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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2002 Translating Phone Numbers to Web Addresses Stirs Contention Incremental Copyright Compromise Flag Telecom Files for Chapter 11 Protection Ashcroft Wants to Use Technology Against Terrorism AND New Institute Will Study Digital Technology Software Quandary: Buy or Lease College Stations Threatened by Webcasting Royalties TRANSLATING PHONE NUMBERS TO WEB ADDRESSES STIRS CONTENTION A proposed new service called ENUM (http://www.enum.org/) would associate e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for registered users, but even supporters of the service cannot agree on how to implement it. Users who register with an ENUM provider would be able to give out a single identifier--their phone number with an Internet extension--which could be used to phone or e-mail the person. The ENUM provider would direct phone calls and e-mails to their appropriate destinations. Although officials from many countries support such a service, there is disagreement about the extension that would be added to phone numbers and whether there should be a single registry or competitive firms offering ENUM services. The Economist, 11 April 2002 http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1080495 INCREMENTAL COPYRIGHT COMPROMISE The 1992 Audio Home Recording Act guarantees consumers' rights to make copies for personal use of legally purchased recorded music. This freedom is often compromised, however, when anti-piracy tools are added to CDs to discourage illegal file sharing, and these restrictions anger many consumers. SunnComm, a maker of anti-copying technology used on CDs, offers a new feature that it hopes will satisfy both the record labels that want to protect music and consumers who want the ability to make legal copies. SunnComm's anti-piracy tool lets consumers send songs by e-mail. After the e-mailed song has been played a certain number of times, it cannot be played again. Some criticized SunnComm's approach because it only works with Windows Media-formatted files and because the files are too large for many users' e-mail programs to handle. CNET, 12 April 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-882221.html FLAG TELECOM FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 PROTECTION Flag Telecom, one of the leaders in the fiber-optic market, last week filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The company has been a pioneer in large-scale, transcontinental networks and had recently finished a significant undersea fiber-optic project. The market for global telecom and bandwidth has been hit hard by economic troubles, lower than expected demand, and increased efficiency and capacity of existing networks. Other recent bankruptcies in the field include 360networks, Carrier 1, and two of Flag's customers, PSINet and Global Crossing. Wired News, 15 April 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51800,00.html ASHCROFT WANTS TO USE TECHNOLOGY AGAINST TERRORISM Attorney General John Ashcroft has instructed the Justice Department to build a Web-based tool to share information about terrorists among federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. The system would allow users to view data, including documents and photographs, and to send and receive e-mail. According to Ashcroft, "Information is the best friend of prevention." This new project comes as information is shared more freely among the FBI, DEA, INS, Marshals Service, and the Foreign Terrorist Task Force. Newsbytes, 12 April 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175861.html ALSO ***************************************************** NEW INSTITUTE WILL STUDY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will fund a new institute to study ways that technology can improve scholarly communication. The Scholarly Communication Institute, developed by the Council on Library and Information Resources and the Dartmouth College Library, will host a small group of experts in the field to discuss innovation and improvements that technology allows in the ways scholarly information is generated, distributed, and archived. The institute will hold at least three annual sessions, which will take place at the Dartmouth campus. CLIR, 11 April 2002 http://www.clir.org/pubs/press/2002_mellsci.html SOFTWARE QUANDARY: BUY OR LEASE Colleges and universities increasingly face with the decision of whether to buy or lease software. The decision is especially complex when dealing with Microsoft, according to officials on many campuses. Despite the advantages that leasing offers, including typically lower overall costs, software upgrades, and simpler monitoring of licenses, many institutions are skeptical about the long term effects of leasing. Many express concerns about the possibility for changing price structures for leases, as well as the potential difficulty if a school wanted to get out of a lease. Still, many institutions are cautiously moving to leasing. Sean Robert Gallagher of Eduventures said that Microsoft benefits from leasing its products because the revenue is more stable and predictable than with purchases. Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 April 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i32/32a03301.htm COLLEGE STATIONS THREATENED BY WEBCASTING ROYALTIES The Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel of the U.S. Copyright Office is considering a proposal that would require Internet-only Webcasters to pay $.0014 per song streamed. The rule would be retroactive, forcing stations to pay back royalties to 1998. Opponents of the proposal said it would be an unreasonable burden on small, nonprofit stations like those at many colleges and universities. Supporters of the proposal include the Recording Industry Association of America. A final decision is expected by May 21. Newsbytes, 12 April 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175860.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html 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] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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