NewsScan Daily, 11 June 2003 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 11 June 2003 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        FTC Asks for New Powers to Fight Spam
        Legislator Urges Fair Use Rights for Digital TV
        ReplayTV Blinks in Fight With Hollywood & Networks
        Wal-Mart Launches Online DVD Rentals
        Intel: Follow the Markets (And Go East)
        Sun Proclaims 'Java Everywhere'

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Census (Day 3)
        Honorary Subscriber: Thomas Carlyle

FTC ASKS FOR NEW POWERS TO FIGHT SPAM
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris is asking Congress to 
broaden the FTC's authority to investigate and prosecute spammers. The 
request follows congressional hearings on the subject and an FTC study 
concluding that two-thirds of spam is fraudulent or misleading. Meanwhile, 
several bills to fight spam have been introduced in Congress, the 
frontrunner of which is sponsored by Rep. W.J. Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of 
the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Tauzin's proposed legislation 
would require e-mail marketers to reveal their true e-mail addresses, honor 
consumer requests to be removed from mailing lists, and require that 
p*ornographic spam be labeled as such. The bill would authorize ISPs, state 
attorneys general and federal law-enforcement officials to track down 
suspected spammers and would allow fines up to $1.5 million and jail time 
up to two years for guilty parties. Consumer groups have criticized the 
Tauzin bill, saying it would override tougher state laws and is full of 
loopholes. (Wall Street Journal 11 Jun 2003)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1055288329568200.djm,00.html (sub req'd)

LEGISLATOR URGES FAIR USE RIGHTS FOR DIGITAL TV
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House subcommittee 
overseeing copyright law, urged the Federal Communications Commission to 
ensure that future regulations involving digital TV do not "have an adverse 
effect on how consumers may legitimately use lawfully acquired 
entertainment products." Smith voiced his firm opposition to legislation 
introduced last year that would require consumer electronics makers to 
implant mandatory copy-protection technology in PCs and other devices. "I 
am skeptical of government mandates on the technology industry… Until 
evidence shows otherwise, I believe existing copyright law is adequate," 
said Smith. He also urged greater cooperation on the part of colleges and 
universities in disciplining perpetrators of peer-to-peer music piracy, 
noting that research shows 16% of files available on Kazaa are located on 
their networks. "It's unlikely that this amount of file-sharing activity is 
in furtherance of class assignments," he said. (CNet News.com 10 Jun 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-1015469.html?tag=fd_top

REPLAYTV BLINKS IN FIGHT WITH HOLLYWOOD & NETWORKS
When Digital Networks North America acquired the ReplayTV brand from 
SonicBlue, it evidently decided to establish better relations with the film 
and TV industries, which had sued SonicBlue because ReplayTV allowed 
consumers to skip commercials (offending the TV industry) and sharing 
movies with friends (offending the movie industry). And so the latest 
version of ReplayTV's digital video recorder comes without the "automatic 
commercial advance" and the "send show" features. Phillip Swann of 
TVPredictions.com says that the moves indicate "a whole new approach to 
marketing ReplayTV. It's a smart one -- at least it's a heck of a lot 
smarter than what the previous regime was doing." Others are less happy. 
Gwen Hinze of the Electronic Frontier Foundation sees what's happening as 
blows to both consumers and innovators: "There's a pretty clear message 
being sent that Hollywood can dictate what technologies consumers can and 
cannot use. What we are concerned about is there's little room for 
technological innovation." (San Jose Mercury News 11 Jun 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6062475.htm

WAL-MART LAUNCHES ONLINE DVD RENTALS
Wal-Mart has launched its online DVD rental business, in a move that pits 
it head-to-head against similar offerings from Netflix and Blockbuster. A 
Netflix spokeswoman said she thought Wal-Mart and Blockbuster would end up 
battling for the No. 2 spot, noting that her company had already signed up 
1 million customers. "We're not sure what Wal-Mart has, but we're sure it's 
a fraction of that. Until Wal-Mart hits 100,000 they won't be a threat," 
she added. The Wal-Mart service will feature 13,000 titles, which customers 
can browse through and order online. The DVDs will then be shipped from 
distribution points in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada and 
New York, ensuring two-day delivery to 90% of the U.S. Pricing plans start 
at $15.54 a month for unlimited rentals with a maximum of two movies out at 
a time. To keep three or four movies the monthly fees rise to $18.76 and 
$21.94, respectively. (AP 10 Jun 2003)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030610/D7RJ558O0.html

INTEL: FOLLOW THE MARKETS (AND GO EAST)
Since the fastest-growing markets for Intel chips are India, China, Russia, 
Eastern Europe and South America, Intel president and chief operating 
officer Paul Otellini says that's where new development centers will be 
located: "Our resources will go where our markets are." The company will be 
investing in a software development hub in Bangalore and expanding its 
staff in India to 3,000. Otellini explains: "We can access incredible 
talent for software engineering in India. To get these skills, we may not 
be able to hire and train people quickly in the United States." (AP/USA 
Today 11 Jun 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2003-06-10-intel-india_x.htm

SUN PROCLAIMS 'JAVA EVERYWHERE'
Sun Microsystems hopes its new "Java Everywhere" branding effort will be as 
successful as Intel's "Intel Inside" campaign was, and claims that Java 
"means a new way of interacting with consumers, giving them new 
experiences," providing Sun with "a new electrified brand, more market 
opportunities, more fun, more money." Sun executive vice president Jonathan 
Schwartz continues: "The opportunity for Java growing the market is 
everywhere, to create the best sites, devices, games, stores, Web games, 
smart cards, and security." (EWeek 10 Jun 2003) 
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1122995,00.asp

*****

FLASH CARD
      "We have profoundly forgotten everywhere that cash-payment is not the 
sole relation of human beings." (Thomas Carlyle)

CENSUS (Day 3)
      All this week we are encouraging NewsScan readers to send us a couple 
of sentences, to help us get a fuller understanding of who our readers are. 
(Sure, we already have a full understanding of who they are, but we're 
taking it to the next level: a fuller understanding!) Grit your teeth and 
write to us at [email protected]. And we thank you for doing that! Think 
of all this as Pledge Week without needing to pledge anything.

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: THOMAS CARLYLE
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the Scottish essayist, social critic 
and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) whose ideas had a widespread 
influence on the shape of Victorian thought.
      Carlyle was born in Ecclefechan, Scotland, to a sternly Calvinist 
peasant family whose values and attitudes he carried with him throughout 
his life. After attending the University of Edinburgh, he decided against 
joining the ministry, and for years afterward he struggled to make a choice 
among various disciplines -- mathematics, law, teaching, and journalism.
      In 1821 he underwent a spiritual crisis, later attributed 
autobiographically to the character Diogenes Teufelsdrockh of his book 
"Sartor Resartus." Teufelsdrockh moves from the "Everlasting Nay" of 
spiritual bankruptcy, through the "Center of Indifference" to the 
"Everlasting Yea," which affirms a divine presence in the material world 
and stresses the importance of work and self-denial. These ideals, pointing 
to the need to recognize and follow great men, led Carlyle to a study of 
history. In "Past and Present," he describes a medieval monastery and its 
Abbot Samson as a model of the ideal community missing from contemporary 
life. "The French Revolution," the work that made him famous at the age of 
42, lifted Carlyle from poverty. Here, he interprets the destruction of the 
French aristocracy as a warning to England to shake off its dead 
institutional structures in order to meet the new needs of society.
      In 1866 Carlyle was installed as rector of Edinburgh University, but 
his happiness in this appointment was soon overshadowed by the unexpected 
death of his wife, Jane. Carlyle never completely recovered from her death. 
He lived another 15 years, weary, bored, and a partial recluse. He wrote 
little and kept his public commitments to a minimum. Westminster Abbey was 
offered to him for his burial, but he chose instead to be buried beside his 
parents at Ecclefechan.

See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375760229/newsscancom/ref=nosim 
for Carlyle's "The French Revolution" -- or look for it in your favorite 
library. (We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult 
literacy programs.)

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