NewsScan Daily, 5 October 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 5 October 2004 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        South Korea Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks From North
        Saudi Arabian Ban on Camera-Equipped Cellphones
        FCC Chair: Time to Switch to Digital
        Fox Supporting Two Rival Next-Generation DVD Formats
        Declaring Victory, Sony Abandons Copyright Protected CDs
        The Problem With Software: People


FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Worth Thinking About: Documents


SOUTH KOREA VULNERABLE TO CYBER ATTACKS FROM NORTH
      South Korea's defense ministry says that North Korea has trained
hundreds of computer hackers who could launch a cyber-war on South Korea,
the US or Japan. Because South Korea has the world's highest usage of
broadband services yet maintains relatively low levels of Internet security,
the country is especially vulnerable to network attacks. (Financial Times 4
Oct 2004)
<http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3d592eb4-15f0-11d9-b835-00000e2511c8.html>


SAUDI ARABIAN BAN ON CAMERA-EQUIPPED CELLPHONES
      Saudi Arabia's grand mufti has prohibited as "un-Islamic" trading in
camera-equipped mobile phones, because such phones "could be exploited to
photograph and spread vice in the Muslim community." Camera-equipped mobile
phones are ostensibly banned in the conservative kingdom, but are apparently
very much in use and are often the center of controversy. (The Age 4 Oct
2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/30/1096401689051.html>


FCC CHAIR: TIME TO SWITCH TO DIGITAL
      The Federal Communications Commission is beginning a new
consumer-education campaign to support the nationwide switch from analog to
digital TV. Announcing a new Web site to answer questions about digital TV,
Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell explained: "For
the vast majority of American households, digital television may be
uncharted territory. We will not let them go it alone." The Consumer
Electronics Association estimates that about 10% of U.S. households
currently have digital sets. (Washington Post 5 Oct 2004)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7846-2004Oct5.html>


FOX SUPPORTING TWO RIVAL NEXT-GENERATION DVD FORMATS
      Fox Entertainment has just joined a group of companies promoting the
Blu-ray disc, one of two competing formats for next-generation DVDs;
however, Fox is also part of a group that is endorsing a rival technology
called HD-DVD, backed by Toshiba. Both formats promise increased storage
capacity and HDTV-quality movie resolution. Fox technology expert Michael
O'Neill says, "We're very excited about exploring both formats at this time.
We see them both as very excellent candidates." The list of companies under
the umbrella of News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group includes Fox News and
Twentieth Century Fox. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 5 Oct 2004)
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9832575.htm>


DECLARING VICTORY, SONY ABANDONS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED CDs
      Sony's music unit will no longer be selling CDs that use built-in
technology to prevent their being copied, because the company has come to
the conclusion that its message against illegally copying of CDs has become
widely accepted. Sony's persistent dilemma has been how to protect the
copyrights on its movies, music and other entertainment assets while at the
same time making its electronics devices attractive to consumers.
(AP/San Jose Mercury News 4 Oct 2004)
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9832592.htm>


THE PROBLEM WITH SOFTWARE: PEOPLE
      Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting thinks that most
system failures are caused not by technology failures but by bad management,
communication or training: "In 90% of the cases, it's because the
implementer did a bad job, training was bad, the whole project was poorly
done. At which point, you have a real garbage in, garbage out problem. The
limit we're hitting is the human limit, not the limit of software.
Technology has gotten ahead of our organizational and command capabilities
in many cases. It's amazing when you go into companies and see the kinds of
battles that go on." John Michelsen of iTKO, a project management company,
has similar views: "Mistakes hurt, but misunderstandings kill. Developers
are least qualified to validate a business requirement. They're either nerds
and don't get it, or they're people in another culture altogether." (AP/USA
Today 5 Oct 2004)
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-10-05-the-luser-factor_x.htm>


*****


FLASH CARD
      "When you are poor enough, everything has some value." (Barbara Ann
Porte)


WORTH THINKING ABOUT: DOCUMENTS
      Economist Hernand De Soto suggests that good documentation plays a
paramount role in the success of capitalism:
      "Why does capitalism thrive only in the West, as if enclosed in a bell
jar?
      "The major stumbling block that keeps the rest of the world from
benefiting from capitalism is its inability to produce capital.
      "Most of the poor already possess the assets they need to make a
success of capitalism. But they hold these resources in defective forms:
houses built on land whose ownership rights are not adequately recorded,
unincorporated businesses with undefined liability, industries located where
financiers and investors cannot see them. Because the rights to these
possessions are not adequately documented, these assets cannot readily be
turned into capital, cannot be traded outside of narrow local circles where
people know and trust each other, cannot be used as collateral for a loan,
and cannot be used as a share against an investment.
       "In the West, by contrast, every parcel of land, every building, every
piece of equipment, or store of inventories is represented in a property
document that is the visible sign of a vast hidden process that connects all
these assets to the rest of the economy. Thanks to this representational
process, assets can lead an invisible, parallel life alongside their
material existence. They can be used as collateral for credit. The single
most important source of funds for new businesses in the United States is a
mortgage on the entrepreneur's house. These assets can also provide a link
to the owner's credit history, an accountable address for the collection of
debts and taxes, the basis for the creation of reliable and universal public
utilities, and a foundation for the creation of securities (like
mortgage-backed bonds) that can then be rediscounted and sold in secondary
markets. By this process the West injects life into assets and makes them
generate capital."
      [See
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465016154/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for Hernando de Soto's "The Mystery Of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs
in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" -- 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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