Edupage, December 15, 2004

  • From: Educational CyberPlayGround <admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: K12NewsLetters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 10:29:08 -0500

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Date:         Wed, 15 Dec 2004 16:28:10 -0700
From:         Educause Educause <EDUCAUSE@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Edupage, December 15, 2004


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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
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the intelligent use of information technology.
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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2004
   Google Partners with Libraries to Digitize Content
   New Research Project Will Address Ubiquitous Computing
   Sprint and Nextel Announce Merger Plan
   Movie Studios Target BitTorrent for Legal Action


GOOGLE PARTNERS WITH LIBRARIES TO DIGITIZE CONTENT
Google has announced agreements with major libraries to digitize books
in their collections and make them available online. Google is funding
the project, which is said to have strong support from founders Larry
Page and Sergey Brin, who said that such dissemination of information
has always been one of their goals. Under the arrangements, Google
reportedly will scan all of the eight million books at Stanford
University's library and all of the University of Michigan's seven
million texts. For the others involved in the project--Harvard
University, Oxford University, and the New York Public Library--only
portions of the collections will be scanned. For books whose copyright
remains in effect, Google will scan the entire text but make available
only selected portions online. Books whose copyright has run out will
be available in their entirety. The announcement follows similar
programs from the Library of Congress as well as Amazon to digitize
content of books.
New York Times, 14 December 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/14/technology/14cnd-goog.html

NEW RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ADDRESS UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
Electronics maker Fujitsu and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) have
announced a partnership to study ubiquitous computing. The notion of
ubiquitous, or pervasive, computing is that computers can be built into
all manner of objects, such as clothing, appliances, and cars, allowing
those devices to be networked through wired and wireless connections.
Researchers from both organizations will initially focus efforts on
developing a protocol that would permit various devices to work
properly with one another. Researchers will also work to develop
simpler and more secure wireless technologies, among other areas of
study. Mark Bernstein, president and center director of PARC, said the
project will allow researchers at PARC to make "cutting-edge technology
concepts and visions a reality." Bernstein also noted that the joint
project "will fuel new ideas about the potential for PARC research."
Internet News, 15 December 2004
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3448171

SPRINT AND NEXTEL ANNOUNCE MERGER PLAN
Sprint and Nextel this week announced plans for a $35 billion merger
that would create the third largest cellular carrier in the United
States, behind Cingular and Verizon. Verizon reportedly had been
considering making a bid to acquire Nextel; the deal with Sprint
stipulates that if another company scuttles the merger with its own
bid, that company would be assessed a fee of $1 billion. The combined
company, to be called Sprint Nextel, would have a subscriber base of
more than 35 million, and officials from the two companies said the
merger will allow them to save $12 billion in operating costs and
network upgrades. The deal is expected to close in the second half of
2005. Also under the deal, Sprint would spin off its local telecom
business. Gary Forsee, chairman and CEO of Sprint, will serve as
president and CEO of the new company, while Timothy Donahue, CEO of
Nextel, will become chairman. Forsee said that there will be layoffs as
a result of the merger.
Wall Street Journal, 15 December 2004 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110311826926400811,00.html

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MUSIC, MOVIES And COPYRIGHT LAW
How much do you understand about what you can download
and use in the classroom. Do you know what fair use is?
Find out the issues, ethics and procedures
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Music/Home_MUSIC.html>
Copyright & Copyleft
P2P = PEER TO PEER What is Bittorent?
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Internet/copyleft.html
File Sharing is Not Theft
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Music/musiclaw4.html
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MOVIE STUDIOS TARGET BITTORRENT FOR LEGAL ACTION
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has initiated more
efforts to curb illegal sharing of copyrighted movie files by targeting
operators of services that facilitate the exchange of such files over
the Internet. BitTorrent, as well as eDonkey and Direct Connect, locate
movies that certain users have available for download and direct other
users to those files. BitTorrent relies on "tracker" servers that keep
tabs on what files are available and where they are stored. Though they
do not host any files, those servers also enable the transfer of files
from one user to another. The MPAA's new lawsuits are aimed at
operators of those "tracker" servers rather than at individual traders
of copyrighted files. The MPAA has previously filed lawsuits against
several hundred individuals for illegally trading movie files. An
official from the MPAA said his organization sees the Internet as a
viable channel for distribution of films but that the current actions
target "those who have knowingly chosen to use the net for illegal
activity." Critics pointed out that operators of "tracker" servers
likely are not aware of exactly what files are being transferred.
Wired News, 14 December 2004
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,66034,00.html

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