iPhone to hit market Friday
by Ernie Perez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published June 26, 2007
At 6 p.m. Friday, Apple will release its new iPhone.
The closest location it will be available is either the Apple store in the Kansas City Country Club Plaza,
any corporate AT&T store, or the Apple store online.
The iPhone is marketed as replacing three devices that you may already carry
(iPod, cellphone, and Personal Digital Assistant). Prices range from $499 to $599 depending on hard drive size --
plus a mandatory two-year cellphone contract. AT&T has not released the cost of the cellular and data plan for the iPhone.
Most experts recommend waiting until iPhone 2.0 is released, which will likely be faster and have more storage space.
The iPhone will run on AT&T's older and slower network instead of its faster third-generation (3G) network.
If you purchase the iPhone, be prepared for the
more than 60 accessories.
that are already available. For more information:
Gateway recalls 14,000 laptop batteries
by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published June 26, 2007
On June 19, Gateway announced a voluntary recall of about 14,000 lithium-ion laptop batteries
that can overheat and create a potential fire hazard under certain conditions.
Details on identifying and exchanging the batteries are included on the Gateway webpage:
Battery Exchange Program for June 19, 2007 Voluntary Recall.
According to Gateway's June 19 press release, "The affected battery packs were shipped as the primary or
spare battery pack for Gateway 400VTX and 450ROG series notebooks sold during a three-month period from May 2003 to August 2003."
Perform Google search by highlighting webpage text
by Eric Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published June 26, 2007
Have you ever read a webpage and discovered something you
wanted to perform a search on? In Firefox and a few other browsers, people
have now been empowered to search Google in a new way --
by highlighting the word or phrase, then using a right-mouse click to select the "Search Google"
option. This launches Google's page listing your search results. Happy searching!
TELENET 2 goes from ISDN to IP connectivity
by Sue White, Kansas Regents Network
published June 26, 2007
TELENET 2, the statewide video conferencing network operated by the Kansas Regents Network out of Bob Dole Hall,
is making a change. Since TELENET 2 time began in 1996, the connectivity of choice has been ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network).
Largely due to a recent, significant price increase for the way the network uses ISDN,
the multiple TELENET 2 class/meeting rooms throughout Kansas are planned to move to IP (Internet Protocol) connectivity in July.
In anticipation of this move, the current equipment has both ISDN and IP capability, and several sites have made
the switch within the last few years. Also, TELENET 2 increasingly connects with sites around the state, the nation,
and the world via IP. Note these details:
- The Manhattan and Salina sites will maintain both ISDN and IP connectivity.
- TELENET 2 bridging technology will continue to connect both ISDN and IP.
Google tips for referencing information online
by Amy Hartman, Agricultural Communications
published June 26, 2007
Here's an article on Google tips for librarians that should be helpful to many university employees and students:
You and Me and Google Makes Three: Welcoming Google into the Reference Interview.
Security tip: USB flash drives pose security risk
by Harvard Townsend, IT security officer
published June 26, 2007
Two recent news stories underscore the risk of using USB flash drives (a.k.a. "thumb drives") to store sensitive data.
In one case, a Texas A&M Corpus Christi professor vacationing in Madagascar
lost a flash drive containing personal
identity information of 8,000 students.
The other incident involves the
theft of a flash drive from the
English department at Grand Valley State University's Allendale Campus in Michigan that contained information,
including Social Security numbers, on approximately 3,000 students.
K-Staters should not use USB flash drives to store sensitive data such as Social Security numbers,
credit card numbers, student grades (especially if the grade sheet contains student ID numbers
that correspond to Social Security numbers), and the like. The risk is simply too high.
See SIRT's Guidelines for mobile device security
for more information on how to properly secure mobile devices like USB flash drives and laptop computers.
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