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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Lucent Posts 8th Straight Loss, Sees More Cuts |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:49 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Lucent, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, on Monday posted its eighth consecutive quarterly net loss and said it will cut more jobs to try to return to profitability amid the telecom industry's spending slowdown. Lucent CEO: "It feels like we're bouncing along bottom." Lucent Posts 8th Straight Loss, Sees More Cuts |
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The New Humanists | Edge 100 |
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| Topic: Society |
5:43 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Something radically new is in the air: new ways of understanding physical systems, new ways of thinking about thinking that call into question many of our basic assumptions. A realistic biology of the mind, advances in physics, electricity, genetics, neurobiology, engineering, the chemistry of materials -- all are challenging basic assumptions of who and what we are, of what it means to be human. The arts and the sciences are again joining together as one culture, the third culture. Those involved in this effort -- scientists, science-based humanities scholars, writers -- are at the center of today's intellectual action. They are the new humanists. To mark the occasion of the 100th edition of Edge, I am taking my turn. ... A Great Intellectual Hunger
One Intellectual Whole
Cultural Pessimism
The Double Optimism of Science
Scientists As Both Creators and Critics
The Horizon Grows
Scientia
One Culture, the Third Culture ... Responses to "The New Humanists" from Daniel C. Dennett, Steven Johnson, Lee Smolin, Jaron Lanier, George Dyson, Marc D. Hauser, Douglas Rushkoff, Howard Rheingold, Clifford Pickover, and others. The New Humanists | Edge 100 |
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Trust Brokerage Systems for the Internet |
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| Topic: Technology |
5:40 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Abstract: This thesis addresses the problem of providing trusted individuals with confidential information about other individuals, in particular, granting access to databases of personal records using the World-Wide Web. It proposes an access rights management system for distributed databases which aims to create and implement organisation structures based on the wishes of the owners and of demands of the users of the databases. The dissertation describes how current software components could be used to implement this system; it re-examines the theory of collective choice to develop mechanisms for generating hierarchies of authorities; it analyses organisational processes for stability and develops a means of measuring the similarity of their hierarchies. Trust Brokerage Systems for the Internet |
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The Internet Time Lag: Anticipating the Long-Term Consequences of the Information Revolution [PDF] |
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| Topic: Society |
9:48 pm EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
Like all epochal inventions that revolutionize society and define an era, the Internet has both short-term effects and long-term consequences. ... "The dot-com bubble was about lots of experiments to figure out what kinds of business models would work. It was totally overfunded, but it had nothing to do with the real transformation. The real transformation is going to take place over the next decade or two. It will totally change the economics of doing business across the entire world -- and it will have a huge impact on governments and individuals." "We have learned that there are big lags between invention and the full social effects, both for good and for ill, and that was certainly true in the case of electricity and cars. Everyone talks about Internet time and how everything has speeded up and so forth, but I suspect that we are going to see the same time lag with the Internet: long lags before the big effects really take place." Here's another research report from the Aspen Institute. Excerpts from the TOC: Historical Context; Economic, Social, Political Consequences; The Future of the Corporation; Ramifications for Globalization; A Search for Solutions The Internet Time Lag: Anticipating the Long-Term Consequences of the Information Revolution [PDF] |
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Rethinking Boundaries in Cyberspace [PDF] |
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| Topic: Society |
9:42 pm EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
The Internet's explosion into the public consciousness in the 1990s was marked by a heady rhetoric about its uniqueness. As the Internet has matured, however, traditional governments and private actors have increasingly sought to assert control over conduct and content in cyberspace. How will -- and how should -- governance in cyberspace evolve now that the utopian vision of the Net as a perfectly self-governing realm has been dispelled? The focus: Where we are now; Guiding principles for good governance; Proper roles for different actors; Specific governance challenges. The Internet disrupts existing relationships between individuals, businesses, and states, spawning new intermediaries between these entities and eliminating old ones. Much of the commercial law that undergirds international business transactions, for example, has been designed to facilitate exchange among businesses ... What adaptations should be made to this law when individuals become transactors in the global economy? This is an excellent and recent report from the Aspen Institute. Rethinking Boundaries in Cyberspace [PDF] |
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From Consumers to Users: Shifting the Deeper Structures of Regulation Toward Sustainable Commons and User Access, by Yochai Benkler [PDF] |
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| Topic: Society |
4:57 pm EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
... the fundamental commitment of our democracy to secure "the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources." ... Today, as the Internet and the digitally networked environment present us with a new set of regulatory choices, it is important to set our eyes on the right prize. That prize is not the Great Shopping Mall in Cyberspace. That prize is the Great Agora -- the unmediated conversation of the many with the many. ... Once legislatures conceive those whose welfare they serve as users, rather than as consumers, the relevant focus of regulation should shift to enabling the widest possible range of users to use the resource for active communication, not simply for passive reception. ... An open, free, flat, peer-to-peer network best serves the ability of anyone -- individual, small group, or large group -- to come together to build our information environment. It is through such open and equal participation that we will best secure both robust democratic discourse and individual expressive freedom. This two-year-old essay from Yochai Benkler is cited in the latest Cook Report on Internet. Well worth the read. From Consumers to Users: Shifting the Deeper Structures of Regulation Toward Sustainable Commons and User Access, by Yochai Benkler [PDF] |
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Welcome to the War on Piracy |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
6:05 am EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
Legislators and law enforcers will have to fight and win a "war" against online piracy in order for the digital marketplace to have any chance of realizing its full potential. "This war against piracy must be waged on several different fronts, including the commitment of adequate resources to law enforcement, the cooperation of various industry players, and the education of consumers. Only when the war against piracy is effectively waged and won, will businesses and consumers move in significant numbers to the online marketplace. [Copyright piracy] is growing exponentially with billions of unauthorized music downloads per month. Until we can stop the growth of piracy online, it will be difficult to truly create a marketplace that will work for digital online content." More silliness ... Obviously this guy didn't get the memo about cutting back on the "war" metaphors. These statements are so clearly baseless as to be meaningless. Billions per month, and growing exponentially? So in a few months, we'll have 100 trillion downloads per month? I think not. But who cares, any way? Why doesn't anyone recognize the success stories? The Wall Street Journal has a profitable online subscription service. Lexis-Nexis is popular and has been sustainable over a long period of time. The IEEE has a successful online library. Clearly there are no overwhelming technical challenges to running a successful business selling digital online content. I'm waiting for the intellectual property version of the film _Traffic_ ... Welcome to the War on Piracy |
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Qwest Dumps 2,000 Additional Workers |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:51 am EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
Qwest shares fell by nearly 12% Friday on news that the it cut 2,000 more jobs (on top of 7,000 already planned) and lowered its forecast for 2002. CEO Joe Nacchio: "We believe this guidance is realistic, assuming no further deterioration in the regional economy or industry outlook." ... Qwest, with debts near $25B, is trying to sell some of its assets - including its directory business and wireless unit - to raise pay-down cash. Qwest would not comment on a WSJ report that it was in "advanced" negotiations to unload its Dex directory publishing business for up to $10B. On Friday, Fitch Ratings lowered its assessment of Qwest's creditworthiness to a notch above junk status ... Fitch maintains its negative outlook, based on Qwest's reduced liquidity position, weaker operating performance, outstanding debt and uncertainty over an SEC inquiry. Meanwhile, SBC fell 3.5%, BellSouth fell 4.1%, and WorldCom fell 6% on weak outlooks. Qwest's 1Q report is due on April 30. Look for another major drop in two weeks ... and it appears they're going to sidestep the SEC inquiry into the phone book printing schedule by selling off the business altogether. Who needs a phone book any more any way? How is that worth $10B? Qwest Dumps 2,000 Additional Workers |
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NTT of Japan Plans to Cut 17,000 Jobs |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:43 am EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
Two weeks after announcing the biggest loss for a nonfinancial corporation in Japanese history, NTT, the world's largest phone company, said it will cut 17,000 jobs (8%) and cut capex by 15% to restore profitability. ... critics want to break up NTT's holding company structure because it subsidizes the weak wire-line business through the strong performance of NTT DoCoMo. NTT of Japan Plans to Cut 17,000 Jobs |
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Music sales dip; Net seen as culprit |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
6:24 am EDT, Apr 17, 2002 |
Global music sales declined for the second consecutive year, a dip the recording industry blamed on the proliferation of free music swapping on the Internet. In 2001, worldwide music sales dropped 5% to $33.7B, according to a record industry lobbying group. That figure is down again from the 5% drop in 2000 to $37B. The recording industry maintained that demand for music has not waned. Industry: "The industry's problems reflect no fall in the popularity of recorded music: Rather, they reflect the fact that the commercial value of music is being widely devalued by mass copying and piracy." Analyst: "I think it's a very convenient scapegoat, but in reality ... is more complex." Sales in France, up 10%; in the UK, up 5%, due to "strong demand for local artists." If the music industry were run by telecom executives, the report would keep quiet about revenues and proclaim, "minutes listened are up 30% year over year! The Internet music sector is the scene of substantial future growth potential." If necessary, the record companies would sell some music to each other. ("I'll buy 2 million Britney Spears albums and sell you a million Jay Z's, plus the option to purchase up to ten million of Britney's future albums at $10 each.") I think the industry should listen to Jaron Lanier and do a little soul searching ... maybe people aren't buying the latest crap because it sounds just like the crap they bought ten years ago. I'm also rather suspicious of that "rock star" theory of Internet music. To me, the decline/absence of dominant superstars in recent years indicates that no one has what it takes. Elvis and The Beatles were stars not only because they were good, but because their music was new and different. Today ... who is truly new and different, yet still widely relevant? Music sales dip; Net seen as culprit |
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