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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2005 Committee Makes Progress on Higher Ed Act Senators to Address Shortage of Science Grads Medicare to Provide Free Software for Doctors Also****************************************** National Cybersecurity Test Scheduled Britain to Track, Control Terrorist Web Sites Legal Online Music on the Upswing Government Changes E-Learning Web Site Name COMMITTEE MAKES PROGRESS ON HIGHER ED ACT The House Education and the Workforce Committee met again Thursday to review legislation to renew the Higher Education Act, the law governing federal student aid and other higher education programs in the U.S. Education Department. The group adopted a plan to let student borrowers who consolidate several loans choose between a fixed and a variable rate, but retained a maximum interest rate of 8.25 percent. An amendment reduces funds for lenders and guarantee agencies by decreasing the amount of government reimbursement to those companies when students default on their loans. The maximum offered through Pell grants was left unchanged. Inside Higher Ed, 22 July 2005 http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/07/22/hea SENATORS TO ADDRESS SHORTAGE OF SCIENCE GRADS U.S. Senators said they will propose a bill next week to increase federal funding of multidisciplinary research and support for "revolutionizing" manufacturing technologies and processes. The legislation will also increase spending for the Technology Talent Act, which provides grants to colleges and universities to increase the number of science and engineering graduates. The proposed legislation is based on the 2004 National Innovation Initiative Report released by the Council on Competitiveness. That report calls for creating 5,000 new federally funded graduate fellowships, reworking immigration laws, and building 10 "innovation hot spots." Internet News, 21 July 2005 http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3521851 MEDICARE TO PROVIDE FREE SOFTWARE FOR DOCTORS Medicare has announced plans to give doctors free software to computerize their medical practices because the lack of electronic records is an obstacle to improving health care. The software is a version of the Vista electronic health record system, which has been used for 20 years by health providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Medicare will also publicize the companies trained to install and maintain the system. Although total costs have not been estimated, costs per practice are expected to run $10,000 to $12,000 compared to $20,000 to $25,000 for each doctor in a practice that implemented a commercial software system. New York Times, 21 July 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/21/health/21records.html ALSO*************************************** NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY TEST SCHEDULED The Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security division plans a test of the nation's cybersecurity incident response capabilities with an exercise scheduled for November 2005 called Cyber Storm. The announcement came in written testimony by Acting Director Andy Purdy before a Senate subcommittee earlier this week. ZDNet, 22 July 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5799876.html BRITAIN TO TRACK, CONTROL TERRORIST WEB SITES Following recent terrorist attacks on London's public transit system, the British government announced plans to tighten oversight on people who run Web sites inciting terrorism. In speaking to Parliament on July 20, Home Secretary Charles Clarke acknowledged that the government would have to "tread carefully" around free speech in instituting changes to the national security policies. Clarke said he intends to draw up a list of unacceptable behaviors, such as preaching, running Web sites, or writing articles intended to provoke terrorism. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and intelligence agencies will be instructed to build a database of people who provoke terrorism. Immigration officers will have access to the database, and the government is planning changes to the law to make it easier to deport religious extremists whose behaviors meet the revised policies. ZDNet, 22 July 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5798787.html LEGAL ONLINE MUSIC ON THE UPSWING According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), more than 180 million songs were legally downloaded in the first half of 2005, with Apple's iTunes the clear leader in the market. Apple recently announced that it had sold 500 million downloads. Subscribers to legal music services reportedly have increased from 1.5 million in January 2005 to 2.2 million by midyear. Although that number doesn't indicate how many songs subscribers have actually obtained, the subscription model is based on monthly fees of $10 to $15. Apple sales are expected to continue increasing as sales of its iPOD music players continue to grow. The Register, 21 July 2005 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/22/ifpi_download_stats/ GOVERNMENT CHANGES E-LEARNING WEB SITE NAME After discovering that the popular GoLearn.gov Web site, which offers more than 3,000 e-learning courses, has a name similar to that of a commercial distance learning company, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is changing the Web site's name to usalearn.gov. The change will take effect at the end of July. Federal Computer Week, 22 July 2005 http://www.fcw.com/article89648-07-22-05-Web ***************************************************** 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 [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] ***************************************************** 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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