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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2004 S. Korean Officials Investigate Cell-Phone Cheating Meeting the Need for Munchies on Campus IBM Considers Exiting the PC Business S. KOREAN OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE CELL-PHONE CHEATING Officials in South Korea are investigating a suspected widespread ring of using cell phones to cheat on the country's university admissions examinations. Cultural pressure to succeed academically is intense in South Korea, so much so that some students commit suicide as a result of poor academic showing. As noted by Jung Bong-mun, an Education Ministry official who works on college admission policy, student cheating "is mainly due to pressure to do well in a test that will decide their lives forever." Combined with nearly ubiquitous cell phones, which provide new avenues for cheating, this pressure has led to an unprecedented level of cheating on this year's exam, which was taken by approximately 600,000 students. According to officials, several hundred may have been involved in the scheme to send answers by cell-phone text messages to those taking the test. Students reportedly paid around USD$1,000 each, which leads authorities to suspect that in many cases parents may be involved. Reuters, 3 December 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=6986502 MEETING THE NEED FOR MUNCHIES ON CAMPUS A new type of company is springing up on a number of college campuses, designed to satisfy late-night cravings for soda, chips, or other convenience-store fare. Many companies, like Campus Snacks at George Washington University, are started by students with minimal investments, and most do a significant portion of their business online. CU Snacks, a similar operation at Columbia University, is owned and operated by the university. Students looking for food or even items such as condoms can place their orders on a Web site or over the phone and have them delivered directly to their dorm rooms. Columbia's CU Snacks and Brown University's DormSnacks, have gone so far as not to accept cash, requiring students to pay online using debit or credit cards. Although prices are typically a bit higher than at local convenience stores, delivery is usually included. Students also benefit from longer hours than at many local stores and the convenience of not having to leave the dorm. A service called Tiff's Treats that delivers freshly baked cookies has been in operation at the University of Texas at Austin since 1999. Although started before the Internet was a common tool for such businesses, Tiff's Treats now does one-third of its business over the Internet, according to Leon Chen, cofounder of the company. New York Times, 2 December 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/technology/circuits/02snac.html IBM CONSIDERS EXITING THE PC BUSINESS IBM is reportedly negotiating a possible sale of its PC unit to Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group, though neither company is commenting publicly at this time. If such a transaction takes place, it would mark the end of IBM's storied history with the PC, a market currently led by Dell and HP. Analysts consistently agree, however, that the move would be good for IBM, which has made no secret of its intentions to focus on higher-margin operations such as software and computer services. In particular, IBM executives have identified business process outsourcing as a key opportunity for the company. For its part, Lenovo stands to benefit significantly from acquiring IBM's PC business, which has in recent years migrated much of its production to China. If such a deal goes through, Lenovo would have access to U.S. markets, which have traditionally been out of its reach, and would also own the very popular ThinkPad series of notebook computers. As noted by IDC analyst Roger Kay, in such a deal, "the IBM notebooks would be the prize." CNET, 3 December 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1042_3-5476256.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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