The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002, Chapter 1. Some Thoughts on How ICTs Could Really Change the World
Not as bad as some of the other chapters in this report. The author accurately summarizes some of the major trends in network technology and them provides some deeply misleading advice on how to prepare for it. The major insight relates to the gradual shift from massively centralized systems of access to decentralized network forms of access. More...

The Global Information Technology Report 2001-2002: Readiness for the Networked World

This report is probably going to be headline news by this time tomorrow (or next week), and unfortunately so because - as some of the more detailed discussion shows - it is a deeply flawed report. More...

Ever So Slowly, Colleges Start to Count Work With Technology in Tenure Decisions

OK, I guess I shouldn't be too snarky (there's plenty of time for that below): this report surveys the progress of colleges and universities in recognizing tenure. OK, it's not much of a step forward, but it's a step forward. More...

The Shape of the E-learning Marketplace: Its Products, Services and Customers
Good survey article identifying major components of the e-learning market. Concentrates on a list of five categories of product (with examples and trends) but also describes three types of e-learning services and offers a paragraph about customers. More...

What Are the Hot Trends in Technology?
In a short sentence: security, artificial intelligence and 3G networks. Best comment of the article: "I've been eating a lot of broccoli because I think the future is going to be very, very cool and I want to be around to see it." I think that while security is always important, much of the recent attention will wane. Wireless broadband will be important, but the term 3G will disappear, replaced either by a standards designation (like 802.11a) or a brand name. More...

The Tower Under Siege: Technology, Power and Education
Book review. Educators foster the idea of the university as an institution that stands set apart from society as a whole, a sanctuary where academics may conduct research and advance ideas without being beholden to the politics or economics of the day. It's unclear whether this ever in fact the case, but in any event, this conception of the university is increasingly under siege. More...

Encouraging Open Code in Public Procurement Policies
Insofar as as many educational institutions are publicly funded, is there a good argument for requiring that they purchase open source code instead of expensive proprietary products (read Microsoft and Adobe)? There's an argument to be made, and this article makes it. More...

Why BT Claims It Owns the Right to 'Click Here'
I have been covering this in 'In the Ether' but OLDaily readers should also be aware of British Telecom's ridiculous court case to enforce its patent on the hyperlink. Taking U.S. service provider Prodigy to court may force the service provider to change its ways, but most likely will not net BT one penny and will generate a lot of ill will in the process. More...

U.S. Patent Debate to Pit IP Rights vs. Competition
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department's antitrust division will conduct hearings over the next six weeks to consider whether the government is issuing too many patents and (consequently) stifling collaboration and invention. Of course, the issue isn't the number of patents so much as the substance. Defenders of the patent system downplay such concerns. More...

The BIG Question: 802.11a or 802.11b?

As we get set to move NRC's e-learning group across the street and into a new building, we are planning our wireless network. I am also planning for my home network. More...