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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2005 MIT Network Maps Wireless Users Online Course Teaches About Risks of Drinking Google Debuts Book Searching Amazon, Random House Join the Online Book Fray MIT NETWORK MAPS WIRELESS USERS MIT has launched an upgraded wireless network that spans the entire campus and includes tools that map user connections. As users connect to the network--with laptops, PDAs, Wi-Fi cell phones, or other devices--the network identifies which of the campus's 2,800 access points is being used. This data is compiled into maps that show network users where the highest concentrations of users are connected. Researchers said the information can be used to understand where people choose to do their work if they can do it anywhere. The maps indicate, for example, that students prefer to work in lounges or cafes rather than study labs. Another feature of the new system allows users to voluntarily let the network display their identity on the maps. Users who so choose thereby allow the network to track them as they move around campus and to display that information to other users of the maps. Officials acknowledged that such a tool raises privacy concerns. "But," said Carlo Ratti, director of the lab that created the maps, "where better than to work these concerns out but on a research campus?" Yahoo, 3 November 2005 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051103/ap_on_hi_te/wireless_campus ONLINE COURSE TEACHES ABOUT RISKS OF DRINKING Growing numbers of colleges and universities are using online educational tools to teach students about the risks of drinking. Options range from short assessment tools, designed simply to inform students about the basics, to programs such as AlcoholEdu, a three-hour course that covers a much broader range of topics. Many consider online tools to be ideal for educating students about a sensitive subject like alcohol use because students can often use the resources anonymously. More than 120 institutions now use the AlcoholEdu course, giving it to about 250,000 students nationwide this fall. Rather than taking a position on whether students should drink, most resources take the approach of working to help students understand the facts about alcohol use, the risks of different types of behavior, and how to safely manage their behavior. Some students respond to requirements that they take such courses with indignation, but many campus health officials believe that even if students are upset about the course, it remains beneficial to get them talking about their use of alcohol. Wall Street Journal, 1 November 2005 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113018011713677813.html GOOGLE DEBUTS BOOK SEARCHING After nearly a year of scanning books from libraries partnered in the Library Project, Google has added the first batch to its search services. The goal of the project is to scan millions of books from Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of Oxford, and the New York Public Library, including books still under copyright. Although lawsuits challenging Google's right to scan protected texts are pending, the company has resumed scanning and has debuted the Google Print index. Google's Adam M. Smith said that all of the books added to the index so far are in the public domain. He said there are "thousands" of texts available, of which users can read full texts, download pages, and copy and paste sections of the books. A Google spokesperson said new texts would be added as they are digitized and that some of those texts would be under copyright. For copyrighted works, users will only be able to access excerpts, but authors and publishers contend that even this practice violates their rights. Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 November 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/11/2005110301t.htm AMAZON, RANDOM HOUSE JOIN THE ONLINE BOOK FRAY Amazon.com will introduce two new services next year that allow customers to access books online. The Amazon Pages program will sell online access to books, by the page or by entire texts. With the Amazon Upgrade program, customers who have bought the hard copy of a book will be able to pay an additional fee and have online access to that text. The only books that will be available in the new programs will be those in the public domain or whose copyright holder has granted permission. Decisions about whether users will be permitted to print pages from the Web or cut and paste text, as well as pricing, will be made by publishers and copyright holders, according to CEO Jeff Bezos. In a separate announcement, Random House has said it will begin making arrangements with online retailers and search engines to offer some of its books in electronic format. Books that the publisher includes in the program will be searchable, and users will be able to see up to 5 percent of the text for free. Beyond that point, users will pay per page for further access. CNET, 3 November 2005 http://news.com.com//2100-1025_3-5931569.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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