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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 01, 2005 Rating Open Source Applications New Law Establishes Databases of Medical Errors British Music Industry Sues File Traders Congress Presses P2P to Limit Abuse HP Ends iPod Sales RATING OPEN SOURCE APPLICATIONS A new initiative will provide a rating system for open source applications, with the goal of saving corporate IT departments the time and expense of evaluating such tools. Business Readiness Ratings, a project of Carnegie Mellon University, Intel, and a company called SpikeSource, will allow users to rate open source applications on a scale of 1 to 5 in 12 areas, including functionality, quality, and security. Many believe that one of the largest hurdles facing open source technology is the amount of testing that an organization must perform before implementing it. Charlie Brenner, a senior vice president at Fidelity Investments, which uses a range of open source applications, said, "If there had been an initiative like this two years ago, we could have leapfrogged a lot of what we did." Kim Polese of SpikeSource, which tests open source projects, said that companies would prefer to invest in tailoring software to their particular needs rather than simply testing it to see if it works. Anthony I. Wasserman, professor of software engineering at Carnegie Mellon, said the new rating system "will live or die based on community acceptance and participation." New York Times, 1 August 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/01/technology/01open.html NEW LAW ESTABLISHES DATABASES OF MEDICAL ERRORS A bill signed into law last week mandates the creation of a network of databases that store anonymous information on medical errors. According to a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, medical errors cost the lives of 98,000 people in the United States each year. Sharing information about those errors is seen by many as a useful step toward preventing similar errors in the future, but many health care providers have been reluctant to share such information for fear of litigation. To that end, the databases mandated by the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 will strip identifying information regarding patients and providers. Reporting information to the databases will be voluntary, and backers of the measure hope that the anonymity provision will encourage providers to submit details of medical errors, allowing others to learn from their mistakes. Dr. J. Edward Hill, president of the American Medical Association, called the new law "the catalyst we need to transform the current culture of blame and punishment into one of open communication and prevention." Federal Computer Week, 1 August 2005 http://govhealthit.com/article89736-07-29-05-Web BRITISH MUSIC INDUSTRY SUES FILE TRADERS After reaching settlements with more than 60 alleged illegal file traders, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has filed civil charges against five individuals who reportedly refused to settle with the organization, according to Geoff Taylor, BPI general counsel. In March, a British court ruled that Internet service providers must disclose the names of those accused of copyright violations to the BPI. The suit alleges that the five defendants shared a total of nearly 9,000 songs on the Internet. "We will be seeking an injunction and full damages for the losses they have caused," said Taylor, "in addition to the considerable legal costs we are incurring as a result of their illegal activity." Although growing numbers of computer users are taking advantage of legal online music services, the BPI said it will continue efforts to prosecute illegal file traders. BBC, 1 August 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4735821.stm CONGRESS PRESSES P2P TO LIMIT ABUSE Members of the Senate Commerce Committee took at tough stance in a hearing with members of the P2P community, saying that if developers of P2P technology do not take actions to limit copyright violations and keep pornography out of the hands of minors, Congress will. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said, "If you don't move to protect copyright, if you don't move to protect our children, it's not going to sit well." Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chair of the committee, said he does not believe suggestions that there is nothing that can be done to control pornography on the Internet. Speaking for P2P interests, Adam Eisgrau, executive director of P2P United, responded that there is no "technological magic bullet" that will address copyright concerns or those regarding children's exposure to inappropriate content. Eisgrau urged Congress to revise copyright law to change the amount of compensation copyright holders can claim from those accused of infringement. He called for those involved "to intelligently and civilly discuss" the possibility of a voluntary licensing system. ZDNet, 28 July 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5809223.html HP ENDS IPOD SALES Executives at HP have put an end to a deal with Apple Computer under which iPod music players were available as HP-branded devices. Although the deal was first announced in January 2004, the first models were not available from HP until the fall of 2004, and sales of HP iPods accounted for just 5 percent of iPod sales on average. According to an HP spokesperson, the company remains committed to a strategy of digital entertainment, but "reselling the iPod does not fit within that strategy." Under the terms of the original agreement, HP will continue to provide support for the iPods it has sold, and HP is not allowed to market a competing digital music player until August 2006. HP expects its current inventory of iPods, iPod Minis, and iPod Shuffles will last through the end of September. The company will continue to sell other digital-entertainment products, such as televisions and Media Center PCs. CNET, 29 July 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-1047_3-5810643.html ***************************************************** 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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