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| Meet the Cast
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Ken Baldauf, the voice of Course Technology's "Coursecast of the Week", is the Director of the Program in Interdisciplinary Computing at Florida State University, where he is responsible for developing courses to meet computing and technology needs across disciplines.
Between teaching and authoring Course Technology's Succeeding with Technology and Principles of Information Systems, Ken has developed a keen sense of what technology news and information is most important for college students as they prepare to enter the job market. Ken considers it his professional mission to help students from every educational discipline achieve the maximum benefits from the "power of technology". That's why Ken starts every day sifting through dozens of online news sources to bring you the latest and most relevant technology stories along with explanations of what they mean and why they matter.
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| CourseCast of the Week
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CourseCast of the Week
Episode 243 02/06/12
Title/Description: Facebook IPO and Other Tech Stories.
Welcome to Course Technology's Coursecast of the week, Episode 243, for February 6th, 2012. I'm Ken Baldauf keeping you up to date with this week's technology headlines.
This Coursecast is brought to you by Course Technology. Visit www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative digital learning solutions.
…and now, the news!
Today's headline story: Facebook Files for IPO
After years of rumors and speculation, Facebook has finally filed for a public stock offering. Facebook plans to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering, or IPO. The price the stock fetches is anticipated to value Facebook at somewhere between $75 and $100 billion, making hundreds of Facebook employees instant millionaires.
Facebook's annual profit of $1 billion in 2011 doesn't actually support such a high valuation. Investors will be gambling on the value of the data Facebook collects on its over 800 million users. And a gamble it is, since privacy legislation at home or abroad could have a profound impact on what Facebook can do with the information it collects. As Facebook goes public, it will be under more pressure to increase profits, and is bound to push the limits of its user's tolerance regarding privacy.
As Facebook goes public, it is obligated to disclose previously private information about how the company is run. Founder Mark Zuckerberg is clearly the man in charge at Facebook, and plans to continue being the primary decision-maker after the company goes public. He describes Facebook's approach to product development as "The Hacker Way" - a process involving continuous improvement and iteration.
And elsewhere in Tech News...
- There is growing tension between western and eastern nations over cyber security. Some are referring to it as a modern day cold war. The US and its western allies are cooperating on cyber security and blaming China and Russia for the bulk of cyber attacks and hacking. China, Russia, and other eastern states are denying the allegations and seeking greater government control over Internet content.
Disagreements on cyber risk East-West "Cold War" [Reuters]
- 17 year old Laura Deming has been chosen by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel as one of 24 entrepreneurial teenagers to receive $100,000. The experiment requires Deming to postpone college for two years to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. Thiel holds the opinion that a college degree can be harmful to innovators because of the conservative, career-driven mind-set it imparts.
Too Young to Fail [Tech Review]
And in Information Security news this week...
- Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission applying pressure on businesses to report hacking incidents and cybersecurity risks, it is believed that at least a half dozen top U.S. corporations are not disclosing major security breaches. Among the guilty parties is Verisign, the company that supports key Internet backbone servers.
Exclusive: Hacked companies still not telling investors [Reuters]
Verisign Fesses Up About 2010 Hack Attacks [ECommerce Times]
- The hacker collective Anonymous published a recording of a confidential phone call between FBI agents and London detectives where the topic was fighting hackers. Apparently, the group gained access to the email that provided call-in information and passwords for the conference call.
Anonymous publishes FBI call on hacking [Reuters]
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a competition to promote better online security systems that go beyond today's common ID and password systems. According to the contest rules, $10 million will go to the winning five to eight projects that promise "secure, efficient, easy-to-use and interoperable identity solutions to access online services in a manner that promotes confidence, privacy, choice and innovation."
NIST to Fund Pilot Projects that Advance Trusted Identities in Cyberspace [NIST]
And in Tech Industry news...
And finally....
- Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK have developed a Web app that can judge whether or not a song has the potential to become a top 40 hit. The software applies qualities of current top 40 hits in a "hit potential equation" to provide songwriters with a score indicating how successful a song could be in the current market.
Web app could find out if a song has the X Factor [U of Bristol]
That's it for this week's Coursecast.
This week's shout outs go to...
- Ms. Breeden's 8th grade class at Goodwell Public School in Goodwell OK
- Lori Kuhlman at Butler County Community College in Andover Kansas
- Taylor Jennings at East Jackson High School, in Jackson Michigan
- and to Ignacio Aguirre who has been listening to CourseCasts since his days as a student at New River Community College in 2007.
You can email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at coursecasts@gmail.com.
Visit the CourseCasts Website at coursecasts.course.com where you will find links to the full stories covered in this coursecast, related discussion questions for use in technology courses, and the Coursecast Archives.
CourseCasts are also available on Facebook at facebook.com/coursecasts. Click the Like button to add useful tidbits of tech news to your Facebook News Feed throughout the week.
Until next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!
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