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Ellison Offers His Two Cents;
ISP Firm Lists Congressional Net Heroes
The world's second-richest man, Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison, had a little advice for Howard University students last week. He said the route to innovation is finding "the error in conventional wisdom...I'm not telling you not to listen to the world, but if you find a spot where people are going one way, look for another direction. Question the experts," he told the nearly 100 students after being honored by the university for his gift of 4,000 Internet-ready computers. Ellison also said he expected the rise of e-commerce to drastically change where people get their software. No longer will most software be installed in computers; rather, people will go to the Internet to tap into various servers to find the software they need, and Oracle will be providing the software to enable companies to store information useful to Internet users. When asked why he started Oracle, Ellison joked, "It wasn't to make a lot of money." Then he said his motivation was to have control over his work environment and who he worked with. After growing up in a small apartment in Chicago, Ellison said he realized he was rich when he was able to buy his own home several years ago.
The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) has hired Vince Sampson as its new vice president for public affairs. He replaces Allison Rosen, who is now working for Ignition Strategic Communications (ISC). Before joining ACT, Sampson was the associate legislative counsel with UWC — Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers Compensation, a national business-advocacy organization, where he lobbied on unemployment and workers' compensation issues. From 1994 to 1999, Sampson held management positions with IT consultancies, ACT said. Sampson has his LL.M. in labor and employment law from Georgetown Law Center. "I knew Sydney [Rubin, founder of ISC] from awhile back," Rosen said of his move that opened the way for ACT to hire Sampson. "We both grew up in Houston ... and I worked with her in the past. ... She is building a firm and has a lot of interesting clients. So I thought it was a good opportunity to combine high-tech PR and high-tech policy."
Matt Tanielian, the Information Technology Industry Council’s director of government relations, will be joining Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, and National Telecommunications Industry Administration assistant secretary Greg Rohde on a tour of New York City schools and business centers Tuesday. The trip is part of the Commerce Department's ongoing effort to create a dialogue between the high-tech industry, schools and government officials on ways to close the digital divide. Officials from Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sony also were scheduled to join the tour. The group will visit the Jamaica Business Resource Center, the Queens Borough Public Library, York College and a middle school in Springfield, NY.
Josh Felser, general manager of America Online’s Spinner/Nullsoft music division, has left his position, The Wall Street Journal reported. A person familiar with the situation said the management change is part of AOL’s efforts to craft partnerships with record companies as it completes its merger with music giant, Time Warner.
Paula Jagemann, president and CEO of eCommerce Industries, was named a commissioner on the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE). Jagemann, whose company provides businesses for information-technology product solutions, said she intends to work with the NCOE to foster the continued growth of female-owned businesses across the country. The NCOE, funded by the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation, consists of entrepreneurs from around the country whose mission is to promote political, educational and commercial changes to strengthen entrepreneurship and continued economic growth. "Paula Jagemann represents the ideal of an entrepreneur in America today," said Patrick Von Bargen, NCOE executive director. "She started ECI2 in her spare time while working full time at UUNET and going to school full time. She understands the obstacles that entrepreneurs face."
Online advertiser 24/7 Media, which recently hired DC-based lobbying firm Steve McBee & Associates, has named Tom Detmer to the new position of president and CEO. Detmer, who previously served as president of 24/7 Media's technology-solutions division, will be responsible for guiding the company toward increased operational efficiencies and toward profitability, the company said. Before joining 24/7 Media, Detmer served as president and chief executive of Exactis.com, a permission-based e-mail marketing firm. 24/7 Media acquired Exactis in June 2000. David Moore will remain the company's CEO. "Tom and I are going to try to split the responsibilities so that we do each of our respective tasks better than we accomplished them in the past," Moore told Silicon Alley Reporter, adding that Detmer will operate the company on a day-to-day basis and focus on internal issues while Moore will be "focusing on the outside stuff."
The American Internet Service Providers Association (AISPA) has named the best members of Congress on Internet and competitiveness issues. The awards, given as part of AISPA's listing of this year's Friends of the Internet, recognize lawmakers who have supported policies important to the nation's 7,000 independent Internet Service Providers and their millions of customers. The list includes: Sens. Robert Bennett, R-UT; Conrad Burns, R-MT; Ernest Hollings, D-SC; Spencer Abraham, R-MI; Trent Lott, R-MS; John Kerry, D-MA; Byron Dorgan, D-ND; Slade Gorton, R-WA; John D. Rockefeller IV, D-WVA; and Ted Stevens, R-AK. On the House side, the organization praise: Reps. David Dreier, R-CA; Richard Armey, R-TX; Christopher Cox, R-CA; Steve Largent, R-OK; Bill Luther, D-MN; Heather Wilson, R-NM; Chris Cannon, R-UT; James Rogan, R-CA; Thomas Davis, R-VA; Anna Eshoo, D-CA; Edward Markey, D-MA; and Bill McCollum, R-FL.
The government's Chief Information Officer Council is spearheading the creation of a Government Electronic Directory to provide online government white pages for federal employees, according to PlanetGov.com. The directory will help current federal employees easily find other government employees. The plan also calls for the directory to eventually be the home of federal employees' digital signatures to enable them to send secure messages to one another. A version of the directory launched last year, but many agencies are still deciding whether to participate, the story said.
The Federal Communications Commission has named Mania Kleinburd Baghdadi as its deputy chief of the Mass Media Bureau's policy and rules division. Baghdadi joined the FCC in April 1994 as a staff attorney in the legal branch of the policy and rules division and has worked on the digital television and broadcast attribution proceedings, among other matters. Since May 1997, she has been assistant chief (law) of the policy and rules division. Before joining the commission, Baghdadi practiced communications law at the firms of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth and Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn.
Palo Alto, CA-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm that was well-known for its involvement in the Microsoft antitrust suit, is opening an office in McLean, VA. "Northern Virginia is our first foothold on the East Coast, and along with our branches in Kirkland, WA, and Austin, TX, the new office positions us in some of the fastest-growing and most attractive technology markets in the U.S.," the firm said in a statement. People opening the office include: Trevor Chaplick, a corporate partner who worked on the initial public offering of AtHome and acquisitions for clients USWeb, Cypress Semiconductor and Microchip Technology; and Laurie Smilan, a litigation partner who specializes in securities class-action lawsuits and other securities issues. Her clients included Dell Computer and the Boeing.
Microsoft and other high-tech companies are scheduled to hold a rally in support of the re-election of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-MA, on Tuesday in Boston. Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, organized the rally.
The Stevens Institute of Technology said its new faculty member, Rajarathnam Chandramouli, received a $498,000 National Science Foundation research grant to study wireless networking. The project is titled "Optimization and Integrated Control of Low-power Wireless Multimedia Networks." "The project deals with developing wireless networking protocols that minimize the amount of battery-power usage for mobile communication and computing devices," Chandramouli said in a statement. "The focus is on attacking power-hungry multimedia applications such as wireless videoconferencing, accessing large image/video databases, and so on, to greatly increase efficiency and capacity." Chandramouli is a native of Channai, India, and holds a doctorate in computer science and engineering from the University of South Florida in Tampa.
In a week, America will know the winner of the presidential race, but some high-tech executives took a crack at early voting for the candidates at the Northern Virginia Technology Council banquet two weeks ago. In a mock ballot, attendees gave Texas Gov. George W. Bush 51.9 percent of the vote and Vice President Al Gore 42.7 percent. Third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Patrick Buchanan drew 5 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Former Virginia Gov. George Allen, R, also won 54.9 percent of the vote in his bid for the Senate, while his opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Chuck Robb, received 45.1 percent.
 | - by Bara Vaida |
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