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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006 Campus Computing Project Releases Results Libya to Buy 1.2 Million Laptops for Students Pay for the Book, or See the Ads CAMPUS COMPUTING PROJECT RELEASES RESULTS The Campus Computing Project has released results from its annual survey of colleges and universities about information technology on campus. According to this year's results, a majority of U.S. classrooms now have wireless Internet access, up from 43 percent last year. Wireless access in homes is increasingly common, and Kenneth C. Green, director of the Campus Computing Project, said that both faculty and students expect a college campus to provide "at a minimum, the same wireless connectivity that they experience and enjoy in their homes." The survey also indicates that for the third year running, data and network security remains the top concern of campus officials, with 30 percent saying it is the most important challenge they face. More than half of the respondents to the survey said that open source technology "will play an increasingly important role in our campus IT strategy," but fewer than one in three believe that open source is sufficiently developed at this point to be a "viable alternative" to proprietary systems. Chronicle of Higher Education, 11 October 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/10/2006101102t.htm LIBYA TO BUY 1.2 MILLION LAPTOPS FOR STUDENTS Nicholas Negroponte's nonprofit organization, One Laptop per Child, has reached an agreement with the government of Libya to provide a laptop for each of the country's 1.2 million schoolchildren. Negroponte said that Libya could become the first nation to supply all schoolchildren with computers, noting that "the U.S. and Singapore are not even close." Libya's relations with the West have improved since the country agreed to settle the Pan Am 103 bombing case and to end its nuclear weapons program. The country, which is no longer listed by the United States as a sponsor for terrorism, is working to develop a national economic plan and hoping to become a leader among African nations. Libya will invest $250 million for the laptops, servers, technical support, satellite Internet service, and other components of the infrastructure needed to support the computing program. In his meeting with Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi, Negroponte said the two men discussed the possibility that Libya might fund the purchase of laptops for poorer African nations, including Chad, Niger, and Rwanda. New York Times, 11 October 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/africa/11laptop.html PAY FOR THE BOOK, OR SEE THE ADS As the price of college textbooks continues to rise--at twice the rate of inflation over the past 20 years--faculty and students are seeking alternatives to traditional texts. For some students, that alternative is simply not buying all of the materials for their courses, according to the National Association of College Stores Foundation, which estimates that 65 percent of students forgo at least some texts. Companies including Freeload Press offer another option: free textbooks with advertisements. Founded two years ago, Freeload allows students to download free PDFs of the textbooks they offer, with ads at the beginnings and ends of chapters. Students can print the PDFs or, for about $30, can order a printed copy from Freeload. Despite assurances from executives at Freeload that the ads do not influence the content of their texts, some, including Gary Ruskin, argue that an important line has been crossed. Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, a nonprofit that works to limit the influence of ads, said the addition of ads to textbooks is simply another instance of companies trying to build consumer loyalty among a young audience with money to spend. Yash Puri, professor of finance at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, said he was not concerned about using a Freeload textbook for his course because students are surrounded by ads and learn to ignore them. Christian Science Monitor, 12 October 2006 http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1012/p15s01-legn.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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