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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005 ICANN and VeriSign Settle Site Finder Dispute Microsoft Joins Yahoo Book Project Cisco Donates to Schools in Gulf Coast Region File Sharer Convicted in Sweden ICANN AND VERISIGN SETTLE SITE FINDER DISPUTE VeriSign and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have reached a tentative settlement in their dispute over VeriSign's Site Finder service. The service, which VeriSign introduced two years ago, directs users who mistype URLs to suggested target pages rather than providing error messages. ICANN objected, saying that the service interfered with some functionality of the Internet and--because VeriSign was paid by some of the sites it directed users to--was an abuse of VeriSign's power. The service was suspended, and each organization filed suit against the other. Under the proposed settlement, which must still be approved by the boards of both companies and by the Commerce Department, VeriSign would receive an extension until 2012 in its oversight of the .com domain. In return, any introduction of services such as Site Finder would have to be cleared in advance by ICANN. Wired News, 25 October 2005 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,69346,00.html MICROSOFT JOINS YAHOO BOOK PROJECT Microsoft has said it will participate in a recently announced book-scanning project led by Yahoo and the Internet Archive. Unlike Google's much-maligned project, the Yahoo initiative, called the Open Content Alliance, will only scan books that are in the public domain or for which explicit permission has been granted by the copyright holder. In contrast, Google will scan copyrighted books unless copyright holders specifically request that their books be excluded, though only small portions of copyrighted books will be available online. For its part, Microsoft will finance the scanning of about 150,000 books, while Yahoo will pay for about 18,000 books to be digitized. The Open Content Alliance also differs from Google's project in that all of the content from the alliance will be available from a database to any search engine; Google will be the only means to access the content of its project. Microsoft will create an MSN Book Search service next year, though the business model for particular services and fees has not been set, according to Danielle Tiedt, general manager of search content acquisition at MSN. ZDNet, 25 October 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5913711.html CISCO DONATES TO SCHOOLS IN GULF COAST REGION As part of efforts to rebuild educational infrastructure in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, Cisco and certain of its executives have pledged $40 million in cash, equipment, and services. The money will target poorer school districts and individual schools that already have Internet access but would benefit from wireless technology and Internet-based video and phone services, according to the company. John T. Chambers, CEO of Cisco, said the rebuilding efforts provide opportunities to improve technology services in affected schools and to serve as a model for other districts around the nation. Chambers has personally pledged $2 million, while John P. Morgridge, chairman of Cisco, has committed to providing $10 million. New York Times, 26 October 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/technology/26cisco.html FILE SHARER CONVICTED IN SWEDEN For the first time, a file sharer has been convicted in Sweden, a country long seen as soft on digital piracy. Indeed, the country only this past July passed a law against downloading copyrighted material. The conviction stems from a case prior to passage of the downloading law, when Andreas Bawer uploaded a movie to the Internet. Although the court found Bawer not guilty of downloading the film because the new law had not been put into place, it found him guilty of violating copyright law for distributing the film online. In its ruling, the court said, "Illegal material can in this way be spread quickly and reach many people, which can lead to heavy economic losses for the copyright owners." Because Bawer did not try to profit from his actions, the court decided to fine him rather than sentence him to prison. Bawer's attorney said his client had not yet decided whether he would appeal the verdict. Henrik Ponten of the Swedish Anti-piracy Agency praised the ruling, saying that Sweden has "taken the first step toward a functioning copyright law." BBC, 25 October 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4376470.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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