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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 09, 2002 Sony Chooses Sun in Europe Bonded E-Mail to Limit Spam Orgeon Suffering from Telecom Meltdown AND Western Governors Call for Online Teacher Training Symantec Funds Security Scholarship at Purdue University Chip Could Restore Vision SONY CHOOSES SUN IN EUROPE In the latest development in the slow erosion of Microsoft's dominance in the office software market, Sony announced that its computers sold in Europe will have Sun Microsystems's StarOffice suite. StarOffice is an open-source application, based on an XML file format, and has a user interface not unlike Microsoft's. For these reasons, switching from Microsoft's Office to StarOffice and using StarOffice content with various applications are relatively painless steps for users to take. Cost is cited as the primary reason for Sony's choosing Sun: StarOffice retails for $75.95, while Office sells for $479. The Sony deal with Sun came recently after deals announced by Corel for its office software, WordPerfect, to be installed on computers from Gateway, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. NewsFactor Network, 9 December 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20188.html BONDED E-MAIL TO LIMIT SPAM Instead of blocking unwanted messages, two California-based companies are offering services aimed at limiting spam by ensuring delivery of wanted messages, despite increasingly stringent Internet service provider (ISP) filtering mechanisms. IronPort offers clients "bonded" e-mail, for which clients attest that their messages are directed at recipients who want to receive them. IronPort works with ISPs to ensure delivery of those messages, but if unwanted mail is delivered, the client is liable for costs, even if complaints are not proven. Habeas offers a service, free to private users and licensed to businesses for up to $5,000 per month for bulk e-mailings, that embeds Haiku into messages. The embedded text identifies those messages as valid to the ISPs who agree to the service. Analysts question whether these services that guarantee legitimate e-mail and challenge the future of free e-mail will succeed, and whether they will adequately address the problem of vast and increasing volumes of unsolicited e-mail. New York Times, 9 December 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/09/technology/09SPAM.html ORGEON SUFFERING FROM TELECOM MELTDOWN During the technology boom of the 1990s, 33 companies laid more than 140,000 miles of fiber-optic cable along Interstate 5 in Orgeon, thereby connecting the high-tech areas of Silicon Valley and Seattle. Today, 14 of those companies have filed for bankruptcy, and 95 percent of the fiber cable lies unused. John Walker of Portland State University compares the situation to the gold rush. It makes no sense, he said, for all of those companies to lay separate fiber. The existing fiber represents an investment of around $1 billion and, if the remaining 95 percent were put into service, would require many billions of dollars to equip it for use. Adding irony to the situation is the fact that many Oregonians cannot access the long-haul fiber because local connections are unavailable or too expensive. USA Today, 9 December 2002 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002-12-09-telecom-fallout_x.htm AND ***************************************************** WESTERN GOVERNORS CALL FOR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING The Western Governors Association (WGA), which represents the 19 states west of the Mississippi, has adopted a resolution calling for a program to allow teachers to be trained entirely through distance learning. The governors at the meeting also adopted a resolution calling for the colleges and universities in their states to work together to develop a new computer language, which they called "curriculum markup language," for the distance-learning project. The western states are especially affected by the teacher shortage, and the WGA sees online education as one part of a solution to that problem. Officials from Western Governors University, an online school, proposed standardized courses and requirements so that students in one state could be certified easily in others. United Press International, 9 December 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/667448p-4989114c.html SYMANTEC FUNDS SECURITY SCHOLARSHIP AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY Symantec will fund a scholarship at Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. The scholarship will support one student per year for two years in an effort to address the "huge shortfall in security professionals throughout the country," said Steve Trilling of Symantec. Each student will receive $50,000 per year to be used for tuition and other expenses. Other efforts are under way, including the Cyber Security Research and Development Act and the National Strategy for Securing Cyberspace, to try to address the shortage of security workers in the Unites States. Applications for the Symantec scholarship are due March 1, 2003. CNET, 9 December 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-976548.html CHIP COULD RESTORE VISION Researchers in the United States, including some at the University of California, are developing a microchip that has the potential to restore sight to some who have lost it. The chip is implanted in the eye using a flexible silicon that stimulates undamaged retinal cells. Those cells transmit impulses to the brain, allowing the eye to "see." Researchers have started work on what they call a second-generation implant, with many more electrodes than the prototypes. The prototypes have 16 electrodes, sufficient for patients to detect light. The next-generation implant will have 1,000 electrodes, enough to discern shapes. Successful tests have been conducted three times on dogs, and those involved in the research said a human implant could be ready within three years. BBC, 7 December 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2547491.stm ***************************************************** 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 "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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