======================================================
AUC Higher Education News 24/5/04
April-May Edition
A collection of I.T. news and views relevant to the
tertiary education sector
Edited by Stephen Atherton
(Submissions welcome to s.atherton@uq.net.au)
======================================================
There is a lot on- the conference silly season is upon us. A number of events are highlighted in the "What's coming up" section of HiEdNews, but a few stand out.
Check out the 1 to 1 conference if you have an interest in notebook programmes <http://www.1to1conference.com.au/>. Despite a K-12 focus, there is something in this event for tertiary educators and technical staff.
If you are a developer in the higher education space, you are more than likely not one of the folks heading off to San Francisco at the end of June care of AUC funding <http://auc.uow.edu.au/audf/wwdc04/index.html>. I look forward to catching up with the Aussie and Kiwi delegates there in whatever seedy bar we all meet up at.
Other Australasian quality conferences around the corner include AusWeb for all things web based, and QuestNet for network engineers. Both are in July, and you'll find their details at the end of this edition. As I said, it is silly season. The same week as these two events, the AUC is running a three day technical training event at the University of Technology Sydney <http://auc.uow.edu.au/index2.html?training/xworld2/index.html~mainFrame>. If you are a techie, this is not an event to be missed. It is run by university folks for university folks.
Content this issue is, as usual, diverse but I note that the tail end reads like a clinical publication. There's been a lot happening in the biomedical I.T. turf (the last BMJ is just overflowing with all things I.T.) that clinical readers can catch up on in the "Clinical Stuff" section.
I have started to get more submissions from readers with references to sites of interest. Please feel free to do this. And do feel free to suggest colleagues (PC or Mac users) subscribe to "Higher Education News" if they are likely to get something out of it- the more the merrier. Or on a more practical note, the more subscribers, the more justification to continue the newsletter into its' fifth year. Just forward the footer of this newsletter which gives instructions on how to subscribe.
Enough from me- this is a big issue catching up on two months, so read on...
----------------------- In This Issue ----------------------------------
1] AUC stuff- new webcast seminars for Systems Admin staff on AUC site
2] AUC stuff- X World training for technical staff & Virginia Tech keynote
3] AUC stuff- AUC Best Practice Awards
4] Apple stuff- new Apple Australia training website
5] Apple stuff- Steve Jobs to let the Tiger out of the bag next month
6] Apple stuff- SAN solution released at NAB conference
7] Apple stuff- Mac OS X Update Addresses Security Concern
8] Apple stuff- iTunes to go on PCs from China's largest producer
9] Apple stuff- Apple has shown that they are alive and well in Aussie Gov't: NSW RTA deploys iMacs
10] Apple stuff- new Final Cut includes high definition video editing
11] Interesting stuff- EDUCAUSE Publishes Top-Ten IT Issues Survey Results
12] Interesting stuff- Oracle and Apple hit the road
13] Interesting stuff- Brit E-university set to be dismantled
14] Interesting stuff- Battle looms over recordable DVDs
15] Interesting stuff- Father of the Net gets paternal payout
16] Interesting stuff- Otago Goes Live with Online Enrolment
17] Interesting stuff- Universal speed limit spells end for Moore's law
18] Interesting stuff- NZ eXpo Conference for Macintosh users 2004
19] Legal stuff- Free Software Foundation makes subpoena public
20] Legal stuff- U.S. Porn spam must now be labeled
21] Legal stuff- Opera Software get payout from Microsoft?
22] Legal stuff- I?m feeling lucky: Stanford set to reap millions from Google IPO
23] Legal stuff- FBI joins in Cisco code theft investigation
24] Legal stuff- Chasing the elusive shadows of e-crime
25] Security stuff- Laying siege to the grid
26] Security stuff- U Michigan's online security flaw exposed
27] Security stuff- US AMBER Alert 911 site
28] Security stuff- taking a look at security on the Mac
29] Security stuff- QUT identifies Critical wireless flaw
30] Security stuff- Why Windows is a security nightmare
31] Network stuff- Northern Territory to get more bandwidth
32] Network stuff- histogram of network activity of local and remote computers
33] Network stuff- ultra-wideband (UWB) implementation hampered by red tape
34] Developer stuff- Writing Scalable Applications with PHP
35] Developer stuff- Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design
36] Developer stuff- Integrating Xgrid into Cocoa Applications
37] Third party stuff- Chinese JAVA Office app to beat Microsoft Office?
38] Third party stuff- ScholarWord for academic writing
39] Third party stuff- content delivery software
40] Third party stuff- iFlix is iTunes for movies? Or iVideo?
41] Third party stuff- new version of Office for Mac
42] Third party stuff- the "standard" in script writing software updated
43] Third party stuff- new version of Australian weather application Degrees Down Under
44] Third party stuff- "Collaba" cross platform collaboration tool
45] Third party stuff- OsiriX Medical Imaging Software
46] Third party stuff- Eudora 6.1 released
47] Third party stuff- Pro Tools LE 6.2.3b1 Beta Update fixes lab management issue
48] Third party stuff- Uni Sydney opens research centre in Computer Supported Learning and Cognition
49] Teaching stuff- on notebooks in the classroom
50] Teaching stuff- Creating Reusable Content: A practitioner's observations
51] Teaching stuff- iverpool to top Europe e-learning league
52] Teaching stuff- Blackboard goes public
53] Research stuff- An autonomous molecular computer for logical control of gene expression
54] Research stuff- Deep Infrastructure Supports Digital Library Services
55] Research stuff- Making the Case: Research Efforts on Educational Technology
56] Research stuff- UQ physicists rev up simulations
57] Research stuff- Cambridge first with electronic archive
58] Clinical stuff- EU wants every member to develop a "roadmap" for ehealth
59] Clinical stuff- US doctors want to be paid for email communication with patients
60] Clinical stuff- Electronic prescribing could save at least $29bn
61] Clinical stuff- Patients' experience with a diabetes support programme based on an interactive electronic medical record: qualitative study
62] Clinical stuff- Alternative therapy websites 'need regulation'
63] Clinical stuff- Australia's first coast to coast medical simulation
65] Clinical stuff- The attitudes of (Dental) undergraduate students and staff to the use of electronic learning
66] Clinical stuff- Learning from e-patients at Massachusetts General Hospital
67] Clinical stuff- Machines roll in to care for the elderly
68] Clinical stuff- Will e-learning improve clinical judgment?
69] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1] AUC stuff- new webcast seminars for Systems Admin staff on AUC site
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Andrew Jeffrey <ajeffrey@asia.apple.com>
Three new WebCasts from macosxlabs.org are now mirrored locally on the AUC web server. The WebCasts cover:
- RsyncX 2.1
- Mac OS X 10.3 Active Directory Integration
- Novell eDirectory Integration
http://auc.uow.edu.au/macosxlabs/webcasts.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2] AUC stuff- X World training for technical staff & Virginia Tech keynote
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Building on the success of the first X World in 2003, the Apple University Consortium, in conjunction with Apple Computer Australia, has announced they will be holding a 3 day hands-on training event specifically for Higher-Education Technical staff who support and manage Mac OS X installations... We are very pleased to announce that Kevin Shinpaugh, Director of Research and Cluster Computing from Virginia Tech, USA will feature as a keynote speaker."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/index2.html?training/xworld2/index.html~mainFrame
----------------------------------------
3] AUC stuff- AUC Best Practice Awards
----------------------------------------
Andrew Jeffrey <ajeffrey@asia.apple.com>
"The AUC's Best Practice Award is a scheme to recognise members of the consortium that are creative, innovative leaders in their respective fields with a demonstrated capacity and respect for the sharing of knowledge within a broader community."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/misc/bpa_2004.html
------------------------------------------------------
4] Apple stuff- new Apple Australia training website
------------------------------------------------------
Apple now has a website with the latest on Apple Training and Certification for all levels of Mac users, ranging from IT professionals to Technicians.
http://www.apple.com.au/training/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5] Apple stuff- Steve Jobs to let the Tiger out of the bag next month
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A preview of Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" will be unveiled at WWDC 2004 during Steve Jobs' keynote on Monday, June 28.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/may/04wwdc.html
--------------------------------------------------------
6] Apple stuff- SAN solution released at NAB conference
--------------------------------------------------------
"NAB, LAS VEGAS?April 18, 2004?Apple® today introduced Xsan, a high-performance, enterprise-class Storage Area Network (SAN) file system priced at the industry?s most aggressive price point of $999 per system. Xsan software combines breakthrough performance with Apple?s legendary ease-of-use for customers who require scalable, high-speed access to centralized shared data for video workflow and storage consolidation, and is the perfect complement to Apple?s award-winning Xserve® and Xserve RAID hardware."
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/18xsan.html
http://www.apple.com/xsan
------------------------------------------------------------
7] Apple stuff- Mac OS X Update Addresses Security Concern
------------------------------------------------------------
CUPERTINO, California?May 21, 2004?Apple today posted a Mac OS X update to address a theoretical vulnerability in the Help Viewer application that could have been exposed when browsing the web. The update is available automatically to all users through Apple?s free Software Update service or by going to http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/.
http://www.apple.com.au/pr/library/2004/may/21security.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
8] Apple stuff- iTunes to go on PCs from China's largest producer
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HP has also made this decision, so Apple software is well and truly in the Windows world.
"CUPERTINO, California and BEIJING?May 18, 2004?Founder, one of the largest PC suppliers to the Chinese market, and Apple® today announced that every Founder PC will come pre-installed with Apple?s award-winning iTunes® digital music jukebox software beginning next month. iTunes works seamlessly with Apple?s iPod®, the number one digital music player in the world, to deliver an unbeatable combination for music lovers in China."
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/may/18founder.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9] Apple stuff- Apple has shown that they are alive and well in Aussie Gov't: NSW RTA deploys iMacs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In what may well be Apple Computer's largest coup in the Australian enterprise space, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) will deploy 1200 Apple G4 iMacs across 140 registry offices...Unix, it appears, will also remain firmly ensconced at the RTA for the foreseeable future fronted by Apple's OSX 10.3 Panther operating system. "Apple OSX 10.3 was the major advantage sought as it fit neatly into the Unix-based registry network. [The] cost of the machines was comparable to machines being offered by other vendors. [The] technical capability of [the] iMacs was superior and users definitely preferred the ergonomic design and look and feel of the terminal," the RTA statement said."
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php?id=759393285&eid=-108
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10] Apple stuff- new Final Cut includes high definition video editing
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"The new version of Final Cut Pro lets you capture DVCPRO HD over FireWire, edit using camera-native footage and output over FireWire with no generational quality loss. RT Extreme, now for HD, can deliver multiple HD streams, effects, filters and transitions in real-time to an attached Apple Cinema Display."
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/18fcp.html
http://www.apple.com.au/finalcut/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
11] Interesting stuff- EDUCAUSE Publishes Top-Ten IT Issues Survey Results
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Funding IT remains number one; Security and Identity Management hits budgets hard in 2003-2004"
http://www.educause.edu/news/news_item.asp?Year=2004&ID=050504
--------------------------------------------------------
12] Interesting stuff- Oracle and Apple hit the road
--------------------------------------------------------
"Executives from Oracle and Apple are teaming up for an international road show to introduce Oracle10g on Mac OS X Server. Aimed at Oracle customers looking to make the switch to Mac OS X Server, Mac customers looking for database technology, and system integrators and ISVs looking to offer solutions for the grid computing market, the event travels to Reston, Va., Cupertino, Calif., London, England, Paris, France and Tokyo, Japan with dates in early to mid-June."
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/05/20/oracle/?lsrc=mcrss-0504
http://seminars.apple.com/tours/oracle/indextrk.html?s=99
---------------------------------------------------------------
13] Interesting stuff- Brit E-university set to be dismantled
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Britain's ill-fated e-university is expected to be broken up by June, but discussions are continuing on how to save parts of the £62m venture. The board of the funding council Hefce has announced that the plan to scale down and transfer activities from UKeU, the company set up to market online degrees worldwide, would continue. No decision has yet been reached on what to do with the £13m e-learning "platform" developed by Sun Microsystems for UKeU - whether it is worth the cost of further development work or not."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1204498,00.html
---------------------------------------------------------------
14] Interesting stuff- Battle looms over recordable DVDs
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Three high-capacity DVD formats are competing to become the new standard for video recording. THE VHS-versus-Betamax videotape wars of the late 1970s will seem like a schoolyard squabble compared to the three-way battle that is about to be fought over the next generation of high-capacity recordable DVDs."
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2441 - 03 April 2004, page 24
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=3&id=mg18224413.700
---------------------------------------------------------------
15] Interesting stuff- Father of the Net gets paternal payout
---------------------------------------------------------------
"The British-born scientist credited with inventing the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has been awarded the first Millennium Technology Prize. The award, a £600,000 cash prize, is among the largest of its kind. It was established in 2002 and backed by the Finnish government."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1193500,00.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
16] Interesting stuff- Otago Goes Live with Online Enrolment
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Students planning to enrol for Semester 2 study at the University of Otago are now just a mouse click away from registering via an easy-to-use and intelligent web-based system which allows them to check for potentially mismatched courses and timetable clashes. Otago's online registration option, which this week went live on the University's web site, is an "important step forward for Otago's enrolment procedures, which will smooth the process for both students and administration", says University of Otago Director of Academic Services, John Price."
http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/2004/05-05-04_press_release.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
17] Interesting stuff- Universal speed limit spells end for Moore's law
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"FIRST the bad news for geeks. Computing power is fundamentally limited by the rate of expansion of the universe. The good news, however, is that if Moore's law continues to hold, chip makers have more than five centuries before they hit the limit."
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2446 - 08 May 2004, page 12
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg18224461.500
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18] Interesting stuff- NZ eXpo Conference for Macintosh users 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Auckland University of Technology and Digital Events in conjunction with NZ Macguide and Microsoft are running a New Zealand eXpo Conference for Mac users on October 9th, 2004. A community education event for the NZ Mac community, 12 seminars are being run to enable Mac users to learn more about using their favourite computer applications."
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/SC0405/S00026.htm
http://digitalevents.co.nz/expo_main.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
19] Legal stuff- Free Software Foundation makes subpoena public
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"In November 2003, the SCO Group sent an eight-page subpoena to the Free Software Foundation (FSF), demanding that the FSF turn over internal documents and external communications with prominent open-source figures. The subpoena was put on hold until April, and now the FSF has made its contents public."
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1085087038.html
http://itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?id=idgml-856d67e9-0cf2-464e&s=334096
----------------------------------------------------------
20] Legal stuff- U.S. Porn spam must now be labeled
----------------------------------------------------------
"In April, the FTC adopted a rule that requires spam which contains sexually oriented material to include the warning "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:" in the subject line. That rule went into effect on Wednesday. In addition to the subject label, the rule mandates an "electronic brown paper wrapper" that prohibits sexually oriented material from residing in the "initially viewable area" of the email message. "
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1085105389.html
----------------------------------------------------------
21] Legal stuff- Opera Software get payout from Microsoft?
----------------------------------------------------------
"Last week Opera Software (makers of the Opera browser for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X) announced they had entered into a settlement with a large company, but did not name the company provide details on what the settlement covered. Now, sources are reporting that Microsoft is the party behind the payout."
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1085422002.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22] Legal stuff- I?m feeling lucky: Stanford set to reap millions from Google IPO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Google's upcoming IPO may turn out to be the largest windfall ever for Stanford's technology transfer program.
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=14315&repository=0001_article
--------------------------------------------------------------
23] Legal stuff- FBI joins in Cisco code theft investigation
--------------------------------------------------------------
"The FBI is now looking into the recent pilfering of Cisco's IOS 12.3 OS source code at Cisco's request. According to sources, the saga began when the culprit compromised a Sun server on Cisco's network. After locating and copying the source code, "Franz" (as the hacker was nicknamed) then posted a link on IRC to a 3MB archived version of the code. That snippet was on a Dutch FTP server belonging to the University of Utrecht, a server open to the public for the hosting of small files."
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1084980331.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
24] Legal stuff- Chasing the elusive shadows of e-crime
--------------------------------------------------------------
"How do you catch a criminal if the clues are deleted from their computer? In the virtual world there will always be faint digital fingerprints left behind. Will Knight investigates ways to track them down"
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2446 - 08 May 2004, page 26
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg18224463.900
-------------------------------------------------
25] Security stuff- Laying siege to the grid
-------------------------------------------------
"The world's most powerful supercomputer networks are under attack. But given the enormous technical expertise this requires, why are the hackers bothering? David Cohen investigates"
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2448 - 22 May 2004, page 28
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg18224483.800
----------------------------------------------------------------
26] Security stuff- U Michigan's online security flaw exposed
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Though he's majoring in computer science, Jon Oberheide said he didn't need to draw on his studies to come across a serious security breach within the University of Michigan's online student records system."
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1085150543124310.xml
----------------------------------------------
27] Security stuff- US AMBER Alert 911 site
----------------------------------------------
"Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), the global leader in information security, today announced its participation as the security provider in an ongoing national public-private partnership that is transforming the AMBER Alert System into a state-of-the-art national network and Web portal known as AMBER Alert 911."
http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/content.cfm?articleid=3744&PID=20007686&EID=649
http://www.amberalert911.org/
----------------------------------------------------------
28] Security stuff- taking a look at security on the Mac
----------------------------------------------------------
You will note a security update under the "Apple Stuff" section. What does it all mean?
"Viruses, Trojan horses, and worms have been around for a long time. Until recently, many Mac users have thought of such things as somebody else's problem. Now with news of various bits of malware and browser exploits for Mac OS X being in circulation, it is time to take a look at the state of security on OS X"
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1085070413.html
----------------------------------------------------------
29] Security stuff- QUT identifies Critical wireless flaw
----------------------------------------------------------
Cited Greg Basford <gbasford@asia.apple.com>
"A serious wireless network technology flaw that could lead to the breakdown of some critical infrastructures in just five seconds has been identified by QUT?s Information Security Research Centre, a finding that is likely to have worldwide ramifications."
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=413471714&eid=-143
----------------------------------------------------------
30] Security stuff- Why Windows is a security nightmare
----------------------------------------------------------
Cited Robert Howells <rhowells@arach.net.au>
"Security in all mainstream operating systems is non-existent; however, things are especially bad for Windows. Windows happens to be the favourite target of worm and virus writers."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/21/1085120110704.html?from=storylhs
------------------------------------------------------------
31] Network stuff- Northern Territory to get more bandwidth
------------------------------------------------------------
"Charles Darwin University and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education today welcomed news that the federal government will fund improved capacity for electronic-based education and research activities in central Australia. It is understood that $1.75 million will be allocated to a collaborative project to install a 10km broadband fibre optic backbone running from Charles Darwin University?s Alice Springs Campus to include a series of institutions south of the city."
http://www.cdu.edu.au/newsroom/stories/2004/april/broadband/index.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32] Network stuff- histogram of network activity of local and remote computers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Net Monitor graphs a histogram of network activity of local and remote computers in a floating window, the Dock, the Menu Bar or in a regular window.
Net Monitor is highly customizable.Net Monitor includes special features for PPP connections, like connect/disconnect & auto reconnect (not available for remote computers)."
http://homepage.mac.com/rominar/net.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33] Network stuff- ultra-wideband (UWB) implementation hampered by red tape
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A neglected technology that smears radio signals across all wavebands could turn the skies into data superhighways. So why are those who control the radio spectrum so reluctant to allow it? Danny O'Brien investigates. IT CAN create undetectable, unjammable communications systems; cheap, portable radar that can see though walls; it could even help park your car. And, fingers crossed, it will create a lightning-quick wireless superhighway powerful enough to beam music, video and even high-definition television pictures around your home."
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2444 - 24 April 2004, page 28
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=5&id=mg18224443.700
----------------------------------------------------------------
34] Developer stuff- Writing Scalable Applications with PHP
----------------------------------------------------------------
"The first part of this article, "Real-World PHP Security", appeared in the April 2004 issue of Linux Journal and covered the subject of secure PHP development. This article takes you, the professional PHP developer, one step further, by providing detailed explanations and reliable source code that illustrate the steps to follow in order to develop successful PHP applications."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7593
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
35] Developer stuff- Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In my previous article, I described a scenario where teams of scientists and students would collaborate around some common weather data. We have been tasked with building a software system that allows them all to perform their unique jobs with this set of data. Let's design and create a database that will store the weather data as it is recorded."
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/05/21/enterprise_2.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
36] Developer stuff- Integrating Xgrid into Cocoa Applications
----------------------------------------------------------------
"In Part 1 of this two-part extravaganza we covered a lot of ground, with barely a mention of Cocoa. We were witness to a future vision for Xgrid, installed its present incarnation, played with it a bit, and then got down and dirty on the command line. The title would suggest that there may actually be some Cocoa in these pages, and I am here to assure you that it wasn't all just a PR stunt to capture your attention. I will now deliver on the promise."
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/05/18/xgrid_pt2.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
37] Third party stuff- Chinese JAVA Office app to beat Microsoft Office?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Evermore, an increasingly-known-to-industry Chinese software company successfully attracted people from the media, government and the IT field Monday in Beijing by launching 3 versions of its product -EI Office 2004 at the same time, its la test step forward towards its Mission Impossible of challenging and defeating Microsoft in Office software."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/18/content_1475422.htm
http://www.evermoresw.com/weben/index.jsp
-----------------------------------------------------------------
38] Third party stuff- ScholarWord for academic writing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"ScholarWord? is a Multi-Platform, Microsoft® Word integration that helps you overcome the obstacles you may encounter in academic writing. ScholarWord accomplishes this by seamlessly integrating powerful tools and information into your writing environment."
http://www.xumbrus.com/product_scholarword_NN4.htm
--------------------------------------------------
39] Third party stuff- content delivery software
--------------------------------------------------
I'm currently on the road giving seminars on digital media in teaching <http://www.apple.com.au/education/events> and discuss a bunch of tools out there to help with online delivery or streaming. Here's a snapshot..
Live Channel Pro
http://www.channelstorm.com/
Cast:Stream
http://www.caststream.com/
Media Beacon
http://www.mediabeacon.com/
Uni of WA's iLecture
http://ilectures.uwa.edu.au/
SlidesNow
http://www.mediabeacon.com/
Wirecast
http://www.varasoftware.com/
MovieSlider
http://www.thepropellerheads.com/
LiveStage Pro
http://www.totallyhip.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
40] Third party stuff- iFlix is iTunes for movies? Or iVideo?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't tested this yet, but a asset management tool that is cross platform and shareware sounds pretty interesting
"iFlix uses an intuitive, elegant interface to easily manage, organize, consolidate, find, download, and play your growing collection of hundreds or even thousands of Flix - Movies, TV Shows, DVDs, videos, avi, mpg, mp4, and mov files, PVR / DVR recordings, etc."
http://www.i-flix.com/
But it's not the only option...
"We've created what you've always wanted. iVideo keeps movies the same way Apple's iPhoto keeps pictures. With a beautiful user interface, iVideo is definitely something you'll want to use a lot."
http://www.waterfallsw.com/ivideo/
-------------------------------------------------------
41] Third party stuff- new version of Office for Mac
-------------------------------------------------------
For Australian Universities, this probably means the CAUDIT site license is about to land on someone's desk.
"When you?re ready to get down to business, Microsoft® Office 2004 for Mac provides the intuitive, intelligent tools you need to transform your ideas and opportunities into action."
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/office2004.aspx?pid=office2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
42] Third party stuff- the "standard" in script writing software updated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Final Draft, the number-one selling word processor specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays, combines powerful word processing with professional script formatting in one self-contained, easy-to-use package."
http://www.finaldraft.com/fd/index.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
43] Third party stuff- new version of Australian weather application Degrees Down Under
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Robert Stainsby <rjsdev@mac.com>
What I like about this app is that it was inspired by an AUC grant to the Developers Conference
"Version 2.0 of the free Australian weather application Degrees Down Under is now available. Previously released as a public beta, Degrees Down Under 2.0 displays the current temperature for a range of locations around Australia, using data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website"
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/18507
---------------------------------------------------------------------
44] Third party stuff- "Collaba" cross platform collaboration tool
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HiEdNews has mentioned collaboration tools such as Marratech and Elluminate before. There's a new JAVA kid on the block & there is a FREE version for education!
"Out of the box, Collaba provides dozens of easy-to-use communication and collaboration tools : secure e-mail (web & pop3/smtp), on-line forums (web & nntp), multimedia chat, calendering, address book, bookmarks organizer, web space, file server access (web, ftp, smb, cifs, etc.), digital portfolio, dynamic news board, directory access, Single-Sign-On features (extendable, and built-in support for many education-related services), on-line portal management, anti-spam, gateways with popular services and technologies, synchronization with LDAP directories, and many more."
http://www.collaba.ca/en/
--------------------------------------------------------
45] Third party stuff- OsiriX Medical Imaging Software
--------------------------------------------------------
Next generation DICOM Viewer for MacOS X: Ultrafast performance, Intuitive interactive user interface, Exclusive innovative technique for 5 D navigation, Designed by radiologists for radiologists, Distributed under Open Source licensing
http://homepage.mac.com/rossetantoine/osirix/Index2.html
-----------------------------------------------
46] Third party stuff- Eudora 6.1 released
-----------------------------------------------
"The best email program just got even better. Email traffic is on the rise. Eudora® is the best email program for people who get lots of email. If you're not one of those people now, you will be soon. So, take control of your email before it takes control of you."
http://www.eudora.com/products/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
47] Third party stuff- Pro Tools LE 6.2.3b1 Beta Update fixes lab management issue
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited John Zornig <jzornig@asia.apple.com>
Pro Tools LE 6.2.3b1 has removed the requirement for Pro Tools users to have Administrator Privileges. This has been a big headache in lab settings of ProTools professional audio software.
http://www.protools.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
48] Third party stuff- Uni Sydney opens research centre in Computer Supported Learning and Cognition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Gone are the days when e-learning meant plugging in a desktop PC and working your way through prescribed learning materials in a static and anti-social environment. A peek inside the lab at the University's new CoCo Centre, the research centre in Computer Supported Learning and Cognition, which was established last year, quickly dispels the myths."
http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/newsevents/articles/2004/may/19_coco.shtml
------------------------------------------------------
49] Teaching stuff- on notebooks in the classroom
------------------------------------------------------
A piece on classroom management challenges of laptop computing. I hope the chap is attending the 1 to 1 Conference this month in Sydney.
http://www.globaled.com/authors.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50] Teaching stuff- Creating Reusable Content: A practitioner's observations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"With vigorous development of the Internet, e-learning system has become more and more popular. ADL proposes SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) specification that an XML-based metadata with physical files had been explored by many studies since 1997. The issue of Special Theme on Learning Technology Newsletter aims to collect early research opinions and report the development from the Learning Objects (LOs) in an e-learning context. We received over 40 articles and chose 18 articles for publication. Those articles show a variety of flavors for future research."
http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/april2004/learn_tech_april2004.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------
51] Teaching stuff- iverpool to top Europe e-learning league
---------------------------------------------------------------
"The University of Liverpool is to become Europe's largest provider of online degree courses following the acquisition of its e-learning partner by global higher education specialist Sylvan Learning Systems."
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1154405
--------------------------------------------
52] Teaching stuff- Blackboard goes public
--------------------------------------------
"Blackboard Inc. has acted like a public company for years. The Washington-based software developer began to issue earnings in 2002 even though it is privately held. Now Blackboard is on the verge of holding an initial public offering of its stock and becoming the public company that its founders long wanted."
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20040509-103929-6981r.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
53] Research stuff- An autonomous molecular computer for logical control of gene expression
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Early biomolecular computer research focused on laboratory-scale, human-operated computers for complex computational problems. Recently, simple molecular-scale autonomous programmable computers were demonstrated allowing both input and output information to be in molecular form."
Nature AOP, published online 28 April 2004; doi:10.1038/nature02551
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nature02551_fs.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54] Research stuff- Deep Infrastructure Supports Digital Library Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Libraries have always been central to the exchange of knowledge, but never have they been closer to the creation and dissemination of scholarly content, and to the fundamental processes of teaching and learning. Duke University has recognized the strategic importance of the digital library as a change agent."
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=9362
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
55] Research stuff- Making the Case: Research Efforts on Educational Technology
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Historically, very little, if any, research that meets the scientifically based standards as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act has been conducted on the effectiveness of educational technology. Clearly, the educational technology community must invest in research and evaluation studies to better guide the effective use of the investment, as well as to demonstrate to policy-makers the impact on teaching and learning."
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4828.cfm
--------------------------------------------------------
56] Research stuff- UQ physicists rev up simulations
--------------------------------------------------------
"Researchers in UQ?s School of Physical Sciences have created a computer program that significantly reduces the development time for mathematical simulations. The program, eXtensible Multi-Dimensional Simulator (XMDS), can produce a simulation, which would usually take a week to develop, in as little as 10 minutes."
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.phtml?article=5536
-------------------------------------------------------------
57] Research stuff- Cambridge first with electronic archive
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Cambridge University is set to become the first UK university to launch an electronic super-archive that would make its academic material freely available. The £1.7m Dspace project, being developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the US, will provide a digital repository of academic information that could potentially be accessed by anyone with a Google search engine."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,893541,00.html
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/dspace/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
58] Clinical stuff- EU wants every member to develop a "roadmap" for ehealth
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
electronic communication and health care: EU wants every member to develop a "roadmap" for ehealth
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7449/1155-b?ecoll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
59] Clinical stuff- US doctors want to be paid for email communication with patients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email is becoming a more common tool of clinical practice, enabling doctors to communicate with patients between office visits, improve diagnosis and compliance with medical treatments, and facilitate medical record keeping
New England Journal of Medicine ( 2004;350: 1705-7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
60] Clinical stuff- Electronic prescribing could save at least $29bn
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"The US healthcare system could save $29bn (£16.2bn; 24.2bn) a year if doctors sent their prescriptions electronically to pharmacies, says a report from eHealth Initiative, a non-profit organisation based in Washington, DC, that aims to increase safety and efficiency in health care through information technology."
British Medical Journal 2004;328:1155 (15 May)
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7449/1155?ecoll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
61] Clinical stuff- Patients' experience with a diabetes support programme based on an interactive electronic medical record: qualitative study
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Participants' experiences support further study of open access to the electronic medical record and online communication between patients and their care providers. The development of web based disease management programmes should take into account the specific needs and expectations of patients, and patients and providers should have candid discussions about what web based care can and cannot provide."
British Medical Journal 2004;328:1159 (15 May)
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/328/7449/1159?ecoll
---------------------------------------------------------------------
62] Clinical stuff- Alternative therapy websites 'need regulation'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cancer charities and organisations need to devise a seal of approval system to endorse websites that promote alternative cancer therapies, researchers have suggested. A new survey of unregulated websites offering information on complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) found that the quality of advice online varied greatly."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,9865,1193698,00.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
63] Clinical stuff- Australia's first coast to coast medical simulation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Health professionals will soon be able to learn new medical and surgical techniques using simulators under the expert eye of a trainer on the other side of the world. Australasian experts in medical simulation attending the SimTecT 2004 Convention in Canberra this week will observe the first use of a high-speed network link between CTEC in Perth and the National Convention Centre in Canberra for medical skills training. The Hon Daryl Williams, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts will also be present."
http://www.uwa.edu.au/media/statements/2004/may/australias_first_coast_to_coast_virtual_medical_simulation_training_demonstrated_at_ctec_at_uwa
------------------------------------------------------------
64] Clinical stuff- Monash Uni neurology ward goes wireless
------------------------------------------------------------
"In a first for the Monash Medical Centre, Ward 54 is going wireless. Efficiencies are expected to increase when clinical staff use innovative hand-held devices and mobile equipment to deliver patient care. To see a demonstration of this exciting new technology, come to the live demonstration at 11am on Thursday 27 May at Ward 54 North, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton. The project, called mWard, has been developed by the Centre for Health Services Operations Management (CHSOM) within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University in conjunction with partners NEC Business Systems and Southern Health."
http://www.monash.edu.au/news/releases/ward54.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
65] Clinical stuff- The attitudes of (Dental) undergraduate students and staff to the use of electronic learning
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Computer-aided learning (CAL) offers advantages over traditional methods of learning as it allows students to work in their own time and pace. The School of Dentistry at the University of Birmingham has created an electronic learning website, named the Ecourse. This is designed to be a web-based supplement to the dental undergraduate curriculum."
British Dental Journal (2004); 196, 487-492. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4811179
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/bdj/journal/v196/n8/full/4811179a.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
66] Clinical stuff- Learning from e-patients at Massachusetts General Hospital
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In 1994, as a part of an initiative by the department of neurology of the Massachusetts General Hospital to develop promising new ways of using information technology, we began to study how patients with neurological concerns were using online health resources. To our surprise, we found that thousands of patients and their care givers had already created an impressive variety of online health resources. The online support groups, each devoted to a single neurological condition, were especially intriguing."
British Medical Journal 2004;328:1188-1190 (15 May)
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7449/1188?ecoll
----------------------------------------------------------------
67] Clinical stuff- Machines roll in to care for the elderly
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Healthcare systems could crack under pressure from ageing populations. Can technology fill the care gap? IT'S just a collection of bloody nuts and bolts." That was the damning reaction of a 69-year-old resident at a Scottish nursing home - let's call him William Brown - when asked if he would like a robotic pet as a companion to help relieve his boredom and loneliness. But once he realised that the robot could play games with him, he quickly changed his mind. "I would enjoy playing dominoes or chess with it, definitely," he later said."
New Scientist vol 182 issue 2447 - 15 May 2004, page 22
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=3&id=mg18224473.900
---------------------------------------------------------------
68] Clinical stuff- Will e-learning improve clinical judgment?
---------------------------------------------------------------
"The difficulty, however, is that all of this available information, helpful though it may seem at first, will serve only to exacerbate the problem of overload. Doctors will now be overwhelmed not just by the availability of information in general but also by the availability of an excess of information that now may be actually relevant to their practices. This brings us back to the issue of selection."
British Medical Journal 2004;328:1147-1148 (15 May)
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7449/1147?ecoll
------------------------------------------------------------
69] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
------------------------------------------------------------
31 May - 1 June, 2004
1to1conference
Westin Hotel, Sydney. Australia
http://www.1to1conference.com.au/
25 - 27 May , 2004
TECSoft AppleScript Training in U.K.
Middlesex, U.K.
http://www.tecsoft.com/ascourse.html
3 - 5 June 2004
ETD 2004 Seventh International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations
University of Kentucky, USA
http://www.uky.edu/ETD/ETD2004
11 - 16 June, 2004
Computing and Multilingual, Multicultural Heritage
Sweden
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/noticeboards?nbpath=690,3934
20 -23 June, 2004
National Education Computing Conference
New Orleans, USA
http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2004/
June 21 - 26, 2004
Ed-Media. Word Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications.
Lugano, Switzerland
http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/
28 June - 2 July, 2004
Worldwide Developers Conference
San Francisco, USA
http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/
1 - 3 July , 2004
Fifth International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education
Samos Island, Greece.
http://www.ineag.gr/ICICTE
4 - 8 July, 2004
The Third Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF3)
Dunedin, New Zealand
http://www.col.org/pcf3/
3 - 7 July, 2004
AusWeb 04.
Seaworld Nara Resort, Gold Coast. Australia
http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/
4 - 7 July, 2004
QUESTnet 2004 Conference
Networking Far and Wide (Reticulation to regional and metropolitan areas)
Cairns International Hotel, Cairns, Australia
http://www.jcu.edu.au/questnet2004/
6 - 7 July, 2004
8th International Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) Conference
Loughborough University, UK
http://www.caaconference.com/
22 - 23 July, 2004
Successes and Failures in Telehealth. 4th Annual International Conference
University of Queensland, Australia
http://www.uq.edu.au/sft/index.html?page=10559
4 - 6 August, 2004
20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/
16 - 18 August, 2004
CATE 2004- International Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education
Kauai, Hawaii, USA
http://www.iasted.com/conferences/2004/hawaii/cate.htm
23 - 27 August, 2004
The University of Calgary is pleased to host the Best Practices in e-Learning Online Conference. This conference will take place totally online so you can participate without the cost and inconvenience of traveling. The pre-conference workshops will take place the week before the main conference.
http://elearn.ucalgary.ca/conference/
29 August - 2 September, 2004
CAUDIT-EDUCAUSE Institute
Coolangatta, Australia
http://www.caudit.edu.au/caudit/caudit/institute/institute2004/index.html
5 - 8 September, 2004
Digital Resources for the Humanities
University of Newcastle, UK
http://drh2004.ncl.ac.uk
9 - 10 September, 2004
International Conference of Educational Technology 2004 by NIE and MOE
Singapore
http://www.icet.com.sg/files\home.htm
12 - 17 September, 2004
European Conference on Digital Libraries (ECDL) 2004
University of Bath, UK
http://www.ecdl2004.org/
14 - 16 September, 2004
ALT-C 2004- Blue skies and pragmatism: learning technologies for the next decade
Exeter, Devon, UK
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2004
25 - 28 September, 2004
WebCT 5th Annual Asia-Pacific User Conference
Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia
http://www.webct.com/asiapacific04
9 October, 2004
The eXpo Conference
Auckland Uni Technology. NZ
http://digitalevents.co.nz/expo_main.html
13 - 16 October, 2004
The Ethics of Electronic Information in the 21 Century EEI21 - 2004
The University of Memphis. USA
http://www.memphis.edu/ethics21
19 - 22 October, 2004
EDUCAUSE 2004 Conference. IT From A Higher Vantage Point
Denver, Colorado. USA
http://www.educause.edu/conference/annual/2004/
30 November - 3 December, 2004
ICCE2004 : International Conference on Computers in Education
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.rmit.edu.au/bus/icce2004
1 - 3 December, 2004
Online Educa Berlin 2004
Berlin, Germany
http://www.online-educa.com/en/
5 - 8 December, 2004
ASCILITE Conference 2004 - Beyond the Comfort Zone
The University of Western Australia. Perth, Australia
http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/
15 - 17 December, 2004
IADIS International Conference. Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA 2004)
Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.iadis.org/celda2004/