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Features
Security
11/29/2005
UK schools' Shibboleth trial
Shibboleth, the open source authentication system, has enjoyed more adoption across the pond than in the US. Shibboleth provides a means to authenticate a user just once for multiple systems that operate in a federated trust model. In the UK, a very large trial this past spring involved more than 500,000 students and some 50,000 instructors. Read more
It's Not All About Hackers
In his September 2005 column for CT, Doug Gale focuses attention on the physical access layer of campus security: 'In our own discussions of cyber security, we often omit the simplest security of all: controlling physical access to our computer facilities. It used to be a tedious process to steal information from someone's computer, but the proliferation of small memory devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and music players that plug directly into a PC's USB port now make it possible to transfer huge amounts of information to an easily concealed gadget. It's also pretty easy to just walk off with a laptop. In short, controlling physical access to computers—those on desks or those in the computer room—is just as important as preventing hackers from accessing our networks.' Read more
Piracy on the Seas of Higher Education
The famous notion of Walt Kelly's Pogo, 'We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us,' may help point out another security issue: piracy. Especially in our own communities. In an April 27, 2005 issue of Campus Technology's C2 eNewsletter, Penn State President Graham Spanier writes: 'When we stand by idly and allow our students to abuse the privilege of high-speed Internet access for illegal downloading, we are failing our principles and we are failing our students. We are not campuses of thieves. Students don't go to the local Blockbuster and walk out with the latest DVD without paying. Undergrads don't go to the campus bookstore and sneak out with a new textbook. So why, we must ask ourselves, do we have such a moral blind spot when it comes to stealing on the Internet?' Read more
Piracy and the unintended consequences of technology
Microsoft has made substantial changes to its virtualization licensing program, changes that will lower the cost of using virtualization for many customers. Vorex has released an update to its Vorex Online Survey, a Web-based data collection tool designed to allow schools to collect information and gather feedback from education stakeholders. Georgia Virtual Technical College has selected the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) as the platform for its portal to deliver Web-based instruction to Georgia's 33 technical colleges and one Board of Regents college. Adrian Sannier, technology officer for Arizona State University, discusses strategies for putting in place ground-breaking plans that will serve the next generation of students. These are actionable visions that include strategic technology choices--advancements that may be unfamiliar or even unpopular at first, but which carry enormous potential. Microsoft lost browser market share over the last year, and the company's Windows Vista operating system has had "slow" market adoption among individuals and enterprises, according to a report issued by management consulting firm Janco Associates Inc. AT&T has extended the deadline for its first-ever Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, a competition that calls on college and university faculty and students to develop apps for mobile devices. The top prize includes $10,000 and a trip to the October Educause 2008 conference for the winning individual or team.
In her June 8, 2005 contribution to the C2
newsletter, Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) CIO Diane Barbour wonders whether
we might be 'fighting the right battle in the wrong place... I read with
interest Graham Spanier's article 'Piracy on the Seas of Higher Education'
in the 4/27/2005 issue of
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