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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005 Students at Cornell Debate File Sharing with Industry Researchers Work to Extend Technology to Visually Impaired British Courts Order File Sharers to Be Identified STUDENTS AT CORNELL DEBATE FILE SHARING WITH INDUSTRY A recent colloquium at Cornell University pitted representatives of the entertainment industry against critics who say the copyright system is too restrictive and stifles innovation. Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, and Fritz Attaway, executive vice president and general counsel of the Motion Picture Association of America, debated with Fred von Lohmann, lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of communications at New York University, in front of a lively audience of about 200 students. Tracy Mitrano, policy adviser to Cornell's Office of Information Technologies, commented that the presence and participation of so many students indicated their earnest concern over legal and ethical issues surrounding file sharing. Though not the direct subject of the debate, Cornell is currently running a pilot program of the legal music-download service Napster, and participants on both sides offered their perspectives. A representative of Napster called the program a success, pointing to the large percentage of students who use the service regularly. On the other hand, von Lohmann said that the service is not a good deal for universities. "It feels free," he said, "but one way or another, you're paying for it." Chronicle of Higher Education, 20 April 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/04/2005042001t.htm RESEARCHERS WORK TO EXTEND TECHNOLOGY TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, are beginning work on a three-year project to extend the benefits of technology to users who are blind or visually impaired. Funded by a 3.8 million euro grant from the European Union, the project will include 13 other universities and organizations from around Europe. Alan Marshall, professor at Queen's University, noted that people with disabilities are unable to benefit from many of the advantages of technology because of the design of the technology itself. The disparity between those who can use technology to its fullest and those who cannot will widen if steps are not taken to address it, according to Marshall. The project will address such topics as tactile displays and audio aids, and researchers will also look into using technology to help people with visual impairments participate in a variety of activities. For example, Marshall described a system of devices in shopping centers that would automatically identify themselves to wireless devices. Those with such devices could walk through a shopping center and know what stores they were near and could locate others. BBC, 19 April 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4457793.stm BRITISH COURTS ORDER FILE SHARERS TO BE IDENTIFIED A British judge has ordered five ISPs to disclose the identities of 33 individuals accused by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) of sharing more than 72,000 music files over the Web. The ruling is the latest win for the BPI in its efforts to combat illegal file sharing. ISPs have previously been forced to reveal the identities of another 57 individuals, all of whom were targeted for copyright violations. A recent study by research group TNS estimated that illegal file sharing cost the music industry more than 650 million pounds over the past two years. TNS also found that nearly 20 percent of people in the United Kingdom between the ages of 12 and 74 download music on the Internet, though the study did not distinguish between legal and illegal downloads. Representatives of the BPI contend that their efforts are working, noting that nearly 85 percent of those who do not currently download music said they would not do so illegally and that 15 percent of those who download illegally said they will begin to pay for music online. The Register, 20 April 2005 http://www.theregister.com/2005/04/19/bpi_p2p_lawsuits/ ***************************************************** 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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