IT Trends :: Thursday, June 29, 2006
New Technology
New York City Taps Mapping Software to Fight Domestic Violence
The New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence is using MapInfo Corp.’s MapInfo Professional application to launch a bilingual domestic violence awareness campaign in the city’s public transportation systems. By merging health care and crime data with geographical information, the office is able to better allocate resources… (InformationWeek)
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The Last Days of Privacy
In UC San Diego’s computer science building graduate student lounge, there is a vending machine that uses fingerprint and facial-recognition technology. For students who hardly ever pay with cash anymore, “their privacy concerns are outweighed by convenience – a sentiment ech'ed in survey after survey on biometric technology.”… (The San Francisco Chronicle)
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Lost in a Sea of Science Data
Some researchers are concerned about a 21st century “data deluge.” Librarians at the Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and UC San Diego are beginning to organize and archive large amounts of data to ensure their accessibility in the future. Such digitization procedures raise questions about funding and privacy… (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
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More Than 100 Work to Develop Emergency Internet
Dan Gallagher, Cape Cod Community College’s information technology director, led a summit for government agencies, schools and Internet providers to raise funding and support for an emergency Internet system. He is also the brains behind the original idea for OpenCape operation, which would “beam a powerful wireless signal onto the Upper Cape from UMass-Dartmouth and link the rest of the Cape through microwave towers located near schools or other institutions. Additional towers would be added in Plymouth or Kingston to complete a loop.”… (TCMnet)
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