News 10-29-2002
Sponsor: Syllabus fall2002 Offers Networking, Interactive Discussions
Time is running out to register for the Syllabus fall2002 Education Technology Conference November 3-5 at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, Mass. Highlighted by pre-conference seminars, keynote speakers and breakout sessions, the conference provides a multitude of networking opportunities and interactive discussions to stimulate your thinking about technology on campus. Birds of a Feather discussion groups are also scheduled for attendees to share information and explore key areas of implementation on campus. For more details and to register, go to www.syllabus.com/fall2002.
Fiber Deal Heralds California Education Initiative
The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), a non-profit corporation founded by the state's public and private universities, has signed an agreement to acquire dark fiber to connect all of California's primary, secondary, and higher-ed schools to build an unprecedented statewide education network infrastructure. The deal with Looking Glass Networks Inc. will provide fiber services to initially build a network tying together the research communities of Stanford University, the University of California, California State, and Cal Tech. The network, dubbed CalREN, the California Research and Education Initiative, has completed the first fiber connection from its backbone into the San Diego Supercomputer Center and helped establish a fiber path from Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego.
For more information, visit: www.cenic.org
Ohio Research Center to Field Linux Supercomputer
The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) will deploy an HP supercomputer based on a cluster architecture of more than 150 Intel Itanium2-based HP Workstation zx6000 systems. The cluster will run the Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation, a 64-bit Linux operating system. The state established the OSC as a statewide computational resource for research universities and private companies. OSC, which is about two years from its initial installation, plans to optimize its purchase by re-deploying the workstations from the center's cluster to several higher-education facilities throughout the state. The theoretical peak performance of the system is estimated at more than 1 trillion floating-point operations per second (1 teraflop) and is expected to rival today's fastest supercomputers at less cost of existing systems in the same class.
SUNY Honors Science, Engineering, Medical Faculty
The State University of New York honored 38 of New York's most important and innovative scientists for their research in medicine, public health, genetics, engineering, environmental studies, physics, and computer science. The group, which represents 23 SUNY campuses, is responsible for generating nearly $70 million in funding for research in areas ranging from biology, chemistry, geology, and physics to medicine, computer sciences, materials science, and engineering. They include: Bahgat Sammakia, director of University at Binghamton's Integrated Electronics Engineering Center, whose research in small-scale electronics manufacturing is helping the U.S. electronics industry; and Aidong Zhang, professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo, who is using data-mining techniques to merge once-disparate technologies for new treatments of multiple sclerosis.
For a complete list, visit: www.suny.edu
Company Claims First Content-Management Appliance
A firm specializing in Web server technology introduced what it calls the first content-management appliance. Conviveon Corp. said its Conviveon Access Appliance will relieve customers of the "costly, time-consuming [job of integrating] all the components of a typical content management implementation." The device integrates a Web server, application server and database server on a single piece of hardware, a "pizza box" ready to plug directly into a network. "Integrated solutions such as the Google Appliance have become popular with customers because they reduce the complexity and improve the supportability of critical software applications," said Conviveon president Dov Rosenberg. "Our mission is to provide innovative information access answers at reasonable prices for our customers, and the Conviveon Access Appliance is another example of our commitment to that goal."
Oregon State Tapped to Test Computer Forensics Software
The developer of computer forensic software designed to speed evidence processing by U.S. government agencies fighting terrorists has asked the Applied Technology Group, a division of Oregon State University College of Business, to test the tools. New Technologies Inc. president Michael Anderson said it was necessary to have the tools "independently tested and verified by a respected entity with expertise in computer hardware and software testing." He added that "rigorous testing" by the school "will help assure the software meets the quality and security needs of our government customers." The firm said it was the first to introduce computer forensics training and software to Fortune 500 companies in 1996. Since then, its has provided support to the U.S. military, U.S. intelligence agencies, and law enforcement departments.
Tool Enhances Data-Collection Tasks of Teachers
An education software company introduced a system for Palm handhelds that will help teachers capture student data. The School Matrix T.A. is a "personal efficiency tool" that enables a teacher to gather student data on-the-fly more efficiently. Developed by VIP Tone Inc., the application gives teachers and teaching assistants mobile access to student information. The tool enables teachers to capture data on their mobile devices, and then upload it to the school's back-office system to update student records. The company said the product's future releases will have modules that enable teachers to electronically record and access student qualitative and quantitative assessment data and access their schedule of classes, all via the same handheld device.
