======================================================
AUC Higher Education News 26/8/03
A collection of I.T. news and views relevant to the
tertiary education sector
(Submissions welcome to s.atherton@uq.net.au)
======================================================
Amongst the flowery verse I have written for this newsletter, I recall a short thesis comparing the concept of biodiversity to diversity in information technology. It was a fine concept- biologists tell us that a limited gene pool leads to all sorts of neo-Darwinian disasters. A lack of computing diversity could, I hypothesised, have the same effects for silicon life forms.
All very nice- standardisation bad, diversity good. I like things in black and white. The problem, however, is that without empirical evidence, it is a hard concept to sell. Until someone with a big stick joined the techno-Darwinian camp. And that philosophical bully is government. Not dull little bureaucrat-at-desk type government, but the intense and humourless bureaucrat-at-desk in trench-coat type. Oh, the irony... I love it.
It has just occurred to folks such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security <http://www.dhs.gov/> that being tied to one computing platform leads to a big issue which they call "survivability". Indeed, they have purchased a mix of Windows, Unix, and Macintosh (I will resist lumping Macintosh in with the other unix boxes) systems to ensure that if one platform is compromised, another keeps on keeping on. Assuming the power doesn't go out of course, but control systems is a whole different debate.
Nothing bought the whole concept home better than the recent Blaster and Sobig attacks <http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/blaster.html> <http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2003-03.html>. As Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post puts it <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34978-2003Aug23.html>, "nobody with a Mac or a Linux PC has had to lose a moment of sleep over these outbreaks". Ask any university Systems Admin person who works in a mixed environment and you'll get a feeling for what Rob is on about - they are used to spending more time supporting PCs (the old Total Cost of Ownership issue) but when one of these regular security issues arise they enter the land of sleep deprivation. In all-PC departments you won't be able to ask about their experiences - they are most likely still locked in the server room trying to get their systems up again. It is, writes one technologist, "one more little nudge pushing (him) closer to Macintosh for the next big computer purchase a year or two from now" <http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/3665>
References to the difference between non-diverse and diverse (or Mac only) environments with the latest attack are everywhere- schools share their experiences <http://www.bgdailynews.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?/200308/21+cityschools20030821_news.html+20030821+news> as do a number of university folk. As prevalent are the references to Microsoft Windows vulnerabilities which Richard Forno makes geek-fun of so well <http://www.infowarrior.org/articles/2003-02.html>. I won't focus on this Microsoft issues <http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=407087994&eid=-255> as in reality any OS can be susceptible.
I note that the NSA's references to Mac OS X security issues are a bit light-on <http://www.nsa.gov/snac/new.html> and that survivability is an area of research now embraced by military and academic computer scientists (ask Tim Shimeall from the Naval Postgrad School in Moterey and David Fisher from CERT for an update on their work with Survivability Algorithms. <shimeall@cs.nps.navy.mil> <dfisher@cert.org>).
If concepts of survivability aren't enough to make your I.T. decision makers at the very least question some of their assumptions, then perhaps the latest line up of Apple goodies will. It has been a busy month or two - which is my excuse for missing the July edition of the newsletter! We have seen the release of the new G5 as well as more evolution of the Operating System (I'll milk these biology analogies for as long as I can).
Whether the decisions are based upon survivability or performance-ability, Grown Ups are playing with Apple. Groups like Lockheed Martin are on a shopping spree for Mac OS X Servers on behalf of the U.S. Navy <http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/32211.html>. Local High Performance Computing folk are either plugging Apple's xServer RAIDS into Linux clusters <http://www.sapac.edu.au/hydra/Overview.html>, experimenting with clustering Apple's xServers themselves <http://www.vpac.org/>, or their staff are very happily carrying their portable Unix workstations under their arms (name any Australian Partnership of Advanced Computing). The local guys in the trench-coats are using Sun's GridEngine on Apple kit too, but who is brave enough to ask what for <http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/>?
Even ignoring survivability or neo-darwinian rhetoric, Apple has it's best hardware and software story yet and one cannot ignore independent journalist Tom Yagers' suggestion "to look at Mac clients, Xserve products, and Panther without prejudice"<http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/08/15/32FEapple_2.html>.
----------------------- In This Issue ----------------------------------
1] AUC stuff- AUDF grants for 2003
2] Apple stuff- G5: Over 100,000 Ordered Since June 23 Introduction
3] Apple stuff- transitioning from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X
4] Apple stuff- InfoWorld Report on Apple in Enterprise
5] Apple stuff- Cringley on why IT Dept's recommend the best computer for the IT department's job
6] Apple stuff- tests by audio engineer of audio quality. QuickTime a winner
7] Apple stuff- and for those who need convincing that QuickTime VR can be immersive
8] Apple stuff- Why the PowerBook is a Linux user's choice
9] Library stuff- implications of online ed for information specialists
10] Library stuff- interview on how academic libraries can survive and have purpose in a fluid environment
11] Legal stuff- trustworthy legal information now online
12] Legal stuff- University of California wins $500million case against Microsoft
13] Legal stuff- students setup company to sell IT services
14] Security stuff- Russian programmer defeats NASA in code war
15] Network stuff- SAGE-AU awards recognition to 3 CQU staff
16] Network stuff- Bid for supercomputer supremacy
17] Network stuff- Changing the IP address of a Mac OS X Server
18] Network stuff- Uni SA campus rolls out 802.11g wireless network
19] Collaborative stuff- the various tools for collaboration
20] Third party stuff- Mac OS X access to Exchange server
21] Third party stuff- online survey tool from Griffith University
22] Third party stuff- interested in GPS support for Mac OSX?
23] Teaching stuff- Adobe student Design Achievement Awards
24] Teaching stuff- Guardian story on eLearning
25] Teaching stuff- Public Policy, Research and Online Learning
26] Research stuff- Matrix, Terminator, here we come? Largest AI grant to Essex
27] Research stuff- More on above- feature in New Scientist
28] Research stuff- Computer-based recognition of dysmorphic faces
29] Clinical stuff- whether to develop medical dictation
30] Clinical stuff- editorial on Sharing patient information electronically
31] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
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1] AUC stuff- AUDF grants for 2003
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"The Apple University Development Fund (AUDF) is a joint venture set up by Apple Computer Australia and the Apple University Consortium (AUC) to support and encourage development using Apple technology in education. The fund was set up in recognition of the contribution and the creativity and skill of Macintosh developers on AUC campuses. The AUDF is 2003 will provide approximately $125,000 to foster new developments to add to the base of more than 5,000 applications already available for the Macintosh and to provide new functionality... Applications for AUDF Grants open on the 11th August and close on the 3rd October 2003"
http://auc.uow.edu.au/index2.html
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2] Apple stuff- G5: Over 100,000 Ordered Since June 23 Introduction
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I had the pleasure of walking into a lab of the new G5 computers when I had the luck of attending the conference where they were announced <http://developer.apple.com/adctv/>. Even away from the reality force field factor that is the marketing hype, these were impressive machines. Fast, quiet and clearly popular.
http://www.apple.com/powermac/
Research from the NASA Langley Research Center give a good overview for engineers
http://members.cox.net/craig.hunter/g5/
"Apple today announced that it has begun shipping the two single processor models of its Power Mac® G5, the world’s fastest personal computer featuring the first 64-bit desktop processor and the industry’s first 1 GHz front-side bus. The dual 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 will ship late this month, as planned."
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/aug/18pmg5.html
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3] Apple stuff- transitioning from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X
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Cited by Shay Telfer <shay@cygnus.uwa.edu.au>
Apple have a paper on the issue of Mac Operating System transition. I note that most higher education customers seem to be there, but school and business users may be taking their first steps. Don't forget that you can always call for help from Apple's Professional Services team.
http://www.apple.com.au/services/
http://www.apple.com/pro/pdf/L30290A_MigratingMacOSX.pdf
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4] Apple stuff- InfoWorld Report on Apple in Enterprise
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A series of impressive independent reviews "Apple's playing in the big leagues now", "Apple's G5: More than a pretty face", "A la mode: Key Apple add-ons" and "Apple RAIDs the enterprise"
http://www.infoworld.com/reports/SRapple.html
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5] Apple stuff- Cringley on why IT Dept's recommend the best computer for the IT department's job
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"I used to think it came down to nerd ego. Macs were easy to use, so they didn't get the respect of nerds who measured their testosterone levels by how fluently they could navigate a command line interface. Now, I think differently. Now, I think Macs threaten the livelihood of IT staffs. If you recommend purchasing a computer that requires only half the support of the machine it is replacing, aren't you putting your job in danger? Exactly. Ideally, the IT department ought to recommend the best computer for the job, but more often than not, they recommend the best computer for the IT department's job."
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20030814.html
Interestingly, ComputerWorld mimics the sentiment of both the InfoWorld and Cringely story
"But if you plan on deploying them, you'll need to overcome your preconceptions regarding three myths about the Mac that still linger."
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/macos/story/0,10801,84023,00.html
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6] Apple stuff- tests by audio engineer of audio quality. QuickTime a winner
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"The recent developments in perceptual audio coding, including new formats like AAC, Ogg Vorbis, Musepack and Windows Media Audio, have brought competition to an arena formerly completely dominated by MP3."
http://audio.ciara.us/test/index.html
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7] Apple stuff- and for those who need convincing that QuickTime VR can be immersive
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Cited by Luke Oliver <luke.oliver@skysurfer.com.au>
Here is a cool collection of full screen cubic VRs. I'm not sure why folks use some of the other VR tools
http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen2/full30.html
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8] Apple stuff- Why the PowerBook is a Linux user's choice
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"Apple, moreover, has been extremely intelligent in its relationships with the Open Source community. Even though Apple continues to develop, support and sell closed-source solutions (Mac OS X), they have shown great interest in the Open Source world and have released the kernel of OS X (Darwin) under an open-source license. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that more Linux users are approaching Apple solutions, which are innovative and not hostile to open-source solutions. In this article we discuss the Apple PowerBook, covering the hardware features and the installation of Gentoo Linux and trying to understand if it really is a good choice for Linux users."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7012
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9] Library stuff- implications of online ed for information specialists
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"Embedding online information resources in Virtual Learning Environments: some implications for lecturers and librarians of the move towards delivering teaching in the online environment"
http://informationr.net/ir/8-4/paper158.html
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10] Library stuff- interview on how academic libraries can survive and have purpose in a fluid environment
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"Chuck Henry is Vice President and CIO at Rice University, and also University Librarian, in charge of academic technology, university library and digital library initiatives."
http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/interviews/v4i25_henry.html
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11] Legal stuff- trustworthy legal information now online
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"A new gateway for lawyers to go online for trustworthy legal information has been launched in Australia. WebLaw is the new subject gateway to almost 2000 Australian legal Internet resources."
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.phtml?article=4644
http://weblaw.edu.au/
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12] Legal stuff- University of California wins $500million case against Microsoft
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"A federal court jury yesterday decided that Microsoft Corp. must pay $520.6 million to a Chicago technology entrepreneur and the University of California"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46480-2003Aug11.html
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13] Legal stuff- students setup company to sell IT services
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"Students at JCU's School of Information Technology are gaining critical job training while studying at university thanks to the creation of a student company understood to be the first in Australia."
http://media.jcu.edu.au/story.cfm?id=210
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14] Security stuff- Russian programmer defeats NASA in code war
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"Computer scientists have found the ultimate way to debug their programs - let them compete against other programs in a gladiator-style tournament. Dubbed Grid Wars II, the contest held at the ClusterWorld conference in San Jose, California, last month was like a software version of television's Robot Wars and Battle Bots"
New Scientist vol 179 issue 2403 - 12 July 2003, page 14
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=2&id=mg17924031.300
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15] Network stuff- SAGE-AU awards recognition to 3 CQU staff
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"Three Central Queensland University Rockhampton Information Technology professionals have been recognised at the highest level in their industry. ITD corporate systems administration team members Andrew Whyte, Dan Yarrow and Brad Marshall received awards at the annual SAGE-AU conference dinner recently in Hobart."
http://www.uninews.cqu.edu.au/op001-1.php?ra=1061523777&id=1171&PHPSESSID=17a0810efc29a2b008ab70015acae843
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16] Network stuff- Bid for supercomputer supremacy
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A decision made before the G5 was announced?
"FIVE NSW universities have formed a consortium to acquire what they claim will be Australia's most powerful supercomputer. The computer, to be housed at the Australian Technology Park in inner-Sydney Redfern and managed by the Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications (AC3), will boast 1.5 teraflops (or 1.5 trillion calculations per second) of computing power."
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6918973%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
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17] Network stuff- Changing the IP address of a Mac OS X Server
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From Andrew Nielsen <andrew@starfish.net.au>
"Apple has released a script to help with this previously-complex task."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107637
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18] Network stuff- Uni SA campus rolls out 802.11g wireless network
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Using the standard Apple pushed through to ratification (Airport Extreme)
"The University of South Australia's City West campus has rolled out 802.11g technology with the installation of a high-speed wireless network to provide access for its 7000-plus students. The campus is located at the west end of Adelaide's central business district. The university says this is the largest such rollout in the country."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/29/1059244608090.html
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19] Collaborative stuff- the various tools for collaboration
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This area is worth an editorial in itself given collaboration is the glue that holds not only research but administration and indeed some styles of teaching together. Technologies that Apple has run with to assist software developers to build collaborative tools are being utilised <http://www.apple.com.au/macosx/10.2/rendezvous.html>. I mentioned some of this software in the June edition (item 25)- some very impressive software.
One fine example is the "Access Grid" that I have seen in use in Australia over high speed networks. I've visited a few (there are 15 in Australia now- eight of them in Queensland) and decided that for a static venue, these are great facilities that are based upon Open Source tools <http://www.vislab.usyd.edu.au/research/accessgrid/> . I look forward to some Mac OS X ports (I see an AUDF grant in this if anyone is up to it- <http://auc.uow.edu.au/index2.html>). A look at the Sydney Grid website gives you an idea of how it all works.
Real time online collaboration is the key and AUC Chair Stephen Young <syoung@unimelb.edu.au> recently shared some of his recent findings with me. Stephen's quest is to find real time desktop tools for collaboration and following are some he has tested.
1) Remote Capture 1.0 <http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18484> is MacOS X freeware. "Works fine with Rendezvous as you'd expect"
2) Stepping up a few levels of sophistication, we enter the world of VNC - Virtual Network Computing.
Share My Desktop 1.2 is a VNC server for MacOS X, available free under the GNU Public License. <http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14690>.
VNCThing 2.2 <http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9261> is a VNC client for MacOS X. Free under the GNU Public License.
And don't forget the peer-to-peer iChat software <http://www.apple.com.au/ichat/> or the previously mentioned multi-user/platform JAVA tool from Marratech <http://www.marratech.com/>.
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20] Third party stuff- Mac OS X access to Exchange server
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"Microsoft has fulfilled a long-held request of Mac OS X users by allowing them to access corporate e-mail and calendar information stored on a Microsoft Exchange server."
http://news.com.com/2100-1045-5059653.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop
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21] Third party stuff- online survey tool from Griffith University
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The clever folks from the Griffith Institute for Higher Education have developed a tool where "subscribers to SurveyMaker have access to a wealth of advanced features to facilitate and manage the generation, conduct and reporting of online surveys."
http://www.surveymaker.com.au/
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22] Third party stuff- interested in GPS support for Mac OSX?
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Cited Mark Secker <mark@ecel.uwa.edu.au>
MacNN reader Daryl Courtney writes: "I read a article about a retailer who is trying to get GPS companies to support the Mac.The retailer even offered to help, but the companies are saying not enough interest, etc. The retailer has posted a GPS petition to try to help show there is an interest."
http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/131.1.12331854138312293663/macsignup.html
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23] Teaching stuff- Adobe student Design Achievement Awards
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"The Adobe Design Achievement Awards celebrates student achievement that assimilates the powerful convergency of technology with the creative arts industry. Nearly 1,000 students from 160 schools in the United States, Canada, and the U.K. submitted 1,276 entries to this year's competition."
http://www.adobe.com:80/education/winners/main.html
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24] Teaching stuff- Guardian story on eLearning
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"Graduates wanting to study for a further qualification no longer have to delay their entry into the job market and the opportunity to start repaying their student loans. Many are opting to study for a masters degree or postgraduate qualification online, enabling them to combine study with a full-time career."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1029075,00.html
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25] Teaching stuff- Public Policy, Research and Online Learning
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"E-learning is more than a new way of doing the old thing. Its outcomes can't be measured by the traditional process."
http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v4i25_downes.html
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26] Research stuff- Matrix, Terminator, here we come? Largest AI grant to Essex
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"Scientists have been given the biggest ever grant to build a "conscious robot". The work will not only bring the scores of intelligent, self-aware machines that populate science fiction a step closer, it could also provide valuable clues on how human consciousness develops. "
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,1029108,00.html
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27] Research stuff- More on above- feature in New Scientist
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"Many biologists deride the idea that computers can tell us anything about human consciousness, let alone develop it themselves. Think again, says Igor Aleksander. The machines are awakening. Will there come a day when a machine declares itself to be conscious? An increasing number of laboratories around the world are trying to design such a machine."
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg17924045.300
New Scientist. vol 179 issue 2404- 19 July 2003, page 4
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28] Research stuff- Computer-based recognition of dysmorphic faces
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"Genetic syndromes often involve craniofacial malformations. We have investigated whether a computer can recognize disease-specific facial patterns in unrelated individuals...Our results prove that certain syndromes are associated with a specific facial pattern and that this pattern can be described in mathematical terms."
European Journal of Human Genetics. August 2003, Volume 11, Number 8, Pages 555-560
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ejhg/journal/v11/n8/abs/5200997a.html
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29] Clinical stuff- whether to develop medical dictation
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MacSpeech is considering development of a medical dictation/and or medical transcription product as well as adding a legal vocabulary that would run on Mac OS X. If interested mail emailoffers@macspeech.com for the survey.
http://www.macspeech.com
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30] Clinical stuff- editorial on Sharing patient information electronically
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Sharing patient information electronically throughout the NHS, Nick Booth. British Medical Journal 2003;327 114-115
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/327/7407/114
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31] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
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September 8-12, 2003
BSDCon '03- The Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Open Source forum.
San Mateo, CA, U.S.
http://www.usenix.org/events/bsdcon03/cfp/
September 28th to October 1st, 2003.
AUC Academic and Developers Conference.
University of Adelaide, South Australia.
http://auc.uow.edu.au/conf/conf03/
2nd, October 2003
Create.ed 2003. eLearning for the Creative Industries
RMIT’s Storey Hall, Melbourne
http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse?SIMID=n7hnhkbfvsq6z
October 3rd, 2003
Improving Learning Outcomes Through Flexible Science Teaching
University of Sydney
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/workshop/outcomes/
November 5, 2003
Excellence: Making the Connections, Online Learning & Teaching Conference 2003
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
https://olt.qut.edu.au/olt2003/
26-28 November, 2003
New directions in Interaction: Information Environments, Media and Technology
(Annual conference of the Australian Computer-Human Interaction (OZCHI) Special Interest Group)
University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane
http://www.ozchi2003.itee.uq.edu.au/
December 2nd to 5th, 2003
International Conference on Computers in Education 2003, Hong Kong
http://www.icce03.org
December 3-5, 2003
9th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning & Training
Hotel InterContinental, Berlin, Germany
http://www.online-educa.com/en/
December 3-6th, 2003
2nd International Conference on Multimedia and ICTs in Education (m-ICTE2003)
Badajoz (Spain)
www.formatex.org/micte2003/micte2003.htm
5-7 Jan, 2004
The 10th International MultiMedia Modelling Conference
Brisbane, Australia
http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/~chenp/MMM2004
18-21 February, 2004
International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Conference
Hong Kong
http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/hk2003/
March 23-25, 2004
Second IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education (WMTE)
National Central University, JungLi, Taiwan
http://lttf.ieee.org/wmte2003/
April 5 -7th, 2004
The Networked Learning 2004 Conference
Lancaster University, UK
http://www.shef.ac.uk/nlc2004/home.htm