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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 05, 2004 Report Says File Swapping Continues at Work Ask Jeeves to Acquire Interactive Search Holdings Native Americans Connect with Wireless Technology PeopleSoft Program Adds Premium to Cost of Takeover SAP Integration Tools Take on IBM, Microsoft REPORT SAYS FILE SWAPPING CONTINUES AT WORK According to results of a new survey conducted by Blue Coat Systems, Internet users continue to trade music and other files at work over P2P networks. Despite legal actions taken by the Recording Industry Association of America against file traders and threats of further lawsuits, more than 40 percent of survey respondents still use file-trading networks such as Kazaa and Gnutella, and nearly as many do so while at work. Almost 70 percent said they spend 16 minutes or more per day trading files, and 16 percent said they spend more than an hour each day. Blue Coat Systems is a California-based maker of security tools that can be used to control file sharing on corporate networks. Reuters, 3 March 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=4492307 ASK JEEVES TO ACQUIRE INTERACTIVE SEARCH HOLDINGS Internet search company Ask Jeeves has announced a $343 million takeover of Interactive Search Holdings, owner of search sites including Excite, iWon, and My Search. Ask Jeeves, which is the fifth most-visited search site but only has 3.5 percent of market share for Internet queries, expects the acquisition to double its share, up to 7 percent. After losing significant ground to others in the Internet search market, Ask Jeeves has had a strong rebound, having acquired the search engine Teoma and seeing its stock price nearly triple in the past year. Search engines account for a growing percentage of online advertising dollars, with search-related adds totaling 31 percent of all online advertising money spent in the third quarter of 2003. Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107840224161846454,00.html NATIVE AMERICANS CONNECT WITH WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY A group of 18 Native American tribes in Southern California is using wireless techology for Internet access where wired connections remain unavailable. Because of the high cost of running cables, Internet carriers have chosen to build infrastructure in urban areas and areas with substantial numbers of prospective customers. The 18 tribal reservations included in the Tribal Digital Village (TDV) project include only 15,000 people total. The TDV wireless network covers a mountainous region 150 miles long by 75 miles wide and was built in large part using funds from a grant by HP. The network has more than 900 computers connected to it so far. One of the applications the network serves is educational, with 25 learning labs offering high school and postsecondary courses. BBC, 3 March 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3489932.stm PEOPLESOFT PROGRAM ADDS PREMIUM TO COST OF TAKEOVER According to a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the PeopleSoft Customer Assurance Program (CAP) could add $1.56 billion to the cost of a takeover. Widely regarded as a disincentive to Oracle's hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft, the CAP requires payments to existing PeopleSoft customers if certain conditions are met, such as if the company is acquired and the new company does not continue support of current PeopleSoft applications. Four versions of the CAP have been issued, and the latest would raise the potential cost of an Oracle takeover to nearly $11 billion. The cost, however, might prove to be the least of Oracle's obstacles at this point, after the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week it will oppose the acquisition on antitrust grounds. Internet News, 5 March 2004 http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3322111 SAP INTEGRATION TOOLS TAKE ON IBM, MICROSOFT A new set of integration tools from software maker SAP looks likely to spark new battles with IBM and Microsoft in the market for applications that allow companies' disparate systems to function together. The company is expected to announce details of its NetWeaver 2004 application, which will compete with IBM's Web Sphere and Microsoft's BizTalk Server products. Several smaller companies also offer products in the integration software market. According to analyst Joshua Greenbaum, companies able to succeed in this market could reap billions of dollars. For its part, SAP denied that its NetWeaver application is intended to go against IBM and Microsoft, which have long been partners with SAP, though it did say NetWeaver "is disruptive to the integration platforms." CNET, 5 March 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-7345_3-5170271.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ 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/ ***************************************************** 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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