Internet Computer Network

Bringing the information highway ever closer, one of America's largest cable television operators said Tuesday it will offer direct access to the sprawling Internet computer network through its video system. The new service, from Boston-based Continental Cablevision Inc., will give subscribers an ocean of information through their personal computers, allowing them to tap into university libraries, discussion groups and other services from around the world.

"Community," NBC's quirky Thursday night comedy, has been a slacker in the ratings. The sitcom about misfit community college students, starring Joel McHale and Chevy Chase, has averaged about 4 million viewers an episode this season, not enough to guarantee survival in the dog-eat-dog world of network television. The tepid ratings prompted NBC to put the show on hiatus. Still, despite its struggles, the series is headed toward the promised land of syndication. Just a few years ago, a syndication sale for a modest performer like "Community" would have been unthinkable.

When it comes to choosing broadband Internet providers, you can't always get what you want. But with certain limitations, you can get what you need. If you use the Internet regularly, chances are you already have broadband -- that is, a high-speed hookup, usually through your cable television provider or phone company. But are you getting it at the right speed and right price? There are more choices than ever, even though you typically have to go with a provider that serves your neighborhood.

With 21.5 million Netflix streaming subscribers set to lose access to Starz's movies and television shows in February, the premium cable channel is planning a big digital push of its own in 2012. Starz President Chris Albrecht said at an investor presentation in New York on Thursday that his network would launch an HBO Go-like application to allow subscribers to watch its content on a variety of digital devices. Also, for the first time, the executive indicated a willingness to offer Starz directly to customers and not as part of a package of cable television channels.

UC Irvine is proposing a new master's degree program in criminology that would offer the first online graduate degree in the University of California system, campus officials said Thursday. "The idea is to provide an advanced degree in a way that's more accessible," Karen Morris, a spokeswoman for the Irvine campus, said of the proposed online graduate program in criminology, law and society.

For Judi McDill, the video window in the corner of her computer screen is the only connection with her son during the day. On the Web, she watches him eat lunch, stand on chairs with that coltish wiggle in his knees, fuss with his shirt buttons. Sometimes, when the 5-year-old notices the camera in his day-care center, he waves. All day she watches.

The Public Broadcasting Service turns 40 this year, and on Tuesday it gave itself a gift that just might make it feel young again. PBS' new video portal allows online viewers to stream an array of its best-known shows over the Web. The new site gathers more than 130 episodes of nearly 20 programs, including marquee fare such as "Frontline," "Nova" and "Masterpiece Theater." PBS says thousands of hours of programming should be available to users by the summer.

One morning in May 2008, an eighth-grader walked into Janice Hart's office at a Beverly Hills school crying. She was upset and humiliated and couldn't possibly go to class, the girl told the counselor. The night before, a classmate had posted a video on YouTube with a group of other eighth-graders bad-mouthing her, calling her "spoiled," a "brat" and a "slut." Text and instant messages had been flying since. Half the class must have seen it by now, she told Hart. Hart took the problem to the vice principal and principal, who took it to a district administrator, who asked the district's lawyers what they could do about it. In the end, citing "cyber-bullying" concerns, school officials suspended the girl who posted the video for two days.

The human race seems to be falling for the space aliens' devious scheme: We're watching more television than ever, according to a report released Monday. If you've seen that Hulu.com commercial starring Alec Baldwin, you know that TV is a plot devised by aliens to turn our brains into mush so they can scoop them out and eat them. Computers, the ad says, are making our brains even mushier by giving us more places to watch TV. The Nielsen Co.'

Coming of age during the 9/11 attacks and war in Iraq, some of the students in UCLA's advanced Arabic class want to launch diplomatic or military careers. Others seek to delve into the Koran and Islamic culture. And some simply love a mind-stretching, tongue-twisting challenge. No matter the reasons, they help fuel a trend that has made Arabic the fastest-growing spoken language of study at U.S. colleges and universities.

The questioner reads evenly from a script. "Please give me your name and your age. " "My name is Sameh Eldesoky and I am 21 years old. " Eldesoky sits back, hands on his knees, trying to relax, trying to forget that a tiny microphone is clamped to the front of his shirt. "When and how did you first hear about the demonstrations of Jan. 25?" "Through Facebook and friends. " "Had you been involved in demonstrations before or political organizing?" asks the interviewer, a young woman with a soft, soothing voice.

Thousands of years after Moses led his people out of Egypt, the Passover story is going digital. At Monday's Seder meal, dozens of families will be reading the traditional tableside ceremony from a Haggadah, a text guiding the Seder, that they have personalized by uploading family photos to replace stock illustrations of Pharaoh and the slaves. Behrman House, a Jewish educational publisher in Springfield, N.J., has sold more than 100 sets of the cyber-assisted version of its Family Haggadah.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday signed a measure to cut business taxes for Internet-based firms, many of which last year saw their tax rate jump from the lowest in the city to the highest. The change, unanimously approved by the City Council on March 5, will affect about 1,400 businesses in Los Angeles. Some of those companies had threatened to leave the city if the tax rate was not reduced. Villaraigosa signed the ordinance at the Westside Internet firm Shopzilla, one of the companies that had considered relocating.

U.S. citizens reported losing more than $550 million in 2009 in Internet fraud, falling prey to a variety of increasingly sophisticated scams, according to a report by the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The loss was more than twice that reported in 2008, according to the agency, a partnership of the FBI and the privately funded National White Collar Crime Center. Based in West Virginia, the center tracks Internet crime around the world. "Criminals are continuing to take full advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the Internet.

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted to cut business taxes for Internet-based firms that had been socked with a mammoth increase last year after the city changed their tax rate from the lowest bracket to the highest. The council unanimously approved the measure despite concerns by some members that the tax break would be applied retroactively to Jan. 1 and cost the city $3.4 million in revenue. They argued that L.A. could not afford to lose that money at a time when the city faces a $212 million budget shortfall.

NBC anchor Brian Williams' train was just pulling into Washington's Union Station on Thursday afternoon when he read an urgent bulletin on his BlackBerry: U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was contemplating stepping down, according to a report on RadarOnline. "It struck me as odd," Williams said. "What I know about Radar does not include their Supreme Court reporting." Still, the possibility that President Obama would have to fill another opening on the bench put Williams, a Supreme Court buff, into breaking-news mode.

School term papers may be going the way of the typewriters once used to write them. "It's so easy to cheat and steal from the Internet that I don't even assign papers anymore," said Bobbie Eisenstock, an assistant professor of journalism at Cal State Northridge. "I got tired of night after night checking for cheaters."

American Express Co.'s new Blue credit card, aimed at busy Internet users, is taking as many as 40 days to get to applicants because the company failed to anticipate the response. The company began sending the first cards to customers on Wednesday, four weeks after introducing it, and some early applicants won't get their cards for another two weeks. The average wait for a new card is about 14 days, according to industry consultants.

The online indie craft scene is getting crowded as home-based entrepreneurs move beyond craft fairs or networks of friends to tap customers from around the globe. Merchants offering handmade items are flocking to online websites such as Etsy, ArtFire and 1000 Markets to find buyers. Etsy said last week that it now has about 400,000 active online shops. They offer items ranging from the kitschy to the sublime. Most sellers, some who own more than one online store, don't typically make a living from their handiwork, whether that's hand-painted silk scarves or hand-painted cow skulls.

The crisis began when college basketball fans downloaded a free March Madness application to their smart phones. The app hid spyware that stole passwords, intercepted e-mails and created havoc. Soon 60 million cellphones were dead. The Internet crashed, finance and commerce collapsed, and most of the nation's electric grid went dark. White House aides discussed putting the Army in American cities. That, spiced up with bombs and hurricanes, formed the doomsday scenario when 10 former White House advisors and other top officials joined forces Tuesday in a rare public cyber war game designed to highlight the potential vulnerability of the nation's digital infrastructure to crippling attack.