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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 06, 2003 Oracle Goes After PeopleSoft Judges Uphold Phone-Number Portability Feds to Review Radio Spectrum AND Caltech Research to Turbocharge the Internet California Moves Toward Tighter Controls on IT Spending Rogue E-Mails at Stanford Circulate Confidential Information ORACLE GOES AFTER PEOPLESOFT Oracle has issued a takeover bid to acquire PeopleSoft, just days after PeopleSoft announced a deal to purchase J.D. Edwards. The Oracle offer will go before shareholders later, but PeopleSoft CEO Craig Conway has already called the offer "atrociously bad behavior." Conway accused Oracle of trying to "disrupt the acquisition of J.D. Edwards." Oracle said that if it is able to take over PeopleSoft, at that point it will decide whether it supports the deal with J.D. Edwards. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said that his company would not preserve PeopleSoft as a separate brand but would combine the PeopleSoft line with its own products. Analysts said the takeover bid is probably bad for PeopleSoft's ability to attract new customers given the current uncertainty about the company's future. Other analysts doubted that the price offered by Oracle is high enough for the takeover to succeed. CNET, 6 June 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-1013893.html JUDGES UPHOLD PHONE-NUMBER PORTABILITY A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled against Verizon Wireless and a cell phone trade group, upholding a rule passed by the Federal Communications Commission that allows cell phone consumers to change carriers but keep their phone numbers. Wireless carriers had argued that the rule was unnecessary, but the judges concluded that having to change a phone number constituted a significant barrier to changing carriers. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, which had challenged the rule, said it was disappointed with the appellate court ruling. Land-line phone carriers are already required to allow customers to keep phone numbers when they change carriers. Reuters, 6 June 2003 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=2890803 FEDS TO REVIEW RADIO SPECTRUM The White House has directed the Commerce Department to conduct a year-long review of how radio spectrum is used and what changes could lead to more efficient use of the spectrum. As increasing numbers of cell phones and other wireless devices compete for space on the spectrum, efficient allocation becomes vital, and the current system for making and changing policies about radio spectrum is generally regarded as cumbersome and ineffective. The Commerce Department will hold public meetings and will lead a task force on the issue of radio spectrum. The process will include groups from government as well as industry, and the process is expected to result in recommendations made to federal officials. Washington Post, 6 June 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20452-2003Jun5.html AND ***************************************************** CALTECH RESEARCH TO TURBOCHARGE THE INTERNET The journal New Scientist reports that a team from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new system called Fast TCP that can significantly boost download speeds, using the existing Internet infrastructure. Fast TCP researchers have achieved speeds of more than 8.6 gigabits per second, or 6000 times the capacity of ordinary broadband. All Internet traffic currently uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which breaks down large files into data packets of about 1,500 bytes. Slow performance occurs from glitches in the process of the sending computer's having to wait for acknowledgement from the receiving computer before sending the next packet. According to the report, FTC software installed on the sending computer predicts the highest supportable data rate connection without data loss by identifying likely packet losses through continuously monitoring the time taken for sent packets to arrive and for acknowledgements to be received. ZDNet, 6 June 2003 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1013969.html?tag=fdfeed CALIFORNIA MOVES TOWARD TIGHTER CONTROLS ON IT SPENDING Just days after two California legislators requested that funds from a California State University System administrative-computing project be redirected to academic programs, the state Assembly overwhelmingly passed a measure that would add state oversight to the system's IT projects. Under the measure, IT expenditures over $1 million would have to be approved by the state's director of finance and would be reviewed by the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance. Colleen Bentley-Adler, director of public affairs for Cal State, said the Cal State trustees, who are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, constitute sufficient oversight. Bentley-Adler also noted that neither the University of California system nor California's system of community colleges is required to report to any state agency. Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 June 2003 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/06/2003060601t.htm ROGUE E-MAILS AT STANFORD CIRCULATE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION The rapidly spreading Bugbear.B computer virus hit Stanford University, randomly sending out files from campus PCs, including highly confidential information about employee salaries and bonuses. Some within Stanford's 35,000 user computer system received rogue e-mail generated by the virus, including Chris Handley, who directs the campus computer system. Handley's team subsequently intercepted messages containing salary and bonus information. Although it is not known if the e-mails were read by those outside Stanford, Handley made the decision to block outgoing e-mails. Handley called the president of the university to inform him that network would be down until the problem is resolved. San Jose Mercury News, 6 June 2003 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6027714.htm ***************************************************** 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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