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IT in Review 2004: From the Biggest Non-Story to the Biggest Real Story
12/22/2004
Well, the biggest "non-news" item of 2004 was that we did not have a major repeat of the August-September 2003 worm/virus disasters on campus! I think that many on campus still look back to August/September of 2003 and consider that one of the toughest times they've ever had dealing with the flood of infected machines that students brought back to campus just as a couple of particularly nasty worms were released. But apparently we've learned. There were some problems on every campus and large problems on a few, but network procedures and student education, plus help-desk routines and preparations kept the nasty micro-beasts at bay in 2004.
But there was plenty of real news. 2004 proved that we have once again only scratched the surface of the IT/knowledge revolution. And it proved that higher education is central to that revolution--partly because it is getting clearer that colleges and universities are the economic hearts of their regions and communities. Here's more from 2004…
Oracle/PeopleSoft Merger/Battle
The financial and legal war between the leadership of Oracle and PeopleSoft was a constant news story throughout 2004, as it was through much of 2003 as well. In the end, the merger's going to happen and the PeopleSoft shareholders are doing okay. That leaves us going into 2005 with the hope that nothing bad will happen soon to all us PeopleSoft users, with assurances from Oracle that it will support the products for quite some time. But will there be any new developments in PeopleSoft software? Don't bet on it. Everyone's going to end up having to move to Oracle, probably renamed something special.
Acacia Technologies
The less said the better about the kind of "software" company that has more lawyers than it d'es technologists and which buys up and then tries to extort money from colleges and universities based on questionable patents. It was a pleasure to see a coalition of institutions get together to defend as a group against Acacia Technologies.
Wireless Expansion
We got more and more wireless. Small institutions without any at all began putting it in a few places. Larger institutions completed plans that made wireless ubiquitous on their campus. Case Western Reserve University announced plans to work with the City of Cleveland to cover the entire Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Other cities--small and large, such as Philadelphia announced that they, too, were in competition for the metro region with the best wireless coverage.
RFIDs--More Implementation and More Concerns
RFID technology means more than privacy issues, of course. More and more libraries are already using it and people who have to track items love it. But concerns about stealthy use of RFID transmitters and receivers to track people's behavior and movements were not quelled by announcements of a few people having them implanted in their bodies for security purposes.
Other Privacy Issues
These ranged from a lot more reporting on hacks into systems containing personal data--partly due to better reporting that was generated by a new California law and partly due to more hacking--to better and sneakier spyware and phishing schemes.
Recommended Reading
- Campus Security :: November 14, 2008
:::::: SECURITY SPOTLIGHT
: Smart Phone Security: New Challenges for Road Warriors
:::::: CAMPUS SECURITY NEWS
: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities
: Rave Wireless Adding BlackBerry Devices to Notification Service
: U Miami Trades IPS for Top Layer Security System
: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services - IT Trends :: Thursday, November 13, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Cornell Takes Visual Approach to Data Analysis
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Panopto Launches Hosted Lecture Capture System
:: Microsoft To Add Smooth Streaming in IIS7
:: Agile Solution Provider Rolls Out Java SDK
:: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
:: Parallels Desktop 4.0 Get Performance Boost, DirectX 9.0 Support
:: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
:: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones - C-Level View :: November 12, 2008
:::::: EXECUTIVE VIEW
: Delta iTunes U Enhances Learning in a Familiar Web 2.0 Environment
:::::: WORTH NOTING
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Blackboard Managed Hosting Rolls Out Virtual Operating Environment
: Higher Ed Help Desk Platform Adds Web 2.0 Tools
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities - SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
:::::: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
: Microblogging and Relevancy
:::::: NEWS and PRODUCT UPDATES
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: Dimdim Launches Hosted Virtual Classroom
: ASU School of Engineering Posts 10,000th Lecture with Mediasite
: Lyon College Plans Student Laptop Rollout
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities - News Update :: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
:::::: NEWS
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: ASU and Obsidian Collaboration Seeks to Boost Long-distance Bandwidth
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Plagiarism Detection System Adds URL Filtering, Reporting Groups - IT Trends :: Thursday, November 6, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Small College Makes Big Leap in Wireless
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Washington U Healthcare Researchers Turn to Virtual Storage
:: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
:: BYU-Idaho Turns to Web-based Facilities Management System
:: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services
:: Universities Turn to Oracle for Web-based Services
:: Delgado CC Expands Outsourced Support Agreement with Presidium Learning
:: Security Concerns May Slow Cloud Computing Adoption
