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It’s not much, but the software companies will rejoice nonetheless. A new study from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) finds that the worldwide software piracy rate dipped by 1 percent last year. The rate is still quite high, though, going from 40 percent to 39 percent. Piracy increased the past two years, but is way down since a 1994 peak. Nine years ago, the piracy level was 50 percent. Since then groups such as the BSA have formed to educate the public about the evils of copyright infringement and rates have gone down somewhat. Still, the amount of money lost last year increased versus 2001, from $11 billion to $13 billion. U.S. piracy has dropped eight percentage points since a high of 32 percent in 1994. Western European piracy has gone from 52 percent to 35 percent in that span. The most problematic areas remain China and Vietnam, with piracy rates of above 90 percent.
No books, no service for online charter school
The already tiny field of online charter schools will shrink by one this summer. Suburban Philadelphia’s Einstein Academy Charter School will close June 27 after having its charter revoked by the state Education Department. Einstein boasted 3,000 students when it opened in September 2001, but that has slumped to 660 students since then. Parents complained that the Pennsylvania school did not follow through with promises of free computers, books and internet connections. Academy officials claimed that school districts did not pay tuition while going to court to challenge Einstein’s status as a charter school. Last fall the Morrisville board decided to revoke the charter, a decision upheld on appeal at the state level last month. It’s the second such revocation during the past two months in a very limited field. There are only 70 online charter schools in 16 states. During May a Sanford, Fla., internet-based high school was forced to close after just two years of operation. Though that school had 160 students, it never achieved financial stability.
ValueClick buys Search123.com for $5M cash
ValueClick has entered the paid search market. The online advertising technology firm bought four-year-old Search123.com yesterday for $5 million in cash. Search123, which has partnerships with TurboFind.com, the Razor magazine search site and WWW.com, will remain separate from ValueClick. Search123 doesn’t compete with the big search companies such as Google or Overture, but rather offers smaller-scale services to more focused sites. Its competitors include Mamma and ah-ha.com. ValueClick had been interested in getting into the paid market, but most larger entities weren’t valid acquisition prospects. Still, ValueClick has had a strong year so far, reporting a rise in share prices of 80 percent.
University wants to virtually restore looted history
Much of Iraq’s rich cultural history has been destroyed by looters, but the University of California Berkeley is offering a small consolation: it wants to bring it back. Virtually, of course. The university wants a $5 million grant to recreate Iraq’s museums and archeological digs via a web site. The Berkley Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society wants to include not only the to-be-expected photos and background information, but also real-time details about the actual sites – humidity, temperature, earthquake activity. The Berkeley effort may help balance some of the bad publicity that the U.S. received during the massive looting. Though it was mostly Iraqis who reportedly engaged in the post-war activity, the U.S. military used its resources during that period primarily to protect the ministry of oil.
New White House chats: ET phone HUD?
Who says the White House isn’t afraid to tackle the tough problems? During a new series of chats called “Ask the White House,” Housing and Urban Development secretary Mel R. Martinez responded to an odd query. “King Bloop Zod from Mars” wrote to “invite the human race to consider Mars as an ideal location for a vacation home or just to get away from it all. Would you consider offering incentives to those who might want to build a home on Mars?” His highness went on to beg that the government wouldn’t consider Venus first. The good-natured secretary wrote back, “Your problem is one that does not appear to be housing. I think you are doing great at promoting tourism but affordable housing in America is more of my concern.” That isn’t the most offbeat question answered in these 11 chats over the past six weeks. White House suits of every level have answered questions as unimportant as favorite sports team or condiment.
June 4, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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