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May 15, 2002
Trend Watch
By T&L Editors
Is Your Network Secure?
From the recently opened Hackademy in Paris (see The Back Page) to what Wired News reported as a "hacker summer camp" being launched by security company White Hat Technologies, teaching students about network security seems to be all the rage these days. The White Hat program, as yet unnamed and still in the early stages of development, plans to school teenage campers on network assessment and security solutions. Despite the press' free use of the word "hacker," company spokesperson Usher Lieberman assures us kids "will not be learning illegal skills."
Browsers, Only Better
Like diet soda and sliced bread, sometimes the next big thing is just an improvement on something familiar. Which is why at least two companies are trying to revamp the most basic of Internet tools: the Web browser. Browse3D creates a "room" on your desktop, with your current Web page on the center wall, images of forward links on the right wall, and thumbnails of previously visited pages on the left wall. MicroSurfer 2.0 lets you select links to preload while you browse the current site, so when you're ready to move on there's no wait. Both products also allow you to save your Web sessions and share them with colleagues.
CIPA on Trial
The American Library Association began arguments in the U.S. District Court of East Pennsylvania in late March against mandatory Internet filtering. CIPA, the Children's Internet Protection Act, requires public libraries receiving federal funds to install filtering software on computers with Internet access or forego funding. The ALA claims mandatory filtering violates constitutionally guarded freedoms of speech and information, unfairly burdens libraries with the cost of buying and installing filtering technologies, and overrules community control of information. Some librarians are also contesting their new role as arbiters of "bona fide" research, which adult patrons must prove to have filters turned off while they surf the Internet. Hearings were still ongoing at press time, with the case headed for the Supreme Court.
What's Your Opinion?
Should public libraries be exempt from the CIPA mandate?
 We'll report your responses on the Back Page in a later issue.
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Magic Touch
A fourth-grade special education class in Akron, Ohio, is pioneering technologies that most of the world is still simply dreaming about. Kids with disabilities or learning problems are getting a leg up with wearable, one-pound, Windows computers they can attach to their belts and access via a touch screen. Teacher Eric Van Raepenbusch, of the Coventry Local Schools, got in touch with T&L to tell us how this experimental technology is helping his students with reading and memory difficulties through text-to-speech capabilities and Internet-delivered, symbol-based programs. "Success," says Van Raepenbusch, who just this year began using the wearable computers, "has been quick and dramatic."
Read other articles from the May Issue
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