FreeLists / networknewsletters / Edupage, January 27 and 30th 2006

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National Children's Folksong Repository Project
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/NCFR/
An historic electronic online archive of children's folk songs.
A public folklore project built by the children of the United States
and territories.
Children pick up the Phone and SING OR CHANT
(SAY) THEIR SONG. It's simple.
Children are our unknown culture makers and they get to record and
save their songs, then submit them into the database so that they
can hear themselves on the net. They collect history, and they will
make history at the same time.
Teachers can get the idea by watching the streaming video.
**************************************************************************

TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2006
  Tech Companies Pony Up $10 Billion for Itanium
  ChoicePoint Settles with FTC
  Spam Penalties Accrue
  Lawsuits Target Maker of Bogus Sypware Tools
  Ameriprise Laptop with Personal Data Stolen


TECH COMPANIES PONY UP $10 BILLION FOR ITANIUM
A group of technology companies has pledged $10 billion between now and
2010 to encourage adoption of Intel's Itanium processor, a high-end
unit that has failed to meet expectations that it would capture a large
portion of the server market. The companies that will contribute to the
effort are Intel, HP, Unisys, Silicon Graphics Inc., NEC, Hitachi,
Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, and Groupe Bull. All are members of a group
called the Itanium Solutions Alliance, which counts other companies
including Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell, and Oracle as members. The money
pledged will go toward research and development, marketing, and other
efforts to help software companies develop applications that take
advantage of the Itanium processor. Tom Kilroy, general manager of
Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, said the money will be well spent,
noting that there is "a $140 billion opportunity on hardware," which
itself is "dwarfed by the opportunity in software and services."
CNET, 26 January 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-1006_3-6031773.html

CHOICEPOINT SETTLES WITH FTC
Data broker ChoicePoint has reached a $15 million settlement with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following the company's disclosure a
year ago that it had turned over sensitive personal data for about
150,000 people to bogus customers. The FTC alleged that ChoicePoint did
not have adequate procedures in place to prevent such fraud and that
the company ignored what should have been red flags about the identity
of the customers requesting data, including credit reports.
ChoicePoint, which has over the past year taken steps to address the
problems that led to the incident, said it disagrees with some of the
FTC's findings but supports the settlement. The settlement covers a
$10 million fine, the largest ever meted out by the FTC, and $5 million
that will be held in an account and used to reimburse consumers who can
demonstrate losses due to the ChoicePoint incident. Sen. Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.), who introduced tough legislation to regulate the
data-brokerage industry after the ChoicePoint scandal, said he thinks
the fine was too low and will encourage others to see such penalties as
"just the cost of doing business."
New York Times, 27 January 2006 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/business/27choice.html

SPAM PENALTIES ACCRUE
A federal judge has issued a summary judgment in favor of AOL in its
lawsuit against a man AOL describes as "the poster child for the
CAN-SPAM Act." Christopher William Smith was accused of sending
billions of e-mail messages in violation of the federal statute.
Smith's attorneys withdrew from the case several months after it was
filed, and U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said that Smith "refused
to participate in this case, willfully disregarding...discovery
obligations and failing to comply with multiple court orders." In light
of Smith's behavior, Hilton issued a $5.3 million judgment against
Smith, to be paid to AOL, as well as ordering him to pay $287,000 in
legal fees for the ISP. Smith is currently in custody in Minnesota,
waiting to be tried for criminal drug charges stemming from his
operating an online pharmacy.
Wired News, 26 January 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70098-0.html

LAWSUITS TARGET MAKER OF BOGUS SYPWARE TOOLS
The State of Washington and Microsoft have filed separate lawsuits
against Secure Computer, a company they accuse of running a bogus
antispyware racket. According to the complaints, Secure Computer used
pop-up ads and other tools to tell computer users that their computers
were infected with spyware and to offer a service, Spyware Cleaner,
that would remove the unwanted software for $49.95. Microsoft and
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said that the scan that
supposedly revealed spyware was bogus and that the removal service in
fact left computers more vulnerable to spyware. Moreover, the
complaints contend that Secure Computer's messages implied that the
service was in some way connected to or endorsed by Microsoft. The
lawsuits allege that Secure Computer violated a recently enacted
Washington Computer Spyware Act and three other laws. An attorney
representing Secure Computer said the company was shocked at the legal
action and would respond shortly.
ZDNet, 25 January 2006
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6031108.html

AMERIPRISE LAPTOP WITH PERSONAL DATA STOLEN
A laptop containing information on 230,000 individuals was stolen from
the car of an employee of Ameriprise Financial in December, according
to the company. The computer included names and Social Security numbers
for more than 70,000 financial advisors, and names and Ameriprise
account numbers for 158,000 customers of the firm, which was spun off
of American Express last year. Andy MacMillan, a spokesperson from the
company, said that although access to the data is protected by a
password, the data were not encrypted, which is a violation of written
company policies. MacMillan said the company does not believe that the
thief knew about the information contained on the laptop and thinks
that it is unlikely any of the information will be accessed or used
fraudulently.
New York Times, 25 January 2006 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25cnd-data.html




TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2006
  British Courts Find in Favor of Recording Industry
  ISPs in Britain Ordered to Disclose Identities
  Number of ID Thefts Drops, Costs Rise
  Debating the Best Way to Spread Technology
  IBM Joins Free-Database Crowd


BRITISH COURTS FIND IN FAVOR OF RECORDING INDUSTRY
In the first two cases of illegal file trading that went to trial in
the United Kingdom, the High Court has ruled against two men, ordering
them to pay damages to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The two
defendants and three other individuals were accused of illegally
sharing nearly 9,000 songs over the Internet. One defendant argued that
there was no evidence against him. The court rejected that position and
ordered him to make an initial payment of 5,000 pounds; his fine is
expected to rise to at least 13,500 pounds. The other defendant said he
did not know that what he was doing was illegal and pointed out that he
sought no profit. A judge said that "Ignorance is not a defense" and
ordered the man to make an initial payment of 1,500 pounds. The other
three individuals have refused to settle and are awaiting trial.
Officials from the BPI said the rulings were a "massive step forward"
in their efforts to curb illegal file trading. Many of the other
defendants in BPI lawsuits have settled out of court, but more than 50
cases remain outstanding. The BPI has given those individuals a
deadline of January 31 to avoid court action.
BBC, 27 January 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4653662.stm

ISPS IN BRITAIN ORDERED TO DISCLOSE IDENTITIES
In the United Kingdom, the High Court has ordered 10 ISPs to disclose
the identities of 150 individuals suspected of trading copyrighted
software. The Business Software Alliance estimates that one-quarter of
all software used in the United Kingdom is illicit. The court ruling
came after a group called the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST)
petitioned the court to order the disclosures, noting that software
pirates hide behind fake names and bogus e-mail addresses and are
notoriously difficult to track down. FAST said that after it has
obtained the identities of those suspected of illegally trading
software, it will consult with law enforcement authorities. John
Lovelock, an official at FAST, said the group intends to make an
example of software pirates, and the group's legal counsel said the
current court action is "only the first wave of an ongoing strategy."
BBC, 30 January 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4663388.stm

NUMBER OF ID THEFTS DROPS, COSTS RISE
According to a new report from Javelin Strategy and Research and the
Better Business Bureau, the number of individuals victimized by
identity theft has fallen in recent years, but the amount of money lost
to such malfeasance is climbing. Researchers found that about 8.9
million people suffered identity theft last year, compared to 9.3
million the year before. In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission
estimated that identity thieves successfully targeted 10.1 million
individuals. Experts said the decline in the number of victims
indicates heightened awareness and better tools to combat identity
crimes. Even as the number of victims has dropped, the total losses to
such crimes has risen from $53.2 billion in 2003 to $56.6 billion last
year. "Criminals are building up more expertise," said James Van Dyke,
founder and principal analyst of Javelin, "and they have to soak
victims for more money."
Wall Street Journal, 30 January 2006 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113858617249559658.html

DEBATING THE BEST WAY TO SPREAD TECHNOLOGY
Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Laboratory, has sparked
an ongoing debate about how best to bring technology to the developing
world. Negroponte has created a nonprofit organization called One
Laptop Per Child to develop a $100 laptop to be marketed to countries
with limited access to technology. His vision is reportedly taking
shape, with a manufacturer lined up and project organizers close to
signing deals for seven million of the units. Negroponte reportedly
talked with both Microsoft and Apple about supplying operating systems
for his $100 laptops, but he ultimately settled on Linux, a decision
that is said to have riled Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Speaking at
the recent Consumer Electronics show, Gates suggested that instead of
an inexpensive laptop, modified cell phones are a better way to spread
technology. Gates showed a mockup of such a phone, which would connect
to a TV and a keyboard. Negroponte said his group considered a similar
approach but dismissed it as too impractical compared to the laptop
idea.
New York Times, 30 January 2006 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/30/technology/30gates.html

---------------------------------------------------
Folktales in the Classroom
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Arts/Folktales.html
Integrating Folklore, Folk Music, and Traditional Culture Instruction 
Into K-12 Education
THE ORAL TRADITION:
From Gossip to Story Telling.
Life Lessons Learned by hearing the stories.
---------------------------------------------------------------------


IBM JOINS FREE-DATABASE CROWD
IBM has released a free version of its DB2 database, joining Microsoft
and Oracle in offering free database software to developers. The goal
of such products is to encourage software developers to use the
products and write programs for them and to compete with the growing
stable of open source databases, including the popular MySQL. According
to research firm Evans Data, nearly three-quarters of software
developers have worked with an open source database in the past year.
The free version of IBM's database is functionally the same as the
paid version, but it cannot run on all hardware. Systems that can run
the new database must be limited to two processors or two dual-core
chips, and there is a memory limit of 4 GB.
CNET, 30 January 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-6032676.html



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