Latest News

Nebraska Researchers Measure the Extent of 'Link Rot' in Distance Education

Anyone who has surfed the Web knows the frustration caused by hyperlinks to Web pages that have moved or ceased to exist. For apparently the first time, two researchers at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln have measured the impact of this "link rot" on online education -- and it's not pretty.

How MySpace Became A Lesson Plan: Student Involvement in UC Davis Portal Development

For more than five years, Dr. John Stenzel, a lecturer in the English Department has been focusing his ENL 104A classes (Advanced Composition?Technical Writing and Business Reports) on technology-related topics of local interest, lately on the campus Web portal. As the New Business Architecture is underway, The IT Times asked Stenzel to explain this unique approach.

A New Way of Doing Business at UC Davis

More than simply a technology initiative, the New Business Architecture is about the university working smarter to cope effectively with significant planned increases in enrollment over the next decade. It's about using technology to improve our overall ways of doing business, and it will affect everyone who attends or works at UC Davis.

Internet Fraud Tips

The Internet provides us a convenient method to communicate. Along with legitimate email, on occasions we receive email offers that appear fraudulent or at least of questionable value. One of the common messages received by campus email users is a plea for assistance from a foreign government official.

Dude, Check out the Sweet Campus Tech Jobs

In between all the computer commercials featuring the "Dell Dude," you probably got an earful of these questions over Spring Break-"What are you going to do when you graduate? Are you ever going to graduate? What are you going to do with that major? Do you have a summer job?" Here's how IET can help you answer these questions.

Kazaa Users - New functions may permit your computer to become a participant in a new network

According to recent industry reports, Kazaa, a file-sharing program, installs software (Brilliant Digital) in addition to its peer-to-peer file sharing code. This software could permit your computer to perform additional tasks. These additional tasks include distributing advertising or to run complicated computer tasks on behalf of another computer. In order to run these tasks, the Brilliant Digital software will attempt to make use of your computer memory, disk space and network connection.

You may receive offers for gift certificates and free videos in exchange from Brilliant Digital, or a subsidiary, for permission to use your computer and network connection for use of your computer and network resources. Please be aware that commercial use of university computing and network resources that has not been authorized by the University of California is a violation of the campus acceptable use policy. In addition, granting an external organization permission to use your computer could jeopardize the integrity and availability of your computer and data as well as impose risks to your personal privacy.

IET Co-sponsors Successful Portal Technology Event

On Friday, March 22, 2002, a special event brought together a unique combination of individuals, from technologists to campus administrators and users, to discuss the growth, features, and future of enterprise portals. The talks were given at the University Club by Howard Strauss, a noted expert on portal technology. Over 120 people attended the event. They came from all over campus (e.g., Office of Administration, the General Library, the Medical Center, the Office of Research, University Extension, Computer Science, University Relations, Public Communications, Student Housing, Registrar's Office, Resource Management and Planning, IET, etc.). We even had a few representatives from other UC campuses, including Berkeley, Merced, and Santa Cruz.

The Great Apartment Hunt: Do it Online

About this time last year, the powers that be at my apartment complex left a note dangling from my doorknob. The note was to remind me that if I wanted to remain in my apartment, I would need to sign a new lease before the first of April. I thought they had the wrong apartment. It was only March, and I'd just signed a one-year lease in September. How in the heck am I supposed to know six months in advance if I want to sign another lease when I haven't even learned my roommates' last names yet?

Call for Proposals - Mediaworks ET Partners, Spring and Fall

The Mediaworks ET Partners pilot program is proving extremely successful this quarter. Now, Mediaworks is inviting additional faculty proposals for Spring 2002 and Fall 2002 (subject to funding). The program is designed to broaden technological understanding on this campus by helping faculty become more conversant with educational technology. It brings faculty members and specially trained student advisors together ? one-to-one. Their mutual objective for the quarter is to develop instructional projects related to the faculty member's teaching responsibilities by using current technology. Proposals will be evaluated with the primary consideration being the opportunity for faculty development. For Spring 2002, proposals are due to Mediaworks by 5:00 p.m., Monday, March 11, 2002. Additional details and the application form are available at http://mediaworks.ucdavis.edu/edutech/ETPartners/call.htm. Help with the application process is also available from Chris Sarason (cfsarason@ucdavis.edu or 752-9545) at The Arbor, 165 Everson Hall. See Call for Proposals flyer (PDF) for additional information

Computer Classroom Courses: What's in 'em for me?

Why should you take a course in a computer classroom? Using technology in the classrooms can totally enhance your resume and your chances for getting your dream job once you finish school. By becoming fluent in some of the ways to use the Internet and the Web, you'll be better able to put yourself and your superb ideas out there into the world.

Do the Right Thing: Rock the Vote Online

As all the commercials keep reminding us, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. I'm here to suggest there's one more thing you should do to show your love in the next few weeks: vote in the ASUCD elections. The Winter 2002 elections are happening Tuesday, February 19 through Thursday, February 21. And if past elections are any indication, this will be a close one, which means every vote is extremely important.

Help Your Computer Help You in 2002

It's not quite February, and by now you've probably made (and broken) a couple of New Year's resolutions. But there's one resolution that might not have occurred to you. This one's easy to keep because it doesn't require reading all the material for all your classes, getting started earlier on papers, or weaning yourself off of your favorite shows to make more time for studying. Not that these aren't good resolutions to make, but I'd like to suggest that you resolve to help your computer and let your student computing account help you in 2002.

NPACI Parallel Computing Workshop to be Held at SDSC on January 21, 2002

The San Diego Supercomputer Center will host a Parallel Computing workshop on January 21, 2002. Workshop topics will include: an overview of parallel computing, architecture of parallel machines, MPI, OpenMP single processor optimization, hybrid MPI/OpenMP programming, and parallel mathematical libraries. Special emphasis will be placed on parallelization techniques for T90 users. Simple and complex programming examples will be presented. This workshop is open to both students and researchers. Attendees are provided accounts on NPACI parallel machines, and hands-on labs are conducted where attendees can compile, run, and parallelize example codes. For additional information, please visit the NPACI training website at http://www.npaci.edu/Training/.

IET September Quarterly Reports Online

Two reports summarizing IET's major accomplishments and activities since last quarter are now available on the Web. The Joint Operations Group (JOG) is a universitywide planning group responsible for information systems development. UC Davis' IET report to this group is structured around four main categories: campuswide information technology policy and planning, infrastructure, academic computing, and administrative computing. The Communications Planning Group (CPG) is a universitywide body focusing on telecommunications. ??????-?JOG Report ??????-?CPG Report ?