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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2002 Pentagon to Release Some Radio Frequencies H-P Ends Reseller Deal with Dell AOL Instant Messenger Will Not Work with Rivals AND New Hard Drive Strives for Security Concerns Grow over Possible Network Disruptions KPNQwest to Shut Down Network PENTAGON TO RELEASE SOME RADIO FREQUENCIES The White House announced Tuesday that the Pentagon would free up two portions of the wireless spectrum, making them available for commercial uses. A third range of frequencies, deemed too important to give up, will remain the property of the Defense Department. Officials at the Pentagon had previously tried to retain all of the spectrum it currently holds, but relented under pressure from industry groups wanting more spectrum for technologies such as streaming video and high-speed Internet access for mobile devices. The Pentagon will move its applications to other frequencies by the end of 2008. The newly available spectrum will be sold, and the proceeds will cover the costs to transfer the Pentagon's applications. New York Times, 23 July 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Allocating-Airwaves.html H-P ENDS RESELLER DEAL WITH DELL Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will stop selling hardware including printers and scanners to Dell, which has re-sold the devices for four years. H-P said the move was in response to rumors that Dell will enter the printer market with its own branded products, but some analysts said H-P was more likely motivated by its recent merger with Compaq, which competes directly with Dell's PC sales. Dell has not confirmed that it will begin selling its own printers. An analyst with IDC suggested that because of H-P's market share and Dell's ability to get printers elsewhere, the change will have minimal impact on either company. NewsFactor Network, 23 July 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18723.html AOL INSTANT MESSENGER WILL NOT WORK WITH RIVALS America Online has said that making its popular instant messaging application compatible with rivals' products is too expensive. The company will instead focus on establishing contracts with other vendors allowing AOL to operate instant messaging systems for them. AOL and other providers of instant messaging, including Microsoft and Yahoo, have said for several years that they support interoperability, which would allow their systems to work similar to phone lines, across various providers. AOL conducted a test of interoperability last summer. Although the test was successful, AOL said implementing the system and addressing security would incur significant expense. Some observers criticized AOL for apparently turning its back on compatibility, saying AOL is choosing instead to guard its large base of users. Associated Press, 24 July 2002 http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/476814p-3810077c.html AND ***************************************************** NEW HARD DRIVE STRIVES FOR SECURITY In an attempt to provide increased secuirty for Web sites, the Tokyo-based company Scarabs has developed a prototype hard drive with two heads, one a read-write head and the other a read-only head. In practice, the device would only allow a Web server access to the read-only head, eliminating the possibility that a hacker could deface or modify data. A separate computer could use the read-write head to update the data on the hard drive. Because the heads function independently, there is no sychronous control between them, according to the company. An analyst at Gartner said that although it does nothing to prevent hackers from accessing information, the system provides a good means to guard the integrity of a site's content. CNET, 14 July 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-946083.html CONCERNS GROW OVER POSSIBLE NETWORK DISRUPTIONS Recent troubles, including some high-profile bankruptcies, in the telecommunications industry have caused concern about the viability of high-speed research networks. Two trans-Atlantic circuits between Internet2's Abilene backbone and its European counterpart, Geant, had been provided by KPNQwest, which recently declared bankruptcy. The circuits are still functioning, but it is not clear for how long because no one is maintaining them since KPNQwest's bankruptcy. Replacement circuits have been ordered from Level 3 and Deutsche Telekom, but continued friction among telecoms threatens to delay activation of the new circuits. Instability in the telecom sector poses potential setbacks for other projects, as well, including a planned upgrade of the Abilene backbone by Qwest, a shareholder of KPNQwest. Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 July 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/07/2002072301t.htm KPNQWEST TO SHUT DOWN NETWORK Officials at KPNQwest said they have begun to shut down their network, formerly Europe's largest, handling about half of the region's Internet traffic. KPNQwest declared bankruptcy in May. Since then, court-appointed trustees of the company have kept the network running. Last Friday, however, was the last payday for the staff, who subsequently walked out, leaving the network running but without any support. An official at KPNQwest said that because its customers had time to find other carriers, he expected the impact of the shutdown on Internet traffic to be small. CNET, 24 July 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1033-946056.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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