***************************************************** 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, AUGUST 22, 2003 New FCC Rules for Telecoms Canadian Wireless Providers Support Wi-Fi Standards California Woman Files Motion Against RIAA Sobig Called Fastest-Spreading Worm Cornell Tests Wireless Campus Tours Facial Recognition Pulled from Tampa Streets NEW FCC RULES FOR TELECOMS The Federal Communications Commission released rules that preserve the right of telecommunications companies to gain access to regional phone companies' voice networks at wholesale prices. At the same time, the FCC abolished rules that had allowed broadband providers access to the high-speed parts of the regional phone companies' lines, a change that could significantly affect DSL providers. According to the FCC, the rules, which affect only residential customers, are intended to foster competition and provide stability to the telecommunications market. FCC Chairman Michael Powell wrote a dissent. The rules are expected to be challenged in court by companies who will lose inexpensive broadband access to regional phone lines. San Jose Mercury News, 22 August 2003 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/local/6592058.htm CANADIAN WIRELESS PROVIDERS SUPPORT WI-FI STANDARDS Canadian mobile phone companies have agreed to set common operating standards for Wi-Fi high-speed Internet connection technology. The agreement reportedly covers roaming among the public Wi-Fi access points the companies operate. Aliant, BCE's Bell Mobility, Microcell Telecommunications, Rogers Wireless Communications, and Telus will participate. The group expects to have standards in place and to be operational in 2004. USA Today, 21 August 2003 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-08-21-canadian-wifi_x.htm CALIFORNIA WOMAN FILES MOTION AGAINST RIAA A legal motion filed in Washington, D.C., federal court by a "Jane Doe" Internet service subscriber challenges the recording industry's file trading subpoenas as unconstitutional and a violation of the plaintiff's right to privacy. The suit is the first by an individual whose personal information has been subpoenaed by the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA has subpoenaed the identities of more than 1,000 computer users who have allegedly been offering copyrighted songs on file-trading networks, with the goal of filing copyright lawsuits against the individuals. Because the subpoena was issued to the plaintiff's Internet service provider, the plaintiff must petition the court for the right to challenge the subpoena. CNET, 21 August 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5066754.html SOBIG CALLED FASTEST-SPREADING WORM The Sobig.F worm has claimed the dubious distinction of being the fastest spreading virus to date. The virus flooded e-mail servers and inboxes, slowing corporate and university network access and causing some e-mail systems to be taken offline. The assault seems to have eased since August 21, when the malicious e-mail reportedly accounted for about 70 percent of e-mail around the world. Security analysts claim the virus hit the Internet so hard because it uses Trojan-horse applications distributed by earlier variants of the Sobig worm. Infected computers became hidden proxy servers, allowing the Sobig-F worm to employ spamming techniques. Sobig-F is designed to stop on September 10, leading analysts to suspect another variant will appear soon thereafter. Internet News, 21 August 2003 http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/3066881 CORNELL TESTS WIRELESS CAMPUS TOURS To make touring the Cornell University campus easier, Cornell is experimenting with a research project underwritten by Intel that involves context-aware computers. Visitors carry a Palm organizer equipped with a global positioning system and the Campus Aware tour guide program. Students in the university's Human-Computer Interaction Group load text-based information into each Palm and tag the unit to the latitude and longitude of campus landmarks. When those stored components match the components calculated by the GPS unit, the Palm beeps and displays notes of the official history along with comments added by previous visitors to that spot. The current user is invited to add a remark as well. The new notes are synchronized each night with those on other Campus Aware units. Recent Cornell graduates Kiyo Kubo and Nick Farina, who developed the Campus Aware project, have started a company called Spotlight Mobile to program off-the-shelf hardware for palmtop tours. New York Times, 21 August 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/21/technology/circuits/21gpss.html FACIAL RECOGNITION PULLED FROM TAMPA STREETS Police in Tampa, Florida, are removing facial recognition software linked to street surveillance cameras in the Ybor City entertainment district after a two-year deployment failed to produce any arrests. The test program was paid for by Identix, the producer of the software. The decision to end the test was based on lack of results, said a police spokesman, not because of privacy issues. The surveillance cameras, which were installed in Ybor City in 1997, will remain. Wired News, 21 August 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60140,00.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. 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
