Providing an evolving foundation for 21st-century research and education, cyberinfrastructure is both a focus for invention and an accelerator of innovation, linked through a trajectory that begins with design and evolves to broad-based use. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table and 11 notes.)

In this article, the author offers six best practices for physical and data security convergence. These are: (1) assess the cable plant; (2) choose wisely; (3) be patient; (4) engineer for high availability; (5) test the converged network to make sure it works; and (6) don't forget the humans.

Colleges and universities worldwide are turning to the hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) model and saying goodbye to issues like patch management and server optimization. Generally, SaaS involves applications (such as customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and e-mail) offered by a hosting provider. In this…

Wireless connectivity in schools is all the rage, and many school systems have at least gotten their feet wet with a wireless lab or a few portable laptop carts. But Bijaya Devkota, the chief information officer of Charles County Public Schools, has done what many school systems only dream of--implemented universal wireless access throughout his…

Discusses bandwidth on demand technologies, including frame relay and ISDNs (integrated services digital networks). Topics include tariff policies; lack of standards; market conditions; growth in the Internet market and the World Wide Web; and the growing need for remote access. (LRW)

Provides an update on the standards that are governing digital multimedia technology. Highlights include symmetrical multimedia standards that include a variety of compression and transmission schemes; asymmetrical multimedia standards that includes compressed digital motion video and still images; applications sharing; networks; and the Internet.…

Discusses issues of security for school computer networks, including protection against viruses and hackers. (EV)

Discusses the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services (WHCLIS). Topics discussed include conference issues, including keynote speakers, procedural difficulties, and the failure to attract media attention; and substantive issues, including a recommendation to establish an office to focus on children and youth literacy, and…

Imagine a completely wireless school, an open network in which all students and staff can roam around using laptops or handheld computers to browse the Internet, access files and applications on the school server, and communicate with each other and the world via e-mail. It's a great picture--and at some schools the future is already here. But…

The leaked documents of the tech-illa network are investigated. It was unclear that if the information was left in the cracked server on purpose, to be distributed by the hackers as a decoy.

In this article, the author presents the latest wireless equipments available in market. For starters, wireless networks offer mobility and flexibility: users of laptops, PDAs, tablet PCs, and wireless Voice over IP telephones can move freely about campus while staying connected to the Internet. There are two kinds of wireless networks: ad-hoc, or…

Information systems educators must balance the need to protect the stability, availability, and security of computer laboratories with the learning objectives of various courses. In advanced courses where students need to install, configure, and otherwise manipulate application and operating system settings, this is especially problematic as these…

This article describes how centralized presentation control systems enable IT support staff to monitor equipment and assist end users more efficiently. At Temple University, 70 percent of the classrooms are equipped with an AMX touch panel, linked via a Netlink controller to an in-classroom computer, projector, DVD/VCR player, and speakers. The…

The Web 2.0 "buzz" starts with new technologies such as virtual worlds, cell phones and handheld devices that offer 24/7 web access, tagging, social networks, and blogs and brings together various web capabilities in unique combinations. Web 2.0, however, is about much more than the technology--it is about a change in focus to participation, user…

The New Media Consortium's Horizon Project is an ongoing research project that aims to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative inquiry within education around the globe over a five-year time period. The project's central products are the "Horizon Reports", an annual…