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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 FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2006 RPI to Develop Supercomputing Center Congress Debates SSN Restrictions Data-Breach Legislation on the Agenda China Rejects Wikipedia, Starts Its Own Version RPI TO DEVELOP SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., is working with several companies to develop a supercomputing center that will be the largest at a university and one of the 10 largest worldwide. The Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations will be used to study nanotechnology and its application in semiconductors. Researchers will try to shrink the size of some components from 65 nanometers today to 22 nanometers by 2015. The center represents the latest move in a series of efforts by New York Governor George Pataki to make the state a magnet for the high-tech sector. Companies participating in development of the new center, which has a budget of about $100 million, include IBM, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Cadence, maker of semiconductor design tools. IBM and AMD are also participating in an effort to establish a lithography research center in Albany. ZDNet, 11 May 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6071268.html CONGRESS DEBATES SSN RESTRICTIONS Members of Congress have vowed to enact legislation by the end of the year that will restrict use of Social Security numbers (SSNs), which have become a prime target of identity thieves. Several bills are before Congress now, including one introduced by Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and another by Clay Shaw (R-Fla.). Joe Barton (R-Tex.) said the current practice of allowing data brokers to sell SSNs to anyone able to pay for them should be banned outright. Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said SSNs are "overused" and "underprotected." Officials from financial services institutions cautioned, however, that appropriate use of SSNs is invaluable for sectors such as theirs. Oliver Ireland, representing the Financial Services Coordinating Council, said SSNs "are critical for fraud detection." CNET, 11 May 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6071441.html DATA-BREACH LEGISLATION ON THE AGENDA Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the Cybersecurity Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2006, which would require notification of government officials--but not of those affected--any time a computer breach exposes data for 10,000 or more individuals. Data-breach bills have previously been introduced by the House Financial Services Committee and the House Commerce Committee, with varying requirements for notification. In the Senate, two bills have been introduced in the Judiciary Committee and a third in the Commerce Committee. Some observers are concerned that the competing federal legislation, which would likely supersede any state laws concerning data-breach disclosure, risks being reconciled into a law that would be worse than if no law were passed. Susanna Montezemolo of the Consumers Union expressed support for one of the Senate bills, the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, which has been approved by committee and is waiting for a vote in the full Senate. Internet News, 12 May 2006 http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3605666 CHINA REJECTS WIKIPEDIA, STARTS ITS OWN VERSION Baidu, the leading search engine in China, has launched a site that approximates Wikipedia but with none of the content that prompted the Chinese government to block Wikipedia last year. Chinese authorities exert strong control over Internet content available in the country, and Wikipedia includes enough material deemed objectionable that the entire site is unavailable. Robin Li, chairman of Baidu, said his company's new site, Baike, was inspired by Wikipedia, though he said he has never actually seen Wikipedia. China is second only to the United States in Internet users, and Chinese users have reportedly written more than 25,000 Baike entries in the past week. Li said, "I certainly hope our encyclopedia will be the most authoritative one for any Chinese users." San Jose Mercury News, 12 May 2006 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/14563324.htm ***************************************************** 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 12, 2006 - Message (Plain Text)
