OPINION

In This Human Versus Machine Battle, My Bet Is On the Cyborgs

By Terry Calhoun

On a weekly basis, my three University of Michigan work-study students and I spend several hours scouring the Web for news items and for more substantial resources on a variety of topics related to higher education: IT, campus edge stories, residence life, campus planning, sustainability, you name it. If it relates to higher education, we try to find it.

Our life was made simultaneously easier and more complicated when Google News Alerts became available for us to use. I have set dozens of them and all of that useful information is just sitting there in email folders, ready for me to access when I have the time to go browsing. Unfortunately, a simple feed to a Web document of Google News Alerts results would not serve as a useful product for my readers, as they still produce lots of “false positives.” Read more

IT NEWS

U Wisconsin Zaps Mac Hack Challenge

A University of Wisconsin computer engineer used his personal Web page to dare hackers to break into the university's network and access a specific Mac OS X machine. The trouble? Read more

300 Geniuses Call Him Boss

Will Frank Moss push MIT's Media Lab to innovate itself out of existence? Read more

Anti-Cheating Database Banned at N.S. University

Mount Saint Vincent University in Bedford, Nova Scotia will no longer use plagiarism-detection software managed by a California company. Read more

Internet Connection Plagued by Saturation

Peter Schilling, Amherst College's Director of Information Technology, attributes the school's network problems to students participating in peer-to-peer file sharing. Read more

RESOURCES

Harvard IT Exec Schools Us On Managing Its Network

Keeping 100 university departments connected requires some savvy management techniques. Harvard University's Network Operations Manager approaches his job with a unique method, using homegrown approaches in addition to commercial tools. Read more

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Origami: Microsoft's Itty-Bitty Computer

We want one. Right now. Microsoft’s new computer is about the size of a large paperback book but runs a full version of the Windows XP operating system. Read more

CMU Raising Sims

Carnegie Mellon University has partnered with Electronic Arts Inc. to diversify computer training curriculum with video game characters. Read more

DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

Google Picks ASU for Engineering IT Support Shop

Google will open an office for engineering and IT support at Arizona State University. Read more

Troy University Scores Microsoft Award

Microsoft awards its computing curriculum award of $50,000 each to 14 universities worldwide. Read more