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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2002 ACLU Attacks Patriot Act and Operation TIPS Justice Department Defends Use of the Patriot Act Apple Says No to Macworld Boston AND New Center at MIT to Bridge Academia and Business Nebraska Opts for Online Education to Save Money Web Services Organization to Add Seats to Board ACLU ATTACKS PATRIOT ACT AND OPERATION TIPS A new ad campaign from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticizes recent government actions to fight terrorism, saying that many of them, especially those taken under the Patriot Act and Operation TIPS, infringe on civil rights. A spokeswoman from the group said, "The Bush administration has presented Americans with a false dichotomy that we must choose between being safe or free." The campaign, called "Keep America Safe and Free," directly accuses Attorney General John Ashcroft of disregarding the U.S. Constitution, specifically the First and Fourth Amendments. The ACLU is actively seeking individuals who say they have been victims of unfair or unreasonable government action under the auspices of the Patriot Act or Operation TIPS. Wired News, 16 October 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,55838,00.html JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS USE OF THE PATRIOT ACT The judiciary committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday released four letters from the Justice Department that were sent in response to questions from senior members of the committee concerning the Justice Department's actions under the 2001 Patriot Act. In the letters, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant defended his department's actions, saying that the act has "provided critical assistance" in the fight against terrorism and spies, though the letters don't provide many details. Bryant said most of the specifics about his department's use of the Patriot Act are "secret." Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, one of the committee members whose questions in June led to the four letters from the Justice Department, said that for now he is satisfied with the department's reply. CNET, 17 October 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-962468.html APPLE SAYS NO TO MACWORLD BOSTON Apple Computer has said it will not participate in Macworld when it returns to Boston in 2004. The last Macworld New York will be in July 2003, and Apple may not participate in that event either, citing its disagreement with IDG World Expo to move the show back to Boston. Apple confirmed that it would take part in Macworld San Francisco in January 2003. According to IDG World Expo, Macworld outgrew the convention facilities in Boston, which has hosted Macworld for 13 of 18 years, and this prompted the move to New York. Boston has completed new facilities that can accommodate the convention, prompting the return to Boston. Macworld is expected to generate roughly $40 million for the city of Boston. Wall Street Journal, 17 October 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1034873380445512028,00.html AND ***************************************************** NEW CENTER AT MIT TO BRIDGE ACADEMIA AND BUSINESS The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation opened this week at MIT to facilitate connections between academic innovation and the commercial sector. Charles Cooney, a professor at MIT, said a gap exists between nascent ideas and those which are sufficiently developed to attract investors. The center is funded by a $20 million donation from Desh Deshpande, co-founder of Sycamore Networks, and his wife, Jaishree. The center will award ignition grants, for projects at the conceptual level, and innovation grants, for more mature projects that have mapped out strategies for research and development. The center has already awarded 9 grants, selected from 47 proposals, totaling $1.25 million. Wired News, 17 October 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,55796,00.html NEBRASKA OPTS FOR ONLINE EDUCATION TO SAVE MONEY College Park is an educational center set up in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1992 to provide undergraduate- and graduate-level courses to rural students. The three campuses of the University of Nebraska have provided most of the courses and staff for College Park, but as part of the university system's effort to deal with a $15 million budget cut, the system will shift its attention away from College Park to online programs. Officials said the system can save $225,000 per year in salaries and rent by ending courses at College Park. An official from the system said that although higher start-up costs are expected, he anticipates costs will go down after initial development of online courses. Evidence from online education initiatives at some other colleges and universities, however, suggests that costs may not decline as expected. An official from College Park said he thinks the University of Nebraska's decision to pull out is a mistake but that College Park will continue to offer courses. Chronicle of Higher Education, 17 October 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/10/2002101701t.htm WEB SERVICES ORGANIZATION TO ADD SEATS TO BOARD The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) announced that it will add two seats to its Board of Directors, which currently has nine permanent members, held by companies including Microsoft and IBM. The WS-I was created in February to establish interoperability standards among Web services from different vendors. The new members will have the same responsibilities as current board members but for limited terms. The move is seen as something of an olive branch to Sun Microsystems, which was not included in the formation of the group. Sun has several times expressed interest in joining the group, but added that it wanted equal status to the nine founding members. Microsoft's Net initiative is a direct competitor with Sun's Java technology in the emerging Web services arena. IDG, 17 October 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_957461_1794_9-10000.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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