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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, JUNE 07, 2004 Academic Publisher Pursues Open Access StarOffice Headed for Canadian Schools Sun to Release Solaris Code iTunes Going to Europe ACADEMIC PUBLISHER PURSUES OPEN ACCESS Academic publisher Reed Elsevier has announced it will begin allowing a version of open access publishing. Acknowledging ongoing demand from academics for a less restrictive model for publishing scholarly work, Reed Elsevier will allow authors whose work has been accepted for publication to post articles on their own Web sites or those of their institutions. As standard practices for academic publishing have been challenged by new media and means of distribution, Reed Elsevier has come under increasing pressure to adapt its practices and move away from the traditional subscription model, as a number of other academic publishers have done. Still, the company's announcement did not convince some critics. Deborah Cockerill of competitor BioMed Central said Reed Elsevier's approach to open access publishing is based on controlling access and retains so many restrictions as to pose no real threat to the subscription model. On the other hand, Stevan Harnad, professor at the University of Southampton and a strong supporter of open access, commended Reed Elsevier for its change, saying that "the full benefits of open access require not one bit more [from Reed Elsevier]." The Guardian, 3 June 2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1230217,00.html STAROFFICE HEADED FOR CANADIAN SCHOOLS Sun Microsystems this week announced a deal signed in late May that will bring its StarOffice suite of software products to 2.5 million students in Canada. Under the deal, Sun will provide the Ontario Ministry of Education with StarOffice 7 for 72 public and parochial school boards. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though officials from the Ontario Ministry of Education said the cost will be "minimal." Microsoft's Office suite of productivity software, once the dominant package for such products, has lost some market share recently to StarOffice and to several other competitors, including OpenOffice, an open-source product based on StarOffice. CNET, 7 June 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5227983.html SUN TO RELEASE SOLARIS CODE In a surprise announcement, Sun Microsystems has said it will release the source code for its Solaris operating system under an open-source license. Sun formerly controlled a significant portion of the server market with its proprietary Solaris operating system, but the company has been losing ground in recent years to products from Linux and Microsoft, which can be much less expensive than Sun's offerings. Sun's announcement did not include specifics about its plan but said that the company "is in the process of soliciting customer feedback in refining various aspects of the project." Analysts said the significance of Sun's new stance will depend on the particulars, such as whether all or just part of the source code will be available. "This is not the manifestation of a grand plan," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Raymond James and Company. "There are more questions than answers at this point." New York Times, 5 June 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/05/todaysheadlines/05sun.html ITUNES GOING TO EUROPE Apple Computer is expected on June 15 to announce the release of the European version of its iTunes music service. Observers expect the service to be available at the time of the announcement. Details have yet to be revealed, but analysts expect Apple to do well in the very competitive European online music market, which already has several established companies including Napster and OD2. Sales of Apple's iPod, the only portable player that can play iTunes songs, have been very strong, with total sales expected to reach 4 million, according to Simon Dyson of London-based Informa Media. Apple introduced the iTunes service in the less-competitive U.S. market last year and has sold more than 70 million songs, including more than 3.3 million in one week. Reuters, 7 June 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=5361575 ***************************************************** 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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