OPINION

Is Microsoft Ready to Listen to Campus IT?

By Terry Calhoun

HEAB stands for Higher Education Advisory Board, an advisory group previously brought together to let some very highly-connected IT officials on campus provide feedback to Microsoft on issues relating to higher education. For a while it looked like the group had been abandoned, with its last meeting having been more than a year ago.

Recently, at a different meeting, the annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, a number of people were critical of the apparent disappearance of HEAG (Higher Education Advisory Group) and what looked like a tendency on Microsoft’s part to convene conferences and meetings at which it presented, rather than listened. A very short while later, it appears that Microsoft kick-started HEAB
(HEAG?) back into gear.

IT NEWS

Former CU President Denounces Blogs That Demand Instantaneous Decisions

Former University of Colorado president Betsy Hoffman, in her first public appearance since resigning in the middle of CU’s football and academic freedom controversies told a Denver forum that instant criticism via the Web makes it hard for campus executives to make well-thought-out decisions. (Denver Post) Read more

Storm Clouds Gather Over Podcasting!

We're not all just publishers now, we're podcast networks and syndicates, and the RIAA and its friends are starting to get pretty alarmed. (USA Today) Read more

At the University of Florida, Is a Wireless Campus a Low Priority

Well, it is in relation to the available budget. Among the variables that create this situation is the interesting fact that there is no student technology fee at UF. We wonder for how long? (The Independent Florida Alligator) Read more

Educause Recognizes Achievement in Higher Ed IT

Educause has announced its annual awards, which recognize exemplary achievement in higher ed IT. (Educause) Read more

RESOURCES

Shakespeare On Cyberliability

An interesting educational read: "So, with apologies to Shakespeare, who never used a laptop but whose timeless words seem to capture the spirit of these issues, this outline provides an overview of some key laws and legal issues affecting electronic data privacy and security on campus, and offers some observations with respect to minimizing the risk of liability from breaches of data privacy or security - recognizing, of course, that "I am not bound to please thee with my answers!" – The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I" (NACUA) Read more.

New Wireless Tech Heralds the Age of 'Internet Everywhere'

An excellent column about the need, evolution, and future of broadband wireless. (USA Today) Read more.

DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

LSU First Higher Ed Institution to Receive New IBM Computer

LSU's now got an IBM high-density POWER5 processor-based server system, and big plans for it. “Pélican could be used by a lot of areas that we don't traditionally think of when we think of high-performance computing, such as the College of Art and Design, or the College of Music and Dramatic Arts,” said VLSU Chief Information Officer Brian D. Voss." (Marketwire) Read more