OPINION

Bad Spam, Good Spam: ‘Can Spam’ Changes the Nature of How We Perceive Spam

Terry Calhoun, IT Trends Commentator
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
University of Michigan

Did you think that the Can Spam Act was supposed to cut down on the amount of spam we get? Well, it hasn’t . . . and it won’t. Of course, we have seen a relatively few instances of a really virulent spammer or two going to jail, pending appeals. But as a professional association executive who is responsible for a lot of e-mails getting sent out each week, I recently had my eyes opened about the true intent of the Can Spam Act.

You’ve probably heard this before, I had, but I had not consciously connected with its real meaning until the last half-year: The primary intent of the Can Spam Act was to legitimize bulk commercial entities by those who market goods and services for ‘mainstream’ companies. All those times that some of us argued, “Well, yeah, but the really bad spammers will just go offshore,” were heard, but we didn’t matter, because that was ancillary to the bill’s purpose.
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IT NEWS

Duke Uni iPod Trial ‘Going well’

And it's not just music - students are using their iPods in Spanish class and music classes. Faculty are recording downloadable lectures as well.
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Rampant, Albeit Controllable, Security Dangers

Security headaches from information technology aren't just for PCs and networks anymore - they're increasing in every 'smart' device, from phones to computers.
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Purdue University Faculty Now Have Their Own Website

The site includes features about faculty accomplishments as well as regular polls and surveys intended to garner feedback from faculty - and even a message board.
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Virginia Tech's Math Emporium

It's a building, it's technology, it's curriculum changes . . . it has changed the way Virginia Tech teaches its introductory math classes.
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Is There an 'Evil Twin' Watching You?

'Evil twins' sit nearby local wireless stations and emulate the wireless station, as though they were it. Once they've succeeded at that, they can monitor in detail what everyone using that spot is doing, making it easy to steal identity information.
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Body ID: Barcodes for Cadavers

Implanted bar codes or RFID tags may be introduced first to those humans who can no longer object - cadavers.
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Minnesota's Computer Inoculation Stations

After setting up the 'inoculation stations,' university IT staff found every student's computer to have some sort of problem, even if as minimal as spyware popups.
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Online Post-its

Are online, student-run 'classifieds' replacing notes posted on bulletin boards?
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Campuses Get a Lesson in Online Aggravation

Everywhere, including at the University of Albany, when a student walks up to the help desk and says 'My computer is running slowly,' the answer is 'Spyware.'
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What's the Future of AV Integration

The current ways of sharing and accessing presentations and other parts of classroom presentations are all in trouble because they don't 'scale up.'
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From STARRS to SCT Banner

Transitions can be difficult. A few students are unhappy, but administrators think they're on the right track at Weber State University.
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Chico State Increases Security in Wake of Computer Thefts

Most of the work seems to be on increasing physical security for the spaces the computers are in, which should work since there do not seem to have been break-ins.
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RESOURCES

Vodafone's Vision of an Optimistic, but not Uncomplicated, Future

Vodafone's 'Future Vision' website is 'beautifully produces and unrelentingly optimistic' about the future of human use of new technologies.
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DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

Microsoft Buys Its Way into the Anti-virus Business

Campus IT departments will find a new anti-virus vendor knocking on the door, as Microsoft, a leading target of viruses, moves into the market, currently dominated by Symantec and McAffee, with the Redmond software giant’s announced purchase of Sybari.
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