***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2003 Microsoft and AOL Reach Truce Bell Companies Cooperate on Fiber-Optic Standards Report Says CIA Not Using IT Creatively Downloadable Movies That Self-Destruct AND Northwestern Goes for Multicasting Music and Adult Content Spur European Broadband MICROSOFT AND AOL REACH TRUCE Rivals Microsoft and AOL Time Warner have settled their dispute over Internet browsers. AOL is dropping its antitrust suit, filed against Microsoft in January 2002, that alleged anticompetitive business practices favoring Microsoft's Internet Explorer browsing software over Netscape's software. Netscape, a subsidiary of AOL and the former industry leader, now claims only five percent of the browser market compared to Internet Explorer's 90 percent. Microsoft has agreed to pay AOL $750 million and to license free-of-charge its browsing software to AOL through 2010. In addition, AOL and Microsoft will collaborate on new digital media initiatives and product compatibility, including integrating their instant-messaging services. AOL, which currently uses RealNetworks Inc.'s digital services, can also license Microsoft's digital media and antipiracy digital rights management technology. In addition, Microsoft will provide technical information on its Windows operating systems and will pair AOL-branded Internet service software with Windows on some hardware, which could expand AOL's reach by millions. The deal issues in a new era of cooperation between the software and media giants. New York Times, 30 May 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Microsoft-AOL.html BELL COMPANIES COOPERATE ON FIBER-OPTIC STANDARDS Verizon Communications, SBC Communications, and BellSouth have agreed on technical standards for installing fiber-optic connections to homes. Fiber-optic networks are not uncommon in corporate applications, but a regulation requiring phone companies to share their networks has prevented all but a small number of residential installations of fiber. The regulation is being lifted, however, and the three largest regional Bell companies will cooperate on offering residential access to networks that can provide phone, data, and TV signals faster than DSL or cable modems. A spokesman from SBC said the agreement is typical of any maturing technology, which needs a single standard to be effective. Wired News, 29 May 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59035,00.html REPORT SAYS CIA NOT USING IT CREATIVELY A report written by a member of a CIA think tank argues that the agency's use of information technology is handicapped by a culture that treats technology as a threat rather than a benefit. In the report, "Failing to Keep Up With the Information Revolution," Bruce Berkowitz writes that the agency's focus on security prevents the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence "from applying information technology more effectively." Berkowitz points to a CIA database, the Corporate Information Retrieval and Storage (CIRAS) database, which the report states is the most-used database at the CIA. Compared to systems outside the CIA, he said, CIRAS is primitive. Because of the shortcomings of CIRAS, CIA analysts depend largely on an informal source network, according to Berkowitz, who characterized such an informal network as "exactly what the World Wide Web does in an automated fashion when it is combined with a search engine like Google or Alta Vista." Internet News, 29 May 2003 http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/2213741 DOWNLOADABLE MOVIES THAT SELF-DESTRUCT So-net, a subsidiary of Sony, will introduce versions of electronic movie files that include digital rights management (DRM) software to try to prevent unauthorized copying. The software breaks a movie file into many pieces and saves them in various locations on a user's hard drive. Part of the software then puts the pieces together in such a way as to allow the movie to be played smoothly. The intent of such a system is to prevent users from simply making copies of the movie. Secondarily, the DRM software imbeds code into movie files that causes them to self-destruct after a specified period of time. Even if a user is able to assemble the pieces of the movie to make a copy, the file will stop working automatically. So-net will test the system in Japan soon, and Walt Disney will conduct tests of a similar program in the United States. ZDNet, 30 May 2003 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1011581.html AND ***************************************************** NORTHWESTERN GOES FOR MULTICASTING Northwestern University will provide live, round-the-clock C-Span and C-Span2 connection broadcasts to anyone with an Internet2 connection through a technique called multicasting. Multicasting effectively addresses the bandwidth challenge of simultaneously broadcasting digital-video signals to many viewers in scattered locations. Where traditional video broadcasting over data networks requires creating multiple broadcast copies at the source and sending a copy to each recipient's computer, multicasting creates only one copy at the source and sends it over the network to be copied by the network router closest to each viewer's computer. Multicasting requires that certain software be installed on campus routers and Internet-backbone routers, along with state-of-the-art hardware. Some believe that such requirements will make the technology inaccessible to many campuses. Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 May 2003 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/05/2003053001t.htm MUSIC AND ADULT CONTENT SPUR EUROPEAN BROADBAND A study by Nielsen/NetRatings finds that high-speed Internet access in Europe is on the rise--up by 136 percent in the past year--fueled primarily by appetites for pornography and music. Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, and Spain have a high percentage of broadband users, with the last two countries at 40 percent. Although the U.K. broadband market is the fastest growing, it trails behind at 20 percent, followed by Italy at 15 percent. The study finds that the change in how people connect to the Internet affects how they use the Internet. Those with faster access spend more time online and visit more Web sites--particularly adult content and file-sharing sites--than dial-up users. An estimated 60 percent of broadband traffic is occupied by file-sharing activities, and experts predict these and other services that hog bandwidth will compel broadband providers to charge extra for downloads. And, though broadband users may protest, they should expect new fee structures and limits on bandwidth consumption in the future. BBC, 30 May 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2947966.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. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2003, EDUCAUSE
