTURE
Intel chief technology officer Patrick Gelsinger says the chip giant is 
focusing on a wireless future and is contributing to a "renaissance of the 
radio" through research in antennas, networks and other technology. At this 
week's Intel Developer Forum, Gelsinger demonstrated Intel's MIMO (multiple 
input, multiple output) antenna technology, which adds multiple antennas to 
both transmitters and receivers to improve performance significantly. He 
told participants that the company is also exploring the concept of a 
"mesh" network, which enables devices on a wireless network to communicate 
more easily using the same idea behind peer-to-peer networks. "We want to 
make wireless 'the' access technology. Simply put, no more copper," said 
Gelsinger. Future plans also call for new chips based on the 802.16 WiMax 
standard. WiMax, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is 
being touted as a broadband wireless access alternative to cable, DSL and 
other last-mile technologies. (CNet News.com 18 Sep 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-7337_3-5078947.html

SOFTWARE TURNS PHONE INTO WALKIE-TALKIE
Fastchat software, made by Fastmobile of Chicago, turns a regular cell 
phone into a push-to-talk device with a range that reaches halfway around 
the world. Unlike the "push-to-talk" handsets pioneered by Nextel and 
Motorola, the Fastchat technology doesn't require a special button to 
activate the service -- it uses existing buttons on the handset (although 
currently it works only with the Nokia 3650 and Sony Ericsson P800 models). 
And while the Nextel service offers more clarity, there are several 
advantages to Fastchat. Because the voice signal travels over the Internet, 
messages can be archived, and callers don't have to subscribe to the same 
cell phone service in order to talk to each other. In addition, Fastchat is 
geared toward international service and it's surprisingly cheap -- $3 a 
month plus a charge for use of the subscriber's cell phone operator's 
wireless Internet service. (AP 18 Sep 2003)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030918/D7TL1OP00.html

UK MAKES SPAM A CRIMINAL OFFENSE
A new law introduced by U.K. Communications Minister Stephen Timms means 
spammers could face fines of £5,000 in a magistrates court or an unlimited 
penalty from a jury. "These regulations will help combat the global 
nuisance of unsolicited e-mails and texts by enshrining in law rights that 
give consumers more say over who can use their personal details," says 
Timms. The law, which takes effect December 11, follows similar steps taken 
by the Italian government, which recently imposed fines of up to 90,000 
euros and a maximum sentence of three years in prison for sending spam. 
Meanwhile, EU legislation banning unsolicited junk e-mail will be enforced 
beginning on October 31, but officials say it may have little effect 
because most spam originates in the U.S. and Asia, and thus will be out of 
its reach. (BBC News 18 Sep 2003)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3120628.stm

*****

FLASH CARD
      "All good biography, as all good fiction, comes down to the study of 
original sin, of our inherent disposition to choose death when we ought to 
choose life." (Rebecca West)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: CONSTANTIN VOLNEY
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the French savant Constatin Volney 
(1757-1820), whose 1791 book popularizing religious skepticism, entitled 
"The Ruins: or Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires," stimulated much 
controversy among the intellectual and political elite not only in France, 
but also in England and the United States. His book was an essay on the 
philosophy of history, containing a vision that predicts the final union of 
all religions by the recognition of the common truth underlying them all.
      Volney first gained public recognition for the account he wrote of 
his travels in Syria and Egypt, the descriptive details of which Napoleon 
used in planning his Egyptian campaign. Although he was not a partisan of 
Napoleon, the emperor nevertheless made him a count and appointed him to 
serve in the senate. Later, when the monarchy was restored he was made a 
member of the chamber of peers under Louis XVIII.
      Volney was born the son of Francois Chasseboeuf, a barrister in 
Craon, Maine-et-Loire. He was at first surnamed Boisgirais from his 
father's estate, but afterwards assumed the name of Volney. After receiving 
his education at the colleges of Ancenis and Angers he was given his 
inheritance at the age of seventeen. He then went to Paris, where he 
studied medicine, philosophy, and chronology, and became a frequenter of 
the philosophical salons of Baron Holbach and Madame Helvetius, where he 
made the acquaintance of Voltaire, Diderot, D'Alembert (and, interestingly, 
Benjamin Franklin, with whom he would maintain a long correspondence).
      When he returned from the four years he spent in Egypt and Syria, he 
served in 1789 as a deputy to the States-General, and in 1790 was secretary 
of the National Assembly. He was thrown into prison during the reign of 
terror, but escaped the guillotine. He was for a while professor of history 
at the newly founded Ecole Normale.
      In 1795 he came to the United States intending to settle there. He 
was welcomed by George Washington and visited Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
Kentucky, and Louisiana. He engaged in a controversy with John Adams over 
Adams' work on the United States constitution. In 1797 Volney was accused 
of being a French spy sent to prepare for the reoccupation of Louisiana by 
France. He was obliged to return to France in 1798. He became a member of 
the French institute in 1800 and of the Academie Francaise in 1803. In his 
memory the academy awards the Volney prize each year to the author of the 
best work on language studies.

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0576033324/newsscancom/ref=nosim 
for Volney's "Travels Through Syria and Egypt" -- or look for it in your 
favorite library. (We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to 
adult literacy programs.)

SUBSCRIPTION INFO FOR NEWSSCAN DAILY:
      To subscribe or unsubscribe to the text, html, or handheld versions 
of NewsScan Daily, send the appropriate subscribe or unsubscribe messages 
(i.e., with the word 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line) to 
the addresses shown below:
      Text version: Send message to [email protected]
      HTML version: Send mail to [email protected]
      NewsScan-To-Go: http://www.newsscan.com/handheld/current.html

TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT NEWSSCAN DAILY! Send them our little frog: 
http://www.newsscan.com/newsscan/newscup.html

***********************************************************
Please visit the site of RLG, the great organization that makes NewsScan 
Daily possible. (RLG has no influence over, nor any responsibility for, our 
editorial content.) Created in 1974 as the Research Libraries Group, RLG is 
a not-for-profit membership corporation of more than 160 universities, 
national libraries, archives, museums -- and other institutions with 
remarkable collections for research and learning. Its major initiatives are 
long-term retention of digital materials, resource sharing among member 
institutions, and improvement of researcher access to primary source 
material. RLG supplies online research resources worldwide. Visit RLG at 
http://www.rlg.org.

*********

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the TEXT version of NewsScan Daily, send an 
e-mail message to [email protected] with 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' 
in the subject line. To subscribe to our HTML version of NewsScan Daily, 
send mail to [email protected], with the word 'subscribe' as the 
subject. (Subscribing to the HTML version won't automatically unsubscribe 
you from the text version; please unsubscribe yourself as explained above.) 
Please note: To unsubscribe from an account to which you no longer have 
access, send mail to at [email protected].

*********

We call our news section "Above The Fold" to honor the tradition of the 
great "broadsheet" newspapers in which editors must decide which news 
stories are of such importance that they should be placed "above the fold" 
on the front page. The NewsScan Credo: Be informative, have fun, and get to 
the point! See http://www.newsscan.com/, and send us mail: John Gehl 
<[email protected]> and Suzanne Douglas <[email protected]>, or call 
770-704-7517.

*********

Get a free 6-week trial subscription to Innovation Weekly, an executive 
summary of trends, strategies and innovations in business and technology. 
Send mail to [email protected] with the word 'subscribe' in the 
subject line.

What customized news and information services do you need for your company? 
Get in touch with us at [email protected] or call 770-704-7517 to talk 
over the possibilities.

Copyright 2003. NewsScan Daily (R) is a publication of NewsScan Inc.
***********************************************************