NewsScan Daily, 13 February 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 13 February 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        FCC Plugs Into the Future
        321 Studios Comes Out With Game Backup Software
        Allen's Next Quest: A 'Digital Aristotle'
        Virtual Museums Offer Journey Through the Past
        Lexicon Software Finds Just the Right Words

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Happy Valentine's Day From NewsScan
        Honorary Subscriber: Saint Valentine

FCC PLUGS INTO THE FUTURE
      The Federal Communications Commission is developing new rules that 
would enable homes to link up to the Net through electrical outlets, and 
would free companies offering Internet telephony services from regulations 
that apply to traditional telcos. Taken together, the rules signal a 
fundamental shift in the architecture of the Internet and the services it 
provides. In coming months, electrical utilities will be allowed to offer 
an ISP alternative to cable, phone and satellite firms, providing a boost 
to rural areas where broadband availability is still scarce. Several 
utility companies have been running trials offering high-speed Internet 
service in anticipation of the FCC's decision. In its second ruling, the 
FCC voted to allow a small Internet company, Pulver.com, to provide its 
computer-to-computer phone service, called Free World Dialup, to operate 
free from the governing regulations and access charges assessed on 
traditional phone carriers. Industry experts say VoIP service and electric 
utility broadband service will not make significant inroads into the 
mainstream for about two years, but by moving forward with its decisions, 
the FCC has reduced regulatory uncertainty and opened the door for 
investment in the new technologies. (New York Times 13 Feb 2004)
http://partners.nytimes.com/2004/02/13/technology/13net.html

321 STUDIOS COMES OUT WITH GAME BACKUP SOFTWARE
      New software released by 321 Studios, already in hot water over its 
DVD-copying applications, gives PC gamers the ability to create a backup of 
any title and store it either on the PC's hard drive or on a recordable CD 
or DVD. Game X Copy was developed at the behest of parents wanting to 
protect their investment in children's PC games by making a backup copy, 
says a 321 spokeswoman, echoing the company's explanations for its DVD X 
Copy and DVD Copy Plus software offerings. Movie studios and other software 
makers have argued that those products are illegal under the Digital 
Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the distribution of software 
designed to circumvent copyright protection technology. But the company's 
spokeswoman says 321 hasn't heard any objections from the game industry: 
"We're pretty confident in our position with Games X Copy. There's a legal 
precedent for backing up software." The Games X Copy software is available 
for $60 and works on PCs running any recent version of Windows. (CNet 
News.com 12 Feb 2004)
http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-5158492.html?tag=nefd_top

ALLEN'S NEXT QUEST: A 'DIGITAL ARISTOTLE'
     Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is pursuing a new quest --he's 
bankrolling an effort to build a computer loaded with enough science 
textbook information to pass college-level AP exams in chemistry, biology 
and physics, and , when queried, impart its wisdom in plain English 
answers, sort of like an electronic tutor or "Digital Aristotle." Allen's 
Vulcan Ventures, known for backing offbeat ideas, is funding three 
competing research teams to pursue what it's calling "Project Halo." The 
30-month effort will focus on "knowledge representation and reasoning" to 
synthesize information in such a way that the computer can go beyond a 
yes/no answer to deliver a lucid explanation. The competition represents 
the second phase of Halo -- last year, Vulcan's contract teams loaded a 
computer with 70 pages of AP chemistry material and tested it with 168 AP 
exam questions. The computer managed to score a 3 on a scale of 1-5, 
slightly better than the average student score of 2.8. But at $700,000, the 
process of inputting the information was expensive, and while the computer 
was good at answering quantitative questions, it was less sharp when it 
came to more-qualitative questions, such as: "Why is tap water a better 
conductor than pure water?" "This is not going to be a sentient computer or 
have self-awareness or emotion or anything like that," says Vulcan program 
manager Noah Friedland. "We're going to have a hard enough time with 
common-sense issues. But this is going to reason about science and be used 
as a tool for learning." Meanwhile, University of Washington Computer 
Science and Engineering professor Ed Lazowska says the work Vulcan is doing 
is "hugely important… How do you get a computer so it can reason about the 
content? It's not just regurgitating a line in a textbook or pointing you 
to a document from Google that may or may not have the answer… This is 
reasoning about knowledge, and that's a mind-blowing challenge." (Seattle 
Times 12 Feb 2004)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001856160_halo12.html

VIRTUAL MUSEUMS OFFER JOURNEY THROUGH THE PAST
      Researchers at the University of Geneva are using sophisticated 3D 
modeling to reconstruct virtual models of two Turkish mosques -- Aya Sofya 
and Hagia Sophia -- dating back to the 16th century, which users can 
explore, giving them a sense of "being there." Avatars -- virtual humans -- 
including an imam, have been added to simulate what it would have been like 
to attend Friday prayers back in the Ottoman era. Close attention was paid 
to recreating authentic furniture, textures and colors of the time. "The 
technology allows you to restore endangered sites, with the atmosphere and 
ambience of those buildings at that era," says University of Geneva Miralab 
team member Nedjma Cadi-Yazli. "We are trying to give the impression of 
going back in time. This kind of technology could be used for a virtual 
museum." (BBC News 12 Feb 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3472589.stm

LEXICON SOFTWARE FINDS JUST THE RIGHT WORDS
      Word Menu, a $35 software program made by Write Bros., offers users 
stumped for what to say a lexicon of 76,000 words and phrases, arranged by 
subject and displayed in alphabetical lists or clustered within colorful 
concentric circles. The latter configuration offers users a helpful way to 
dabble in the jargon specific to certain realms, such as a particular 
sport, without having to know anything about it to begin with. Unlike a 
regular dictionary, Word Menu groups terms into seven categories: the human 
condition; language; nature; science and technology; domestic life; 
institutions; and arts and leisure. Each grouping is subdivided into 
numerous subcategories, which then list the words associated with each. And 
while any good thesaurus can come up with a list of words related to 
"drinking," (swallowing, guzzling, swigging, quaffing, etc.), Word Menu is 
especially useful for finding particular terms that may have momentarily 
slipped your mind. For instance, if you've forgotten what those little cups 
that espresso comes in are called, you can look at all the words associated 
with "coffee" and find "demitasse." The software provides plenty of 
serendipitous learning opportunities -- for instance, grouped with 
demitasse is also "zarf" -- an ornamental holder for a coffee cup without a 
handle. (AP 12 Feb 2004)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040212/D80LUNG01.html

*****

FLASH CARD
      "What is this thing called love? This funny thing called love? Just 
who can solve its mystery? Why should it make a fool of me?" (Cole Porter song)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM NEWSSCAN!
      If you're reading this, you're dear to our hearts, and we wish you a 
very happy Valentine's Day tomorrow. We'll use this occasion to thank a few 
of you who have been especially helpful to us in the past year: Denise 
Caruso, Don Norman, Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, Peter Neumann, Peter 
Denning, Eli Noam, Donna Hoffman, Jef Raskin, Ken Robinson, Cliff Lynch, 
Martin Greenberger, Marcia Kadanoff, Michael Elliot, Ben Shneiderman, 
Jeremy Shapiro, Brian Williams and Marvin Zonis. There are many more of you 
we'd like to send love notes to you, but we need to be careful, or we'll be 
accused of spamming.

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: SAINT VALENTINE
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the early Christian martyr Saint 
Valentine (d. circa 259), whose February 14th feast day has become the 
occasion for lovers to exchange expressions of affection. The Valentine's 
Day holiday probably derives its origins from the ancient Roman feast of 
Lupercalia celebrated February 15th as a spring festival, one custom of 
which was the drawing of a Roman girl's name in a lotto for the purpose of 
becoming the year-long sweetheart of the young man who drew her name.
     Legend has it that the Lupercalia holiday became Valentine's Day in 
honor of a priest named Valentine who defied the order of Emperor Claudius 
II that Roman soldiers not marry or become engaged. Against the Emperor's 
decree Valentine secretly married many young couples. He was eventually 
arrested, imprisoned, and put to death on February 14th, the eve of the 
Lupercalia holiday. After his death, Valentine was named a saint and the 
Roman spring holiday was moved from the 15th to the 14th of February, 
transforming it into a Christian feast day honoring St. Valentine.
      The Lupercalia lottery ceased being a means for pairing up young men 
and women. Instead they drew the names of saints whom they would then 
emulate for the year. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to 
seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out 
handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
      During the Middle Ages it became a conventional belief in Europe that 
birds chose their partners in the middle of February, and St. Valentine's 
day was again dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love 
letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend also has it that 
Charles, Duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 
1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
      Because the history of Valentine's Day as given above is more 
legendary than historically authentic, the Catholic Church no longer 
officially honors St. Valentine as a worldwide feast day. Many local 
parishes, however, continue to celebrate the day in various ways, and, of 
course, the day is widely celebrated as a non-religious observance, a 
celebration highly appreciated by florists, jewelers and candy makers.

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