Edupage, April 25, 2005

  • From: Educational CyberPlayGround <admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: K12NewsLetters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 10:02:30 -0400

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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005
   Fewer College Students Pursuing Computer Science Degrees
   ISU Considers Laptop Requirement
   Survey Shows Steep Rise in Web Site Defacements
   Google Tries New Ad Program


FEWER COLLEGE STUDENTS PURSUING COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
A new report from the Computing Research Association (CRA) shows a
significant drop in the number of college freshmen in the United States
who say they plan to major in computer science. The CRA looked at data
from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of
California at Los Angeles and found that between fall of 2000 and fall
of 2004, interest in computer science fell by more than 60 percent and
is now 70 percent below its all-time high. Interest among women has
fallen even further, said the CRA, dropping 80 percent since 1998 and
93 percent since 1982. The CRA also conducted surveys of higher
education institutions and came up with similar results. The report
goes on to suggest that the United States will have difficulty meeting
the demand for IT workers in coming years, increasing the gap with
countries including India and China that are producing larger numbers
of computer science graduates. "Freshmen interest levels at any given
point have been an accurate predictor of trends in the number of
degrees granted four to five years later," according to the report.
CNET, 22 April 2005
http://news.com.com//2100-1022_3-5681438.html

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ISU CONSIDERS LAPTOP REQUIREMENT
The Faculty Senate at Indiana State University (ISU) has put its
support behind a proposal to require incoming freshmen to purchase
laptops beginning in the fall of 2007. Under the proposal, written by a
university committee, the university would recommend a particular
model, which would be available at reduced cost, though students could
obtain a waiver that would allow them to purchase a different model.
Officials at ISU noted that most students already have a computer and
said that the requirement would allow the university to see advantages
from having standardized systems that could be incorporated into
academic programs. Critics of the proposal pointed out that faculty
would not be required to use computers in their classes. Concerns over
the added cost to students were also raised by students and faculty who
oppose the plan, while others said having computers in class could be a
significant distraction.
Tribune-Star, 22 April 2005
http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2005/04/22/news/top_stories/top02.txt

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SURVEY SHOWS STEEP RISE IN WEB SITE DEFACEMENTS
Attacks on Web sites jumped 36 percent in 2004, totaling nearly 400,000
incidents, according to Zone-H, an organization that tracks malicious
Web activity. Of the attacks recorded by the organization, Web site
defacements--in which a bogus Web page is substituted for a Web site's
home page--constituted the vast majority of attacks. Roberto Preatoni
of Zone-H pointed out, though, that "the techniques used by defacers
are the same techniques used by serious criminals to cause more serious
damage." According to the group's report, more than half of the
successful hacks took advantage of a known weakness or careless
administration, such as easily guessed passwords or unprotected
systems. Zone-H reported that the frequency of attacks rises over the
Christmas holidays and drops when schools reopen each year after summer
break.
BBC, 25 April 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4480689.stm

GOOGLE TRIES NEW AD PROGRAM
Internet search engine Google has implemented changes to its ad program
that allow advertisers more options for what their ads look like and
where they appear. Initially at least, the new ads will not appear on
Google's own sites but will potentially be included on the thousands
of sites to which Google provides ads. Until now, Google ads were
textual, and Google only placed ads on sites that were related to the
advertised product or service. A Web site about wine, for instance,
might get ads from Google about other wines, cheese, or other directly
relevant topics. Under the new program, Google will allow graphical
elements, including some animation and video, and advertisers can
decide which Web sites will display their ads. The program changes the
model from a pay-per-click arrangement to one in which advertisers pay
simply to show an ad.
New York Times, 25 April 2005 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/technology/25google.html

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