======================================================
AUC Higher Education News 8/4/02
A collection of Mac news and views relevant to the
tertiary education sector
(Submissions welcome to s.atherton@uq.net.au)
======================================================

I had a dream! No Reverend King rhetoric here. I actually awoke mid-REM last night and was set on course for a day of socio-anthropological observations. The dream was interesting enough and went something like this - I was at a dinner party being drowned by a rather dominating and dull professor. Let's assume she was a cognitive psychologist. The topic was the origin of man.

"Yes, the first evidence of the first human was in 1920", she claimed.I turned to the chap next to me an mumbled, " I am sure it was 1959 inTanzanyika by the Leahey duo".

The first thing I did in the morning was to check on that. I was close. It seems I had just read an edition of "Time" that highlighted 80 days that changed the world. The discovery was indeed 1959. The Drs. Leakey.Close enough for me- my synapses had kicked into action again aftersome years of hybernation.

Whilst giving number two son a lift to school, discussion turned to the Indian state of Punjab. Jim's tune of the week is by "Punjabi MC" and it's lyrics (out of this week's favoured piece of cinema, "Bend it Like Beckham") filled the car. Whilst discussing the Sikh religion and the place of the Sikhs in the Indian military, it was clear I was on a path of a socio-centic day. And that I read up on Guru Nanak's teachings. I wonder if technology in education can be seen trough such glasses?

Indeed it can, although I have to make a number of generalisations.

Generalisations are awkward uncomfortable things, but are the basis for much of scholarly pursuit. They are often politically incorrect when preached from under the social sciences umbrella. It is okay to say "the iron overload disorder haemochromatosis is typically suffered by anglo-celtic males", yet inappropriate to state that "asian females tend to have less developed spacial skills". Yet both statements have basis in research.

Social scientists make generalisations whether they are anthropologists or linguists. Biological scientist make generalisations whether they are biochemists or entomologists. So hell, I am going to make some.

Different academic sub-cultures interact in differing ways to technology.

My short stint as a classroom teacher, and as an IT person dealing with schools reinforced this belief (note: belief, not fact). Observation one- schools have different challenges, different politics and different social dynamics when it comes to ICT (Information Communication Technologies).

Observation number two- the approach to IT in older research oriented universities differs to that of newer universities.

Let me explain. Because understanding these differences, or at the very least acknowledging difference, effects the efficacy of IT policy.

Some schools are doing wonderful things with technology. Most, however, use computers as glorifies typewriters. I note that the political rhetoric of my states' Smart State policy promoting "ICTs for Learning" <http://education.qld.gov.au/itt/> aims to change all of that. As an Apple Guy I was keen to note that over 33% of the winners of the awards for excellence a few month ago were Apple users. Sadly, thanks to PC-centric technical staff, my states' Education Departments' use of Macs is well below that proportion.

They do clever stuff- they just do it in isolation. In very few cases is there a strategic drive to innovate. Typically the culture is closed and insular. Innovation is Smart State "Key Driver" yet standardisation and homogenisation are the realities. As Kenny from RMIT points out, this should not be.

"Organisations which develop a culture of openness, risk taking andmlearning are better able to be innovative and adaptive towards change than those that do not. It is the responsibility of the senior management to create an environment for innovation to happen." (Australian Journal of Educational Technology 2002, 18(3), 359-376.)

I.T. policy is translated from political-speak to workable strategy through government administration (PC-centric at best) which leads to under-developed, overburdened technicians. I note there are less I technician in the whole state than there are at one major university. At the school level, technicians become the influencers. Overworked teacher bow to their wisdom. Money is always tight and despite the rhetoric, too often the cheapest box is purchased without any reference to learning outcomes. But of course these are generalisations.

Universities are even more interesting topics of study. As an organism their gene pool is even more diverse. Some were born of the Academy and nurture a research mentality. Some are hybrids from a species now gone based upon teaching alone- the teachers colleges, the institutes, the polytechs, the new players.

The old and proven are often more open to diversity. Research dictates flexibility. Yet many of the "sandstones" are monolithic and thus open to change as long as they have some years to achieve it, others are responsive if not anarchistic. And some have an issue of accepting themselves for what they are- I just love the video Oxford is sending around to schools in the UK at the moment <http:/www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/030121.shtml>. Yep- that is one funky and hip institute.

In some of these publish-or-perish institutes, teaching is just a sideline. What place do ICTs play in research? And what the hell is pedagogy anyway? "Peda", as far as one classics scholar I met was concerned, means "child" or to be linguistically accurate hails from the Greek "paidagogos", or slave . "We teach adults here", he exclaimed. Technology in these cases is for data acquisition, data analysis and presentation-the best publication and the coolest poster at the next peer reviewed conference.

There is no bottom line for all of this difference. Understanding what drives IT in institutions- whether it be teaching, political agendas, research outcomes or innovation - is the key to successful implementation.

I have a dream that our computers will one day live in institutions where they will not be judged by the color of their logo but by the content of their character.


----------------------- In This Issue ----------------------------------

1] AUC stuff- WWDC 2003 Scholarships CLOSING DATE EXTENDED TO 23RD APRIL
2] AUC stuff- Call for Papers for 'Digital Voyages' Conference. Few weeks remain
3] Apple stuff- New update OS to be announced in June
4] Apple stuff- Apple running platform integration seminars at capital city universities
5] Apple stuff- new remote desktop admin software. Free upgrade
6] Apple stuff- xServe RAID now available
7] Apple stuff- Final Cut Pro 4 ANNOUNCED
8] Apple stuff- DVD Studio Pro 2 ANNOUNCED
9] Apple stuff- Shake 3 ANNOUNCED
10] Apple stuff- Al Gore on Apple's board
11] Apple stuff- story on notebooks for all year 7 students
12] Interesting stuff- Adobe Macintosh benchmarks
13] Silly stuff- demo version of Windows RG online
14] Silly stuff- tracking apparently useless software
15] Admin stuff- the role of Chief Information Officers in creation of IT vision in Unis
16] Legal stuff- Academic Digital Rights
17] Legal stuff- spammer takes out lawsuit against anti-spammer
18] Legal stuff- Spam suits seek poetic justice: he case of the hijacked haiku
19] Legal stuff- porn spam could qualify as evidence of a "hostile work environment"
20] Security stuff- hardware to stop distributed denial of service attacks
21] Security stuff- an overview on denial of service attacks (DDOS)
22] Security stuff- Worry free wireless. Keeping the data in the airwaves safe
23] Network stuff- H 323 internet videoconferencing software Ophone X
24] Network stuff- Queensland to test wireless network in football stadium?
25] Network stuff- another internet videoconferencing program- in JAVA
26] Network stuff- webcasts of U.S. integration seminars
27] Network stuff- Integration seminars running across Australia
28] Network stuff- Network analysis maps companies' informal structure
29] Network stuff- configure your cluster and server via an iPod!
30] Third party stuff- LCDs to outsell CRT monitors this year?
31] Third party stuff- FireWire capture device for Final Cut Pro 4 announced
32] Third party stuff- VideoRaid Disk arrays announced
33] Third party stuff- More cool stuff to work with Ericsson mobiles and Bluetooth
34] Third party stuff- a conduit for Lotus Notes to iCal, Address book etc.
35] Third party stuff- weblogs made easy
36] Teaching stuff- a cool collaboration tool called Hydra
37] Teaching stuff- A Model for Effectively Supporting e-Learning
38] Teaching stuff- Boston Symphony Orchestra in teaching collaboration
39] Teaching stuff- The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects
40] Teaching stuff- London Uni offers classics degree online
41] Teaching stuff- French online project in Pakistan
42] Teaching stuff- Canadian teachers put up site on online learning
43] Teaching stuff- Carnegie Mellon Comp Sci lab goes Apple
44] Teaching stuff- E-Education in the UK
45] Teaching stuff- shareware multilingual dictionaries
46] Teaching stuff- viral infection means Hong Kong kids working from home
47] Research stuff- MIT grants to innovators within engineering
48] Research stuff- Informatics and Quantitative Analysis in Biological Imaging
49] Research stuff- science software site
50] Research stuff- Apple's X11 copes with GL graphics on SGI. A big deal for molecular modeling
51] Research stuff- ejournal seeking contributions
52] Research stuff- update for plasmid mapping software released
53] Research stuff- xServe cluster for bioinformatics made easy
54] Clinical stuff- Accuracy of electronically transmitted pathology laboratory reports
55] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education

------------------------------------------------------------------------
1] AUC stuff- WWDC 2003 Scholarships CLOSING DATE EXTENDED TO 23RD
APRIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Jeffrey <ajeffrey@asia.apple.com>
"Apple Computer have announced that they are changing the date and
venue of this years World Wide Developers Conference. The new dates are
23rd to 27th June 2003 at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco. As such
the AUC has extended the closing date for all Scholarship Applications
to Wednesday the 23rd April 2003"
http://auc.uow.edu.au/audf/wwdc03/intro.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
2] AUC stuff- Call for Papers for 'Digital Voyages' Conference.
Closes 2nd May 2003 - only a few weeks remaining!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether you are in the teaching, research or technical space, academic
or general staff, get those papers in. Remember - they pay your way!
"A reminder that the Call for Papers for the AUC's upcoming 2003
Academic & Developers Conference is now open. Papers are welcome from
all Higher-Education institutions in Australia, New Zealand and the
wider Asia-Pacific area."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/conf/conf03/cfp_2003.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
3] Apple stuff- New update OS to be announced in June
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Apple Developer Connection
"We wanted you to be among the first to know that Apple has rescheduled
WWDC 2003 in order to provide attendees with a preview CD and in-depth
session coverage of the next major release of Mac OS X, codenamed
"Panther." WWDC will take place June 23-27 at Moscone West in San
Francisco, California."
As a side issue, unis that don't have site licenses for Mac OS should
consider it- a much cheaper way to manage updates.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
4] Apple stuff- Apple running platform integration seminars at capital
city universities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
That charming yet humble Apple employee, Stephen Atherton, is running a
series of seminars on integrating Macintosh. All details and
registration at:
http://www.apple.com.au/seminars/integration/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
5] Apple stuff- new remote desktop admin software. Free upgrade
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Apple Remote Desktop simplifies desktop administration, enabling
classroom teachers and network administrators to maximize the use of
their Macs and minimize administration costs. Version 1.2 includes
powerful new features such as Remote Software Installation and Remote
Network Startup Disk."
http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

----------------------------------------------------------
6] Apple stuff- xServe RAID now available
----------------------------------------------------------
If storage is needed, boy, does Apple have something for you! Over 2
terabytes at costing well below Dell, Sun and the others.
http://www.apple.com.au/xserve/raid/

------------------------------------------------------------
7] Apple stuff- Final Cut Pro 4 ANNOUNCED
------------------------------------------------------------
Why the capitalisation? The below upgrades may not be available for
some weeks.
"Final Cut Pro 4 is a scalable digital nonlinear editing system built
on a resolution-independent architecture. From the innovative OfflineRT
and DV, up to uncompressed 10-bit 601 or HD, Final Cut Pro 4 is perfect
for editing and finishing a wide variety of programs at virtually any
resolution or frame rate."
http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/

------------------------------------------------------------------
8] Apple stuff- DVD Studio Pro 2 ANNOUNCED
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Designed from scratch to address the needs of next-generation DVD
authoring, DVD Studio Pro 2 combines the legendary ease of use of iDVD
with major enhancements to the professional features of DVD Studio Pro
1.5. DVD Studio Pro 2 gives you unparalleled ease of use, with a
feature set and interface that scales from building basic DVDs to
implementing advanced capabilities."
http://www.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/newversion/

----------------------------------------------------
9] Apple stuff- Shake 3 ANNOUNCED
----------------------------------------------------
"The industry-standard compositing and effects solution for film and HD
now comes with an unlimited network rendering on Mac OS X. Shake has
been used on so many of the Academy Award winning films for Best Visual
Effects over the past six years — all of them, in fact — and is
required courseware at so many major film schools worldwide, that
listing its credits would require several pages."
http://www.apple.com/shake/

----------------------------------------------------------
10] Apple stuff- Al Gore on Apple's board
----------------------------------------------------------
Former US Vice-President Al Gore has been appointed to Apple's board of
directors.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/mar/19gore.html>
<http://news.com.com/2100-1042-993332.html>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
11] Apple stuff- story on notebooks for all year 7 students
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine
began a controversial program to provide laptop computers to every
seventh grader in the state, educators are impressed by how quickly
students and teachers have adapted to laptop technology."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/
05LAPT.html?ex=1047891132&ei=1&en=80790e15aa83caf4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
12] Interesting stuff- Adobe Macintosh benchmarks
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Eric Hood <eric@macchoice.com.au>
Adobe recently published benchmarks do not favour Macintosh. And then
the link was taken down. More than meets the eye?
http://www.adobe.com/motion/pcpreferred.html
http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/2003/03_mar/editorials/
smack105030326.htm
Or an online editorial on the issue read to you, cited Vanni Sant
<vsant@asia.apple.com>
http://www.oscast.com/stories/storyReader$216

------------------------------------------------------------------------
13] Silly stuff- demo version of Windows RG online
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Peter Bull <toro@iinet.net.au>
"Your first chance to test drive a new version of Windows."
http://www.deanliou.com/WinRG/WinRG.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
14] Silly stuff- tracking apparently useless software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many keep their eyes on the woderful "Versiontracker" site to keep up
with the latest in software. Now keep up with the latest useless
software!
"The highly trained PerversionTracker staff locates the very worst of
Mac software. We search the web for 15 minutes a day — so you don’t
have to"
http://www.perversiontracker.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
15] Admin stuff- the role of Chief Information Officers in creation of
IT vision in Unis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The nature and makeup of these additional units vary substantially
from institution to institution. The CIO position, however, usually
has two distinct aspects: line management of a vital, complex, and
expensive IT unit, and responsibility for IT-related policies
throughout the institution."
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1030

------------------------------------------------------
16] Legal stuff- Academic Digital Rights
------------------------------------------------------
"In the face of ever longer and stronger copyright laws, Creative
Commons has launched a suite of licenses—its first project of many—to
help recreate a healthy public domain."
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=7475

------------------------------------------------------------------------
17] Legal stuff- spammer takes out lawsuit against anti-spammer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When Francis Uy decided that he would fight spammers by posting their
business addresses on his webpage, he may not have expected one of them
to fight back. George Allen Moore Jr., who runs a business that sells
"anti-virus software and the kinds of products that often are
advertised by unsolicited e-mail: Extreme Colon Cleanser, FAT-N-EMY and
Extreme Power Plus," has filed a lawsuit against Uy, claiming that Uy's
posting of his information constitutes harassment."
http://www.arstechnica.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
18] Legal stuff- Spam suits seek poetic justice: he case of the
hijacked haiku
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Habeas, headed by lawyer and antispam activist Anne P. Mitchell, puts
a new twist on spam prevention by inserting some trademarked haiku
lines into the header of an e-mail."
http://news.com.com/2100-1024-995568.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
19] Legal stuff- porn spam could qualify as evidence of a "hostile work
environment"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"WASHINGTON--Lewd e-mail promoting pornography may soon pose more than
just a technical challenge in the ongoing fight against spam--experts
say it's set to become an acute legal problem, too"
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-995658.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
20] Security stuff- hardware to stop distributed denial of service
attacks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A COMMON trick among hackers is to flood a website with endless
"packets" of junk data, forcing it to shut down. Now microchip maker
Intel says it has come up with a way to automatically thwart these
attacks."
New Scientist vol 177, issue 2387 - 22 March 2003, page 19 OR
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/
article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg17723871.900

------------------------------------------------------------------------
21] Security stuff- an overview on denial of service attacks (DDOS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"On Thursday, February 20, 2003, at about 0130 GMT, the popular
LiveJournal site became the victim of a massive distributed
denial-of-service attack. LiveJournal staffers and upstream providers
first tried to filter by IP, but they soon discovered what the "D" in
DDOS means."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6749

------------------------------------------------------------------------
22] Security stuff- Worry free wireless. Keeping the data in the
airwaves safe
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...many enterprises both large and small that responded to the initial
benefits of wireless networking and jumped on the bandwagon are now
realising the many hidden costs associated with this technology; from
conducting extra site surveys and network scans to isolating illegally
installed wireless access points (rogue WLANs). It is estimated that 30
percent of all companies may have some form of unsecured authorised or
unknown unauthorised WLAN"
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20273227-
1,00.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
23] Network stuff- H 323 internet videoconferencing software Ophone X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The goal of the project is to develop a set of Internet video
conferencing and telephony applications in native Mac OS X GUI (as in
Cocoa or Carbon, not X11). In particular, we want to develop a set of
Internet utilities so that not only you can do Mac-to-Mac video
conferencing and Mac-to-Phone telephony, but also use other features
such as answering machine, multi-party conferencing and so on."
http://xmeeting.sourceforge.net/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
24] Network stuff- Queensland to test wireless network in football
stadium?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Brisbane Broncos fans sitting in the stands of the new Suncorp Stadium
will be able to check scores from other NRL matches on the internet for
a trial period. The $280 million stadium, due to open in June, is one
of up to 20 sites being considered for a trial of Wi-Fi, or wireless
internet technology, by the Queensland government."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/10/1047144895256.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
25] Network stuff- another internet videoconferencing program- in JAVA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've used this one a few times. Cross platform as it is JAVA
http://www.marratech.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
26] Network stuff- webcasts of U.S. integration seminars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The AUC is pleased to offer the webcasts from the macosxlabs.org web
site locally on the AUC server, courtesy of the macosxlabs.org team.
Webcasts are available in QuickTime format."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/macosxlabs/webcasts.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
27] Network stuff- Integration seminars running across Australia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
See "Apple stuff" item above

------------------------------------------------------------------------
28] Network stuff- Network analysis maps companies' informal structure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Want to know how your organization really works - who speaks to whom,
who holds the power? Then study the flow of internal e-mail, say
scientists at global technology firm Hewlett-Packard.
The researchers have developed a way to use e-mail exchanges to build a
map of the structure of an organization."
Nature. 20 March
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030317/030317-5.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
29] Network stuff- configure your cluster and server via an iPod!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wholly self-contained in about 2GB of storage space on the iPod,
iNquiry uses a Perl-based script that's controlled through a simple
graphical configuration utility. The user tells the configuration
utility how to configure the Xserve cluster, how many nodes it has, how
the network is configured, and how to use the individual drive bays in
each Xserve."
http://www.macslash.org/articles/03/03/28/1715243.shtml

------------------------------------------------------------------------
30] Third party stuff- LCDs to outsell CRT monitors this year?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sales of LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors will top $US20 billion
in 2003, overtaking revenue from sales of conventional CRT (cathode ray
tube) monitors this year, according to research released by IDC."
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=279808902&eid=-4152

------------------------------------------------------------------------
31] Third party stuff- FireWire capture device for Final Cut Pro 4
announced
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AJA Video Systems Inc. has introduced Io, an uncompressed audio/video
FireWire capture device for Apple's Final Cut Pro 4, which is due to
ship in June. A high-end, 8- or 10-bit broadcast video device, Io lets
you connect professional analog or digital audio/video to a Power Mac
G4 or PowerBook G4 through a FireWire interface."
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/04/07/ajavideo/
http://www.aja.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
32] Third party stuff- VideoRaid Disk arrays announced
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Medéa Corp. has debuted two new Mac OS X compatible VideoRaid disk
arrays featuring a 2Gbit fibre channel interface today at NAB 2003.
VideoRaid FCR2 and VideoRaid FCRX2 disk arrays offer data transfer
rates up to 200 MB/second per channel."
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/04/07/medea/
http://www.medea.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
33] Third party stuff- More cool stuff to work with Ericsson mobiles
and Bluetooth
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I mentioned the "way cool" Clicker program last edition where I can
open software and do stuff on my PowerBook via my Ericsson mobile
phone. Bluetooth technology is the key <https://www.bluetooth.org/>.
I've since purchased a Bluetooth headset (look Mum- no wires) but I am
frustrated that Bluetooth is a pairing technology. Very conservative-
threesomes not permitted. Perhaps I'll get this application going where
I may be able to get the PowerBook talking to the phone, talking to the
headset.
http://homepage.mac.com/smertz/public/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
34] Third party stuff- a conduit for Lotus Notes to iCal, Address book
etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I note some universities are using Lotus (Griffith U). This might be
handy for such folk.
"Sync Contacts, Calendars, and ToDo's between Lotus Notes, Apple iCal,
the MacOS X Address Book, Apple iPod, PalmOS PDA's, T68i, and more"
http://www.kissworks.com/kissworks/kissworks.nsf/LipSyncHome

------------------------------------------------------------
35] Third party stuff- weblogs made easy
------------------------------------------------------------
Weblogs (blogs) are proving to be a development that web-savvy
developers are getting into. Indeed, I have been considering archiving
Higher Education News in such a way. This may be the software to do it!
"iBlog is an elegant desktop blogging application that makes authoring
and publishing your personal blogs a breeze. Unlike other blogging
sytems, You don't have to be an expert database administrator or a
perl programmer to setup and use iBlog. You can preview and publish
your blogs to your iDisk with a single click of a button."
http://www.lifli.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
36] Teaching stuff- a cool collaboration tool called Hydra
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Kurt Otto <k.otto@cqu.edu.au>
"Editing documents in groups can be a challenge. Versioning systems
like cvs or subversion can help your group to keep a consistent copy of
your document, but don't go that extra mile. Wouldn't it be great to
edit the same document, live, in realtime, together with everyone in
your group?"
http://hydra.globalse.org/developers.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
37] Teaching stuff- A Model for Effectively Supporting e-Learning
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Colleges and universities throughout the world are finding ways to
integrate technology into the teaching and learning process. However,
despite the rising use of information technology (IT) in instruction,
both in the traditional classroom and at a distance, there remains a
substantial gap in providing off-campus students with an array of
academic and support services equivalent to the on-campus resources."
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1016

------------------------------------------------------------------------
38] Teaching stuff- Boston Symphony Orchestra in teaching collaboration
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like this site. Anthony P. De Ritis, an assistant professor of music
at Northeastern University, has put up a nice site for classical music
using the Boston Symphony.
http://www.bso.org/itemB/detail.jhtml?id=12300008&area=bso

------------------------------------------------------------------------
39] Teaching stuff- The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects" by P. Polsani
http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v03/i04/Polsani/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
40] Teaching stuff- London Uni offers classics degree online
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A London university is blending ancient and modern with an innovative
online degree in classics. Royal Holloway says that it believes this
"e-degree" to be the first of its kind in this subject in the United
Kingdom, and possibly anywhere else in the world."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2882437.stm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
41] Teaching stuff- French online project in Pakistan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Mar 20 (PNS) - A distance learning programme,
French Online, was inaugurated here on Thursday by the French
Ambassador to Pakistan Yannick Gerard. French Online is a joint project
of Alliance Francaise, Allama Iqbal Open University and COMSATS. This
is a distance learning method via the internet."
http://www.paknews.com/flash.php?id=23&date1=2003-03-20

------------------------------------------------------------------------
42] Teaching stuff- Canadian teachers put up site on online learning
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) has just launched a new
publication - Virtual Education, Real Educators: Issues in Online
Learning - which probes the growing phenomenon of e-learning or online
education."
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/March2003/04/c6844.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
43] Teaching stuff- Carnegie Mellon Comp Sci lab goes Apple
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (SCS) has
installed more than 100 powerful new Apple iMac computers in its A.
Nico Habermann Computing Classroom, a facility that serves between
1,100 and 1,200 students taking a variety of programming courses each
academic year. "
http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/030212_imaccluster.html

----------------------------------------------------------
44] Teaching stuff- E-Education in the UK
----------------------------------------------------------
E-education in the UK by R. Wilson
http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v03/i04/Wilson/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
45] Teaching stuff- shareware multilingual dictionaries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ultralingua revolutionizes the way you work with language.
Computerized dictionaries offer speed and ease of use far exceeding the
capabilities of paper dictionaries."
http://www.ultralingua.com/en/products.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
46] Teaching stuff- viral infection means Hong Kong kids working from
home
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Roly Sussex <sussex@uq.edu.au>
An interesting impact of the current viral issues in SE Asia. Hong Kong
Kids are working online- computer viruses are much less of a worry.
"Starting from 31 March 2003, from Monday to Friday, English Campus has
suggested some learning tasks for students to learn at home."
http://www.hkedcity.net/english/interactive-writing/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
47] Research stuff- MIT grants to innovators within engineering
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cambridge, MA - The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
(Deshpande Center) today announced that is has issued its first round
of grants in 2003. Selected from 34 pre-proposals in this round, the
grants were awarded to MIT faculty in the school of engineering and
support a wide range of emerging technologies, including tiny
technology, information technology, and alternative energy innovations."
http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/release_030303.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
48] Research stuff- Informatics and Quantitative Analysis in Biological
Imaging
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jason R. Swedlow, Ilya Goldberg et al
"Biological imaging is now a quantitative technique for probing
cellular structure and dynamics and is increasingly used for cell-based
screens. However, the bioinformatics tools required for
hypothesis-driven analysis of digital images are still immature. We are
developing the Open Microscopy Environment (OME) as an informatics
solution for the storage and analysis of optical microscope image data."
Science. 4 April 2003 Volume 300, Number 5616 OR
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/300/5616/100

---------------------------------------------------------
49] Research stuff- science software site
---------------------------------------------------------
"OS X applications for scientific research, from data acquisition,
analysis, manipulation, management, and visualisation to scientific
writing, publishing or programming."
http://www.macscience.net/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
50] Research stuff- Apple's X11 copes with GL graphics on SGI. A big
deal for molecular modeling
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited by Dr Martin Stoermer <M.Stoermer@imb.uq.edu.au>
"success has finally been achieved with getting Insight on the SGI to
display all the pretty GL graphics on X11b3 on MacOSX. I saw this this
morning ...looks like it will actually work."
http://rayl0.bio.uci.edu/~mjhsieh/archives/000114.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------
51] Research stuff- ejournal seeking contributions
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From Alan Smith (Executive Editor) <smith@usq.edu.au>
e Journal seeking presentations (not just manuscripts)
"The e-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology (e-JIST)
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/ is an international
peer-reviewed electronic journal with content likely to be of interest
to policy makers, managers, investors, professional staff, technical
staff, and academics within education and training. "
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
52] Research stuff- update for plasmid mapping software released
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Gene Construction Kit allows graphic manipulation of DNA sequences
and sophisticated plasmid drawing options. See GCK Comments from our
users. It has an award winning interface design that allows graphic
manipulation of DNA sequences in addition to providing sophisticated
drawing capabilities for Mac and Windows users. GCK was named the "Best
Plasmid Mapping Software" by the Biotechnology Software and Internet
Journal for four straight years. "
http://www.textco.com/products/gck2.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
53] Research stuff- xServe cluster for bioinformatics made easy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is related to the network snippet on iPod and xServe, but is
focussed on life science
"This week's Bio-IT World Conference & Expo in Boston, Mass. gave Apple
an opportunity to show off its recently introduced Xserve cluster
configuration. What's more, one vendor showed off a new application
designed specifically for scientists who would like to add Xserve-based
clustering to their network quickly and easily."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=77&e=1&cid=77&u=/mc/
20030327/tc_mc bio_it_world__xserve__ipod_simplify_cluster_setup

------------------------------------------------------------------------
54] Clinical stuff- Accuracy of electronically transmitted pathology
laboratory reports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...pathology laboratory reports are commonly transmitted to general
practices electronically. This process has several advantages, in
particular speedier transmission of results. However, concerns have
been expressed about errors that can arise if software is not tested
thoroughly....We became aware of serious errors in virology reports
received by a Cambridgeshire general practitioner, and did a study to
investigate the prevalence of these errors."
The Lancet. Volume 361 Issue 9362 Page 1060

------------------------------------------------------------------------
55] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 6-12
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) annual
conference
Charlotte, U.S.
http://acrl.telusys.net/acrl/charlotte/

April 6-12, 2003
WebCT Asia Pacific User Conference
The Gold Coast International Hotel, Gold Coast, Queensland.
http://www.webct.com/asiapacific03/home

April 29 - May 2, 2003
COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITIES 2003. An Online Virtual Conference
http://www.icohere.com/cc200

May 5 - 7, 2003
Online Educa Barcelona 2003
The Meeting Point for European and Latin American E-Learning
Professionals
Hotel InterContinental Sofia Princesa, Barcelona, Spain.
http://www.online-educa-barcelona.com

May 6-9, 2003.
EDUCAUSE IN AUSTRALASIA 2003
Expanding the Learning Community, Meeting the Challenges. Adelaide
Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/educause2003

11-15 May, 2003
AusCERT Asia Pacific
Information Technology Security Conference
Royal Pines Resort Gold Coast, Australia
http://conference.auscert.org.au/conf2003/

June 10-13, 2003
JavaOne 2003
San Francisco, US.
http://servlet.java.sun.com/javaone/

June 23-28, 2003.
ED-MEDIA 2003. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia &
Telecommunications. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm

June 29-July 3, 2003
ISMB (International Society for Computational Biology) 2003
Brisbane, Queensland
http://www.iscb.org/ismb2003/index.shtml

June 30 - July 2, 2003
Computers and Advanced Technology in Education ~CATE 2003~. Rhodes,
Greece.
http://www.iasted.com/conferences/2003/greece/c402.htm

July 4-9th , 2003
AusWeb 2003 Conference.
Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove, Gold Coast. One of my favourite web/ I.T.
in teaching events as the format is always interesting. Pre-reading of
papers a must & discussions abound.
http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/

July 5-10, 2003.
Sixth International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science
(CBLIS). University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
http://www.ucy.ac.cy/cblis2003

July 8th and 9th, 2003.
7th International Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) Conference.
Loughborough University, UK
http://www.caaconference.com/

July 31, August 1-2, 2003
EISTA 2003 .International Conference on Education and Information
Systems: Technologies and Applications
Florida, USA
http://www.confinf.org/eista03/cv/cv.asp

August 16th - 19th, 2003
AusBiotech 2003 Conference & Investment Forum. Adelaide
http://www.AusBiotech.org/

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. Call for papers for this
dynamic
event which has strong AUC funding.
NOTE: Financial support is provided for speakers.
http://auc.uow.edu.au/conf/conf03/CFP_2003.html

December 2nd to 5th, 2003
International Conference on Computers in Education 2003, Hong Kong
http://www.icce03.org
======================================================
AUC Higher Education News 8/4/02
A collection of Mac news and views relevant to the
tertiary education sector
(Submissions welcome to s.atherton@uq.net.au)
======================================================

I had a dream! No Reverend King rhetoric here. I actually awoke mid-REM
last night and was set on course for a day of socio-anthropological
observations. The dream was interesting enough and went something like
this - I was at a dinner party being drowned by a rather dominating and
dull professor. Let's assume she was a cognitive psychologist. The
topic was the origin of man.

"Yes, the first evidence of the first human was in 1920", she claimed.
I turned to the chap next to me an mumbled, " I am sure it was 1959 in
Tanzanyika by the Leahey duo".

The first thing I did in the morning was to check on that. I was close.
It seems I had just read an edition of Time that highlighted 80 days
that changed the world. The discovery was indeed 1959. The Drs. Leakey.
Close enough for me- my synapses had kicked into action again after
some years of hybernation.

Whilst giving number two son a lift to school, discussion turned to the
Indian state of Punjab. Jim's tune of the week is by "Punjabi MC" and
it's lyrics (out of this week's favoured piece of cinema, "Bend it Like
Beckham") filled the car. Whilst discussing the Sikh religion and the
place of the Sikhs in the Indian military, it was clear I was on a path
of a socio-centic day. And that I read up on Guru Nanak's teachings. I
wonder if technology in education can be seen trough such glasses?

Indeed it can, although I have to make a number of generalisations.

Generalisations are awkward uncomfortable things, but are the basis for
much of scholarly pursuit. They are often politically incorrect when
preached from under the social sciences umbrella. It is okay to say
"the iron overload disorder haemochromatosis is typically suffered by
anglo-celtic males", yet inappropriate to state that "asian females
tend to have less developed spacial skills". Yet both statements have
basis in research.

Social scientists make generalisations whether they are anthropologists
or linguists. Biological scientist make generalisations whether they
are biochemists or entomologists. So hell, I am going to make some.

Different academic sub-cultures interact in differing ways to
technology.

My short stint as a classroom teacher, and as an IT person dealing with
schools reinforced this belief (note: belief, not fact). Observation
one- schools have different challenges, different politics and
different social dynamics when it comes to ICT (Information
Communication Technologies).

Observation number two- the approach to IT in older research oriented
universities differs to that of newer universities.

Let me explain. Because understanding these differences, or at the very
least acknowledging difference, effects the efficacy of IT policy.

Some schools are doing wonderful things with technology. Most, however,
use computers as glorifies typewriters. I note that the political
rhetoric of my states' Smart State policy promoting "ICTs for Learning"
<http://education.qld.gov.au/itt/> aims to change all of that. As an
Apple Guy I was keen to note that over 33% of the winners of the awards
for excellence a few month ago were Apple users. Sadly, thanks to
PC-centric technical staff, my states' Education Departments' use of
Macs is well below that proportion.

They do clever stuff- they just do it in isolation. In very few cases
is there a strategic drive to innovate. Typically the culture is closed
and insular. Innovation is Smart State "Key Driver" yet standardisation
and homogenisation are the realities. As Kenny from RMIT points out,
this should not be.

"Organisations which develop a culture of openness, risk taking and
learning are better able to be innovative and adaptive towards change
than those that do not. It is the responsibility of the senior
management to create an environment for innovation to happen."
(Australian Journal of Educational Technology 2002, 18(3), 359-376.)

I.T. policy is translated from political-speak to workable strategy
through government administration (PC-centric at best) which leads to
under-developed, overburdened technicians. I note there are less IT
technician in the whole state than there are at one major university.
At the school level, technicians become the influencers. Overworked
teacher bow to their wisdom. Money is always tight and despite the
rhetoric, too often the cheapest box is purchased without any reference
to learning outcomes. But of course these are generalisations.

Universities are even more interesting topics of study. As an organism
their gene pool is even more diverse. Some were born of the Academy and
nurture a research mentality. Some are hybrids from a species now gone
based upon teaching alone- the teachers colleges, the institutes, the
polytechs, the new players.

The old and proven are often more open to diversity. Research dictates
flexibility. Yet many of the "sandstones" are monolithic and thus open
to change as long as they have some years to achieve it, others are
responsive if not anarchistic. And some have an issue of accepting
themselves for what they are- I just love the video Oxford is sending
around to schools in the UK at the moment
<http:/www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/030121.shtml>. Yep- that is one funky and
hip institute.

In some of these publish-or-perish institutes, teaching is just a
sideline. What place do ICTs play in research? And what the hell is
pedagogy anyway? "Peda", as far as one classics scholar I met was
concerned, means "child" or to be linguistically accurate hails from
the Greek "paidagogos", or slave . "We teach adults here", he
exclaimed. Technology in these cases is for data acquisition, data
analysis and presentation-the best publication and the coolest poster
at the next peer reviewed conference.

There is no bottom line for all of this difference. Understanding what
drives IT in institutions- whether it be teaching, political agendas,
research outcomes or innovation - is the key to successful
implementation.

I have a dream that our computers will one day live in institutions
where they will not be judged by the color of their logo but by the
content of their character.


----------------------- In This Issue ----------------------------------

1] AUC stuff- WWDC 2003 Scholarships CLOSING DATE EXTENDED TO 23RD
APRIL
2] AUC stuff- Call for Papers for 'Digital Voyages' Conference. Few
weeks remain
3] Apple stuff- New update OS to be announced in June
4] Apple stuff- Apple running platform integration seminars at capital
city universities
5] Apple stuff- new remote desktop admin software. Free upgrade
6] Apple stuff- xServe RAID now available
7] Apple stuff- Final Cut Pro 4 ANNOUNCED
8] Apple stuff- DVD Studio Pro 2 ANNOUNCED
9] Apple stuff- Shake 3 ANNOUNCED
10] Apple stuff- Al Gore on Apple's board
11] Apple stuff- story on notebooks for all year 7 students
12] Interesting stuff- Adobe Macintosh benchmarks
13] Silly stuff- demo version of Windows RG online
14] Silly stuff- tracking apparently useless software
15] Admin stuff- the role of Chief Information Officers in creation of
IT vision in Unis
16] Legal stuff- Academic Digital Rights
17] Legal stuff- spammer takes out lawsuit against anti-spammer
18] Legal stuff- Spam suits seek poetic justice: he case of the
hijacked haiku
19] Legal stuff- porn spam could qualify as evidence of a "hostile work
environment"
20] Security stuff- hardware to stop distributed denial of service
attacks
21] Security stuff- an overview on denial of service attacks (DDOS)
22] Security stuff- Worry free wireless. Keeping the data in the
airwaves safe
23] Network stuff- H 323 internet videoconferencing software Ophone X
24] Network stuff- Queensland to test wireless network in football
stadium?
25] Network stuff- another internet videoconferencing program- in JAVA
26] Network stuff- webcasts of U.S. integration seminars
27] Network stuff- Integration seminars running across Australia
28] Network stuff- Network analysis maps companies' informal structure
29] Network stuff- configure your cluster and server via an iPod!
30] Third party stuff- LCDs to outsell CRT monitors this year?
31] Third party stuff- FireWire capture device for Final Cut Pro 4
announced
32] Third party stuff- VideoRaid Disk arrays announced
33] Third party stuff- More cool stuff to work with Ericsson mobiles
and Bluetooth
34] Third party stuff- a conduit for Lotus Notes to iCal, Address book
etc.
35] Third party stuff- weblogs made easy
36] Teaching stuff- a cool collaboration tool called Hydra
37] Teaching stuff- A Model for Effectively Supporting e-Learning
38] Teaching stuff- Boston Symphony Orchestra in teaching collaboration
39] Teaching stuff- The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects
40] Teaching stuff- London Uni offers classics degree online
41] Teaching stuff- French online project in Pakistan
42] Teaching stuff- Canadian teachers put up site on online learning
43] Teaching stuff- Carnegie Mellon Comp Sci lab goes Apple
44] Teaching stuff- E-Education in the UK
45] Teaching stuff- shareware multilingual dictionaries
46] Teaching stuff- viral infection means Hong Kong kids working from
home
47] Research stuff- MIT grants to innovators within engineering
48] Research stuff- Informatics and Quantitative Analysis in Biological
Imaging
49] Research stuff- science software site
50] Research stuff- Apple's X11 copes with GL graphics on SGI. A big
deal for molecular modeling
51] Research stuff- ejournal seeking contributions
52] Research stuff- update for plasmid mapping software released
53] Research stuff- xServe cluster for bioinformatics made easy
54] Clinical stuff- Accuracy of electronically transmitted pathology
laboratory reports
55] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education

------------------------------------------------------------------------
1] AUC stuff- WWDC 2003 Scholarships CLOSING DATE EXTENDED TO 23RD
APRIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Jeffrey <ajeffrey@asia.apple.com>
"Apple Computer have announced that they are changing the date and
venue of this years World Wide Developers Conference. The new dates are
23rd to 27th June 2003 at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco. As such
the AUC has extended the closing date for all Scholarship Applications
to Wednesday the 23rd April 2003"
http://auc.uow.edu.au/audf/wwdc03/intro.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
2] AUC stuff- Call for Papers for 'Digital Voyages' Conference.
Closes 2nd May 2003 - only a few weeks remaining!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether you are in the teaching, research or technical space, academic
or general staff, get those papers in. Remember - they pay your way!
"A reminder that the Call for Papers for the AUC's upcoming 2003
Academic & Developers Conference is now open. Papers are welcome from
all Higher-Education institutions in Australia, New Zealand and the
wider Asia-Pacific area."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/conf/conf03/cfp_2003.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
3] Apple stuff- New update OS to be announced in June
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Apple Developer Connection
"We wanted you to be among the first to know that Apple has rescheduled
WWDC 2003 in order to provide attendees with a preview CD and in-depth
session coverage of the next major release of Mac OS X, codenamed
"Panther." WWDC will take place June 23-27 at Moscone West in San
Francisco, California."
As a side issue, unis that don't have site licenses for Mac OS should
consider it- a much cheaper way to manage updates.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
4] Apple stuff- Apple running platform integration seminars at capital
city universities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
That charming yet humble Apple employee, Stephen Atherton, is running a
series of seminars on integrating Macintosh. All details and
registration at:
http://www.apple.com.au/seminars/integration/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
5] Apple stuff- new remote desktop admin software. Free upgrade
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Apple Remote Desktop simplifies desktop administration, enabling
classroom teachers and network administrators to maximize the use of
their Macs and minimize administration costs. Version 1.2 includes
powerful new features such as Remote Software Installation and Remote
Network Startup Disk."
http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

----------------------------------------------------------
6] Apple stuff- xServe RAID now available
----------------------------------------------------------
If storage is needed, boy, does Apple have something for you! Over 2
terabytes at costing well below Dell, Sun and the others.
http://www.apple.com.au/xserve/raid/

------------------------------------------------------------
7] Apple stuff- Final Cut Pro 4 ANNOUNCED
------------------------------------------------------------
Why the capitalisation? The below upgrades may not be available for
some weeks.
"Final Cut Pro 4 is a scalable digital nonlinear editing system built
on a resolution-independent architecture. From the innovative OfflineRT
and DV, up to uncompressed 10-bit 601 or HD, Final Cut Pro 4 is perfect
for editing and finishing a wide variety of programs at virtually any
resolution or frame rate."
http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/

------------------------------------------------------------------
8] Apple stuff- DVD Studio Pro 2 ANNOUNCED
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Designed from scratch to address the needs of next-generation DVD
authoring, DVD Studio Pro 2 combines the legendary ease of use of iDVD
with major enhancements to the professional features of DVD Studio Pro
1.5. DVD Studio Pro 2 gives you unparalleled ease of use, with a
feature set and interface that scales from building basic DVDs to
implementing advanced capabilities."
http://www.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/newversion/

----------------------------------------------------
9] Apple stuff- Shake 3 ANNOUNCED
----------------------------------------------------
"The industry-standard compositing and effects solution for film and HD
now comes with an unlimited network rendering on Mac OS X. Shake has
been used on so many of the Academy Award winning films for Best Visual
Effects over the past six years — all of them, in fact — and is
required courseware at so many major film schools worldwide, that
listing its credits would require several pages."
http://www.apple.com/shake/

----------------------------------------------------------
10] Apple stuff- Al Gore on Apple's board
----------------------------------------------------------
Former US Vice-President Al Gore has been appointed to Apple's board of
directors.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/mar/19gore.html>
<http://news.com.com/2100-1042-993332.html>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
11] Apple stuff- story on notebooks for all year 7 students
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine
began a controversial program to provide laptop computers to every
seventh grader in the state, educators are impressed by how quickly
students and teachers have adapted to laptop technology."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/
05LAPT.html?ex=1047891132&ei=1&en=80790e15aa83caf4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
12] Interesting stuff- Adobe Macintosh benchmarks
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Eric Hood <eric@macchoice.com.au>
Adobe recently published benchmarks do not favour Macintosh. And then
the link was taken down. More than meets the eye?
http://www.adobe.com/motion/pcpreferred.html
http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/2003/03_mar/editorials/
smack105030326.htm
Or an online editorial on the issue read to you, cited Vanni Sant
<vsant@asia.apple.com>
http://www.oscast.com/stories/storyReader$216

------------------------------------------------------------------------
13] Silly stuff- demo version of Windows RG online
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Peter Bull <toro@iinet.net.au>
"Your first chance to test drive a new version of Windows."
http://www.deanliou.com/WinRG/WinRG.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
14] Silly stuff- tracking apparently useless software
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many keep their eyes on the woderful "Versiontracker" site to keep up
with the latest in software. Now keep up with the latest useless
software!
"The highly trained PerversionTracker staff locates the very worst of
Mac software. We search the web for 15 minutes a day — so you don’t
have to"
http://www.perversiontracker.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
15] Admin stuff- the role of Chief Information Officers in creation of
IT vision in Unis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The nature and makeup of these additional units vary substantially
from institution to institution. The CIO position, however, usually
has two distinct aspects: line management of a vital, complex, and
expensive IT unit, and responsibility for IT-related policies
throughout the institution."
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1030

------------------------------------------------------
16] Legal stuff- Academic Digital Rights
------------------------------------------------------
"In the face of ever longer and stronger copyright laws, Creative
Commons has launched a suite of licenses—its first project of many—to
help recreate a healthy public domain."
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=7475

------------------------------------------------------------------------
17] Legal stuff- spammer takes out lawsuit against anti-spammer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When Francis Uy decided that he would fight spammers by posting their
business addresses on his webpage, he may not have expected one of them
to fight back. George Allen Moore Jr., who runs a business that sells
"anti-virus software and the kinds of products that often are
advertised by unsolicited e-mail: Extreme Colon Cleanser, FAT-N-EMY and
Extreme Power Plus," has filed a lawsuit against Uy, claiming that Uy's
posting of his information constitutes harassment."
http://www.arstechnica.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
18] Legal stuff- Spam suits seek poetic justice: he case of the
hijacked haiku
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Habeas, headed by lawyer and antispam activist Anne P. Mitchell, puts
a new twist on spam prevention by inserting some trademarked haiku
lines into the header of an e-mail."
http://news.com.com/2100-1024-995568.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
19] Legal stuff- porn spam could qualify as evidence of a "hostile work
environment"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"WASHINGTON--Lewd e-mail promoting pornography may soon pose more than
just a technical challenge in the ongoing fight against spam--experts
say it's set to become an acute legal problem, too"
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-995658.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
20] Security stuff- hardware to stop distributed denial of service
attacks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A COMMON trick among hackers is to flood a website with endless
"packets" of junk data, forcing it to shut down. Now microchip maker
Intel says it has come up with a way to automatically thwart these
attacks."
New Scientist vol 177, issue 2387 - 22 March 2003, page 19 OR
http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/
article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg17723871.900

------------------------------------------------------------------------
21] Security stuff- an overview on denial of service attacks (DDOS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"On Thursday, February 20, 2003, at about 0130 GMT, the popular
LiveJournal site became the victim of a massive distributed
denial-of-service attack. LiveJournal staffers and upstream providers
first tried to filter by IP, but they soon discovered what the "D" in
DDOS means."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6749

------------------------------------------------------------------------
22] Security stuff- Worry free wireless. Keeping the data in the
airwaves safe
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...many enterprises both large and small that responded to the initial
benefits of wireless networking and jumped on the bandwagon are now
realising the many hidden costs associated with this technology; from
conducting extra site surveys and network scans to isolating illegally
installed wireless access points (rogue WLANs). It is estimated that 30
percent of all companies may have some form of unsecured authorised or
unknown unauthorised WLAN"
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20273227-
1,00.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
23] Network stuff- H 323 internet videoconferencing software Ophone X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The goal of the project is to develop a set of Internet video
conferencing and telephony applications in native Mac OS X GUI (as in
Cocoa or Carbon, not X11). In particular, we want to develop a set of
Internet utilities so that not only you can do Mac-to-Mac video
conferencing and Mac-to-Phone telephony, but also use other features
such as answering machine, multi-party conferencing and so on."
http://xmeeting.sourceforge.net/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
24] Network stuff- Queensland to test wireless network in football
stadium?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Brisbane Broncos fans sitting in the stands of the new Suncorp Stadium
will be able to check scores from other NRL matches on the internet for
a trial period. The $280 million stadium, due to open in June, is one
of up to 20 sites being considered for a trial of Wi-Fi, or wireless
internet technology, by the Queensland government."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/10/1047144895256.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
25] Network stuff- another internet videoconferencing program- in JAVA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've used this one a few times. Cross platform as it is JAVA
http://www.marratech.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
26] Network stuff- webcasts of U.S. integration seminars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The AUC is pleased to offer the webcasts from the macosxlabs.org web
site locally on the AUC server, courtesy of the macosxlabs.org team.
Webcasts are available in QuickTime format."
http://auc.uow.edu.au/macosxlabs/webcasts.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
27] Network stuff- Integration seminars running across Australia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
See "Apple stuff" item above

------------------------------------------------------------------------
28] Network stuff- Network analysis maps companies' informal structure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Want to know how your organization really works - who speaks to whom,
who holds the power? Then study the flow of internal e-mail, say
scientists at global technology firm Hewlett-Packard.
The researchers have developed a way to use e-mail exchanges to build a
map of the structure of an organization."
Nature. 20 March
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030317/030317-5.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
29] Network stuff- configure your cluster and server via an iPod!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wholly self-contained in about 2GB of storage space on the iPod,
iNquiry uses a Perl-based script that's controlled through a simple
graphical configuration utility. The user tells the configuration
utility how to configure the Xserve cluster, how many nodes it has, how
the network is configured, and how to use the individual drive bays in
each Xserve."
http://www.macslash.org/articles/03/03/28/1715243.shtml

------------------------------------------------------------------------
30] Third party stuff- LCDs to outsell CRT monitors this year?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sales of LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors will top $US20 billion
in 2003, overtaking revenue from sales of conventional CRT (cathode ray
tube) monitors this year, according to research released by IDC."
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=279808902&eid=-4152

------------------------------------------------------------------------
31] Third party stuff- FireWire capture device for Final Cut Pro 4
announced
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AJA Video Systems Inc. has introduced Io, an uncompressed audio/video
FireWire capture device for Apple's Final Cut Pro 4, which is due to
ship in June. A high-end, 8- or 10-bit broadcast video device, Io lets
you connect professional analog or digital audio/video to a Power Mac
G4 or PowerBook G4 through a FireWire interface."
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/04/07/ajavideo/
http://www.aja.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
32] Third party stuff- VideoRaid Disk arrays announced
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Medéa Corp. has debuted two new Mac OS X compatible VideoRaid disk
arrays featuring a 2Gbit fibre channel interface today at NAB 2003.
VideoRaid FCR2 and VideoRaid FCRX2 disk arrays offer data transfer
rates up to 200 MB/second per channel."
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/04/07/medea/
http://www.medea.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
33] Third party stuff- More cool stuff to work with Ericsson mobiles
and Bluetooth
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I mentioned the "way cool" Clicker program last edition where I can
open software and do stuff on my PowerBook via my Ericsson mobile
phone. Bluetooth technology is the key <https://www.bluetooth.org/>.
I've since purchased a Bluetooth headset (look Mum- no wires) but I am
frustrated that Bluetooth is a pairing technology. Very conservative-
threesomes not permitted. Perhaps I'll get this application going where
I may be able to get the PowerBook talking to the phone, talking to the
headset.
http://homepage.mac.com/smertz/public/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
34] Third party stuff- a conduit for Lotus Notes to iCal, Address book
etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I note some universities are using Lotus (Griffith U). This might be
handy for such folk.
"Sync Contacts, Calendars, and ToDo's between Lotus Notes, Apple iCal,
the MacOS X Address Book, Apple iPod, PalmOS PDA's, T68i, and more"
http://www.kissworks.com/kissworks/kissworks.nsf/LipSyncHome

------------------------------------------------------------
35] Third party stuff- weblogs made easy
------------------------------------------------------------
Weblogs (blogs) are proving to be a development that web-savvy
developers are getting into. Indeed, I have been considering archiving
Higher Education News in such a way. This may be the software to do it!
"iBlog is an elegant desktop blogging application that makes authoring
and publishing your personal blogs a breeze. Unlike other blogging
sytems, You don't have to be an expert database administrator or a
perl programmer to setup and use iBlog. You can preview and publish
your blogs to your iDisk with a single click of a button."
http://www.lifli.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
36] Teaching stuff- a cool collaboration tool called Hydra
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Kurt Otto <k.otto@cqu.edu.au>
"Editing documents in groups can be a challenge. Versioning systems
like cvs or subversion can help your group to keep a consistent copy of
your document, but don't go that extra mile. Wouldn't it be great to
edit the same document, live, in realtime, together with everyone in
your group?"
http://hydra.globalse.org/developers.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
37] Teaching stuff- A Model for Effectively Supporting e-Learning
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Colleges and universities throughout the world are finding ways to
integrate technology into the teaching and learning process. However,
despite the rising use of information technology (IT) in instruction,
both in the traditional classroom and at a distance, there remains a
substantial gap in providing off-campus students with an array of
academic and support services equivalent to the on-campus resources."
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1016

------------------------------------------------------------------------
38] Teaching stuff- Boston Symphony Orchestra in teaching collaboration
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like this site. Anthony P. De Ritis, an assistant professor of music
at Northeastern University, has put up a nice site for classical music
using the Boston Symphony.
http://www.bso.org/itemB/detail.jhtml?id=12300008&area=bso

------------------------------------------------------------------------
39] Teaching stuff- The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects" by P. Polsani
http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v03/i04/Polsani/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
40] Teaching stuff- London Uni offers classics degree online
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A London university is blending ancient and modern with an innovative
online degree in classics. Royal Holloway says that it believes this
"e-degree" to be the first of its kind in this subject in the United
Kingdom, and possibly anywhere else in the world."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2882437.stm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
41] Teaching stuff- French online project in Pakistan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Mar 20 (PNS) - A distance learning programme,
French Online, was inaugurated here on Thursday by the French
Ambassador to Pakistan Yannick Gerard. French Online is a joint project
of Alliance Francaise, Allama Iqbal Open University and COMSATS. This
is a distance learning method via the internet."
http://www.paknews.com/flash.php?id=23&date1=2003-03-20

------------------------------------------------------------------------
42] Teaching stuff- Canadian teachers put up site on online learning
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) has just launched a new
publication - Virtual Education, Real Educators: Issues in Online
Learning - which probes the growing phenomenon of e-learning or online
education."
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/March2003/04/c6844.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
43] Teaching stuff- Carnegie Mellon Comp Sci lab goes Apple
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (SCS) has
installed more than 100 powerful new Apple iMac computers in its A.
Nico Habermann Computing Classroom, a facility that serves between
1,100 and 1,200 students taking a variety of programming courses each
academic year. "
http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/030212_imaccluster.html

----------------------------------------------------------
44] Teaching stuff- E-Education in the UK
----------------------------------------------------------
E-education in the UK by R. Wilson
http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v03/i04/Wilson/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
45] Teaching stuff- shareware multilingual dictionaries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ultralingua revolutionizes the way you work with language.
Computerized dictionaries offer speed and ease of use far exceeding the
capabilities of paper dictionaries."
http://www.ultralingua.com/en/products.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
46] Teaching stuff- viral infection means Hong Kong kids working from
home
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited Roly Sussex <sussex@uq.edu.au>
An interesting impact of the current viral issues in SE Asia. Hong Kong
Kids are working online- computer viruses are much less of a worry.
"Starting from 31 March 2003, from Monday to Friday, English Campus has
suggested some learning tasks for students to learn at home."
http://www.hkedcity.net/english/interactive-writing/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
47] Research stuff- MIT grants to innovators within engineering
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Cambridge, MA - The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
(Deshpande Center) today announced that is has issued its first round
of grants in 2003. Selected from 34 pre-proposals in this round, the
grants were awarded to MIT faculty in the school of engineering and
support a wide range of emerging technologies, including tiny
technology, information technology, and alternative energy innovations."
http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/release_030303.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
48] Research stuff- Informatics and Quantitative Analysis in Biological
Imaging
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jason R. Swedlow, Ilya Goldberg et al
"Biological imaging is now a quantitative technique for probing
cellular structure and dynamics and is increasingly used for cell-based
screens. However, the bioinformatics tools required for
hypothesis-driven analysis of digital images are still immature. We are
developing the Open Microscopy Environment (OME) as an informatics
solution for the storage and analysis of optical microscope image data."
Science. 4 April 2003 Volume 300, Number 5616 OR
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/300/5616/100

---------------------------------------------------------
49] Research stuff- science software site
---------------------------------------------------------
"OS X applications for scientific research, from data acquisition,
analysis, manipulation, management, and visualisation to scientific
writing, publishing or programming."
http://www.macscience.net/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
50] Research stuff- Apple's X11 copes with GL graphics on SGI. A big
deal for molecular modeling
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cited by Dr Martin Stoermer <M.Stoermer@imb.uq.edu.au>
"success has finally been achieved with getting Insight on the SGI to
display all the pretty GL graphics on X11b3 on MacOSX. I saw this this
morning ...looks like it will actually work."
http://rayl0.bio.uci.edu/~mjhsieh/archives/000114.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------
51] Research stuff- ejournal seeking contributions
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From Alan Smith (Executive Editor) <smith@usq.edu.au>
e Journal seeking presentations (not just manuscripts)
"The e-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology (e-JIST)
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/ is an international
peer-reviewed electronic journal with content likely to be of interest
to policy makers, managers, investors, professional staff, technical
staff, and academics within education and training. "
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
52] Research stuff- update for plasmid mapping software released
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Gene Construction Kit allows graphic manipulation of DNA sequences
and sophisticated plasmid drawing options. See GCK Comments from our
users. It has an award winning interface design that allows graphic
manipulation of DNA sequences in addition to providing sophisticated
drawing capabilities for Mac and Windows users. GCK was named the "Best
Plasmid Mapping Software" by the Biotechnology Software and Internet
Journal for four straight years. "
http://www.textco.com/products/gck2.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
53] Research stuff- xServe cluster for bioinformatics made easy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is related to the network snippet on iPod and xServe, but is
focussed on life science
"This week's Bio-IT World Conference & Expo in Boston, Mass. gave Apple
an opportunity to show off its recently introduced Xserve cluster
configuration. What's more, one vendor showed off a new application
designed specifically for scientists who would like to add Xserve-based
clustering to their network quickly and easily."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=77&e=1&cid=77&u=/mc/
20030327/tc_mc bio_it_world__xserve__ipod_simplify_cluster_setup

------------------------------------------------------------------------
54] Clinical stuff- Accuracy of electronically transmitted pathology
laboratory reports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...pathology laboratory reports are commonly transmitted to general
practices electronically. This process has several advantages, in
particular speedier transmission of results. However, concerns have
been expressed about errors that can arise if software is not tested
thoroughly....We became aware of serious errors in virology reports
received by a Cambridgeshire general practitioner, and did a study to
investigate the prevalence of these errors."
The Lancet. Volume 361 Issue 9362 Page 1060

------------------------------------------------------------------------
55] What's coming up - relevant events in I.T. & education
------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 6-12
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) annual
conference
Charlotte, U.S.
http://acrl.telusys.net/acrl/charlotte/

April 6-12, 2003
WebCT Asia Pacific User Conference
The Gold Coast International Hotel, Gold Coast, Queensland.
http://www.webct.com/asiapacific03/home

April 29 - May 2, 2003
COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITIES 2003. An Online Virtual Conference
http://www.icohere.com/cc200

May 5 - 7, 2003
Online Educa Barcelona 2003
The Meeting Point for European and Latin American E-Learning
Professionals
Hotel InterContinental Sofia Princesa, Barcelona, Spain.
http://www.online-educa-barcelona.com

May 6-9, 2003.
EDUCAUSE IN AUSTRALASIA 2003
Expanding the Learning Community, Meeting the Challenges. Adelaide
Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/educause2003

11-15 May, 2003
AusCERT Asia Pacific
Information Technology Security Conference
Royal Pines Resort Gold Coast, Australia
http://conference.auscert.org.au/conf2003/

June 10-13, 2003
JavaOne 2003
San Francisco, US.
http://servlet.java.sun.com/javaone/

June 23-28, 2003.
ED-MEDIA 2003. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia &
Telecommunications. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm

June 29-July 3, 2003
ISMB (International Society for Computational Biology) 2003
Brisbane, Queensland
http://www.iscb.org/ismb2003/index.shtml

June 30 - July 2, 2003
Computers and Advanced Technology in Education ~CATE 2003~. Rhodes,
Greece.
http://www.iasted.com/conferences/2003/greece/c402.htm

July 4-9th , 2003
AusWeb 2003 Conference.
Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove, Gold Coast. One of my favourite web/ I.T.
in teaching events as the format is always interesting. Pre-reading of
papers a must & discussions abound.
http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/

July 5-10, 2003.
Sixth International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science
(CBLIS). University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
http://www.ucy.ac.cy/cblis2003

July 8th and 9th, 2003.
7th International Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) Conference.
Loughborough University, UK
http://www.caaconference.com/

July 31, August 1-2, 2003
EISTA 2003 .International Conference on Education and Information
Systems: Technologies and Applications
Florida, USA
http://www.confinf.org/eista03/cv/cv.asp

August 16th - 19th, 2003
AusBiotech 2003 Conference & Investment Forum. Adelaide
http://www.AusBiotech.org/

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. Call for papers for this
dynamic
event which has strong AUC funding.
NOTE: Financial support is provided for speakers.
http://auc.uow.edu.au/conf/conf03/CFP_2003.html

December 2nd to 5th, 2003
International Conference on Computers in Education 2003, Hong Kong
http://www.icce03.org