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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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Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology |
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| Topic: Technology |
7:47 pm EST, Mar 17, 2002 |
Cell phones ... airbags ... genetically modified food ... the Internet. These are all emblems of modern life. You might ask what we would do without them. But an even more interesting question might be what would we do if we had to actually explain how they worked? The United States is riding a whirlwind of technological change. To be sure, there have been periods, such as the late 1800s, when new inventions appeared in society at a comparable rate. But the pace of change today, and its social, economic, and other impacts, are as significant and far reaching as at any other time in history. And it seems that the faster we embrace new technologies, the less we're able to understand them. What is the long-term effect of this galloping technological revolution? In today's new world, it is nothing less than a matter of responsible citizenship to grasp the nature and implications of technology. Technically Speaking provides a blueprint for bringing us all up to speed on the role of technology in our society, including understanding such distinctions as technology versus science and technological literacy versus technical competence. It clearly and decisively explains what it means to be a technologically-literate citizen. The book goes on to explore the context of technological literacy -- the social, historical, political, and educational environments. This new publication from the National Academy of Engineering is freely available online. 170 pages. Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology |
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The Long, Humbling Quest for a Job in Technology |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:46 am EST, Mar 17, 2002 |
Three years ago, anyone with a computer science degree and a pulse could practically name his price in the job market as companies scrambled to dodge doomsday Y2K possibilities. That atmosphere was later buoyed by demand from Internet companies, which offered not just high salaries but also stock options, beer bashes on Friday afternoons and a weekly massage. By now, the end of that era has become an almost forgotten cliché. But what might surprise some people is the bleakness of the job outlook for a sector once thought impervious to the downturn: software programmers, with experience in code names like SQL, Unix, Java and C++. The Long, Humbling Quest for a Job in Technology |
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The TED Conference: 3 Days in the Future |
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| Topic: Technology |
8:16 am EST, Mar 1, 2002 |
What preternatural power can prompt Rupert Murdoch, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Richard Dawkins, Neil Simon, Art Buchwald, Frank Gehry and Quincy Jones to sit for hours in a hot room contemplating the nano-sized split ends on gecko toes? It can only be the TED conference, the three-and-a-half day, $4,000-a-pop annual roundup of brains and glitter in which deep wisdom and technological derring-do are served up on an intellectual pu pu platter by 70 speakers and performers. ... In the self-referential utopian community that is TED, even the juggler has a MacArthur fellowship and the neighbors, if not good-looking, are brilliant, fascinating and sometimes astonishingly rich. ... The TED Conference: 3 Days in the Future |
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A Spinoff of Williams May Seek Bankruptcy |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:33 am EST, Feb 26, 2002 |
The Williams Communications Group, the troubled provider of broadband network services, said yesterday that it was looking to restructure its debt obligations and that it might seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. Several weeks ago, Williams said that it was not considering filing for Chapter 11. But the announcement yesterday did not surprise analysts or investors. "The market has been expecting this for a while," said Timothy K. Horan, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. ... The Williams Communications statement "suggests that something is going on, but we still don't know what that is." ... SBC Communications Inc., the nation's second-largest telephone company, is its largest customer. SBC also owns about a 4 percent equity stake in Williams Communications. ... Is this the next step in the telecom collapse? Will WilCom bring SBC and the rest of Williams down with it? A Spinoff of Williams May Seek Bankruptcy |
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Others Endure Complications in Telephone Bankruptcy |
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| Topic: Economics |
3:57 am EST, Feb 25, 2002 |
The bankruptcy proceedings of Global Crossing are becoming far more contentious and potentially disruptive for the company's creditors, customers and business partners than previously expected, bankruptcy experts said over the weekend. The complications, these experts said, could make it more likely that instead of Global Crossing's emerging from bankruptcy as a viable company, or being acquired, the proceedings could lead to perhaps the least desirable outcome for creditors: a liquidation of the company, with its assets auctioned to the highest bidders. ... (According to interviews in the latest issue of the Cook Report, the entire telecom sector is ready to collapse in on itself, with the next mega-bankruptcies coming from the local telcos. It is a fairly technical argument with lots of data points for support, so it's somewhat difficult to judge its merits quickly. But even cast in the best light, it doesn't look good ...) Others Endure Complications in Telephone Bankruptcy |
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Making Unemployment Work (Sort Of) |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:50 pm EST, Feb 24, 2002 |
Being unemployed has brought Todd M. Rosenberg fun, some fame, and a very small fortune. Which is why he is in trouble with the New York State Department of Labor. Mr. Rosenberg, 32, is the creator of "Laid Off: A Day in the Life," an animated cartoon [web site]. It's a hoot. ... Prominently displayed on the site is ... the tip jar. ... Dollars have come streaming in. Real dollars. Virtual dollars. Nine thousand dollars. ... Mr. Rosenberg had been unemployed since June, when the dot.com where he worked as director of business development shut down ... At the time, the job market "had a bad but temporarily bad feel," Mr. Rosenberg said. But by the end of the summer, none of his job interviews had panned out, and the help-wanted ads were getting skimpy. ... When he realized that he might not find a job for a while, Mr. Rosenberg said, he felt he had to do something productive. ... Making Unemployment Work (Sort Of) |
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Behind the Grammys, Revolt in the Industry |
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| Topic: Music |
5:45 pm EST, Feb 24, 2002 |
Behind the smiles, a particularly troubling set of circumstances is plaguing the record industry, which is in dire straits on almost every front. The major record labels depend on three things to survive: the money of fans, the music of their artists and the support of the multinational corporations that own them. But the labels are suddenly realizing that they can't depend on any of these. ... "If the industry doesn't change the way we do business," said Val Azzoli, co-chairman of Atlantic Records, "we're going to be bankrupt." While it has been widely reported that music sales were down 5 percent last year, this is the least of the music business's woes. .... Neil Strauss of the New York Times issues a report on the (sad) state of the music industry, including the tough economic tradeoffs faced by conglomerates like Sony. Behind the Grammys, Revolt in the Industry |
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Little Guys Get Airtime as Low-Power FM Debuts in Region |
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| Topic: Technology |
11:48 am EST, Feb 23, 2002 |
The radio revolution sounded like it would be a blast. Real power-to-the-people stuff. Thousands rushed to apply for licenses to run tiny, 100-watt community radio stations two years ago during a moment of federal government largess. Everyone from religious fundamentalists to nature lovers to Cajun accordion aficionados hoped to take back pieces of the airwaves from corporate giants. They dreamed of preaching the Gospel or railing against pollution or spreading the magic of zydeco rhythms. But something happened on the way to community-radio nirvana. Something like reality. ... Of the 3,400 amateurs nationwide who have applied for low-power FM licenses in the last two years, only five are on the air. ... Essentially, the new rules banned low-power stations in urban areas, where the radio dial is crowded, and pushed the applicants into rural regions. ... "I'm really not that capable of a person, but I did get a license," he said. "That says something." ... From the front page of the 19 Feb 2002 edition of The Washington Post. Little Guys Get Airtime as Low-Power FM Debuts in Region |
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Napster Wins One Round in Music Case |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
10:54 pm EST, Feb 22, 2002 |
America's major record companies, which successfully sued to shut down the online music-swapping service Napster, suffered a setback today as the judge in the case allowed Napster to seek evidence that the record companies colluded to monopolize the digital music market. In her ruling, Judge Marilyn Patel of Federal District Court in Northern California wrote that while the evidence before the court had thus far been limited, she found reason for concern given that the five major record labels have created two joint ventures to distribute music over the Internet themselves. "These ventures look bad, smell bad and sound bad," Judge Patel wrote. She added, "If Napster is correct, these plaintiffs are attempting the near monopolization of the digital distribution market." The decision was a potential turnabout in a case that has helped define how copyrighted material is distributed over the Internet, who will profit from such distribution, and whether and how much consumers will pay. Napster Wins One Round in Music Case |
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The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs | Spring 2002 |
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| Topic: Society |
9:21 pm EST, Feb 22, 2002 |
The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, the foreign policy journal of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy [at Tufts University], publishing cutting edge research, opinion and commentaries on international law, politics, security studies, business, humanitarian affairs, the environment and more! Here are excerpts from the table of contents for the spring 2002 issue. Some articles are freely available online; others only in print or to subscribers. "Lessons from the Internet Revolution: Where Emerging Markets Go from Here", by Heather Killen, former VP of Yahoo!;
"Leaders Without Enemies" on the structure of terrorist groups;
"Bombing bin Laden: Assessing the Effectiveness of Air Strikes as a Counter-Terrorism Strategy";
"The United States and China in the Persian Gulf: Challenges and Opportunities";
"Nuclear Uncertainties: The Case for American Leadership in Combating Nuclear Proliferation", by Stansfield Turner, CIA director under Jimmy Carter;
"Sound Vision, Unfinished Business: The Quadrennial Defense Review Report 2001 and the Bush Defense Strategy";
a book review of _Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security_;
and a brief review of _Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace_, a book which I logged here some weeks ago. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs | Spring 2002 |
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