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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005 Stanford Research Aims to Speed Optical Networks Crib Notes Find Their Way to iPods MIT and Nokia to Form Research Lab Anti-Spyware Coalition Releases Guidelines STANFORD RESEARCH AIMS TO SPEED OPTICAL NETWORKS Researchers at Stanford University have created a device that could lead to much faster optical networking that is also significantly less expensive than today's technologies. The device, called a modulator or solid-state shutter, is made from silicon and germanium, two materials that are compatible with current technologies and are not nearly as costly as the materials found in today's optical networking hardware. Researchers demonstrated that the device is able to turn a beam of light on and off 100 billion times per second, a speed that is equivalent to 10 times that of existing optical networks. David A. B. Miller, director of the Solid State and Photonics Laboratory at Stanford, noted that the new technology could solve "the bottlenecks of wiring," which, he said, are the primary reason that processor speeds have not improved substantially in the past few years. James S. Harris, an electrical engineering professor involved in the research, conceded that the group was surprised by the result. "No one thought it would work," he said. New York Times, 27 October 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/technology/27chip.html CRIB NOTES FIND THEIR WAY TO IPODS The latest offering for the vastly popular iPod are crib notes for books commonly included in college and university curricula. A company called SparkNotes, which competes with market leader CliffsNotes, provides the content, which is sold by a firm called iPREPpress. Students who pay $4.95 each for a set of notes have access to the usual set of study aids--plot summaries, major themes and motifs, study questions, biographical sketches of the characters. The iPod notes, however, also include several minutes of audio content for each title. Kurt Goszyk, the founder of iPREPpress, said that students can listen to music stored on their iPods while reading the SparkNotes for an assigned text. "You can listen to your favorite rap song in the background," he said, "as you're reading about 'The Great Gatsby.'" The notes will work with most versions of the iPod, including the very small iPod Nano, raising concerns about the possibility students will see a new opportunity to cheat. Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 October 2005 http://chronicle.com/free/2005/10/2005102702t.htm MIT AND NOKIA TO FORM RESEARCH LAB MIT and Nokia announced a venture to create a joint research lab, to be called the Nokia Research Center Cambridge. The lab is part of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and researchers there will study "the state of the art in mobile computing and communications," according to a statement from the two organizations. Specifically, researchers will focus on low-power hardware and user interfaces, in particular those that are based on speech. More broadly, the center will address questions concerning software architecture, wireless technologies, and methods of managing information. The center will comprise about 20 researchers from each of the two organizations and will be directed by James Hicks of the Nokia Research Center. The Register, 28 October 2005 http://www.theregister.com/2005/10/28/mit_nokia_joint_research/ ANTI-SPYWARE COALITION RELEASES GUIDELINES The Anti-Spyware Coalition has released a definition of what constitutes spyware, as well as guidelines for dealing with spyware. The group's definition says that spyware is an application installed without sufficient consent of the user and that interferes with the user's ability to exert control over such things as security, privacy and personal information, and system resources. Critics had cautioned that a definition of spyware would allow developers of unwanted software to simply sidestep the characteristics included in the definition, thereby legitimizing their applications. The Anti-Spyware Coalition said it understands that concern and drafted a definition with enough latitude to avoid that problem. The group also identified good practices for how organizations should identify and prevent spyware. Included in the resources is guidance on how to rate the severity of particular spyware applications. The group will accept public comments on the newly released documents until November 27 and will release final versions in early 2006. CNET, 27 October 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-5918113.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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