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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 07, 2006 EFF Calls for Patent to Be Invalidated Google, EarthLink to Take San Francisco Wireless MIT Researchers Build Micro Batteries EFF CALLS FOR PATENT TO BE INVALIDATED The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has called on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to invalidate a patent that broadly covers technologies that allow tests to be posted and taken online. In 2003, the USPTO granted the patent to Test.com, which has since contacted a number of colleges and universities, as well as businesses, that conduct online testing, saying those services violate the patent. Many of those approached by Test.com believe that the idea of putting tests on the Web is too obvious to warrant a patent. Now, the EFF says it has evidence that, even if the idea justifies a patent, Test.com was not the first to develop the technology to make it happen. According to the EFF, the IntraLearn Software Corporation began selling products with online testing capabilities in 1997, two years before Test.com applied for its patent. Jason Schultz, staff lawyer for the EFF, said that the USPTO would address the validity of the patent, which could take as long as a year or more. If the office determines that a patent is appropriate, said Schultz, it will "a tiny insignificant patent" rather than the very broad patent granted to Test.com. Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 April 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/04/2006040601t.htm GOOGLE, EARTHLINK TO TAKE SAN FRANCISCO WIRELESS San Francisco has chosen Google and EarthLink to build a wireless network that will cover the city. The companies submitted a joint bid, which was selected over five other bids by the San Francisco TechConnect committee. Under the terms of the bid, Google will provide free service at 300 Kbps, while EarthLink will manage a paid service that will cost at most $20 per month and will operate at 1 Mbps. A report recently released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center argued that the Google-EarthLink proposal was the worst of the bids in terms of protecting user privacy. Others had questioned whether the Google-EarthLink network would sufficiently penetrate buildings to reasonably provide full coverage. Chris Vein, executive director of the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services for San Francisco, said that he had not read the report on privacy and that the city would negotiate with the companies to provide as much access as possible. The deal must be approved by the city of San Francisco and reviewed by the Board of Supervisors. CNET, 6 April 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-6058432.html MIT RESEARCHERS BUILD MICRO BATTERIES A team of researchers led by a group at MIT have put viruses--the biological kind--to work in the manufacture of nanowires, which the researchers said can be used to make extremely small batteries. The project involved modifying the genes of the virus such that its outer surface would bind to certain metal ions. Researchers then bred the virus in a cobalt chloride solution, which resulted in the production of cobalt nanowires just 6 nanometers wide by 880 nanometers long. The wires, which also included small amounts of gold so they could adequately transmit electricity, were then used as positive electrodes for batteries. The researchers hope that with this technology they can create batteries as small as a grain of rice. ZDNet, 6 April 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6058703.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 [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. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
