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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2006 Students Serve as Computer Consultants Microsoft Makes European Concessions with Vista Chinese Allow English Wikipedia but Not Chinese STUDENTS SERVE AS COMPUTER CONSULTANTS At a growing number of colleges and universities, students serve as the first line of technical support on campus. The role of the residential computing consultant (RCC) is not new, but is becoming increasingly common in an institution's approach to dealing with the range of computer problems that students regularly face. At Stanford University, about 100 students serve as RCCs, living in the dorms and responding to service calls from students. They earn about $180 per week and undergo a four-day training course. Problems range from the mundane to highly complex, requiring consultation with professional IT staff on campus. Brandon Smith, an RCC at Stanford, noted that most college students are prone to panic when technology doesn't work and that "they're not very patient." Jennifer Ly, manager of Stanford's Residential Computing, said that although many of the RCCs are computer science majors, others are not pursuing technical studies. "We seek someone with an appetite for problem solving who can provide excellent customer service," she said, "and who is willing to learn." Silicon Valley, 16 October 2006 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15770612.htm MICROSOFT MAKES EUROPEAN CONCESSIONS WITH VISTA Following a series of concessions from Microsoft regarding its upcoming operating system, Vista, the European Commission has backed away from a threat to delay the European introduction of the new software. Expressing concerns based on the 2004 antitrust decision by the commission against Microsoft, the commission warned that the new operating system, in particular some of the security functions, could be grounds for further sanctions. In response, Microsoft said it would allow access to the Vista kernel by companies that make security products that compete with the Windows Security Center, which is part of the new operating system. Those companies will be able to develop security applications that will work with Vista, and certain parts of Windows Security Center can be defeated when an alternate application is running on a Vista computer. Some observers had worried that if the commission had blocked release of Vista, small businesses would have suffered. Still, the commission said that its decision not to delay Vista should not be seen as evidence that all of the commission's concerns have been addressed. CNET, 16 October 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6126276.html CHINESE ALLOW ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA BUT NOT CHINESE The Chinese government unexpectedly lifted its block of the English version of Wikipedia, though users inside China still cannot access the Chinese-language version of the site. China is widely known for censoring content it deems inflammatory, such as discussions of human rights in the country or events such as those in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A year ago, access to all of Wikipedia was blocked inside the country, though officials from Wikipedia said they were never told why the site was not allowed. Companies that want to operate in China frequently face the quandary of abiding by the government's strict restrictions on what is allowed or of not being allowed to operate in the country at all. After the ban was lifted, users in China were again able to access Wikipedia--or most of it, at least. One user said that although he could access material on controversial topics, he could not see content about Tiananmen Square. New York Times, 16 October 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/technology/16wikipedia.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. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
