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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006 Italian Students Win Programming Contest Microsoft Lowers the Bar for Game Development U.S. Presses Ahead with Electronic Passports ITALIAN STUDENTS WIN PROGRAMMING CONTEST At the 2006 Imagine Cup programming contest, held in Delhi, India, a team of Italian students took first prize in the Software Design category. The competition, sponsored by Microsoft, brought together teams from more than 100 countries competing in six categories. For its winning entry, the four students from Turin Polytechnic built an application that collects information that patients typically don't disclose to their doctors but is nonetheless an important part of the diagnosis and treatment of their symptoms. The winning team, which pocketed $25,000 for its victory, said their application, called "Hello World," could be especially beneficial for people who suffer from anxiety disorders. BBC, 14 August 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4789979.stm MICROSOFT LOWERS THE BAR FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT Microsoft announced plans to introduce an inexpensive version of its game-development software. Currently, development applications for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo games cost thousands of dollars, and access to them is frequently limited to established companies. The new product, called XNA Game Studio Express, will allow amateur developers to create games on PCs and convert them to work on a standard Microsoft Xbox 360 console. For $99 per year, the new application will convert games to the Xbox format. Officials from Microsoft said they hope the new offering encourages novice game developers to create new kinds of games, adding new perspectives to an industry that often seems to offer only sequels and updates of existing games. The company hopes that users of the XNA Game Studio Express will share their games on the new Xbox Live network with other gamers. New York Times, 14 August 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/14/technology/14game.html U.S. PRESSES AHEAD WITH ELECTRONIC PASSPORTS The U.S. State Department is expected to begin issuing passports that include electronic chips containing all of the holder's information, including a photo, in electronic format. Government officials say the new passports will increase border security while speeding up the process of entering or leaving the country at airports and seaports. Privacy and security experts disagree, however. A German security expert recently demonstrated how the information on an electronic passport could be copied. Others expressed concern that the electronic signals between the passports and the readers could be intercepted, giving hackers access to personal information. Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, said that copying an electronic passport represents no more risk than copying a conventional one. Because the information is encrypted, he said, changes to the information--which would compromise security--are not possible. Sherwin Siy, staff counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that the shortcomings of the new passports outweigh any benefits from them. San Jose Mercury News, 11 August 2006 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15254772.htm ***************************************************** 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
