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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2006 LambdaRail Completes Backbone EU Wants Research Organization IU Professor Introduces Active Cookie E-Mail Prompts Some to Get Too Chummy LAMBDARAIL COMPLETES BACKBONE The backbone of the National LambdaRail network has been completed, connecting New York with Seattle and Jacksonville, Fla., with Sunnyvale, Calif., with a number of north-south connections linking those two lines. The 15,000 mile, fiber-optic network for academic research was developed by the National LambdaRail consortium, a group of about 30 universities and companies. Although some parts of the country do not have access to the backbone, Thomas West, president of National LambdaRail, said the group currently has no "plans...to augment the backbone." West said his organization would try to help those without access to build regional fiber-optic networks that could then connect to the LambdaRail backbone. National LambdaRail is currently in talks with Internet2 about merging the two organizations. West conceded that negotiations over the merger have proceeded more slowly than those involved had expected, but he said talks are continuing. Chronicle of Higher Education, 22 February 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/02/2006022201t.htm EU WANTS RESEARCH ORGANIZATION The European Union (EU) has solicited proposals for a European Institute of Technology (EIT), which would conduct research and work to commercialize products and services that come of that research. As models for the EIT, the EU suggested MIT, which has been very successful at bringing the fruits of research to market, as well as emerging research centers in China and India. The EIT, with an annual budget of as much as 1 billion euros, could be a single entity or a virtual one, representing collaboration among existing universities. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission (EC), said the EIT will "act as a pole of attraction for the very best minds, ideas, and companies from around the world." Officials from a number of universities rejected the very idea, saying that trying to build a European version of MIT would fail. The League of European Research Universities called the plan "perverse" and said that in its solicitation, the EC demonstrated a lack of understanding of the academic community in Europe. The Register, 22 February 2006 http://www.theregister.com/2006/02/22/european_mit/ IU PROFESSOR INTRODUCES ACTIVE COOKIE A researcher at Indiana University has developed technology he calls "active cookies" that he says will help defeat online scams. Markus Jacobsson, associate professor of informatics and associate director of the Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, has teamed up with Ari Juels, manager and principal research scientist at RSA Laboratories, to form a company called RavenWhite to market the technology. Standard cookies are intended only to identify users to a Web host. According to RavenWhite, active cookies also authenticate users. Pharming scams and other similar malicious activities redirect users from intended Web sites to bogus ones without the user's knowing. Active cookies would reportedly alert users to the redirect and foil the scam. The company said it is working on technology that would extend the protections offered by active cookies to users who use multiple computers or who change browser settings that affect how cookies are handled. PCWorld, 20 February 2006 http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;215389687;fp;2;fpid;1 E-MAIL PROMPTS SOME TO GET TOO CHUMMY Although most faculty acknowledge the benefits of e-mail, many believe that one of the downsides of the technology is an erosion of the boundaries that traditionally separate instructors from students. Faculty said e-mail can help them identify students who are struggling, and it encourages participation from students who might otherwise keep quiet. Increasing numbers of students, however, use e-mail to ask their instructors inappropriate questions, often with unrealistic expectations about the consequences. A student at the University of California, Davis, sent an e-mail to Jennifer Schultens, associate professor of mathematics, asking for advice on buying school supplies. Students tell instructors they missed class because they were hungover, ask for teaching notes, offer advice on how to teach, and criticize classmates. Many faculty, especially those without tenure, are put into uncomfortable positions in such circumstances, not knowing how direct and honest they should be with students, particularly in light of increasing opportunities and forums for students to evaluate faculty performance. Meg Worley, assistant professor of English at Pomona College in California, noted that setting clear expectations at the beginning of a term can be helpful in avoiding many problems with e-mail. New York Times, 21 February 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/education/21professors.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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