Message-Id: <55206A473154D011924D0020AFF7ACB549D284@mail1.oulan.ou.edu>
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 08:53:54 -0600
From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@ou.edu'" <it-fyi@ou.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 23 December 1997
************************************************************
Edupage, 23 December 1997. Edupage, a summary of news about information
technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom, a
Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities
seeking to transform education through the use of information
technology.
************************************************************
TOP STORIES
Edupage Until The Very Last Word
Lawmakers Question Subsidies For Internet Access By Schools
Cisco Buys Voice Signaling Company
Domain System Transition Plan Still On Hold
ALSO
Sony, Thomson-CSF Vying For Digital TV Boxes
Dole Lobbies Against Microsoft
"The Web Is What We Make It"
EDUPAGE UNTIL THE VERY LAST WORD
We frequently receive mail from nice people who urge us to call more
attention to our "Honorary Subscriber" feature at the bottom of Edupage,
saying they always enjoy it but complaining that they'd been reading
Edupage for a year or more before they happened to notice its existence.
So we'll take this edition to suggest that you go all the way to the end
with us today and read the words of our honorary subscriber -- whose
thoughts we offer as our greeting card to you and your friends and
families this holiday season.
LAWMAKERS QUESTION SUBSIDIES FOR INTERNET ACCESS BY SCHOOLS
Arguing that the issues have not been publicly debated, Senator John
McCain and Representative Thomas J. Bliley Jr. have convinced the
Federal Communications Commission to slow down the phasing-in of
subsidies intended to help schools, libraries and rural health care
facilities connect to the Internet. The FCC had planned to provide $675
million in subsidies in the first half of 1998, with an intention of
eventually providing more than $2 billion a year. (AP 23 Dec 97)
CISCO BUYS VOICE SIGNALING COMPANY
Cisco Systems is acquiring LightSpeed International, a privately held
voice signaling translation company, for $160 million. LightSpeed's
technology will assist Cisco in making the transition from purely
circuit switched networks to integrated circuit and packet/cell-switched
networks in order to accommodate voice over Internet protocols.
(TechInvestor 22 Dec 97)
DOMAIN SYSTEM TRANSITION PLAN STILL ON HOLD
The U.S. government's plan to transfer responsibility for assigning
Internet domain names from Network Solutions, which has been under
contract to the National Science Foundation to perform the task, to a
newly formed group of registration authorities, is still not complete,
and industry observers say they doubt it will be out by Christmas, as
promised by optimists in the Commerce Department. The plan originally
was due at the end of last month. Presidential Internet advisor Ira
Magaziner is currently interviewing stakeholders, including Internet
service providers, computer software and hardware companies,
telecommunications firms, and others. "This isn't about domain names,"
says one interviewee. "It's really about solving the problem of
Internet governance, and it needs adult supervision." (InternetWeek 22
Dec 97)
===============================================
SONY, THOMSON-CSF VYING FOR DIGITAL TV BOXES
Sony Corp. and Thomson Electronics are competing for the right to
distribute NextLevel Systems' digital TV set-top boxes, a move that
would assist either company in gaining a foothold in the huge potential
market for cable-based high-definition television, telephone services,
and other digital options. NextLevel is said to be favoring Sony's offer
to affix the well-known Sony name on every box, a powerful marketing
tool. Sony also offers access to its established videogame business,
which could eventually be built into the NextLevel boxes. Last week,
NextLevel announced that most of the top cable companies, including
Tele-Communications, Inc. and Comcast, have agreed to buy as many as 15
million set-top boxes over the next three years. (Wall Street Journal
22 Dec 97)
DOLE LOBBIES AGAINST MICROSOFT
Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole is representing
several major companies, including Netscape, Sun Microsystems, and Sabre
Group Holdings, in an attempt to obtain support for resistance to
Microsoft's expansion in Internet-based activities. In a letter to one
company, Dole wrote: "In the coming months, we will need to educate the
public, the administration, and the Congress about the dangers of a
laissez-faire attitude toward Microsoft. I am personally convinced that
if nothing is done now, it will become increasingly difficult to have
fair competition in the years ahead. That is why we will need companies
like yours to help finance and support our efforts." (Wall Street
Journal 23 Dec 97)
"THE WEB IS WHAT WE MAKE IT"
World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee says users are responsible for
making the Web safe: "It is important to realize that the Web is what
we make it. 'We' being the people who read, the people who teach
children how to surf the Web, the people who put information up on the
Web. Particularly the people who make links.... The Web doesn't force
anything down your throat. If you are worried that your children are
going to read low-quality information, teach them. Teach them what to
read. Teach them how to judge information." (Scientific American Dec
97)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) and Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu). Telephone: 770-590-1017. The next issue of
Edupage will be sent on 28 December 1997.
Technical support for distributing Edupage is provided by Information
Technology Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
************************************************************
Edupage ... is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to
Edupage: send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message:
subscribe edupage Anonymous (if your name is Anonymous; otherwise,
substitute your own name). To unsubscribe send a message to:
listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you
have subscription problems, send mail to manager@educom.unc.edu.)
Educom Review ... is our bimonthly print magazine on information
technology and education ... Subscriptions are $18 a year in the
U.S.; send mail to offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll ring a little
bell, because we'll be so happy! Choice of bell is yours: a small dome
with a button, like the one on the counter at the dry cleaners with the
sign "Ring bell for service"; or a small hand bell; or a cathedral
bell; or a door bell; or a chime; or a glockenspiel. Your choice.
But ring it!
Educom Update ... is our twice-a-month electronic summary of
organizational news and events. To subscribe, send mail to:
listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe Anonymous (if your
name is Anonymous; otherwise, substitute your own name).
Translations & Archives... Edupage is translated into Estonian, German,
Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. For accessing
instructions, send a blank message to translations@educom.unc.edu.
Today's Honorary Subscriber is Anonymous, the author of the following
words that were found in Old St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, Maryland
(dated 1692):
Go placidly among the noise & haste, and remember what peace there
may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good
terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly, and listen
to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid
loud & aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you
compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always
there will be greater & lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your
achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career,
however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of
time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full
of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many
persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for
in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the
grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering
the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden
misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears
are born of fatigue & loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be
gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the
trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is
clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and
whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep
peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it
is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
************************************************************
Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
************************************************************