IT Trends for Thursday, December 30, 2004

IT Trends

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In This Issue

OPINION

Clear-Cutting the Future: We’ll Hear More About This in 2005

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

It’s really hard to decide between my two favorite holiday presents. The antique jigsaw puzzle, complete in its original box, of the characters from the old “Terry & the Pirates” cartoon strip delighted me; in part because it helps me appreciate how much popular culture has changed (and hasn’t) since the early 1950s and in part due to vanity — I was named after the major character.

But I think my overall favorite is the tiny little, black (stealth) keychain device, which purports (and so far has proven it many times over) to let me turn off any remote-enabled television. I have a serious hate-hate relationship with televisions. My dislike of television has grown for years but tipped into activism after a blood pressure-induced hospital stay a year ago, during which I learned that there were no television-free patient rooms in the University of Michigan hospital.

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IT NEWS

PeopleSoft CEO Resigns Ahead of Oracle Takeover

David A. Duffield resigned as CEO, chairman and director of PeopleSoft on December 21. (USA Today)
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Collaboration Begins on P2P Issues at FTC

The RIAA and the MPAA were both at the FTC’s table, along with representatives from users and the manufacturers of file-sharing software. The FTC is collecting preliminary information. Some think it is laying groundwork for full-blown FTC regulation of some kind. (Wired)
Read more

Operation FastLink Gets U. Iowa Student

The student “was part of the ‘warez scene,’ an underground network of individuals and organized groups that compete in the market of large-scale, illegal dissemination of protected software. Members gain[ed] access to copyrighted material, often before its release, crack the digital protections and put it online for others to access, reproduce or pass along.” (Iowa City Press Citizen)

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Employees Who Won’t Stay Fired - They’re Dedicated!

Rom Avitzur’s project (and his contract) at Apple was cancelled, but he and others kept coming in to work and even using their own money to finish the project. (Wired)
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i2hub a Hit at U. Mass

This controversial but rapidly proliferating file sharing software uses Internet2 to serve up tunes as fast as one every several seconds or so. Fast enough to draw the attention of a good percentage of the UMass student population, and on campuses elsewhere. (The Republican)
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Wi-Fi Networks Slated for Ph'enix-Area Downtowns

Still in the planning stages, a Wi-Fi network to cover and connect downtown Ph'enix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, AZ, is being proposed by the Downtown Ph'enix Partnership. (MSNBC)
Read more

U. Alaska Hangs Up on Dial-Up Net Service

Noting the many commercial competitors available to students, university administrators will spend the saved money on the campus network. In November of 2004 just five students dialed in through the university. (Daily News Miner)
Read more

Grand Valley State on the Anti-Spam Warpath

Students will get emailed a list of “quarantined” messages every six hours and will be able to reject or accept them at will. (Grand Valley Lanthorn)
Read more

RESOURCES

U. Wisconsin Replaces PeopleSoft with Alumni Association-Developed Software

The central UW alumni association split with the university several years before the U adopted a PeopleSoft module for departments and colleges. Now the U is bringing the central alumni association software available to all parts of campus instead. (Wisconsin Technology Network)
Learn more

From the Campus to the Commons: The Free Culture Movement

Is it the environmentalism of the next generation? What happens when the philosophies of the free/open software movement are applied to protect freedoms of creativity and innovation? (AlterNet)
Learn more

Linux’ Code Contains Fewer Bugs Than Its Competitors’

This study shows that Linux actually has about 100 times fewer bugs-per-line-of-code that the average piece of commercial software. (Wired)
Learn more

DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

Suffolk County Benefits from Recent Grants

Stony Brook University's Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology received $1 million. Furthermore, St. Joseph's College received $400,000 to fund the creation of 37 technologically integrated "smart classrooms," 22 at the Brooklyn campus and 15 at the Patchogue campus.
Read more

Verizon Awards Nearly $75,000 to Washington State Nonprofits

The Verizon Foundation has awarded nearly $75,000 to 10 Washington nonprofit organizations with the goal of advancing community technology and work force development. The Washington State University Foundation received $9,500 to fund a mobile, wireless broadband teaching lab that will reach students in remote areas. Also, the Lake Washington College Foundation received $8,000 to create a computer lab for low-income students.
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Thursday, December 30, 2004

Sponsored by:
HP offers negotiated contracts for colleges, universities and states.
That means your education department can purchase HP products at prices far below consumer rates. HP authorized partners and resellers can also utilize specially negotiated contracts to better serve the needs of their campus' and students.

Click here for details

Upcoming Events

TechMentor in Orlando, April 4 - 8, 2005

Syllabus2005 in Los Angeles, July 24-28, 2005

Events Calendar

Sponsored by:

Developing a Connected Campus
The communication technology issues for IT professionals on campus are myriad—from meeting the demand for wireless services, to knowing if and when to implement Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and the funding challenges of each decision. Read what colleges and universities are doing to meet these demands on a special Syllabus micro site sponsored by SBC. A new article, “VoIP Moves into the Spotlight,” examines the benefits, costs and challenges of VoIP through case studies at several institutions.

Click here for more information on this as well as other articles, case studies, white papers and more.



NEW PRODUCTS

Mozilla Releases Sunbird 2.0 Calendar

Taking aim at Outlook, Mozilla is integrating its calendar application, Sunbird, with its Thunderbird e-mail application. The new project, code-named Lightning, aims to integrate Mozilla’s calendar application, Sunbird, with its recently released Thunderbird e-mail application. That integration is aimed right at the heart of Microsoft’s widely used Outlook software. (CNET)
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Sponsored by:
Campus Technology Magazine: Free Monthly Resource for IT Leaders
Subscribe to Campus Technology, the only monthly publication for administrative and academic IT leaders focusing exclusively on the use of technology in higher education. Each month offers in-depth features, exclusive articles, and insightful columns to help you understand the issues, strategies, trends, and new technologies affecting higher education institutions. Don't miss out. Subscribe now.

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Radio

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.

Click Here to Listen


Current Topics in Our forums include:
Networking

Collaboration in the Education Space

Mobile Computing

Campus IT Security

Tablet PCs

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