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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, MAY 22, 2006 Program Aims to Lower Costs for PCs in Developing Countries Feds Nervous about Lenovo Deal Backer of Adult Domain Questions U.S. Role PROGRAM AIMS TO LOWER COSTS FOR PCS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES A new program supported by Microsoft aims to provide developing countries with low-cost access to computer technology through a subscription service. Under the FlexGo program, consumers pay a reduced price for a PC and then pay for usage of the computer until it is paid off. After buying a computer for about half of its retail value, customers would buy time on the machine for 50 to 75 cents per hour. When the full cost of the computer is paid, the user would then own the machine and would not incur any more charges. Microsoft, which has criticized Nicholas Negroponte's plan to offer $100 laptops to developing nations, said this plan will provide users with full-featured computers. According to Mike Wickstrand, director of product management in the market expansion group at Microsoft, the FlexGo program lets consumers buy "a PC that they want and not a PC that they had to settle for." Wickstrand said the FlexGo model accommodates the irregular incomes that many people in developing countries have, allowing them to pay for their computer when they are able. Silicon.com, 22 May 2006 http://hardware.silicon.com/desktops/0,39024645,39159025,00.htm FEDS NERVOUS ABOUT LENOVO DEAL The U.S. State Department will reportedly not use any of the computers it recently purchased from Lenovo for classified information due to concerns over the company's connection with the Chinese government. Last year, Chinese computer maker Lenovo bought IBM's PC business, and in March of this year, the State Department ordered 16,000 Lenovo computers valued at $13 million through standard purchasing rules. When the deal was announced, Michael Wessel, a member of the congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, argued that use of the computers should be monitored in case they included code that could be activated remotely. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chair of a House committee with responsibility for State Department funding, picked up those concerns, and an aide to his office confirmed that the Lenovo machines will be restricted to non-classified uses. Officials with Lenovo offered no immediate comment, saying they were reviewing the decision. CNET, 19 May 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-7350_3-6074207.html BACKER OF ADULT DOMAIN QUESTIONS U.S. ROLE The Internet registrar that had pushed for a domain for adult content has asked the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to reconsider its decision to turn down the domain, saying that the group was misled by U.S. officials. ICM Registry has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commerce Department, seeking documents that it believes will "shed light on what role the United States government played" in ICANN's decision. Specifically, ICM believes that U.S. government officials were pressured by religious conservatives to lobby against the domain. Supporters of the .xxx domain said it would offer parents an easy way to prevent kids' accessing inappropriate content. Opponents of the domain pointed out that inclusion would have been voluntary and said it would offer another tool for those who want to censor the Internet. BBC, 22 May 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5003852.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. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
