House Passes Computer Measure for Schools
NMITSA Board Member Tom Ryan, Executive Director of Learning Technologies at Albuquerque Public Schools is one of the drivers behind the New Mexico Cyber Academy initiative in the current legisltive session.http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/07%20Regular/bills/house/HB0201.html
http://www.ped.state.nm.us/press/2006/ november/Statewide_E-Learning_Program.pdf
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Excerpt from ABQ Journal on legislative progress:
Saturday, February 24, 2007
By Gabriela C. Guzman
Journal Capitol Bureau
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/xgr/540930xgr02-24-07.htm
SANTA FE— The House on Friday approved by a 50-13 vote the creation of a statewide computer system that would allow students in all 89 New Mexico school districts to access online courses.
The bill (HB 201) sponsored by Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, now moves to the Senate, where a similar bill is moving through committees.
The measure, also known as the Cyber Academy Act, would allow New Mexico students to take online courses offered at the state's higher education institutions and other advanced courses.
"Why should we continue to force kids to the blackboard, when we live in a world dominated by computers and our kids are so comfortable there," Miera said in a prepared statement.
New Mexico Education Secretary Veronica Garcia lauded the measure's passage, which is a cornerstone of Gov. Bill Richardson's plan to improve the state's public high schools.
"This bill is going to create so many opportunities for students in New Mexico," said Garcia, who added the cyber academy would help high school students wanting to earn college credit and broaden their course selection in the state's rural areas.
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NMITSA Announces IT Excellence Awards Winners
It's Official! NMITSA announces the winners of this year's IT Excellence Awards. See the list here.Mozilla to release Firefox 2.0 tomorrow
23 October 2006 - Mozilla is release the new version of its Firefox browser, version 2.0, tomorrow on 24 October, just a few days after Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 7.The browser is Microsoft's chief rival for surfing the web, and claims up to a 30% share in some markets, although across the board it hovers at just over 12%.
The updated Firefox incorporates a number of new features to make search easier and to protect users from scams. Tabs have been visually enhanced and a new “close” button added. View the entire article at Pocket Lint.
Finalists for Innovative Research
Finalists for the Excellence Award for Innovative Research
- Avistar Inc. – Hardware Simulator for Complex Embedded Test Tool
Avistar developed a hardware simulator that reduced the time required to prototype, test, debug, and add quality improvements to a complex embedded test tool.
This solution is also a finalist for the Excellence Award for Custom Software. - Sandia National Labs/Computational Modeling Sciences – CUBIT
SNL developed the CUBIT Geometry and Meshing Toolkit to provide algorithms that help engineers prepare geometric models for simulation.
This solution is also a finalist for the Excellence Award for Commercial Software. - Triton Technology Systems – KoldLok Raised-Floor Grommets
Hot spots are a common problem in data centers, threatening information technology reliability and performance. Cold air supplies are designed to reduce hardware heat, but up to 60% can escape through penetrations in raised floors, walls and ceilings without cooling the computer equipment. Triton Technology Systems developed the KoldLok raised-floor grommets based on 10 years of field research to minimize bypass airflow in critical data centers. By closing unmanaged cable openings with self-sealing KoldLok raised-floor grommets, bypass airflow can be reduced to less than 10% without shutting down computer operations. Data center managers realize enormous cost savings by eliminating their computer room hot spots.
Finalists for IT Support
Finalists for the Excellence Award for IT Support
- Blue Jay Enterprises – Santa Fe Public Schools Infrastructure Redesign Implementation
Blue Jay updated the Santa Fe Public Schools computing infrastructure including upgrading the network, increasing Internet performance, upgrading network security, installing new PCs, upgrading old PCs, and implementing a new email system. This solution is also a finalist for the Excellence Award for IT Infrastructure. - TIG – Thunderbird Cluster – Startup Support Services
Sandia National Laboratories’ Thunderbird supercomputer, designed jointly by Sandia and Dell, is the least expensive general-purpose supercomputer of its scale in existence. The Thunderbird cluster was initially installed in record time during a few weeks in late summer 2005. Like all new clusters of this size, complexity, and new design, it required substantial support services. SNL contracted TIG to install software, tune the hardware, and bring the system up to full capacity for production use. Thunderbird began full production operations after approximately 6 months, where similar clusters have taken 12 to 36 months to reach full production mode. - TIG – Thunderbird Expansion
Soon after installation, Sandia National Laboratories required an extension to their Thunderbird Cluster supercomputer including an additional 384 compute nodes fully deployed and installed in approximately 8 weeks. This type of cluster normally requires at least four months to deploy. TIG coordinated with Dell, Cisco, Force10, and numerous other suppliers to bring together the products, resources, and team members required to complete the project, including 16 racks, 384 servers, Ethernet and Infiniband network equipment, thousands of cables, and a large staff from more than ten companies. TIG project management coordinated all delivery and scheduling logistics, reporting, and management to ensure that the cluster expansion was completed on schedule.
