14—The Daily Collegian Friday, Feb. 10, 1984 S-T-R-E-T-C-H Bronx Zoo workers handle a 21-foot boa constrictor at a meeting of the New York Zoological Society at Lincoln Center's Avery Fischer Hall yesterday in New York 'HBO Kid': By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SCRANTON, Pa. A Lackawanna County television repairman dubbed the "HBO Kid" acknowledged yesterday he had installed 1,100 cable television converters in what prosecutors have called the biggest cable TV piracy operation ever uncovered in the United States. Prank Cardamone, 24, of Taylor, testified that he reluctantly began making and installing the converters, which allow viewers to receive cable programs without paying subscription fees, when he discovered poor service from legitimate com panies prevented his customers from watching cable programs. " Under questioning by Deputy Attorney General William Arbuckle, Cardamone admitted he sold $60,000 worth of the devices in the last five years. Customers paid about $5O for the converters, according to previous testimony. Cardamone is charged with theft and conspira cy in manufacturing and installing 1,100 convert ' ers. Prosecutors say he oversaw an operation UNIVERSITY CALENDAR Friday-Sunday February 10-12 Friday, February 10 P.S. Movie /Co-Op Film, 6 p.m., Room 105-108 Forum. Also Feb. 11 and 12. GSA film, 6 p.m., Rooms 101 and 112 Chambers. Also Feb. 11 and 12. International Student Council meeting, 6 p.m., Room 10 Sparks. Interlandia Folkdancing Social, 7:30 p.m., HUB Ballroom. Saturday, February 11 P.S. Wargamers Club meeting, 12 noon-midnight, Room 106 Sackett. Lebanese Student Association social, 6 p.m., Room 316-317 HUB. Student Filmmakers Organization film, 6 p.m., Room 121 Sparks. Also Feb. 12. Penn State Movie Co-Op film, 6 p.m., Room 111 Forum. Also Feb. 12. France-Cinema, A Girl from Lorraine, 7 and 9 p.m., Room 112 Kern. Also Feb. 13. Artist Series, Noh-Kyogen/National Theatres of Japan, 8 p.m., Schwab Auditorium. Sunday, February 12 State College Christian Church, 9:15 a.m., HUB desk. IMSA meeting, 9:30 a.m., Room 323-324 HUB. HUB Eateries, Founders Room Brunch, 11 a.m.-1 p.m Television repairman admits to installing 1,100 cable converters responsible for the installation of about 1,600 others. Cardamone, nicknamed the "HBO Kid" for his feats by classmates at a vocational school, said he began building the devices in 1978 partly to compete with other repairmen installing the equipment. During questioning by defense lawyer Robert Borthwick, Cardamone said he "'never at tempted to cover up his tracks. . I only engaged in a business." Marlene Miller, an official of Verto Cable Television, acknowledged that customers in some areas wait more than nine months for cable hookups. She told the Lackawanna Common Pleas jury that the company now has a waiting list of 2,500 people. During his opening remarks yesterday, the fourth day of the trial, Borthwick said Carda mone never took "'anything that belonged to a cable TV company." "'He (Cardamone) engaged in an activity, not a violation of the laws of Pennsylvania," Borth wich said. "We're not here on what's wrong or right. We're here on the violation of the laws of Pennsylvania." Prosecutors say Cardamone's business cost legitimate cable firms $250,000 to $500,000 a year. Borthwick concluded his remarks by saying yerto and another local company, Northeastern Cable, "are using the criminal justice system to stamp out the competition." Cardamone said he purchased all of the parts and the schematic for the converters at local electronics stores. He said he kept a record of all service and installation calls. Cardamone also admitted that he had removed filters, or "traps," from cable television lines. The filters were designed to prevent premium pay television services from passing into a cus tomer's home. Cardamone also testified that he never used converters in his own home except to test them, although police' said they discovered one at tached to a television set in his living room. Can a university own professors' research ideas? By ROGER GILLOTT AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES A professor of computer sciences has been working all day on a kn6tty prob lem. He goes home, frustrated,. and at the dinner table the answer suddenly hits him. He's elated; he's found his solution. But is it his? Or does it belong to his universi ty? Millions of dollars are riding on questions like this, and the issue of "intellectual property" has led to skirmishing between universities and faculty. As rapid changes in technology offer to shower riches on those who can stay one step ahead, some universities and researchers are taking a cloie look at updating long-standing rules on their pro fessors' involvement in business es. The nine-campus University of California hopes to have a new Council on Intellectual Property composed of faculty and adminis trators operating within the next few months. AP Laserphoto The council, which replaces the university's Board of Patents, will try to sort out such issues as when a professor's time is his own and when it is the university's, as well as how much involvement profes sors can have with businesses. Among the other institutions re viewing or revising policies to ward intellectual property are Stanford University, the Califor nia Institute of Technology, Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "When a professor comes up with an idea at the dinner table, is it his or his employer's?" said Jack Brown, a Phoenix, Ariz., attorney who is an authority on "intellectual property." ' "Perhaps a convention will be worked out to split the baby," he said, "and everybody will be hap py•" At Yale University in New Ha ven, Conn., Roger C. Schank, chairman of the computer sci ences departinent, said attempts by some universities to restrict professors' business involvement may be short-sighted. "When you are sitting on a new technology like computers, you don't want to force brilliant pro fessors to make a choice between teaching and business," said Schenk. In general, universities permit professors to be consultants to businesses or to serve on boards of businesses, but prohibit them from holding operating positions, such as president, on grounds that such jobs are time-consuming and distract professors from their aca demic roles. Computer scientists, like profes sors who write books, find their work falls under copyright law, instead of federal patent regula tions that have traditionally guided ownership of scientific in= ventions, including those coming from genetic engineering re search. "Someone can write a book, and that's his," said Dennis Meredith, spokesman for the California In stitute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. "But if he writes a'book and puts a floppy (computer) disc in it, then it's another matter." Stephen Wolfram, a 24-year-old physicist, defected two years ago from the California Institute of Technology to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., after a bitter dispute with Caltech over ownership of a com puter program that Caltech spokesman Tom Branigan said is designed to manipulate very com plicated algebraic expressions. Because of its speed, the program was believed to have commercial as well as scientific applications. The company that is using Wolf ram's program is paying royalties both to Caltech and Wolfram, but the matter is unresolved and may go to litigation, Wolfram said. Before signing on in Princeton, Wolfram worked out an agreement. • "It's very simple, really," he said. "I own anything I do, but I will give a share to the institute." sports Lagers drop Bth By ANDRIJA SILICH Collegian Sports Writer So close, but yet so far. . . • The men's ..basketball team al most snapped its seven game losing streak last night at Rec Hall, but in the end the result was the same another ,Penn State loss =this time at the hands of the University of Rhode Island 63-60. Penn State (5-14) was so close in fact, that they led 55-51 with 1:10 remaining in the game. Rhode Is land's Kevin Compton connected on two free throws, however, with 56 seconds remaining and the Lions lead was cut to two. And when Tony Taylor connected on a 22-footer with 26 seconds left, the score was tied at 55. 1 r. 1 `' Lion forwaril David Griffin (45) shoots a Jump shot over a Rhode Island defender during last night's game at Rec Hall. The men's basketball team dropped its eighth straight by losing 63.60 to the Rams in overtime. Lions' loss characteristic of streak By CHRIS WIGHTMAN Collegian Sports Writer And the beat goes on. The beat in this case is the men's basketball team's losing streak, which started on Jan. 21 and continued last night against Rhode Island at Rec Hall. The Lions lost their eighth straight game. Penn State's hopes of taking the last shot of the game were erased when Dick Mumma (Penn State's leading scorer with 15 points) had his in-bounds pass intercepted by Rhode Island. At that point it looked as if the Lions' losing streak would be extended to eight. But when Compton missed on a 30-foot er at the buzzer, Penn State stil had one more chance in overtime. Poor play in the extra period was not what cost Penn State the game. What did lose the game for the Lions was the fact that there was an overtime period at all. The first half belonged to Penn State and it never trailed as it took a 25-20 lead into the lockeroom at halftime. The Lions extended their lead to Last night's contest had all the makings of a typical Lion loss. The first characteristic was the final score, a 63-60 defeat to the Rams. A second characteristic, which could also be consid ered uncharacteristic, is the fact that Penn State lost another close one. Uncharacteristically, this loss came in overtime. straight as much as seven 31-24, but then they lost the touch and Rhode Is land scored the next 12 points to take a 36-31 lead. Penn State came back to tie the game at 36 with 12:01 left to play when Jim Forjan sank two free throw attempts. The score was then tied six more times in the remain der of the half and neither team would ever pull out in front by more than five points. In the end the loss could be attrib uted to the same problem Penn State has suffered in their last seven or eight games, namely turn overs. After the game Head Coach Bruce Parkhill elaborated on that and other problems and said his team had just lost a game that they should have won. "I don't want to take anything away from Rhode Island," he said, "because they really capitalized, but we gave them the game. We absolutely gave them the game turnovers, fouling their jump shoot er, etc." With injuries to two of his start ing players, Wally Choice and Dwight Gibson, Parkhill said he expected a tough game from the 5- 15 Rams. But as the game pro gressed he felt they should have won it. "I expected a close game," the first year coach said, "and I felt that we were one possesion from having the game. Rhode Island (6-16) Head Coach Claude English pointed out how much the injuries hurt Penn State. "You can't lose the kind of play ers they lost out of their lineup and expect to have the cohesiveness that you had earlier in the season," English said. "When you lose a point guard like their's, and you lose a guy like Wally, it's very difficult. You have people playing out of position and people having to do other things." English said perhaps in a few days these players will make the adjustments, but at first it is very tough. Now its back to the drawing board for Penn State as it prepares for its game on Saturday against Massachusetts. Parkhill doesn't know what else he can do to turn his squad around. "I don't think there are any words that are going to do them any good tonight," he said. "In fact, really there aren't any words that are going to do them any good. Talk is cheap, they have to go out and beat somebody now." Please see CAGERS, Page 18 Lion Kenn Viscardi competes on the vault in action earlier this season at Rec Hall. The men's gymnastics team will try to rebound from last week's loss to Nebraska when it hosts Illinois• Chicago at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Rec Hall. Gymmen enter 'new phase' By JEFF SAUKAITIS Collegian Sports. Writer Coming off a loss to Nebraska in a quandrangular meet in Lincoln last Saturday, the men's gymnastics team will enter a new phase of its season when they meet Illinois-Chicago at 8 tomorrow night in Rec Hall. Penn State Head Coach Karl Schier said starting this weekend, the Lions will completely focus their atten tion on preparations for the National Collegiate Athlet is Association championships which are scheduled for April at UCLA. "!All of the meets we have the rest of the season will be geared to give us good enough competition," Schier said. "But more importantly, we want to use the meets to establish good scores and build toward the NCAAs in terms of expanding our routines." Against Nebraska last weekend, Penn State hoped to establish itself as the prime contender standing be tween UCLA and a national championship. However, injuries and questionable judging spelled defeat for the Lions. Schier said the loss was a major disappointment for his team. "As far as I can tell, the team has not been adversely affected by' it at all," Schier said. "They realize what was occuring last week and their not going to dwell on it." Lion pommel horse specialist Bill Stanley said the team was disappointed about the Nebraska loss for a short time. But considering the questionable judging and the injuries that team captain Kenn Viscardi (sprained ankles) and Terry Bartlett ( thumb) sus tained in pre-meet warmups, the Lions now know their overall performance was encouraging. "We were kind of loose and relaxed in the gym this week," Stanley said. "We lost to Nebraska under some tough situations, but we'll see tham again at NCAAs. We know we can beat them, but we'll think about that when the time comes." The Daily Collegian Friday, Feb. 10, 1984 Penn State is a solid favorite to remain unbeaten in regular season home dual meets. Illinois-Chicago scored only a 265.50 last season in a loss to the Lions and they have scored in the mid-260s in previous meets this season. Schier said Illinois-Chicago is a young team that was anticipating a much improved squad over last season, especially since they did not lose anyone to graduation. But he said they have be unable to reach their full potential although their dual meet record stands at 8-1. Bartlett, who scored a 57.10 in the all-around last weekend, will again perform all six events for Penn State tomorrow. He said the individual Lion gymnasts have been working on developing routines that involve more difficulty, and some of them should be unveiled in front of the home crowd tomorrow. Since Penn State appears to be in little or no danger of losing the meet,' Bartlett said the team goal is to score well with the makeshift lineup Schier was forced to employ because of injuries to regulars. "We just want to use this meet to keep improving our routines and we want a high score," Bartlett said. "Even if we aren't at our best we should win the meet, but we'd like to score 280." Scoring 280 might be a difficult task for Penn State because Schier will have five freshmen in his starting lineup, including Mike Maxwell, who will compete in the all-around. In addition, freshmen Chris Laux, Tony Griffiths, lan Shelley and Mike Dailey will also see action. LION NOTES Schier said Viscardi's two sprained ankles are improving more quickly than expected but he will only compete in three events (rings, parallel bar, high bar) . . . Mario Gonzalez, still recovering from a hairline fracture of the index finger, will miss tomorrow night's meet Steve Friedman (swollen left knee) is expected to perform in the floor exercise and vault. If he is unable to compete, Jeff Kimmel would likely replace him in both events.
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