PALM ACTS TO HELP ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY ON WIRELESS LINKS - Palm
unveiled kits designed to help software developers create programs that support the
emerging Bluetooth wireless technology standard. Palm's release of the kits effectively
opens the door for approximately 175,000 developers registered to write software for
the Palm operating system to develop new Bluetooth applications. "This is the last step
necessary before Bluetooth programs start shipping," said Michael Mace, chief
competitive officer for Palm's software unit. Palm released free software tools, but also
will offer a hardware kit for $199 that includes adapters for connecting to its handheld
devices. Palm officials said they hope the gesture will help the firm fulfill its vision of
users synchronizing their handheld computers with their personal PCs and cell phones,
as well as sharing documents and playing video games against other Palm users. (New
York Times, 15 Jan 02 - Edupage 16 Jan 02)

LATEST DESIGN TOOLS - A new program that will integrate the use of traditional
analog design tools with new media will become part of a fall design studio for third-
year architecture undergraduates. Integrating with Autodesk Architectural Studio, a
conceptual design tool to be commercially released in early 2002, and Autodesk VIZ
4, an advanced visualization tool for use in modeling, rendering and lighting studies, it
will be possible for students to receive traditional design critiques remotely. Architecture
professor Don Greenberg stated, "we're embarking on a new way of teaching architecture
in the 21st century." For more information, visit:
http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/academic/archartpcg/

NEW EDUCATIONAL HANDHELD UNVEILED - Texas Instruments last week
announced the launch of an educational handheld computer, dubbed the Voyage 200
personal learning tool (PLT). The company said the unit combines the functionality and
three times the Flash memory of the TI-92 Plus, a graphing tool for college advanced
math. The computer comes with an icon desktop, which enables users to navigate among
handheld applications, a large display with 128 by 240 pixel imaging and a QWERTY
keypad. Other features of the unit include Cell Sheet, a spreadsheet application;
StudyCards, an electronic flash card application; Notes, an application for taking notes;
and Statistics with List Editor, an analytical program that can be used with data collection
for performing inferential and advanced statistical analyses. For more information, visit:
http://education.ti.com/voyage200 (Syllabus News, Resources, and Trends, 8 Jan 02)

DATABASE SHARING - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have built
a "Web of Data" using infrastructure technology called DataSpace. The Web of Data is
designed to facilitate file sharing between huge databases. Such information sharing is
currently limited to sluggish FTP technology or putting the data on tapes and mailing
them out, noted Robert Grossman of the university's Laboratory of Advanced Computing.
He said the project could reveal insights into data sharing over high-speed networks and
lead to significant changes in data warehousing and distributed decision support
techniques. DataSpace, created by Grossman and colleagues, uses data-transfer-protocol
software, open-source server software XML and remote data access and analysis
technology. Researchers are now testing DataSpace software's remote data mining and
analysis capabilities, as well as its interaction with large data sets. The university will
soon attempt to run the testbed on Starlight, an optical network with a maximum
transmission speed of 2 Gbps. (InformationWeek, 31 Dec 01)

RESEARCHERS TEST SMALL-DISH SATELLITE LINKS FOR DISTANCE ED -
Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center researchers have started to collect data for a
project to provide fast, affordable Internet connections for distance education using small-
dish satellite technology. The project is part of a larger effort from the American Distance
Education Consortium to use Internet-satellite technology to extend distance education to
poor, rural areas. These connections can only be established through "hybrid networking"
that integrates several technologies, according to consortium CEO Jane K. Poley. The
National Science Foundation has earmarked $4 million for the consortium's research. The
Internet2 Evaluation Center is focusing on problems such as developing reasonably priced
satellite dishes and 24-hour Internet satellite service, noted director Pankaj Shah. He also
said the center is devising a way to make broadband Internet2 technologies such as
multicast videoconferencing function in a medium characterized by signal delays and
bandwidth limitations. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 17 Dec 01 - Edupage 17
Dec. 01)