Thursday, September 11, 2003 |
OPINION
IT NEWS
RESOURCES
NEW PRODUCTS
DEALS, CONTRACTS, GRANTS
SPONSORS
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OPINION
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"It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times . .
."
Terry Calhoun, MA, JD, FAIP
Director of Communications and Publications
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
First, we had the budget cuts and were probably hitting this semester understaffed.
Then, in many higher education-intensive parts of the country, the lights went
out. Following that was the worm, Blaster. Then came, Sobig. And then the students
came back, bringing with them their infected computers.
More than one CIO was quoted in the news media recently saying that this was
the most difficult time ever to be IT staff on campus. And it was challenging,
no doubt about it. But we think that, on campus after campus, the IT staff came
through with shining colors. There was a lot to handle, but it was handled well!
So perhaps the most famous words of Dickens apply in all their discordant
meanings: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was
the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season
of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to
Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was
so."
Read
more
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IT NEWS |
Va. Tech Aims to Build World’s Most Powerful Computer
Virginia Tech is spending up to $5 million in its pursuit of assembling the
world's most powerful computer. At the computer’s core will be more than
1,000 G5 Power Macs. (The New River Current)...
Read more
Computer Industry Working with USF on Wireless Chips
Through its Wireless and Microwave Technology Information Center (WAMI), several
corporations are assisting the University of South Florida with technology for
training students on wireless technology using Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits.
(USF Oracle)...
Read
more
Cal State’s Common Management System Dodges Bullet
The Common Management System (CMS) will be used throughout the
California State University system. It and its $660 million cost were the
subject of politicized debate during last year's gubernatorial election,
but the heat apparently has been turned down. (The State Hornet)...
Read
more
What’s the Rush? U. Montana Upgrades Email After 17 Years
The University of Montana's Selway email system is more than 17 years
old and it's finally making way for a replacement. (Montana Kaimin)...
Read more
College Instructor Completes Online Class with False Identity
A tenured business school prof at Chabot College was on sabbatical with the
assignment to "evaluate the efficacy of online delivery systems."
But now he's been reprimanded because, with their permission, he used a friend's
identity and took and completed the course as someone else - to prove a point.
(Oakland Tribune)...
Read more
Schools Imposing Tough Restrictions, Fines for Viruses
Networks are being shut down, students are being charged "clean-up"
fees, traffic is being blocker to and from suspect machines – there's
never been a tougher time to be an IT staffer on campus (CNN)...
Read
more
Record Industry Sues 261 Accused of Illegal File Trading
Although the latest action by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) targeted
home accounts, not campuses, those sued include many college students and even
a professor at Yale University. A related RIAA "amnesty" program is
being criticized by many. (USA Today)...
Read
more
Apple "Coolest" Company to Returning Students
In a recent study the iMac and the iPod were named the most "extremely
well designed products." Top three items on students wish lists: new sh'es,
an iPod, and an iMac. (Wired)...
Read more
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RESOURCES |
Digital Equity Network
Addresses inequitable access to learning technology resources for all learners.
Includes reports, studies, and papers that together paint the big-picture view
of the issue of the "digital divide." Resources include opportunities
for learner and educators to create their own content, as well as access to
educators skilled in using these resources for teaching and learning...
Learn more
NSF Research Experiences for Undergrads, Educators
The National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(REU) program features information for students interested in identifying research
opportunities and for faculty interested in obtaining support for undergraduate
research students through either an REU Supplement or REU Site proposal. Via
the program’s web site, students can examine opportunities in the subject
areas supported by various NSF units. The site offers search by keywords to
identify sites in particular research areas or with certain features, such as
a particular location...
Learn more
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DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS |
U. of Pennsylvania Health Systems to Build Metro Network
The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) has signed an agreement
with City Signal Communications (CSC) to provide a dark fiber network connecting
six of its Philadelphia locations. The agreement covers the construction of
the connections from six UPHS sites into the CSC existing 123-mile fiber optic
network in Philadelphia. The UPHS network will encompass 8 miles and provide
a private network connecting the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center - Presbyterian and other
UPHS locations...
Learn more
WestPoint D'es Deal With Dell for Wireless Notebooks
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is installing a wireless network across
its campus and equipping its entire cadet class of 2007 with Dell notebooks.
Nearly 1,400 new cadets will tap into the new wireless network in classrooms
and campus common areas using Dell Latitude D800 notebooks. The notebooks include
integrated wireless cards, Pentium M processors, 512M of memory, 60-gigabyte
hard drives, port replicators and removable 24-speed combination DVD and CD
read-writeable drives. Each system has a four-year warranty to coincide with
the cadet's education schedule.
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POLL
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Sponsored by:
Is your institution leveraging the Internet to facilitate remote desktop
support?
Poll Results
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NEW PRODUCTS
Macromedia Upgrades Studio MX
for Education
Macromedia introduced releases of three web development tools with new curriculum
and templates for higher education instruction and use. The new Studio MX 2004
includes new releases of its Macromedia Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks tools.
Dreamweaver MX 2004 upgrades web site and application development, offering
enhanced Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), support, cross-browser, validation, built-in
graphics editing, and updated support for ASP.NET, PHP, and ColdFusion server
technologies. Flash MX 2004 upgrades tools for creating interactive content
with new timeline effects, easy import of Adobe Illustrator and PDF content,
and CSS support. Fireworks MX 2004 delivers new design tools and effects. FreeHand
MX, released in February, delivers new productivity tools and panels, and improved
Mac OS X performance.
Learn more
Corel Offers Education Portfolio
of Graphics Tools
Corel Corp. introduced three solution bundles for the education community,
a "Creative Pack," a "Graphics Pack," and a "Photo
Enhancement" package. The Creative Pack includes: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
11, Corel Painter 8, Corel Bryce® 5, Corel KPT Collection and Corel KnockOut
2 for a suggested retail price of $109.
The Graphics Pack includes: Corel Designer 10, Corel Painter 8, Corel Ventura
10, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11, Corel Bryce 5, Corel KnockOut 2, Corel KPT
Collection. The SRP is $179.
The Photo Enhancement Pack has Corel KnockOut 2, Corel KPT Collection and Corel
Painter 8. The SRP is $85. All the education packs come with training CDs by
Lynda.com, tutorials, demos and technical support options.
Learn more
Design Science Licenses MathPlayer
to Microsoft
Design Science, an education software developer, licensed its MathPlayer software
to Microsoft Inc. The license will provide MathPlayer software to MSN users.
MathPlayer displays MathML-based mathematical notation within Microsoft's Web
browser products, including Internet Explorer and the MSN client. MathML is
the XML-based standard for encoding mathematics developed by the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) and supported by most popular Web browsers.
Learn more
Web Collaboration Software from Linktivity
Upgraded
Linktivity released WebDemo 3.0, the latest version of its premise-based Web
collaboration software. The software is available in three versions: WebDemo
Express, WebDemo Professional and WebDemo Enterprise, the product is designed
to offer a complete collaboration solution. Features include application sharing;
improved keyboard chat; and "Viewport," which allows users to click
and drag the ViewPort anywhere on their desktop to setup other apps without
audiences seeing what they are doing; and WebDemo Reports for charting the number
of active sessions.
Learn more
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