From: technews <technews@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@lists.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: Edupage, 15 December 1999
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 08:35:24 -0600
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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit association
dedicated to transforming education through information technologies.
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TOP STORIES for December 15, 1999
Windows 2000 System, Long Awaited and Long Delayed, May Be Complete
A New Domain for Hate Speech
Sun Microsystems Plans to Offer Linux for Its Hardware Line
America Online Seeks Access to Party Conventions
ALSO
Officials of Seven Large Universities Complain to PeopleSoft about Its
Programs
A Confident Europe in Countdown to Y2K
Useful Lesson about Teaching on the Net
Intel to Push 800 MHz
WINDOWS 2000 SYSTEM, LONG AWAITED AND LONG DELAYED, MAY BE COMPLETE
Microsoft says it could complete work on Windows 2000 and release the
operating system to manufacturers as early as today, although the operating
system will not be commercially released until Feb. 17. For months,
Microsoft has been saying it is on schedule to release the program to
manufacturers by the end of the year, although the date is still not fixed
and could be pushed back if glitches appear. The operating system is the
core of Microsoft's effort to dominate the Internet computing market.
Windows 2000 will be Microsoft's first operating system for high-end server
computers, and Microsoft believes Windows 2000 will rival Unix systems in
reliability and stability. Windows 2000 will run the Internet and
e-commerce applications that are part of Microsoft's Windows DNA 2000
initiative. (Wall Street Journal 12/15/99)
A NEW DOMAIN FOR HATE SPEECH
The NAACP, Anti-Defamation League, and other civil rights groups are
attempting to beat out hate groups in the race to procure ownership of
Internet domain names that contain highly racist names and slurs. At least
one person is attempting to make a profit off the struggle. An anonymous
seller on the eBay.com site recently put a racist domain name up for sale.
The seller took a mercenary approach, suggesting that both civil rights
groups and hate groups would find the domain name useful. The asking price
for the address was a minimum of $1 million, beyond the resources the NAACP
was willing to spend. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume blamed eBay for "selling
hate, bigotry, and racial stereotypes." EBay cancelled the auction Tuesday
afternoon because the language being used violated the community guidelines
of the site, a spokesman for the company said. The offensive domain name
generated nearly two dozen bids. (Washington Post 12/15/99)
SUN MICROSYSTEMS PLANS TO OFFER LINUX FOR ITS HARDWARE LINE
Sun has announced plans to offer a version of Red Hat Linux that runs on its
workstations and servers. In the past, Sun has focused on proprietary
technology, developing hardware that runs on its own UltraSparc
microprocessors and Solaris operating system. However, some Linux users are
demanding access to features of UltraSparc-based computers, including high
internal data transfer rates and high-end graphics support, says Sun's Herb
Hinstorff. Although Sun has encouraged Linux as a Microsoft Windows rival,
the company is concerned about Linux competing with Solaris. In response to
Linux, Sun has allowed Solaris to run Linux programs without modification,
and plans to open Solaris' source code. (Wall Street Journal 12/15/99)
AMERICA ONLINE SEEKS ACCESS TO PARTY CONVENTIONS
AOL is planning to provide coverage of the 2000 Democratic and Republican
conventions, a welcome bit of news to convention planners who have been
looking to expand beyond traditional TV coverage of the events. AOL's
coverage will not feature reporters, although it will offer live,
interactive talk shows, says AOL programming director Kathleen deLaski. The
four traditional press galleries have been reluctant to give AOL press
credentials, but AOL will nonetheless apply for credentials from the radio
and television gallery. The press galleries are somewhat confused about how
Internet operations should be categorized. Alan Fram of the Associated
Press says the Internet is something of a hybrid of the print, interactive,
and radio mediums. Should AOL demonstrate that it is capable of pulling off
the Webcasts, the company could be issued credentials, says Tina Tate,
director of the House Radio and Television Gallery. (USA Today 12/15/99)
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OFFICIALS OF SEVEN LARGE UNIVERSITIES COMPLAIN TO PEOPLESOFT ABOUT ITS
PROGRAMS
Seven universities that use PeopleSoft products last month sent the company
a letter complaining of problems with the software, but also suggesting
solutions and reinforcing the schools' commitment to PeopleSoft. The
universities, which account for seven of the eight "Big Ten" schools that
use PeopleSoft software, include Northwestern, Ohio State, the Universities
of Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin at Madison,
and Indiana University. The schools chose jointly to buy PeopleSoft
software in 1997 and complain about the software's quality and performance.
In particular, the software is slow in handling batch tasks such as
calculating tuition, which took six days at some of the universities. The
huge size of the institutions, which together enroll more than half a
million students and have 35,000 faculty members, cause many of the
problems, the letter notes. PeopleSoft says it is arranging a meeting with
officials from the seven universities to discuss the problems. (Chronicle
of Higher Education Online 12/14/99)
A CONFIDENT EUROPE IN COUNTDOWN TO Y2K
Europe expects Y2K to have little impact on its critical infrastructure,
including the power grid, air traffic control systems, telecommunications,
and banking. Although a few problems are likely to affect small and midsize
businesses, most of these issues will be delays or errors rather than total
failures, the Gartner Group says. "We expect there to be a marginal
increase in the hassle factor for computer systems in the next few weeks,"
says Gartner Group research director Andy Kyte. Action 2000, the British
government's computer bug agency, expects glitches in about 5 percent of
data functions, which is similar to the level of problems large companies
have when they deploy new software systems. Britain was among the earliest
nations to rank Y2K as a top priority, and British businesses and government
agencies have spent about $32.4 billion on remediation, according to Action
2000. Many experts say Italy is the least Y2K-ready of all the major
European nations. (International Herald Tribune 12/15/99)
USEFUL LESSON ABOUT TEACHING ON THE NET
Distance learning company eCollege.com is appealing to educational
institutions from a business perspective. Distance learning is a more
scalable business than the conventional educational model, because growth
potential with distance learning is not confined by factors such as the
number of professors or the size of classrooms. However, schools that try
to establish distance learning programs encounter the same difficulties as
businesses creating Web sites in terms of choosing content, building
transactional systems, and allowing users to communicate with one another.
ECollege.com helps schools implement distance learning programs by offering
template packages that manage issues such as courses, payments, and grading.
The standardized packages allow eCollege.com to build a whole online campus
in 60 business days, the company says. Ecollege.com acquired its first
customer, the University of Colorado, in 1996, and since then has gained 121
more contracts covering 150 institutions. (Financial Times 12/14/99)
INTEL TO PUSH 800 MHZ
Intel next week is expected to announce an 800 MHz Pentium III processor and
a 750 MHz Pentium III CPU, reclaiming the lead in its battle with Advanced
Microprocessor Devices (AMD) to offer the fastest chip on the market.
Originally, Intel had not planned to announce the 750 MHz PIII for three
more weeks, and had not scheduled the debut of the 800 MHz PIII for months.
In November, AMD announced its 750 MHz Athlon processor, now the fastest
processor available, two weeks ahead of schedule. Intel is now shipping
some of its new processors to PC makers, but experts believe PCs based on
the new chips will not be available before January. The competition between
Intel and AMD is redefining high-end systems, and speeding the availability
of increasingly powerful technology. AMD has announced plans to release an
800 MHz Athlon in the first half of next year, although experts believe the
release will come within a few weeks. Experts predict AMD will release 900
MHz Athlons at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second
quarter. Intel and AMD's rivalry is benefiting everyone in the PC market,
says Insight 64 chip analyst Nathan Brookwood. (PC World Online 12/14/99)
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UPCOMING EDUCAUSE CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS:
Ubiquitous Computing Conference
January 6-8, 2000, Seton Hall University
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http://www.cat.shu.edu/ubitcomp/
NLII Meeting
January 19-21, 2000, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.educause.edu/nlii/meetings/orleans2000/
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TRANSLATIONS & ARCHIVES
Edupage is translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese,
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available at http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
News abstracts Copyright 1999, Information Inc., Bethesda, MD
Edupage Copyright 1999, EDUCAUSE
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EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit association dedicated to transforming
education through information technologies