Are bloggers journalists?

Last week, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled in favour of Apple Computer, subpoenaing three online reporters to reveal their sources regarding the Mac Mini computer.

All US citizens are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution (which guarantees free speech) but Kleinberg ruled that in this case, these bloggers were not because they had published trade secrets.

The judge made no decision about whether the bloggers were in fact journalists. He simply ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have only been provided by someone breaking the law. Under California law, divulging trade secrets is a civil and criminal offence.

Many industry watchers wondered how Kleinberg would have dealt with the 'Are bloggers journalists?' question. In the end, he deftly avoided the question by stating that the journalistic status of the bloggers didn't matter because the articles concerned contained trade secrets that were, in effect, stolen property. And that's wrong regardless of whether the writer is a journalist.

Xintel gets NSP individual licence

Xintel Sdn Bhd, one of the leading second tier telecommunications service providers in Malaysia, has been granted a network service provider (NSP) individual licence from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Xintel, which started business in 1998, provides IDD and STD services to a broad range of customers, which include local and multinational business organisations, private institutions as well as home users.

Motomesh

NEW ORLEANS - Motorola debuted at the CTIA Wireless show an 802.11 metro mesh access point that incorporates up to four distinct radios and is targeted at municipalities wishing to run separate private and public networks.

Sarawak USP Programme

Up to 30 per cent of the 500 sites identified for implementation of the third phase of the Universal Service Provision (USP) programme of bridging the urban-rural digital divide is in Sarawak"

Digital WiFi Home - A Quadruple Play

Both cable and phone companies now offer a 'triple play' -- phone, video and broadband 'Net access -- bundled into a single bill. Add wireless, and you have a quadruple play....In the digital home, consumers will have a rich array of choices. Television lovers will be able to choose among conventional scheduled programs, video on demand, shows recorded on DVRs and material downloaded from the Internet. They will be able to access the music and photos on their PCs via the TV. The television will be able to display e-mail and voice mail, the Web and home security and control systems. And all of this will be accessible from any room in the house -- and, eventually, from any place outside the house with an Internet connection...It's an enormous opportunity. Shane Robison, the chief strategy and technology officer of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), puts the annual revenue from all the affected markets north of $1 trillion. And the roster of combatants eager to snatch a piece of that enormous prize is vast.'"