Edupage, January 11, 2006

From: Educational CyberPlayGround <admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: K12NewsLetters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:46:08 -0500

**************************************************************
K12 Newsletters Mailing List
- Subscribe - Unsubscribe - Set Preferences
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/K12Newsletters.html

Educational CyberPlayGround Community Mailing Lists
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/
Advertise K12 Newsletters Guidlines
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/Subguidelines.html
**************************************************************


**************************************************************
Educational CyberPlayGround
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com

The main purpose of the Educational CyberPlayGround is to help all teachers,
parents, librarians, home schoolers and regular folks, even those with
little or no on-line experience, to use the Internet effectively and aid
teaching.  Find  high-quality material for grades K?12 in the subject areas
for Teachers, Administrators, Online Curriculum, Art, Music, Literacy,
Interent, Security, Technology, Linguistics, National Children's Folksong
Repository Project, Mailing Lists and the Hotlist of Schools Online.
**************************************************************

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, JANUARY 11, 2006
  USPTO to Work with Open Source Developers
  FTC Wins Settlement for Bogus Antispyware Scheme
  U.K. IT Graduates Criticize Universities
  University Looks for Technophobes for Study
  Google Ponders Starting an Online Bookstore
  Data Stolen on Resort Guests


USPTO TO WORK WITH OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPERS
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will participate in a
series of efforts intended to improve the quality of software patents
and reduce the time and money organizations currently spend challenging
and defending patents, particularly for open source applications. As
open source technologies have flourished, high-profile disputes over
the validity of software patents and over so-called prior art have
become a common aspect of intellectual property concerns. Many have
faulted the USPTO for issuing too many patents, saying that many of
them rely on components developed by others. The patent office will
work with open source developers and industry to establish more and
clearer channels of communication about technologies. Such an open
exchange of information, it is hoped, will reduce the number of
unwarranted patents issued while minimizing the efforts spent defending
legitimate patents. In another initiative, the USPTO will develop a
quality index for patents.
New York Times, 10 January 2006 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/technology/10blue.html

FTC WINS SETTLEMENT FOR BOGUS ANTISPYWARE SCHEME
The operators of two supposed antispyware products agreed to pay nearly
$2 million to settle complaints by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
that the products amounted to nothing more than a scam. Last year, the
FTC charged the operators of Spykiller and Spyware Assassin with
running similar schemes to defraud consumers. According to the FTC,
both companies used pop-up ads and e-mail to draw consumers to the
companies' Web sites, where users could supposedly receive free scans
of their machines. After the scans reported spyware, which frequently
did not exist, users were offered a spyware-removal service for around
$30-40. The removal also did not do what was advertised, said the FTC.
In addition, many of the e-mail messages violated provisions of the
CAN-SPAM Act. The makers of Spyware Assassin agreed to pay $76,000,
which represents the amount the FTC spent on its investigation. Makers
of Spykiller will pay $1.9 million.
Internet News, 5 January 2006
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3575421

U.K. IT GRADUATES CRITICIZE UNIVERSITIES
A recent study indicates high levels of dissatisfaction among IT
graduates in the United Kingdom, both with their education and with
governmental efforts to help them find jobs. According to the study,
which was paid for by training firm FDM, 46 percent of respondents said
the training they received in university courses did not provide them
with appropriate skills for today's workplace. Specifically, graduates
complained that they were not taught Java or .Net, two key technologies
in the commercial sector. Forty-one percent of respondents said that if
they had it to do again, they would skip a university education in
favor of entering the workforce and receiving on-the-job training.
Graduates also were not happy with job assistance from the government.
Just 6 percent of respondents said the government is adequately helping
them find work.
The Register, 11 January 2006
http://www.theregister.com/2006/01/11/grads_say_courses_no_good/

UNIVERSITY LOOKS FOR TECHNOPHOBES FOR STUDY
Researchers at the University of Dundee are looking for subjects for a
study about how to make technology more appealing to users who are not
especially comfortable with the latest gadgets. Alex Carmichael,
research fellow at the university, said, "Unfortunately a lot of
'modern technology' tends to be designed by relatively young and
technically savvy people, effectively for other young, technically
savvy people." Many users may believe in the advantages of technology
but are uneasy with having to learn how it works. In addition, the
change between 2008 and 2012 from analog to digital television will
force many users to adjust to new technology, whether they want to or
not. The research project, which is seeking individuals over 40 who
have difficulty adapting to technology, will look at ways to smooth
that transition, including changes to interfaces and controls and
possibly using new devices for purposes that would be more appropriate
for users in their 40s.
BBC, 6 January 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4588322.stm

GOOGLE PONDERS STARTING AN ONLINE BOOKSTORE
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), officials from Google
said they are considering launching an online bookstore, though they
were quick to say such a venture would depend on permission from
copyright holders. Google has been embroiled in ongoing legal disputes
with publishers and other copyright holders over its effort to scan
millions of texts, creating what CEO Eric Schmidt called "the world's
largest card catalogue." Despite Google's contention that the scanning
project does not violate copyright, many copyright holders disagree and
have challenged the project in court. An online bookstore would be a
fundamentally different proposition, according to Google officials, and
such a plan would only go forward with the express permission of
copyright holders. During the CES, Google unveiled an online video
store, the company's first offering that allows consumers to pay for
premium content.
BBC, 10 January 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4598478.stm

DATA STOLEN ON RESORT GUESTS
The owners of a luxury hotel in the Bahamas announced that personal
information on more than 50,000 guests was stolen from the hotel's
computer system. The data stolen from the Atlantis resort on Paradise
Island include names, addresses, Social Security numbers, bank account
information, credit card numbers, and driver's license numbers.
Representatives of the resort said they do not know whether the breach
was the work of an insider or of an outside hacker. They said they have
no reports so far that any of the information has been used
fraudulently, but the resort is notifying all affected guests. Those
affected can take advantage of a year-long credit monitoring service
paid for by the hotel.
CNET, 10 January 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6025591.html

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
Copyright statements to be included when reproducing
annotations from K12 Newsletter

The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when
reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

EDUCATIONAL CYBERPLAYGROUND
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com
K12 Newsletter copyright
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/K12Newsletters.html

FREE EDUCATION VENDOR DIRECTORY LISTING
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Directory/

HOT LIST REGISTRY OF K12 SCHOOLS ONLINE
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Schools/
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Edupage, January 11, 2006

Other related posts: