STEM education and immigration reform are opposite sides of the same coin

Innovators.  Leaders. These are words that come to mind when many think of America and, in particular, our information technology industry,
ComputerWorld reports. With increased global competition, America’s innovation and leadership position is at risk. In order to reclaim it we must address two separate but intertwined issues —  science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM) education programs and immigration reform. These issues are on opposite sides of the same coin and both address the overwhelming need our country has for the human capital that underpins national innovation and competitiveness…

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Supreme Court gives Microsoft small victory, say patent experts

Although the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Microsoft’s appeal of a four-year-old patent dispute, the company’s efforts were not wasted, legal experts said today, reports ComputerWorld. In an 8-0 ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed lower court decisions that forced Microsoft to modify its popular Word program and put it on the hook for a $300 million payment to a small Canadian developer…

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Students to see photos snapped in Pa. webcam ‘spying’ case

Students in two suburban Philadelphia high schools will be allowed to view photographs taken by their school-issued laptops, and they may preview them first before deciding which images their parents may see, Computerworld reports. In a court order issued May 14, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Thomas Rueter said that certified letters would be sent to students who had been photographed when their Apple MacBooks’ cameras had been activated by IT personnel of Lower Merion School District. Lower Merion was sued in mid-February by Michael and Holly Robbins, and their teenage son Blake, a high school student at Harriton High School, after an assistant principal accused Blake of selling drugs and taking pills, and used a snapshot taken by his computer as evidence. Robbins claimed the pictures showed him eating candy. The district took more than 30,000 photographs using the students’ webcams, and another 27,000 screenshots using software designed to track lost, missing, or stolen laptops, according to a report commissioned by Lower Merion. That report laid most of the blame on the district’s IT staff for the excessive photo taking using its LANrev software. According to the report, 76 different student laptops were told to capture photographs and screenshots in the last two school years. The letters, which will also be mailed to affected students’ parents or guardians, will indicate the date of webcam activations, and the number of photographs and screenshots taken by each student’s computer. But the teenagers will be shown the images before parents…

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Half of social networkers post risky information, study finds

More than half of all users of social networks in the U.S. are posting information that could put them at risk from cyber criminals, Computerworld reports. The data, which come from a Consumer Reports study released May 4, noted that 52 percent of adults who use social networks, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, have posted information like their full birth date, which could be used to commit crimes against them. The magazine also noted that the number of American households using social networks has doubled in the past year. “Many people use social networking sites to share personal information and photos with their friends quickly and easily,” said Jeff Fox, technology editor for Consumer Reports, in a statement. “However, there are serious risks involved, which can be lessened by using privacy controls offered by the sites.” The survey found that 42 percent of people on Facebook post their full birth date, 16 percent post their children’s names, 63 percent post photos of themselves, and 7 percent note their home address…

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