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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 05, 2006 Chinese Authorities to Tighten Control of Internet Access Britain Pulls Plug on National Grid for Learning Paris Looks to Increase City Access New Mac Targets Education Market CHINESE AUTHORITIES TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OF INTERNET ACCESS Chinese authorities, keen to exert considerable control over access inside the country to online content it finds objectionable, has announced plans to increase restrictions on Internet and cell-phone technologies. Among the proposals is a requirement that users of cell phones would have to register themselves. Currently, Chinese citizens can use cell phones anonymously, which allows many millions to access and share information that would otherwise be prohibited by the government. Search engines are another likely target for tightened control. Despite recent agreements with major search engines operating in the country, "more and more harmful information is being circulated online," according to Cai Wu, director of the Information Office of the State Council. The planned crackdown riled many Chinese bloggers, but others, including Wang Yi, law professor at Chengdu University, were more optimistic. Wang noted that each generation of new technologies has been censored by government authorities but that new tools continue to appear, staying one or two years ahead of the restrictions. New York Times, 4 July 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/world/asia/04internet.html BRITAIN PULLS PLUG ON NATIONAL GRID FOR LEARNING The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) has discontinued the National Grid for Learning, which was set up in the late 1990s to help introduce technology into British schools. Despite its name, the National Grid for Learning was not a grid but a collection of resources and links to help educators use technology for teaching. In the years since the grid was launched, many schools have developed local tools for connecting their resources with those of other schools, eliminating one of the primary purposes of the national grid. Other services developed in the past six years have also offered alternatives to the grid. According to a statement from the Department for Education and Skills, the grid "was always a time-limited programme" and has been replaced with a new effort to use technology to improve learning. Research conducted by BECTA tends to indicate a small benefit to students from the use of technology in schools. BBC, 4 July 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/5145882.stm PARIS LOOKS TO INCREASE CITY ACCESS The mayor of Paris has announced plans to significantly increase Internet access in the city, through both wired and wireless channels. Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said that the city will work with private companies to establish a free Wi-Fi network across Paris by the end of 2007. The access points for the network would be located in parks, squares, libraries, and other public areas. The city will also cut taxes on fiber-optic cables in an effort to increase the availability of high-speed connections to 80 percent of the city. Currently, 60 percent of Parisians have access to high-speed Internet, according to Delanoe. Under the proposal, which Delanoe will submit to the city council next week, fees for fiber-optic cable running through the city's sewer system would fall by one-fourth. Additionally, companies would be eligible for tax breaks as high as 90 percent on the first 400 meters of fiber-optic cabling that is installed to buildings that are not currently connected to high-speed lines. ZDNet, 4 July 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6090503.html NEW MAC TARGETS EDUCATION MARKET Apple Computer has announced it will introduce a new iMac designed for the education market, replacing the current machine geared toward students and teachers--the eMac. For $899, the education-focused iMac features a 17-inch flat panel monitor, rather than the eMac's CRT, allowing it to take up considerably less space, and an Intel Core Duo processor. The computer will also use less power than previous models, according to Apple, and the new iMacs will come with a video camera and software for videoconferencing or to record podcasts, for example. Apple said the new computer is intended to serve the needs of students and teachers, whether for research or for producing reports and presentations. eWeek, 5 July 2006 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1984961,00.asp ***************************************************** 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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