***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2002 California IT Agency Out of Business Identification Standard to be Released IBM and Nokia Team Up on Wireless Content AND New Nonprofit Job Service Dell Rumored to Be Developing Printers IBM Introduces Low-Cost NAS Device CALIFORNIA IT AGENCY OUT OF BUSINESS After opting not to renew the authorization of the Department of Information Technology (DOIT), the California state government is moving the functions of the lapsed agency to other departments. DOIT was created in 1996 to oversee the state's IT projects and spending, but the agency came under strong criticism for a contract it awarded to Oracle. The arrangement is said to be much more costly than if the award had been competitive, and California governor Gray Davis suspended the director of DOIT last month. DOIT's authorization expired July 1, and much of the agency's work will fall under the jurisdiction of the state's Department of Finance. The state is trying to rescind the agreement with Oracle and will also bring control of its Web portal in-house, saving almost 70 percent of the costs to maintain the portal. ComputerWorld, 9 July 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_884410_1794_9-10000.html IDENTIFICATION STANDARD TO BE RELEASED The Liberty Alliance is expected to release the specifics of a new standard for authenticating identity over the Internet. The goal of the standard is to allow different systems to communicate with each other, ending the need to have different user names and passwords for multiple Web sites. Microsoft's Passport initiative has the same goal, and indeed there has been recurring friction between Microsoft and the Liberty Alliance since it was started almost one year ago. Privacy advocates said the Web standard and Passport are misguided and will lead to less secure systems. Chris Hoofnagle of the Electronic Privacy Information Center compared using a single Internet ID to having only one key for your house, car, and safe deposit box. Representatives of the Alliance acknowledge these concerns and said they are taking small steps to minimize potential problems. Associated Press, 10 July 2002 http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/462069p-3696712c.html IBM AND NOKIA TEAM UP ON WIRELESS CONTENT IBM and cell phone maker Nokia are set to announce a partnership to develop content such as music and other media for wireless devices. IBM will integrate Nokia's wireless software with its own digital media software. The moves are intended to expand the offerings for wireless devices and to try to limit Microsoft's potential share of the market. Nokia and IBM, as well as Microsoft, are members of the Open Mobile Alliance, which seeks to establish consistent standards as a way to promote development of wireless devices and content. Analysts said Nokia is one of the most forceful in trying to assure that consumers have an alternative to Microsoft products. Wall Street Journal, 9 July 2002 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/09/technology/09WIRE.html AND ***************************************************** NEW NONPROFIT JOB SERVICE The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the E-Recruiting Association have joined with 27 major universities to create a new, online job-posting service called NACElink. The groups involved were motivated in part by the instability of many commercial job-posting sites, as well as concerns over privacy of information posted on those sites. The new service, which starts in October, will let employers post ads for $15 each or unlimited ads for a flat fee. Employers can also limit ads to students at specific colleges. Students can post their resumes to the site and search the available job listings. Organizers expect most students to search through their own school's portal to the site because some jobs will be school-specific. Job hunters not in college will also be able to access the service through the NACE site (http://www.naceweb.org/) or the E-Recruiting Association's site (http://www.directemployers.com/). Chronicle of Higher Education, 10 July 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/07/2002071001t.htm DELL RUMORED TO BE DEVELOPING PRINTERS Two new reports have added to speculation that computer maker Dell will soon enter the printer market, though representatives from the company would not comment. Separate reports from Prudential Securities and Needham suggest that Dell will enter a partnership with a printer manufacturer to sell the hardware under the Dell brand. Analysts agree that the most probable partner is Lexmark and that this model is much more likely than Dell acquiring a printer maker. Dell already sells branded monitors, and being able to sell a "complete branded system" of computer, monitor, and printer would serve the company well in the highly brand-oriented market, analysts said. CNET, 9 July 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1040-942527.html IBM INTRODUCES LOW-COST NAS DEVICE Targeting small companies and other organizations with limited IT staff, IBM has introduced a new networked attached storage (NAS) device that is about half as expensive as its closest product from IBM. NAS devices are often used to archive e-mail or store other backup data. The NAS 100, which costs $4,420, has 480 gigabytes of storage space and operates as a Windows machine on the network. IBM said the new product uses self-diagnosing and self-healing technology from the company's Project eLiza initiative. David Hill, research director at Aberdeen Group, praised the new product, saying IBM has developed a tool that offers smaller organizations the kind of performance and autonomy they require because of their small IT staffs. NewsFactor Network, 10 July 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18539.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html 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] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information about EDUCAUSE conferences and other professional development opportunities, visit http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2002, EDUCAUSE
