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November 8, 2002

Dear Subscribers:

Here's our lineup for this first full week of November:


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Family Tech

  1. Easier than a VCR

    In his latest syndicated column, Larry offers a little decisionmaking help to families with new PCs in their futures. He looks at Hewlett Packard's new crop of computers, saying that there something for both "computer geeks *and* couch potatoes" among them. For example, HP Media Center PC 873N - "the first PC to come with Microsoft's new Windows XP Media Center Edition - a souped-up version of Windows XP enhanced to support TV and other home entertainment - costs little more than similarly equipped HP Pavilions but it's lots more "than you need to spend for a basic Windows PC that starts at under $500." His favorite feature is the VCR-like one because it's much easier to use than one. But he's not so sure the new line of HPs is worth the price. The key question? How much do you want to keep the work/PC part of your life separate from the couch-potato part? Check out the piece for the answer at Larry's house.

  2. Low-cost alternative high-speed connecting

    Only about 10% of Americans have signed up for high-speed (DSL or cable modem) Internet access. The reasons for that low number, Larry proposes in this column, are that "some people just don't want to spend the money - typically between $39 and $50 a month - while others live in an area where service isn't available." Now, however, there's a type of access that - though not as fast as broadband - is at least twice as speedy as a standard modem. The cost is $5 a month over your regular Internet service (it works with just about any ISP, including AOL), and no special wiring or equipment is required. You just go to a Web site and download some software that speeds your connection up. Larry's article provides the site's address and details on how the service works.

  3. Backing up files not hard to do

    Now there are much easier ways to back up computer files than onto floppy or even zip disks. For example, Larry says in this column, "if you bought a PC in the last two or three years, there is a good chance that you have a CD drive that's also capable of writing to recordable CDs." The article offers advice on the best ways to back up onto those writable CDs, which cost about $.50 each. Two other strategies are Iomega's new high-capacity zip disk, which stores even a bit more data than those 700 megabyte recordable CDs, and the $200-400 external hard drives.

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A subscriber writes: Filtering that works for her family

In response to our question about what works for you all in our feature "New online-safety solutions" last week, subscriber Kim in Michigan emailed us the following. She helpfully recommends another filtering product that wasn't in our new-products coverage: "I have CYBERsitter, and several months back my son downloaded Grokster, a file-sharing service. He could download songs, and I found out that CYBERsitter was NOT blocking the pornographic pictures and videos available. He did not realize that junk was on there.

"Of course I put a stop to this trash coming into my home via the computer. I uninstalled Grokster, then I went to CYBERsitter's 'Filter files," then to filtering options, and I put a check next to the options to block peer-to-peer file-share, shareware sites, and illegal MP3 files. So now no one can download any file-sharing service and therefore no songs, pictures, videos, etc., and the problem is solved.

"I've had CYBERsitter for a few years. It works well but sometimes blocks good sites that it shouldn't. So then I will de-activate CYBERsitter temporarily so they can get the material they need. Just remember to re-activate it."

We emailed Kim back asking her if she'd mind telling us how old her son is and how he reacted. Here's her response, published with her permission:

"My son is 13. He reacted calmly, and we didn't argue at all about it because I explained things to him - age appropriately and not in too much detail, and I didn't freak out about it (in front of him!) He knows these things are wrong. I know he is not file-sharing on other computers because he has a busy schedule with school and sports. And his friends come here - he rarely goes to other kids' houses, and I know the parents. I keep close tabs on him.

"I was really shocked and disturbed to find out what things can be viewed on these file-sharing services. I thought that CYBERsitter would have blocked the downloading of anything pornographic. Once you have a file-sharing service installed on your computer, it won't block the downloading of porn through that service, it just bypasses it....

"I can't believe that technology and freedom have brought us to this place where children can be exposed to such awful things. There should be a way to alert parents to this. There should be some law against it. If you know of anything I can do or any way to help, please let me know. I want to be an activist!"

Readers, your emails are always appreciated - we feel it's helpful to other parents. Do send us your comments and experiences anytime, via feedback@netfamilynews.org.

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Web News Briefs

  1. E-rate's first 2 years

    The Urban Institute - "a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization," its Web site says - this week unveiled its report on the e-rate's early days. The nearly 58-page report (plus appendices) makes more useful observations than definitive conclusions. "It is far from the last word," the report's authors write, "and many questions are left unanswered, but these data may inform some future policy decisions." Here are some key findings (our thanks to ConnectforKids.org for pointing out the report's release):

    • Computers and the Net are quite pervasive in US children's lives, and "most parents would be surprised not to see a computer in their child's classroom."
    • "Once glaring differences in the availability of computers and the Internet between high- and low-poverty schools have all but disappeared ... and "there have been increases in classroom access in the poorest schools since 1998."
    • "The recent improvements coincided with the commitment of nearly $8 billion in e-rate discounts to schools and libraries between 1998 and 2001."
    • 84% of approved discounts have gone to public schools
    • Significantly higher discounts have been directed to poor and rural communities.
    • Per student funding for the most disadvantaged school districts was almost 10 times higher than for the least disadvantaged districts.
    • State agencies have played an important role in helping to expand Net access in schools and making sense of the e-rate process.
    • Not all schools have been able to make effective use of the Net and related technologies in the classroom.

  2. Library filtering to go to Supreme Court

    While we're on the subject of the e-rate: The US's highest court is likely to hear arguments on the Children's Internet Protection Act of 1999 (CIPA) in the spring and decide on it next July. "United States v. American Library Association," No. 02-361, is set for discussion by the Court at its private conference [today - 11/8]. The Court will also meet in conference on Nov. 15 to decide whether or not to grant pending petitions," Law.com reports. CIPA makes federal e-rate connectivity funds for libraries and schools conditional on their installing filtering or blocking software on Internet-connected computers. E-rate funding affected by the law has given more than $200 million to public and school libraries for Internet access costs, Law.com adds.

  3. South Korea: Super-connected?

    South Korea may be the first country in the world with high-speed connections into every home. According to the BBC, this East Asian nation - where 60% of the population has Net access - this week announced plans to ensure that all homes can have high-speed connections by 2005, and 13.5 million will (10 million homes do now). The plan is part of President Kim Dae-Jung's goal to make South Korea a "knowledge super-power" and an "advanced information-communication nation in the 21st century."

  4. How to govern the Net?

    The United Nations certainly doesn't have a corner on lessons in international consensus-building these days. What's been going on with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) in Shanghai this week would also be of interest to any student of international law, media, cyberlaw, or Internet governance. Michael Geist, editor of a widely circulated newsletter on Internet Law (BNA Internet Law), this week has a clearly written column in the Toronto Globe and Mail which does a great job of summarizing what many would consider the murky proceedings in Shanghai. ICANN is clearly in transition, now having offloaded "most of the mechanisms that hold [it] accountable," Geist says. Meanwhile, many countries are agitating to remove more of the governance burden from Washington's shoulders, and at least one possible direction (involving a greater role for the International Telecommunications Union, or ITU) has emerged. Please see the article for details.

  5. UK police email kids a rape alert

    The context is important: Surrey's police chief is emailing children aged 11-18 about how to protect themselves because a rapist has attacked nine women in southern England. According to the BBC, the email, with information about the search for the rapist and personal safety advice, went out to "all schools and youth groups in the country and all 3,000 members of staff in his force asking them to pass it on to friends."

  6. Marketing to 'pirates'

    "If ya can't lick 'em, join 'em," appears to be the new reality for a growing number of online marketers, and the "them" (or "'em") quite possibly includes our kids. Because, according to the New York Times, the millions of people who use file-trading software to download music and videos are now being called "customers" as much as "pirates." As such, they are being subjected to more and more ads for music, movies, and software on file-trading services like Kazaa. The Times says content owners from independent rock bands to the likes of Microsoft are now saying that, rather than supporting piracy, advertising on these services is "a way to lure people away from piracy by providing them with authorized material to download - and, in some cases, asking them to pay for it." Even so, online music sales dropped 25% in this year's first nine months, Reuters reports - that's online sales for the record industry. Falling numbers is definitely not the case for free file-sharing services, Reuters adds: "As the industry's online efforts appear to founder, the popularity of free services - many of which are being sued for copyright infringement - remained strong."

  7. Is Wi-Fi for you?

    "One of the bright spots in the battered telecommunications industry," as the San Jose Mercury News put it, could actually be useful to you. But how can you tell? First, "Wi-Fi" is short for "wireless fidelity," which doesn't tell you much. What it really means is low-cost, high-speed wireless Net access. The most useful aspect of it to you and me is probably the fact that - for less than $200 - one can connect a Wi-Fi hub or "broadcast station" to her existing Internet connection and go online anywhere in the house (or within about 300 feet) with a laptop or Net-friendly palmtop that has an inexpensive wireless antenna. That same PC or palmtop can also connect in the same way at some airports and other public places that provide hubs. Some charge for access (e.g., Starbucks), others - activists who see Wi-Fi as a way to offer free Internet access to anyone - do not. "This year, consumers are expected to buy some 6 million Wi-Fi devices," the Mercury News reports. "By 2006, the number could be 33 million. It's the kind of growth not seen since the Internet boom. Tech giants Intel, Microsoft, and others have thrown their weight behind Wi-Fi." So have venture capitalists, we hear. Are you ready? (See also a New York Times piece this week about what wirelessly networking a home's PCs can do for domestic peace.)

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That does it for this week. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Anne Collier, Editor

Net Family News

 


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