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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Featured

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    4 Ways Universities Are Using Google AI Tools for Learning and Administration

    In a recent blog post, Google shared an array of education customer stories, showcasing ways institutions are using AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM to transform both learning and administrative tasks.

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    Meta Launches Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has introduced a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

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    Report: Identity Has Become a Critical Security Perimeter for Cloud Services

    A new threat landscape report points to new cloud vulnerabilities. According to the 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report from Fortinet, while misconfigured cloud storage buckets were once a prime vector for cybersecurity exploits, other cloud missteps are gaining focus.

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    Microsoft Announces Security Advancements

    Microsoft has announced major security advancements across its product portfolio and practices. The work is part of its Secure Future Initiative (SFI), a multiyear cybersecurity transformation the company calls the largest engineering project in company history.