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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2003 Report Shows Drop in File Sharing RIAA Offers Concessions Researchers to Investigate Universal, Super-Fast Internet Mississippi Looks to Crack Down on Diploma Mills REPORT SHOWS DROP IN FILE SHARING According to Nielsen//NetRatings, peer-to-peer service Kazaa has seen a 41 percent drop in activity over the past three months, a drop many attribute to legal action by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against suspected copyright violators. Traffic on Morpheus, which represents much less of the total file-trading market than Kazaa, fell also but by a much smaller margin. Nielsen//NetRatings Analyst Greg Bloom said, "With hundreds of individuals facing real lawsuits, the threat to music file-sharers is very serious" and that "the [RIAA's] message appears to be working." Separately this week, Gallup released results of a poll it conducted in August showing that 83 percent of teens aged 13-17 believed that downloading music was morally acceptable. Frank Newport of the Gallup organization said they would likely repeat the poll and see if the RIAA's lawsuits, filed after the poll in August, have had an effect on the attitudes of teens. Wired News, 30 September 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,60654,00.html RIAA OFFERS CONCESSIONS At a recent Senate hearing on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, the recording industry agreed to notify defendants it accuses of illegal file sharing in advance of taking legal action against them. The Recording Industry of America (RIAA), which recently filed 261 lawsuits against "egregious offenders"--those alleged to have traded 1,000 or more songs--has been criticized for indiscriminately targeting teenagers and seniors alike in its effort to put an end to illegal file sharing through P2P services. Meanwhile, civil liberties groups argue that the RIAA's ability to use subpoenas to identify file traders is unconstitutional. The RIAA's new legal approach would give defendants the opportunity to pay a cash settlement or argue their innocence. RIAA Chairman Mitch Bainwol said, "We are trying to be reasonable and fair and allow these cases the opportunity to be resolved without litigation." Washington Post, 1 October 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25435-2003Sep30.html RESEARCHERS TO INVESTIGATE UNIVERSAL, SUPER-FAST INTERNET Funded by a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a team of researchers led by Hui Zhang of Carnegie Mellon University will investigate the costs and implications of building an infrastructure that would bring extremely fast Internet connectivity to most homes and businesses in the United States. According to Zhang, principal investigator of the so-called "100 Megabits for 100 Million Homes" project, the success of the Internet has raised, rather than answered, questions about fundamental network architecture. Zhang said the Internet must be made faster, more dependable, and more robust. The project will include researchers from Rice University, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, Internet2, and other laboratories and research centers. Researchers will study glass-fiber networks and develop prototypes that could serve as models for a new nationwide network. Chronicle of Higher Education, 1 October 2003 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2003/10/2003100102t.htm MISSISSIPPI LOOKS TO CRACK DOWN ON DIPLOMA MILLS Higher education officials in Mississippi have asked the state's legislators to crack down on diploma mills operating in the state. [Ed.: Many diploma mills operate over the Internet.] According to John Bear, one of the authors of "Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning," which tracks various unaccredited institutions and diploma mills, Mississippi is one of three states yet to pass tough legislation against diploma mills, the other two being Alabama and Wyoming. William E. McHenry of the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is asking that the state require institutions of higher education operating in the state to be accredited by the U.S. Department of Education or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. McHenry also wants the state government to streamline the process for prosecuting institutions that do not adhere to the rules. State Senator Terry C. Burton said the legislature would take up the issue in its next session and would work to institute regulations that would not affect any of the state's legitimate institutions of higher learning, some of which do not seek federally recognized accreditation. Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 September 2003 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2003/09/2003093001t.htm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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