Edupage, April 11, 2003

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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.
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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2003
  Source-Code Changes Allowed for Some Microsoft Products
  Broadband Available Soon Through Electric Lines
  Congress Revisits Anti-Spam Legislation
AND
  Librarians Respond to PATRIOT Act
  Judge Dismisses Anti-DMCA Suit
  Former Opponents Agree to E-Publishing Deal


SOURCE-CODE CHANGES ALLOWED FOR SOME MICROSOFT PRODUCTS
Microsoft has announced that under new licensing terms that are part of
its Shared Source Initiative, some industry partners will have full
access to Microsoft source code and will be allowed to modify it. The
Shared Source Initiative had given some academics and governments
access to source code and allowed limited changes for research or
governmental purposes. The new program frees partners including chip
makers and other manufacturers to modify Windows CE and distribute the
modified code for their own commercial advantage. Those companies
retain exclusive rights to the modified code for at least six months,
after which they may or may not license the software back to Microsoft.
Analysts said the new program is an important step for Microsoft in
relaxing its control over intellectual property. Analysts noted that
the program applies to software in markets that Microsoft does not
dominate, including cell phones, hand-held computers, and television
set-top boxes.
New York Times, 10 April 2003 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/technology/10SOFT.html

BROADBAND AVAILABLE SOON THROUGH ELECTRIC LINES
Technology that allows for broadband Internet access through a home's
power outlets could be available in some areas as early as this year.
Companies have been working on the technology for several years, and
this week Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael
Powell toured a home in suburban Washington, D.C., where the technology
is in place. To function properly, the power-line connection has to
overcome the problem of electrical interference and must sidestep
transformers, which block data signals. Bill Blair of the Electric
Power Research Institute called the technology "potentially a huge
business" but noted that it remains unproven. According to Powell, the
FCC is intrigued by the technology and is considering whether it should
be regulated.
CNN, 10 April 2003
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/04/10/highspeed.house.ap/index.html

CONGRESS REVISITS ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION
Senators Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Rick Wyden (D-Ore.) have introduced
the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing
(CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003. The bill would require e-mail marketers to use
valid return addresses and to remove names of users who requested to be
removed from e-mail lists. Also included in the bill are increased
powers for law enforcement agencies to prosecute spammers who try to
skirt the regulations. Companies including AOL, Yahoo, and eBay support
the measure. As the problem of unwanted e-mail has ballooned, federal
efforts to control spam have also won the backing of major marketing
organizations, including the Direct Marketing Association and the
National Advertising Initiative's e-mail service provider coalition.
Internet News, 11 April 2003
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2184741

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LIBRARIANS RESPOND TO PATRIOT ACT
The USA PATRIOT Act grants federal authorities broad access to library
records, and many librarians across the country are taking steps to
oppose and to limit the impact of the legislation. In Monterey Park,
Calif., all public computers have notices taped to their screens
stating that anything read on that computer can be seen by federal
agents. Other libraries have decided to destroy records of what books
are checked out by which library patrons, and some libraries have
halted plans to implement systems that track user preferences to notify
users of new books of possible interest. The American Library
Association officially opposes the legislation and is working to have
it repealed, as are a number of state library associations. Still, some
librarians support the law, while others report that it has not
affected how their libraries conduct their affairs. Peter Persic, a
spokesman for the Los Angeles Public Library, said, "It's business as
usual here. We have not had complaints about it."
Washington Post, 10 April 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1481-2003Apr9.html

JUDGE DISMISSES ANTI-DMCA SUIT
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Harvard University
law school student to test the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Benjamin Edelman asked the court to prevent Internet-filtering company
N2H2 from suing him if he circumvented the company's encryption to see
the list of Web sites their filters block. The DMCA forbids such
circumvention, and opponents of the law have argued that it impedes
research into encryption and other technologies. Federal Judge Richard
G. Stearns disagreed that Edelman's research interests outweigh
N2H2's right to protect its copyrighted property. The judge said, "The
court has no inkling of the exact dimension of the research that
Edelman proposes to undertake and doubts that Edelman does either."
Chronicle of Higher Education, 10 April 2003
http://chronicle.com/free/2003/04/2003041001t.htm

FORMER OPPONENTS AGREE TO E-PUBLISHING DEAL
Two years ago Random House and RosettaBooks were involved in a legal
battle over the right to publish books electronically. RosettaBooks had
made deals with Random House authors, arguing that rights to digital
media were not covered by the original contracts with Random House.
Random House disagreed and sued RosettaBooks. Although the key point of
that suit--what happens when e-rights are not specified--was left
unresolved by a settlement the two companies reached, they have entered
into an agreement for RosettaBooks to publish 51 e-books of Random
House authors, including Margaret Atwood and John Updike. The list does
not include books from Random House's top-selling authors, such as
John Grisham or Anne Rice, but, according to Arthur Klebanoff, CEO of
RosettaBooks, "We're bringing some terrific books and terrific authors
into the electronic format." A spokesman for Random House called the
agreement with RosettaBooks "mutually advantageous," saying Random
House is focusing on audio and print books while RosettaBooks is
focusing on e-books.
Associated Press, 9 April 2003 (registration req'd)
http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/847467p-5948492c.html

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