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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2004 Universities to Develop Open Source Financial Software SEVIS Works, Says DHS Microsoft Sets Date for Longhorn, Pares Features Ins and Outs of Online Roommate Matching Moore's Law Intact? UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP OPEN SOURCE FINANCIAL SOFTWARE Indiana University (IU) and the University of Hawaii have begun work on a project called Kuali to build open-source financial-system software for colleges and universities. Organizers of the project said that steep prices for commercial systems--as well as ongoing concern over potential consolidation of the market, which could lead to even higher prices for systems not specifically tailored for the higher education market--are the major factors driving the project. Kuali will be an expansion of a homegrown financial system developed by IU and currently in use at its eight campuses. The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) will provide support and advice, though no funding, for the project. In a NACUBO survey last fall, nearly half of the respondents said open source was a viable option for financial systems. Also partnering on the project will be a company called RSmart Group. Although the software will be free to install, as with any open-source project, RSmart hopes to sell support services to colleges and universities that opt for Kuali. Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 August 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/free/2004/08/2004083002n.htm SEVIS WORKS, SAYS DHS Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) praised the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), saying it is a significant improvement over the paper-based system it replaced. SEVIS tracks foreign students, keeping tabs on whether they arrive in the United States, their location, and their academic progress. According to a spokesperson from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one of the departments that oversees SEVIS, the system has led to 1,881 investigations and 187 arrests of students who did not show up for academic programs, were expelled or suspended from those programs, or did not maintain a full course load. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office noted that problems with the system persist, such as slow response from help desk staff, but the ICE spokesperson said that several technology upgrades and fixes have addressed some of those problem areas. Federal Computer Week, 27 August 2004 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0823/web-sevis-08-27-04.asp MICROSOFT SETS DATE FOR LONGHORN, PARES FEATURES Officials at Microsoft have announced that the next version of its Windows operating system, currently called Longhorn, will begin shipping in 2006, but with fewer new features than had previously been promised. Initially Longhorn will include television-style three-dimensional graphics and machine-to-machine Web services communication technology. Those features will also be available for Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server software in 2006. To meet the 2006 deadline, however, the company said it will delay introduction of a new data-storage system, called WinFS, designed to allow users to search for information in any kind of file on a PC or on the Web. That technology, which Gartner analyst David M. Smith described as "very complex and difficult to pull off," is what Microsoft hopes to use to challenge Google, the current leader in search technology. Officials from Microsoft insisted that the decision to delay introduction of the data-storage system merely reflects the company's goal to offer the Longhorn operating system on schedule and at an appropriate level of development. Microsoft said it has more goals in mind for Longhorn than it can fully develop by 2006. New York Times, 28 September 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/technology/28soft.html INS AND OUTS OF ONLINE ROOMMATE MATCHING Increasing numbers of colleges and universities are allowing incoming students to choose roommates through online applications that resemble online dating services. Some roommate-selection tools are homegrown, like that of Georgetown University, while others are from commercial vendors, such as WebRoomz. Most services allow students to review profiles of one another, covering study and living habits, and to contact potential roommates by e-mail or other means. Georgetown's application also includes anonymous messaging and search tools. Some colleges and universities resist such roommate-matching tools, however, saying that part of the experience of college is to meet new people and to learn how to interact with people who have very different lifestyles. Many colleges still rely on a system of hand-matching students based on questionnaires. Jerry Dieringer of Towson University in Maryland, which only asks incoming students if they smoke, said Towson has an "85 to 88 percent rate of satisfaction" among freshmen roommates. Washington Post, 30 August 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45058-2004Aug29.html MOORE'S LAW INTACT? A recent announcement by Intel about advances in its methods of chipmaking prompted Mark Bohr, Intel's director of process architecture and integration, to state that "Moore's law continues." Moore's law, named for former Intel Chairman Gordon Moore, posits that computing power will double about every two years. Intel announced this week that its new manufacturing process will permit the company to make static random-access memories (SRAMs) that can store 70 million bits of data, compared to just 4 million last fall. The company said it has improved transistors such that their performance is increased by 10 to 15 percent without an increase in "leakage," which creates added heat and drains batteries of portable devices. Intel also said it will implement something called "sleep transistors," which inactivate unused portions of SRAMs, eliminating another source of power consumption. Wall Street Journal, 30 September 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109381830466803978,00.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ 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/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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