Reactions to story from The Washington Post

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  U.S. Telecom Reporting Rule May Be Eased

  http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/2008/09/us-telecom-reporting-ru...
  89 days ago in Fergie's Tech Blog · Authority: 63

  Cecilia Kang writes in The Washington Post: Phone giants AT&T, Verizon Communications and Qwest today are expected to win approval to report less information to the Federal Communications Commission on such matters as consumer complaints and
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  FCC Gives Telcos Free Pass on Accountability

  http://gigaom.com/2008/09/08/fcc-gives-telcos-free-pass-on-a...
  87 days ago in GigaOM - The Business of Technology · Authority: 4,151

  I promised I wouldn’t do more than two posts a day, but this one is such a doozy and so anti-consumer that I just couldn’t resist. Phone companies led by AT&T (same old company whose wireless network is breaking because of too many iPhones) wants FCC to allow them to send less information to the commission when it comes to things like customer complaints, network breakdowns and infrastructure-related investments. What’s weirder is that the great champion of phone companies, Kevin Martin, chairman of hte FCC, can’t wait to get this order out of the door and give a parting gift to his long-time friends. “We need to update this for a level playing field with the marketplace of today,” Martin told The Washington Post. “On quality of service, for example, if that data is relevant for one carrier, then it should be relevant for all platforms.” In other words, instead of forcing cable companies to report this information and making them more accountable, too, he just wants to do away with any accountability for phone companies. The order to remove all accountability is going to be passed today, according to The Washington Post, and with that we would have yet another proof that Federal Communications Commission doesn’t have consumer interests at heart. Its job should be to keep a tight leash on the carriers, spanking them with a wet bamboo cane every single time they do anything anti-consumer. Instead we have a toothless organization that serves everyone but the people. What do you guys think?
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  MSM Monday Round-up

  http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/cio/msm-monday-rou...
  85 days ago in CIO Symmetry: A proportional mix of news and wit for the midmarket - A proportional mix of news and wit for the midmarket · Authority: 12

  MSM Monday Round-up Posted by: Zach Church CIO, Midmarket CIO, Weekly Wrap-Up Happy Monday. Here’s some stuff: The Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates Microsoft commercial is out. The New York Times has a nice look at what Google has grown into as the company hits its 10-year anniversary. In other news, cable and Internet providers seek to become the robber barons of the 21st century. Comcast seeks to overturn a completely reasonable FCC ruling. And phone companies don’t see why they should have to follow completely reasonable reporting rules. 0 Comments RSS Feed Email a friend Sep 5 2008 3:29PM GMT
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  Week in Review for 9/7/2008

  http://thecommandline.net/2008/09/07/week-in-review-for-9720...
  86 days ago in The Command Line · Authority: 63

  Quick News Links Chrome running on the Arm, anticipating mobile use Android may use elements of Chrome but more as a side effect of it being open source and easily cross compiled and re-used. Google is not intentional sharing technology between Chrome and Android and it is possible and likely other mobile device makers will benefit from Chrome. Early chrome review Nothing too surprising, mostly confirming the description of features announced during the launch. A few gripes but about fairly shallow UI features which could be easily addressed. Another chrome review Again, pretty consistent with coverage elsewhere. This review is a bit more technically oriented. Emphasizes my main concern, more of the business strategy of how Google intends to attack Microsoft rather than just cannibalize the other browsers. Increases in video streaming may be shrinking P2P traffic There appear to be many reasons for the shift but chief among them may be that the experience of streaming has simply gotten so much better and on the whole is easier to use than P2P downloads. The article sites a few other benefits, though improved bandwidth utilization is not one of them. Picasa now supports CC licenses Finally has caught up with Flickr. The default is all rights reserved, which is probably wise given some of the issues that have arisen from people using CC without understanding the implications. There is a license link if you use CC but little else to help explain the conditions on use. Mythbusters retract story about credit card company suppressing segment The article has the other side of the story. The segment was still pulled by Discovery so Savage’s comments at HOPE may have been his own speculation without any adequate qualification as such. Perception and reality of privacy policies In a nutshell, at least in California, consumers interpret the presence of a privacy policy as indicating adherence to certain, somewhat strong standards. This is absolutely not the case as there isn’t any recognized minimum privacy standard and could lead to some bad decisions on the part of consumers. Metallica seems to have made its peace with file sharing Their latest album has been leaked online in advance of its official release. When asked, the band seems much more sanguine with the release. Perhaps they have learned their lesson as a business, however the members may feel about it personally. Massive scale data centers used in scientific research This is a nice profile of some of the largest data centers in the world as well as a look at the problems and trends that affect computing at this scale. I especially enjoy the idea of Sanger’s open access and the particular problems that arise from it, aptly compared to Google’s need to follow fickle public interest. Amazon to help OLPC with another round of G1G1 program New partner could smooth out past fulfillment problems as the kinks in actual production also appear to have been smoothed. I am most curious to see if a success of this run of the program could have a positive impact on an organization that seems to be struggling. Popular Python web framework hits 1.0 milestone This is a significant release for a project that doesn’t get as much press as RoR but has a large and vibrant community. From the release notes to the porting guide and beyond it also seems to have a very comprehensive set of documentation, critical for a framework of this kind and size. von Rossum on future of Google App Engine, relevance to Django Some good news for anyone wanting to use the commodity hosting that Google provides with the improvements in Django 1.0. And a tantalizing hint that new language support may be coming soon. New data gathering efforts in France threaten privacy The database appears to be more for dossier type information than gathering extensive communications, like similar efforts shot down in the US. Regardless, the French citizenry appear strongly opposed and are organizing petitions and protests despite the government’s attempt to downplay the nature and risks of the database. Cocoa inspired JavaScript framework released I enjoy the applications built with Cocoa immensely but find it frustratingly opaque as a framework, especially the particular take on MVC. However, perhaps this web based version will inspire some similarly beautiful and useful web applications. FCC may loosen telecom reporting rules I have to side with the consumer groups on this one. The regulation doesn’t directly affect telco behavior in the market and this sort of transparency is critical in holding them accountable. MySQL founder quits Sun While the article cites a trusted source, this may still be a rumor. No information on why Monty is or may be leaving. Rational for selling private data cheaply This makes sense and speaks to the power of norms. If you think you have little privacy to protect, you may not act as strongly to protect it. This could then lead to the odd counter intuition about consumers valuing privacy but surrendering it cheaply. Hacker conventions ranked by bandwidth per user The list is far from comprehensive. There doesn’t appear to be a simple correlation between number of attendees and bandwidth per each. Perhaps if the list were expanded, a trend might emerge. I am not sure that this data would sway my decision to go to a conference more than other factors, such as speakers and topics. Quick Security Alerts Apple to fix iPhone disclosure flaw Firefox extension to help clarify certificate issues Open source release of rootkit tool kit Researchers release malicious Facebook application Quick Follow Up Links NebuAd CEO steps down Comcast appeals FCC ruling PK on Comcast appeal of FCC ruling Michigan enacts law requiring licenses for online investigation ORG calculates actual benefit of UK term extension to be tiny
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  FCC may weaken telco complaint reporting

  http://static.uspirg.org/consumer/archives/2008/09/fcc_may_w...
  88 days ago in U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog · Authority: 20

  As early as today (Washington Post) the FCC may act on a petition from AT&T asking that FCC weaken its requirements for telecommunications companies to provide it with important data on consumer complaints and other matters, including levels of infrastructure investments. The company makes the absurd claim that consumers can analyze JD Power and other outside rankings instead of analyzing FCC complaints. Last month, we joined Free Press and Consumers Union in a filing opposing the proposal. We said: The Commission should deny AT&T’s petition on both substantive and procedural grounds. We believe the ARMIS reports continue to serve the public interest by openly providing valuable information to the Commission, consumers, public interest groups and state authorities seeking to protect their citizens.
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  Telecom Reporting Rule May Be Eased

  http://technology.reviewnews.org/2008/09/05/telecom-reportin...
  89 days ago in Technology News Review · Authority: 3

  Phone giants AT&T, Verizon Communications and Qwest today are expected to win approval to report less information to the Federal Communications Commission on such matters as consumer complaints and infrastructure investments. Read more
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  Telecom Reporting Rule May Be Eased

  http://business.presslogs.com/2008/09/telecom-reporting-rule...
  88 days ago in Business News Blog · Authority: 2

  Phone giants AT&T, Verizon Communications and Qwest today are expected to win approval to report less information to the Federal Communications Commission on such matters as consumer complaints and infrastructure investments. Read more Related PostsSmall-Business Optimism UpFewer owners are reporting cash-flow problems this month, a survey shows.Read morePotentially Disruptive Lender Rule Is Delayed The board that sets accounting rules for U.S. corporations yesterday postponed by a year a plan tha...
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  September 5, 2008

  http://pabroadband.typepad.com/pabroadband/2008/09/september...
  88 days ago in pabroadband · Authority: 4

  Comcast appeals FCC slap over blocking web site click here Telecom reporting rule may be eased click here Why should broadband be free? click here Verizon and Yahoo expand web portal alliance click here Was EarthLink's failed citywide WiFi a blessing in disguise? click here

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