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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2004 UNC to Pilot Multicampus P2P System Cisco and Microsoft to Cooperate on Security Radio Going to the Web Purdue Researchers Trace Paper to Printer UNC TO PILOT MULTICAMPUS P2P SYSTEM Higher education officials in North Carolina are beginning a pilot of a multicampus peer-to-peer system for music, movies, and academic file sharing. The system initially will cover four institutions: North Carolina A&T State, Western Carolina, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University will be added this spring. If the program goes well, all 16 of the system's campuses could be included. Providing content for the program are iTunes, Ruckus, Cdigix, and Rhapsody; an unnamed music label is providing funding for the pilot. During the pilot, access to content will be provided free, and each institution will be able to select from among the four content providers based on input from students. Although a number of other colleges and universities have instituted campus-wide services for free delivery of online entertainment, the UNC program is the first to be offered across a system of campuses. USA Today, 18 October 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-10-16-unc-file-sharing-pilot_x.htm CISCO AND MICROSOFT TO COOPERATE ON SECURITY Responding to customer concerns that Microsoft and Cisco Systems were pursuing incompatible approaches, the two companies this week announced plans to coordinate their efforts at improving computer security. Each company had recently discussed plans to help corporate customers protect their networks from malicious code. Both strategies involved verifying a computer's antivirus software and ensuring that the machine was free of viruses and worms before allowing it on a network, but many of the technical details were different. Many corporate customers that rely on Cisco for networking hardware and on Microsoft for software became concerned that the companies' approaches would not interoperate. The two companies said they would share technical details about their security approaches, integrate their respective technologies to work together, and press for industry standards. Microsoft's Bob Kelly said the companies "understand that collaboration is key to addressing and minimizing" security risks of worms and viruses. Wall Street Journal, 18 October 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109805060823447510,00.html RADIO GOING TO THE WEB A deal between the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) promises to bring a much broader selection of music to Web radio. Under the $1.7 billion agreement, the 12,000 member radio stations of the RMLC will be allowed to broadcast songs simultaneously over the Internet and over the airwaves. ASCAP's music library comprises 7.5 million copyrighted titles. The deal retroactively covers licensing fees back to 2001 and establishes a fee structure through 2009, replacing a system of fees based on station revenues. ASCAP noted that the agreement also avoids potentially expensive litigation between the two organizations. Vincent Candilora, ASCAP's director of licensing, said of the deal that it "indicates the true economic value of our members' music to the radio industry" and said he was pleased to provide ASCAP members with income "that they can count on well into the future." CNET, 18 October 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5414725.html PURDUE RESEARCHERS TRACE PAPER TO PRINTER Researchers at Purdue University have developed a technique to identify the model of printer used to produce a particular document. Technology for scanners and desktop printers has evolved to the point that users can print relatively convincing forgeries of many currencies. Purdue's Edward Delp found that laser printers have unique signatures that are transmitted onto documents they produce. Using image-scanning software developed by the research team, Delp and his colleagues were able to identify which printer a document came from in 11 of 12 tests. According to Delp, the process involves extracting "mathematical features, or measurements, from printed letters" and using those to identify which printer produced the letters. Delp said, "We also believe that we will be able to identify not only which model of printer was used but specifically which printer was used." Delp and his team will now work to apply the identification techniques to inkjet printers. BBC, 18 October 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3753886.stm ***************************************************** 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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