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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2004 New York City to Permit Wireless on Poles Hackers Challenged to Test E-Voting Machines Intel Delays Pentium 4 Launch Netscape 7.2 Due Out in August Apple Objects to Software from RealNetworks Cyberstalker Pleads Guilty NEW YORK CITY TO PERMIT WIRELESS ON POLES New York City officials plan to permit telecommunications companies to mount cellphone antennas and Internet transmitters on top of city lampposts, traffic signals, and highway signs. The plan will extend wireless Internet access and improve spotty cell-phone reception, said city representatives. Opponents to the plan point out the uncertain health risks of concentrating the antennas within the city. About 18,000 spots will be leased. The pole-mounted antennas will enable a shift from the larger cellular base stations located on many rooftops. New York Times, 30 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/nyregion/30cellular.html HACKERS CHALLENGED TO TEST E-VOTING MACHINES Rebecca Mercuri, a research fellow affiliated with Harvard University, challenged computer hackers attending the annual Black Hat convention to test whether it is possible to rig an election held using paperless electronic voting machines. Mercuri encouraged hackers to evaluate software code posted on the Internet by VoteHere, an electronic voting software company, and called on other voting machine companies to make their codes and product available for scrutiny. She said her challenge is in response to one by Michael Shamos, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist and voting technology consultant. Shamos reportedly promised $10,000 to anyone who can hack into a voting machine undetected. Mercuri dismissed Shamos's challenge because the electronic voting industry uses trade-secret agreements that make it a felony to examine the equipment. A representative of Sequoia Voting Systems, a maker of e-voting machiens, called Mercuri's challenge irresponsible. San Jose Mercury News, 30 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9278952.htm INTEL DELAYS PENTIUM 4 LAUNCH Intel Corporation has announced a delay in the introduction of its Pentium 4 desktop processor to the first quarter of 2005, reportedly to ensure production in sufficient volume to meet customer demand. The new processor has a clock speed of 4 GHz, according to the company. The original schedule targeted availability before the end of 2004. The announcement follows delays and recalls afflicting other Intel chips over the past year. ITWorld, 30 July 2004 http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2085/040730pentiumpush/ NETSCAPE 7.2 DUE OUT IN AUGUST America Online plans to update the Netscape Web browser in August with Netscape Navigator 7.2. The browser will be available on CD and as a free download from Netscape.com. Version 7.2 is based on the same code and rendering engine as Mozilla 1.7. AOL spun out the Mozilla open-source browser development group in July 2003. Netscape Navigator 7.2, the first update in a year for that browser, seems to be a maintenance release to bring the browser in line with security and feature updates added to Mozilla over the past year. Version 7.2 will be available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. eWeek, 30 July 2004 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1629274,00.asp APPLE OBJECTS TO SOFTWARE FROM REALNETWORKS In response to an announcement by RealNetworks of new software that will allow songs purchased from its music store to be played on Apple iPods, Apple representatives called the software the technological equivalent of breaking and entering: "We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod, and we are investigating the implications of their actions." RealNetworks said that its Harmony technology is designed to be compatible with a number of copy-protection systems. Apple uses a protection technology called Fairplay. Washington Post, 29 July 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24139-2004Jul29.html CYBERSTALKER PLEADS GUILTY A South Carolina man pleaded guilty to cyberstalking a former girlfriend in the first case of Internet cyberstalking brought under U.S. laws. The accused agreed to plead guilty to two counts of cyberstalking in a deal with federal prosecutors. He will be sentenced in October. Although no formal figures are available, increasing evidence indicates that stalkers have begun to use e-mail to harass their victims. The Internet and electronic databases provide sources of information on potential victims, making electronic stalking more attractive for perpetrators. The Register, 30 July 2004 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/30/man_cyber_stalking/ ***************************************************** 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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