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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2002 Congress Scrutinizes ICANN J.D. Edwards Offers Its First Linux Application UK Worries over Personal Privacy AND New Standard Approved for Fiber Optics Universities Exceed Teraflop of Processing Power Japanese Supercomputer Arrives in Alaska CONGRESS SCRUTINIZES ICANN Members of Congress on Wednesday said they would increase oversight of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), though there are no plans to take control of the organization. Since it was awarded control of most of the domain-name system in 1998, ICANN has been the subject of ongoing controversy, and many government officials agree that ICANN needs to revise many of its policies and procedures. ICANN's current contract expires in September, and some have hinted that if acceptable reforms are not put in place, the contract may not be renewed. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Nancy Victory defended some of ICANN's contentious actions and said that even if another group were running the domain-name system, the same problems would have to be dealt with. New York Times, 12 June 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-icann.html J.D. EDWARDS OFFERS ITS FIRST LINUX APPLICATION J.D. Edwards announced Wednesday that by the end of the year its customer relationship management (CRM) software will be available in a Linux-ported version. Currently the application is available for Microsoft's Windows and Sun's Solaris operating systems. IBM will provide hardware for the project, and the Java-based CRM application will run on IBM's WebSphere software. Linux distributions from Red Hat and SuSE will work with the new product from Edwards. Some analysts applauded the announcement, though Bob Chatham of Forrester Research said users are not concerned with what operating systems their applications run on as long as they are useful. ComputerWorld, 13 June 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_875779_1794_9-10000.html UK WORRIES OVER PERSONAL PRIVACY Privacy advocates in the United Kingdom reacted harshly this week to the government's announcement that the list of organizations allowed to obtain records of users' personal information would be significantly expanded. Under the former terms of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, only law enforcement officials could legally access such information as Web usage and records of e-mail or telephone communications. The new rules allow 24 more organizations access to this data. Privacy groups worry that many of the non-law enforcement agencies are not prepared to handle private information securely and that there will be new and widespread opprtunity for abuse. Concerns were also raised over new provisions that allow access to personal information without consent from a judge. Now, such access can be granted by an agency's senior managers. BBC, 11 June 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2038000/2038036.stm AND ***************************************************** NEW STANDARD APPROVED FOR FIBER OPTICS The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has approved 802.3ae, an Ethernet standard that operates at 10 gigabits per second. Twenty-four companies conducted a successful demonstration of the standard at the Supercomm show in Atlanta last week, and companies including Agilent, Enterasys, Extreme Networks, Foundry, Intel, and Nortel Networks have developed 10 Gbps products. Because the standard only works on fiber-optic cables, however, analysts expect a relatively slow adoption of 802.3ae. Observers said the new standard is likely to be used primarily on metropolitan area networks initially, though Martin van Schooten of Extreme Networks said 10 Gbps backbones will be available "from day one" and the technology would reach the enterprise sooner than others predict. CNET, 13 June 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1033-935809.html UNIVERSITIES EXCEED TERAFLOP OF PROCESSING POWER Purdue University and Indiana University have combined their resources to create a supercomputing grid capable of more than a teraflop of processing. The system uses Purdue's memory configuration and Indiana's computational power, joined over 110 miles by I-Light, a high-performance fiber-optic network operated by the state of Indiana. The total capacity of the system, 1.75 teraflops, ranks the grid as one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. The system will allow researchers to employ extensive computing power to fields including life sciences and DNA research. An official at Purdue said the computer systems as well as the I-Light network will be periodically upgraded. NewsFactor Network, 14 June 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18226.html JAPANESE SUPERCOMPUTER ARRIVES IN ALASKA A new supercomputer made by Japanese computer firm NEC has arrived at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center at the University of Alaska. The arrival marks the latest in the ongoing saga of supercomputers and disputes among the companies that make them. U.S. supercomputer maker Cray complained in the 1990s that NEC was selling equipment below cost and prevented the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, from purchasing an NEC machine. Later the Commerce Department issued an antidumping ruling against NEC. Cray and NEC, however, subsequently agreed to a joint marketing agreement in which Cray sells NEC supercomputers in the United States and NEC invested in Cray. The new machine in Alaska is a scaled-down version of the Earth Simulator, a new supercomputer made by NEC that was recently declared the most powerful supercomputer in the world. New York Times, 14 June 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/14/technology/14SUPE.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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