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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2006 UC Santa Cruz Offers Gaming Degree Google to Open Michigan Research Center House Clamps Down on Internet Gambling UC SANTA CRUZ OFFERS GAMING DEGREE The University of California, Santa Cruz, will begin offering a degree in computer gaming, joining a number of other schools with similar programs, including the University of Southern California, Southern Methodist University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Noting that the institution is not far from Silicon Valley and major developers of games, officials from UC Santa Cruz said they consulted representatives of the gaming industry as part of efforts to develop the program. Seniors in the program will develop a complete video game as their capstone experience. Eric Goldberg, managing director of Crossover Technologies and a longtime member of the gaming development community, cautioned that liking to play games does not equate with being able to develop good games. Nevertheless, he said, for those with the talent and the ambition, university gaming programs offer a kind of formal training that was not an option until recently. Mercury News, 11 July 2006 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/15011858.htm GOOGLE TO OPEN MICHIGAN RESEARCH CENTER Google is expected to announce plans to open a research center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, alma mater of Google cofounder Larry Page. The center will reportedly encompass 240,000 square feet, of which the majority would house a technology and call center. The balance of the space would be dedicated to Google's controversial book-scanning project, in which the University of Michigan is a participant. The anticipated announcement is good news for the state, which has lost a considerable number of jobs in recent years and hopes to restyle itself as a hub of technology, compared to its former position in the auto industry. New York Times, 11 July 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/11/technology/11google.html HOUSE CLAMPS DOWN ON INTERNET GAMBLING The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that supporters said would place considerable and needed restrictions on Internet gambling. Opponents called it political maneuvering ahead of the November election and said the bill is full of huge loopholes. Under the terms of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, restrictions would be placed on Internet service providers and on services that process financial transactions in their dealings with offshore gambling sites. Calling Internet gambling a "scourge," Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said the bill is necessary to prevent the practice from growing to include not only PCs but also cell phones and other mobile devices. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) noted that an exemption has been carved out of the bill for horse racing, betting on which would still be allowed online. Previous efforts to pass such legislation have died on the vine, including a bill passed by the House in 2003 that the Senate did not act on. CNET, 11 July 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6092852.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
