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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2004 Survey Finds U.S. Kids Continue Downloads Dell and HP Increase Support for Recycling Programs Yahoo Debuts New Antispam Tool SURVEY FINDS U.S. KIDS CONTINUE DOWNLOADS A survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) indicates that a majority of U.S. children continue to download songs, despite acknowledging they know it is illegal. According to the survey, 88 percent of kids between the ages of 8 and 18 know that most popular music is copyrighted, but 56 percent download music files anyway. Survey participants said they were generally more concerned about downloading viruses in music files than being prosecuted for copyright violations. The BSA, which represents software companies including Microsoft, Apple Computer, and Adobe, said the study shows that despite growing awareness of the legal issues surrounding file trading, more needs to be done to discourage users from trading copyrighted material. The BSA estimates that piracy costs its members $13 billion a year. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) are cosponsoring a bill that would criminalize the sharing of more than 1,000 songs on P2P networks. Berman noted that awareness of illegal activity is not sufficient and that computer users "need to have ... the fear of getting caught" to curb illegal file trading. Washington Post, 18 May 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37231-2004May18.html DELL AND HP INCREASE SUPPORT FOR RECYCLING PROGRAMS Computer makers Dell and HP have announced increased support for computer recycling programs, easing the financial burden for consumers and local governments. Their announcement coincided with the release of a report from the Computer Takeback Campaign, a project that rates corporate environmental responsibility. HP and Dell received the highest marks on this year's report card from the project, which is part of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Both companies offer recycling of consumer products for between $13 and $30. HP has been a vocal critic of a recycling law set to take effect in California that requires consumers to pay a recycling fee to a local government when they purchase certain computer devices. Control over recycling programs, according to HP, should remain with computer makers. Officials with the Toxics Coalition agreed. Executive Director Ted Smith said, "[C]ompanies have to set up these systems, not governments." New York Times, 19 May 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/19/business/19compute.html YAHOO DEBUTS NEW ANTISPAM TOOL Yahoo this week released a new e-mail standard called DomainKeys that aims to limit spam by preventing spammers from spoofing return addresses. The problem of spam has grown to the point that large ISPs block as many as 2.5 billion e-mails daily that are identified as spam, much of it pretending to come from a legitimate return address that did not send the message. Yahoo's approach would embed an encrypted key in outgoing e-mail messages that matches a key on the server that sent the messages. E-mail providers could easily check to see if the keys match, and, if not, those message could then be blocked. The DomainKeys standard could also help fight "phishing," which tricks computer users into divulging personal information by sending e-mail that pretends to come from an online retailer or service, such as Citigroup or eBay. The messages tell recipients that the business needs certain information, such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers, to complete an order or update its records. Wired News, 18 May 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,63513,00.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. 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) 2004, EDUCAUSE
