News Update 06-10-2003

U. Calgary Course Teaches Virus Writing, Prevention

A new course this fall at the University of Calgary will teach students how to write viruses and worms, along with the legal, ethical, and security issues related to creating malicious code. Developing more secure software requires this firsthand understanding, according to professor John Aycock. But two groups representing IT security pros condemn it. Says Russ Cooper of the security firm TruSecure Corp. and moderator of security mailing list NTBugtraq, "We already have more than 60,000 viruses to dissect and study."

For more information, visit: http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/9496

SPONSOR: Hands-On IT Solutions at Syllabus2003

Syllabus2003 celebrates its 10th annual summer conference July 27-31 in San Jose, Calif., and on the campus of Stanford University. In addition to cutting-edge keynotes, breakout sessions and panel discussions, attendees will see the latest products for campus technology during designated exhibit hall hours. Some of the companies attending include: CyberLearning Labs, developer of ANGEL, the enterprise course management system that combines an open, flexible architecture with a complete set of easy-to-use features; Ektron, providing flexible, scalable, and affordable Web content management applications and Web authoring tools to meet the needs of Web/IT professionals and non- technical end users; Insight Public Sector, a leading provider of technology solutions offering a single source for technology products, services, integration, configuration, deployment, installation, and networking design, and Mitsubishi Presentation Products, manufacturing an extensive line of LCD and DLP projectors for educational use. To view the entire exhibitor list, as well as to register for Syllabus2003, go to http://www.syllabus.com/summer2003/hall.asp. Early Bird registration ends June 27—save up to $200 now!

http://www.syllabus.com/summer2003

Texas Tech Laser Scanner in Service to Posterity

A team of 15 students and two faculty advisers at the Texas Tech Architecture Research Center are using a laser tool called the Cyrax scanner to create exact 3-D models of buildings and structures. The results are then modeled in Autocad to document the entire JA Ranch near Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. Plans are underway to model several other cites in Texas and New Mexico in an effort to preserve historical sites in the event that they are lost or damaged.

For more information, visit: http://www.universitydaily.net/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/06/03/3edbd7e89c2c3

Ball State Completes Secure, 10,000-User Wireless Network

Ball State University finished installing a 10,000-user wireless network, which covers more than 30 buildings and areas in between. Users are able to choose to connect with or without encryption. The university collaborated with Avnet Enterprise Solutions and Bluesocket to install and administer six wireless gateways to secure the network. "On our campus, we need to have a wireless presence that allows our students and faculty to have the flexibility to communicate without limitations," said O'Neal Smitherman, Ball State's vice president for information technology.

For more information, visit: http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,11429--,00.html

Innovative University Wireless R&D Group Bolsters Resources

A company formed from the research partnership of three Michigan universities has now formally joined the team as a full-fledged partner. Discera Inc., a provider of low-power microcomponents for wireless applications, said it joined the University of Michigan's Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems (WIMS), a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. WIMS was formed by the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Michigan Technological University to merge micropower circuits, wireless interfaces, and advanced packaging to create generic microsystems. The goal is a family of wristwatch-sized microsystems capable of sensing non-electronic variables with high accuracy, interpreting those signals, and communicating over distances from a few centimeters to a few kilometers.

For more information, visit: http://www.wimserc.org

McGraw-Hill Education Group Tags eCommerce Content

McGraw-Hill's education subsidiary said it finished the first phase of "tagging" its education content with digital object identifiers (DOIs), which are aimed at managing online transactions between the company and its customers. The DOI is a system for identifying and exchanging intellectual property of all kinds (physical books as well as eBooks) via the Internet. It is like the UPC (bar code) in the physical world, but on the Internet it functions as a kind of "super URL," linking users directly to where they can buy the book, see additional information about it, find other books by the same author or on the same subject, and access related services, etc. It also facilitates online transactions of all kinds, including eCommerce, rights management, and digital distribution.

To see an example of DOIs applied to four different McGraw-Hill imprints, click on the following URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1036/0071395938 and place your mouse over the "DOI" link (right under the ISBN).

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