University Business - February 2008 - (Page 67)

W H AT ' S N E W Looking for higher-education technology products and services? Start here. Edited by Michele Herrmann At Your Self Service Regent has updated its Student Self Service Portal to include an early needs analysis program and a digital Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Prospective and current students can now receive an early estimate of financial aid eligibility, without a fee or third-party service provider, instead of having to complete an application from a third-party provider or waiting until January 1 to complete the FAFSA electronically through the Department of Education. The portal also provides E-forms and accepts E-signatures, which reduce the need for institutions to mail forms to students or for students to go to financial aid offices, and incorporates an instant messaging feature via Live Chat for real-time communication between students and financial aid staff. The cost is based on a number of factors. The portal is part of the Regent Enterprise solution, which costs between $5 to $20 per FTE student, depending on an institution’s requirements and needs. Visit www.regenteducation.com. Recording in HDV HDV camcorders are causing a stir in digital video. Sony has released the HVR-Z7U (a handheld at $6,850) and HVR-S270U (a shoulder-mount at $10,500) camcorders. They have interchangeable lens systems, native progressive recording, increased sensitivity for low-light conditions, and hybrid solid-state recording. A one-third-inch 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor system offers sufficient pixel surface area while maintaining high resolution. Both models offer 1080, 24p, and 30p native progressive recording and come standard with a 12x multipurpose Carl Zeiss lens for HD video. An 8x wide-angle lens is optional. Also new is the HVR-M35U playback and recording deck ($5,540), which supports standard- and mini-size cassettes, and accepts standard cassettes shot on the HVR-S270U or other shoulder-mount DVCAM camcorders. It can play back four-channel audio data in HDV1080i format recorded by the HVR-S270U, along with four-channel audio data in the DVCAM format. It includes a 2.7-inch-wide Clear Photo LCD plus screen, monaural speaker, edge crop adjust, and a Duplicate Plus function for copying video and audio from another VTR. Visit www.sony. com/professional. Air Apparent Apple’s new MacBook Air is the world’s thinnest notebook, but has features you won’t find even in a larger notebook computer. Measuring just 0.76-inches er when closed, MacBook Air boasts a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, oasts a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera, and a spaoard, cious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support (like the iPhone). Apple has ouch packed it with an 80GB, 1.8-inch hard drive, a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core -inch 2 Duo processor, and 2GB of memory (standard). It also includes 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. What sets it apart from other notebooks ooth is its lack of an optical drive. Software loading and file transfers are made ve. with the help of Remote Disc, an application that reads nearby Macs and isc, PCs and, once permission is given, can transfer files wirelessly. It sells for s $1,799. Learn more at www.apple.com. apple.com. pp No More Missing Lectures ectures Developed at Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.), CourseCast lecture-capture softon t ware enables educators to offer students access to lectures long after class is over fer by streaming video and audio components over the web. Lectures can be edited, indexed, and archived. Students can obtain on-demand access to indexed lectures and course material, experiencing or revisiting entire lectures or focusing on specific segments. The user-driven software is deployed using standard PCs and peripherals. Panopto, its provider, is distributing this technology via the Socrates Project, which spreads the use of lecture-capture technology by offering the software free of charge. In return, Socrates members will participate in ongoing beta and developer programs aimed at enhancing this technology. Learn more at www.panopto.com. universitybusiness.com February 2008 | 67 http://www.regenteducation.com http://www.apple.com http://www.sony.com/professional http://www.sony.com/professional http://www.panopto.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - February 2008

University Business - February 2008
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
On the Hill
Facilities Focus
Cover Story: Orientation Rites: Seal the Deal
A Sense of Security
Growing the Giving Tree
Are We Covered?
Baby Boomers, Back to Campus
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
End Note

University Business - February 2008