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NEWS
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University of Maryland may face Internet license fee
By Josh Lustig
The Diamondback,
University of Maryland
VIAU-WIRE
COLLEGE,PARK,Md.—The University of Maryland may be forced to buy a license to continue its use of streaming media files after a complaint was made last month by a California-based company that claims to own the technology.
In July, Acacia Technologies Group sent the university a letter claiming that it has been illegally using a patented technology to
stream video and audio files over the Internet.
Streaming media involves the use of sending audio or video files over the Internet without the user having to download them and is used in programs such as RealPlayer.
Office of Information Technology spokesman Skip Warnick said that in the past, the university has used streaming media to broadcast events such as speeches by former South African President Nelson Mandela and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. This past academic year, the technology has been used for events such as Maryland Day and coverage of commencement ceremonies.
OIT policy coordinator Amy Ginther said the university has considered using the technology for the Deep Impact program, a university professor's project to crash a spacecraft into a comet in order to study the formation of the solar system.
The Baltimore Sun reported Acacia offered the university the option of purchasing a license at a minimum cost of $5,000 annually. This would allow them to
continue to stream media over the Internet without violating the patent. It also hinted at the possibility of a lawsuit if an agreement isn't signed.
The state's attorney general's office is currently in the "early stages" of investigating the claims, which includes looking into its legal validity. At press time, the office was "trying to coordinate a response to the notices of infringement," said spokesman Kevin Enright.
Similar letters have been sent by Acacia to colleges and universities across the country, but no
lawsuits have been filed by the company against any institutions. Enright said two higher education institutions in Maryland have received them.
According to Acacia's patent documents, the company claims the streaming technology is part of a larger patent it owns. The patent covers the concept behind the technology, rather than the software or hardware needed to use it.
OIT offers free server space to professors, researchers and some student organizations to store streaming media. Its web site
offers students and faculty streaming media services, some of which cost academic departments upwards of $75 an hour.
Before setting its sights on higher education, Acacia filed similar infringement lawsuits against many private companies.
Beginning with a string of disputes against the adult entertainment industry, Acacia began to target larger corporations. In 2004, the company settled disputes with companies such as Disney and Playboy.
Acacia officials did not return calls by press time.
Ailing Pope addresses own illness at French shrine
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOURDES, France — His voice weak, his legs unsteady as he knelt in prayer, Pope John Paul II joined thousands of other ailing pilgrims Saturday at a cliffside shrine known for its miraculous cures, telling them he shares in their physical suffering and assuring them the burden is part of God's "wondrous plan."
The rare reference to his own illnesses — Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments — came at the start of a two-day visit to the shrine to the Virgin Mary, where Roman Catholics seek healing, hope and inner
peace.
"With you I share a time of life marked by physical suffering, yet not for that reason any less fruitful in God's wondrous plan," the 84-year-old pope said in remarks read for him by a French cardinal.
"Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, how I would like to embrace each and every one of you with affection, to tell you how close I am to you and how much I support you."
John Paul spoke haltingly in French, slurring his words, when addressing French President Jacques Chirac shortly after arriving from Rome.
Later, he made no attempt to read his brief speech when he prayed in the ivy-covered grotto where Mary is said to have appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858.
He was hoisted from a wheeled throne onto a kneeler to pray at the grotto, but after less than a minute he slipped, and aides immediately steadied him and lifted him back into his chair.
Then, following Lourdes' custom, he sipped a glass of water from the spring that flows underground, believed by many to have curative powers.
"Everything is normal, the pope was only tired," papal
"With you I share a time of
life marked by physical suffering, yet not for that reason any less fruitful in God's wondrous plan."
Pope John Paul II
spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters. "We have to get used to see him that way."
In the late afternoon John Paul returned to the grotto and delivered a brief speech, although with some difficulty, saying "I have reached the goal of my pilgrimage" with the stop.
Asher Mora, a 48-year-old pilgrim from Madrid, Spain, expressed mixed feelings about the pope's visit.
"Happy because I've seen him, and sad because this will be the last time I'll see him because of his health," she said.
Organizers predicted as many as 500,000 pilgrims would fill this town nestled in the Pyrenees mountains in southern France for the pope's visit, and the estimate appeared on the mark. Enthusiastic crowds jammed the narrow
streets on a splendid August morning, leaving barely enough room for the papal motorcade to reach the grotto.
Security was heavy but gentle as pilgrims waved at John Paul, a few yards away from his bulletproof white popemobile.
The shrine is said to have brought sight to the blind, cured multiple sclerosis and made tumors vanish. Thousands of people have claimed to have been healed, and the church has recognized 66 claims as official miracles.
The Vatican, however, said that the pope was not seeking a cure for his health problems.
USC shuttle buses to use satellite tracking system
THE GAMECOCK
University of South Carolina
VIA-U-WIRE
COLUMBIA, S.C. — University of South Carolina Parking Services will unveil a satellite tracking system for shuttle buses this fall, and its proponents are billing the system as the biggest improvement to campus convenience in years.
The technology, called NextBus, uses Global Position System satellites on campus shuttles to transmit accurate arrival information to computers, cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants. The tracking information, which will update itself every 90 seconds or 200 meters, will also be displayed on signs at bus stops.
Parking services officials have
said the tracking system will eliminate the uncertainty of students waiting for shuttles delayed by traffic or trains.
Supporters expect the NextBus technology to be successful.
"Since the Carolina Shuttle System routes are condensed and have headway time of 20 minutes or more, it was almost impossible to have a schedule of stops based
on the times that were posted due to factors such as traffic lights in the core area of campus, traffic congestion, trains that held up buses and heavily utilized pedestrian crossways," said Derrick Huggins, deputy director of Vehicle Management and Parking Services, in a news release. "With the NextBus system, the information of arrival times are displayed based on where the bus actually is
on route."
When the tracking technology is installed, USC's shuttle system will be one of a few across the country using NextBus. Other satellite-tracked transit systems include that of Loyola College in Maryland and the New York Water Taxi in New York City.
The idea for the tracking technology originated in Student Government last year after SG
officers discovered a large sum of surplus money held-over from past administrations. According to then-President Katie Dreiling, the tracking system was intended as a practical way to alleviate parking problems on campus. SG contributed $30,000 toward the new system, while parking services paid for the rest of project costing more than $100,000.