************************************************************** Educational CyberPlayGround Community http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ K12 Newsletters Mailing List - Subscribe - Unsubscribe - Set Preferences http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/K12Newsletters.html Advertise on K12 Mailing List http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/Subguidelines.html All Mailing Lists http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/index.html ************************************************************** Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 16:28:10 -0700 From: Educause Educause <EDUCAUSE@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Edupage, December 15, 2004 ***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. ***************************************************** 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 *************************************************************** 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 *************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to LISTSERV@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to EDUPAGE-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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