Wirelessing the World Quiz

1. CWNs are community wireless networks that are designed to provide users access to more bandwith, services and applications. They allow for open freely accessible, nonpropietary systems to be built within communities. The idea of CWNs is to provide an entire community with internet access rather than have people use individual networks. the idea of this is that it will allow for people who normally would not be able to access the internet, because they can't afford it etc., to do so. This would help to bridge the digital divide as a greater amount of people would be granted internet access. This would especially help resource poor areas where some people just simply can't afford to pay for internet services. By setting up a CWN, everyone would be able to use the internet. This would allow people access to more information, would help out with education, and could create a stronger sense of community. While CWNs would help a lot of people, I fear that the problem is that it hurts major service providers, which decreases the likelyhood of their existence. CWNs are great for the users but service providers such as Verizon and Time Warner would certainly oppose them as they benefit greatly from charging access fees to individual users. Open and free access is what is best for our communities, but if it hurts the "Big Boys" checkbook then I don't think we'll be seeing too many of them any time soon.

2. Major wireless companies created the WiMax forum which is set up in order to help them control the wireless market. They are said to be commited to open inoperability which is supposed to promote global broadband access. However, this also means that despite their interoperability, all other competing standards must be pushed aside, even those which might potentially benefit the public. WiFi is one example of an alternative that is being threatened by WiMax. WiFi and WiMax used to operate at different frequencies on the spectrum thus serving as a complementary technology to WiMax. However in 2003, a law was passed expanding WiMax's coverage to the entire spectrum thus allowing them to control the certifying interoperabilty of all technologies within this range. This means that the companies that are a part of WiMax are able to determine what can and cannot be used which gives them the power to deny new technologies if they see fit.

3. Corporate consolidation is very dangerous for consumers because it allows for fewer companies to control more and more of the market. When companies merge, that means there is less competition, which allows companies to raise prices, and also allows them greater control over available technologies. Less competion means that its less likely for new innovations that will benefit the users. When companies such as Cingular and AT&T merge than all of these customers must adhere to the standards imposed by one company. Corporate consolidation helps the large companies increase revenues and ultimately hurts the users. While corporate consolidation continues, the market will be controlled by a smaller amount of people which will greatly reduce the variety of available content.

Money as debt

I found this video to be very eye opening as it got me to actually think about the money system that exists in our country. It is often easy to be confused as to where our money comes from. In fact, the money that we use has no actual worth itself, it just represents worth. That is because banks give out more money than they have which allows for more money to circulate than we actually have. If you think about it, if our country has such a high deficit, I'm not sure on the exact number, than how do we still have so much many. That is becasue we have created a monetary system based on debt, and as long as people our in debt to the banks, than the banks will be able to continue to loan out "theoretical money" thus allowing the system to continue. However, if everyone tried to withdraw their money from the banks at once, chaos would occur because the banks wouldn't be able to pay everyone. This is what happened during the great depression as their were no longer any loans being given by banks and people couldn't get thei money back because the banks didn't have it, causing the system to fall apart. The banks can only lend money out based on the interest of the money that people owe them. So our system only works if people continue to be in debt to banks.

2.Why create money as debt? Why not create money that circulates permanently and does not have to be perpetually re-borrowed in interest in order to exist?

Continuing on what I discussed before, the reason we create money as debt is becuase it allows more money to circulate than there actually is. If money was permanent, than however much we had is all that we could use. But by creating money based on debt the banks can give out more money than they have based on the interest that will be paid back to them. This will hopefully help the economy is more money will be in circulation and will therefore be used. However as we have seen in the past, in particular the Great Depression, under this system if the Banks Fail, then everything fails. To me it seems like creating money as debt has us walking a tight rope and the consequences can be dire if things go wrong.

The Fight For The Future of Media

1. As fars as whether or not broadcasters effectively respond to local needs, I probablly was already leaning towards no and this chapter just served to reinforce this opinion. A great example in this book was when someone at the hearing in San Antonio conference said that their was a terrible flood in their town and the TV's were down and when they tried to tune in to the radio to find out more about the flood they could only find stations that were playing music. There was no flood warnings given and the people had no idea what waqs going on. This is beacuse these stations were all clear channel staions that were broadcast throughout the country and therefore had no knowledge of the flood. This is just an example of how people need local radio stations and TV sations so that they can find out about what's important to them. The sam thing happens with TV. Time Warner has become one of the remaining giants of the cable industry and viewers are only allowed access to the stations that Time Warner chooses. For example, Time Warner does not offer NFL Network as a result of a financial dispute with the NFL. There are certain games that are only shown on the NFL Network. I am from Buffalo and Time Warner is the only cable service offered. If the Buffalo Bills play a game on the NFL network than none of Time Warrner's Buffalo costumers will be able to see the game. They are not meeting the local needs of their costumers and this happens in cities all over the country. Later in the chapter it talks about how internet providers are attempting to get rid of open acces rules which would give them greater control over what we are able to access. Internet providers could then bar access to certain sites, or prevent the usage of certain spam blockers or filtering technologies etc. This would mean higher prices, fewer choices, and a complete loss of control for users. All of this shows how the needs of small communties don't matter to these media giants as they are only concerned with making money and bettering themselves rather than their users.





2. There are certainly types of local programming that should be provided that currently aren't. With all of the mergers and consolodation in the cable industry the focus is shifting away from localism and toward nationalism. This again is because it is more profittable for these large companies. When the city of San Jose wanted to back out of its cable deal with Comcast, Comcast said their actions were illegal and attemted to file suit against the city. The suit filed so Comcast then took away the public access channels and used them for something more profittable. At the public hearing in San Antonio, many people said that they wanted to see low powered radio stations within their community that were controlled by their community. They didn't want to have to listen to the national clear channel stations rather they wanted a say in the content they were provided. Again with televison, most local news staions share the same channel with a huge national network, such as ABC and News 7, and the local stations are often bumped in favor of national programs. For expample most local news is either on very early in the morning or very late at night, and if there is say a football game that runs long, sometimes the news gets bumped all together.





3. One public service oriented project is Utah's $470 million UTOPIA project (Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure agency). If Utah's cities could raise the money, then businesses in homes would be provided with fiber optics and cable that would deliver data up to 100 times faster than what they are currently offered. Another example can be seen in Jim Baller, legal counsel for the Missouri Municipal League. They want to encourage state and local governments to get involved so they can reach their goal of a rapid deployment advanced and affordable telecommunications services for all Americans. He feels that it will take a major legislative battle before the states are able to demonstrate the benefits of a more public-utility approach toward telecommunications. Another example can be seen in the Prometheus Radio project in Philadelphia, which helped to set up LPFM (low power fm radio) stations at a rapid clip. This group serves to provide a medium for local listeners that honors the interests of community groups and provides them an outlet for their needs to be met. This grass roots effort has gotten the FCC to listen many non commercial radio stations throughout the US.

The influence of media on elections

I feel that the media definitely has a negative influence on presidential elections. While it is true that these media make it possible for a much larger number of people to be informed on the issues and be more involved in the election process, it has much worse negative impacts. For starters it turns these candidates into celebrities and in fact tends to draw attention away from the core issues. Many people will tell you that when Bill Clinton went on Arsenio Hall before his first election, that that was as big a reason as any that he was able to win the support of many voters, especially young ones. His policies didn't matter, it was just cool that he played the saxophone on a popular TV show, although it wasn't a popular show for very long, but thats a different story all together. Now in this current election we see Sara Palin going on Saturday Night Live and make a fool out of herself and only serve to reinforce all of the negative opinions of hers. Because of the media coverage of elections it is now just important too look like a good president than it is too actually be qualified. Everybody complains about all of the attack ads that are out there but if TV stations wouldn't show them than they wouldn't exist, so they are as much to blame as the candidates. Many people have been particularly critical of the current direction the McCain campaign is taking but all he is doing is working within the system to try and win, and although I don't support him or agree with his tactics, I honestly can't say I blame him.

Steven Kurtz Case

To me this case was all about the goverenment and the FBI trying to use their power to manufacture a case against terrorism. I don't think their gripe with Steven Kurtz had to do with the reasearch he was doing with GMO's so much as it did with them trying to catch another terrorist. As Mr. Kurtz said the fact that he was white maybe presented itself as a way for the FBI to show they weren't only going after middle eastern people. Also, if they were able to bring down Kurtz, it would help to spread fear that anyone can be a terrorist which could give rise to even more increased government power. If not for Kurtz having the means to fight these charges it is very likely that the goverenmnet would have been able to bully him around and find him guilty of these charges. In doing so the government would be able to have another case to support the need for their increase in power they recieved with the Patriot act. It is also likely that if if the goverment was able to show that anyone can be a threat, than citizens would continue to lose privacy rights. I basically feel that the FBI viewed the Kurtz case as an oppurtunity to further their agenda on fighting terrorism. The government wants to be able to invade the privacy of anyone in the name of fighting terrorism, and the more cases they can come up with the more likely they will be able to do so.

The Cult of the Amateur quiz

Technology invading privacy

With all of the new technologies that exist including cell phones with cameras and internet capabillities, we must be very careful how we act in public and even sometimes in the privacy of our own home. About two years ago, pictures of Arizona Cardinals' quarterback Matt Leinart partying with young girls and funneling beers surfaced online. The photos were taken from the girls' cell phone cameras and were then later posted to their myspace and facebook profiles. Although all the girls were reportedly of legal drinking age, it was seen as some what of an embarrassment for Leinart. The photos did not cast him in a favorable light as he is a professional athlete who is supposed to be a role model for kids and concerned with football and not partying with a bunch of girls. While it didn't lead to any legal action, it exposed Leinart's private affairs to the public. It also caused problems for him when his performance on the field wasn't up to par at times and many fans viewed him as this "party animal" and not someone who is dedicated to football. His reputation has suffered and it was all a result of these new technologies. Before digital cameras, camera phones, and the internet, it would have been much less likely that these photos were leaked to the public. The girls would've had to deliberately send them to the press in an attempt to hurt Leinart. Whereas now, they just wanted to put them on their profiles so they look cool, even if it is at the expense of Leinart. To me this is a negative effect of these new technologies as you have to be extra careful of what you are doing and who you are doing it with. Leinart, wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just partying with some females and having a good time; something most men in their mid 20's do. The fact is that with these technological advances it is much harder for people to keep things private as anytime we leave our house, or in Leinart's case invite people in our own house, we run the risk of doing something that can be seen by the rest of the world.