Sample EDUPAGE just FYI

[mod at std.com (Michael O'Donnell)]

I find the S/N ratio of the EDUPAGE newsletter good enough
that I remain subscribed; I include (below) a sample copy
of the most recent one on the assumption that some of the
multitudes here gathered might find it of interest.  I have
no involvement with EDUPAGE other than as a subscriber.


Regards,
 ---------------------------------
 Michael O'Donnell     mod at std.com
 ---------------------------------


########### BEGIN SAMPLE EDUPAGE


 *****************************************************
 Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit
 association dedicated to transforming education through
 information technologies.
 *****************************************************

 TOP STORIES for May 21, 1999
   Upstart Linux Draws a Microsoft Attack Team
   Dell Ponders "Free" PC Push
   EToys Rockets in Biggest Launch for S. Calif. IPO
   Business Ready for Internet Revolution

 ALSO
   Enron Plans to Unveil Contracts to Let Companies Trade Bandwidth
   A Computer in Every Room: At Ohio U., PCs Become Standard Issue
   New Global Study Explores Governance, Digital Economy
   Distance Learning Is No Substitute for Real-World Education

 UPSTART LINUX DRAWS A MICROSOFT ATTACK TEAM
 Microsoft has created a team to monitor the success of Linux, an
 operating system that lacks the substantial marketing of competitor
 Windows NT, yet has been growing in influence.  Linux has experienced
 rising popularity, as its share of unit sales increased from 7 percent
 in 1997 to 17 percent in 1998.  This is worrisome to Microsoft, whose
 sales held steady at about 36 percent both years.  Microsoft's team,
 developed in response to the recent praise of Linux by several major
 computer companies, has worked to identify problems with the operating
 system as well as study the software to understand the reason for its
 growing popularity.  Microsoft has also challenged a study by Mindcraft
 that found that Linux was over 50 percent faster than NT on an average
 desktop computer.  Microsoft, arguing that a better test of NT would
 be on a larger server, conducted its own study that found that NT was
 3.7 times as fast as Linux on a server with four microprocessors.
 Amidst complaints from Linux that Microsoft had unfairly adjusted
 NT to give itself an advantage, Microsoft reran the study with input
 from Linux and concluded that NT was still faster, although Linux's
 performance did improve.  (Wall Street Journal 05/21/99)

 DELL PONDERS "FREE" PC PUSH
 Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell says the company is considering the
 "free" PC model that involves giving away computers in return for a
 subscription to an Internet service.  "You will be seeing us do more to
 essentially make the PC look like a cable-TV subscription, if you will,
 in terms of a financial product," Dell told analysts in a conference call
 Wednesday, referring to cable operators' strategy of giving away set-top
 boxes in exchange for access fees.  Also on Wednesday, Dell reported
 a 42 percent increase in earnings.  The results were applauded on Wall
 Street, however analysts warned that Dell's profit margins are coming
 under increasing pressure and the company may have trouble sustaining
 its phenomenal growth rates.  These concerns are the reason Dell is
 looking at new business models in order to sustain growth and obtain
 more insulation from sales cycles by capturing revenue after the sale
 of the computer.  Other big PC makers including IBM and Compaq are also
 considering a PC-giveaway strategy.  (C|Net 05/20/99)

 ETOYS ROCKETS IN BIGGEST LAUNCH FOR S. CALIF. IPO
 Online toy retailer eToys ended its first day of trading with a
 value of $7.78 billion, a higher market value than major industry
 players such as Toys R Us and Mattel.  The company, which has lost
 $30.8 million since its start two years ago, can attribute its sudden
 market success to the growing enthusiasm for electronic commerce, as
 displayed by the popularity of such companies as Amazon.com and eBay.
 EToys has recently improved its sales by providing customer services
 such as instant toy reviews, e-mail reminders of upcoming birthdays,
 and announcements of stock availability for popular items.  It also plans
 to attract more customers by purchasing BabyCenter, an Internet site for
 expectant and new parents.  EToy's growth in value is a promising start,
 although analysts warn that this value may not remain steady, as many
 companies with skyrocketing gains cannot maintain this level of success.
 (Los Angeles Times 05/21/99)

 BUSINESS READY FOR INTERNET REVOLUTION
 Business leaders are confident that the Internet will greatly affect
 the world marketplace by 2001, concludes a new study by Booz Allen
 & Hamilton and the Economist Intelligence Unit.  The study, which
 surveyed close to 600 executives, found that 92 percent believe that
 the Internet would reshape the market by 2001, 61 percent felt that the
 Internet would allow them to achieve strategic goals, and 30 percent had
 already changed their strategies due to the influence of the Internet.
 The study also found that the majority of business leaders believe that
 strategies based on the Internet will require significant investment,
 but the future returns will be profitable.  Furthermore, the respondents
 expressed confidence that the Internet would change relations with
 customers and suppliers.  The study indicated that preparation for the
 growing influence of the Internet has already begun, with 90 percent
 of respondents currently offering a Web site and 61 percent planning
 to offer an extranet with private access to customers, suppliers,
 and partners.  (Financial Times 05/21/99)

 =======================================

 ENRON PLANS TO UNVEIL CONTRACTS TO LET COMPANIES TRADE BANDWIDTH
 Enron may announce plans today to introduce bandwidth trading.  Enron
 expects to give companies control over the amount of bandwidth they are
 able to access at any designated time.  Such control will allow for
 more efficient and economical high-speed communications, the company
 believes.  Enron, which is involved in natural gas and electricity
 trading, is seeking to expand to offer bandwidth trading via a standard
 contract.  Most companies agree to multi-year contracts with telecom
 companies to get a set amount of bandwidth for telecom transmissions.
 But Enron is seeking to provide two standard contracts to be traded via
 a third party.  One contract will allow use of a T1 line between Los
 Angeles and New York for a month.  The other would allow for faster
 bandwidth via a DS2 line from San Jose, Calif., to Washington, D.C.
 (Wall Street Journal 05/20/99)

 A COMPUTER IN EVERY ROOM: AT OHIO U., PCs BECOME STANDARD ISSUE
 Ohio University plans to furnish each dorm room with one computer and
 one printer starting in the fall at a cost of about $1,000 per room.
 The university is doing this in conjunction with a new requirement
 that every student has access to a computer.  The new technology
 will be paid for with money allocated to residence hall improvements.
 Although the student-housing department will replace the computers when
 they become obsolete, the school's IT department will provide their
 upkeep, a cost that is a subject of concern for some administrators.
 To discourage the wear potentially imposed by student experiments,
 the university plans to standardize the configurations to some degree,
 while still allowing the students to customize the computers somewhat.
 (Chronicle of Higher Education Online 05/21/99)

 NEW GLOBAL STUDY EXPLORES GOVERNANCE, DIGITAL ECONOMY
 IBM, Electronic Data Systems, and Hewlett-Packard have announced
 that they will sponsor the $4 million "Governance in the Digital
 Economy" study.  The tech vendors, along with key governmental
 agencies, will examine the role of the Internet in governmental
 processes and procedures, as well as larger issues involving the
 Internet and democratic institutions and societies.  The study will
 be directed by Don Tapscott, an independent consultant Vice President
 Al Gore has called a leading cyber guru.  Tapscott says, "There is a
 historical relationship between the distribution of knowledge and the
 distribution of power.  I think the state may change quite radically."
 IBM Institute for Electronic Government director Janet Caldow says it is
 important for vendors to understand how technology affects government,
 from the perspective of government users.  EDS senior vice president
 Louis Matrone says, "Many of the issues we face are not just technical,
 but also organizational, legal, and process related.  We're focused on
 the transformation of government."  (Washington Technology 05/10/99)

 DISTANCE LEARNING IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL-WORLD EDUCATION
 Although some assert that the Web will imminently replace "brick-and-ivy"
 institutions with online classrooms, Dylan Tweney suggests employing
 the medium to improve bureaucratic rather than pedagogic processes.  For
 example, the efficiency afforded by the Internet can strengthen offline
 campus communities with "portal" technologies that enable centralized
 access to course information, campus events, and administrative tasks.
 Meanwhile, although the face-to-face interaction, independence, and
 diversity common to traditional college life can't be replicated
 online, Tweney says two new startups offer technological ways to
 bind communities of students, faculty, and staff.  Jenzabar, founded
 by Chai Ling, a veteran of the Tiananmen Square student protests,
 gives colleges the ability to create portals from a Web interface.
 Campus Pipeline builds a faculty and student-accessible portal system
 on top of SCT's university back-office software.  Using technology to
 expedite administration, universities can lower costs and divert more
 resources to teaching, Tweney says.  (InfoWorld 05/17/99)


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 Edie Clark, Editor


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 UPCOMING EDUCAUSE CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS:

 Taming Technology Institute
 Sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges and EDUCAUSE
 June 13-15, 1999, Seattle
 http://www.aacc.nche.edu/conf/taming/tamingtech.htm

 Seminars on Academic Computing (SAC)
 Strategy, Technology, Organization, Relationships, and Mission (STORM!)
 August 6-11, 1999, Snowmass Village, Colorado
 http://www.educause.edu/sac/sac99/sac99.html

 For additional information on these conferences see
 http://www.educause.edu/conference/conf.html

 For information on other technology related
 educational conferences see
 http://www.educause.edu/ir/events.html


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 For additional information on these and other EDUCAUSE
 Publications see: http://www.educause.edu/pub/pubs.html


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 Edupage Copyright 1999, EDUCAUSE


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