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***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. ***************************************************** TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, MAY 8, 2006 Journal Publishers Cringe at Access Bill Guilty Plea in Computer Attack Parents, City Council Call for End to Cell-Phone Ban AOL Offers Free VoIP to IM Customers JOURNAL PUBLISHERS CRINGE AT ACCESS BILL A bill introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) has prompted an outcry by publishers of scholarly journals, who argue that their publications would suffer under the bill. The Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 would require scholars who publish articles based on federally funded research to place those articles on free Web sites within six months of being published in an academic journal. The sponsors of the bill said it would ensure broad access to research funded with taxpayer money. A spokesperson for Lieberman said the bill would "foster information sharing, prevent duplication of research efforts, and generate new lines of scientific inquiry." Some scholarly publishers expressed concerns, however, that the business model of academic journals--both in terms of subscriptions and of ad revenues--would falter if so much of the content were free online. The National Institutes of Health last year began encouraging researchers working on NIH grants to submit their articles to a public database, but so far fewer than 4 percent have done so. New York Times, 8 May 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/business/media/08journal.html GUILTY PLEA IN COMPUTER ATTACK Christopher Maxwell has pleaded guilty to charges that he and a group of conspirators used a network of zombie computers to install adware on unsuspecting users' computer. Maxwell is said to have earned about $100,000 in commissions from the adware. The scheme involved using a bot network of 13,000 zombie computers, which Maxwell controlled using powerful computers at California State University at Northridge, the University of Michigan, and the University of California at Los Angeles. Maxwell's bot network swamped the computers at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, causing disruptions to communications among hospital staff. Costs for the hospital to address the issue were estimated to be $150,000. Maxwell will be sentenced August 4. ZDNet, 5 May 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6069238.html PARENTS, CITY COUNCIL CALL FOR END TO CELL-PHONE BAN Framing it as a "safety issue," City Councilwoman Letitia James has called on administrators in New York City to lift a ban on cell phones in public schools. Opponents of the ban, including most students, many parents, and a small number of city officials, pointed to incidents such as the September 11, 2001, attacks, saying that cell phones can be an invaluable lifeline in times of crisis. They said rules requiring students to turn cell phones off in school are acceptable but that the technology should be available in an emergency. Administrators reiterated their belief that phones in school represent nothing so much as a source of distractions and of mischief, including cheating and taking photos in restrooms or locker rooms. Joel Klein, chancellor of schools, said that alternate solutions to the problems of cell phones are either too expensive or impractical. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also expressed his support for the continuation of the ban. Wired News, 6 May 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,70834-0.html AOL OFFERS FREE VOIP TO IM CUSTOMERS AOL has announced a new voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service for customers of its instant messaging service, AIM. Starting May 16, AIM customers can get a free VoIP phone number and can receive unlimited inbound calls from traditional phones, cell phones, and PCs. A premium service will be available for $14.95 per month. The service ties in with customers' instant messaging accounts, and voicemail will be provided at no extra charge. Analysts pointed out that companies including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, among others, offer instant messaging services with phone features. In such a closely fought market, they said, AOL is looking for something to differentiate itself, though the boost from the new service may be minimal. Will Stofega, analyst at IDC, noted that "the mating of IM and VoIP has been very powerful." Joe Laszlo, analyst with JupiterResearch, doubted that AOL's service will be noticed by non-AOL users and said that only a small percentage of current AOL instant messaging customers will likely be interested in VoIP. Internet News, 8 May 2006 http://wwwinternetnews.com/infra/article.php/3604556 ***************************************************** 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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Title: Edupage, May 8, 2006 - Message (Plain Text)
