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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2004 High-Definition Radio at Michigan State Screen Saver to Fight Spam Major Labels Back New P2P Service HIGH-DEFINITION RADIO AT MICHIGAN STATE The campus radio station at Michigan State University now broadcasts digital, high-definition signals, making it one of the first university stations to use the emerging technology. Currently there are about 200 primarily commercial stations around the United States broadcasting high-definition signals, which are much clearer than analog signals. High-definition receivers are finding their way into homes and cars, and major broadcasting companies are reportedly considering upgrading another 1,500 stations to use digital transmitters. Digital transmissions also add a data component that can include information such as song title or cover art from a song's album. Gary A. Reid, general manager of Michigan State's station, said he looks forward to experimenting with the data signal to learn what uses might be appropriate or valuable to the community, such as campus news, sports scores, or weather. Michigan State bought the digital transmitter when its analog transmitter was failing, and Reid said the digital transmitter, which cost $90,000, only cost about $20,000 more than a comparable analog unit. Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 December 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i15/15a03102.htm SCREEN SAVER TO FIGHT SPAM A new screensaver by Internet portal Lycos is designed to fight spam by running up the costs of operating Web sites that sell goods commonly advertised in spam e-mail. Rather than targeting the e-mails themselves or their sources, which are often spoofed, the new tactic focuses on the Web sites where spam directs consumers. Using blacklists--from organizations such as Spamcop--of companies that profit from spam, the screensaver sends repeated requests to those companies' Web sites for information about their products. The goal, according to officials at Lycos, is not to overload the sites to the point of failure but to drive up the costs for companies to respond to so many hits on their Web sites. The screensaver also has been shown to slow traffic on some targeted sites by as much as 85 percent. The hope, according to Malte Pollmann of Lycos Europe, is that there will be a general decline in the amount of spam sent if the vendors who benefit from spam are forced to pay much higher costs to maintain their Web sites. The screensaver, which can be downloaded beginning in December, is available to all users, regardless of whether they are registered users of Lycos. BBC, 29 November 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4051553.stm MAJOR LABELS BACK NEW P2P SERVICE In another gesture that record companies are looking for ways to join, rather than fight, P2P services, three major labels will begin offering music through a new service called Peer Impact. Starting early next year, users of Peer Impact will be able to purchase music from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, either through a download store or directly from other users' computers by purchasing a digital key to allow such transactions. Files on the network will reportedly use digital rights management software to prevent unauthorized distribution. Meanwhile, Universal Music Group recently announced a deal to put the company's music collection online with a company called Snocap, which was founded by Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster. Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research said that legal music download services are not likely to compete well against services such as Kazaa, which allow users to freely browse music on millions of users' computers. Gartenberg believes that "simply creating a music store and creating peer-to-peer technology for users to share protected files that have to be purchased isn't going to change the landscape dramatically." San Jose Mercury News, 24 November 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/10261238.htm ***************************************************** 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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