IT Trends for Thursday, August 26, 2004

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Thursday, August 26, 2004

In This Issue

OPINION

An E-Mail Wish: “Send ’em All to Jail!”

Terry Calhoun, IT Trends Commentator
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
University of Michigan

I’ve lived in Ann Arbor, (bastion of liberality, of which I heartily approve) long enough that I automatically get a guilty twinge every time I feel vindictive, especially one of those deep, satisfying surges of emotion that ends up in my consciousness like “Hooray! I hope they put every one of those &#$%s in jail.” But this morning I read a New York Times article that brought those kinds of feelings to my consciousness and I got past the guilt immediately.

“Federal and state law enforcement agencies have quietly arrested or charged dozens of people with crimes related to junk e-mail, identity theft and other online scams in recent weeks, according to several people involved in the actions.”

I enjoyed reading that so much that I can even handle, temporarily at least, being on the same side as attorney general John Ashcroft.
Read more


IT NEWS

Compromised in Half the Time

How long can an unprotected computer last when hooked to the Internet? The answer, in 2004, is about 20 minutes. A year ago it was about 40 minutes. (CNET News.com)
Read more

So What? Google IPO

The Google IPO brings its owners nearly $2B… So, d'es anyone except the investment bankers who didn't get to do it their way care that maybe they could have made a few more tens of millions of dollars? (Wired)
Read more

High School Exit Exams Reveal a ‘Graduation Gap’

What happens to high school students who fail their exit exams and don’t get diplomas? Mostly nothing good. “A lot of poor kids, poor minority kids in inadequate schools are facing a dead end.” D'es that matter to colleges and universities? (csmonitor.com)
Read more

Kansas State University: Closer to Ubiquitous Wireless

Kansas State University will reach 200 wireless access points this fall. KSU has a goal to wire every square inch, indoor and outdoors, of its campus. Students, faculty, and staff love it and are supportive, and the goal is in sight. (Kansas State Collegian Online)
Read more

Windows Upgrade—Timing Is Everything

This upgrade has the unique challenge of coming in the rush of activity just before school starts. Not only is the timing bad, the file itself is large and transferring it around can clog networks. The upgrade interferes with some software people already have on their machines, which causes issues for support. (washingtonpost.com)
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Protecting Them In Spite of Themselves

Protecting the network d'esn’t make all the users happy all of the time! New security constraints to protect networks on campus are in some instances causing headaches for users. But, on the other hand, that mostly comes because now IT can make them do the things they should have been doing all along anyway. (kansan.com)
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RESOURCES


Reflections on Cyberspace

Did the dotCom bust bring us back to our Internet roots? Joichi Ito, founder of Neoteny and other Internet companies, thinks so. He proffers that cyberspace is returning to collaboration, community, and personal communications, with bloggers playing a key role. (Ubiquity)
Read more

America’s Best Colleges 2005

Yes, it’s that time again. On the off chance that you’ve not already been there, we’re providing this link to the latest annual survey by U.S. News & World Report. (USNews.com)
Read more


DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

University of Delaware in the Hotel Biz

The University of Delaware is building a hotel which the Shaner Hotel Group will operate as a Courtyard by Marriott. The venture is considered unusual because the university is retaining 75 percent of the hotel ownership and will be taking its lumps or prizes in a risk/reward agreement. (nytimes.com)
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Events


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Events Calendar

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POLL

Would fee-based e-mail help stop spammers?
Yes
No


Sponsored by:
Reinventing the Campus Environment Through Wireless
Flexibility and mobility are the watchwords on today's campuses, with faculty and students demanding cost-effective wireless solutions for teaching and learning. A new Syllabus micro site sponsored by Gateway takes an in-depth look at wireless technology and its implementation on campuses across the country. Articles, case studies, and resources keep you current on the benefits and challenges surrounding the mobile campus. Visit Mobile Computing on Campus to learn how some institutions are transforming their teaching and learning environments with mobile technologies.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

As Bricks Get Smarter, Buildings Become Safer

Intelligent building materials can help to make structures safer. Bricks can now contain sensors and communications technology. The smarter bricks each have a compartment containing sensors, signal processors, a wireless communications link, and a battery, and they can be handled on construction job sites just like their less savvy cousins. (csmonitor.com)
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University of Adelaide’s New Supercomputer: Aquila

Aquila is an Altix 3000 “supercluster” designed and supplied by Silicon Graphics Inc. and run by a three university consortium with assistance from SGI and Intel. Aquila has 160 processors and a 160GB memory. (The Advertiser)

Under-Skin RFID Tags Debated

They’re being tested, but they are quite controversial. Even RFID “bracelets,” proposed by Princeton University to track alumni session attendance at conferences, have plenty of opponents. (ZDNet)
Read more


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Sponsored By

The Impact of Wireless Network on Instructional Computing

Howard Strauss, manager of technology outreach as Princeton University

Despite the popularity of the technology, wireless is only beginning to show its potential uses for instruction. Howard Strauss comments about the use of the technology, both in the classroom and remotely.

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