CourseCast of the Week
Episode 0093,
03/21/2009
Title/Description: More CS Majors, Print Publishers
Struggle, iPhone OS 3, and other tech news
Welcome to Course
Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 93, recorded March 21, 2009. This
is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast
is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology
for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.
Story 1 - More CS Majors
For the first time since
the .com bust Computer Science degree programs are experiencing growth in
student enrollment. In 2002, CS departments across the US saw dramatic reductions in majors, sometimes as great as 70 - 80 percent. The 2007-2008
school year saw an eight percent increase in CS majors. This increase indicates
a change in student perception regarding the chance of getting good-paying jobs
in the technology industry. This is good news for tech companies who have been
concerned about the shortage of computer science graduates from US schools. The
increase in CS majors may be the result of the increasing popularity of
technologies like the iPhone, Facebook, and YouTube. President Obama's emphasis
on technology in the economic stimulus package may also help to boost
confidence in the industry.
Computer and
Engineering Enrollment Up [NewsFactor]
Computer
Science Programs Make a Comeback in Enrollment [NYTimes]
Story 2 - Print Publishers
Struggle
Since most people are
getting news and information online rather than in print, newspapers and
magazines are struggling to stay relevant and afloat. The Hearst Corporation
has printed the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The
paper has decided to move to an online-only model in order to make ends meet.
Time, Inc has announced a new custom magazine format that allows readers to
select content from eight of its publications to create a made-to-order
publication that is delivered in both print and online.
Hearst
prints final Seattle PI as newspapers dwindle [Reuters]
Made-To-Order
Magazine Lets Readers Choose [NewsFactor]
Story 3 - iPhone OS 3
Apple has unveiled the next
version of its iPhone operating system. iPhone OS 3 includes long-awaited
features including a unique style of Cut and Paste, multimedia messaging,
stereo Bluetooth, and a search utility that works across all applications. The
new OS includes many new tools for developers as well, including the ability to
create devices that connect to and work with the iPhone such as medical
monitors, and barcode scanners. Other features for developers include support
for a variety of subscription models for their applications, automatic alerts,
the use of Google maps in their applications, and the ability to create
turn-by-turn navigation software. Developers and iPhone users are ecstatic
about the new features and the possibilities they present. The improvements are
viewed by some as Apple’s attempt to get the jump on Google Android
phones coming to market soon, as well as the Palm Pre - all of which are eagerly
awaited by the tech community. iPhone OS 3 will be a free upgrade for iPhone
users available this Summer.
iPhone OS 3.0 and
SDK Open Doors for Developers [NewsFactor]
Apple
unveils App options in iPhone software peek [Reuters]
And that brings us to News Briefs…
- IE8, the
latest version of Internet Explorer, has been released to the public.
Benchmark tests show the browser to be significantly slower than is
competitors: Firefox, Safari, and Opera.
New
IE8 still the slowest browser [Computerworld]
- Google
has released a new beta version of its Chrome Web browser that is 35
percent faster than its previous edition, which was already one of the
fastest browsers available.
A new
Google Chrome Beta is out [techwhack]
- Recent
tech usage studies show that in 2008 Facebook doubled its amount of users,
while the amount of users accessing the Internet over mobile devices has
also doubled.
Facebook
Traffic More Than Doubles in One Year [NewsFactor]
Internet
Access on Mobile Devices More Than Doubles [NewsFactor]
- In a
reverse of recent trends, Mac sales fell 16 percent in February, while
Windows PC sales increased primarily due to the popularity of inexpensive
netbooks.
Mac Sales
Slide 16 Percent in February [NewsFactor]
- It is now
possible to set your Facebook profile so that it is available to ALL
Facebook users. The "everyone" option for sharing information is
turned off by default.
Privacy Is
Now Optional for Facebook Postings [NewsFactor]
- Sony's
Reader, the primary competitor to Amazon's Kindle, has received a big
boost from Google this week. Google is working to format over a half
million public-domain books for the device. The additional titles will
give the Sony Reader the largest e-book library. Granted, the majority of
its library will be comprised of books published prior to 1923.
Public-Domain
Books Will Be Formatted for Sony Reader [NewsFactor]
- Ever wish
you could take back an email sent in haste or by mistake? Gmail is giving
its users that opportunity. An "Undo Send" button has been added
that allows users to take back an email message that has been sent, so
long as the action is taken within five seconds of pressing the send
button.
Google
adds 'Undo Send' button to Gmail [vnunet]
- President
Obama's economic stimulus package includes $19 billion for healthcare
information technology. One result is that 75 percent of US doctors plan
to begin utilizing e-prescriptions - prescriptions sent electronically to
the pharmacy, rather than written prescriptions.
E-prescribing
to soar with new spending [Reuters]
- Companies
and celebrities filed a record number of cybersquatting cases in 2008.
cybersquatting is the criminal act of purchasing domain names that utilize
trademarked or well-known product names in an effort to extort money from
the owners, or profit from their popularity. The World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) handled 2,329 such cases last year.
Cybersquatting
cases hit record in 2008 [Reuters]
- Japanese
researchers have unveiled a robot designed to do the work of a fashion
model. It's designed to handle the moves and facial expressions of a
typical fashion model strutting down the catwalk.
Goodbye
skinny girls: Fashion robot to hit Japan catwalk [NP Posted]
- British
researchers have developed a robot fish that is able to navigate the
oceans autonomously making use of "chemical sensors to sniff out
potentially hazardous pollutants". At $29,000 a fish, let’s
hope they aren't eaten by sharks!
UK
team builds robot fish to detect pollution [Reuters]
- Dell has
unveiled a "luxury" Adamo laptop that is even thinner than the
Macbook Air.
Dell
unveils world's thinnest laptop [Reuters]
- Nokia has
announced that it will lay off 1700 employees in its efforts to offset
falling cell phone sales.
Nokia
to cut 1,700 jobs in sinking phone market [Reuters]
- U.S. video game sales were up by 10
percent in February. Apparently one method of coping with a financial
crisis is to sit at home and play in virtual worlds.
U.S.
video game sales up 10 percent in February [Reuters]
That's it for this week's CourseCast.
Links to this week's stories and many more news and information resources are
provided at the CourseCast Web site at coursecasts.course.com. E-mail us with
your suggestions for the show at course.coursecasts@cengage.com.
Until next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power
-- of Technology!