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In yet another indication of the hostilities between the two nations, Pakistan has accused India of cutting off internet access in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Furthermore, Pakistan claims that India is enforcing the shutdown by patrolling internet cafes to make sure there’s no communication between Kashmiris and Pakistanis. According to the Pakistani government, the shutdown took effect on Dec. 18. Additionally, Pakistan says that India has forced Kashmir cable operators not to run any Pakistani programming. The tensions between the nations have been escalating ever since India’s parliament was attacked, allegedly by Pakistan-based terrorists who believe that Kashmir should not be under Indian rule.
Windows XP problematic for AOL cable service
The burgeoning battle between new media giants Microsoft and AOL Time Warner has added another chapter, as the software giant's new Windows XP operating system does not, in some cases, work with AOL's high-speed cable service. AOL technicians installing the new cable service for AOL customers in New York have reported widespread problems for users using Microsoft's XP system. AOL itself has blamed the troubles on "sporadic connectivity issues," according to the New York Post. Users experiencing problems are being switched to Time Warner Cable's Road Runner. The scrap presumably springs from MSN's continued pains to climb closer to AOL's enormous online subscriber base and AOL's efforts to keep the situation unchanged. AOL, incidentally, was recently chagrined to discover that its Instant Messenger suffers from a glitch that allows hackers to invade and conquer the computer files of customers using Windows.
HGTV.com draws Rose Parade-related traffic
HGTV.com, the web site of Home and Garden Television, won the War of the Roses on New Year’s Day. A healthy number of people logged on to the web site to see the content it offered to complement the cable channel’s live, commercial-free coverage of the 113th Tournament of Roses Parade. In all, HGTV.com drew some 180,620 page views for its Rose Parade content, a figure the site says is double its showing for 2001’s Rose Parade material. The web site featured a detailed list of all floats, organizations and bands that marched in the parade, plus information related to the various Rose Parade pre-shows. On HGTV itself, the coverage got the cable network's highest ratings ever, with about 2.9 million households tuning in.
Eisner: Disney’s net side will turn profit in 2002
Despite having lost more than a billion dollars in the year 2000 alone, Walt Disney Co. CEO and chairman Michael Eisner projects that the Walt Disney Internet Group will turn a profit this year. In a just-released letter to shareholders, Eisner said that since the company has taken drastic measures to slash expenses, the net unit will become profitable. Many employees have been laid off and operations at all the web sites have been pared down. For example, ABCNews.com staffers were laid off, and Disney shut down two entertainment sites, namely MrShowBiz.com and WallofSound. Most notably, it gave up on its Go.com portal and axed all 400 members of Go’s staff. The family of Disney web sites also includes ABC.com, ESPN.com and Family.com, plus about 20 international web sites.
EBay misses $ goal for Sept. 11 victim fund
Online auction company eBay set out to raise $100 million in the span of just 100 days for the survivors and victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks through charity auctions. But that proved to be a bit on the ambitious side. EBay ended up raising $10 million through its Auction for America. The San José, Calif.-based company blames the shortfall on the large numbers of competing charities. The way it worked: eBay users were encouraged to auction off goods and give all proceeds to charity. But not enough sellers signed on. Ultimately, the ranks of sellers included ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York Governor George Pataki. Still, $10 million is hardly pocket change, and the sum will be divided among seven different charities, including the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund, the Twin Towers Fund and the Sept. 11 Children’s Fund.
January 7, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
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