NewsScan Daily, 23 September 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 23 September 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        Tests Show Cell Phones Don't Disrupt Navigation Systems
        Sony Embraces MP3 Format
        Does IM Mean 'Instant Music'?
        Kozoru: In Search of Better Results
        Theses Online

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Worth Thinking About: The Search for Love

TESTS SHOW CELL PHONES DON'T DISRUPT NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
      Recent tests by Airbus and American Airlines/Qualcomm indicate that, 
contrary to popular lore, cellular signals do not disrupt airplanes' 
navigational systems. The two results were similar for both the CDMA and 
GSM cellular technologies, but the Federal Aviation Administration and the 
Federal Communications Commission say the tests can't officially be 
considered in their review of the rules because they were conducted without 
government oversight. The agencies say they are moving ahead with their own 
tests. (Wall Street Journal 23 Sep 2004)
<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109589672706925579,00.html> (sub req'd)

SONY EMBRACES MP3 FORMAT
      In a strategic shift, Sony announced it will add support for MP3 
files to some of its portable music players, enabling it to compete 
directly against rivals such as Apple Computer, whose portable players 
support MP3 and other file formats. A Sony spokeswoman says new flash-based 
players with both MP3 and Atrac (Sony's proprietary format) playback will 
appear as early as this year in Europe, but it's unclear when those players 
will hit the shelves in the U.S. (AP/Washington Post 23 Sep 2004)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44121-2004Sep23.html?nav=headlines>

DOES IM MEAN 'INSTANT MUSIC'?
      Yahoo's purchase of Musicmatch last week for $160 million in cash has 
raised speculation that it plans to use the acquisition to enable Yahoo 
Messenger users to share and interact with one another's digital playlists. 
"The whole advantage that (Yahoo) has is using its broad reach to push 
products and integrate them," says one source close to the deal. Meanwhile, 
Microsoft acknowledges that it's planning to do just that with its MSN 
Messenger and MSN Music services. In fact, MSN Messenger has already 
quietly begun experimenting with music playlist sharing using a test 
application called ThreeDegrees. The strategy gives Web portals a leg up in 
their pursuit of the online music market, currently dominated by Apple's 
iTunes. And adding more functionality to instant messaging is part of their 
master plan to transform IM from a simple chatting tool to a control panel 
for multimedia applications. (CNet News.com 22 Sep 2004)
<http://news.com.com/Can+IM+morph+into+instant+music/2100-1032_3-5376479.html>

KOZORU: IN SEARCH OF BETTER RESULTS
      The Kozoru search engine is not slated for debut until July 2005 but 
its developer, CEO John Flowers, says his creation will place priority on 
quality rather than quantity when serving up results: "We're going for a 
niche. We're specifically focusing on providing answers to specifically 
tailored questions. If you're asking a question about what car in 2003 had 
the highest safety rating, or how do I change the oil in my Acura, you can 
get those results in a regular search engine. But you'll have to sift 
through a lot of answers. We are trying to determine who the most 
authoritative sources are." Flowers says Google's PageRank mechanism is 
flawed because it sorts results in terms of popularity rather than true 
authority. In addition, PageRank and other search engine algorithms do not 
take into account whether a Web page is current. "Kozoru will know the 
difference between an article that came out today and one that came out 20 
years ago," says Flowers. Kozoru's search algorithm uses a layered 
approach, placing Web sites lower on the information food chain than other, 
vetted information sources such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. "What 
we're doing is building a baseline of authority, and we're starting with 
the dictionary," says Kozoru communications director Justin Patrick 
Gardner. "And we're putting the encyclopedia on top of that. And on top of 
that we're putting news. And on top of that, you've got the Web, which is 
opinion… We're putting the Internet in the context of where it belongs. 
There's good information on the Internet. But there's a lot of bad 
information, too." (San Jose Mercury News 22 Sep 2004)
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9731180.htm>

THESES ONLINE
      An online directory of all research theses and dissertations from 
Australian universities will soon be available to the world. After pushing 
for the improved database for more than 15 years, the patience of 
postgraduate students and their supervisors has been rewarded: the federal 
government has announced $AU500,000 in funding for the job. The new 
database will use the Australian Digital Theses Program, which is already 
in place but only has links to about 2,600 theses in digital form. The new 
version will have records of up to 130,000 theses and dissertations -- some 
will be in digital format and those that are not will be linked to an order 
form where the database user can order a copy of the research. Anyone with 
access to the Internet will be able to use the database. (The Australian 22 
Sep 2004) rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin U.
<http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,10837346%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html>

*****

FLASH CARD
      "We may seek a fortune for no greater reason than to secure the 
respect and attention of people who would otherwise look straight through 
us." (Alain de Botton)

WORTH THINKING ABOUT: THE SEARCH FOR LOVE
      In his new book "Status Anxiety," British writer Alain de Botton 
claims that the drive for social status is rooted in a search for love:
       "The predominant impulse behind our desire to rise in the social 
hierarchy may be rooted not so much in the material goods we can accrue or 
the power we can wield as in the amount of love we stand to receive as a 
consequence of high status. Money, fame and influence may be valued more as 
tokens of-and means to-love rather than ends in themselves.
      "People who hold important positions in society are commonly labeled 
'somebodies,' and their inverse 'nobodies' -- both of which are, of course, 
nonsensical descriptors, for we are all, by necessity, individuals with 
distinct identities and comparable claims on existence. Such words are 
nevertheless an apt vehicle for conveying the disparate treatment accorded 
to different groups. Those without status are all but invisible: they are 
treated brusquely by others, their complexities trampled upon and their 
singularities ignored.
      "While there will inevitably be economic ramifications, the impact of 
low status should not be read in material terms alone. The gravest penalty 
rarely lies -- above subsistence levels, at least -- in mere physical 
discomfort; it consists more often, even primarily, in the challenge that 
low status poses to a person's sense of self-respect. The benefits of high 
status are similarly seldom limited to wealth. As much as money, they seek 
the respect that stands to be derived from the process of gathering it. Few 
of us are determined aesthetes or sybarites, yet almost all of us hunger 
for dignity; and if a future society were to offer love as a reward for 
accumulating small plastic discs, then it would not be long before such 
worthless items too assumed a central place in our most zealous aspirations 
and anxieties."
      [See 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375420835/newsscancom/ref=nosim> 
for Alain de Botton's "Status Anxiety" -- or look for it in your favorite 
library. Note: We donate all revenue from our book and media 
recommendations to adult literacy programs.]

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