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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, JULY 26, 2004 Worm Variant Clogs E-Mail, Search Engines RealNetworks Music to Play on Apple iPods Bloggers Get Press Credentials Microsoft Considers Selling Slate Technology Accessibility for Disabled Web Users WORM VARIANT CLOGS E-MAIL, SEARCH ENGINES A variant of the MyDoom worm hit early Monday, clogging e-mail accounts worldwide and slowing search engines Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, and Lycos because it automatically performs Web searches on those search engines after it infects a PC. Tens of thousands of PCs have reportedly been infected. Looking for e-mail addresses on search sites is a twist on earlier variants of MyDoom, which looked for addresses only on the host hard drive. ZDNet, 26 July 2004 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5283940.html REALNETWORKS MUSIC TO PLAY ON APPLE IPODS RealNetworks has announced software that will make music downloads from its online music store compatible with any portable media player, including Apple Computer's iPod. Until now, RealNetworks music played only on the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra MP3 player, and the iPod has supported only digitally protected songs that carry restrictions on their use and are purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store. The new Harmony software reportedly will make ReanNetworks songs compatible with FairPlay, the digital rights management standard Apple uses to protect songs from unauthorized copying. MSNBC, 26 July 2004 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5518136/ BLOGGERS GET PRESS CREDENTIALS Several dozen Web loggers have received press credentials to cover the Democratic national political convention this year in Boston, and organizers of the Republican convention in New York have said they intend to issue credentials to 10 to 20 bloggers. The chosen bloggers face a new situation in having access to primary sources for their blogs rather than, per their usual practice, ferreting out information from multiple sources or providing commentary based on news coverage of events. The bloggers expect to cover niche issues and behind-the-scenes events rather than the larger issues that typically attract the mainstream news media. Some media experts have expressed reservations about the shift in the definition of "journalist" to include bloggers, arguing that journalists should be credentialed professionals. New York Times, 26 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/26/politics/campaign/26blog.html MICROSOFT CONSIDERS SELLING SLATE Microsoft has entered talks with a number of media companies about selling its online magazine, Slate. The leading contenders reportedly are the New York Times and the Washington Post. Microsoft would like to continue distributing Slate online in partnership with a new owner, according to a company representative, but Slate is not a major investment for the company. Nonetheless, should Microsoft fail to reach a deal on selling Slate, it plans to keep publishing the magazine. Washington Post, 24 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10244-2004Jul23.html TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY FOR DISABLED WEB USERS A service called Web Adaptation Technology from IBM lets disabled users make standard Web pages more accessible. Users access standard Web sites through a host computer and a downloaded program on their desktop systems that adjusts pages to make them easier to read. Users can set and store personal settings, adjusting colors, background, font size and style, and line spacing. They can also eliminate banner ads and other images and modify keystroke timing. The service is free to not-for-profit organizations to distribute to elderly and disabled computer users. The Register, 26 July 2004 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/26/web_adaption_technology/ ***************************************************** 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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