On the Net ... with UPI

UCSD QUESTIONING SITE'S LINK

Officials at the University of California at San Diego are reconsidering a recent decision that would have forced a student activist group to remove from its Web site a link to a known terrorist organization. The activist group, known as Burn, hosts its Web site on university equipment and provides links to other radical organizations. One link directs visitors to the official Web site of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, or FARC, one of the 34 groups on the U.S. government's list of foreign terrorist organizations. UCSD officials said the administration is reconsidering its decision while it learns more about the site through the university's legal counsel in Oakland. Officials sent the initial cease-and-desist letter to the Che Café Collective, the university group that sponsors Burn earlier this month. The letter cites a section of the USA Patriot Act that deems it unlawful for any U.S. citizen to provide "material support or resources" to foreign terrorist organizations.

REPORT: GOOGLE MAKES MONEY

Unlike thousands of dot-coms that have failed to turn a profit, the search engine Google has found a way to make money on the Internet. Last year, privately held Google made a profit. Analysts told the British Broadcasting Corp. the company should have $50 million in revenues this year. Some of Google's money comes from the search systems it sells to companies who use them to index and search the internal networks. Others, such as Yahoo! Inc., use them to power search on their own site. But most of the revenue comes from advertising, according to the BBC. Despite the fact the online search site is making money from advertising, Omid Kurdestani, Google's sales chief, told the BBC the company has no plans to become a portal or radically alter its minimal homepage. It is, however, looking at making its search systems more widely available. Google technology already is being used on mobile phones in Japan, and the company is working with BMW on voice-driven search systems for cars. "The goal is never to put the revenue ahead of the user experience," Kurdestani told the BBC. The company also has no plans to go public.

UCS ANNOUNCES ALLIANCE WITH MAXIM

United Commerce Service Inc., a division of Buy.com, has reached a strategic marketing alliance with MaximNet Inc., the Internet arm of Dennis Publishing (U.S.). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. UCS will host a co-branded store for MaximNet's Web site that supports Maxim magazine. Under the terms of the agreement, UCS will manage the inventory, fulfillment, site content, customer service, Web site hosting and e-mail marketing for the co-branded site. "Maxim's audience is the perfect fit for the UCS offering," said Scott Blum, founder and chief executive officer of UCS. "Both entities target men who are technologically-savvy, gadget-oriented and looking for the best entertainment and electronics at the lowest prices." Dennis Publishing's media portfolio includes Maxim, Maxim Fashion, Stuff, Blender and The Week magazines, with a combined circulation of over 15 million readers in the U.S. Maxim Online currently receives more than 1.3 million unique users per month and 35 million page views.

NEW NIRVANA SONG BEGINS LIFE ON THE WEB

"You Know You're Right," a never-before-released Nirvana track that was held up in litigation between the surviving members of the band and Courtney Love, the widow of band lead singer Kurt Cobain, has been leaked to the Internet. Entertainment Weekly reported the leak occurred one day after Love announced a settlement to the Nirvana' lawsuit on last Friday's Howard Stern Show. The song began circulating in e-mailed Web site links a week ago. Many radio stations received the e-mail. WZTA-FM played the song at 5 p.m. last Monday. The Miami Herald reported within 10 minutes the station received a faxed "cease-and-desist order" from Universal Music Group, owners of Nirvana' catalog. The station has not played it since. "It's a bit of a delicate situation," WZTA program director Troy Hanson told the Herald. "We want to make sure we get Nirvana love when the CD comes out." Universal Music Group is expected to release a collection of Nirvana songs by Christmas, but it is not known whether "You Know You're Right" would be included.

REPORT: SILICON VALLEY CUTS R&D

The worst recession in the history of the information technology has forced leading companies in California's Silicon Valley to cut back on research and development. The Financial Times reported the 30 top Silicon Valley information technology companies cut their R&D spending during the first six months of this year by an overall 5 percent, from $12.5 billion to $11.9 billion. "Silicon Valley will never be the same," Larry Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer, told the publication. "Our industry is going to mature and as something mature, the rate of innovation does slow." According to FT data, 16 companies reduced their investment, while 10 increased R&D. Four companies left their spending unchanged. For example, Agilent Technologies spent $574 million in the first half of 2002, compared to $660 million for the same period last year.

(Got a tip for On the Net? Send it to sciencedesk@upi.com)