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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 03, 2006 Online Library Part of International Security Intel to Pump One Billion Dollars into Developing World Scotland Debuts Online Exams Google Sponsors Coding Contest in Europe Business Groups Urge Caution in WTO Talks with Russia ONLINE LIBRARY PART OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY A group of academics has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an online library in Iraq that organizers hope will help the country hold on to its senior scientific researchers, many of whom have considerable experience developing weapons systems. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 85 percent of the country's university libraries were destroyed or looted. Organizers of the online library said that although many in the country lack reliable Internet access, an online library was nonetheless the fastest, least expensive way to provide access to scientific material. The Iraqi Virtual Science Library is initially funded by the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency and runs on U.S. government servers, though officials said they hope to turn control of the library over to Iraqis within the next few years. Fourteen publishers are participating in the program, offering discounts of as much as 97 percent over regular subscription prices. The Iraqi Virtual Science Library provides access to articles from about 17,000 academic journals. A representative of Springer, one of the publishers involved, said that because of the discounts, the Iraqi library has more content than most U.S. libraries, which must "cherry-pick" what they will purchase. Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 May 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/05/2006050301t.htm INTEL TO PUMP ONE BILLION DOLLARS INTO DEVELOPING WORLD Intel has announced an initiative to funnel $1 billion into developing nations over the next five years and to develop a low-cost laptop targeting education. The program, called World Ahead, is part of the company's effort to regain lost market share, although Intel remains the top maker of computer chips. Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, said that while the company has already paid for training for 3 million teachers, it would fund training for an additional 10 million worldwide. The World Ahead initiative, particularly the educational laptop, which is expected to cost less than $400, places Intel on the side of Microsoft in the ongoing debate with Nicholas Negroponte. Negroponte is working to develop a $100 educational laptop for developing nations. Negroponte argues that laptops that are inexpensive enough to be widely distributed to the world's poor will have a greater impact on learning and economic development than teacher-training programs. Microsoft, and now Intel, have publicly disagreed, calling Negroponte's laptops "old technology," saying that what is needed are inexpensive computers able to run current applications. New York Times, 2 May 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/technology/02chip.html SCOTLAND DEBUTS ONLINE EXAMS In what it called a "significant milestone," the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has begun offering some examinations online. The SQA said pilots of the online testing system were well received, and this month, 120 students will take the first online exam, in biotechnology. Anton Colella, chief executive of SQA, said, "Candidates involved in previous internal assessment pilots have told us they enjoy this way of working." He added that there is "much to do before reliable, secure electronic exams become the norm, but this is an excellent start." Each year, the SQA administers exams to 140,000 candidates. BBC, 2 May 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4962806.stm GOOGLE SPONSORS CODING CONTEST IN EUROPE Google has announced it will sponsor a coding competition for European developers. Google has sponsored Code Jam contests in the United States for several years, as well as two in India and one in China. Contestants visit a Web site, where they are presented with a problem, which they can solve using the programming language they choose. The best submissions will advance to the next round. After three rounds, finalists will travel to Ireland for the final competition. Prizes include 30,000 euros, and the top 50 entrants can interview for jobs with Google. The contest is part of Google's effort to reach out to the community of European software engineers, according to Shannon Maher, U.K. engineering-site director for the company. "We tend to emphasize we're doing difficult things here," he said, "but we like to have fun doing it." ZDNet, 2 May 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6067379.html BUSINESS GROUPS URGE CAUTION IN WTO TALKS WITH RUSSIA U.S. businesses urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative to demand more efforts from Russia in addressing intellectual property crimes before granting approval for the country to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Russia, with one of the largest global economies not represented in the WTO, is in bilateral talks with the United States over admission to the group. Industry organizations point to Russia as one of the worst offenders for piracy of copyrighted music, movies, and software and called on U.S. officials to take a tough stance. Eric Schwartz, vice president of the International Intellectual Property Alliance, said, "Enforcement at present is very, very weak." Businesses calling for renewed pressure on Russia pointed to proposed legislation in the country that would actually weaken protections for copyright owners. Christin Baker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, said, "We made it very clear to Russia that improvements...are necessary for them to enter the WTO." ABC News, 2 May 2006 http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1914448 ***************************************************** 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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