EDUPAGE> Edupage, March 12, 2003

  • From: Gleason Sackmann <gleason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: K12Newsletters <k12newsletters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 07:40:21 -0600

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From: EDUCAUSE@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To:  <EDUPAGE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 16:57:46 -0700
Subject: Edupage, March 12, 2003
 
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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
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the intelligent use of information technology.
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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
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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

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