...dedicated to...hmmm, we're still figuring that one out...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Microsoft Case CNET's Joe Wilcox reports that a number of states have joined the nine states involved in pursuing harsher penalties for Microsoft. In 25 states unite to fight Microsoft motion, Wilcox reports that the new states have become involved "in an attempt to protect states' jurisdiction over antitrust matters." "Microsoft had asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to dismiss the states' litigation, arguing that the states should not be allowed to set antitrust policy over the Justice Department." The penalty phase of the trial begins today before U.S. District Court Judge Kollar-Kotelly. An AP/Dow Jones Newswire posting notes that Kollar-Kotelly will be trying to "simultaneously run the trial and review the settlement in a juggling act for which there is little legal precedent." A Washington Post column by Jonathan Krim, Ashcroft Backed Microsoft Deal, tells that U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft favored settlement with Microsoft, as he wanted the Justice Department "to focus on other things." Maine Laptop Initiative The Brunswick Time Record carries a the column, Parents: Bath not ready for laptops. Apparently, confusion reins as Bath Middle School parents oppose Governor Angus King's laptop initiative for their school because "the school department doesn't have an adequate plan in place to support them." A spokesman for the Department of Education, Yellow Light Breen (You gotta love that name!), "said this morning that he's heard a variety of concerns from all over the state about the program, but that most of them are 'unfounded or overstated.' " The Lewiston Sun Journal tells of an inservice for Maine teachers involved in the laptop initiative in Teachers get hands-on experience with new laptops. Sun Journal staff writer Lindsay Tice reports, "This week, seventh-grade teachers from the nine schools chosen to pilot the state's laptop initiative participated in their first computer training sessions." An Apple project specialist for the initiative is quoted as saying, "Today is really care and feeding of the iBook." Layoffs in Philadelphia The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Reform board to cut 325 school jobs. In a Saturday posting, the Inquirer states that the "Philadelphia School Reform Commission yesterday announced plans to cut 325 jobs at district headquarters by mid-July." The job cuts do not extend to the teaching staff, but may include "legal counsel, communications, special education, curriculum, transportation, food service, facilities, and others." Pinkeye Epidemic at Dartmouth The New York Times Kate Zernike reports Pinkeye Cases Baffle 2 Ivy League Colleges. I found this column interesting, as my school system went through a pinkeye epidemic this fall. In the column, Ms. Zernike notes that while many students at Dartmouth and Princeton contracted the infection, other area schools that are physically in between Dartmouth and Princeton remain unaffected. Zernike writes:
iBook Cart Setup Jeff Adkins most recent Mac Lab Report, Configuring an iBook Cart, Part 2, gives some great nuts and bolts tips for those who may be setting up an iBook cart. Jeff addresses such issues as ID sticker placement, preserving battery power, and Airport setup in this column. I continue to eagerly follow Jeff's columns and Jim Crittenden's Kayenta Middle School iBook Project, as after a one hour meeting with our superintendent last Thursday, it appears a cart of iBooks might be soon coming my way!
Frequent reader and contributor Joe Taylor wrote to tell me he has received his new flat-panel iMac, but not through the Apple Store for Education. I'll let Joe tell you about his experience:
Is this the right color of green for flat-panel iMac envy? Joe is a experienced Mac user and a good judge of machines, so I'll be interested in his observations about the new iMac. Joe also just got a new digital camera, so he may be able to help the rest of us out on that front as well. If you know of something that may be causing Joe's computer to drop his interent connection, you can reach him at tinman@accesstoledo.com. Software Releases and Updates
While I've been away preparing IEPs, a number of other educationally related applications have been updated. Lucky Me Software has updated Mom's Calendar to version 3.2.7. MathMagic Personal Edition is now at version 2.5.1, and RPN Calculator is at 1.6.3. Niemeijer Consult has announced Keystrokes for Mac OS X will be debuted Wednesday at the California State University, Northridge's (CSUN) 17th Annual International Conference "Technology and Persons with Disabilities." Keystrokes draws "a keyboard image on the display," allowing users to type "using a mouse, trackball, head pointer or an integrated...dwell-based utility." Later this month, Niemeijer will introduce Touchstrokes for Mac OS X, "a basic...onscreen keyboard for Mac OS X targeted at server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing." Sometimes I'm not sure just what to do with some software releases. Last week, William Henderson released a freeware with the title of SpellTutor. It's a simple application that will read back words entered using Apple's text-to-speech function to give a compute spelling test. Unfortunately, Roger Clary of MacMuse Software has had a shareware product with the same name on the market since 1995. While Roger's SpellTutor is long overdue for an update, it still works well under Mac OS 7.0-9.22 and in the Classic box of Mac OS X. In this case, I gave William's SpellTutor the plug above and sent him an email suggesting that a unique name might save a lot of confusion. I really hate to see two apps with the same purpose, but widely varying functions sitting on the same name. I'd also hate to discourage a new player in the Macintosh educational freeware game. We can use all the good freewares we can get. If you have suggestions, news ideas, etc., please . |
Happy iMac News
|
ACR Time Postings and updates to this site will undoubtedly be brief and irregular over the next two weeks (March 11-22). I'm into the time period where I must conduct an annual case review conference for each of my special education students to prepare their IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) for next year. Hewlett-Packard Compaq Merger Approved by Shareholders It would appear that shareholders for both Compaq and Hewlett-Packard have approved the merger of the two companies. From the Computerworld report, HP claims victory with early results, " 'a slim but sufficient' majority of Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders has approved the company's proposed $21 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp." Compaq says shareholders have approved merger reports that Compaq shareholders "handily approved" the merger.
A Different Look at Vouchers Richard Rothstein's Lessons column for this week gives an interesting look at some long-running voucher systems in New England. He notes the line between the "two camps...one wanting to improve public schools and one favoring private alternatives" seems to disappear in the situations noted in his Between Public and Private, a Third Way (free registration required). GraphicConverter Update
SchwabLearning.org Updates New items this week on the SchwabLearning.org site include:
Ads shown on this site do not represent an endorsement or warranty of any kind of products or companies shown. Ads shown on archive pages may not represent the ads displayed in the original posting on Educators' News. |
Recent Columns Illustrated Power Mac 7500 Teardown Great Classroom Computer Buys on a Coke and Lunch Money Budget -- 68K Macs Great Classroom Computer Buys: When the Worst Can Turn Out to be the Best |
My lovely wife, Annie, is a WAN support specialist for a midwest banking corporation that uses all Compaqs. I wonder what this merger will do for such businesses or school systems that are all Compaq. At first, I suspect there won't be any major changes, but in time, things like the bank's in-house Compaq repair shop will change. With such a corporation, there are scads of Compaq servers at the various bank branches which in time will probably be replaced by servers from Hewlett-Packard. I would think the banking corporation had some reasons they thought were pretty good for going with Compaq. It will be interesting to see if they will transition to Hewlett-Packard/Compaq servers, desktops, and laptops.
Thorsten Lemke's excellent | Previous Week |
|
|
|
|
|
|