When the author was brought on as CIO of Westmont College in October 2008, the president, Board of Trustees, and campus environment made it clear that technology needed a major overhaul to meet the college's growing requirements. Also, these changes needed to happen without significantly increasing the IT budget or staff. Marketing Charts…

This paper provides a Microsoft .NET framework application that makes browsing the Internet in a shared computer environment convenient and secure. One simply opens the program, then points and clicks to both open Internet Explorer and have it move directly to the selected address. Addresses do not need to be manually entered or copied and pasted…

Some of the most significant changes in information technology are those that have given the individual user greater power to choose. The first of these changes was the development of the personal computer. The PC liberated the individual user from the limitations of the mainframe and minicomputers and from the rules and regulations of centralized…

The University of Washington (UW) adopted a dual-provider cloud-computing strategy, focusing initially on software as a service. The original project--to replace an obsolete alumni e-mail system--resulted in a cloud solution that soon grew to encompass the entire campus community. The policies and contract terms UW developed, focusing on…

Intended for use by data processing installation managers, operating personnel, and technical staff, this publication provides a comprehensive set of care and handling guidelines for the physical/chemical preservation of computer magnetic storage media--principally computer magnetic tapes--and their stored data. Emphasis is placed on media…

From brainstorming to outlining, rough drafts to peer editing, revision to final copy, all of the tasks involved in the writing process can be accomplished using technology. However, when faced with the research paper, students are often asked to keep track of sources and information on handwritten bibliography note cards. In this article, a…

According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, by the end of this year more than 55 percent of all U.S. households will own at least one digital camera. With so many digital cameras in use, it is important for people to understand how to organize and store digital images in ways that make them easy to find. Additionally, today's affordable, large megapixel…

This article is based on the premise that face-to-face training can be augmented with cloud-based technology tools, to potentially extend viable training supports as higher education staff and faculty implement new content/skills in their jobs and classrooms. There are significant benefits to harnessing cloud-based tools that can facilitate both…

Today, at the end of 2007, there are evident consolidations in wireless, storage, and virtualization and the path forward seems clearer now than previously. Trends from last year continue strongly, particularly Web 2.0 and the shift to user-driven environments and Internet sites where significant data and video processing is available to those…

Expert operative information is a prerequisite for any form of surgical training. However, the shortening of working hours has reduced surgical training time and learning opportunities. As a potential solution to this problem, multimedia programs have been designed to provide computer-based assistance to surgical trainees outside of the operating…

Discusses software developed to organize and retrieve electronically stored data, examining structure of the databases in which information is stored and the physical structure of the storage medium. Hierarchical and relational databases, unordered files, B-trees, and storage/software for specific purposes (such as weather, stock market, and…

Over the past several decades, millions of digital objects of significant scientific, economic, cultural, and historic value have been published and distributed to libraries and archives on removable media. Providing long-term access to these documents, media files, and software executables is an increasingly complex task because of dependencies…

Discusses the technological changes that will necessitate the prospective conversion of library data over the next decade and addresses the problems of converting data from obsolete personal computers to newer models that feature radically different operating systems. Three case studies are used to illustrate possible scenarios. (11 references)…

Purpose: This paper aims to introduce an enterprise-wide Web 2.0 learning support platform--SNAP, developed at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Pointing to the evolution of the social web, the paper discusses the potential for the development of e-learning platforms that employ constructivist, connectivist,…

Discussion of CD (compact disc) recorders describes recording applications, including storing large graphic files, creating audio CDs, and storing material downloaded from the Internet; backing up files; lifespan; CD recording formats; continuous recording; recording software; recorder media; vulnerability of CDs; basic computer requirements; and…