************************************************************** K12NewsLetters - From Educational CyberPlayGround http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ ************************************************************** From: EDUCAUSE@xxxxxxxxxxxx To: <EDUPAGE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 16:57:46 -0700 Subject: Edupage, March 12, 2003 ***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. ***************************************************** TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2003 Survey Shows Continued IT Weakness Boston Businessman Offers Free Wireless Network California Bill Would Ban All Spam Liberty Alliance Releases Details about Future Plans AND WGU Opens Teachers College Sylvan Unloads K-12, Focuses on Higher Ed SURVEY SHOWS CONTINUED IT WEAKNESS A survey by Goldman Sachs of chief information officers at 100 top U.S. companies revealed that IT spending in 2003 is growing at about one percent, an improvement over a December survey's prediction for a one percent decline. The current survey's results, however, fall short of the two to three percent average growth predicted in a survey last fall. The report indicated that concerns about a war with Iraq have negatively impacted both corporate and consumer spending. Bucking the two-year downturn in the IT industry are Dell and IBM, "the best-positioned enterprise systems vendors in the current environment," according to the report. Linux is also performing well, with 53 percent of respondents implementing the open-source operating system. CNET, 12 March 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1014-992197.html BOSTON BUSINESSMAN OFFERS FREE WIRELESS NETWORK Michael Oh, CEO of Apple reseller Tech Superpowers in Boston, has launched a free Wi-Fi network along the city's Newbury Street, described as Boston's Rodeo Drive. NewburyOpen.net is a free, high-speed wireless network that uses access points in eight cafes, restaurants, and bookstores along the street. Users who take advantage of the free network to browse the Internet are shown pop-up ads every three to four hours. Oh said the network cost about $3,000 to set up and offers his business a means of reaching consumers that otherwise would be unavailable. Wi-Fi expert Glenn Fleishman said the Boston network is the first he knows of that is wholly run by an individual, commercial company. He said that many companies, however, are beginning to understand that offering such network access typically does not cost much and is a way for them to "give something back to the community." Wired News, 12 March 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58011,00.html CALIFORNIA BILL WOULD BAN ALL SPAM A bill before the California legislature would ban all unsolicited messages sent to e-mail addresses in that state. Consumers who received spam would be able to sue the sender for at least $500 per violation. Critics of the measure said that it will do little to stem the flow of spam because many spammers use hijacked systems to send e-mail or are outside of the country. An analyst with Jupiter Research said that a spammer in China is not going to care what the laws are in California. Debra Bowen, the state senator who wrote the bill, acknowledged that the measure would not end spam, but she said something needs to be done. Her bill, she said, would give individual consumers the authority to tackle spam without having to depend on technology or on a district attorney. In 1998, Bowen wrote the state's first bill to limit spam, which requires unsolicited mail to include "ADV" in the subject line. Louis Mastria of the Direct Marketing Association said that law is generally ignored and counterproductive. Los Angeles Times, 11 March 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/801135p-5710829c.html LIBERTY ALLIANCE RELEASES DETAILS ABOUT FUTURE PLANS The Liberty Alliance Project, which was created in 2001 to establish standards for identity management and identity-based services online, this week released details about its federated identity-management plans. The group released an initial set of specifications last summer for federated identity management, and another set of specifications is due this year. The current release provides details about the Liberty Alliance's plans for future specifications, giving companies the chance to anticipate changes and plan for them. Officials from the Liberty Alliance were quick to distinguish their work from Microsoft's efforts with its Passport service. Michael Barrett, president of the Liberty Alliance Management Board, said his group's standards are more flexible than those of Passport, which is designed as "a centralized service operated by a single company." IDG, 11 March 2003 http://www.idg.net/ic_1213519_9677_1-5043.html AND ***************************************************** WGU OPENS TEACHERS COLLEGE A new teacher-certification program has been announced by Western Governors University (WGU). WGU is a virtual university, offering degrees based on student competency, and the Teachers College will offer associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in education. The nation faces an ongoing shortage of certified teachers, especially in urban schools, and the No Child Left Behind Act requires certified teachers in all classrooms by 2006. Funded in part by a $10 million grant from the Department of Education, the Teachers College is designed to address this situation by making it easier and more convenient for uncertified teachers to earn certification and for certified teachers to augment their current skills. Robert W. Mendenhall, president of WGU, said 50 students are already enrolled and that he expects enrollment of about 1,000 in the next year. Chronicle of Higher Education, 11 March 2003 http://chronicle.com/free/2003/03/2003031101t.htm SYLVAN UNLOADS K-12, FOCUSES ON HIGHER ED Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. said this week it will sell the parts of the company dealing with K-12 education and focus exclusively on the postsecondary education market. A new operating company called Educate, Inc. will take control of Sylvan's K-12 units as well as Sylvan Learning Center, Schulerhilfe, Sylvan Education Solutions, and Sylvan's ownership interests in eSylvan and Connections Academy. Sylvan said the rest of its Sylvan Ventures investments will be sold during the next year. The company projects that operating income for its postsecondary education business will increase nearly 50 percent this year compared to last year, rising to between $67 and $70 million. Washington Post, 11 March 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9433-2003Mar11.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to LISTSERV@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to EDUPAGE-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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