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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2003 Cellular Carriers Criticized for Performance in Emergencies Library of Congress Seeking Partners for Digital Project New British Task Force to Fight Movie Piracy Intel Gains as AMD Loses Faster Wireless, but Not Compatible with Standards CELLULAR CARRIERS CRITICIZED FOR PERFORMANCE IN EMERGENCIES After intermittent cellular service during last week's power outage, many consumers and industry watchers are highly critical of the idea that cell phones offer consumers added security in times of emergencies. Some wireless carriers have urged consumers to "cut the cord" on landline phones and rely entirely on a cellular phone. Some experts said that cell phone infrastructures are not built to be redundant, the way landline phone networks are. Claims about added safety from having a cell phone, they argue, are unfounded. Wireless carriers stood by their claims that cellular phones are extremely reliable and indeed offer consumers a measure of security they cannot have if they depend on a landline phone. The power failure was responsible for gaps in service, they said, not the networks themselves. Wall Street Journal, 18 August 2003 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106106896616183400,00.html LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEEKING PARTNERS FOR DIGITAL PROJECT The Library of Congress is looking for partners for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, whose goal is to protect digital content from being lost. Applications are being accepted through November 12 for awards of between $500,000 and $3 million, which will be distributed in February of next year. Organizers of the program said it will work to create a system for gathering and preserving content such as Web sites, electronic books and journals, and films and sounds in electronic format. A spokesman for the Library of Congress said that the project is not one that the library can do without a group of committed partners. Federal Computer Week, 15 August 2003 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0811/web-loc-08-15-03.asp NEW BRITISH TASK FORCE TO FIGHT MOVIE PIRACY The film industry and government of Britain will jointly form a new Anti-Piracy Taskforce to address the growing problem of pirated movies in the country. According to the Federation Against Copyright Theft, sales of pirated DVDs and videos grew 80 percent last year, costing the industry 400 million pounds. Copies of some movies have been available before the films were released in theaters. The task force will include members from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; film producers; distributors; cinema owners; and the actors' union. John Woodward of the U.K. Film Council characterized the growing problem of piracy as a threat to the country's film production. Further, he said, such purchases often put money "straight into the hands of organized criminals." BBC, 17 August 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3158227.stm INTEL GAINS AS AMD LOSES According to a new report from IDC, market share for Intel has risen in the second quarter proportional to a decline for AMD. Overall market share for Intel rose 1.2 percent, to 81.6 percent, as it slid for AMD by 1.1 percent, to 17.2 percent. Analysts attributed the swing to success of Intel's Centrino line of processors and to delays in the introduction of AMD's 64-bit processor, Athlon. Despite shipping slightly fewer desktop processors, Intel was also able to maintain revenue because of larger numbers of higher-priced products, including processors with the company's hyperthreading technology and a new 800 MHz front-side bus. Observers said that AMD's Athlon processor is likely have a significant impact on the market when it is released in September. NewsFactor Network, 18 August 2003 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22106.html FASTER WIRELESS, BUT NOT COMPATIBLE WITH STANDARDS A start-up company will release a wireless chip set that reportedly betters Wi-Fi technology in speed and effective distance, but the technology is not compatible with Wi-Fi components. Officials from Airgo Networks hope that the benefits will outweigh the lack of compatibility. Airgo's chip set, which is based on multiple-in, multiple-out technology, is said to offer transmission speeds of up to 108 Mbps, compared to Wi-Fi's maximum of 54. In addition, Airgo said its wireless components will work as much as six times further from transmitters than Wi-Fi. An official from Airgo said his company will propose that its technology become the standard for wireless industry research that aims to raise the transmission rate to 200 or more Mbps. New York Times, 17 August 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/18/technology/18WIFI.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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