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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2002 Make Your Point Through Hacking New Venture Lets Subscribers Keep Online Music Files SDMI Fades into History AND Blackboard Targets Current WebCT Customers Apple Goes after Education Market with New Machine Panel Moves to Relax 12-Hour Rule, Despite Opposition MAKE YOUR POINT THROUGH HACKING A pair of hackers calling themselves the Deceptive Duo has compromised and defaced the Web sites of organizations including NASA, the FAA, and Cameroon Airlines. The purpose of their actions, according to the duo, is to highlight "how sad our country's cyber-security really is." Victims do not see the hacks as beneficial or informative: Paul Takemoto of the FAA said they have reported the incident to the FBI and requested that the pair be prosecuted if caught. Michael Erbschloe of Computer Economics said whatever the intent, the duo's actions are still illegal. InformationWeek, 25 April 2002 http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020425S0019 NEW VENTURE LETS SUBSCRIBERS KEEP ONLINE MUSIC FILES EMI and Liquid Audio will offer a new online music subscription service, called BurnItFirst, that allows users to keep downloaded music files even after the subscription runs out. Users can also burn songs onto CDs. The service is unique since other industry-backed online music services typically do not allow burning, and their songs "expire" when the subscription runs out. Experts agree that this more common model, where users effectively rent music, is a tough pill for consumers to swallow because they want the option to buy music, record it onto a CD, and keep it forever. BurnItFirst, however, will at least initially only make available songs from the Christian music catalog at EMI. Pressplay, a venture of Universal Music Group and Sony Music, is the other service that allows burning, but only for 20 percent of downloaded music. Los Angeles Times, 29 April 2002 http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000030404apr29.story SDMI FADES INTO HISTORY Four years ago the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) was created by members of the music and technology industries to put an end to illegal copying and distribution of electronic music files. The goal was to create digital protections that would prevent music from being played by unauthorized users. But changing technologies and consumer demand for freely traded files ultimately overcame the efforts of SDMI. One of the early members of SDMI today says that "SDMI may have been the wrong medicine for anything." New efforts to control the illegal sharing of music have taken the form of government legislation, including a recent bill from Sen. Hollings, and efforts from a new group called the Digital Media Device Association. Wired News, 29 April 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,52163,00.html AND ***************************************************** BLACKBOARD TARGETS CURRENT WEBCT CUSTOMERS A new program from e-learning services provider Blackboard allows current WebCT customers to migrate existing systems to Blackboard without major outages or loss of content. The program, called EasySwitch, is Blackboard's latest move to try to become the dominant provider in the e-learning market, which has shrunk considerably through attrition and acquisitions. Blackboard also lured Stavros Cademenos, a vice president at WebCT, to leave that company and head Blackboard's international development program. Carol Vallone, president and chief executive of WebCT, said her company has a strong, loyal base of customers, and WebCT has its own program to make it easy for customers to switch from Blackboard to WebCT. Washington Post, 29 April 2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64793-2002Apr28.html APPLE GOES AFTER EDUCATION MARKET WITH NEW MACHINE Apple Computer, which has the largest installed base of computers in schools in the United States, has introduced a new computer, the eMac, targeted at regaining some of the ground it has lost recently, especially to Dell. Dell has attracted many education customers, due to low prices for powerful machines, and because of the dominance of Windows-based software. The eMac is built around a 17-inch CRT monitor in a single unit, similar to the iMac introduced in 1998. Steve Jobs said CRTs were chosen over LCD screens for cost considerations. Prices for the eMac range from $999 to $1,999; they will not be available to consumers, but teachers can purchase them for their homes. Wall Street Journal, 29 April 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1020032454787927520,00.html PANEL MOVES TO RELAX 12-HOUR RULE, DESPITE OPPOSITION A 14-member panel of the Education Department was unable to reach a unanimous decision to change the 12-hour rule, which requires schools not operating on semesters, trimesters, or quarters to offer at least 12 hours of in-class instruction per week for students to receive federal finacial aid. Opponents of changing the rule say it guards against fraud. Even though the panel did not reach unanimity, officials at the department said they will move to change the rule to require "one day" of course work per week. Supporters of the change said seat time is a poor measure of educational program quality and that the rule disadvantages non-traditional, including online, instruction. Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 April 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/04/2002042901u.htm ***************************************************** 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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