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European Union Poised To Fine Microsoft
by Danielle Belopotosky
Europe's antitrust regulator is expected to issue a draft ruling as soon as Monday on a proposed record of $2.5 million in daily fines against Microsoft. The final decision is expected July 12, according to the Financial Times.
European Union authorities have drafted the final ruling, in which it allegedly reports that Microsoft failed to meet a March 2004 deadline to give rival companies access to the code for the Windows computer-operating system so they could build compatible products.
Jim Prendergast, executive director of Americans for Technology Leadership, said the reported decision will "give European regulators unprecedented power to dictate the terms of global competition and deny intellectual property protection to successful companies." Microsoft is a founding member of ATL.
Microsoft said it has delivered five of the seven installments of its technical code, with the last two due June 30 and July 18. "Even when the company meets or exceeds their previous demands," the European Commission continues to threaten Microsoft with hefty fines, Prendergast added.
The issue also remains in the courts. In April, the European Court of First Instance heard an appeal by Microsoft of the 2004 antitrust ruling against the firm. The court's decision could take up to a year. "It would be particularly troubling if the commission were to impose such a fine while an appeal on the issue is still pending," Prendergast said.
Australia Aims To Ease U.S.-China Tension
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday said his nation's unique relationship with China can facilitate U.S.-Chinese relations.
Howard said Australia sees China from a "slightly difference perspective" and hopes that perspective will aid the relationship between the United States and China as the latter evolves into a global player. Howard made his comments during an interview with Australian journalist David Speers. The transcript was made public.
Tension between the United States and China has been brewing over China's approach to its economic, military and trade policies. "I think the relationship between China and the United States is one of the most crucial ones in the whole world situation," he said.
Speaking in Australia earlier this year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said China ought to play by international rules. "China is changing," Howard said, noting that it is becoming "more open." China's "preoccupation" with its economic growth and expansion will keep China focused on economic rather than military concerns, he added.
Howard said trade negotiations between Australia and China are "going well." Even if a bilateral agreement fails, trade with China still would offer a "fantastic" trade relationship, he said.
China has become Australia's second-largest export destination after Japan. Australian exports to China grew by 41 percent last year, according to Australia's Foreign Affairs and Trade Department. The push for a bilateral agreement was launched in April 2005.
The state-owned Xinhua news agency also reports that China's foreign and privately owned companies are changing the face of trade in China, illustrating a shift away from light industrial products to high-tech products. The companies now account for a combined 79 percent of trade.
"The changes show China is playing a major role in the restructuring of the global industry chain, as well as the transfer of manufacturing," Chai Haitao, the head of the research institute at the Foreign Economic Cooperation Department of China's Commerce Ministry.
A recent report shows that exports of high-tech products have increased by 260 percent over the last two years, he said.
Broadband Taking Flight In Australia
Australia has hit a new high in high-speed Internet connections, according to the government. As of March, there were more than 3.1 million broadband subscriptions.
Year-over-year growth of broadband access increased by nearly 80 percent between March 2005 and March of this year, according to the office of Helen Coonan, minister of communications, information technology and the arts.
"These figures clearly demonstrate that the coalition government's major investment in broadband infrastructure is paying off," Coonan said in a statement. The government has committed $2.27 billion to build out Australia's broadband infrastructure.
Coonan added that she is developing a "broadband blueprint" to foster more broadband deployment. She currently is seeking feedback from industry to test large-scale infrastructure projects under the government's Broadband Connect program.
"I am encouraging interested parties to put forward ideas, plans and possible project proposals" to help design the Connect Australia program, she said.
The flow of unsolicited e-mails from Australia, meanwhile, has dropped. Ever since the Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, has undertaken anti-spam enforcement activities in 2003, spam originating is Australia has dropped from 10th place to 23rd on a list of the origination of spam worldwide, according to Coonan's office. She added that spam from the Australasia region stands at less than 0.8 percent.
Coonan last week submitted a report to parliament on the effectiveness of the anti-spam law. Australia's legislative process has been recommended as a template for other nations by the International Telecommunication Union and Spamhaus, an anti-spam organization, according to Coonan. In addition to government enforcement, she said Internet service providers and the e-marketing industry have developed codes of conduct that have fostered the law's effectiveness.
Also last week, Australia's parliament passed legislation to create a national "do not call" registry against unwanted telemarketing.
High-Tech Skills In The Land Down Under
Australia released a new report last week highlighting the need to identify the necessary skills to work in the information and communications technology industries, or ICT.
"There is an urgent need to address the negative perception of ICT careers in the community as it is turning many young people away from considering a career in this dynamic sector," Coonan said in a statement.
To help meet that need, an Internet-based data collection of IT job openings has been established by Multimedia Victoria and the Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association. Moreover, the Australian government will fund an open-access system for tracking and monitoring ICT skills. It will be modeled after the association's database.
Multimedia Training For The World's Youth
Adobe Systems last week launched a global philanthropy program in an effort to help middle- and high-school students develop multimedia skills.
The initiative, called Adobe Youth Voices, aims to arm children with the necessary skills to become active in their communities. The $10 million program will be introduced in 36 sites by the end of the year, including London, and Bangalore and Noida in India. The company will donate its software and promote employee volunteerism, according to a company statement.
"Adobe Youth Voices infuses learning experiences with technology, enabling teens to think more creatively, communicate effectively and work collaboratively -- all critical skills for success in the 21st century," Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen said in a statement. "Young people have great potential to stimulate dialogue and improve their communities."
The Development Gateway Foundation, meanwhile, has issued a call for nominations for its annual $100,000 prize for ICT initiatives that empower youth in developing countries.
"As first adopters of new technologies, young people in urban areas can often benefit most quickly" from information services, foundation CEO Mark Fleeton said in a statement. The application deadline is Aug. 11.
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