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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, APRIL 05, 2004 Colleges Test Copyright Filters University Plans Mirror Campus Online Supercomputer-on-the-Fly Works but Misses Mark Search Sites Stop Showing Gambling Ads COLLEGES TEST COPYRIGHT FILTERS Central Washington University and another unnamed college have become the first to test an application, made by Audible Magic, that scans files sent over the institutions' networks looking for files believed to be copyrighted. When such a file is identified, the application blocks the transfer and notifies the sender. Chris Timmons, a network engineer at Central Washington, said his institution has been using the application in residence halls for two months and has come to rely on the tool to enforce the university's acceptable-use policy. Critics of the tool argue that it infringes on the privacy of users, saying that protection of copyrights does not justify such an intrusion. A spokesman from Audible Magic rejected the privacy criticisms, saying his company's product does keep a record of songs traded but merely interrupts the transmission. He also said the company will release a new version of the application, designed specifically for colleges and universities, that prevents network administrators from identifying file traders. Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 April 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/04/2004040502n.htm UNIVERSITY PLANS MIRROR CAMPUS ONLINE A long-term project at the University of Illinois at Springfield will create a "mirror" campus online that offers all of the institution's 39 degree programs over the Internet. The university appears to be the first to create such a mirror, which will not affect the offerings of the institution. Instead, students will have the option of taking any course on campus or online. Those involved with the project said one of its goals is to keep online education in the mainstream. The university expects to have eight degree programs online by this fall, with another eight online within three years. The remaining degree programs are expected to be available online in about 10 years. Funding for the project comes in part from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which said it intends to make grants to other institutions that want to pursue similar programs. Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 April 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/04/2004040503n.htm SUPERCOMPUTER-ON-THE-FLY WORKS BUT MISSES MARK A project led by a graduate student and a professor at the University of San Francisco was able to link several hundred computers together with open source software to create a temporary supercomputer, though it failed to produce the speeds the organizers had hoped for. John Witchel, a graduate student, and Prof. Greg Benson linked 669 computers on loan from the university, from an online brokerage firm, and from individuals who had heard about the project. The two used Linux-based software to connect the heterogeneous group of computers in a gymnasium to form an ad hoc supercomputer, which was able to reach a computational speed of 180 gigaflops. Witchel and Benson had hoped to have as many as 1,400 computers and to reach 550 gigaflops, which would have made the machine one of the top 500 supercomputers worldwide. The organizers nonetheless hailed the experiment as a success because it was able to link hundreds of disparate computers. Internet News, 5 April 2004 http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3335691 SEARCH SITES STOP SHOWING GAMBLING ADS Search engines Google and Yahoo have announced they will no longer run advertisements for online casinos, which U.S. officials say violate American anti-gambling laws. Overture, the Yahoo subsidiary that sells sponsored links on the site, attributed the decision to the "lack of clarity" of legal and regulatory implications. MSN, which purchases advertising links from Overture, confirmed it would also stop running casino ads as a result of Yahoo's decision. Officials from Google said the company would end casino ads in all of its markets, whereas Yahoo will continue to include the ads on its sites outside the United States. Lycos has also indicated its intention to stop running casino ads, though a date for such an action has not been announced. Lost revenue from the ads is not expected to have a significant effect on the search companies, but some believe the lack of exposure will have an enormous impact on casinos' ability to reach customers. New York Times, 5 April 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/technology/05yahoo.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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