These pages are a modest attempt to provide up-to-date news that is relevant to the areas of mathematics, education, computer science or information technology. Reader should keep in mind that old links often disappear.
3/30/12
TechNews for the week: March 30; March 28; March 26;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Afghans: US paid $50,000 per shooting spree death; U.S. seeks more money for Afghan force;
Israelis Suspect Obama Media Leaks to Prevent Strike on Iran;
U.S., Turkey consider non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels; Leader of Mali military coup trained in U.S.;
Islamists assert strength in Egypt;
U.S., Australia to broaden military ties;
General: Cyberattacks should require presidential authorization;
Santorum wins La. primary;
Serious Revelations About For-Profits and the Republican Party; Super PACs, donors turn sights on judicial branch;
House rejects conservatives' deficit-cutting plan; approves Paul Ryan budget plan; GOP regroups on Medicare message;
GOP blocks Obama’s effort to end tax breaks of $24 billion for Big Oil; House Republicans vote to limit FCC authority;
Partisan poison seeps into US Supreme Court; 'Heart' of Health Care Reform: Can the Law Stand Without a Mandate?
Scalia quip draws guffaws, but the joke's on him; Will a Tea Party Supreme Court guarantee Obama a second term?
Markets predict Supreme Court will overturn health care law, but uncertainty is high;
Recall against Governor Scott Walker moves forward;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
'Dark trade' in Web-censoring tools exposed by Pakistan plan; Richard Clarke: China has hacked every major US company;
French President Wants to Outlaw Visiting Terrorist Sites; LulzSec Reborn Claims Military Dating Site Hack;
How many airport screeners is too many? Congressional Testimony on the TSA; Harms of Post-9/11 Airline Security;
Math and science
Expanded Einstein archives open to the public; Enigma in a spreadsheet!;
Scientists Create Robotic Jellyfish to Monitor the Oceans; James Cameron reaches deepest part of ocean; What really happened to the Titanic;
New blood test predicts heart attack weeks in advance; Busting Myths About Stem Cells;
How solar storms squeeze Earth's magnetosphere; Google artists create a real-time 'Wind Map';
Lucy’s New Fossil Cousin Shows Path to Human Walking Took Many Turns;
Web design issues
Engineers rebuild HTTP as a faster Web foundation; Native Audio with HTML5; Making Your Website Mobile - Part 3;
Top 7 Photoshop CS6 Features; How to repeat pivot table headings when printing Excel documents;
How to download videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and more; Yahoo to Add ‘Do Not Track’ Option to Its Websites;
Scheduling Email Revisited;
Other news
America’s Real Class System; History is Bunk? Israel's Moral Peril;
The Five Personalities of Innovators;
SC politics
Rep. Tim Scott gets resort trip with company — and a bill to pay; Bobbie Rose sets her sights on Tim Scott's seat;
Site claims Gov. Haley will likely be indicted for tax fraud ;
Finance and Economics
Hearings show our dependence on military space technology;
JOBS Act clears Senate, one step from becoming law; Drilling off the Atlantic Coast moves a step closer;
Banks’ preemptive strike against Dodd-Frank;
Why you can't sue your wireless carrier in a class action; Six Smartphone Makers Sued for Patent Infringement;
Startup To Offer Free Wireless Broadband;
News Corp in fresh storm;
Education:
Four In 10 Ohio High School Graduates Not Prepared For College;
Dept Education: More Students Are Enrolled in College and on Financial Aid; Veterans Embrace Post-9/11 GI Bill, but Remain Wary of Its Potential Costs;
"Greed Threatens Learning" At Universities; No Financial Aid, No Problem. For-Profit University Sets $199-a-Month Tuition for Online Courses;
College Board Unveils New Admissions Web Site;
ACT and College Board Tighten Test Security; Princeton Review to Withdraw From Test-Prep Realm;
Survey: Student Demand for Data Strains Residential Networks; Blackboard Buys Out Moodlerooms, NetSpot;
India’s university system in ‘deep crisis’;
Testing the Limits of Academic Fraud in College Sports;
The Pitfalls of Hiring a High-Profile Coach; AD’s Firing Signals New Era of Expectations at ASU;
Many Division I Programs See Big Drop in Basketball Attendance; Are Basketball Attendance Figures Inflated?
3/23/12
TechNews for the week: March 23; March 21; March 19;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
In Israel, prospect of war with Iran raises questions about defense; How bad would Iran be with the bomb? War With Iran Worse Than Nuclear Iran;
Pentagon Finds Perils for U.S. if Israel Were to Strike Iran; Tech Companies Still Cope with Embargo Against Iran;
U.S. general suggests Afghan force should stay level after ’12 drawdown; In talks, Afghans likely to demand veto power over raids;
Drones at Issue as U.S. Rebuilds Ties to Pakistan; Pakistani parliament says no to U.S. drone attacks;
House rejects Senate transportation bill with procedural vote; Insider Trading Ban for Lawmakers Clears Congress;
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was found liable in financial fraud; FBI to open investigation into black teen’s death;
House Republicans unveil election-year budget blueprint that cuts $5.3T beyond Obama plan;
U.S. accelerating cyberweapon research;
Supreme Court Lays Out New Plea Bargain Standards;
States Get a Poor Report Card; The Report Card;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Avi Rubin on Computer Security; The Economist Debate on Airplane Security;
Microsoft Critical Vulnerability Info May Have Leaked; Verizon says Hackers’ Methods Usually Simple;
MPAA Wants Judge to Preserve Megaupload Data; MegaUpload's host pleads for cash to preserve user files;
Counterterrorism guidelines would permit data on U.S. citizens to be held longer; U.S. Moves to Ease Limits on Use of Data in Terror Analysis;
Math and science
Not so fast, neutrinos. CERN says light's speedier still;
NASA Releases Atlas Of Entire Sky;
Video: How MIT's Laser Camera Can See Around Corners;
Web design issues
10 free tools that IT pros love; WebM: Taking Another Look;
Gmail: That's spam, and here's why; Tutorial: minimalist web design from Photoshop to HTML, part 3;
Ten tips for using your LinkedIn profile to the best advantage; Manage all your social-network settings from one place;
Conflict-of-Interest Debate Grows at ICANN;
Other news
Project Management: What Not to Do;
Job Seekers Asked For Facebook Passwords: Debate Roars;
Strife at Komen foundation continues;
Finance and Economics
Analysis: More drilling hasn't lowered gasoline prices;
U.S. makes $25 billion on sale of mortgage-backed securities; Deutsche Bank avoids US capital rules;
Company Sues Samsung, RIM Over Emoticon Patent;
Apple taps $100B cash pile to pay dividend, buy back stock;
Education:
Federal Student Loans Would Seem Less Profitable Under GOP Budget Plan; States attorneys General Aim at For-Profit Colleges' Institutional Loan Programs;
Louisiana State U. Faculty Adopts Option to Grade for Attendance; Future of lecturing in higher education; Best Practices for Laptops in the Classroom;
Budget Crunch? California Colleges Keep On Building; Cal State Plans to Cut Enrollment and Limit Admissions to 8 Campuses;
U. New Hampshire Turns to Layoffs as Buyouts Fail to Close Budget Gap; U. Maine Suspends Raises After Controversy Over Increases on One Campus;
AAUP Will Investigate U. Northern Iowa Over Faculty Cuts; Judge Reduces Washington State U.'s Fine for Violating Campus-Crime Law;
Pennsylvania Governor Says He Would 'Understand' if Pitt Went Private;
U. of Illinois President Resigns; U. of Maryland University College President to Resign;
New Contraceptive Policy for Religious Colleges Would Cover Some Student Health Plans ;
Citadel Faces Lawsuits Over Alleged Sex Abuse;
Would the NCAA Ever Ban a Coach for a Year for Cheating? Cincinnati and Xavier Brawl resurfaces as both teams make Sweet 16;
NCAA's Popular Compliance Blog to End Its Run;
3/16/12
TechNews for the week: March 16; March 14; March 12;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
U.S. soldier opens fire on Afghan civilians; shooting refocuses attention on Fort Lewis-McChord; Karzai tells NATO pull back, Taliban-US talks off;
Poll: Few in U.S. sense Afghan support for war; Is The Army Responsible for the Afghan Massacre? Pentagon: Afghan security breach more serious than reported;
U.S. looks to persist with Afghanistan exit strategy; Republicans questioning Afghan war effort;
U.S. analysts say Assad firmly in control; Syrian protesters say they won’t give up; U.S. and its allies consider military steps in Syria;
In Iraq, growing gap sets Kurdistan apart;
Strike on Iran could be counterproductive';
Economic argument getting tougher for GOP; Romney makes no mention of positive jobs numbers; Why Ron Paul May Cut a Deal With Romney;
Santorum wins both Alabama and Mississippi primaries; Gingrich second; Why is he losing Catholics?
In G.O.P. Nomination Race, Geography Has Been Destiny; GOP contest shaping up to be cheapest race in years;
Karl Rove: How to Beat Obama;
Obama strikes back at GOP critics on gas prices;
State flexibility key as rules clarify shape of health law;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
March Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Insecure Public Keys, TSA Full-Body Scanner Failure, and more; On Cyberwar Hype;
Malware as a Service; Malware, Hacking Remain Preferred Methods of Cyber-Criminals; Exploit code published for RDP worm hole;
Security experts will tip consumers to cyber fraud;
MegaUpload's users may include U.S. government officials;
Can an employer ask for your Facebook login and password?
Video Shows TSA Full-Body Scanner Failure; TSA to elderly passengers: Let’s try keeping your shoes on;
Ohio Officer Tases 9-Year-Old;
Math and science
GE rejects Republicans’ climate change doubts;
The Bad Science Reporting Effect;
Web design issues
How to decide if you should buy an app; 22 most useful iPad apps;
Three free services for creating instant Web sites;
Other news
Comic strip shakes up abortion debate; ‘Doonesbury’ creator discusses divisive strips;
Former Sarah Palin Adviser Says 'Game Change' Was 'True Enough to Make Me Squirm';
The Goldman Rule: How to Vet Your Financial Adviser;
Finance and Economics
Greek tutorial in credit-default swaps;
A Public Exit From Goldman Sachs Hit at a Wounded Wall Street; Goldman Sachs Fires Back At Exec Who Quit In Scathing Op-Ed;
At Goldman, short-term greed vs. long-term greed;
Oil demand shift: Asia takes over; West wins fresh Saudi oil supply pledge; Tech Groups Applaud Action Against China On Rare Earth Materials;
AT&T Offers Settlement for ‘Unlimited’ iPhone Service; Internet Companies Prepare for Online Privacy Fight;
15 of 19 U.S. banks pass Federal Reserve stress tests; Whistleblowers Who Sounded the Alarm on Banks’ Mortgage Shenanigans;
Germany Wants Publishers Paid for Online News Clips;
Education:
Study: Millennials Are More 'Generation Me' Than 'Generation We; Trying to assess learning gives colleges their own test anxiety;
US News List Of Best Graduate Engineering Schools; TED Releases Educational Videos;
State and Local Spending on Higher Education Reached a New 25-Year Low in 2011; U.S. Penalizes 2 States for College-Spending Cuts;
Rowan U. Accused of Inflating SAT Scores;
The Changing Nature of Campus Protests Frustrates Administrators; Survey: College Presidents are still Aging White Men;
Santorum's claim that America's colleges and universities atheist factories is false;
Billionaire Who Encouraged Entrepreneurs to Leave College Will Offer Stanford Course;
Penn State Trustees Release Statement on Spanier and Paterno Firings; Board Is Reported to Consider Going Private;
Federal Court Rules Against Oklahoma State U. in Life-Insurance Case;
8 NCAA Tournament-Bound Men’s Basketball Teams Are Below Academic Threshold; NCAA Penalizes U. North Carolina for Academic Fraud;
Univ of New Orleans to rejoin Division I;
3/9/12
TechNews for the week: March 9; March 7; March 5;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Iraq and Saudi Arabia show signs of improved relations;
An Existential Threat Within Israel Endangers Its Democracy; AIPAC beats the drums of war; Israel asks for bomb that could aid Iran strike;
Obama must take a stand against Israel over Iran; Israelis criticize PM's Iran-Holocaust parallels; Israelis, like U.S., wary of strike on Iran;
World powers agree to reopen talks with Iran; How Iran might respond to Israeli attack; Noose tightens around Iranian oil;
Romney’s wrong-headed assertions about Iran; Senate Republicans Sharpening Rhetoric on Iran;
General warns of Syrian bioweapons, Iran threat; McCain calls for U.S. to bomb Syria; U.S. to press post-election Russia on Syria issue;
U.S. general warns Syria ‘will get worse before it gets better’; U.S. tracks Syrian elite’s money transfers, but picture remains murky ;
Should the Pentagon cut costs from the top? A glut of armored trucks; Congress warned about military base closings;
Pentagon Launches Desperate Damage Control Over Shocking Panetta Testimony;
Iceland ex-PM Haarde Trial over 2008 crisis begins;
A third of GOP voters doubt Obama is U.S. citizen; The G.O.P.’s Woman Problem; GOP assault on women's rights part of a larger conservative backlash against women;
Does the GOP need to lose big to eventually win;
Romney wins the grand prize of Ohio, Santorum wins 3 states; Romney to rivals: Give up; Wealthy voters boost Romney;
Boehner tries to keep budget from becoming an election year issue;
Why would Koch brothers want to refine Cato Institute?
Lt. Gov. Ard resigns from office; pleads guilty to ethics violations;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
60 Minutes: Stuxnet represents the new warfare; How Changing Technology Affects Security;
NASA Reports Computers hacked repeatedly in 2010 and 2011; TSA 'Warning' Media About Reporting On Body Scanner Failures;
Keywords the DHS Is Using to Analyze Your Social Media Posts;
‘Anonymous’ Supporters May Have Exposed Bank Records;
Math and science
Magicians Use Science To Trick You; From old textbooks, we learn how much we didn’t know;
Bad data connection could explain too-fast neutrinos; Analytics Drives Next Generation Of Moneyball In Sports;
Web design issues
How to Better Manage Your Inbox;
Android Developer Resource Page;
Other news
Mortuary official says Military overruled push to bury cremated 9/11 remains at sea;
‘Religious Freedom’ Issues, Part 2: Catholics and Contraception;
5 Leadership Skills CIOs, Senators Share;
Work-Life Balance Is Out of Reach for Many Male and Female Scientists;
Finance and Economics
Feds Let Banks Pay Shareholders Billions;
Jobs up solidly, unemployment at 8.3%;
Education:
College Completion Web Site; The Rise and Fall of the Graduation Rate; Argument for reorganizing education; Two Visions of the University;
For-Profits Develop More-Forgiving Measures to Tally Graduates;
Indiana House Votes to Cap College Credits at 120; Florida Universities Consider Tuition Hikes, Program Cuts;
More Than 70 Northern Iowa Programs Face Elimination or Overhaul; California Legislators Reject Cuts in Cal Grants Program;
Working-Class College Students Are Less Engaged Than Their Middle-Class Peers;
Journal Publishers Oppose Bill That Would Require Public Access to Research;
Study: Many Professors Use Interactive Tools Ineffectively in Online Courses; Students weigh in: Lecture Fail? The Battle Against Bad PowerPoint;
A Lesson From the Past on Active Learning; What It's Like to Take Computer Science 101 Online;
Another Leader of Alabama's Troubled Community-College System Steps Down; Former U. Minnesota President Directed Funds to His New Position;
Report: Military Engineer Shortage Could Threaten Security;
How to Win at APR, in a Few (Not-So) Easy Steps;
Ohio State Replaces Courtesy Cars With Stipends for 85 Athletics Officials; Athletic Departments Step Up Monitoring of Athletes' Tweets;
Syracuse basketball program repeatedly violated internal drug policy; SI report: drug use at UCLA; Oregan State coach Craig Robinson reprimanded;
Could NFL Bounty Scandal Ripple to Colleges? Auburn U. Basketball Player Is at Center of Point-Shaving Investigation;
3/2/12
TechNews for the week: March 2; February 29; February 27;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Secret U.S. cable warned about Pakistani havens; Pakistan calls on Taliban to join peace talks; U.S. delegation to Pakistan walks into uproar;
U.S., others join forces against Syria, but stop short of aiding opposition ; Saudis, Qataris push to arm Syrian rebels;
Diplomacy to seal Iran's fate; India resists call to cut Iran oil imports; Obama, the Jewish lobby and the bomb;
North Korea will suspend nuclear, missile tests ;
The Davis report the Pentagon Doesn't Want You to Read; Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leader’s Loss of Integrity; The NY Times article;
Pentagon builds an auditing army as budget shrinks; Defense budget hearings: Lots to learn for those who pay attention;
Leaked Stratfor Email Suggests Secret U.S. Indictment of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange;
Why the GOP Is Trying to Pin High Gas Prices on Obama and Gullible Americans Are Falling for It; Driving politics out of gas prices;
Improved economy equals political fallout? Romneycare is working -- and Obamacare might be, too;
Romney wins Arizona, Michigan primaries; What Michigan says about his prospects; Romney not willing ‘to light my hair on fire’ to win conservative votes;
Santorum says he doesn't believe in separation of church and state; takes heat for ‘snob’ comment; Social issues–not the economy–that fire up Santorum crowd;
Koch Brothers sue Cato Institute, president;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
WikiLeaks Starts Releasing Confidential Stratfor E-mails; Email Release Raises Uncomfortable Questions;
State Department Redacts Wikileaks Cables already released; Anonymous Leaves Clues In Failed Vatican Attack;
U.S. Federal Court Rules that it is Unconstitutional for the Police to Force Someone to Decrypt their Laptop;
The dangers of cyberwar rhetoric -- and the cyberwar arms race; FBI Director Says Cyber-Threats to Outpace Terrorism;
Republicans Introduce Cybersecurity Legislation;
FBI Special Agent and Counterterrorism Expert Criticizes the TSA; New Report Likely to Fuel Debate Over TSA Scanners;
Detect if visitors are logged into Twitter, Facebook or Google+;
Math and science
IBM Makes Advances In Quantum Computing;
Radical theory of first Americans places Stone Age Europeans in Delmarva 20,000 years ago;
Shoot Now, Focus Later: A Little Camera To Change The Game;
Web design issues
Your Options With Google Privacy Policy Changes; How to clear your search history, account information;
How to use tablet and Google+ as a remote training tool;
Tutorial: Create a minimalist web design layout using Photoshop;
Other news
Wealthy Banker leaves waitress a paltry 1% tip;
Finance and Economics
Emerging economies to challenge U.S. hold on World Bank;
Cuba drills for oil, but U.S. unprepared for spill; Why the U.S. is Better Able to Handle Higher Gas Prices;
Google, Apple Face Patent Suit Over Online Maps;
Education:
A Third of Students Transfer Before Graduating; Colleges Misassign Many to Remedial Classes;
An Outsider Calls for a Teaching Revolution; Teacher Accrediting Group Vows to Turn Teacher Education 'Upside Down';
GAO says Colleges Are Relying More on Tuition and Fees; Could student loans create the next ‘debt bomb’?
States Budget Cuts Forcing Universities To Eliminate Engineering, Computer Science Departments;
New Accreditation System Will Require Medical Residents to Show Skills and Traits; 'U.S. News' to Collect New Information From Colleges;
New Web Site Catalogs Rules-Compliance Information for Colleges;
Teacher-Training Programs Win Concessions on Proposed Federal Rule; House Votes to Repeal 2 Controversial Education Department Rules;
U. of Colorado Fills Key Posts With Part-Time Retirees Who Earn Salaries and Pensions;
Anger Over Presidents’ Pay Sinks Confirmation Vote for Cal State Board’s Leader; UC-Santa Cruz Shuts Down Amid Statewide Protests;
Law Deans Could End Up in Prison for Misleading Applicants; Homeland-Security Crackdown on Scam Colleges;
Senators Want 'GI Bill' Trademarked to Curb Abusive Marketing to Veterans; Legislation to Bar Public-Access Requirement on Federal Research Is Dead;
Embattled President of South Carolina State U. Will Resign;
Ex-college student sues school over roommate's sex;
Note-taking and Copyright Infringment; Encountering abstraction with clickers; "Autocorrect" leads to school closure;
The 'Flawed' Model for Athletics Health Care;
Salaries Rise for Senior Administrators, Athletics-department officials received the biggest pay bumps; In Athletics, Even Small Raises Outpace Other Pay at Colleges ;