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To: ~digs who wrote (277)	10/6/2001 3:52:32 PM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 6763

Tech giants push MPEG-4 standard By Gwendolyn Mariano ; CNET News.com ; Thursday October 04 A standards body comprising such tech heavyweights as Apple Computer and Cisco Systems has released a specification for streaming MPEG-4 video and audio via the Web. The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) announced this week that it has developed and published its first specification. ISMA 1.0 will let consumers install one plug-in for streaming audio and video, rather than a raft of programs each specific to a single format, on devices ranging from cell phones to personal computers. For ISMA, the specification is the latest effort to create open standards in streaming media. Microsoft's Windows Media, RealNetworks' RealPlayer and Apple's QuickTime each hold a piece of the market. Although Apple joined Cisco, IBM, Kasenna, Philips Electronics, Sun Microsystems and other tech companies in founding the nonprofit group last year, market leaders RealNetworks and Microsoft have yet to join. "For streaming to be really broadly embraced, broadly accepted, both on the PC as well as the non-PC platform by the content industry and by the consumer, what needs to take place is the creation of an open standard," said Hans-Peter Baumeister, a board member of the ISMA and vice president of strategic alliances at Philips. MPEG-4 is the successor of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, technologies behind the MP3 audio explosion. Like its predecessors, MPEG-4 comprises audio and video technologies that condense large digital files into smaller ones that can be easily transferred via the Web. ISMA hopes MPEG-4 will eventually replace the MP3 audio format, which inadvertently became a household name through the popularity of file-swapping service Napster (news - web sites). But the new format's video applications and interactive features have drawn the most interest so far. ISMA 1.0 has two versions. Profile 0 helps wireless and narrowband networks stream audio and video content to devices, such as cell phones or PDAs (personal digital assistants), for limited viewing and listening. Profile 1 is devised for broadband networks and targeted to more powerful devices such as set-top boxes and personal computers. Apple is hoping the standard will help its QuickTime, which trails Windows Media and RealPlayer, gain popularity. The PC maker is expected to release a new version of QuickTime based on the MPEG-4 format. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, RealNetworks in August held first place in media format usage at work and at home. The research firm said 28.8 million people at home and 15.5 million at work used RealPlayer. Windows Media had 13 million consumers at home and 8.8 million at work. QuickTime attracted 8.2 million consumers at home and 5.3 million at work. According to Baumeister, ISMA 1.0 could shorten these gaps by freeing content creators and distributors from depending on a single vendor for streaming media technology. Without an overarching standard, companies must choose one format or encode the same audio and video for several players. With ISMA 1.0, he said, companies would only need to encode the content once to stream it over all compliant players. Microsoft, however, says it is unimpressed with the quality and application of MPEG-4; rather than join ISMA, the software giant has chosen to focus on an upgrade of its own technology. "Windows Media 8 can actually deliver near-DVD-video experience and save about 40 percent of the bandwidth over what MPEG-4 can do," said Michael Aldridge, lead product manager of the Windows Media Digital Division at Microsoft. "Bandwidth savings impact the cost of media delivery, and (it) really is the key determinant on whether there is business viability to deliver video across the Web." RealNetworks could not be immediately reached for comment.

To: ~digs who wrote (277)	10/16/2001 5:06:12 PM
From: ~digs	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6763

Privacy Debate Focuses on F.B.I. Use of an Internet Wiretap By JOHN SCHWARTZ ; THE NEW YORK TIMES ; October 13, 2001 Carnivore, the F.B.I.'s Internet wiretap system, is one of the best- known technologies for monitoring computer communications and is at the heart of the debate over the antiterrorism bills moving through Congress this week. Back when telephones were considered pretty high technology, investigators who wanted to know whom a suspect was calling would attach a gadget called a pen register to the phone line. Electrical impulses generated by the clicks of the rotary dial would cause a pen in the device to jump, creating a running record of the numbers dialed on that phone. Today that phone call may be passed along the Internet or bouncing from state to state as a suspect talks on a cellphone. A suspect might be picking up e-mail messages on a laptop computer, or conversing via a Blackberry e-mail pager. Catching those speeding bits out of the Internet's roar of data and making sense of them can be like trying to snatch sardines out of a school. Law enforcement officials say that new technologies like cellular phones, anonymous e-mail messages and encryption can hinder their efforts, while civil libertarians warn that the technologies to monitor these new forms of communication give government more power than ever before to encroach on the privacy of citizens. Their concern is that the new bills could tip the careful balance between privacy and security established by the nation's founders. "In 1789, what fraction of your communications was even subject to a search?" asked Peter P. Swire, a former Office of Management and Budget official who oversaw privacy issues for the Clinton administration. "Compare that to today's world of possible wiretaps on all of your phone calls, e-mails and Web surfing." When Carnivore sits down to eat, it tastes everything. Carnivore, which is officially known as DCS- 1000, was designed by the F.B.I. to be a kind of pen register for the Internet. It is based on common "sniffer" software used by companies to maintain their own networks. Once installed at the offices of an Internet service provider, it works by monitoring all of the data that flows by it. The system does not store everything it sees: instead, Carnivore takes the suspect's e-mail messages and stores only the addresses of the sender and recipient for law enforcement agents to review. But depending on the size of the Internet service provider using it, it may look at messages from every one of the company's customers as part of the process. The fact that the system samples the e-mail messages of so many users is one reason that many members of Congress opposed its use in criminal investigations without relatively high hurdles of proof. They wanted a strong degree of judicial oversight, the kind of permission required of investigators who want a full-scale telephone wiretap. All that has changed in the days since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Although the House majority leader, Representative Dick Armey, a longtime Carnivore critic, included language in the bill that would require oversight of Carnivore's use, the provisions of the antiterrorism bills would nonetheless expand the ability of law enforcement and intelligence agents to use tools like Carnivore. Mark Rasch, a former federal prosecutor who now works as an Internet security consultant, said the bill was a product of hasty overreaction by lawmakers. "We're going to look back on this a year from now and ask, `What the hell were we thinking?' " Mr. Rasch said.