Edupage, 30 June 1999
EDUCAUSE
Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit
association dedicated to transforming education through
information technologies.
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TOP STORIES for June 30, 1999
Deal Reached on Bill to Limit Y2K Liability
Digital Music Standard Raises Host of Questions
Dole Proposal Tackles Internet Pornography
Xerox in Manufacturing Pact for Electronic Paper
ALSO
CMGI Buying Compaq's AltaVista
Online Reviews Raise Questions in Cyberspace
Approval Scheme for Web Trade Gains Acceptance
Study: Online Anonymity Critical
DEAL REACHED ON BILL TO LIMIT Y2K LIABILITY
The White House and Congress reached a compromise yesterday on
legislation that would limit lawsuits arising from Y2K-related
problems. For weeks the bill had appeared doomed; while the
House had passed a strong protection measure, the Senate had
passed a slightly weaker one, and the White House threatened to
veto them both. Advocates of the legislation argued that
high-tech companies could face financial devastation without
legal limitations. Yet opponents felt that the bill's
restrictions would limit consumer rights to recover their losses,
and could potentially prevent general product liability cases,
further violating consumer rights. According to congressional
aides, the compromise bill would develop a "proportionate
liability" formula to determine blame, so that companies would
only be held responsible for their share of the damage. The
formula would consolidate individual complaints even if one of
the defendants went bankrupt. (Washington Post 06/30/99)
DIGITAL MUSIC STANDARD RAISES HOST OF QUESTIONS
The Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), a consortium of
music, consumer electronics, and computer companies, June 28
released preliminary standards for digital music distribution.
The standards, which should be finalized within a month, provide
technical specifications for portable digital players designed to
prevent the players from playing pirated music. The players will
read digital watermarks embedded in CDs to determine whether a
copy can legally be made. The SDMI plans to include digital
watermarks in CDs sold in stores within 18 months. Existing CDs
could still be played on portable digital players, which will
play any music that does not contain the protection software
designating that it can only be played by the copyright holder.
The standards are controversial, and several issues must still be
resolved. The technology that will be used to protect against
music piracy is still uncertain. In addition, manufacturers of
portable music players may object to the standards, which have
been largely determined by record labels.
(New York Times 06/30/99)
DOLE PROPOSAL TACKLES INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY
Republican presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole upped the ante
in the family values debate by urging federal lawmakers to drop
funding for libraries with computer terminals that permit the
viewing of pornography on the Internet. In public remarks and
letters to congressmen, Dole chastised the federal government for
funding libraries that allow access to pornography on the
Internet, arguing that the matter is one of values, not First
Amendment rights. Dole is calling on Congress to amend the
House's juvenile justice bill, so that even adults are denied
access to pornographic Web content at federally funded libraries.
According to Dole, "the congressional plan does not go far enough
in promoting the values we share while protecting taxpayers and
families from pornography on the Internet."
(Washington Post 06/29/99)
XEROX IN MANUFACTURING PACT FOR ELECTRONIC PAPER
Xerox will announce this week that it has partnered with 3M to
commercially produce electronic paper. Electronic paper, which
has until now been a Xerox research project, is a reusable
electronic display that is similar to a computer screen but
almost as flexible as ordinary paper. It could be used for such
innovations as electronic newspapers that add late-breaking news
even while being read. The product uses a display technology
called "gyricon" created by Xerox almost 10 years ago. Small
beads, similar to toner particles, are embedded in a uniform
pattern in a flexible binder sheet. The beads rotate to display
one side to the viewer when a pattern of electrical voltage is
applied to the surface. The image stays until a new pattern is
applied. Despite the new manufacturing deal, electronic paper
will not be released for at least another year.
(Reuters 06/29/99)
=======================================
CMGI BUYING COMPAQ'S ALTAVISTA
Internet investment company CMGI has agreed to purchase Compaq's
AltaVista Web property for $2.5 billion, in the hopes of creating
a Web destination to rival Yahoo! and Excite. AltaVista has long
trailed behind its competitors in terms of recognition and
popularity -- last month it was ranked number 15 among networks of
Web sites, with 9.5 million visitors, compared to 31.1 million
for Yahoo!. CMGI plans to attract more visitors to AltaVista by
adding links to its own numerous Web sites. Furthermore, CMGI
plans to build on AltaVista's strong overseas presence, where it
is ranked second as a search engine. This year, CMGI and Compaq
will each contribute $50 million to promote AltaVista, a notable
increase from last year's spending of $1 million.
(Associated Press 06/29/99)
ONLINE REVIEWS RAISE QUESTIONS IN CYBERSPACE
Anonymous public commentary on commercial Web sites such as
Amazon.com is a growing problem, say authors and members of the
publishing industry. Publishers say that, because of
Amazon.com's high profile, reviews on the site can make or break
a book. Tim O'Reilly, CEO of book publisher O'Reilly &
Associates, says the reviews at Amazon.com are "increasingly
significant as a measure of what's important out there." The
site uses more than 2.5 million customer reviews, according to a
company spokesman. However, the site does not pre-screen
anonymous reviews and rarely removes negative reviews. Some
publishing industry insiders suggest that some publishers could
be using the anonymous reviews to slam competitors' books.
(Los Angeles Times 06/29/99)
APPROVAL SCHEME FOR WEB TRADE GAINS ACCEPTANCE
Consumer groups in five European countries are attempting to
boost consumer confidence online by rolling out common approval
systems for Web retailers. Just last week the British Consumers'
Association launched a scheme that offers consumers full payment
protection for electronic commerce transactions as well as legal
support and advice. Traders who have been certified as compliant
by the association's lawyers are eligible for the offering and
may display the Web trader logo. The U.K.'s trade and industry
department and the European Commission gave their wholehearted
support to the initiative. On June 25, Consumentenbond launched
a corresponding scheme in the Netherlands. The common approval
initiative also will be launched by consumer groups in Belgium,
Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal over the next several weeks.
The schemes provide a means of recourse for consumers who
experience trouble when making cross-border online purchases.
(Financial Times 06/28/99)
STUDY: ONLINE ANONYMITY CRITICAL
The viability of the Internet as a commercial and communications
medium is dependent on allowing consumers to remain anonymous
when online, according to a new report from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. The Anonymous
Communication Policies for the Internet report strongly urges
governments to think twice before imposing regulations that would
limit the online anonymity of consumers. The benefits of
anonymous communications greatly outweigh the negatives,
according to the report. The study was funded by the National
Science Foundation. Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and
Technology says the report will likely influence policy changes
or proposed regulations.
(Wired News 06/29/99)
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UPCOMING EDUCAUSE CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS:
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Strategy, Technology, Organization, Relationships, and Mission (STORM!)
August 6-11, 1999, Snowmass Village, Colorado
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CAUDIT-EDUCAUSE Institute
August 8-12, 1999, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia
http://www.caudit.edu.au/caudit/institute/index.html
EDUCAUSE '99
"Celebrating New Beginnings"
EDUCAUSE Annual Conference
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http://www.educause.edu/conference/e99/
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For information on other technology related
educational conferences see
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Edupage Copyright 1999, EDUCAUSE
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EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit association dedicated to
transforming education through information technologies