GWeekly_November_10.txt
*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, November 10, 2004 PT1*
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From NewsScan:
MICROSOFT JOINS THE SEARCH Microsoft is introducing an Internet search service positioned to compete with Google and Yahoo. Details of the service are expected tomorrow. John Tinker of the investment bank ThinkEquity Partners suggests that Microsoft's initial product will be just the beginning of a much larger competitive threat: "I think Microsoft is a couple of years from doing anything serious, but it's a reminder that the big bad evil beast is out there." (New York Times 10 Nov 2004) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/10/technology/10search.html?oref=login SPITTING MAD AT SPAM Spam over Internet telephony, known as SPIT, will become commonplace as more people make phone calls over the Internet. Internet researcher Michael Osterman warns that Web-based phone systems attacked by spam will "trash voice-mail systems," and explains: "You can easily delete 100 spam text messages. But try to weed through a voice-mail system filled with 100 unsolicited pitches. That's a pain." Spam is already appearing frequently on instant messages, cell phones, and blogs, and one executive of an Internet service provider admits: "As everything gets connected, there are more ways to spam consumers. Spam is everywhere." (USA Today 9 Nov 2004) http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-09-spit_x.htm [and in a related story] UNANIMOUS RULING: FCC, NOT STATES, WILL REGULATE VOIP The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that the federal government --rather than state regulatory bodies -- has the authority to oversee phone service offered over the Internet (known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP). FCC chairman Michael K. Powell says, "This landmark order recognizes that a revolution has occurred. Internet voice services have cracked the 19th century mold to the great benefit of consumers." (Washington Post 9 Nov 2004) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37972-2004Nov9.html E-LEARNING MEANS LESS MONEY FOR TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS A school superintendent in Colorado explains the plight of traditional schools faced with declining enrollments due to competition from new systems of learning: "If I lose two kids, that's $20,000 walking out the door... I was worried about making sure that if one student left, my budget wasn't a disaster." The state gives each school a per-pupil reimbursement for students who attend brick-and-mortar schools, but spends only $5,627 to educate each online student in Colorado. In almost all schools in that state, the cost of educating an online student is lower than for a traditional student. (Los Angeles Times 9 Nov 2004) <http://www.latimes.com/technology/ats-ap_technology13nov09,1,2640150.story? coll=sns-ap-toptechnology> P2P RADIO IS LATEST TWIST IN MUSIC SHARING Now there's a new way to share music that's free and perfectly legal --the trick involves marrying peer-to-peer technology with Internet radio. Pioneers in the field include Apple, Virgin Digital, and startups Mercora and Live 365, which offer tools that automatically stream users' private playlists over the Web while in some cases storing them in a searchable database for later retrieval. Mercora operates a Web-based network of about 8,000 "broadcasters" who serve up their playlists to somewhere between 175,000 and 200,000 listeners worldwide. "We're doing for music what Google did for the Web," says Mercora CEO Srivats Sampath. The company reasons that by using an Internet broadcast network model, it can take advantage of lower copyright fees, which are set by the U.S. Copyright Office rather than the record labels. As a result, Mercora can afford to pay the fees on behalf of broadcasters and offset the costs through advertising sales. "The big nut we had to crack is how to do this legally," says Sampath. "The law says you can broadcast as long as you pay. Fine, we will pay you." And if listeners happen to download a song? Technically, if the legally broadcast song is for personal use only, that's okay. "It's like a tape recorder," says Sampath. However, the downloader runs into legal trouble only when she tries to sell a track or transfer it to another person. (CNet News.com 8 Nov 2004) NIGERIAN SCAMMER JAILED [5 years jail for $5 million. . .sounds like not enough jail time, and you know they didn't get the $5 million back. . . .] The Australian mastermind of a global Internet scam was today sentenced to at least four years behind bars. Nick Marinellis pleaded guilty in the New South Wales District Court to 10 counts of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice over the so-called Nigerian or West African scam. The ruse fleeced victims of $5 million. Judge Barry Mahoney sentenced Marinellis to five years and three months jail with a non-parole period of four years and four months. (The Australian 8 Nov 2004) rec'd from John Lamp <http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11319598%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5 E,00.html> BIDDING UP PRICES ON ONLINE AUCTIONS [Was this penalty enough, either? How about the rest of the scammed?] Eight eBay sellers who bid up products online to inflate their prices have been ordered by the New York Attorney General's office to pay almost $90,000 in restitution and fines. More than 120 people will receive money from the settlement of the three cases. One man will receive a check for $3,089 after overpaying for a 1999 Jeep Cherokee sport-utility vehicle he bought from an eBay seller in 2002.(Washington Post 7 Nov 2004) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32944-2004Nov7.html IRAN'S CRACKDOWN ON PRO-DEMOCRACY WEB SITES In the past several months Iran has blocked hundreds of pro-democracy Web sites and arrested such journalists as Mahboubeh Abbas-Gholizadeh and Fereshteh Ghazi, both of whom write about women's issues. But the move to block Web sites has the support of senior cleric Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, who declared in September that Web sites should be blocked if they "insult sacred concepts of Islam, the Prophet and Imams," or if they publish "harmful and deviated beliefs to promote atheism or promote sinister books." (New York Times 8 Nov 2004) //www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/international/middleeast/08iran.html?oref=login GAME MAKERS THREATENED BY PATENT LAWSUIT Computer game makers, including such big names as Electronic Arts, Atari and Sega, have been sued by Texas-based McKool Smith, which claims the makers' games violate a 1987 patent that covers a way to display 3D objects realistically in a 2D space, such as a computer monitor. The technique is used by almost every game that uses 3D modeling, including older games such as Quake and Doom. The companies are now frantically researching prior art, citing games such as The Colony and Spectre, which may have been released before the 1987 patent was granted. (The Register 3 Nov 2004) http://www.theregister.com/2004/11/03/game_cos_3d_lawsuit/ IRELAND TO SILENCE MOBILES IN CINEMAS, THEATERS Ireland's cinemas and theatres have been given the go-ahead by the country's communications watchdog to permit the use of mobile phone interceptors. Interceptors will allow the creation of "quiet zones" where the mobile phones will not ring but where calls can still be made to emergency services or to lists of approved numbers, the Communications Regulator said on Wednesday. (The Age 4 Nov 2004) rec'd from John Lamp http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/04/1099362260997.html [Approved numbers: meaning the government and their friends.] INDIA UNVEILS NATIONAL INTERNET HUB India has created a national Internet service hub to connect all service providers and boost web traffic in the country of one billion people. Until now, domestic Internet service providers have been forced to rely on international traffic routing providers to run their Web sites, and so Information and Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran says the new plan will help to "proliferate the Internet" in that domestic service providers will now be able to reduce the cost of traffic routing and improve service for subscribers. (The Australian 29 Oct 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11222365%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html CELL PHONE PHOTOS MAKE THE FRONT PAGE Twice in the last month De Telegraaf, the Netherlands' largest newspaper, has run front-page photos snapped by amateur photographers using their cell phones. Wednesday De Telegraaf published a grisly picture of the body of filmmaker and columnist Theo van Gogh, who police suspect was stabbed to death by an Islamic militant. Passerby Aron Boskma took the photo at the crime scene in Amsterdam before the body had been covered. "This picture was the story. There was a discussion if we should use it, but everyone who would have had this picture would have published it," says Telegraaf pictures editor Peter Schoonen. Last month Dutch newspapers published cell phone pictures of a police shoot-out in the town of Enschede. In Japan, where many citizens now have camera-equipped cell phones, it is common practice to sell news-breaking pictures to TV stations and other media outlets. (Reuters 3 Nov 2004) <http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UJYGZ4EES4VDICRBAEOCFEY ?type=technologyNews&storyID=6702434> IE LOSING GROUND TO OPEN SOURCE BROWSERS Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is still the overwhelming market leader [93%?], but the percentage of Americans using open-source alternatives Mozilla and Firefox inched up to 6% in October from 3.5% in June. Apple's Safari and the Opera browsers combined were employed by just a little over 1% of users, according to online research firm WebSideStory. The results were gleaned by sensors embedded on major Web sites that identified which browsers visitors were using to access the sites. And although Mozilla and Firefox constitute a miniscule portion of the browser market, some analysts say their steady rise may signal a trend. "What we're seeing is (Mozilla and Firefox) looking more like a vanguard than a flash in the pan," says WebSideStory analyst Geoff Johnston. (CNet News.com 1 Nov 2004) <http://news.com.com/Study+Firefox+still+gaining+on+Internet+Explorer/2100-1 032_3-5435176.html> You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan: NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization making significant and sustained contributions to the effective management and appropriate use of information technology. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the text, html, or handheld versions of NewsScan Daily, send the appropriate subscribe or unsubscribe messages (i.e., with the word 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line) to: Text version: Send message to NewsScan@NewsScan.com Html version: Send mail to NewsScan-html@NewsScan.com NewsScan-To-Go: http://www.newsscan.com/handheld/current.html *
From Edupage
MICROSOFT SETTLES MORE SUITS Microsoft this week moved another step closer to clearing its slate of pending antitrust legislation when it reached a $536 million settlement with Novell over that company's NetWare operating system. In exchange, Novell will withdraw from the antitrust case brought by the European Commission (EC) against Microsoft. Microsoft also settled with the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which had challenged the terms of the antitrust settlement between Microsoft and the Justice Department. Under that deal, Microsoft will join the CCIA and will pay undisclosed legal expenses; the CCIA will stop seeking a review of the settlement with the Justice Department and will also withdraw from the EC case. Since the landmark deal with the Justice Department, Microsoft has now spent about $3 billion to settle antitrust complaints, and the company might still be liable for another $950 million for outstanding lawsuits, including one by RealNetworks. Despite Microsoft's argument that the EC should end its case in light of the new settlements, an EC spokesperson said regulators would not be ending their investigations and would insist on enforcing sanctions against the company. Wall Street Journal, 8 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109992201481467517,00.html USING VIDEO GAMES TO IMPROVE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE Athletes at a number of colleges and universities are testing an application called IntelliGym designed to improve athletic performance through video games. Daniel Gopher, the research supervisor at the company that developed IntelliGym, is known for his work in training Israeli fighter pilots in the 1980s with video simulations. Cadets in that program reportedly "performed significantly better" than others who did not train with the computer games, and Gopher has applied the same ideas to sports. Basketball players at the University of Memphis are testing the IntelliGym program, which does not simulate basketball but purportedly develops decision-making and visual skills applicable to the game. IntelliGym endeavors to train players to keep track of several things happening at one time, to discern patterns among moving objects, and to make fast decisions. San Jose Mercury News, 4 November 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/10099990.htm NEXTEL AND VERIZON SETTLE DISPUTE [unlike MicroSoft. . .] In a settlement widely regarded as a win for Nextel Communications, the wireless provider and Verizon Wireless have ended a long-running dispute over trademarks and reallocation of spectrum. Under the deal, Nextel will drop a lawsuit against Verizon alleging trademark infringement for use of the term "push to talk," and Nextel agreed not to pursue such charges against Verizon or any other carrier that uses the term. Meanwhile, Verizon will end its opposition to a reallocation of radio-wave spectrum between the government and Nextel. Nextel's network was woven together with various slices of the spectrum that often caused interference with emergency workers, such as police and firefighters. A proposed spectrum swap with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would eliminate much of that interference, but Verizon objected because the swap would also allow Nextel to upgrade its network fairly easily and to offer high-speed data services. Under the deal with the FCC, Nextel will return about $2 billion worth of spectrum to the FCC and will spend at least $3.2 billion to help relocate users affected by the change. The Government Accountability Office still has to rule on whether the FCC has the authority to swap the spectrum as outlined in the deal. Wall Street Journal, 3 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109941002329062243,00.html VIRGINIA SEES FIRST FELONY SPAM CONVICTION A brother and sister in Virginia have been found guilty under that state's antispam law, which some describe as the toughest in the nation. Jeremy D. Jaynes and Jessica DeGroot, who live in North Carolina, were charged with sending unsolicited e-mail from a bogus return address. Prosecutors said the e-mail the pair sent advertised fraudulent products, such as a "FedEx refund processor" that supposedly allowed users to earn $75 an hour from their homes. During one month, Jaynes reportedly received 10,000 orders for the processor, which was priced at $39.95. Jurors in the nation's first felony conviction for spam will now consider punishment for the two defendants. Prosecutors have asked the jury to sentence Jaynes to the maximum 15 years in prison and have requested an unspecified prison term for DeGroot. Washington Post, 3 November 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22961-2004Nov3.html You have been reading excerpts from Edupage: If you have questions or comments about Edupage, http://news.com.com/2100-1040-958352.html or send e-mail to: edupage@educause.edu To SUBSCRIBE to Edupage, send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU and in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName *** *Headline News Avoided By Most Of The Major U.S. Media Many of you have probably heard that a US National Guard F-16 fighter shot up the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School in New Jersey, but you probably also heard that the damage from the 20mm cannon was minimal, leaving only puncture marks on the roof and parking lot. [From an anonymous source on another listserver] "For your information, 20mm cannon shells are 5 times as massive as your standard every day police 9mm Glock bullets, and are travelling so much faster that you probably wouldn't believe it [when they leave the plane]. "The idea that these would only leave "puncture marks in the school's roof" is hardly testing the bloggers who challenged Dan Rather last month. "As an example, a .50 caliber machine gun would go right through a steel I-beam one inch thick. . .and this is only about 12.7mm in size, so I think any kind of follow-up examination will show that there is a LOT of damage to anything these 25 cannon rounds hit." *** And in addition to the story below, it would appear that the US has had missiles prepared to knock down satellites from both ground and air-based launchers for quite some time. US ADMITS TO DEPLOYMENT OF SPACE WARFARE TECHNOLOGY Washington, DC, October 29 The US Air Force's Space Commanders finally admitted that they had very quietly launched and activated various new weapons systems aimed at jamming electronic satellite communications systems of the other space faring countries of the world. The "Counter Communications Systems has been in operation since last month as per information from Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs. Since the US does not currently have any operational space shuttles, one is left to presume any orbital components were launched via the recent Russian launch that orbited the most recent US astronaut. However, no reference to any space-based components was made. Announcements only mentioned ground-based RF [radio frequency] jammers similar in concept to radio jammers since WW II. *** ...and in a related story, the FCC approval of the use of power lines to transmit internet data will essentially wipe out certain shortwave and CB frequencies in the USA (high-amplitude modulation at high frequencies, a loud constant blast of radio noise which will drown out everything else on those frequencies)... thankfully, this means that Americans will no longer be subjected to the annoyance of news programs originating from the rest of the world, which only served to confuse the situation and make peoples' heads hurt with contradictory information, anyway... commerical truckers, who rely on CB radio, will not be reachable for comment on their CB radios. . . . *STRANGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I tried 10 times to vote for Kerry, but it always came up Bush." *PREDICTION OF THE WEEK This election will bear surprising similarities to the previous one, and to the last president declaring a "mandate" when re-elected, Nixon. *ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Women in US prisons are increasing at a rate double that of men. and. . . . Not one of the major US television networks has mentioned in their reasons for reporting Vice President Gore as having been elected to serve as president that perhaps those in their exit polls actually thought they had voted for Gore, but their votes didn't count. and. . . In a recent issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the Atlanta-based federal agency said that bigger luggage is not the only thing weighing down airliners and causing them to burn more costly fuel. In fact, the CDC said, the average weight of Americans increased by 10 pounds during the 1990s - requiring an extra 350 million gallons of jet fuel to fly them around during 2000. *Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists, including the Project Gutenberg Weekly and Monthly Newsletters: and the other Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists: The weekly is sent on Wednesdays, and the monthly is sent on the first Wednesday of the month. 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