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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2004 DOJ Lawyers Oppose Oracle Takeover of PeopleSoft Comcast Offers to Buy Disney Diebold Sued for Damages Online Music Sales Pass Albums in U.K. States Should Upgrade 911 Response for Wireless DOJ LAWYERS OPPOSE ORACLE TAKEOVER OF PEOPLESOFT Lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued a recommendation against Oracle's proposed hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, citing antitrust concerns. R. Hewitt Pate, head of the department's antitrust division, will make the final decision on whether to allow the $9.4 billion deal; his ruling is expected by March 2. Many observers were not surprised by the recommendation, saying that DOJ staff involved in the eight-month investigation had given strong hints that they believed the merger would not serve customers of the corporate-applications software market. Executives from PeopleSoft made no comment about the recommendation. Officials from Oracle said they were optimistic that Pate would ultimately approve the merger, despite the recommendation of DOJ staff attorneys. Wall Street Journal, 11 February 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107646744869526584,00.html COMCAST OFFERS TO BUY DISNEY Cable company Comcast has announced a $66 billion offer to acquire Disney, a merger that would put the combined company on roughly similar footing with AOL Time Warner as a giant of both content and distribution. The offer was made public after Disney CEO Michael Eisner recently turned down Comcast's private offer to conduct merger talks. Disney's board has experienced some difficult times lately, with the resignation of Roy Disney--nephew of founder Walt Disney--who has publicly and strongly criticized Eisner for what Disney calls mismanagement of the company. The Disney company has also lost some key business partners, including Pixar Animation Studios. Comcast executives said the merger would help Disney overcome some of these setbacks, though Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said he has not been in contact with Roy Disney or other dissident board members. CNET, 11 February 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5157087.html DIEBOLD SUED FOR DAMAGES Two students from Swarthmore College and Online Policy Group, an ISP, have sued Diebold Systems for allegedly using copyright provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to censure discussions of the company's voting systems. The case concerns cease-and-desist letters Diebold sent to more than a dozen individuals who had posted internal Diebold documents online. The documents indicated that the company was aware of security weaknesses in its systems but did not reveal those weaknesses when it sold voting systems to several states. Diebold later retracted its threats, but the plaintiffs said they want to send a message that such uses of the DMCA are not acceptable. Plaintiffs argue that because the information was used to discuss the benefits and risks of electronic voting, the posting of the documents is covered by fair use. Observers noted that copyright misuse cases are rarely filed under such circumstances; they are more commonly used as a defense against charges of copyright infringement. TechNewsWorld, 10 February 2004 http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/32812.html ONLINE MUSIC SALES PASS ALBUMS IN U.K. According to the British Official Charts Company (OCC), which began keeping track of online music sales in October, British consumers bought more than 150,000 singles online last month, making downloads the second most-popular format for singles. Downloads exceeded 7-inch, 12-inch, and DVD singles and are second only to sales of CD singles. The British Phonographic Industry also reported that sales of CD albums rose by 5.6 percent last year, spurred by lower prices and new British artists. BBC, 10 February 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3475337.stm STATES SHOULD UPGRADE 911 RESPONSE FOR WIRELESS A report from the National Emergency Number Association (NEMA) argues that 911 systems should be upgraded and that states should be responsible for much of that work. Several studies by the association's Strategic Wireless Action Team suggest that one of the most important upgrades should be expanding the wireless capabilities of 911 systems around the country. According to the report, 911 call centers will be able to locate only about half of wireless callers by the end of 2005, though the federal mandate for these technologies specified a deadline of 2001. NEMA said states must assume a greater role in making necessary improvements, including ensuring effective coordination among the various levels of government that are responsible for deploying emergency services. Federal Computer Week, 9 February 2004 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0209/web-e911-02-09-04.asp ***************************************************** 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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