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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2002 Judge Says Itanium Violates Patents Has the High-Tech Job Market Seen the Bottom? Guarantee from Gateway AND Presidents of Six Organizations Push for End to Piracy Bandwidth Limiters Upset Students, Please Faculty and Staff Digital Radio Gets A Big Step Closer JUDGE SAYS ITANIUM VIOLATES PATENTS A federal judge in Texas has ruled that Intel's new Itanium chip infringes on patents held by Intergraph Corporation. Judge T. John Ward identified nine areas where the Itanium chip violated Intergraph's patents, saying, "The accused processors perform the identical function .. and use the same or equivalent structure to do so." The patents in question date from 1996 and 1997. An official from Intergraph said the ruling will allow the company "to actively pursue open licensing with others." A spokesman from Intel said the company disagreed with the ruling and would consider an appeal. The two companies had reached an agreement before the trial specifying damages of $150 million, and Intel may end up paying another $100 million to license the technology. Analysts noted, though, that Intel has spent an estimated $1 billion developing the Itanium and that the ruling is not likely to have a significant impact on those efforts or on public acceptance of the chip. Wall Street Journal, 11 October 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1034286863659635236,00.html HAS THE HIGH-TECH JOB MARKET SEEN THE BOTTOM? Data from a new study by the American Electronics Association suggest that the technology sector may have reached its low point and could be stabilizing. Despite more losses in the sector for the first half of the year, May and June saw stable high-tech employment figures, ending 14 consecutive months of decline. Stephen Fuller, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, said, "I think when we get done with the year, we will have seen the shakeout hit its bottom in the summer." Fuller, who tracks the economy for the Washington, D.C., area, said that despite commercial job losses in the region, overall the area suffered less than other metropolitan areas because of increased government spending on technology. Washington Post, 10 October 2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3521-2002Oct9.html GUARANTEE FROM GATEWAY PC maker Gateway announced a new money-back guarantee program for servers. Customers will have 90 days to decide if they are happy with the performance of the machines. Unhappy customers can get a full refund. The company hopes that happy customers will become loyal Gateway customers and will refer others to Gateway products. Gateway hopes to regain lost ground in the flagging computer market, where it faces stiff competition from Dell, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard. Most other major PC makers offer money-back options, but Gateway says it is the first to have a 90-day guarantee. Others typically end at 30 days. CNET, 11 October 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-961746.html AND ***************************************************** PRESIDENTS OF SIX ORGANIZATIONS PUSH FOR END TO PIRACY The presidents of six higher education organizations have signed a letter urging U.S. colleges to try to end illegal sharing of music and video files using college networks. The letter was signed by the presidents of the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Sheldon E. Steinbach, vice president and general counsel for the American Council on Education, said the risk of "legal liability for copyright infringement" was a factor in the groups' writing of the letter, which was sent to presidents of all U.S. colleges and universities. The letter does not recommend any specific course of action, but, according to Steinbach, college officials should view the problem as one of legal, business, and budgetary importance. Chronicle of Higher Education, 10 October 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/10/2002101002t.htm BANDWIDTH LIMITERS UPSET STUDENTS, PLEASE FACULTY AND STAFF Student downloads of music and video files have slowed many college and university networks to a crawl, making it difficult for faculty and staff to perform their jobs efficiently. Many institutions have adopted a new strategy of limiting bandwidth to student residence halls during the day, when faculty and staff are on campus and need the network to function quickly. Many students have complained about the limits, saying that during the restricted hours, downloading music and video files takes a prohibitively long time. However, the limitations do not prevent students from sending and receiving e-mail and small attachments, which do not degrade network performance the way large audio and video files do. Restrictions are usually lifted in the evenings, when faculty and staff are not working. A spokesman for Packeteer, which makes products that allow such bandwidth restrictions, said their product is being used by approximately 600 U.S. colleges and universities, as well as by almost 150 elementary and high schools. Associated Press, 10 October 2002 http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/10/10/college.computers.ap/ DIGITAL RADIO GETS A BIG STEP CLOSER On Thursday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the transmission of digital radio signals through existing analog channels, paving the way for digital broadcasts while still allowing users without digital receivers to continue hearing radio signals. The FCC also gave its endorsement to a patented technology, from a private company called iBiquity Digital, to broadcast digital radio in analog channels. Some involved in low-power radio stations, including many on college campuses and in small towns, oppose the new technology, saying it will significantly degrade their ability to reach their listeners. The digital transmissions, they say, will crowd the allotted spectrum, making weaker signals much harder to receive. The FCC acknowledged those concerns and plans to address them in a final standard. In the meantime, broadcasters have approval to begin digital transmissions, and the first are expected before the end of the year. New York Times, 11 October 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/11/technology/11RADI.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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