Industry Briefs

• 08/19/05

NEWS

NEW DIGITAL V-MAIL SYSTEM. University of California-Berkeley will roll out a new digital voicemail system to 10,000 faculty and administrative staff by 2006-2007, in a move to replace its aging voicemail system. The school has purchased Communité unified communications software from Interactive Intelligence Inc. (www.inin.com), and will also upgrade and integrate its legacy systems, adding advanced messaging features and management capabilities, according to Interactive’s spokespeople. INDUSTRY STANDARDS GROUP. The integrated wireless LAN security and management software provider Roving Planet (www.rovingplanet.com) was accepted into the Trusted Computing Group (TCG; www.trustedcomputinggroup.org) to help set industry standards for network security. The TCG was formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for protecting computers and data networks from security breaches and attacks. WALL STREET SIMULATED. Tulane University’s (LA) A.B. Freeman School of Business brings Wall Street to the classroom with a training center that simulates the activity around the financial hub. The school uses Christie Digital’s (www.christiedigital.com) projection cubes to create a screen that spans the walls of the school’s trading center. A separate controller can display multiple images on different screens, or one large image across the entire wall—bringing the real world of high finance right into the classroom. $30 MILLION AGREEMENT. Thomson Prometric (www.thomson.com), a technology-enabled testing and assessment services provider, has announced an exclusive seven-year, $30 million agreement with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC; www.aamc.org) to convert the paper-and-pencil Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) to a computer-based format. The AAMC currently administers more than 60,000 MCAT examinations annually for students who need to demonstrate their proficiency in various academic areas for entry into medical school. STUDENT RECRUITMENT. Attracting prospective students globally, the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland has deployed Intelliworks (www.intelliworks.com), a customer relationship management (CRM) software product, to support its student recruitment and application processes for Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. UNITING COMMUNITIES. Unicon (www.unicon.net) has announced that the Texas State Technical College system (TSTC) has selected Academus, Unicon’s signature portal solution, to unify the entire college system online and to create a consistent online environment accessible to all TSTC users. The TSTC system includes: TSTCHarlingen, TSTC-Marshall, TSTC-Waco, and TSTC-West Texas. REAL-TIME, RICH MEDIA COLLABORATION. Radvision (www.radvision.com), a real-time voice and video communications provider, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), and voice, video, data and Web conferencing provider Broadreach Services (www.broadreachservices.com) have all had a hand in implementing a visual communications platform at Edith Cowan University (Australia). ECU has leveraged Radvision’s support for SIP (session initiation protocol) within its products, to roll out desktop visual communications using Microsoft’s Office Live Communications Server, says Radvision’s spokespeople. Now, teachers are allocated time slots for face-to-face Webcam discussions with groups or individuals, keeping the collaboration and communication constant.