IT Trends :: Thursday, May 25, 2006
New Technology
Big Brother on Campus: Cell Phone-GPS Combo to Track Students' Whereabouts
Rave Wireless' new Guardian system allows students to activate a signal on their cell phones when they feel unsafe. If the student d'esn't turn off the signal in a certain amount of time, campus security is notified and can use programmed information such as the student's name, photograph, and exact location to investigate the situation. New Jersey's Montclair State University will implement this new technology next semester and college security officials nationwide are certainly curious to see how well it g'es… (InformationWeek)
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Universities Focus on New Technology as Landlines Disappear
As personal technology needs change, some schools are scrambling to provide their students with affordable, yet trendy options. Morrisville State College has already replaced dormitory landlines with Nextel cell phones and the University of Cincinnati's 4,000 incoming freshman will receive free cells this fall. This is all courtesy of a new arrangement with Cincinnati Bell. However, not all schools are ready to jump on this bandwagon yet: "Officials at Towson University in Maryland worry about potential lawsuits if students don't have reliable landline service in their dorm rooms in case of emergency."… (Newsday Inc.)
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High-Tech Cure for the Munchies, 24/7
College cafeterias can only make money when they're open (and few are open around the clock), so the State University of New York A&T Morrisville developed a gigantic vending machine that carries food, drinks, and other necessities. Accessible at all hours of the day, the machine even accepts students' meal cards. Be sure to check out the photograph of this vending monstrosity… (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
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Open Source Automates College Net Security
To keep their network secure, a pair of IT employees at Middlebury College used PHP to develop a new program called Privateye. The program automates a large chunk of network security management activities by taking advantage of capabilities already found in common applications, including firewalls and Intrusion-Prevention Systems (IPS), and in a network of managed switches. This article breaks down the three-step process of this relatively simple new technology, piece by piece… (Network World)
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