60 Minutes Ordered to Turn Over Interview Notes

60 Minutes has been issued an order by the Greater Manchester (UK) Police to hand over notes of interviews with reformed British Jihadist Hassan Butt. Correspondent Bob Simon interviewed Butt for a story that aired in March, 2007.

The Press Gazette (UK) reports that the BBC, the Sunday Times and Prospect magazine have also been “issued with orders under schedule five of the Terrorism Act 2000.”

60 Minutes spokesperson Kevin Tedesco tells TVNewser, “We plan to vigorously contest this demand for our unpublished material.”

The British network and publications are expected to appear in court later this week in Manchester to oppose the order.

From mediabistro.com’s Daily TVNewser Feed

If You Are Installing Windows XP SP3 - Read This First

Tips for a successful XP Service Pack 3 installation, plus some terrific physics simulations.

Take your hands off that mouse. I know, you’re ready to grab XP SP3. But slow down a sec and read my quick tutorial. It could save you some time and make your life with the new Service Pack less harrowing.

Wait a minute! You say you haven’t followed the XP SP3 saga? Read “Early Tests Say SP3 Speeds Windows XP” and Robert Strohmeyer’s “Windows XP SP3: First Impressions.”
Reading Materials

Start with Microsoft’s “Steps to take before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3,” a handy set of instructions to ensure a pleasant experience. It talks about “fast user switching” issues (like making sure everyone’s logged off), administrator rights, and error messages you may encounter.

read the entire article from PC World Magazine

Reid to Schedule Vote on FCC-Blocking Resolution

Writers Guilds Back Dorgan in Move to Head Off Further Consolidation

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable

Look for the Senate within the next two or three weeks to vote on a resolution to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission’s newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule change, according to a staffer for the resolution’s co-sponsor, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).

According to Dorgan’s communications director, Justin Kitsch, he heard that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would try to schedule a vote in that time frame.

The resolution will be taken up under expedited rules, which means that all Dorgan needs is 51 votes, not the 60 that would make it filibuster-proof, Kitsch added.

Dorgan has said he is confident that the measure has enough votes. It is co-sponsored by, among others, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Dorgan got some more support for his resolution Monday. The presidents of the Writers Guild of America (East and West branches) wrote a joint letter to the senator.

“Given the FCC’s history of permissiveness with respect to waivers and the vagueness of the new rules, the Writers Guilds of America fear that this action will trigger a new wave of media consolidation detrimental to communities that rely on local newspapers or television affiliates for local coverage,” wrote Patric Verrone (West) and Michael Winship (East)

They cited downsizing of news operations at CBS-owned stations, saying that if the cross-ownership change were allowed to stand, there would likely be additional layoffs elsewhere.

From Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

Where is That Katie Couric Billboard

An emailer writes: hmmm. Just asking: From Sept. 2006 until yesterday hung a billboard on the front of the CBS Broadcast Center promoting the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. Today, there is nothing there.

Insiders tell TVNewser the billboard was taken down for repairs and cleaning and should be back up by the end of the week.

* More from an emailer: WCBS-TV reported and showed yesterday that the Katie Couric ad came down during yesterday’s storms. I’m not sure if they took it down for safety reasons or if it fell but it’s definitely weather-related.

* More, more from an insider: Couric billboard came partly undone due to wind and was fully removed for safety reasons. Will be reinstalled by the end of the week.

From mediabistro.com’s Daily TVNewser Feed

EarthLink to Remove Philadelphia Wi-Fi

EarthLink next month will shut down its Philadelphia Wi-Fi network, the flagship of its now-dashed municipal wireless initiative, and then remove it from the city’s street lights.

The ailing service provider made the announcement Tuesday, saying it is proceeding with that plan after months of negotiations with the city and a nonprofit that had planned to offer free Wi-Fi on the network. The deal fell apart because of a disagreement among the city, the nonprofit and the group Wireless Philadelphia, EarthLink said. The carrier will provide a 30-day transition period, finally shutting down the network on June 12, and offer its Wi-Fi subscribers discounts on other EarthLink services.

Unless a deal to hand over the network can be salvaged, it will be a somber ending to the project that put municipal Wi-Fi on the map in the U.S. just three years ago. Philadelphia’s plan in 2005 to build the nation’s largest municipal Wi-Fi network, spanning 135 square miles (350 square kilometers), drew fire from Verizon Communications, which charged it was unfair to use tax dollars to create a network that would compete with private service providers.

read the entire article from PC World Magazine

Telemundo Details Telenovelas at Upfront

Spanish-Language Network to Produce New Version of El Clon

Telemundo will team up with Brazilian network TV Globo for a new version of El Clon, which was a big hit when the NBC Universal network aired the original Brazilian version in 2002.

The new production will switch the story to Los Angeles, part of Telemundo’s efforts to make an even bigger splash in the international Hispanic marketplace.

The El Clon announcement came at Telemundo’s upfront breakfast here Monday.

Probably the most controversial new telenovela will be Sin Tetas No Hay Paradiso (Without Breasts There Is No Paradise), based on Gustavo Bolivar’s best-selling novel about a 17-year-old prostitute who undergoes breast augmentation so she will be more desirable to customers.

Telemundo Communications Group president Don Browne called the program, which will debut June 16, “constructively provocative” and predicted that it will create conversations about teen-agers having their breasts enhanced, for whatever reason. The NBC network will also air a separately produced English-language version of the same, but it’s not scheduled yet.

Telemundo, which badly trails Univision in ratings, is making its mark as a producer, and it now makes more than 1,000 hours of primetime programming from three sites — Miami; Bogota, Colombia; and Mexico City.

Browne and others Monday said Telemundo is pushing ahead with what it called its concept-integration model, which allows advertisers to place products in Telemundo shows starting from the planning and conception stage. Last year, Browne said, Clorox successfully used Telemundo programs that way, adding that when some products go by other names in other countries Telemundo sells programs to, the network has been able to digitally change the branding.

read the entire article from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

HD Newsgathering Inches Closer to Reality

Digital Microwave Conversion Picks Up Speed

More than 90 stations across the United States are now producing their newscasts in HD. For most, that means HD pictures from the studio, not the field. A number of stations have invested in HD-camera systems for their helicopters and a few are using new HD camcorders to produce edited packages in true HD. But most are still offering upconverted standard-definition video, either in 4:3 or 16:9 wide-screen, for both live standups and edited packages.

Engineers blamed the lack of HD electronic newsgathering (ENG) on the slow pace of the 2-gigahertz relocation process — a federally mandated conversion of broadcasters’ analog microwave links to new digital equipment that will let stations operate in a smaller slice of spectrum. The conversion — being managed and paid for by wireless giant Sprint Nextel as part of a $4.8 billion spectrum deal it made with the Federal Communications Commission in February 2005 — was supposed to be completed last September but Sprint received an extension from the FCC until March 5, 2009. Company officials told the FCC a more realistic deadline would be August 2009.

Sprint isn’t charged with providing new HD links, just replacing existing analog gear with comparable SD digital equipment, with stations then paying for “upsell” equipment like HD encoders and decoders. But stations are waiting to receive the new digital microwave gear before installing equipment needed for true HD newsgathering.

read the entire article from Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

How RAM Works

Random access memory (RAM) is the best known form of computer memory. RAM is considered “random access” because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell.

The opposite of RAM is serial access memory (SAM). SAM stores data as a series of memory cells that can only be accessed sequentially (like a cassette tape). If the data is not in the current location, each memory cell is checked until the needed data is found. SAM works very well for memory buffers, where the data is normally stored in the order in which it will be used (a good example is the texture buffer memory on a video card). RAM data, on the other hand, can be accessed in any order.

In this article, you’ll learn all about what RAM is, what kind you should buy and how to install it.

read the entire article from How Stuff Works

ESPN, Tennis Channel Get U.S. Open Cable Rights

Six-Year Deal Begins in 2009

By Alex Weprin — Broadcasting & Cable

ESPN and Tennis Channel secured the rights to present the U.S. Open, starting in 2009.

The six-year deal will give ESPN rights to broadcast the matches on all of its networks, most heavily on ESPN2, as well as on ESPN360.com, the network’s digital-video hub. ESPN2 will present approximately 100 hours of live coverage from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens annually.

Tennis Channel will present more than 60 hours of live coverage, including two exclusive primetime blocks during the first Saturday and Sunday of the tournament. The network will also launch a nightly news and highlights program, U.S. Open Tonight, during the two-week event.

“Tennis has provided many memorable moments in ESPN history, and to finally acquire the excitement and drama of the U.S. Open is a crowning achievement, truly making ESPN2 ‘The Grand Slam Network,’” executive vice president of content John Skipper said. “The sport is a perfect fit for our growing digital businesses, and fans will know to find the best tennis action all year on ESPN2 and on ESPN360.com.”

The deal gives ESPN a “grand slam” of sorts: The network now broadcasts all four major worldwide tennis tournaments — the Wimbledon Championships, the French Open, the Australian Open and the U.S. Open.

Prior to the new deal, USA Network had long been the home of U.S. Open coverage on cable, dating back to 1984.

From Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

Install Windows XP SP3 Right

Plus: Step on Vista and IE bugs; block QuickTime and Flash Player risks.

Still on Windows XP? Then you’ll want to be sure to install Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), which should be available from Microsoft by the time you read this.

SP3 will come via Automatic Updates, and like most service packs, it focuses on must-have bug fixes. Unlike SP2, which included big changes with the Windows Security Center, this third pack adds new functionality only for enterprise networks.

You might remember that XP SP1 was an installation nightmare for quite a few people. Good thing Microsoft does too. So, as it did two months ago when it released Vista SP1, Redmond is providing free technical support for XP Home users (or call 866/234-6020) to help you get XP SP3 installed and running. And if you’re not using Automatic Updates, look for SP3 at the Microsoft Download Center.

read the entire article from PC World Magazine