10 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| JUN 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
QUICKSTART^
THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALLPREVIEWVerizon Wireless was the
big winner in the FCC’s auc-
tion of 700MHz spectrum
previously used by UHF
television. The telecom en-
tered a winning bid of $9.
billion to collect a near-
nationwide swath of the C
block, which is particularly
valuable because it can
travel long distances and
penetrate through walls,
making it well-suited for
data and voice transmission.With this spectrum, Verizon
is expected to build a 4G
wireless network based on
LTE technology, which iscapable of 100Mb/s down-
loads and 50Mb/s uploads.
In conjunction with its
winning bid, Verizon has
been moving forward with
its open-access plan and
reiterated that any device or
service that meets minimum
technical specs will be al-
lowed on its network.
AT&T also spent big at
the auction, paying $6.
billion for 227 regional
licenses in the B block.Although the auction raised
a total of $19.6 billion, which
will be used to fund the
transition to digital TV, the Dblock failed to meet its $1.
billion reserve price and
remains unsold. This swath
of spectrum was viewed
as less desirable because it
must be shared with fi rst
responders during emergen-
cies; however, consumer
groups have alleged that
the D block’s failure to sell is
due to tampering by one of
the companies involved and
have asked for a congressio-
nal investigation. —TEWITH THIS SPECTRUM,
VERIZON IS EXPECTED TO
BUILD A 4G WIRELESS NETWORK
BASED ON LTE TECHNOLOGY.Verizon Wins at FCC Auction
Telecom gains wide swath of valuable wireless spectrum
Verizon’s winning bid eases
the way for the creation of a
nationwide 4G network.Adobe offi cially
joins the web 2.
revolution with its
beta release of Pho-
toshop Express. The
free online image-
editing service
offers an array of
tools for fi ne-tuning
your digital pictures
and 2GB of space on
which to store them.
You can infl uence
the fi nal product
by providing Adobe
with feedback on
the beta. —KSPhotoshop for Free!
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....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................H
ave you heard the one about the 3,
research studies that show a positive
relationship between media violence and
violent behavior? It’s an old cudgel often used to
bludgeon the gaming industry in the debate about
violent games.
It also turns out to be a complete fabrication.
Those 3,500 studies simply don’t exist. In extensive
research for their own study, Lawrence Kutner and
Cheryl K. Olson (founders of the Center for Mental
Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital
and professors at Harvard Medical School) searched
the available literature and found only about 300
studies on this topic. In their new book, Grand Theft
Childhood, Kutner and Olson conclude that most
of the previous studies were either inconclusive or
fl awed, with none providing the smoking gun linking
media violence and real-world violence in an incon-
trovertible cause-effect relationship.
They decided to go looking for the link
themselves and created what is arguably the most
far-reaching and thorough study yet. The results may
not be what either side of the debate wants to hear,
but after reading their results, it’s hard to deny that
Kutner and Olson’s report is scrupulously fair—and
that it’s a bombshell.
They begin by making the crucial distinction
between youth violence, which they defi ne as an
attack on a person or thing with the intent to injure
or break it, and the less easily defi ned aggression,
which includes antisocial behavior, bullying, and
delinquency. Their research reveals two key facts
that are relevant to the debate.
First, there is no link between young people who
play violent games and actual violence. In fact, as
gamer culture has grown, incidents of violent crime
have dropped signifi cantly. They also debunk the
myth that school shootings such as the ones that took
place at Columbine (blamed on Doom) and Virginia
Tech (Counter-Strike) were caused by games. In-
stead, they learned that Virginia Tech shooter Seung-
Hui Cho didn’t play games in college, which tallied
with one of their more interesting discoveries: Kids
who don’t play games are the social outcasts and
misfi ts. Games help kids fi t in and form relationships.
Their study did, however, fi nd a connection between
aggression and violent games, and we’ll explore that
in more detail next month.GAME THEORYGrand Theft
Childhood?
THOMAS MCDONALDThomas L. McDonald has been covering games
for 17 years. He is an editor at large for Games
magazine.