***************************************************** 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, SEPTEMBER 08, 2006 Los Alamos Lab Commissions Fastest Supercomputer FTC Hits Xanga with $1 Million Fine Facebook Responds to User Outcry LOS ALAMOS LAB COMMISSIONS FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER The U.S. Department of Energy has commissioned IBM to build a supercomputer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico that will be as much as four times faster than the Blue Gene/L at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, currently the world's fastest supercomputer. The new computer, dubbed Roadrunner, will use 16,000 standard processors and 16,000 so-called cell processors, which were designed for Sony's PlayStation 3 game console. Because each cell consists of eight individual processors, Roadrunner will be able to achieve its speed using far fewer processors than comparable systems. Other efforts have focused on using the power of cell processors to solve large computing problems. Researchers at Stanford University in August said they were working on a system that would allow PS3 game consoles to function as a large, distributed-computing system. According to the researchers, 10,000 game consoles would provide roughly 1 petaflop of processing--the amount expected from Roadrunner. The Stanford researchers said they hope eventually to recruit 100,000 game consoles to their project. BBC, 7 September 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5322704.stm FTC HITS XANGA WITH $1 MILLION FINE The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a $1 million fine on social networking site Xanga for violations of the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The FTC contended that Xanga allowed users whose self-reported birthdays indicated they were less than 13 years old to create accounts. COPA forbids any company from collecting personal information from users under the age of 13 without parental notification and consent. Xanga reportedly had allowed 1.7 million users to register with birthdays indicating they were under 13. Although Xanga CEO John Hiler suggested that many of those 1.7 million birthdays might be from users older than 13 who used birthdays of pets, for example, the company said it would implement changes geared toward child safety. Previously, the largest fine imposed under COPA was $400,000. In that case, UMG Recordings was fined for similarly collecting personal information from users under 13. CNET, 8 September 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6113626.html FACEBOOK RESPONDS TO USER OUTCRY An outcry over new features on the social networking site Facebook has prompted the company to add new privacy measures to the site just days after the new features debuted. Earlier this week, Facebook users could take advantage of new tools that work like news feeds, notifying those who sign up for the feeds when users update their profiles. Despite Facebook's mission of connecting users and allowing individuals to post information about themselves on the Web, hundreds of thousands of the site's nine million registered users reportedly complained that the feeds violated their privacy. With the most recent changes, users have the option of controlling which information is included in the feeds. The company said it would later implement the ability to prevent any personal information from being shared through the feeds. Wall Street Journal, 8 September 2006 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115767827826257155.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. 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
