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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 UCLA Opts Not to Monitor Network Traffic House Moves to Criminalize File Swapping California Gets Tough on Spyware Judge Rules Part of Patriot Act Unconstitutional IBM Supercomputer Beats Speed Record UCLA OPTS NOT TO MONITOR NETWORK TRAFFIC An official of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has stated that the university will not look at the content of information packets being sent on its network in an effort to identify and filter copyrighted material. A number of colleges and universities are using tools to engage in such policing of their networks, efforts supported by the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. UCLA has installed the Automated Copyright Notice System, an open source application that allows the university to quickly respond to notices of infringement by sending e-mail to the student in question and limiting network access. But the university's position on network snooping stops there. Jonathan Curtiss, of UCLA Student Services, said that the university is not pursuing such snooping because "what students are doing is private." He did note that the university is "encouraging a behavioral shift" among students to understand and respect copyright. CNET, 28 September 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5387859.html HOUSE MOVES TO CRIMINALIZE FILE SWAPPING The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill aimed at helping the record and movie industries protect copyrighted works from being illegally traded online. Under the bill, those found to have shared more than 1,000 songs online or to have videotaped movies in theaters could face prison terms of as much as three years for a first offense. Record companies and movie studios have been pursuing prosecutions of alleged copyright violators, with the recording industry having brought more than 3,000 lawsuits against individuals accused of trading copyrighted songs. Under this law, the government would also bear responsibility for prosecuting copyright violators. A similar bill was previously passed by the Senate; differences between the two measures must be reconciled before it could be signed into law. Reuters, 28 September 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=6358345 CALIFORNIA GETS TOUGH ON SPYWARE Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, this week signed an antispyware bill that criminalizes placing software on another user's computer without authorization. The bill bans surreptitious software that monitors users' surfing habits or tracks keystrokes, among other types of spyware. Under the legislation, computer users can sue those responsible for spyware for actual damages from the applications. Several other states and the federal government are currently working on similar measures to try to limit unauthorized software. Critics of the law say it lacks adequate enforcement provisions. Spyware expert Ben Edelman called the bill "a piece of junk," saying it is "the most superfluous of all legislation." Reuters, 28 September 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=6359582 JUDGE RULES PART OF PATRIOT ACT UNCONSTITUTIONAL A federal judge this week handed the Bush administration a defeat when he ruled part of the Patriot Act unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sued the Department of Justice, asking that part of the act be thrown out because it authorizes the FBI to compel financial institutions to divulge sensitive information about clients. The ACLU argued that because the provision did not require the FBI to present a compelling need for the information requested and did not require the FBI to inform individuals how they could contest the disclosure, the law did not include adequate safeguards for sensitive information. The judge in the case agreed and said that the part in question "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge." Wired News, 29 September 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65136,00.html IBM SUPERCOMPUTER BEATS SPEED RECORD A supercomputer built by IBM has surpassed the speed record set three years ago by the Earth Simulator, a supercomputer built by Japanese company NEC. The IBM computer, which uses technology called BlueGene/L, achieved 36.01 trillion calculations per second (teraflops) compared to 35.86 for the Earth Simulator. The BlueGene/L machine, with its 16,000 processors, is based on a very different model from that of the Earth Simulator, which has fewer, more specialized processors. According to IBM, the BlueGene/L machine is one-hundredth the size of the Earth Simulator and uses just one-twenty-eighth the power. A larger version of the BlueGene/L machine, one with 160,000 processors, is to be installed next year at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. New York Times, 29 September 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/29/technology/29computer.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. 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