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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2002 Microsoft Subscription Service Draws Mixed Opinions Regulators Reject Webcasting Fee Tablet PC Gets CEO Test AND EDUCAUSE Releases Report from Current Issues Survey Department of Justice Critical of Student-Tracking Database Maryland University Joins British Open University MICROSOFT SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE DRAWS MIXED OPINIONS Microsoft's recent announcement that it would end some pricing programs for purchasing software and replace them with a subscription model has upset many and spawned debates about the direction of the software industry. Many customers have shied away from the subscription agreements, saying they will cost more and won't provide the level of flexibility of their current arrangements. Analysts at Gartner have urged Microsoft customers to take advantage of current discounts on the subscription service before they expire. According to Gartner, those who wait risk paying significantly more once the discounts have expired and the entire pricing structure is migrated to the subscription model. InfoWorld, 21 May 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_864909_1794_9-10000.html Giga Information Group has a less upbeat interpretation of the situation. Julie Gira, vice president and research fellow at Giga, said, "The ill will generated with the customer is going to take a long time to dissipate." Giga cited a report that indicates one-third of current Microsoft customers are undecided, while another third have a wait-and-see attitude. Gira conceded that the current licensing program for software does need to be overhauled, but said the way Microsoft has handled the change will likely alienate many customers. Her comments did echo those of Gartner when she said that those who wait may pay much more later, and that current customers should make a decision soon, before the deadline arrives. NewsFactor Network, 21 May 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17872.html REGULATORS REJECT WEBCASTING FEE On Tuesday James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, rejected a proposal by the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) to charge Web radio stations a royalty fee for songs they play. The decision was announced without explanation, and it is not clear what action Billington will take. He has until June 20 to issue a recommendation. Small Web radio stations, including many college and other nonprofit stations, had complained that CARP's proposal would put them out of business because the rate, $.0014 per song played, was too high. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had sought a royalty rate higher than the one CARP proposed. According to Cary Sherman, president of RIAA, the group remains optimistic that royalties will be implemented for Web radio. Newsbytes, 21 May 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176700.html TABLET PC GETS CEO TEST This week Microsoft will host its sixth annual CEO summit and will use the event to offer participants a chance to use the long-awaited Tablet PC. The new device is a full-fledged computer that lets users write on the screen using a special pen. Text can then be converted to electronic files and otherwise manipulated. The test comes in the midst of waning interest among other companies for devices like the Tablet PC. According to Martin Reynolds of Gartner, the Tablet PC "is very much a Microsoft-led crusade, and there aren't many people following." Microsoft is undeterred, though, with a dedicated sales force for the devices and 16 further tests scheduled. Wall Street Journal, 22 May 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1022017462806205440,00.html AND ***************************************************** EDUCAUSE RELEASES REPORT FROM CURRENT ISSUES SURVEY EDUCAUSE, the association for information technology in higher education, has published the results of its third annual Current Issues Survey in the current issue of "EDUCAUSE Quarterly." The survey identifies information technology issues according to four measures: strategic importance; potential to become much more significant; demanding more time of campus IT leaders; and demanding significant human and/or financial resources. This year's survey collected responses from 42 percent of the association's nearly 1,300 primary member representatives. Among the findings, results indicate that security management has emerged as an issue of strategic importance to campuses, and that IT staffing challenges in higher education have eased somewhat compared to previous years' surveys. The full survey report is available as a PDF (100K) at the URL below. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 20 May 2002 http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0222.pdf DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CRITICAL OF STUDENT-TRACKING DATABASE The Department of Justice this week released a report highly critical of current systems used to track foreign students, saying also that the replacement system, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), is by itself not an adequate solution. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is expected to use SEVIS to replace its current paper-based system for tracking foreign students. The DoJ report said that for SEVIS to be effective, the INS must recertify 70,000 institutions that enroll foreign students and a program must be put in place to train users on the system and verify the accuracy of data entered in SEVIS. The report also said that the system will not be ready by January 30, the date previously announced for schools to begin using the system. Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 May 2002 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/05/2002052101n.htm MARYLAND UNIVERSITY JOINS BRITISH OPEN UNIVERSITY In February, British distance-education provider Open University announced that it would close its subsidiary, the United States Open University, this summer. After the closure was announced, some of the institutions involved in the U.S. Open University, such as Northampton County Area Community College, were able to find new partners quickly. Others, however, including the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), were left without a distance-education partner. After looking for partner options in America, the school received an offer to join Open University, the British parent organization of the soon-to-be-closed U.S. Open University. Despite initial hesitation at working again with Open University, UMBC expects to finalize the arrangement within about a month. UMBC initially joined Open University for help in offering a master's degree in information systems online. Chronicle of Higher Education, 22 May 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/05/2002052201u.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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