Tech 101 - Episode 1

CourseCast of the Week

Episode 0071, 10/18/2008

Title/Description: White Space Opens, Pro IP Passes

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 71, recorded October 18th, 2008. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.

Story 1 - Everyone's Talkin' 'bout White Space

Several battles over the wireless spectrum are coming to a head, and the results have the potential to radically improve wireless high-speed Internet services in the U.S. The wireless spectrum is a range of wireless frequencies licensed for use by the FCC for wireless services ranging from remote control toys, to TV and radio, to cell phones, to wireless Internet access. The wireless spectrum is packed full of uses, and the few remaining ranges of frequencies are being fought over by the big telecom and tech companies.

Early this year, the last of the prime frequency ranges were auctioned off and purchased predominantly by AT&T and Verizon Wireless for billions of dollars. Since then, Google, Microsoft and others have been pressing the FCC to allow the use of the frequencies that exist between television channels to be used for wireless Internet. These unused frequencies are referred to as white space. White space has traditionally been used as a kind of padding between channels to keep signals from interfering with each other. However, with analog TV channels going extinct in February, Google and others see white space as rich fertile spectrum for new high-speed digital services.

Many industries have opposed the use of white space for a number of reasons. There is a concern that using white space will cause interference with neighboring frequencies. The big telecom companies also see it as a threat to their monopoly power. It is up to the FCC to decide if white space can be used safely. This week, the FCC concluded its research on the problem and concluded that white space can indeed be used safely by authorized equipment operating under appropriate technical standards.

While this all seems rather tedious and difficult to grasp, what it ultimately means for you and I is that there will soon be a lot more competition in the wireless arena. Since white space frequencies are fast and strong, new more powerful wireless services will be possible. Philips, Motorola, Google, Microsoft and others are anxiously awaiting the final go ahead to release products for use on the new spectrum. It will be an ideal spectrum for Google's open source Android platform. Analysts predict that there will a number of new applications available within a year. It is likely that we will see hi-def video streaming to portable devices over this spectrum. Also, the spectrum could provide home Internet access as well.

It is hoped that competition in this new wireless spectrum will cause the price of wireless services to drop. But for those that can't afford them, the FCC has another trick up its sleeve. The FCC is pushing for a new nationwide free wireless high-speed Internet service that would be supported by advertisements. The service is intended to get high-speed Internet access to those that can't otherwise afford it. The time frame is to cover 50 percent of the country over the next 5 years, and 95 percent in 10 years. In what is considered a highly controversial requirement, the service will include a "smut filter" to keep mature content from children.

T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Comcast, and other big telecom companies are fighting the FCC's move to open up white space and provide free wireless Internet.

Sources:
FCC Green-Lights Wireless Free Internet [NewsFactor]
White space backers see new devices in a year [Reuters]
FCC report: White space devices work as 'proof of concept' [Ars Technica]
FCC looks set to back "white spaces" as Chairman signs on [Ars Technica]
FCC says Seattle tests back smutless, free broadband proposal [Ars Technica]

Story 2 - PRO-IP Gets Bush Approval

After months of debate, President Bush has signed into law the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act, known as the PRO-IP act. The new law inflicts tougher penalties on individuals that break copyright laws. While the law is intended to get tough with commercial counterfeiters that sell thousands of pirated music and movies, it is feared that it may be used to get tough with average people, like college students who have been the primary target of record industry law suites. The new law also puts in place an intellectual property "czar" - an appointed official tasked with cleaning up the rampant pirating of intellectual property around the world. The new law was applauded by the RIAA, the motion picture industry, and others that have suffered losses to piracy, while being criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, and other public advocacy groups.

Sources
Big Content gloats as Bush signs PRO-IP Act [Ars Technica]
Bush signs PRO-IP antipiracy law [Computerworld]
Bush Approves Tougher Penalties for Content Piracy [News Factor]

And that brings us to News Briefs.

The McCain campaign complained to YouTube about shutting down its campaign videos due to DMCA takedown notices. The notices were prompted by TV networks who didn't like the fact that the videos incorporated television clips without permission. McCain's campaign claims that the clips should be considered fair use. McCain/Palin campaign angry over bogus DMCA takedowns [Ars Technica]
As if you haven't been exposed to enough political messages, Barak Obama has rented billboards in popular XBox 360 and EA video games. Obama Campaign Shows Up in Video Games [News Factor]
German courts have declared that the thumbnail images in Google image search violate copyright laws and is requiring Google to either get the permission of the copyright owners, or remove the images. German court: Google Image thumbnails infringe on copyright [Ars Technica]
A group of the nation's research libraries have joined forces to create HathiTrust - a 78 terabyte digital library of scanned books and documents. That's 731 million pages of content. Universities launch elephantine 78 terabyte digital library [Ars Technica]
A new study from Compuware found that the largest cause of data loss for corporations is not hackers or malware, but negligent and malicious employees. It is expected that insider threats will worsen in the struggling economy. Tough economic climate can heighten insider threat [Computerworld], Employees, not hackers, cause most corporate data loss [Ars Technica]
The FBI's new chief of cybersecurity this week warned of dozens of countries that are eager to hack US government, corporate, and military networks. FBI warns of sweeping global threat to U.S. cybersecurity [Ars Technica]
Government officials in the UK are getting flack from citizens who feel that their plan to build a central databases that tracks all mobile phone and Internet use is "Orwellian" and an abuse of their civil liberties. Giant database plan 'Orwellian' [BBC]
Also in the UK, fewer people are downloading music illegally. The percentage has dropped from 43 to 39 percent, threats by the government to cut off Internet access to individuals engaged in illegal downloads is credited for the reduction. Fewer people downloading music illegally [Telegraph]
18 servers at the World Bank were hacked this past week. Bank spokesman says that no sensitive information was accessed. Hackers got into 18 computer servers at World Bank [USA Today]
Beijing china is tightening up security (and censorship) around Internet cafes. Those using Internet cafes are now monitored by video cameras. Beijing: Smile! You're on Internet cafe camera! [Ars Technica]
Now that the Internet is making its way onto planes, Cisco's CEO John Chambers is predicting that within the next year and a half, people will be video-conferencing from 20,000 feet in the sky. Cisco CEO sees videoconferencing on planes within 18 months [Computerworld]
Cisco, the huge networking company, is also working to build 100 public, high-end videoconferencing centers for TelePresence communications around the world by the end of next year. Cisco, Tata Take Public TelePresence Beyond India [PCWorld]
The next version of Windows, the seventh version of Windows, has officially been named Windows 7. Windows 7 to Officially be Called Windows 7 [Headline Watch]

That's it for this week's CourseCast. Links to this week's stories and many more news and information resources are provided at the CourseCast Web site at coursecasts.course.com. E-mail us with your suggestions for the show at course.coursecasts@cengage.com. Until next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!