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Netizens-Digest Volume 1 Number 281
Netizens-Digest Friday, March 5 1999 Volume 01 : Number 281
Netizens Association Discussion List Digest
In this issue:
[netz] Pay per view $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!
[netz] Open Source - The One Hope for the Net Future
[netz] (Fwd) Solidarity with Altern.org
[netz] In sun screen we trust ;^P
[netz] Half-rules = ????disingenuous???
[netz] Sleeping w/ the enemy
[netz] I will not sleep with the enemy...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 11:35:27 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] Pay per view $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!
TV GUIDE MAY SIGN ACCORD WITH TCI ON DIGITAL SERVICE
Issue: Digital TV
In a deal closed yesterday, News Corp. sold TV Guide
Magazine to United Video, a Tulsa Oklahoma company controlled by TCI.
With the
deal, United Video has changed its name to TV Guide and is expected to
announce
a 10-year deal with TCI to offer interactive digital service to
TCI digital cable-TV subscribers. The service, called TV Guide
Interactive,
bundles content to subscribers: "offers a supplementary package to
subscribers
including more channels, extended pay-per-view options, and even music
transmission," Bounds reports. The proposed deal is "broad in scope by
cable-industry standards" and would attract other cable-TV operators.
TV Guide Interactive is used by 1.5 million subscribers now, and will
grow to 4.5 million when the TCI deal is closed.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B9), AUTHOR: Wendy Bounds ]
<http://wsj.com/>
~~Benton, UPFORGRABS
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 14:57:44 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] Open Source - The One Hope for the Net Future
A must read.
Hope for the future
===================
Steven Johnson is editor-in-chief of FEED and author of Interface
Culture: How New Technology Transforms The Way We Create
And Communicate.
http://www.feedmag.com/essay/es178_master.html
Whole Web is Watching by Steven Johnson
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 20:01:03 -0004
From: kerryo@ns.sympatico.ca (Kerry Miller)
Subject: [netz] (Fwd) Solidarity with Altern.org
- ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 17:31:54 -0600 (CST)
From: jmaudoin@lemel.fr (JM AUDOIN)
Subject: (en) Censorship against Internet, Solidarity with Altern.org
________________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
http://www.ainfos.ca/
________________________________________________
Altern.org was a provider of free web sites. Not only was it one of the
precursors of the Internet in France but it was also the last representative
of a free and non-commercial vision of the Internet. Indeed, contrary to
any other provider of such services, never were they to flash a single
advertising banner or to impose the slightest censorship on any of the some
40,000 sites Altern.org ever hosted.
Why `was' ? Because Altern.org recently had to call it a virtual day after
having be sentenced by a court to some non-virtual 400,000F (80,000$ / 40,
000£) damage to Estelle Halliday for having hosted for a time a site with
naked pictures of her on it that had previously been published in a
magazine. Although neither the author of the site nor the magazine
mentionned have ever been sued, it was only a basic intermediary technical
agent that Justice wanted to skin ! As a result, pushed by the appeal of
easy cash, two other opportunists have launched similar procedures against
Altern.org.
Beyond the disappearing of a project we care very much about because of its
non-commercial aspect, it mostly is the obvious attack against free speech
that we ought to denounce. It is not the first time that the judicial
institution tries to trap the Internet with a legislation that was meant for
the printed press, thus making the provider an equivalent to the editor of
a publication. After this, only should remain the big businesses big enough
to have the means of controling the entirety of the sites they host. Surely
the freedom of speech is in safe hands !
The current situation is similar to the one prevailing in France in the
early 80s about the FM radio band. Initiated by individuals who were
fighting against the state monopoly for creating new slots of freedom, the
first free radio stations have been swept aside by the state watchdogs (with
a government just as left-wing then as they are now, by the way) and the
capitalist sharks.
Although, technically this court decision does not make a precedent, it is
obvious that trials will continue until one is cemented for good.
Because it is unacceptable for state power or market power, or any power for
that matter, to let free media of expression develop without control, and
because Internet is a promise of short term juicy profits, the state and the
capitalists are giving themselves today the means of controlling this new
medium.
After having been outfoxed by technology, censorship is back full swing. !
Federation Anarchiste francophone /
French-speaking Anarchist Federation at http://federation-anarchiste.org
Get more infos, about Altern at http://altern.org/defense
support comitee to Altern.org at http://www.comite-altern.sgdg.org
********
The A-Infos News Service
********
COMMANDS: majordomo@tao.ca
REPLIES: a-infos-d@tao.ca
HELP: a-infos-org@tao.ca
WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/
INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 19:14:27 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] In sun screen we trust ;^P
Kurt Vonneguts's Commencement Address to M.I.T. Class of
1997, below seems appropo. for the times...
=========================================================
"Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for
the future, sunscreen would be it. Scientists have
proved the long-term benefits of sunscreen, whereas the
rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my
own meandering experience.
"I will dispense this advice now.
"Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never
mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of
your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20
years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can't grasp now how much
possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really
looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
"Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equations by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in
your life are apt to be things that never crossed your
worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on
some idle Tuesday.
"Do one thing every day that scares you. Sing. Don't be
reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with
people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste
your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead; sometimes
you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's
only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive.
Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me
how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old
bank statements.
"Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you
want to do with your life. The most interesting people
I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with
their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds
I know still don't. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind
to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
"Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have
children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40;
maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th
wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate
yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your choices
are half chance. So are everybody else's. Enjoy your
body. Use it in every way you can. Don't be afraid of it
or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest
instrument you'll ever own.
"Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living
room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you
feel ugly. Get to know your parents. You never know when
they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings.
They're your best link to your past and the people most
likely to stick with you in the future.
"Understand that friends come and go, but with a
precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge
the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older
you get, the more you need the people you knew you when you
were young.
"Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes
you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave
before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain
inalienable truths: Prices will rise.
"Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old.
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were
young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble,
and children respected their elders. Respect your
elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a
wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one
might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or
by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with
those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia.
Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the
disposal, wiping if off, painting over the ugly
parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But
trust me on the sunscreen."
;^P
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 20:35:52 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] Half-rules = ????disingenuous???
...FCC half-rules that calls to ISPs are long-distance
No immediate effect on consumer pricing, but long-term impact is
uncertain
TBTF touched on the urban legend of the "modem tax" last year [1].
Last week the FCC ruled in a long-pending case that calls to ISPs
are essentially long-distance in nature, but left it up to the
states to decide the validity of existing agreements for payments
between telephone companies, which were largely negotiated on the
opposite assumption. (Regulatory agencies in 24 states have ruled
that ISP calls are local; the FCC's ruling overrides these find-
ings.) Here is the FCC press release [2]. News reports differed
widely as to what the ruling actually said, let alone what it may
eventually mean to charges for Internet usage. News.com headlined
their coverage "Bells win partial victory in ISP ruling" [3] while
the Industry Standard weaseled by with "FCC Ruling to Affect ISP
Calls" [4]. Sure, but how?
The commissioners were at pains to emphasize that the decision will
not affect consumers' Internet phone bills. Some observers inter-
preted the ruling as the beginning of a slippery slope toward per-
minute charges for Internet usage in the US. FCC Chairman William
Kennard characterized such fears as "scare tactics"; he said the FCC
is not regulating the Internet and will not do so as long as he is
chairman.
>>>
I believe he is being disingenuous. It may be true that
you will never be charged per-minute rates for call your local ISP.
But if your ISP ends up paying more to their phone supplier, because
the Baby Bells stop paying that supplier, then you will pay your ISP
more too. The crucial question for consumers is whether or not a me-
ter is running, not who owns that meter. And a running meter will
flat-out stop the Internet's growth in this country. <<<
[1] http://tbtf.com/archive/1998-04-13.html#s04
[2]
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1999/nrcc9014.html
[3] http://www.news.com/News/Item/Textonly/0,25,32789,00.html?tbtf
[4]
http://thestandard.net/articles/article_print/0,1454,3632,00.html?1447
..."
Source:
TBTF for 1999-03-01: Light of other days
T a s t y B i t s f r o m t h e T e c h n o l o g y F r o n t
Timely news of the bellwethers in computer and communications
technology that will affect electronic commerce -- since 1994
Your Host: Keith Dawson
This issue:
http://tbtf.com/archive/1999-03-01.html
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 07:19:39 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] Sleeping w/ the enemy
Subject: Re: Is E-rate worth the fleas?
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 07:15:47 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Organization: Electronic Media Design and Support
To: "wwwedu@ready.cpb.org" <wwwedu@ready.cpb.org>,
"ednet@dhcp-srv2.oit.umass.edu"
<ednet@dhcp-srv2.oit.umass.edu>
References: 1
The ultimate price of sleeping with Telcos
==========================================
My larger concern is getting in bed w/ telcos
now will boomerang on us in education.
I find this chasm and specter applauding...
mom used this often, "sleep with dogs and wake
up with fleas."
Telcos are dogs for gouging citizens through
long distance charges. Out of the reach of
the today's users as it exists *pre* greed.
My estimation of the larger picture.
There is always a price... a price education and
educators and parents and students can ill afford.
The telcos can afford eRate, at the current setup
and not to gouge us consumers further with exorbitant
rates that will damage Internet use for all,
especially for its educational use.
Think people. Honestly. Can your schools afford
a connection ala telcos allowed to charge providers
long distance rates? I think not!
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 07:44:28 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Subject: [netz] I will not sleep with the enemy...
Subject: I will not sleep with the enemy... will you?
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 07:38:15 -0500
From: "P.A. Gantt" <pgantt@icx.net>
Organization: Electronic Media Design and Support
To: "wwwedu@ready.cpb.org" <wwwedu@ready.cpb.org>,
"ednet@dhcp-srv2.oit.umass.edu"
<ednet@dhcp-srv2.oit.umass.edu>
An example from real life, what sleeping w/ the enemy
will preclude ultimately
======================================================
My point being... the Net is used for far more than just a
narrow purpose. I find the new wrinkle of the telcos being
able to charge an obscene long distance rate passed eventually
to the consumers as a threat to digital democracy. To me
this the big picture... one that will place a pall on
the conversation.
Example from our home last night:
I was teaching in class my fine students, and they are.
It would warm your heart to see the sweet willing faces.
Feel the warmth. Two of my students, one former engineer
from last semester, and a present engineer popped
in my business class to say hi. To visit with this
other group of students. The intimacy of the sharing moment
was magic!
Meanwhile, my resident engineer was home working to add
memory to my 486-66 so I may convert it to a LINUX machine.
I have the RedHat software, that runs much better past
32 mgs of RAM. I bought a 64, the maximum the old board
can take. All of this was financed by my meager 10K a
year I earn adjuncting.
Well... all was not easy I hear while I was teaching
and the pinning replacement and testing the new memory...
The old motherboard dip switching was set and the chips
placed in the appointed areas. The computer
was rebooted and it seems, not the fault of the new
memory or dip switching the board only recognized
16 mgs. Puzzled, perturbed, my husband got on the Net
to hunt for the Micronix (motherboard maker for Gateway)
to find a FAQ or white paper to address this problem.
Upshot was, this process took over 10 minutes to find out
the solution. Micronix had been sold to Diamond.
Diamond site eventually told him to disable a shadowing
setting. Once this was done the motherboard recognized
the full bank of new 64.
Why am I so anxious to have a LINUX box? Because I teach
technical people. These students may eventually be
using NIX rather than Windows. A much slimmer in OS
size yet more powerful and flexible OS. An open
source.
NIX is used for a more reasonable and less maintenance
intensive OS/GUI as an alternative to our current GUI
bloated interface.
So what does this have to do with long distance and
the telcos? My point being, if the telcos are allowed
to charge indecent price gouging rates for their own
greed. My husband's journey out on the Net for the 10
minutes it took to solve the problem would be pricing
his use beyond of means... the ca ching, ca ching adds
up. Minutes per long distance rates that add up to
huge bills passed our way.
So, you see from my example, the affordable use of the
Net must take precedence over the narrow interests,
no matter the noble intent of eRate. Using schools
to advance Telcos interests is a mistake. The carte
blanche' to gouge and put all pall over our Net.
The people's Net.
Telcos can keep supporting eRate obviously without
charging consumers via providers long distance rates.
Telcos are not a friend to education ultimately.
Have you considered the costs that can be incurred
as our schools get the bill for connection ala
telcos and long distance greed? Schools through
taking the telcos meager handouts now will ultimately
lead to less connection, not more.
Is this short term thinking going to effect the Net's
original intent of information gathering and education
use? Yes.
See my larger concern?
There is an article I found that basically explains
why the *Telcos are Not Our Friend* I believe this.
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58646
- -------------------------------------------------------
Other Articles and Links
- -------------------------------------------------------
The FCC: No friend of local government
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58648
Commission tiptoed around calls for new broadband-service
regulations in a report on the status of advanced
telecommunications services in the country.
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58650
The challenge of governing the Net has given Congress a full plate.
On the agenda: privacy, encryption, gambling and the FCC.
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58652
Internet bills are being passed at accelerating rates by various
legislatures -- on taxation, censorship, privacy, etc. It's not going to
work to
simply oppose them all. We do need law and order on the Internet
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58654
Computerworld's collection of FCC resources
o http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=58656
- -------------------------------------------------------
- --
P.A. Gantt, Computer Science Technology Instructor
Electronic Media Design and Support Homepage
http://user.icx.net/~pgantt/
mailto:pagantt@technologist.com?Subject=etech
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1998-11.asp
Common sense is not common, and conventional wisdom is not
wisdom. But at least you can have conventional sense. ~~ Daily Whale
------------------------------
End of Netizens-Digest V1 #281
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