NewsScan Daily, 15 January 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 15 January 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
       FCC Plans to Raise Cost of Grossness
       HP on Top of Recovering PC Market
       Smart Stores
       Wireless Act: New Merger Would Create New Industry Giant
       Oh, the Robots and the Humans Can Be Friends

FEATURES
       Flash Card
       Worth Thinking About: Popular Song Lyrics (I)

FCC PLANS TO RAISE COST OF GROSSNESS
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell is asking
Congress to raise "by at least tenfold" the dollar amount of fines the FCC
can impose on radio and TV broadcasters who have aired indecent material.
Powell says, "Some of these fines are peanuts and they're peanuts because
they haven't been touched in decades. They're just the cost of doing
business to a lot of producers and that has to change... I personally
believe that the growing coarseness and use of such profanity at a time when
we are very likely to know that children are watching is abhorrent and
irresponsible. It is irresponsible of our programmers to continue to try to
push the envelope of a reasonable set of policies that tries to legitimately
balance the interest of the First Amendment with the need to protect our
kids. And I think that line is beginning to be crossed." (Washington Post 15
Jan 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18161-2004Jan14.html

HP ON TOP OF RECOVERING PC MARKET
PC shipments grew 12 to 15% in the 4th quarter (dramatically more than
predictions from a year ago), and research firm IDC is now saying that
shipments in 2004 will grow 11.4% worldwide. The other large market research
firm, Gartner, is reporting essentially the same speedy rate of recovery.
Gartner analyst Charles Smulders says: "We were surprised by the strength of
the consumer market and a little surprised by the growth in the notebook
segment. But I would say that in Q4 and in 2003, much of the growth has been
driven by price cuts." Worldwide market share figures in the 4th quarter
were: HP, 21.7%; Dell, 16.3%; and IBM, 6%. (CNET/New York Times 14 Jan 2003)
http://partners.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1003_3-5141213.html

SMART STORES
The Extra Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, has smart shopping carts that
can guide you to the grapefruits, smart scales that can distinguish apples
from oranges, smart shelves that send a signal when they need to be
restocked, and digital price listings that can be changed instantly. Metro
Group, the store's parent company, is the world's fifth largest retailer,
with annual sales of over $61 billion and 2,300 stores in 28 countries.
Metro's chairman says confidently: "We are standing at the very beginning of
the technological modernizations of retailing." IBM designed the store's
smart scales, which boast "Veggie Vision" that uses built-in cameras that
can differentiate one kind of produce from another. (San Jose Mercury News
15 Jan 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7711626.htm

WIRELESS ACT: NEW MERGER WOULD CREATE NEW INDUSTRY GIANT
Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless are discussing the possibility of
merging to form the largest U.S. cell phone carrier, with 45 million
subscribers. (The current No. 1 is Verizon Wireless, with 36 million.)
Industry analysts are saying that the proposed merger could stabilize the
industry, thereby allowing carriers to invest with more confidence in new
services. Any deal would need approval from both the Justice Department and
the Federal Communications Commission. (USA Today 14 Jan 2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-01-14-att-wireless-cingular_x.htm

OH, THE ROBOTS AND THE HUMANS CAN BE FRIENDS
Sony's toddler-shaped humanoid robot Qrio (a name meaning "quest for
curiosity") has dubbed a voice part for a popular television cartoon show in
Japan, and in one scene, an animation version of the talking, dancing Qrio
tells a story to a group of children sitting under a tree. An actress on the
program, 16-year-old Miki Maruyam, was impressed with the robots acting
skills: "I couldn't believe it was a robot. It said the lines better than
me." The robot was controlled from a booth by wireless local area network to
utter preprogrammed lines. Kazuya Konaka, the show's director, explains:
"Our message is that robots are our partners. This has demonstrated that
robots and human beings can work together." (AP/Los Angeles Times 15 Jan
2004)
http://www.latimes.com/technology/ats-ap_technology11jan15,1,3169008.story?c
oll=sns-ap-toptechnology

*****

FLASH CARD 
     "The incompetent with nothing to do can still make a mess of it."
(Laurence J. Peter)

WORTH THINKING ABOUT: POPULAR SONG LYRICS (I)
     From time to time we'll pay homage to the great lyricists of popular
song, and today we honor Oscar Hammerstein, who wrote the book and lyrics
for many great American musicals (in collaboration with composers Jerome
Kern and Richard Rodgers).
     See if you can remember the melodies that go with each of the lyrics
excerpted below:
                    ***
You are the promised kiss of springtime
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
                    ***
Fish got to swim, birds got to fly,
I got to love one man till I die.
                    ***
When the sky is a bright canary yellow
I forget ev'ry cloud I've ever seen
So they called me a cockeyed optimist,
Immature and incurably green!
I have heard people rant and rave and bellow
That we're done and we might as well be dead
But I'm only a cockeyed optimist,
And I can't get it into my head.
                   ***
If you want to have a rosy future
And be happy as a honey bee,
With a husband who will always love you,
Baby, Don't marry me.
                   ***
Someday we'll build a home on a hilltop high,
You and I,
Shiny and new a cottage that two can fill.
And we'll be pleased to be called,
"The folks who live on the hill."
                   ***
The gentleman is a dope,
A man of many faults,
A clumsy Joe
Who wouldn't know
A rhumba from a waltz.
The gentleman is a dope,
And not my cup of tea.
(Why do I get in a dither?
He doesn't belong to me.)
                   ***
I know how it feels to have wings on your heels,
And to fly down a street in a trance.
You fly down a street on a chance that you'll meet,
And you meet not really by chance.
                   ***
How you look in the glow of evening
I have dreamed and enjoyed the view
In these dreams I've loved you so
That by now I think I know
What it's like to be loved by you
I will love being loved by you.
                  ***
Whenever I feel afraid
I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune,
So no one will suspect I'm afraid.
                 ***
Love, look away!  Love look away from me
Fly when you pass my door, fly and get lost at sea.
Call it a day, love, let us say we're through.
No good are you for me, no good am I for you.
                 ***
Don't throw bouquets at me,
Don't please my folks too much,
Don't laugh at my jokes too much~
People will say we're in love!
                 ***
The sky is blue,
The night is cold,
The moon is new,
But love is old,
And, while I'm waiting here,
This heart of mine is singing:
"Lover come back to me!"
                 ***
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.
                 ***
We kiss in the shadow, we hide from the moon,
Our meetings are few and over too soon.
We speak in a whisper, afraid to be heard,
When people are near, we speak not a word.
Alone in our secret, together we cry
For one smiling day to be free.
To kiss in the sunlight, and say to the sky,
Behold and believe what you see,
Behold how my lover loves me.
                 ***
Younger than springtime are you,
Softer than starlight are you;
Warmer than winds of June are the gentle lips you gave me.
Gayer than laughter are you,
Sweeter than music are you;
Angel and lover, heaven and earth,
Are you to me.
                 ***
Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "goodnight" and mean "goodbye?"
Or, perchance when the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
with our arms around each other,
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen --
Shall we dance? 
Shall we dance? 
Shall we dance?
                                   ***
See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0881883794/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for "Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein" -- or look for it in your favorite
library. (We donate all revenue from our book or other recommendations to
literacy action programs.)

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