Living-Today: Issues of modern living

MICROSOFT

Judges Robert Bork and Kenneth Starr have joined the list of antitrust experts and industry groups who oppose the proposed settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and software giant Microsoft.

The former U.S. Supreme Court nominee and Whitewater special prosecutor helped draft comments from the Project to Promote Competition and Innovation in the Digital Age, or ProComp, decrying the proposed five-year agreement.

Among other things, the deal calls for Microsoft to allow computer makers to install alternative software on their products, as well as provide programmers with vital details of application program interfaces (APIs), which the Windows operating system uses to work with other software.

But Bork said in a statement that, "the proposed decree is so ineffective that it would not have prevented Microsoft from destroying Netscape and Java, the very acts that gave rise to this lawsuit. It is so ineffective in controlling Microsoft that it might as well have been written by Microsoft itself."

The filing calls on U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to take a hard look at how the deal would serve the public interest, said Mitchell Pettit, ProComp's president. The Justice Department is wrong in thinking the decree would allow API makers to compete effectively with Microsoft, he said, because such companies already make products tightly tied to Windows.

The decree also gives Microsoft far too much discretion in deciding what API information it must share, said Glenn Manishin, an attorney working with ProComp. The decree's goals are laudable, he said, but in practice would result in "ephemeral disclosure" at best.

A competing proposal put forward by nine of the states that originally joined DOJ in suing Microsoft, Starr said, includes proposals for splitting up Microsoft, and such action must be seriously considered -- albeit with caution. Divestiture would eliminate the need for judicial oversight of the DOJ deal, he said, and even retaining the possibility of such action would help prevent future Microsoft misdeeds.

DOJ has defended the settlement before congressional committees, saying it deals effectively with the most egregious conduct of which Microsoft is accused. Other groups also defend the proposed settlement, saying it will allow the tech industry to refocus on better products instead of continued legislation. The nonprofit Citizens Against Government Waste called the settlement fair for all sides, including consumers who would see more choice among software.

(Thanks to UPI's Scott Burnell in Washington)

EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR SUBWAY COMMUTERS

Fitness experts in Austria want London's commuters to duplicate an exercise program they pioneered on Vienna subways. A decision is expected this week on whether the project will be launched in London, the Web site Ananova reports.

Gert Halbgebauer of Vienna's medical university designed the program that involves exercise placards placed in 450 subway cars. "It's really caught on because you don't need to change into fitness clothes and you don't work up a sweat, so you can do it on the way to work," Halbgebauer says. "The exercises are carefully designed to use muscle groups that very often do not get properly used -- we use the movement of the train instead of weights."

The exercise program uses eight basic movements that include raising and lowering the knees from a sitting position. For commuters who are standing, one of the exercises involves holding on to the internal carriage pole and bending the knees while maintaining a straight back.

"The exercises are designed not to annoy other travelers so you don't need to start skipping or hanging from the straps or bars on the ceiling," Halbgebauer says.

(Thanks to UPI Science Writer Alex Cukan)

TEXT MESSAGING

There seems to be no limit to the use of text messaging. Singapore's M1 phone company has launched the country's first Aunt Agony "Ask Carey" service based on the popular technology, which allows people to type messages into their mobile phones and send them to another mobile phone, similar to e-mail or Internet instant messaging.

The new service -- which operates for two hours a day except Sunday -- is manned by trained counselors from the Care Community Services Society, a local charity that runs a range of counseling and welfare services. Two counselors will take questions from M1 customers. Many of the customers are expected to be between the ages of 16 and 21, and are seeking advice on personal and youth issues.

According to Chua Swee Kiat, general manager of Corporate Communications at M1, the company alone sees on average 6 million text messages a day, with the technology especially popular among teenagers.

The idea originated from Care. "We were looking at alternative ways of reaching to young people. It is quite difficult to get them to come to the center, and we feel (the technology) will be a more accessible way for them to reach us," said Dr Cecilia Soong, director of counseling at the Care Community Services Society.

Singapore has a population of about 4 million. Soong said the hotline gets on average about two calls a day, while it receives one e-mail message, but she's hopeful that this new technology will raise those figures.

Soong acknowledged the limitation of giving "suggestion and options" through text messaging. "But we are trained to assess the situation, and assess whether there need to be a phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting," she said.

(Thanks to UPI Business Correspondent Sonia Kolesnikov)