It'll be nice to see if they stick this in teh SpaceWalker aluminum case - but I wonder why they only went up to 800MHz when the C3 goes to 933 (though I've had a tough time finding them)
But this is one sweet little box - toss a second NIC in - instant firewall! Very cool.
This geek just wants a front end to my own MP3 server. The audiotron is sweet because it gives you teh slick interface and DAC on top of an Ethernet port. That way I can maintain my stuff on my server that will house other stuff as well. I'd rather have all my home files (MP3s, movies, etc included) one one central server instead of having to maintain a bunch of smaller servers throughout. Maybe thats just me, but that is why teh Audiotron or units like it win me over everytime.
It's when that 6gb is sucking up server space when that starts to suck.
Oh I don't know - GB sized.pst files anywhere seem to give Outlook fits. I'm alwasy amazed at people who have all their email in ONE folder and complain about sluggishness. They're amazed when we tell them they can file stuff in folders both on and off the server.
As for storage of email - I've never really figured this out. Yes, some companies log email, etc, etc. Stuff gets caught on backup tapes, etc. But even then stuff drops out after a while. As an IT manager, I'd almost WANT to ditch email serve rbackup tapes after 6 months to a year, less legal hassles:)
Besides - if its not on the server or the defendants machine (IANAL) - its tough to use as evidence - I mean you can spoof an email easily if you're the plaintiff to make it LOOK like someone sent something. Now do courts understand that? I doubt it:)
Bad perhaps
on
Google Juice
·
· Score: 5, Informative
But the end of Google? I sincerely doubt it. Altavista and the others have been driven by greed since day one (ever look at license prices for Altavista for an Intranet in the late 90's?)
Google has always seemed to be driven by a happy medium of civic duty and profit. Take their text ads - I love them - unobstrusive, get the point across, and NOT in teh main search results - they are clearly marked. So I expect that the geniuses @ Google will attack this problem and come up with a solution. SO yelling about Google's demise seems VERY premature.
I've been using Mozilla Mail since the 0.8 days. Yes, its had its ups and downs, but for most of 0.9, its been rock solid and a joy to use. I find it to be one of the best email clients out there. Evolution is very nice and has gotten much better, but I use both Windows and LInux daily so I use Mozilla - multi platform and all that.
It handles multiple email accounts, both types, integrates nicely with LDAP, etc, etc. Right now the ONLY thing IMHO that is missing is GnuPG integration (its being worked on) I'm very happy with it and have even had a few non-tech types here switch from Outlook to NS/Mozilla mail, mostly due to Mozill'a better LDAP integration which we use heavily.
Why in teh world would Microsoft require teh removal of a BIOS setting? Is this Microsofts way of forcing people off APM to ACPI?
Its kind of funny because WinXP has had problems with stuff like this. On my Biostar motherboard (Sloat A Athlon), WinXP couldn't shut off the computer. It would shut down, except hte fans (all LEDs off, etc) and then the computer would turn back on again! I had to manually power it down. The most recent XP patches finally fixed it. If Microsoft can't figure out how to properly turn th computer off, can they be trusted to use ACPI to put one to sleep:):):)
Turnitin.com is a site which many school suse to catch students copying papers. It will highlight even small passages that appeared in other works screened by the service. Thus every time a teacher submits a paper, it gets scanned and regardless if any plagarism is found, the paper is added to the database to be scanned against in the future. When a paper is scanned, the potentially plagarised sections are highlighted with links back to the original source. What the teacher does with a plagarised paper is up to them.
The trick is, when papers are submitted to be checked, Turnitin.com is claiming ownership of the paper without the consent of the author since the teacher is the one who submitted it.
Ok, one thing the RIM has is a backlit keyboard. Whoop-de-do.
Actually - this is a huge feature. The 957s don't have backlit keyboards and I can tell you its a pain. In a car at night or other dimly lit space - you can read, but not write. I never understood why they didn't create some type of lighting for the keys. When we got a Treo 180 in for an exec, the keys looked like they might be backlit, but nope.
I agree with you - the Treo 180 is really nice compared to a 957 or the 5810. But I have to admit - the Treo feels very awkward as a phone - its HUGE. I feel like Get Smart talking into a shoe:) I honestly prefer my Blackbeery and tiny Motorola V3682 - when I'm talking on it, its more discreet and comfortable.
Blackberrys would be useful IF they didn't require an Exchange (or Notes) back-end!
FUD. Blackberry's come in 'Internet' editions which don't need exchange. You just setup a.forward to your Blackberry email address and go. Setup is done via a web interface to set your From email address (so folks don't know it was sent from the BB), filters to filter what goes to the Blackberry, signatures, etc.
The Exchange stuff is nice since it controls when email is sent to your BB based on when it's plugged into the dock or not, but I don't mind having most of my email copied to my Blackberry. A coupel quick keystrokes and I can delete most/all the email every couple of days.
Save money, maybe, but you still have to cary your palm around.
Uh - no. Blackberry's use Puma's Intellisync to sync with Palm data. So you don't need your Palm. But we just got a Treo 180 in this week, and it is a really sweet looking device. The 5810 looks just like my R957 with an ear bud jack:) I love my Blackberry - but I don't think the 5810 is something I'd have to run out and get.
Most schools already have a site license so the licensing is already covered.
Depends on where you are. Here at Duke we've got a volume license with MS. Not a site license. We still pay about $50/seat for MS software (OS, Office, etc, etc) Apparently this was cheaper than paying MS millions so anyone could install stuff on their university owned machine. So YMMV.
I have to disagree. While I can't stand MS and the way they behave in the software arena, they can make awesome mice, keyboards, etc. How many of us would give up the wheel? The Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 is hands down the best mouse out there IMHO. It actaully fits my hand, is smooth over any surface, and just has a great 'feel' - plus it looks cool. But even something as plain as a keyboard - their keyboards are still very nice. I always thought shortcut keys on a keyboard were overkill, but now that I use them - I can't live without them (I switch between 2K and Linux and miss the keys when I'm in Linux)
Well that and it needs to actually NOT suck. Futurama IMHO was one of the dumbest shows I've ever seen. Sure it was funny the first time, but all I could think to myself was "Simpsons In Space" except not as funny
but I find the whole concept of 'wearable computers' to be pretty stupid. I for one am not about to give up the use of one eye, even partially to wear some computer thats with me at all times. I'll keep walking into things. Plus I'll look like a moron. I see these as the next pocket protector:) With about as much usefulness. Sure, I guess it would be cool to be 100% connected, 100% of the time, but then again, maybe not. Personally, I enjoy being able to get a break by shutting off my laptop. Plus I like having my peripheral vision unimpared while I use a laptop or desktop.
Yes, I know there are geeks out there who would have a display adapter wired directly into their brains if they could - but we're talking minority.
I just don't see what is so wonderful about a wearable computer. Yes, there are probably niche applications where they will be cool like someone who needs computer access while doing work with their hands, or some other type of function. Handicap accessibility, yup - great. But again, we're talking niche here. As an IT technician, do I really want to walk around to people's desks with a wearable PC on my head just to pull up reference docs? Nah - I'll take a laptop.
I know people swear one day we'll all talk to our computers or 'think' commands into them - but I sincerely doubt it. I for one think wearble headset computers with retinal displays will be the thing of sci-fi movies for ever except in niche areas. Me? My 3lb laptop is just fine. Just because we can doesn't mean we should.
I didn't realize things had changed that much. Looks like there aren't any low cost areas left with a decent tech industry. I had been keeping Raleigh in my backpocket in the event I get totally burned out on NoVa.
Better hope that back pocket is bulging with cash:)
Many power companies have fiber up on the high voltage towers - which generally terminate in metro areas and rural areas at power stations - they use it now mostly for substation monitoring and internal networking. However, given the bandwidth potential of this fiber - they've got the ultimate backbone available. They just need to get that last mile figured out - no easy task!
Re:A Minor update to a development kernel?
on
2.5.4 Kernel Out
·
· Score: 2
Actually, read the January and February threads on the kernel list. Some really heavy debate about changes to low level stuff like schedulers and such. I found it a VERY interesting read and I think the things being proposed for 2.5.x are pretty impressive. I found Ingos O(1) scheduler work and the debate it generated very interesting.
It may not be "Justice wins over Microsoft" but its still a notable event.
I went to school near Raleigh and still have friends in the area. If you don't mind a moderate commute (less than 1 hr), you can live in several of the small towns around Raleigh (Angier, Fuqua-Varina, Garner, mebbe Goldsboro or Harnette County for a longer drive) and get a decent home with a huge yard for less than $150k.
That was then, not now. $200K in Fuquay will get you a decent house on a thumbnail lot and its at least a 30-1hr commute due to traffic on 55. Goldsboro - sure but its on the extreme other end of Raleigh when going to RTp - its a bear.
Again, the point of this thread was how coudl you spend $6000 a month and the price of housing in RTP. It was cheap, but not anymore. I came here in 1992 - Bought a beautiful townhome for $70k (2 bedroom) Sold it TWO YEARS later for $90K That was 1994 - My house, out in teh sticks in Mebane, NC (> 30 miles from RTP) OUTSIDE the city of Mebane went from $134K assesed value in 1991 to $237K in 2001. Its even worse in Raleigh or Durham.
I think the main point - voting in privacy, etc will be a difficult thing for Internet voting to overcome. There's vote fraud now and even if they do develop Internet voting, there will be fraud then. The trick is figuring out which method would be worse. For example - in Internet voting, it is a sure bet that operatives will go door to door, asking if folks have voted and if not showing them 'how' I also wonder if you could ever develop an online system that hackers could imact (doubt it) Our curren tsystem is far from perfect - but it would be nice to see the Internet used to imprve the current system in terms of validation and vote tabulation from precincts. Ideally we'd have touchscreen voting machines - more accurate with results sent in via secure Internet connections - not from each machine - too insecure, but fr9om each locality. Yes, that too could be compromised, but it would be easier (standardized equipment, etc) to ensure encrypted connections were proeprly used, etc, etc.
It amazes me how old our voting system is. I live in teh sitcks, but somehow we've managed to use fairly recently technology - like the tactile button/LED machines with scrolling paper a few years ago to the new touchscreen machines in the last election (modelled just like the tactile button machines) to reduce confusion
Just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we should. I'm not sure Internet voting would improve the integrity of the voting and in teh end that's what relaly counts. If you don't care enough to get off your fat butt and vote in your local fire station, etc, then you don't need to be voting!
As an active member of the Engineering Dept., wouldn't your main priority be to set up a streaming broadcast of lectures straight to the University Bar/Pub thereby eliminating the need for students/faculty members from ever having to leave?
LOL - That would boost our rankings!:) Seriously though, the University does have a streaming server already. Though its not used as much as it could be. As for the pub, nah, we have 'socials' (read kegger) every couple weeks at the engineering building - makes for a nice end to the week. Even we pointy head Administrators get invited:)
A good starting point, but all but one of your items deals with stuff outside the classroom. I'm the Director of IT for a engineering school in a large university. All told our school is one of the smaller schools in the University, with about 1,000 students. The university is pushing technology, but not to the point of being bleeding edge. Sure they do trials and such, but prefer to be right behind folks on the bleeding edge.
For example, they are pushing Blackboard hard - just upgraded to the latest version which is much improved. The tricky part is getting faculty on board. Some jump on it, some don't have the time, and some just don't want to (very few) THe interesting part is that professors without course sites are being pressured by the students to get online. This is a good thing - its not that most faculty don't want to get online, they just don't necessarily see the advantage or if they do, aren't sure it's worth the effort or simply don't know whats involved.
To help with situations like this, we have a university wide division whose entire purpose is working to help join technology with education. They host seminars to help faculty and students take advantage of technology available to them, etc. Even with this valuale resource, it still can be a struggle to get the visibility needed to reach the right people. Blackboard wasn't that great in past years, but the new versions really work to integrate everything and provide the student a portal to their class info as well as developing communities for each class (discussion boards, document repositories, mailing lists, and even grades, practice exams, etc)
Wireless is a great thing. Our campus is deploying wireless quickly (our school finally got 100% coverage activated this month and a large part of the campus is covered), not just in dorms and educational spaces but in other places like the Quad, student center, etc. Now that the infrastructure is in place, the trick is using it. Many professors are wary of wireless in the classrooms (students surf the web during lectures) while other plan to embrace it. We're only now starting to work to get faculty to propose ideas for integrating wireless technology in teh classrom (say using PDAs and/or laptops to interact with the students, etc) Yes, there will be MUCH trial and error so it may seem like a waste of your money, but at least where I work, the intentions are clear - to use technology to improve the educational experience.
Email kiosks - another great idea. We're currently working to deploy clusters of kiosks in our common areas using Linux and Shuttle's tiny SV24 box. $750 including a 15" LCD screen and touchpad keyboard - and prices are dropping. We already have high powered clusters of Sun workstations, but they're in rooms that aren't always where the students congregate. Again, we'll trial it and if its successful, deploy more.
A lot of folks talk about requiring all students to get laptops - may work in some places, but I knwo we've just recently decided NOT to require them. 95% of our students already have computers, though not all are portable. ut forcing folks onto one platform would have caused too much of a backlash.
On area we are actively researching is the classrooms themselves. Is a PC in a podium with a projector enough? Probably not (though its better than projector slides - we've only got 2 lecture halls with LCD projectors though we have plans to upfit many more of our classrooms in the comin gfew years) Other ideas being tossed about? Laptop carts, interactive classrooms with desktop PCs at each seat tied into a central control console where professors can bring up student screens to some their work as an example (and yes ensure they aren't surfing porn), smartboards which capture notes in realtime and also in files for upload to the class website, etc. The trick is a) figureing out which works best (or perhaps which infrastruture works best with which class) And of course, providing the resources to the faculty so they can adapt their courses for the future. Of course the other fun part is the faculty that don't want to change. At one point whiteboards were put up in place of chalk blackboards - a number of faculty complained so much that the whiteboards are now gone and good old blackboards are back up.
So its not simple. Its going to take time. remember, educational institutions have limited budgets even when they charge special technical fees. As we all know, the HW is often cheap - the problem is hiring the people to integrate and run it.
Often the most formidable obstacle to all this is, surprise, communication. SOme folks may already have killer software and apps put together to adapt coursework to new technology, but if its not publicized in a way that others can take advantage of it, things stagnate.
Of course, this is all infrastructure. As you know, you can have a kick butt webserver, but you need CONTENT. If you spend $100K on retrofitting a classroom, it'll be useless until faculty have material that takes advantage of it and developing that material takes time. Sure, they can easily convert notes into Powerpoint slides - but thats no differnet than tossing premade transparencies onto an overhead - just more colorful. But imagine a class where the professor has interactive programs to demonstrate concepts, video clips showing phenomenon, feedback mechanisms where he/she can quiz the class on the current topic and based on their answers (push button a, b, c, or,d), know if they are grasping it or if he/she needs to explain it further.
This sounds like pointy head boss speak - but see if your school has a committee or organization looking at technology in education. We do and it works well. Granted its not speedy, but they deal with a number of the pressing issues related to technology in education. Their minutes and discussion papers are posted monthly. But feedback is limited. So see whats already going on at your school and make suggestions - they may get acted on - you never know! I know for us, all teh feedback we get is from faculty, not students. We have a single student rep on the committee, but our site allows for student feedback - we don't get much. If you like or don't like something being done, find out who runs the program and let them know. Be professional, but explain why something is or isnt' working - its the only way they know somethings up so they can try to improve it (or drop it all together)
I know from where I sit, we're working on infrastructure. But the problem is classic chicken and egg. We don't have material already so we don't knwo what infrastrcture we need and we don't want to spend millions on the wrong type of equipment. So trial and error is the name of the game. Its slow, but hopefully we can identify the right mix and then push it out rapidly.
No, I didn't come up with lots of new ideas, but right now all we have time to worry about right now is infrastructure and limited trials. The good news is the administration is holding millions in reserve/placeholders to spend the money where we prove it will work best - so technical improvement in education will happen, but its not gonna be a Net speed!
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But this is one sweet little box - toss a second NIC in - instant firewall! Very cool.
This geek just wants a front end to my own MP3 server. The audiotron is sweet because it gives you teh slick interface and DAC on top of an Ethernet port. That way I can maintain my stuff on my server that will house other stuff as well. I'd rather have all my home files (MP3s, movies, etc included) one one central server instead of having to maintain a bunch of smaller servers throughout. Maybe thats just me, but that is why teh Audiotron or units like it win me over everytime.
Oh I don't know - GB sized .pst files anywhere seem to give Outlook fits. I'm alwasy amazed at people who have all their email in ONE folder and complain about sluggishness. They're amazed when we tell them they can file stuff in folders both on and off the server.
As for storage of email - I've never really figured this out. Yes, some companies log email, etc, etc. Stuff gets caught on backup tapes, etc. But even then stuff drops out after a while. As an IT manager, I'd almost WANT to ditch email serve rbackup tapes after 6 months to a year, less legal hassles :)
Besides - if its not on the server or the defendants machine (IANAL) - its tough to use as evidence - I mean you can spoof an email easily if you're the plaintiff to make it LOOK like someone sent something. Now do courts understand that? I doubt it :)
Google has always seemed to be driven by a happy medium of civic duty and profit. Take their text ads - I love them - unobstrusive, get the point across, and NOT in teh main search results - they are clearly marked. So I expect that the geniuses @ Google will attack this problem and come up with a solution. SO yelling about Google's demise seems VERY premature.
Top Cool Server Hostnames
It handles multiple email accounts, both types, integrates nicely with LDAP, etc, etc. Right now the ONLY thing IMHO that is missing is GnuPG integration (its being worked on) I'm very happy with it and have even had a few non-tech types here switch from Outlook to NS/Mozilla mail, mostly due to Mozill'a better LDAP integration which we use heavily.
And Mozilla's 5 nines would be more stable than any 5 nines claim by Microsoft! ;)
Its kind of funny because WinXP has had problems with stuff like this. On my Biostar motherboard (Sloat A Athlon), WinXP couldn't shut off the computer. It would shut down, except hte fans (all LEDs off, etc) and then the computer would turn back on again! I had to manually power it down. The most recent XP patches finally fixed it. If Microsoft can't figure out how to properly turn th computer off, can they be trusted to use ACPI to put one to sleep :) :) :)
The trick is, when papers are submitted to be checked, Turnitin.com is claiming ownership of the paper without the consent of the author since the teacher is the one who submitted it.
Actually - this is a huge feature. The 957s don't have backlit keyboards and I can tell you its a pain. In a car at night or other dimly lit space - you can read, but not write. I never understood why they didn't create some type of lighting for the keys. When we got a Treo 180 in for an exec, the keys looked like they might be backlit, but nope.
I agree with you - the Treo 180 is really nice compared to a 957 or the 5810. But I have to admit - the Treo feels very awkward as a phone - its HUGE. I feel like Get Smart talking into a shoe :) I honestly prefer my Blackbeery and tiny Motorola V3682 - when I'm talking on it, its more discreet and comfortable.
FUD. Blackberry's come in 'Internet' editions which don't need exchange. You just setup a .forward to your Blackberry email address and go. Setup is done via a web interface to set your From email address (so folks don't know it was sent from the BB), filters to filter what goes to the Blackberry, signatures, etc.
The Exchange stuff is nice since it controls when email is sent to your BB based on when it's plugged into the dock or not, but I don't mind having most of my email copied to my Blackberry. A coupel quick keystrokes and I can delete most/all the email every couple of days.
Uh - no. Blackberry's use Puma's Intellisync to sync with Palm data. So you don't need your Palm. But we just got a Treo 180 in this week, and it is a really sweet looking device. The 5810 looks just like my R957 with an ear bud jack :) I love my Blackberry - but I don't think the 5810 is something I'd have to run out and get.
Depends on where you are. Here at Duke we've got a volume license with MS. Not a site license. We still pay about $50/seat for MS software (OS, Office, etc, etc) Apparently this was cheaper than paying MS millions so anyone could install stuff on their university owned machine. So YMMV.
So I agree with Taco - MS can make a sweet mouse.
Well that and it needs to actually NOT suck. Futurama IMHO was one of the dumbest shows I've ever seen. Sure it was funny the first time, but all I could think to myself was "Simpsons In Space" except not as funny
Yes, I know there are geeks out there who would have a display adapter wired directly into their brains if they could - but we're talking minority.
I just don't see what is so wonderful about a wearable computer. Yes, there are probably niche applications where they will be cool like someone who needs computer access while doing work with their hands, or some other type of function. Handicap accessibility, yup - great. But again, we're talking niche here. As an IT technician, do I really want to walk around to people's desks with a wearable PC on my head just to pull up reference docs? Nah - I'll take a laptop.
I know people swear one day we'll all talk to our computers or 'think' commands into them - but I sincerely doubt it. I for one think wearble headset computers with retinal displays will be the thing of sci-fi movies for ever except in niche areas. Me? My 3lb laptop is just fine. Just because we can doesn't mean we should.
Theres already 77 topics. But I agree adding a kernel topic would be good.
Better hope that back pocket is bulging with cash :)
Many power companies have fiber up on the high voltage towers - which generally terminate in metro areas and rural areas at power stations - they use it now mostly for substation monitoring and internal networking. However, given the bandwidth potential of this fiber - they've got the ultimate backbone available. They just need to get that last mile figured out - no easy task!
It may not be "Justice wins over Microsoft" but its still a notable event.
That was then, not now. $200K in Fuquay will get you a decent house on a thumbnail lot and its at least a 30-1hr commute due to traffic on 55. Goldsboro - sure but its on the extreme other end of Raleigh when going to RTp - its a bear.
Again, the point of this thread was how coudl you spend $6000 a month and the price of housing in RTP. It was cheap, but not anymore. I came here in 1992 - Bought a beautiful townhome for $70k (2 bedroom) Sold it TWO YEARS later for $90K That was 1994 - My house, out in teh sticks in Mebane, NC (> 30 miles from RTP) OUTSIDE the city of Mebane went from $134K assesed value in 1991 to $237K in 2001. Its even worse in Raleigh or Durham.
http://google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Center+for+Rep roductive+Medicine+and+Infertility%22&btnG=Google+ Search
It amazes me how old our voting system is. I live in teh sitcks, but somehow we've managed to use fairly recently technology - like the tactile button/LED machines with scrolling paper a few years ago to the new touchscreen machines in the last election (modelled just like the tactile button machines) to reduce confusion
Just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we should. I'm not sure Internet voting would improve the integrity of the voting and in teh end that's what relaly counts. If you don't care enough to get off your fat butt and vote in your local fire station, etc, then you don't need to be voting!
LOL - That would boost our rankings! :) Seriously though, the University does have a streaming server already. Though its not used as much as it could be. As for the pub, nah, we have 'socials' (read kegger) every couple weeks at the engineering building - makes for a nice end to the week. Even we pointy head Administrators get invited :)
For example, they are pushing Blackboard hard - just upgraded to the latest version which is much improved. The tricky part is getting faculty on board. Some jump on it, some don't have the time, and some just don't want to (very few) THe interesting part is that professors without course sites are being pressured by the students to get online. This is a good thing - its not that most faculty don't want to get online, they just don't necessarily see the advantage or if they do, aren't sure it's worth the effort or simply don't know whats involved.
To help with situations like this, we have a university wide division whose entire purpose is working to help join technology with education. They host seminars to help faculty and students take advantage of technology available to them, etc. Even with this valuale resource, it still can be a struggle to get the visibility needed to reach the right people. Blackboard wasn't that great in past years, but the new versions really work to integrate everything and provide the student a portal to their class info as well as developing communities for each class (discussion boards, document repositories, mailing lists, and even grades, practice exams, etc)
Wireless is a great thing. Our campus is deploying wireless quickly (our school finally got 100% coverage activated this month and a large part of the campus is covered), not just in dorms and educational spaces but in other places like the Quad, student center, etc. Now that the infrastructure is in place, the trick is using it. Many professors are wary of wireless in the classrooms (students surf the web during lectures) while other plan to embrace it. We're only now starting to work to get faculty to propose ideas for integrating wireless technology in teh classrom (say using PDAs and/or laptops to interact with the students, etc) Yes, there will be MUCH trial and error so it may seem like a waste of your money, but at least where I work, the intentions are clear - to use technology to improve the educational experience.
Email kiosks - another great idea. We're currently working to deploy clusters of kiosks in our common areas using Linux and Shuttle's tiny SV24 box. $750 including a 15" LCD screen and touchpad keyboard - and prices are dropping. We already have high powered clusters of Sun workstations, but they're in rooms that aren't always where the students congregate. Again, we'll trial it and if its successful, deploy more.
A lot of folks talk about requiring all students to get laptops - may work in some places, but I knwo we've just recently decided NOT to require them. 95% of our students already have computers, though not all are portable. ut forcing folks onto one platform would have caused too much of a backlash.
On area we are actively researching is the classrooms themselves. Is a PC in a podium with a projector enough? Probably not (though its better than projector slides - we've only got 2 lecture halls with LCD projectors though we have plans to upfit many more of our classrooms in the comin gfew years) Other ideas being tossed about? Laptop carts, interactive classrooms with desktop PCs at each seat tied into a central control console where professors can bring up student screens to some their work as an example (and yes ensure they aren't surfing porn), smartboards which capture notes in realtime and also in files for upload to the class website, etc. The trick is a) figureing out which works best (or perhaps which infrastruture works best with which class) And of course, providing the resources to the faculty so they can adapt their courses for the future. Of course the other fun part is the faculty that don't want to change. At one point whiteboards were put up in place of chalk blackboards - a number of faculty complained so much that the whiteboards are now gone and good old blackboards are back up.
So its not simple. Its going to take time. remember, educational institutions have limited budgets even when they charge special technical fees. As we all know, the HW is often cheap - the problem is hiring the people to integrate and run it.
Often the most formidable obstacle to all this is, surprise, communication. SOme folks may already have killer software and apps put together to adapt coursework to new technology, but if its not publicized in a way that others can take advantage of it, things stagnate.
Of course, this is all infrastructure. As you know, you can have a kick butt webserver, but you need CONTENT. If you spend $100K on retrofitting a classroom, it'll be useless until faculty have material that takes advantage of it and developing that material takes time. Sure, they can easily convert notes into Powerpoint slides - but thats no differnet than tossing premade transparencies onto an overhead - just more colorful. But imagine a class where the professor has interactive programs to demonstrate concepts, video clips showing phenomenon, feedback mechanisms where he/she can quiz the class on the current topic and based on their answers (push button a, b, c, or ,d), know if they are grasping it or if he/she needs to explain it further.
This sounds like pointy head boss speak - but see if your school has a committee or organization looking at technology in education. We do and it works well. Granted its not speedy, but they deal with a number of the pressing issues related to technology in education. Their minutes and discussion papers are posted monthly. But feedback is limited. So see whats already going on at your school and make suggestions - they may get acted on - you never know! I know for us, all teh feedback we get is from faculty, not students. We have a single student rep on the committee, but our site allows for student feedback - we don't get much. If you like or don't like something being done, find out who runs the program and let them know. Be professional, but explain why something is or isnt' working - its the only way they know somethings up so they can try to improve it (or drop it all together)
I know from where I sit, we're working on infrastructure. But the problem is classic chicken and egg. We don't have material already so we don't knwo what infrastrcture we need and we don't want to spend millions on the wrong type of equipment. So trial and error is the name of the game. Its slow, but hopefully we can identify the right mix and then push it out rapidly.
No, I didn't come up with lots of new ideas, but right now all we have time to worry about right now is infrastructure and limited trials. The good news is the administration is holding millions in reserve/placeholders to spend the money where we prove it will work best - so technical improvement in education will happen, but its not gonna be a Net speed!