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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2005 Schools Criticized over Rejection of Nosy Applicants Apple Wins Right to Subpoena E-Mail Records British ISPs Told to Turn Over File Traders SCHOOLS CRITICIZED OVER REJECTION OF NOSY APPLICANTS A number of business-school applicants who were rejected due to their looking at university admissions records online without authorization have spoken out against the universities' decision to exclude them. Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, and MIT have rejected the applications of 153 individuals who used a hacker's instructions to try to find out if they had been accepted. Although some applicants involved acknowledged that accessing the records was wrong, they contended that the actions do not constitute hacking and that the institutions have overreacted. One rejected applicant wrote a letter to Harvard, admitting a "lapse in judgment" but noting that he "wasn't trying to harm anyone and wasn't trying to get an advantage over anyone." Len Metheny, CEO and president of ApplyYourself, the software that all the affected schools used for applications, said the procedure to access the records was sufficiently complicated that anyone doing so would have to have known it was unauthorized. Chronicle of Higher Education, 11 March 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/03/2005031104n.htm APPLE WINS RIGHT TO SUBPOENA E-MAIL RECORDS A judge in California has ruled that Apple Computer has the right to subpoena records of an e-mail provider to determine the source of leaks of confidential company information on upcoming products. In his ruling, Judge James P. Kleinberg was careful to sidestep the question of protection for journalists and to note that his ruling does not concern the merits of Apple's underlying case. Rather, he found that under California law, the information published on Mac enthusiast sites constitutes stolen property, as would physical property that had been stolen. While the law does not allow prevention of such publications, those responsible--regardless of the definition of "journalist"--must bear the consequences of doing so, said Kleinberg. Apple hopes through the proceedings to identify those individuals who leaked the information that was posted on the enthusiast sites. The operators of those sites are not the target of Apple's efforts. Kleinberg delayed enforcement of his ruling for seven days to provide an opportunity for the defendants to appeal. CNET, 11 March 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-1047_3-5611285.html BRITISH ISPS TOLD TO TURN OVER FILE TRADERS A British court has ruled that ISPs in that country must disclose the identities of alleged copyright violators to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The BPI had sought the names of about 30 individuals suspected of uploading significant numbers of songs to file-sharing networks. The court has given the six ISPs named in the suit 14 days to turn over the requested identities, which are known currently only by their IP addresses. The BPI will then contact those individuals and offer to settle the charges against them outside court. The British music industry has recently reached its first round of settlements with alleged copyright infringers, a process that Geoff Taylor, general counsel of the BPI, said showed the organization that "people from all walks of life are engaged in this activity." Reuters, 11 March 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7877847 ***************************************************** 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. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2005, EDUCAUSE
