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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2002 Judge Imposes Injunction Against Domain Registry Wireless Chip Sales Strong Switching Carriers Gets Easier Study Shows High Expectations for Internet Restructuring Saves Korean Chip Maker JUDGE IMPOSES INJUNCTION AGAINST DOMAIN REGISTRY Internet domain registrar Register.com has won an injunction against the Domain Registry of America (DROA) from a federal judge. Register.com has accused DROA of violating trademarks and of misleading domain holders to trick them into changing registrars for their domains. The judge in the case compared the practice to "slamming," a ploy used by some phone companies to trick customers into thinking their phone service had been changed to a new company. A court action this summer prevented VeriSign from sending similarly misleading messages to domain holders. Register.com said it will seek significant monetary damages in the case. A trial date has not been set. CNET, 30 December 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-978862.html WIRELESS CHIP SALES STRONG A report from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) shows an increase in sales of semiconductors from October to November, due in large part to strong performance of wireless chips. Total sales were up 1.3 percent, and sales from November 2001 increased 19.6 percent. Representatives of the SIA said the increase shows a recovery from the high-tech slump and that the recovery "has been building momentum throughout the year." Others noted that the data in the study do not represent what happened over the holiday season in December, and that at least one U.S. chip maker warned of slowing wireless chip sales. Nonetheless, the SIA predicts continued growth in the semiconductor industry. CNET, 30 December 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-978850.html SWITCHING CARRIERS GETS EASIER As of November 24, 2003, switching wireless carriers will be much simpler than it is now. A regulation requiring phone number portability will go into effect, allowing users to change carriers without changing numbers. The wireless industry had fought against the rule, earning a one-year extension of the deadline, but ultimately lost to pressure from consumers and regulators. The process of switching Internet service providers (ISPs) is being simplified as well, due in part to efforts from ISPs and from companies such as Esaya, which has developed a tool that streamlines migrating to a new ISP. Research shows that a majority of users see the difficulty of switching e-mail addresses, calendars, and the like as an obstacle to changing ISPs. According to a representative of Esaya, however, the market is largely saturated, and most of any ISP's current customers have transferred from another provider. Wired News, 30 December 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,56675,00.html STUDY SHOWS HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR INTERNET A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project indicates that most Americans who are not users of the Internet have very high expectations of the Internet. According to the study, 64 percent of nonusers expect that useful information is available online in the areas of health care, government, news, or shopping. For those who use the Internet, 97 percent expect to find information in one of those areas. Overall, many expectations are in fact met by experience when using the Internet. Seventy percent of those in the study said that, typically, they were able to find what they were looking for on the Internet. In the study, satisfaction with news and shopping online rated the highest, while finding information about government ranked the lowest. Associated Press, 30 December 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/693406p-5141654c.html RESTRUCTURING SAVES KOREAN CHIP MAKER A restructuring plan that will save Korean chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc. was approved this week. The company's creditors endorsed the $4.09 billion plan, which includes new funding from several state-controlled banks, marking the latest bailout of the company in recent years. Micron Technology Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG have filed complaints alleging that several firms in South Korea, including Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, are receiving unfair government subsidies. The latest bailout of Hynix is likely to lead to similar complaints from other companies in the computer chip industry. Hynix shareholders must approve the plan before it is finalized. Wall Street Journal, 30 December 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1041241950526882633,00.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 "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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