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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2004 PeopleSoft Board Approves Sale to Oracle MIT Unveils Revamped Technology Review Feds Seek to Keep Tabs on Migrant Students British Council Calls for Stricter Movie Piracy Laws PEOPLESOFT BOARD APPROVES SALE TO ORACLE After 18 months of wrangling, legal actions, and regulatory review, the PeopleSoft Board of Directors has approved a buyout offer from Oracle. The deal is valued at about $10.3 billion, or $26.50 per share, despite Oracle's insistence that $24 per share was its best offer. The higher price came after Oracle executives gained access to PeopleSoft's financial statements and determined the target company was more profitable than Oracle's earlier estimates. Oracle has promised strong support for current PeopleSoft customers, as well as those of J.D. Edwards, which PeopleSoft acquired during the takeover efforts by Oracle. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said development teams from both PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards would be retained and would operate independently. Ellison said updates to applications from both companies would be developed in the next year or two. Pending legal action over the merger will be suspended until the transaction is completed, at which point litigation will be dismissed. The deal is expected to close at the end of January. CNET, 13 December 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-7343_3-5488298.html MIT UNVEILS REVAMPED TECHNOLOGY REVIEW The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is revamping its publication "Technology Review," according to Jason Pontin, its new editor, to reflect more accurately the current landscape of technology. Gone are what Pontin, the former editor of "Red Herring," refers to as "gee-whiz" coverage of technology. "We want," he said, "to levelly and intelligently analyze today's and tomorrow's technology." "Technology Review," which was introduced in 1899, has followed technology developments through the 20th century and remained viable while other publications, such as "Red Herring" and "The Industry Standard" ceased publication. Under Pontin, "Technology Review" will expand from 10 issues a year to 12 and will broaden the scope of its coverage, including reviews of scientific articles and innovations. MIT continues to subsidize the magazine, and the changes to "Technology Review" are intended to increase readership and advertising revenue. According to R. Bruce Journey, the chief executive of Technology Review Inc., the nonprofit company owned by MIT that publishes the magazine, the organization is working to reach the break-even point. New York Times, 13 December 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/13/business/media/13mit.html FEDS SEEK TO KEEP TABS ON MIGRANT STUDENTS The U.S. Department of Education is exploring ways to keep tabs on school-age children of migrant workers in the United States. The department maintains a migrant education program, which provides services to children of migrant families. Because no unified system exists to track students, many have incomplete records and may not be receiving appropriate support. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, the department was charged with developing a nationwide electronic system for tracking such students, whose families move around the country following jobs in the agriculture, fishing, and timber industries. Officials from the department have requested information from vendors about how best to construct a system that can accurately track itinerant students while protecting their personal information. Federal Computer Week, 10 December 2004 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1206/web-migrstu-12-10-04.asp BRITISH COUNCIL CALLS FOR STRICTER MOVIE PIRACY LAWS The U.K. Film Council has called on the British government to make changes to copyright laws to combat movie piracy. Piracy is rampant in the United Kingdom: this year, three million pirated DVDs were confiscated by the Federation Against Copyright Theft, but this is thought to be just 5 percent of the total. Among the council's proposals are new laws that will give authorities more power to fight sales of movies out of the trunks of cars as well as legislation banning the use of camcorders in movie theaters. The council also supports efforts aimed at educating young people about copyright violations, and it encouraged the movie industry to develop legal means of downloading movies over the Internet. Because movie piracy is largely an international problem, with illicit DVDs coming into Britain from countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, and China, the council urges the government to support cooperation among nations on intellectual property issues and to pressure those nations that do not comply. BBC, 13 December 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4085353.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, 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] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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