Message-Id: <55206A473154D011924D0020AFF7ACB56A64E8@mail1.oulan.ou.edu>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 10:59:54 -0600
From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 15 March 1998
************************************************************
Edupage, 15 March 1998. Edupage, a summary of news about information
technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom, a
Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities
seeking to transform education through the use of information
technology.
************************************************************
TOP STORIES
Congress Eyes Aid For Distance Learning Students
Netscape Plans To Boost Internet Service
RealNetworks Buys Vivo Software
ALSO
Amazon.Com Wants To Send You To Law School
Software Piracy
Malaysian Crackdown On Net Pornography
Walking Tightrope Between Censorship And Free Speech
CONGRESS EYES AID FOR DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS
Congress is beginning work on extending the Higher Education Act, and is
considering easing a provision in the current law that prohibits
colleges from receiving federal aid if they offer more than 50% of their
courses via distance education. The rule, which initially was
introduced to prevent fraud following a 1992 scandal involving several
correspondence schools, now poses problems for "virtual" universities
and other participants in the distance learning boom. The Clinton
Administration has proposed eliminating the "50% rule" and has asked
accrediting agencies to develop standards for distance learning
programs. At the same time, the Department of Education has urged
officials to limit any changes to include only programs at two-year and
four-year colleges that offer accredited associate, bachelor's or
graduate degrees. "The accrediting agencies are perfectly capable of
addressing those standards. We don't want the department regulating
more than is absolutely necessary," says a senior VP at the American
Council on Education. (Chronicle of Higher Education 13 Mar 98)
NETSCAPE PLANS TO BOOST INTERNET SERVICE
Netscape Communications is planning to expand its Netcenter site into a
major Internet gateway, positioning it in direct competition with
Yahoo!, Excite, America Online and Microsoft. The redesigned site will
include more community features such as discussion groups, and Netscape
is looking at ways to offer free e-mail service to users. The move
signals the consolidation of Web traffic around a few major "hubs,"
which serve as the initial log-on point for Web users. Netscape already
ranks No. 2 in visitors, with 23.1 million users in February, second
only to Yahoo!. (Wall Street Journal 13 Mar 98)
REALNETWORKS BUYS VIVO SOFTWARE
RealNetworks, the dominant supplier of online multimedia streaming
software, has acquired Vivo Software for $17 million in a stock swap
deal. The merger will boost RealNetwork's market share to close to 90%,
according to its estimates. The combined companies will now work on
integrating Vivo's VivoActive 2.0 technology into RealNetwork's
software, using Microsoft's open Active Streaming Format. Microsoft
owns a 10% stake in RealNetworks. (Broadcasting & Cable 2 Mar 98)
===============================================
AMAZON.COM WANTS TO SEND YOU TO LAW SCHOOL
Online bookseller Amazon.com has an unusual promotion going on, in an
effort to publicize John Grisham's latest thriller, "The Street Lawyer."
The winner of the contest can choose between $25,000 cash or the first
year of law school tuition paid in full. Contestants must register at
the www.amazon.com site, and, as always, should read the fine print
first. Entries must be submitted by March 16. (Information Week 9 Mar
98)
SOFTWARE PIRACY
A Decima Research survey released by the Canadian Alliance Against
Software Theft found that one in five Canadians pirates software,
although fewer than 1% do so frequently. Only 20% of respondents said
they would report someone for illegally copying software, and almost
half view stealing a chocolate bar as worse than pirating software. The
CAAST estimates piracy costs between $357- and $500-million annually,
but courts have been unwilling to award damages unless software makers
can prove exactly how much they lost, which is difficult to do since
detailed records are rare at illegal software shops. Changes to the
Copyright Act easing that burden of proof are expected to be proclaimed
by the end of April, providing tougher civil penalties of up to $20,000
for each program illegally copied. (Toronto Globe & Mail 13 Mar 98)
MALAYSIAN CRACKDOWN ON NET PORNOGRAPHY
Malaysia's consumer affairs minister is calling for strict monitoring of
Internet cafes to prevent young people "from poisoning their minds with
filth" and leading them into crime and "immoral acts." In some places
in the country, cybercafe owners will be required to give authorities
$5,000 deposits that will be forfeited if the cafes are found to allow
pornography on their screens. (AP 14 Mar 98)
WALKING TIGHTROPE BETWEEN CENSORSHIP AND FREE SPEECH
The Internet has given higher education institutions something new to
worry about. Peter Burke, an attorney in the technology practice group
of the Atlanta & Washington law firm Powell-Goldstein, says:
"Universities are concerned about libel and slander. By operating e-mail
systems, does the university become responsible for what gets posted
there?" Burke says that universities and colleges are walking the
tightrope between censorship and free speech, because what some may say
is offensive, others argue is free speech. "Do we have people deciding
what ideas are good or bad? 'Don't say that, it might offend somebody?
We'd rather you speak good ideas so everyone is happy?'" (AP 14 Mar 98)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) and Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu). Telephone: 770-590-1017
Technical support for distributing Edupage is provided by Information
Technology Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
**********************************************************
Edupage ... is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to
Edupage: send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message:
subscribe edupage Louis XIX (if your name is Louis XIV; otherwise,
substitute your own name). To unsubscribe send a message to:
listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: unsubscribe edupage. If you
have subscription problems, send mail to
manager@educom.unc.edu.
[Note: Edupage editors John Gehl & Suzanne Douglas also write the
newsletter Innovation; for a free trial subscription see
http://www.newsscan.com/ .]
Educom Review ... is our bimonthly print magazine on information
technology and education ... Subscriptions are $18 a year in the
U.S.; send mail to offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll ring a little
bell, because we'll be so happy! Choice of bell is yours: a small dome
with a button, like the one on the counter at the dry cleaners with the
sign "Ring bell for service"; or a small hand bell; or a cathedral
bell; or a door bell; or a chime; or a glockenspiel. Your choice.
But ring it!
Educom Update ... is our twice-a-month electronic summary of
organizational news and events. To subscribe, send mail to:
listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe update Louis XIV
(if your name is Louis XIV; otherwise, substitute your own name).
Translations & Archives... Edupage is translated into Estonian, French,
German, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. For
accessing instructions, send a blank message to
translations@educom.unc.edu. Archives of Edupage can be found at
http://www.educom.edu/ in the publications section.
Today's Honorary Subscriber is the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715),
the greatest monarch of his age. His reign marked the cultural
ascendancy of France within Europe, symbolized by the magnificent Palace
of Versailles. Though Louis is remembered in history as "The Sun King,"
today's teenagers will no doubt remember him (if at all, and if their
history teachers are lucky) as Leonardo DiCaprio, the handsome young
movie star ("Titanic" etc.) who plays Louis in the new movie "The Man In
The Iron Mask." Based on the swashbuckling novel by Alexandre Dumas,
the story is based on the legend that Louis had a twin brother who was
confined to prison and forced to wear an iron mask to hide his identity
and prevent him from threatening the royal succession.
Of the two brothers, the man in the iron mask is exactly the kind
of noble, unselfish person a real king should be. In contrast, Louis
is the vain and evil twin who revels in luxury, seduces women, and
abuses the sacred trust of the people. A real problem for France, and
for the man in the iron mask. But not to worry -- the Three Musketeers
make the world right again, by switching the good king for the bad one,
and that's the story of how the seventeenth century got its Sun King and
how we got another Leonardo DiCaprio movie (which is actually pretty
good, by the way).
Presumably there is no factual basis in the legend. Neither in
France nor anywhere else -- and neither then nor anytime before or since
-- has the ruler of any nation had an evil twin forced to wear an iron
mask before being whisked into office to save his people from ruin by
his wicked brother. At least, not as far as we know. But, of course,
stranger things have happened.
************************************************************
Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
************************************************************