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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2002 Weight of Ongoing Lawsuits Too Much for Kazaa Record Label Sells MP3 Single FCC Issues New Rules for Wireless Spectrum AND Changes to XP Allow Users to Add Non-Microsoft Applications E-Learning Providers Not Profitable Yet, But Getting Closer Building a Life-Like Human Body for Medical Students WEIGHT OF ONGOING LAWSUITS TOO MUCH FOR KAZAA The company that created the Kazaa file-sharing software has said it will not continue in the ongoing legal battles with the recording industry. Kazaa BV, which sold the Kazaa software to Sharman Networks recently, said it cannot afford the legal costs of the battle and will accept a default judgment from the U.S. District Court in California. The Kazaa application will continue to operate because of its sale to Sharman, a move the recording industry sees as a legal maneuver to shield the company's valuable assets from the litigation. Officials at Kazaa BV accused the recording industry of lengthy and expensive legal tactics designed not to address copyright law but to wear down defendants. Entertainment companies blamed the file-sharing companies for the costly delays and discounted claims that the file-sharers are low on money. Streamcast Networks and Grokster, two other file-sharing companies, are also facing copyright infringement allegations from the recording industry. Newsbytes, 23 May 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176729.html RECORD LABEL SELLS MP3 SINGLE Maverick Records and Vivendi Universal Net USA have reportedly become the first major record label to sell an unencrypted MP3 file on the Internet. For 99 cents, consumers can buy the track, a remix of "Earth" by bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, and do whatever they want with it--copy it, trade it, send it over e-mail. Analysts said the label is seeing how well, if at all, the honor system will work. A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America declined to comment on the move by its member. Observers said other major record labels will be watching closely to see the reaction to Vivendi's action, which some analysts described as a step in the right direction. Newsbytes, 24 May 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176747.html FCC ISSUES NEW RULES FOR WIRELESS SPECTRUM The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week changed some of the rules for the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Under the old rules, data transfer rates for the spectrum were limited to 11 Mbps. Because of this cap, technologies such as orthogonal division multiplexing (OFDM) that operate at higher data rates had to use the 5.1 GHz band, which has some disadvantatges compared to the 2.4 GHz band, including a weaker signal and more difficulty traveling through walls. The new rules remove the cap on data rates, giving approval for the recently introduced 802.11g standard to operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. The changes also allow the coexistence of wireless LAN and Bluetooth devices. InfoWorld, 23 May 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_865444_1794_9-10000.html AND ***************************************************** CHANGES TO XP ALLOW USERS TO ADD NON-MICROSOFT APPLICATIONS As part of its proposed settlement last year with nine states and the Justice Department, Microsoft is modifying the Windows XP operating system to allow users to install non-Microsoft applications for e-mail, Web browsing, and others. The settlement has not received formal approval, and nine other states are still pursuing their anti-trust case against the software maker. Nonetheless, Microsoft will release a "service pack" this summer with the changes outlined in the settlement. Computer manufacturers that build machines with XP as the operating system will have new options for how they configure the computers they ship to consumers, though Gateway Inc., Dell Computer Inc., and Toshiba Corp. are still undecided about exactly what changes they would make. Consumers who already have computers with XP will be able to download the service pack or order it on a CD from Microsoft. Wall Street Journal, 24 May 2002 http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1022192707516578560,00.html E-LEARNING PROVIDERS NOT PROFITABLE YET, BUT GETTING CLOSER Despite predictions last year from the three leading e-learning software companies that they would be profitable this year, none of them is there yet. Blackboard, Inc. has revised its goal for profitability from the middle of this year to sometime before the end of the year. The company's chairman said they are "sort of tantalizingly close." The chairman of eCollege said his firm hopes to be profitable by the middle of next year. Top officials at WebCT said they are still on target to be profitable this year, though they would not offer more specifics. Analysts said the higher education market does not offer much room for further expansion, so companies must either eliminate competition or venture into other areas, such as corporate training, if they are to achieve profitability. Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 May 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/05/2002052301u.htm BUILDING A LIFE-LIKE HUMAN BODY FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS The Living Anatomy Program is building a synthetic human body that creators hope will provide medical students with a life-like model, one that looks, feels, and behaves like a real human. David Fineberg, who directs the project at the University of Buffalo, said the goal is a model that medical students can use to practice surgical procedures, including the vital tactile training used, for example, in separating "an adhesion between two pieces of intestine." The model will work with surgical tools, including scalpels and scissors, that mimic the sensations of actually cutting and snipping flesh. Wired Magazine, 1 June 2002 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/start.html?pg=7 ***************************************************** 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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