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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2005 UNO Puts Many Classes Online in Hurricane Aftermath Author and Publisher Pull Books from Google Delaware Court Shields Identity of Blogger Malware Naming Scheme Prompts Disagreement More Hints Point to Identity of Connecticut Library UNO PUTS MANY CLASSES ONLINE IN HURRICANE AFTERMATH Unlike most colleges and universities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which are working to resume classes in January, the University of New Orleans (UNO) will offer more than 1,000 classes starting next Monday, largely through the use of online teaching. The institution already had an established distance-learning operation, and of those classes starting next week, 750 will be taught entirely online. Faculty acknowledge that the format will be awkward at first for some students, but they said getting students and teachers back to work is an important step in regaining some normalcy in their lives. The university is struggling to retain some faculty in the wake of the storm. A number of older faculty have decided to retire, while some newer instructors are seeking employment elsewhere. "We need to accommodate as many people as possible on both sides of the lectern," said Provost Rick Barton. He added, "[O]nce we get pretty good at doing the online instruction, we'll continue doing it for a while." CNET, 5 October 2005 http://news.com.com//2100-1038_3-5889454.html AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER PULL BOOKS FROM GOOGLE Google's controversial program to scan millions of books has run afoul of a very prolific author and his publisher. Jacob Neusner, a research professor of theology at Bard College, has written more than 900 books. Calling Google's book-scanning project a violation of copyright, Neusner requested that his books not be included in the database. Google's response was that Neusner must submit a separate form for each book he wanted excepted from the project. Siding with Neusner, the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, which has published many of Neusner's titles, then told Google it wanted all of its titles excluded from the project as well. Calling the scanning project "unfair and arrogant," Jed Lyons, president of Rowman & Littlefield, said, "[W]e don't want to do business with an organization that thumbs its nose at publishers and authors." Lyons said representatives from Google are trying to persuade the publisher to change its decision. Chronicle of Higher Education, 7 October 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/10/2005100701t.htm DELAWARE COURT SHIELDS IDENTITY OF BLOGGER The Delaware Supreme Court has rejected an effort to identify an anonymous blogger accused of defamatory remarks online. Patrick Cahill, a councilman in the city of Smyrna, had sought the blogger's identity from Comcast following several unflattering postings on the person's blog. Although a lower court judge had denied the blogger's request for protection, the Supreme Court said that court had applied the wrong standard. In the absence of substantial evidence of defamation, Cahill's petition to identify the blogger will be denied, according to the high court. In the ruling, the court said it found for the blogger to protect against what it called "the chilling effect on anonymous First Amendment Internet speech that can arise when plaintiffs bring trivial defamation lawsuits primarily to harass or unmask their critics." An attorney for the blogger said that statements on electronic bulletin boards and blogs are not generally considered factual but are seen as individuals' opinions. The court's judgment, however, did not identify the medium as pertinent in its application of legal standard. New York Times, 6 October 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/technology/06blog.html MALWARE NAMING SCHEME PROMPTS DISAGREEMENT Security experts are of two minds concerning the release of a scheme to provide common names for malicious software. The Common Malware Enumeration (CME) system is designed to eliminate the confusion that often arises when a new piece of malware begins circulating the Internet. As different security companies identify the code, they typically assign different names, causing confusion among computer users as to whether there are multiple threats that need to be addressed or simply one new threat with several names. Starting with the most common and damaging pieces of malware, CME will assign a unique number to each. Trend Micro's David Perry criticized the program for not covering all malware, however. He also said the scheme won't provide any benefit for consumers. His comments were echoed by IBM's Martin Overton, who said CME will make matters worse, and by Boeing's Jeanette Jarvis. Graham Cluley of Sophos, on the other hand, applauded the new system. Larry Bridwell, content security programs manager for security watchdog ICSA, also supports the naming scheme, calling it a good first step and pointing out that it was "never designed to solve the naming problem" but rather to serve "as an index." CNET, 6 October 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-5890038.html MORE HINTS POINT TO IDENTITY OF CONNECTICUT LIBRARY The American Library Association (ALA) has filed a court brief in the ongoing wrangling over a provision of the USA PATRIOT Act that prevents organizations under investigation from publicly speaking about the investigation. Under the terms of that law, federal authorities had sought information from a Connecticut library group, which has been forced to keep its identity secret. An article in the New York Times, though, said the Library Connection Inc., of Windsor, Conn., is the probable target of the investigation. According to the ALA's brief, because the Library Connection has refused to confirm or deny the story in the Times, it is clear that the speculation is correct. Further, because the identity has been guessed, keeping the group from speaking about the investigation is pointless, according to the brief. The brief states: "If the reporting is accurate, the information the government seeks to suppress has already been revealed, and the gag order serves no interest but that of silencing a citizen." Last month a judge ordered that the gag order be lifted, but an appeals court has reimposed the gag order pending its review of the case. Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 October 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/10/2005100601t.htm ***************************************************** 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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