Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) Version 2 Requirements. A new draft of the requirements list for the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) Version 2 is now available. By Susanne Guth and Renato Iannella, November 24, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 11:32:29 PM      Google It!.

Thomson Acquires Third of ContentGuard. Something like this is no real surprise - ContentGuard had been under pressure from regulators for being too concentrated in the hands of Microsoft and Time Warner. I'm not sure the addition of the publishing giant Thomson will change anything, but the partners no doubt hope it will. Here is the ContentGuard press release on the acquisition and a wholly frivolous press release on Thomson's licensing of ContentGuard patents (If I buy the rights to print this article from myself, can I write a press release too? Sheesh...). Meanwhile, readers may want to look at ContentGuard's Rights Express service, which demonstrates not only how their rights management language works, but also their attitude toward open markets: "For the best user experience, please access RightsExpress with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Other browsers may not render the content properly." (In fact, it renders just fine in Firefox.) By Leigh Phillips, Digital Media Europe, November 24, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 11:30:49 PM      Google It!.

Wired for Wikiphonics. Breeze presentation from Brian Lamb,so you know it combines wikis, RSS, blogs, learning and chaos. OK, well, the talk is mostly about wikis. It's the delivery that is interesting. Like James Farmer, I wish I could do something like this without Breeze (or other software that requires a real live software budget to acquire). By Brian Lamb, November 24, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily] 11:27:46 PM      Google It!.

When Plagiarism's Shadow Falls on Admired Scholars. Two Harvard law professors, Charles J. Ogletree Jr. and Laurence H. Tribe, have publicly acknowledged that they have unintentionally misused sources. By By SARA RIMER. [NYT > Education] 9:56:47 AM      Google It!.

Amazon Japan Offers Barcode Purchases via Camera Phone [Slashdot:] 9:56:04 AM      Google It!.

Playing the Touching Game. Its touch panel makes the Nintendo DS a unique and fun gadget, although the system and the current crop of games don't use it to its fullest. By Chris Kohler. [Wired News] 9:54:38 AM      Google It!.

ISU study seeks to improve virtual learning -PHIL ROONEY, Daily Nonpareil. A three-year, $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will allow Iowa State University's College of Education to become the nation's first teacher education program to prepare undergraduates for virtual schooling. "Virtual learning is sor [Online Learning Update] 9:53:16 AM      Google It!.

Internet plagiarism has increased among students: Hi-tech answer to student cheats - BBC. New measures to help detect cheating students are being demonstrated at a conference in Newcastle. A survey of around 350 undergraduates found nearly 25% had copied text from another source at least once. A new service that can scan 4.5 billion web p [Online Learning Update] 9:52:23 AM      Google It!.

New York Times reveals identity of Amtrak Julie. Today's New York Times reveals the identity of Amtrak Julie! Since her debut in April 2001, Julie has earned high marks from callers, who have given her an approval rating of more than 90 percent, according to surveys done by Amtrak and by a company hired by the railroad. Many riders say that she sounds and acts so lifelike that they did not immediately realize that she was just a computer program. In handling roughly five million calls, or about a quarter of Amtrak's annual call volume Julie has saved the perennially strained railroad more than $13 million that it would have cost for humans to handle calls. Amtrak officials would not say how much Julie cost. ... But Julie's affable telephone persona would not be possible without a real live Julie. And, in this case, it is Julie Stinneford, 41, who provides the voice for Amtrak's answering system. [New York Time: Your Train Will Be Late, She Says Cheerily] ... [Jon's Radio] 9:51:31 AM      Google It!.

Cross-Platform Java Sandbox Exploit [Slashdot:] 9:49:00 AM      Google It!.

Behind the Guildhall - The Story of the Students [Slashdot:] 9:42:49 AM      Google It!.