OPINION

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Ubiquitous High-Speed Broadband

By Terry Calhoun

A group of higher education associations has called for major changes in federal policy toward Internet communications. “The main thing that we’re calling for here is an advance telecommunications policy that looks 15 years out rather than one that rearranges the deck chairs. A more advanced Internet is really what is required, and that should be the goal.”

And it should be very, very fast; it should be open to everyone and to all lawful content; state and local governments should continue to be able to operate their own broadband networks; and the federal government should pour more money into new network technologies to get us there.

How could I possibly disagree?

IT NEWS

Vigilante Hackers Use Old West Tactics for Cyberspace Justice

Brush off the old distinctions between 'cracker' and 'hacker' --we might need them again. A loose consortium of hackers is locating 'fake banks' used in consumer phishing schemes, and hacking them down. Lots of ethical issues are raised, of course. (Yahoo News)
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Grayson County College Launches New Web Site

Imagine being 10 years or more into the same old front page and website, even though functionality behind it has increased tremendously. Grayson Community College (TX) staffers have brought the college's home page up to match the school's current status. (Herald Democrat, Denison, TX)
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U. Illinois Receives One of 20 New Subp'enas in RIAA Campaign

The RIAA wants to know who is using an IP address at the university that has allegedly been collecting a lot of music and/or video files. (News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, IL) Read more

BYU's Got a Hot, Ongoing Identity Theft Investigation

Someone noticed a key stroke logger icon on several computers in the Widts'e Building Open Access Lab at BYU. The software was recording key strokes and sending them off in email messages to an unknown location. (BYU News Net)
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RESOURCES

Canadian 'Philosopher of Cyberspace' Sees New Internet Civilization with 'collective knowledge' and 'noosphere.'

Professor Pierre Lévy of the University of Ottawa, Canada, is called “the philosopher of cyberspace.” He "sees the changes in life resulting from the Internet as the birth of a new civilization. He explains it with the concepts of 'collective knowledge' and 'noosphere.'" (BBC World)
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DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

NEC Offers Displays, Projectors and Ford Mustang in Give Aways

NEC Solutions (America), Inc., Visual Systems Division, announces plans to give away 61-inch plasma displays, 25 projectors, and even a new 2005 Ford Mustang convertible. NEC prize programs include a "Teaching in Motion" video contest for teachers in which they can win 25 NEC VT47 projectors for their school.
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