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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 Publishers Give Online Magazines to College Students New Kind of High School Opens in Philadelphia Security Breach Compromises Second Life Customers PUBLISHERS GIVE ONLINE MAGAZINES TO COLLEGE STUDENTS The Magazine Publishers of America is sponsoring a program that will provide free online magazine subscriptions to college students in an effort to draw them into magazine readership. Magazine publishers have long dealt with distribution problems for college students, who typically change addresses frequently. At the same time, publishers are working to understand how digital delivery fits into the larger picture of magazine readership. During the program, students at five institutions will have the option of subscribing to a particular publication, a different one for each school. Students who opt in will receive e-mails with links to the online version of the magazine, which is identical to the printed version, including advertisements. Organizers hope that after students graduate and settle down, they will become subscribers and readers of the magazines' print version. Nina Link, president and chief executive of the Magazine Publishers of America, stressed that her organization believes that digital and print versions are both viable but in different contexts. Other publishers agreed. Jack Kliger, president and chief executive of Hachette Filipacchi, said that each medium has advantages over the other but that both are important. New York Times, 7 September 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/business/media/07adco.html NEW KIND OF HIGH SCHOOL OPENS IN PHILADELPHIA The city of Philadelphia and Microsoft teamed up to create a new kind of high school, one that its designers hope will usher in different kinds of learning to better suit the needs of today's companies. About 170 students--mostly black kids from low-income families--make up the first freshman class of the School of the Future. The school brims with technology--students carry laptops instead of books, the entire facility has wireless Internet access, teachers use interactive smart boards--but it also takes a new approach to the structure of a school day. School runs from 9:15 a.m. to 4:19 p.m., approximating a typical office work day, and students have appointments with teachers rather than strict class times. As they move through lessons, students' computers monitor how much they are learning and adjust lessons accordingly. To graduate from the school, which is expected to have 750 students eventually, students must apply to college. Doug Lynch, vice dean of the Graduate School of Education at The University of Pennsylvania, said the project is interesting in that it breaks such new ground but noted that "we have to be careful because you're messing with kids' lives." San Jose Mercury News, 7 September 2006 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15463748.htm SECURITY BREACH COMPROMISES SECOND LIFE CUSTOMERS Linden Labs, maker of the popular Second Life online virtual world, sent a letter to its 650,000 subscribers notifying them that a customer database had been compromised. According to the letter, all subscribers are required to change their passwords, which the company believes is the "best course of action." According to the company, the breach was discovered last week, at which point an investigation was launched. Because of the kind of breach that took place, the company is unable to say exactly which data may have been accessed. The database in question contained names, addresses, passwords, and some credit card information. Linden Labs also said it would implement new security measures on the Second Life site to help prevent future hacks. CNET, 10 September 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6114046.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
