Net Copyright Treaties Cleared

Artists and performers will be entitled to get paid when their work is used on the Internet under the first global pacts on copyright in cyberspace due for approval at a U.N. conference today. Senior officials and participants say the last major disputes over who owns what in the tangled work of the Internet were solved in the early hours today. When ratified by governments, the treaties will create a ground-breaking international agreement to protect digitally transmitted sound recordings and the rights of their performers on the Internet.

Report: Apple To Rehire Jobs

The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified sources, is reporting that Apple Computer is expected to rehire co-founder Steven Jobs to help the computer company update its operating system software. The newspaper says Jobs will be hired as a part-time consultant and "technology guru" in charge of the software product. The newspaper says Jobs would supervise the launch of the new Macintosh operating system, an eagerly awaited software update regarded as a critical step in Apple's future.

ZDNet To Offer Free Cookie Utility

Ziff-Davis Publishing's ZD-Net will unveil a free software utility to enable Web surfers to control which Internet sites can monitor a user's browsing activities. Known as Cookie Master, the software is designed to let individuals discover which cookies have been downloaded onto their hard drive and delete unwanted ones. Cookies are often automatically installed on hard disks when a person registers for a Web site, but their use is a hot issue as privacy advocates consider cookies to be intrusive since they are downloaded without a user's knowledge or approval.

EU Set To Clear AT&T Link

The European Commission says it is ready to clear the Uniworld telecommunications alliance between U.S. phone giant AT&T and Europe's Unisource joint venture. It says it is also ready to clear the involvement of Spain's Telefonica in Unisource, which also groups Dutch PTT Telecom, Sweden's Telia and Swiss Telecom. AT&T agreed to advise the Commission of any complaint filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission about access to its international facilities -- and of the FCC's decision.

Gates To Be Malaysia Tech Advisor

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has agreed to be a member of an advisory board which is developing Malaysia's high-technology corridor. Local newspapers quoted Mahathir as saying that Gates confirmed his willingness to be on the board of Multimedia Development in a letter the premier received. Multimedia Development is developing the Multimedia Super Corridor, which Malaysia hopes will attract a variety of high-technology companies.

Sony Pictures DVD In Spring

According to its digital videodisc (DVD) hardware marketing strategy, Sony expects its DVD hardware to hit U.S. retail shelves next spring. While most of the specifics of the plan will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month, John Briesch, president of Sony Electronics' audiovisual group, says Sony is targeting high-end, early adopters as the first purchasers of the gear.

3Com, Acer Form Alliance

Acer, a personal computer maker based in Taiwan, and computer network equipment maker 3Com say they have formed a strategic alliance to integrate 3Com products into Acer PCs and services. Initially, Acer will deliver PCs with 3Com network interface cards, allowing users to easily connect their computers into networks, intranets or the Internet. The two companies will begin immediately to develop joint marketing, sales promotion and support programs.

Singapore To Offer First Net TV

Singapore says it will soon offer Asia's first Internet access to services offering video as good as television. Singapore Telecom and the Television Corporation of Singapore said in a statement a trial of the service would start in 40 homes in March. Internet users will be able to download "full motion video" rather than the jerky, out-of-synch pictures now available.

Cleric Urges Net Restrictions

A senior Iranian cleric is calling for restricting Internet access because the global computer network feeds "poison" to the masses. In a sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati criticized "unalert and uncalculating" officials who allowed unrestricted access to the information superhighway. Iran's telecommunications ministry says it has over 10,000 Internet subscribers -- who must sign a statement pledging not to access any information deemed "un-Islamic."

Samper Navigates In 'Canoe'

Colombia's President Ernesto Samper sailed into cyberspace but admitted he was "paddling a canoe" rather than sailing through the new technology like a Transatlantic liner. The statesman gave his first ever interview via the Internet, answering questions from journalists and ordinary citizens at home and abroad. Samper answered questions about a diplomatic posting he had announced just hours earlier -- the appointment of Defense Minister Juan Carlos Esguerra as ambassador to Washington

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