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It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times . . .

9/10/2003

First, we had the budget cuts and were probably hitting this semester understaffed. Then, in many higher education-intensive parts of the country, the lights went out. Following that was the worm, Blaster. Then came, Sobig. And then the students came back, bringing with them their infected computers.

More than one CIO was quoted in the news media recently saying that this was the most difficult time ever to be IT staff on campus. And it was challenging, no doubt about it. But we think that, on campus after campus, the IT staff came through with shining colors. There was a lot to handle, but it was handled well!

So perhaps the most famous words of Dickens apply in all their discordant meanings: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so."

Impacts on the campus information technology infrastructure probably affected the campus-wide community, in general, as much as any one thing ever has. Read the following to yourself while imagining that you are listening to "Weekend Edition" on NPR and, as voices report from these campuses, there is stirring background music going on:



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  • 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