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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2002 Businesses Find Time and Money Savings with Linux Linux Finds Support in Latin and South American Governments GovNet Moves Closer to Development AND Google Hunts for Compliance with DMCA Sabotage Information Removed from Searches Software Bugs That Aren't Flaws Mainframe Skills Needed, But Not Yet BUSINESSES FIND TIME AND MONEY SAVINGS WITH LINUX Some large companies are finding Linux a highly attractive alternative to Microsoft. British Petroleum, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Winnebago, and Korean Air have moved much of their computer operations over to Linux, and as many as 15 banks in London are also using Linux. According to Scott Harrison, director of Linux distributor Red Hat, many companies are drawn to Linux because software upgrades are not tied to hardware upgrades, as they often are for new Microsoft products. Other factors helping Linux include concerns over software licensing costs from Microsoft and the ability to make very powerful Linux clusters using old hardware that would not work well with new Microsoft products. IBM has moved 841 internal servers to Linux, according to David Valentine, IBM Linux sales and marketing executive, and will move many more because it offers a "structured low-service way" to lower costs. ZDNet, 22 April 2002 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-887961.html LINUX FINDS SUPPORT IN LATIN AND SOUTH AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS A bill currently making its way through the Peruvian legislature would require government computers to run free, or open-source, software, and similar moves have taken place in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Aside from the financial gains from not having to purchase software, many see these measures as a refutation of the whole idea of proprietary software. Open-source applictions like Linux allow developers to modify code for their own needs. Tony Stanco, a senior policy analyst at George Washington University's Cyberspace Policy Institute and the founder of Free Developers.net, told the World Bank in December that the home-grown industry that open-source requirements could foster "liberates them, gives them an income source, and allows them to tap into the world economy like nothing else." Wired News, 22 April 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51902,00.html GOVNET MOVES CLOSER TO DEVELOPMENT The General Services Administration last year solicited comments about the feasibility of building a separate, secure, federal intranet for vital government functions. After reviewing the 167 comments filed, the federal cybersecurity advisors determined that the project, called GovNet, was in fact feasible. Howard Schmidt, the vice chairman of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, said that the federal government should be proactive in dealing with potential threats to the electronic infrastructure of the government, rather than simply responding to problems as they arise. The next step will be deciding if GovNet is an appropriate solution. Some experts have said that the same result could come from developing a virtual private network for sensitive government functions. Newsbytes, 19 April 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176029.html AND ***************************************************** GOOGLE HUNTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH DMCA Google is trying a new approach to balance the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with the concerns of users who want uncensored access to online material. Last month the Church of Scientology sent a complaint to Google that, under the DMCA, required the search engine to remove links to Web pages allegedly in violation of Scientology copyrights. Advocates of free speech complained that the filtering of results for this reason was inappropriate. Google now sends such complaints, and URLs that are de-listed because of the complaint, to ChillingEffects.org, a recently launched site that offers information about copyright compliance. When Google searches return de-listed results, users are informed of that and directed to the Chilling Effects site, which includes a list of all pages removed from Google. New York Times, 22 April 2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/22/technology/ebusiness/22NECO.html SABOTAGE INFORMATION REMOVED FROM SEARCHES In response to a request from Deutsche Bahn, AltaVista and Google have removed links from their search results to a URL that includes instructions for sabotaging railway systems. According to Krista Thomas, marketing and communications director for AltaVista, Deutsche Bahn e-mailed a request that the page be de-listed because it was in violation of German law. Google received a similar request, and both search engines agreed to block access to the URL in question. Newsbytes, 19 April 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176028.html SOFTWARE BUGS THAT AREN'T FLAWS A new privacy tool presented last week at the 12th Annual Conference of Computers, Freedom, and Privacy detects Web bugs. Web bugs are very small image files that are downloaded when users visit Web pages with the bugs. Bugs then send data about the computer, and sometimes about the user, back to their creators, often advertisers. One bug was found to have sent, among other pieces of data, the user's login name and password, his real first and last names, and the location of his house, apparently derived from a cookie that was on his computer. Bugnosis, the new tool to expose Web bugs, alerts users with a sound when it finds a bug. It then shows where the bug is on the screen, gives the Web address of the bug, and opens a box that lists the information being passed. Bugnosis was developed by researchers and support from Boston University, the University of Denver, and the Privacy Foundation. United Press International, 21 April 2002 http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/369905p-2979546c.html MAINFRAME SKILLS NEEDED, BUT NOT YET Many companies have extremely large amounts of money and time invested in legacy mainframe systems. According to experts, these systems will need to be maintained for "quite a number of years." Despite a current lack of open positions for people with mainframe skills, predictions are that in about five years there will be a significant need for those skills. Meta Group Inc. said that most people with mainframe experience are more than 50 years old and that most companies do not have a strategy to deal with the projected loss of these personnel. Analysts at Gartner highlighted the risk companies face because so much of their daily operations are based on skills that are no longer taught in schools. According to Kent Howell, computer operations manager at Illinois Power Co., the problem is coming and "it's never too early to start planning." ComputerWorld, 22 April 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_851224_1794_9-10000.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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