Kahin@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA (10/11/85)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Communications Forum
Making Electronic Mail More Intelligent
October 31, 1985
Thomas Malone, MIT
Kenneth Mayers, Digital Equipment Corporation
Electronic messaging has become a familiar feature of the
office environment and a key element in office automation
strategy for many organizations. As these systems spread, many
issues must be dealt with, such as accomodating evolving user
requirements, responding to rapid expansion, controlling junk
mail, and incorporating alternative technologies. One of the
central challenges is how to enhance messaging features so that
users are not swamped by information overload.
This forum will present the experience of Digital Equipment
Corporation, one of the pioneering users of electronic mail, and
will describe some recent innovative research at MIT which uses
artificial intelligence technology to improve the user's ability
to sort incoming messages by relevance and urgency and to route
outgoing communications to the most appropriate people within the
organizations.
Electronic Media and the First Amendment
November 7, 1985
While the First Amendment to the Constitution has been
interpreted to grant print publishers nearly unabridged freedom
of expression, electronic broadcast media have been regulated on
the grounds of "spectrum scarcity." Regulation of cable
television has been justified on a number of premises: use of
public streets; "natural monopoly" characteristics; and its close
relationship to broadcasting.
Recently, a number of important court decisions have
indicated that cable operators should be treated more like print
publishers than broadcasters for First Amendment purposes. One
of these decisions struck down the "must carry" rule, which
required cable systems to carry all broadcast stations within a
certain radius. This seminar will consider the impact of these
decisions on both the cable and broadcast industries and, in
particular, whether rapidly expanding channel capacity and new
delivery technologies undermine traditional justifications for
limiting First Amendment rights of the electronic media.
The Impact of the Divestiture
November 14, 1985
Lisa Rosenblum, New York Public Service Commission, Consumer Division
Paul Levy, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
Gayle Ruedi, AT&T Customer Services/MIT
There has been more choice but also more confusion in the
telecommunications industry since the breakup of the 107 year-old
Bell System last year. Both residential and business users are
faced with complex tradeoffs among products, services, and
prices -- in a market which is in constant technological flux.
State regulatory agencies have found their established practices
challenged by the changes climate and have had to reassess what
their role should be. The divestiture has had a particularly
profound effect on AT&T, which has had to shed its monopoly
mindset and establish an image as a "new," competitive company,
while reassuring customers that it continues to offer state-of-
the-art technology and service.
Software Dissemination:
First Sale and Shrink-Wrap Licensing
November 21, 1985
David Waterman, Annenberg School of Communication, USC
Robert Bigelow, Bigelow and Saltzberg
Robert McEwen, Boston College
Home video technology seemed to promise motion picture
studios a new revenue stream from selling movies in the form of a
product that consumers would purchase and collect. In practice,
the studios found themselves whipsawed by the "first sale"
doctrine: If they marketed videocassettes as a product, copies
could be rented by retailers without paying royalties.
Alternatively, they could pursue a "rental only" strategy --
leasing copies to distributors and retailers, who could then only
rent to consumers, returning royalties for each rental. The
middlemen resisted "rental only" plans and outright sale
prevailed. The studios, in turn, asked Congress to modify the
law for audio-visual works. They failed, but the law was amended
for sound recordings, which aborted the development of record
rental services.
Although a bill to modify the first sale doctrine for
computer software was introduced in the Senate, software
producers have generally sought to characterize retail
transactions as licensing agreements. But instead of having
dealers rent the software, the industry has relied on "shrink-
wrap licenses", which purport to create a lease upon the opening
of the package.
Are shrink-wrap licenses enforceable? Can they
effectively transform sales into leases and goods into services?
When should the first sale doctrine apply? This seminar will
survey the law and then look at the economic and policy issues.
High-Definition Television
December 5, 1985
Robert Hopkins, National Association of Broadcasters
Kerns Powers, RCA
Edward Horowitz, Home Box Office
The broadcast television system that has served America for
the past thirty years is undergoing revision at all levels. New
technologies have been developed that equal or exceed the quality
of theatrical film, and the level of effort in research labs and
industry has raised the issue of a new standard that will allow
high quality world-wide program interchange. One system,
designed by NHK in Japan, will have been proposed as a production
standard at the October meeting of the CCIR, and the CCIR
recommendations will be known by the date of this seminar. The
speakers invited will discuss this standard and various other
approaches to high quality television.
4:00 - 6:00
Bartos Theater for the Moving Image
The Wiesner Building
(Center for Arts and Media Technology)
(Building E15 Lower Level)
20 Ames Street
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
For further information call 617-253-3144.