Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59881
Technology fax, Virginia (www.chnm.gmu.edu); digital library Internet Archive of San Francisco, California (www .archive.org); and computer foren- sics firm Gallivan, Gallivan & O'Melia of Seattle, Washington (www.digitalwar room.com). The Smith School will use the funds to develop a digital repository to house business records and other materials collected through the Busi- ness Plan Archive (BPA), which was launched in 2002. On its Web site businessplanarchive.org, the BPA contains venture presentations; busi- ness, marketing, and technical plans; and other documents from more than 2,000 failed and successful Internet startups. Some estimates suggest that nearly 30 percent of all business records produced today never touch paper. As a result, recording business history requires the active preservation of digitally produced materials. "The need to save these materials is evi- dent," said David Kirsch, the proj - ect's lead researcher and assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the Smith School. "Our team will help us figure out what can be saved, what should be saved, and exactly how best to do it." In the second phase of the BPA project, researchers will collect de- tailed personal narratives from those who were directly affected by the In- ternet boom and bust. Entrepreneurs, employees, customers, suppliers, in- vestors, and others can complete a survey at www.dotcom archive.org, the BPA's companion Web portal. The official name of the Library of Congress program is the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. More in- formation about NDIIPP is available at www.digitalpreservation.gov. 50 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 plans for Duke's Fuqua School of Business, says Nevin Fouts, associate dean of information technology. Still, Fuqua's IT department is watching the iPod program with interest as iPods Come to Campus Laptops, PDAs, and mobile phones have become fixtures on most campuses, serving as important conduits of edu- cational and administrative content for faculty and administration. But should the Apple iPod be added to that list? Better known as a tool for the music industry than for educa- tion, the device is a standard gadget for this year's freshmen at Duke Uni- versity in Durham, North Carolina. Last fall, about 1,800 Mac- and PC- compatible iPods were distributed to freshmen and other university staff. The iPod project is part of a pilot program between Duke and Apple Computer that will be evaluated after a year. The cost of the project is esti- mated to reach at least $500,000 and will be covered by strategic planning funds that the university has set aside for one-time innovative technology purposes. Students can use their iPods to listen to foreign language exercises, review recorded lectures, take verbal notes, or record inter- views. Campus publications could also use the medium to distribute audio editorial for students. "We're approaching this as an ex- periment, one we hope will motivate our faculty and students to think cre- atively about using digital audio con- tent and a mobile computing envi- ronment to advance educational goals," says Tracy Futhey, Duke's vice president for information technology and chief information officer. Could the iPod make its way to the business school? It's not yet in the it looks for ways to leverage next-gen- eration devices, he says. "We meet regularly with a stu- dent technology advisory council of handpicked MBA students who work with us to develop Fuqua's technology environment. We've also been working with companies to help us find useful technology that goes beyond laptops and handheld computers," says Fouts. "We're try- ing to find the right technology to extend the MBA experience in a very transparent way." NEWSBYTES ■ .EU DOMAIN COMING SOON The long awaited ".eu" domain, for companies that want to incorporate their affiliation with the European Union in their Web addresses, will be available in 2005. During an ini- tial two-month "sunrise" period, only companies in the 25 EU coun- tries that own registered trademarks on their names will be allowed to register their addresses. This meas- ure has been taken to thwart "cyber- squatters," who register Web addresses using well- known names of companies or individuals and then attempt to sell them back to the trademark holder, often at exorbitant prices. After the sunrise period, any EU resident or company can register a domain name with the .eu suffix.