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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2004 Commission Report Offers Advice Senate Bill Would Let States Tax VoIP Studios and NFL Oppose TiVo Plan P2P Permits Regular Phone Calls from a Computer Sharp to Manufacture Danger Device COMMISSION REPORT OFFERS ADVICE The report issued by the commission investigating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks recommended better information sharing among government agencies, adoption of biometric technologies, completion of a visitor tracking system, and more attention to enterprise systems. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States released its 550-plus-page final report July 22. The commission recommended a decentralized network model with databases searchable across agency lines to improve horizontal information sharing. Washington Post, 22 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/911report/911reportbychapter.html SENATE BILL WOULD LET STATES TAX VOIP The Senate Commerce Committee has revised parts of a bill that originally aimed to give the federal government sole regulatory power over Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. The amendments to the original bill would allow states to regulate VoIP services, with taxes to subsidize universal service and to compensate traditional telephone companies for access. VoIP providers immediately objected to the revisions, pointing out the problems of meeting varied state regulations in a business that crosses multiple state lines. The legislation next goes to the full Senate, but a vote is not expected this year. eWeek, 22 July 2004 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1626675,00.asp STUDIOS AND NFL OPPOSE TIVO PLAN Following TiVo's announcement of a plan to let its users transfer recorded television shows to other devices, Hollywood studios and the National Football League filed papers with the Federal Communications Commission to block the agency's approval of the proposed service. The opposing groups fear the illegal distribution of their copyrighted materials over the Internet. TiVo sells digital video recorders that let users record TV shows onto hard disks, pause live TV, and skip commercials. The new TiVo to Go service would let users move recorded programs to other TiVo-compatible devices, including laptops and PCs. TiVo said it will incorporate copy-restriction technologies in the new service to limit the number of devices to which shows may be transferred, but content companies do not agree that the proposed safeguards will suffice. Wired News, 22 July 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64314,00.html P2P PERMITS REGULAR PHONE CALLS FROM A COMPUTER The peer-to-peer program Skype, which incorporates Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to let computer users make free calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world, will enable users to dial regular telephones from a computer using the new version of the software. Skype Technologies, based in Luxembourg, plans to launch SkypeOut, a prepaid service, later this year. The basic Skype program is a free download over the Internet. The company said it already has agreements with providers COLT, iBasis, Level 3, and Teleglobe to support SkypeOut. A similar version planned for later this year called Skype Plus will let users collect voice mail and receive calls from regular phones. San Jose Mercury News, 23 July 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9226667.htm SHARP TO MANUFACTURE DANGER DEVICE Sharp, a Japanese maker of electronic displays, will manufacture a new, combined wireless phone and e-mail device for Danger, a Silicon Valley-based company. Danger's "hiptop" device includes a Web browser, instant messaging, e-mail, phone, camera, and games. According to Danger CEO Hank Nothhaft, having Sharp handle hardware production leaves his company free to develop wireless software, its main objective, and should eliminate production shortages that have occurred in the past. USA Today, 23 July 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/data/2004-07-23-danger-partners_x.htm ***************************************************** 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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