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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2004 College Blocks Hotmail and Yahoo to Fight Spam Researchers Announce Distributed Grid Project to Post Historical Newspapers Online MPAA Files File-Trading Lawsuits Tracking Schoolchildren with Computer Tags COLLEGE BLOCKS HOTMAIL AND YAHOO TO FIGHT SPAM Frustrated with the problem of spam and unable to afford antispam software packages, officials at Guam Community College have implemented a policy that blocks all mail from Hotmail or Yahoo--favorites with spammers--from being delivered to college e-mail accounts. Exceptions are made for return addresses that are on the institution's list of legitimate addresses. Currently, the college only provides e-mail accounts to faculty and staff, and many students rely on Hotmail or Yahoo accounts to keep in touch with faculty or to turn in assignments, prompting many complaints about the policy. The policy has resulted in significantly less spam, and the college's technical staff are spending much less time dealing with the spam that does get through. Still, many members of the faculty do not support the policy, saying that whatever benefits it provides do not outweigh the problems it causes. Joe St. Sauver of the University of Oregon Computing Center and an expert on spam issues said the tactic of blocking Hotmail and Yahoo has been tried before but that most institutions dropped it because they were not happy with the results. Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i13/13a03101.htm RESEARCHERS ANNOUNCE DISTRIBUTED GRID A team of researchers is set to unveil the latest distributed computing project, called the World Community Grid, which will use idle computer power from millions of volunteers to study such topics as genetic codes and complex weather forecasting. Like other distributed computing projects, the World Grid asks individuals to download a program to their computers. The program uses available processing power to work on small parts of very large projects. Up to 10 million users will initially be able to participate in the project; if the number of volunteers exceeds that, organizers will expand the program. Network security is a consideration that could deter some users or push some network administrators to forbid participation. Linda Sanford of IBM, one of the organizations involved in the project, said, "We are looking for the individual, not the institution, per se, to contribute. [Companies] will let their employees know when they can participate." In addition to IBM, the project is supported by the United Nations, the Mayo Clinic, Oxford University, and others. Reuters, 16 November 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=6829592 PROJECT TO POST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS ONLINE An initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress will digitize millions of pages of historical newsprint and place them online. The goal of the National Digital Newspaper Program is to post 30 million newspaper pages originally printed between 1836 and 1922, replacing the current system of microfilm records of old papers. Bruce Cole, chairman of the NEH, announced the initiative at the National Press Club, saying that providing easy access to such historical records serves as an effective tool in the fight against what he called "American amnesia." When the newspapers are online, said Cole, everyone will have "immediate, unfiltered access to the greatest source of our history." Newspapers printed before 1836 will not be included because earlier typefaces cannot be read effectively by optical scanners; newspapers published after 1923 are covered by copyright restrictions. San Jose Mercury News, 16 November 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/10198049.htm MPAA FILES FILE-TRADING LAWSUITS The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has followed through on its promise to begin filing lawsuits against individuals it accuses of illegally trading copyrighted movies, following in the footsteps of the recording industry. The group did not disclose details about the number of suits filed or where they were filed, but defendants could face fines of up to $150,000 for each movie traded. The MPAA also said in December it would begin an awareness program involving antipiracy posters in video rental shops and antipiracy trailers shown at those shops. The group also will begin offering free software that identifies P2P files on a user's computer, allowing for their easy removal. Jason Schultz, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, questioned the usefulness of the MPAA's efforts. Referring to the group's decision to file lawsuits, Schultz said, "It doesn't make any sense. It hasn't worked for the [Recording Industry Association of America]." Schultz doubted that the awareness campaign will be effective because, as he said, it targets people who are already paying for movies. He also objected to the message implied by the MPAA's free software that any P2P file is illegal. Wired News, 16 November 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,65730,00.html TRACKING SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH COMPUTER TAGS A number of school districts around the country are implementing systems that use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to track the whereabouts of schoolchildren. In Spring, Texas, the district's 28,000 students will be given ID cards with RFID chips in them. Card readers on the district's school busses track where and when students get on and off the busses and send that information to police and school administrators. In the event that a child is reported missing, authorities would use the system's data to help locate the child, whether the student was kidnapped or simply went to another student's home after school. A school district in Buffalo, New York, uses a similar system at the doors of the school to track attendance. Despite teething problems of the systems, not to mention concerns over cards that are lost or traded by mischievous students, supporters said they offer unique capacities to track students and reassure worried parents. Critics of the systems, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said they elevate security concerns to the level of paranoia and represent an invasion of privacy. New York Times, 17 November 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/17/technology/17tag.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 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/Edupage/639 ***************************************************** 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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