From: Mustafa Akgul (akgul@Bilkent.EDU.TR)
Date: Thu 20 Jul 2000 - 11:03:24 EEST
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TOP STORIES for July 19, 2000
Opening Up World Market for Encryption Companies
Researchers Test IPv6 Capabilities on Internet 2
AOL, Time Warner Answer FCC's Queries
Congress Threatens Funding to Schools, Libraries Who Don't Block Web Smut
ALSO
Nader Proposes New Domain Names for Protesters
House Passes Legislation to Stem Junk E-Mail Flood
Former Napster Executives Look for Legitimacy
School's Out
OPENING UP WORLD MARKET FOR ENCRYPTION COMPANIES
The U.S. government is gradually changing its policies on
encryption technology that have traditionally held back U.S.
companies. This feat is being accomplished by reducing the
waiting time for encryption technology companies to obtain a U.S.
license to sell technology to government departments and
agencies in 15 European Union countries, as well as Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, and Japan. Government sales make up
about 30 percent of all encryption technology sales.
VeriSign, Network Associates, and RSA Security are other
encryption software companies that could benefit from the new
policy, which will take effect next month. The policy change is
part of a process where the U.S. government has gradually reduced
restrictions on encryption technologies to give U.S. companies a
better chance at competing. (Forbes.com, 18 July 2000)
RESEARCHERS TEST IPV6 CAPABILITIES ON INTERNET 2
The Internet2 Abilene backbone is serving as a testing ground for
IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol that will eventually
replace the existing IPv4. Abilene, which connects over 100
universities and runs at 2.4 Gbps, is a joint effort of the
University Corp. for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), Cisco
Systems, Nortel Networks, and Qwest. Researchers are now using
Abilene to test the capabilities and shortcomings of IPv6, which
experts say will provide more IP addresses, increased security,
and improved quality of service compared to IPv4. To test the
new protocol, UCAID has established four nodes that convert
network addresses between IPv4 and IPv6. Abilene's IPv6 service
will first be available to the Great Plains Network, an Internet2
regional research network. (Government Computer News, 10 July 2000)
AOL, TIME WARNER ANSWER FCC'S QUERIES
AOL and Time Warner on Monday submitted a letter to the FCC
assuring regulators that the merged company would offer service
not only over cable, but over platforms such as DSL and satellite
as well. As the FCC continues to review the proposed $140
billion merger, the letter refutes concerns that the combined
firm would threaten broadband technologies that compete with
cable. The merged company would have to partner with other
broadband providers to offer Internet access across the nation,
because Time Warner's cable systems extend to less than 20
percent of U.S. households, the letter says. Failing to offer
AOL service on alternate platforms would cause consumers to
remain with their platform of choice and simply choose another
ISP, the letter says. The companies say they are looking to work
with video programmers to customize interactive content for
AOLTV, but will not allow counter-programming of interactive
content to accompany a video programming service. AOL says it is
already forming deals with video programmers and does not
restrict programmers' rights to carry specific services, although
programmers are subject to AOL's co-branding rules and design
guideline templates. (Investor's Business Daily, 19 July 2000)
CONGRESS THREATENS FUNDING TO SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES THAT DON'T BLOCK
WEB SMUT
The repeal of the Child Online Protection Act last month spurred
some lawmakers in Congress to look for other legislative
solutions to keep children from viewing inappropriate content on
the Internet. Recently, Congress passed measures sponsored by
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) that
tie continued funding of the federal E-Rate program to the
installation of filtering programs. The Clinton administration
opposes the bills, but congressional staffers say it is likely
that Internet access controls of some sort eventually will be
implemented. President Clinton believes these issues should be
sorted out at the local level, says administration spokesman
Stephen Boyd. The American Library Association (ALA), the ACLU,
and the National Education Association all oppose McCain's
legislation. Some congressional staffers believe that
legislation introduced by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), or a
compromise bill like it, has a good chance of passing. Santorum's
bill gives libraries and schools the option of using
computer filters at their own discretion and forces all libraries
and schools to come up with a written Internet-use policy.
(Nando Times, 15 July 2000)
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NADER PROPOSES NEW DOMAIN NAMES FOR PROTESTERS
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader--in conjunction
with two activist groups, Consumer Project on Technology and
Essential Information--is asking ICANN for authorization to
construct 10 top-level domain names, such as .sucks, .complaints,
and .isnotfair, in order to ensure the rights of free speech to
unhappy consumers. The move would also prevent larger companies
like Bell Atlantic from registering domain names such as
BellAtlanticsucks.com in order to dissuade or avoid protesters.
Barring organizations that own a particular domain name from
utilizing the .sucks version of that domain name will ensure that
critics of that organization will have an opportunity to share
their opinions. The Dot Sucks Foundation would receive all the
money raised by selling access to these domain names, and this
money would be used to assist in the funding of online
free-speech arguments. Other Nader-proposed top-level domains
include .union and .customers, the latter of which would be
utilized "to create democratically managed membership
organizations of the customers of particular companies," says
Nader. (Christian Science Monitor Online, 17 July 2000)
HOUSE PASSES LEGISLATION TO STEM JUNK E-MAIL FLOOD
An anti-spam bill sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.)
sailed with ease through the House yesterday by a 427-1 vote.
Rep. Gene Greene (D-Texas) touted the legislation as "a tool that
can now be used to filter and stop unwanted intrusions into our
homes and offices." The bill empowers the FTC to take action
against violators of the bill's terms, gives ISPs the freedom to
sue spammers, and forces those sending unsolicited e-mails to
place an accurate return address on messages. The Direct
Marketing Association believes the bill still needs some work.
Jerry Cerasale, the DMA's senior vice president for government
affairs, says the bill unnecessarily burdens direct marketers and
gives consumers carte blanche to sue the senders of unsolicited
e-mails. "We agree with the vast majority of the bill," Cerasale
says. Cerasale says the DMA will push for revisions of the
Senate version of the bill. (USA Today, 19 July 2000)
FORMER NAPSTER EXECUTIVES LOOK FOR LEGITIMACY
When AppleSoup debuts on the Web, it will differ in at least two
key respects from the peer-to-peer (P2P) services, such as
Napster and Gnutella, whose success it is trying to emulate.
AppleSoup will respect the copyrights of the content it
distributes, and it will generate revenue. Founded by two former
Napster executives, AppleSoup will try to grab a piece of the
surging market for P2P technology, which allows users to trade
files between their PCs. Over 20 million people have now tried
P2P services. AppleSoup will provide content from various media,
"...everything that you can turn into bits and bytes," according
to Chairman Adrian Scott, but it will not attempt to compete with
Napster's music service. Although much of AppleSoup's content
will be free, it may charge a fee for access to more complex
content. The company expects to generate most of its revenue
from advertising and product-revenue-sharing agreements with its
content providers. The Web site should appear within the next
two months and has received $2.5 million in initial investments.
(Investor's Business Daily, 18 July 2000)
SCHOOL'S OUT
The business of notHarvard.com is based on a combination of
education and commerce, creating online universities for
companies with the goal of driving sales and improving customer
loyalty for the client. Although notHarvard classes are free to
consumers, the offerings generate revenue by promoting
merchandise relevant to the individual course. The company's
unique business model has sparked the interest of such well-known
companies as barnesandnoble.com, which signed a deal with
notHarvard in January. By partnering with notHarvard to offer
online courses led by authors, barnesandnoble believes it can
significantly boost its book sales. Meanwhile, notHarvard rolled
out its first online university in February for Motorola's
Metrowerks software development tools unit. Metrowerks'
university, CodeWarriorU.com, registered 25,000 students in just
two months, bringing in enough revenue from book and software
sales to repay Metrowerks' initial investment. notHarvard views
itself as a hybrid between an online education firm and a
customer relationship management (CRM) company. Initially,
notHarvard planned to focus just on education, but it quickly
realized the advantages of a business-to-business model.
(Business 2.0, 11 July 2000)
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