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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MAY 05, 2006 EDUCAUSE Announces Current Issues Results OCLC and RLG Announce Merger Ohio University Exposes Personal Data Philadelphia Wi-Fi Nears Approval File-Sharing Landscape Evolves EDUCAUSE ANNOUNCES CURRENT ISSUES RESULTS EDUCAUSE has released results from its seventh annual Current Issues Survey, which gauges attitudes among campus IT leaders about the significance of a range of issues. This year's results represent responses from 628, or 37 percent, of EDUCAUSE member institutions. Most respondents are CIOs at their respective institutions. Notable in this year's results was the rise of "Security and Identity Management" above "Funding" as the top issue in terms of strategic importance. The survey also found that "Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity," which had only appeared on the top-ten list once before, has become a growing concern for many respondents, landing fourth for strategic importance. In addition, "Enterprise-Level Portals," which had been represented on the top-ten lists in several previous years, was not on the list this year, reflecting the technology's evolution from a hot topic to one that, at many institutions, has been addressed and is now seen as an ongoing service. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 5 May 2006 http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm06/eqm0622.asp OCLC AND RLG ANNOUNCE MERGER The OCLC Online Computer Library Center and the Research Libraries Group (RLG) have announced plans to merge. If approved, the merger would combine the two largest resource catalogs for libraries--RLG's Union Catalog and OCLC's WorldCat. Clifford Lynch, executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information, welcomed the merger, saying it will put OCLC's resources "much more in the direct service of research libraries." Pamela Snelson, president-elect of the Association of College and Research Libraries and the librarian at Franklin and Marshall College, agreed that the merger would be good for users. "One larger database will help the average person be able to find information in a more effective and timely manner," she said. The plan must still be approved by two-thirds of RLG's 150 members. Under the terms of the merger, RLG would become a division of OCLC. Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 May 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/05/2006050402t.htm OHIO UNIVERSITY EXPOSES PERSONAL DATA Officials at Ohio University said that a compromised server exposed personal information on about 300,000 individuals for more than a year. William Sams, CIO and associate provost for information technology at the university, said unusually high traffic tipped off IT staff that there was a problem. After investigation, it was determined that hackers had accessed a server that contained an alumni database that included more than 137,000 Social Security numbers as well as data on donations and amounts. The database did not include credit card information. Sams said the data had been exposed since March 2005. The university is working to notify individuals whose data was exposed and to offer them advice about how to minimize the risk of identity theft. Two people in the database have reported misuse of their personal information. Although one was found to be unrelated to the breach at Ohio University, officials are still trying to determine if the other incident is connected. Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 May 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/05/2006050401t.htm PHILADELPHIA WI-FI NEARS APPROVAL Philadelphia's long-debated citywide wireless network is on the verge of having final approval, after which implementation of the network is expected to begin within a few weeks. The network has raised a range of objections since it was initially proposed, and supporters of the effort have had to make a number of changes and concessions. A city council committee, which was the last step before a vote by the full city council, demanded that language be added to ensure EarthLink will use contractors who work with minorities, women, and people with disabilities. In addition, Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit that will oversee the network, will have a larger board than originally planned, with broader representation from the city council and from various municipal offices. The full city council is expected to approve the deal, at which time EarthLink will begin installing wireless transmitters on 4,000 utility poles owned by the city. The network, which will charge a lower rate to poor users, is expected to be finished in 18 months. CNET, 3 May 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-6068350.html FILE-SHARING LANDSCAPE EVOLVES The fallout continues from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that found that the file-sharing service Grokster could be sued for copyright infringements taking place with its application. After that ruling, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) pressed a number of file-sharing companies to modify their operations or face legal action. Grokster settled with the RIAA in November, and, in the latest announcement, BearShare has settled with the RIAA for $30 million and committed to stop facilitating illegal file sharing. Another file-sharing company, iMesh, which settled with the RIAA in 2004 for $4.1 million, announced it will acquire the assets of Free Peers Inc., which owns BearShare. Robert Summer, CEO of iMesh, said his company is "committed to transitioning the compelling experience of [peer-to-peer file sharing] to an authorized marketplace." Streamcast Inc., which owns the Morpheus file trading application, is pressing on with its defense against the RIAA. Wall Street Journal, 5 May 2006 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114678807401044401.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. 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