IT Trends :: Thursday, February 8, 2007

Opinion

We Had to Destroy the Library in Order To Save It

Let's take a look into the near future and see who wins the race to digitize "the record of humanity up through 2000. The whole premodern world." The current frontrunner is Google, of course, with its Google Library Project. Since I live and work next to the campus of the University of Michigan, I am aware that one answer U-M has to the early Internet issue of people not coming to the library is taking the library to people. All 8 million of the U-M's books are part of Google's project.

But the winner, in the race to put "the record of humanity up to 2000" into digital form, able to be stored on a single 128 Petabyte storage card for $19.99 will be the Informagical Coalition backed by Chinese dollars.

What? Well, yeah, that's according to one of my favorite science fiction authors, Vernor Vinge....

IT News

Sakai, Blackboard Comment on Patent Pledge
Last week we reported that Blackboard had released a legally binding pledge stating that the company would not assert its patent rights against open-source developers in the CMS space or against developers of "home-grown" systems. The non-assertion pledge also covers those who service such systems, including hosting, maintenance, support and customization. And it includes the current patent, as well as patents pending. We spoke with Blackboard representative Matthew Small, who provided some insight and clarification on the pledge. Since then, we've also had a chance to speak with Chuck Severence, executive director of the Sakai Foundation--a central player in the patent discussion--for additional comments....
Ohio U Brings Second Life to Middle School Students
Ohio University's Office of Outreach and Russ College of Engineering and Technology paired up to develop educational software on Second Life, an online virtual Mecca....
U. of Chicago Students Attempt OurSpace Service
University of Chicago students have launched a website that enables Internet users to build their own social sites, with simple features that can be "customized, privatized, and personalized."...
Philadelphia U Adopts Trumba Connect
Philadelphia University is using technologies from Trumba to connect students and faculty to online events on and around the campus....
Eastern Oklahoma State Replaces ERP
Eastern Oklahoma State College (EOSC) has paired up with Datatel Colleague to replace its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in an effort to improve the campus' online functionality. The new ERP system is expected to improve online processes and enhance the services provided on the college's website....
Read More | Back to top

Featured

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • Abstract geometric shapes including hexagons, circles, and triangles in blue, silver, and white

    Google Launches Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet

    Google has introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, a new artificial intelligence model designed to reason through problems before delivering answers, a shift that marks a major leap in AI capability, according to the company.

  • Training the Next Generation of Space Cybersecurity Experts

    CT asked Scott Shackelford, Indiana University professor of law and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, about the possible emergence of space cybersecurity as a separate field that would support changing practices and foster future space cybersecurity leaders.

  • Two stylized glowing spheres with swirling particles and binary code are connected by light beams in a futuristic, gradient space

    New Boston-Based Research Center to Advance Quantum Computing with AI

    NVIDIA is establishing a research hub dedicated to advancing quantum computing through artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing technologies.