IT Trends :: Thursday, September 21, 2006


New Technology

Microsoft Zune to Share the Music

One feature of Microsoft’s so-called "iPod killer" is a peer-to-peer sharing system that will allow users to send a song to a friend wirelessly. The friend will be allowed to listen to the tune three times over three days before deciding whether or not to buy the track. The VP in charge of Zune says, "The idea is to legitimize peer-to-peer sharing in a healthy way that works for everybody."…

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University Dumps Cisco VoIP for Open-Source Asterisk

Sam Houston State University is moving 6,000 of its students, faculty, and staff off a Cisco VoIP platform. Instead, they'll be on an open-source voIP network via Asterisk. This will include call processing, voicemail, and PSTN gateway functionality. The university believes that there will be significant cost savings over time…

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Computing at Speed of Light: Intel, UC Santa Barbara Use Lasers in Computer Chips

Intel and UC Santa Barbara are seeing spots at their success in replacing copper wire with lasers. Can't get any faster. The researchers say they have found a way to use lasers, working at the speed of light, to send information around on a computer chip as well as from one chip to another. The technique, known as optical computing, uses indium phosphide, attaching it to the silicon chip in a way that many researchers had not thought possible. Too bad we're going to have to wait a generation to get the consumer products…

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Ohio University Struggles with Slow, Unreliable E-mail

There are only so many IT staff, and this summer at Ohio University they focused on security. They took on this focus despite the fact that they knew that the e-mail system needed more capacity. It was a matter of priorities. Now there are an awful lot of "squeaky wheels" spinning on campus. If you've ever (recently) waited four hours for an e-mail message to arrive, you can understand…

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Featured

  • semi-transparent AI brain with circuit elements under a microscope

    Anthropic Develops AI 'Microscope' to Reveal the Hidden Mechanics of LLM Thought

    Anthropic has unveiled new research tools designed to provide a rare glimpse into the hidden reasoning processes of advanced language models — like a "microscope" for AI.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • abstract AI pattern

    Meta Forms 'Superintelligence Group' to Pursue Artificial General Intelligence

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is assembling a new team focused on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), amid internal dissatisfaction with the performance of its current AI offerings. The team, known internally as the superintelligence group, is part of a broader effort to enhance Meta’s AI capabilities.

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